Pro-War rally in Kentucky fizzles
Matt Gunterman October 18th, 2007
Not to change the subject from Sen. Mitch McConnell’s smearing of a 12 y.o. boy and his disastrous handling of the political fallout, but the nation is mired in war in Iraq and young Americans are dying every day as Pres. George W. Bush tries to save face from his failed military policies.
There’s a new poll out from Gallup that shows that only 34 percent of Republicans think the war in Iraq is going better.
And, from the press release below from Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, you can tell there aren’t many Republicans in Kentucky willing to stand up for this military fiasco that is breaking our nation’s armed forces.
October 17, 2007
Pro-War ‘Rally’ in Northern Kentucky Draws Few Supporters, More Opponents of Iraq War
“Vets for Freedom” Grassroots Campaign Turns Out Single-Digit Support for Bush’s Iraq War Policy as Kentuckians Call on Sen. McConnell to Bring an End to the WarWalton, KY – More evidence of the broad opposition to the war in Iraq, in Kentucky and across the country, came to light yesterday as the “Vets for Freedom” event in Northern Kentucky drew more opposition than support for the organization’s stated cause. What had been touted as a “rally” in support of President Bush’s war in Iraq [Cincinnati Enquirer, 10/4/2007] turned out exactly 21 people, many of whom were opposed to the war. In fact, opponents of the President’s reckless Iraq war policy outnumbered supporters, and much of the discussion focused on bringing an end to the war.
“Vets for Freedom” had been billed as a large scale grassroots campaign when it was launched in August in response to the mounting anger and grassroots activity against the war taking place across the country, as well as Americans Against Escalation in Iraq’s highly successful Iraq Summer campaign [Politico, 8/9/2007; The Conservative Voice, 8/14/2007]. They’ve been mostly silent since then though, and last night may have revealed why.
“As any veteran will tell you, our troops and their families have paid an enormous price for the President’s endless Iraq war policy. This summer was the bloodiest yet for our service men and women, and over 3,800 American troops have lost their lives since the war began. Kentucky’s veterans and military families have had enough of Senator McConnell’s blind allegiance to President Bush’s failed war policy, and tonight we saw this,” said Brian Smith of Louisville, a veteran of the U.S. Army who attended the event to make sure that the voices of Kentucky veterans opposed to the war were heard as well. “The groundswell of opposition to this endless war reaches all corners of Kentucky, and includes veterans and those with loved ones serving in Iraq. Senator McConnell has stood by President Bush and the war in Iraq for five years, and I think he’s probably finding it pretty lonely.”
Anger has reached a boiling point across the country as the President and Republican allies in Congress led by Sen. McConnell continue to stay the course on a failed war policy while Iraq is bogged down in a religious civil war. More than 70-percent of the American public believes it’s time to bring an end to the war in Iraq. Americans Against Escalation in Iraq harnessed that anger this summer with a nationwide, 10-week long campaign with nearly 100 organizers in 15 states and 40 congressional districts to turn up the heat on Republican members of Congress who have opposed setting a timeline to bring a safe and responsible end to the war in Iraq. In response, a couple of White House allies including “Vets for Freedom” launched PR front campaigns to try and shore up support among Republicans whose constituents want an end to the war. Although “Vets for Freedom” claimed to be organizing in 25 states [Politico, 8/9/2007, Wednesday’s Northern Kentucky event was one of the few public events they’ve held and it clearly shows that the grassroots momentum and energy remains on the side of those calling for an end to the war.
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