03/01/06 The Battles Begin, Group Here Is Taking On The Anti-war Referendum
Referendum Warriors Go To Battle
Zogby Poll Finds Troops Strongly Favor U.s. Pullout
The Capital Times
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
With a month to go before voters in at least 30 Wisconsin municipalities will have a chance to weigh in on the war in Iraq, a pro-war group in Dane County has entered the battlefield.
About three weeks ago, three Dane County Republican Party officials registered the Vote NO to Cut and Run political action committee, and about a week ago they launched a Web site at votenotocutandrun.com.
The site, and a planned bumper sticker and yard sign camaign, are a direct response to a referendum on the April 4 ballot asking voters if they want the U.S. to begin the withdrawl of troops from Iraq now. The referendum had made it on the ballot in Madison, Monona, Mount Horeb and about 27 other municipalities across the state.
"We just want to get the word out that we are supporting the troops," said Sam Johnson, a Dane County Republican Party discrict chair.
"We want the troops home as much as our opposition," he added. "We just don't want them home now, before the mission is accomplished."
He said the effort is bipartisan, reaching out to Democrats as well as Republicans. He said the PAC is receiving no Republican Party funding, but is operating on funds donated specifically for the anti-referendum effort.
As voting day approaches, both sides are rolling out the yard signs. The Bring Our Troops Home Coalition -- a group of Democrats, Greens, church groups, peace activists and others who spearheaded the signature-gathering efforts to get the referendums on Wisconsin ballots -- has printed 1,000 yard signs. Some are staying in Dane County, while others are heading to Baraboo and La Crosse.
Johnson said his group has printed 500 yard signs, and expects to dispense as many as 650 bumper stickers, concentrating its efforts in Dane County.
One activity that will not be taking place is an open debate.
Bring Our Troops Home organizer Steve Burns said he's tried repeatedly to engage pro-war activists in a public debate. He's called the three Dane County Republicans organizing the pro-war effort -- Johnson, Bill Richardson and Wendy Fjelstad -- and numerous others, and asked them to participate in an open debate. No takers.
"They either didn't return e-mails or phone calls or simply said no," Burns said.
Johnson confirmed that pro-war organizers are avoiding a public debate. "We know from experience it would serve their purposes more than ours to have a one-on-one debate," he said.
He explained that anti-war activists are too prone to screaming and are solely motivated by hatred for President Bush.
"We don't want to get in a shouting and screaming match with people who are basically irrational," he said.
\ E-mail: selbow@madison.com