Left-Right Antiwar Meeting, Part 2

In a followup to my first post on this matter, I now publish this email from Kevin Zeese, dated Feb 24, 2010:

Last weekend Voters for Peace sponsored a unique event in antiwar movement history. We brought together people from across the political spectrum who oppose war, militarism, and American Empire.

The purpose of the meeting of about 40 people was to determine whether it was possible for people who disagree on a wide range of issues but oppose militarism can work together to end war. The signs are very positive that such a working relationship is possible and desirable. We are now exploring next steps which we will announce to you.

But let me give you some sense of the event through excerpts from the biographies of some of the people present:

* a Robert A. Taft Fellow at the American Conservative Defense Alliance;

* a Special Assistant to Ronald Reagan;

* the founder of the New Left Journal;

* the author of the Encyclopedia of the American Left;

* the President of the Howard Center for Family, Religion, and Society;

* a writer who covers national security for Rolling Stone;

* the President of Veterans for Peace;

* an editor of Black Agenda Report;

* a national affairs correspondent for The Nation;

* an associate professor at the Naval Postgraduate School;

* an executive editor of The American Conservative;

* a communications coordinator for the Ron Paul campaign;

* press secretary for Nader for President;

* a legislative aide for the armed services for Senator Robert Taft, Jr.;

* a military adviser to Senator Gary Hart;

* a former chairman of the Rockford Institute;

* an editor of Progressive Review;

* an editor of The Nation; the managing editor of Reason;

* a member of Students for Democratic Society at University of Maryland at College Park;

* a member of Young Americans for Liberty;

* and the chairperson of Boston Area Physicians for Social Responsibility.

It was a politically diverse group. We had one thing in common -- opposition to the bloated U.S. military and American Empire.

Those who represent red or blue congressional districts need to know that they have constituents from across the political spectrum who vote and who oppose U.S. militarism. Conservatives who question the current wars and the overly generous military budget need to know they are not alone and there is a long history of antiwar conservatism.

This week the U.S. had its 1,000th service member die in Afghanistan. Earlier in the week, two dozen more civilians were killed when the U.S. ordered aerial bombardment of three buses.

The devastation caused by American militarism is shown in these stark realities. The issues of weapons and war are so serious that we need to put aside other differences and create a broad-based coalition that pulls in Americans from across the political spectrum.

We seek to create antiwar advocacy that reflects America -- its wide range of political views and its widespread opposition to war. Currently, those views are excluded from the political discussion. We aim to change that.

See an article about our coalition here.

More articles will be coming out and we will republish them at Voters for Peace, so keep watching.

I'm interested to know your thoughts on this new direction. Please let me know. And I hope you will support our efforts by making a donation now.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Kevin Zeese, Executive Director, Voters for Peace