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The Superior Telegram reports: Although the temperatures were frigid, more than 20 people from Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, Sawyer, Washburn and Barron counties gathered for an hour in front of the Old Post Office on Wednesday to voice their support for U.S. Rep. Dave Obey and U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold. Both have recently spoken out against the war in Afghanistan. WNPJ member Steve Carlson organized the event.By Jan Conley/For the Daily Telegram
Although the temperatures were frigid, more than 20 people from Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, Sawyer, Washburn and Barron counties gathered for an hour in front of the Old Post Office on Wednesday to voice their support for U.S. Rep. Dave Obey and U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold. Both have recently spoken out against the war in Afghanistan.
“We’ve got people coming from counties across half of Dave’s district today to thank him,” said Steve Carlson of Trego, who organized the event through Progressive Democrats of America.
Obey, he said, is listening to voters and reflecting that publically and in congress.
The Wausau lawmaker, head of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, has called the proposed influx of new troops to Afghanistan “a fool’s errand” and has suggested he may oppose the $50 billion needed for the first year of the surge
In a Dec. 4, New York Times article, Obey stated the war could cost “from $500 billion to $900 billion over the next decade, which could devour our ability to pay for the actions needed to rebuild our economy.”
Standing in the cold Wednesday, Robert Shiflet echoed that sentiment.
“Use the money wisely, just like it was your own budget,” said Shiflet of Bennett. “We wouldn’t be throwing our money away on something that wasn’t necessary.”
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said, are not a need; health care is.
“I just talked to people at our local grocery store who said their insurance was going to go up 40 percent,” said Don Posh of Spooner. “How do you justify 40 percent?”
According to the National Priorities Project, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have already cost Douglas County taxpayers $94 million.
Obey has called for a war tax to pay for the cost of the conflict in Afghanistan instead of using borrowed money.
“Dave Obey has talked about the war tax, and we back that,” Posh said. “Because everybody should share in the pain of this war.”
Jerry Schlei of Cumberland would like to see Obey take things one step further.
“I’d like to see him use his power to stop the funding for war in Afghanistan,” leading to a responsible pulling back. “If you keep funding it indefinitely, then they’ll keep going indefinitely.”
Carlson would like to see these oversea efforts take on a new mission.
“We need to start considering not funding military operations in these countries but rather humanitarian operations,” he said. “If we want a long-term peace, we have to have something to offer these folks.”
Feingold, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, does not support the decision to send additional troops to fight a war in Afghanistan that is “no longer in our national security interest.” In the New York Times article, he expressed concerns that the move could destabilize Afghanistan and the surrounding area, in particular Pakistan, which has nuclear capabilities.
For a year and a half, local constituents have been gathering with signs in Ashland, Rice Lake, Hayward and Superior to advocate “Healthcare not Warfare.”
“We’re here exercising our First Amendment rights,” Carlson said, and the public has heard them. Now, they are moving their venue to in front of congressional offices.
After the Wednesday gathering, participating individuals from Grandmothers for Peace, Lake Superior Greens, Peace North and the Progressive Democrats of America went into Obey’s field office to leave messages for him.
They encouraged him to stand his ground.
“We want Dave to continue to be the person that’s bringing that up in public,” Carlson said.
The lawmaker has been in Washington, D.C. for 40 years.
“People listen to him and we appreciate him listening to us,” Carlson said.
Beginning in January, PDA will launch a nationwide campaign at field offices around the country, bringing the concerns of local citizens to their members of Congress.
“Post-Obama, not a lot of people want to get out and oppose war, but I think that we’re going to have to,” Carlson said.
The President seems inclined to listen, he said, “but he’s got to hear from us.”
Telegram writer Maria Lockwood contributed to this story.