Dear MoveOn Member, I want to thank those of you who have responded to previous alerts on Iraq. We've had an enormous response -- over 70,000 phone calls in the last two weeks -- and we know that members of Congress are hearing that their constituents overwhelmingly oppose a war with Iraq.
But since some of our elected representatives still aren't listening, and since the stakes for our democracy and world stability could not be much higher, I'm asking for your help once again. As the Senate and House rush toward a vote authorizing Bush's unilateral attack on Iraq, some heroic Senators and Representatives have spoken out against this blank check for war. Senator Robert Byrd, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, is so angry about the haste with which we're moving to war and the unanswered questions that still remain that there's a good likelihood that he will launch a filibuster by Tuesday. In a filibuster, a Senator is allowed up to 30 hours to voice his opinion, unless 60 of his colleagues vote for the filibuster to end. The use of a filibuster indicates that a particular piece of legislation is so odious to a Senator that he or she is willing to stop all Senate business until a compromise is reached. If the majority of the members of Congress will not do their jobs, ask the hard questions, and represent the will of a very large segment of the American public, it's time for the brave few to filibuster. It's the Senate's form of civil disobedience -- a procedural monkey wrench that may be our last, best hope for substantive changes to the resolution authorizing Bush's unilateral attack on Iraq. When Senator Byrd and several of his courageous colleagues launch a filibuster, pro-war Senators will immediately try to end it. By contacting your Senators and asking them to support a filibuster against the Iraq resolution, you can play a key role in ensuring that President Bush doesn't get a blank check for war. Please take action today. The vote could come as soon as Tuesday if the filibuster is not supported. Please contact your Senators right now at: Calling the local office is more effective than calling the Washington, D.C. office. Even if your Senators have indicated that they will support the resolution, it's still worth calling -- we need to keep the pressure on. When you reach a staffer, tell him or her that you're a constituent of the Senator's. Then simply say that you hope the Senator will support a filibuster against the use of force resolution on Iraq. Please make your call today to support Senator Byrd and the other heroes of the Senate. P.S. For more information, go to our page of links and resources on Iraq at: http://www.moveon.org/infoiraq.html
