U.S. Groups Look Forward to New Congress
On national security - Council for a Livable World The 2006 election has changed the direction of our country....The voters rejected the failed policies of George W. Bush in Iraq and elected thoughtful and dedicated advocates of responsible national security policies. These excellent additions to the Senate significantly increase the number of Senators and Representatives prepared to work for a world free of weapons of mass destruction. Read More On globalism and diplomacy - Citizens for Global Solutions Across the nation, setting aside ideological and partisan divides, voters cast their ballots to elect globally-minded leaders to the U.S. House of Representative and the U.S. Senate....Voters went to the polls with a strong commitment and belief in an engaged and multilateral U.S. foreign policy. In polling released just before the elections, a broad majority of Americans articulated their support the United Nations and working with other countries. Read More On energy policy - Network for New Energy Choices
Read More On climate change - Environmental Defense While the Senate remains too close to call, it's clear that we will be working with a new Democratic majority in the House. We must take this opportunity to send an important message about global warming -- the most threatening environmental issue of our time. Send an email to incoming Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi... Read More On women's rights - Feminist Majority Foundation Across the country, anti-abortion ballot measures were defeated and minimum wage increases passed in six states. The punitive ban on abortion in South Dakota, with no exceptions except to "prevent the death" of the woman, was defeated 56 to 44 percent. "This draconian ban was a threat to the lives and health of South Dakotan women, and its defeat is a tremendous victory," said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, which organized opposition to the ban on college campuses in South Dakota. Read More On gay rights - National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (via CivilRights.org) For the first time, a proposed constitutional amendment to ban any form of legal recognition for same-sex couples was poised for defeat, and 39 percent of voters opposed the bans, a significant increase over the 33 percent who opposed similar ballot measures in 2004...."It's clear that fear-mongering around same-sex marriage by the GOP and the extreme Christian right is fizzling out," said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "It doesn't have the juice it had just two years ago -- people are getting sick of it." Read More On Iraq - Foreign Policy in Focus For the first time in decades, a foreign policy issue, the Iraq War, dominated the electoral landscape. Both in polls before the elections and in exit polling, voters were clear that their votes were cast for a change in Iraq. The Washington Post reported that, "Fifty-six percent of voters support withdrawing some or all U.S. troops from Iraq, which will embolden Democrats pushing for a pullout." Read More On the rural vote - Center for Rural Strategies
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User comments
"new Congress, on some things we may be in majority"Author:
Judith Baker
Time: 10.11.2006 22:48
Comment: This election certainly should remind progressive people that all the work we've been doing for years has been paying off. All the ways we've been trying to convince people that foreign policies supporting peace and domestic policies for fairness have been noticed and won lots of friends.
I think we now have a great opportunity to reach out to a lot of people who we have been hesitant to try to work with before. Certainly we can work with more people now around minimum wage, education, health care, immigrant rights, housing, rebuilding New Orleans and so on. But I think it's also a great time to talk to people about what a foreign policy would look like which fits the values of most Americans - which supports the legitimate aspirations of people in Africa, Latin America and beyond. We could miss this chance if we are opportunistic and play to those same fears or hostile foreigners who steal jobs and become terrorists the Bush administration exploited. 'Moderate' Americans care about the suffering caused by AIDS, malaria, war and natural disaster, and I doubt they approve of sweatshops or trafficking women and children. But they aren't usually involved in decisions concerning foreign aid, the UN and other international policy. I think we have to adjust our rhetoric to a wider audience, make alliances with a wider range of people, all the while making more people aware of how we can build a more respectful US presence in a more just world. |
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