A Report From the Field

By Steve Carlson | PDA Member and Blog Contributor

As one of Dave Obey’s constituents up here in north west Wisconsin, I have to say it was heartening to see my Congressman speak out on ABC News against an escalation of the war in Afghanistan. Obey doesn’t often do such things. He isn’t one of the congressional regulars on the cable talk show circuit.

Even more heartening is the fact that on Wednesday, November 18th, just a few days before the interview aired, members of Progressive Democrats of America joined with our peace and justice allies to stage a “Healthcare Not Warfare” rally in front of Obey’s office in Superior, WI. Afterwards we met with an aide and requested that the Congressman sign onto the Lee and McGovern Bills which would, respectively, prohibit any further troop deployments to Afghanistan, and require Defense Secretary Robert Gates to provide Congress with an exit strategy by the end of this year.