Author: Janet Strange

Democrats.com links to a list of all Senators, some identified as “Democratic swing vote” and others as “Democrat not supporting filibuster.”

I cut out all of those and pasted them below. Note that the list includes local office fax and phone numbers, which may be useful since reports are that many the DC voicemail boxes and fax machines are now full or turned off. (WOO-HOO! We’re getting through!)

If you fax – it has been suggested that hand-written faxes have more of an impact.

I’ve also included the pro-choice Republicans. This may give you some ammunition for them:

RMC Opposes Judge Alito for Supreme Court

The Republican Majority for Choice (RMC) regrettably announces its opposition to the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

Suggested message – for swing voters, ask them to support the filibuster. For those who have declared that they are opposed to a filibuster, ask them to vote “present” on the cloture vote. Remind them that a no vote is meaningless if they vote yes on cloture.
Senator Blanche Lambert Lincoln [AR]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-4843 (phone), 202-228-1371 (fax)
Dumas, 870-382-1023 (phone), 870-382-1026 (fax)
Texarkana, 870-774-3106 (phone), 870-774-7627 (fax)
Little Rock, 501-375-2993 (phone), 501-375-7064 (fax)
Fayetteville, 479-251-1224 (phone), 479-251-1410 (fax)
Jonesboro, 870-910-6896 (phone), 870-910-6898 (fax)

Senator Mark Pryor [AR]  DEMOCRAT NOT SUPPORTING FILIBUSTER
Washington, 202-224-2353 (phone), 202-228-0908 (fax)
Little Rock, 501-324-6336 (phone), 501-324-5320 (fax)

Senator Ken Salazar [CO]  DEMOCRAT NOT SUPPORTING FILIBUSTER
Washington, 202-224-5852 (phone), 202-228-5036 (fax)
Alamosa, 719-587-0096 (phone), 719-587-0098 (fax)
Fort Morgan, 970-542-9446 (phone), 970-542-3088 (fax)
Colorado Springs, 719-328-1100 (phone), 719-328-1129 (fax)
Fort Collins, 970-224-2200 (phone), 970-224-2205 (fax)
Pueblo, 719-542-7550 (phone), 719-542-7555 (fax)
Durango, 970-259-1710 (phone), 970-259-9789 (fax)
Grand Junction, 970-241-6631 (phone), 970-241-8313 (fax)
Denver, 303-455-7600 (phone), 303-455-8851 (fax)

Senator Joseph I Lieberman [CT]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-4041 (phone), 202-224-9750 (fax)
Hartford, 860-549-8463 (phone), 860-549-8478 (fax)

Senator Joseph R Biden Jr [DE]  DEMOCRAT NOT SUPPORTING FILIBUSTER
Washington, 202-224-5042 (phone), 202-224-0139 (fax)
Wilmington, 302-573-6345 (phone), 302-573-6351 (fax)
Milford, 302-424-8090 (phone), 302-424-8098 (fax)

Senator Thomas R Carper [DE]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-2441 (phone), 202-228-2190 (fax)
Georgetown, 302-856-7690 (phone)
Dover, 302-674-3308 (phone)
Wilmington, 302-573-6291 (phone)

Senator Bill Nelson [FL]  DEMOCRAT NOT SUPPORTING FILIBUSTER
Washington, 202-224-5274 (phone), 202-228-2183 (fax)
Tallahassee, 850-942-8415 (phone), 850-942-8450 (fax)
West Palm Beach, 561-514-0189 (phone), 561-514-4078 (fax)
Tampa, 813-225-7040 (phone), 813-225-7050 (fax)
Jacksonville, 904-346-4500 (phone), 904-346-4506 (fax)
Coral Gables, 305-536-5999 (phone), 305-536-5991 (fax)
Ft. Myers, 239-334-7760 (phone), 239-334-7710 (fax)
Davie, 954-693-4851 (phone), 954-693-4862 (fax)
Orlando, 888-671-4091 (phone), 407-872-7165 (fax)

Senator Daniel K Inouye [HI]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-3934 (phone), 202-224-6747 (fax)
Wailuku Maui, 808-242-9702 (phone), 808-242-7233 (fax)
Lihue Kauai, 808-245-4611 (phone), 808-246-9515 (fax)
Kaunakakai, 808-642-0203 (phone), 808-560-3385 (fax)
Honolulu, 808-541-2542 (phone), 808-541-2549 (fax)
Hilo, 808-935-0844 (phone), 808-961-5163 (fax)
Kealakekua, 808-935-0844 (phone), 808-961-5163 (fax)

Senator Daniel K Akaka [HI]  DEMOCRAT NOT SUPPORTING FILIBUSTER
Washington, 202-224-6361 (phone), 202-224-2126 (fax)
Honolulu, 808-522-8970 (phone), 808-545-4683 (fax)
Hilo, 808-935-1114 (phone), 808-935-9064 (fax)

Senator Tom Harkin [IA]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-3254 (phone), 202-224-9369 (fax)
Des Moines, 515-284-4574 (phone), 515-284-4937 (fax)
Cedar Rapids, 319-365-4504 (phone), 319-365-4683 (fax)
Davenport, 563-322-1338 (phone), 563-322-0417 (fax)
Dubuque, 563-582-2130 (phone), 563-582-2342 (fax)
Sioux City, 712-252-1550 (phone), 712-252-1638 (fax)

Senator Barack Obama [IL]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-2854 (phone), 202-228-4260 (fax)
Springfield, 217-492-5089 (phone), 217-492-5099 (fax)
Chicago, 312-886-3506 (phone), 312-886-3514 (fax)
Marion, 618-997-2402 (phone), 618-997-2850 (fax)

Senator Evan Bayh [IN]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-5623 (phone), 202-228-1377 (fax)
South Bend, 574-236-8302 (phone)
Hammond, 219-852-2763 (phone)
Evansville, 812-465-6500 (phone)
Jeffersonville, 812-218-2317 (phone)
Indianapolis, 317-554-0750 (phone), 317-554-0760 (fax)
Fort Wayne, 260-426-3151 (phone)

Senator Mary Landrieu [LA]  DEMOCRAT NOT SUPPORTING FILIBUSTER
Washington, 202-224-5824 (phone), 202-224-9735 (fax)
Lake Charles, 337-436-6650 (phone), 337-439-3762 (fax)
New Orleans, 504-589-2427 (phone), 504-589-4023 (fax)
Shreveport, 318-676-3085 (phone), 318-676-3100 (fax)
Baton Rouge, 225-389-0395 (phone), 225-389-0660 (fax)

Senator Paul S Sarbanes [MD]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-4524 (phone), 202-224-1651 (fax)
Salisbury, 410-860-2131 (phone), 410-860-2134 (fax)
Cumberland, 301-724-0695 (phone), 301-724-4660 (fax)
Silver Spring, 301-589-0797 (phone), 301-589-0598 (fax)
Baltimore, 410-962-4436 (phone), 410-962-4156 (fax)
Bryans Road, 301-283-0947 (phone), 301-375-8914 (fax)

Senator Barbara A Mikulski [MD]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-4654 (phone), 202-224-8858 (fax)
Salisbury, 410-546-7711 (phone), 410-546-9324 (fax)
Greenbelt, 301-345-5517 (phone), 301-345-7573 (fax)
Annapolis, 410-263-1805 (phone), 410-263-5949 (fax)
Hagerstown, 301-797-2826 (phone), 301-797-2241 (fax)
Baltimore, 410-962-4510 (phone), 410-962-4760 (fax)

Senator Carl Levin [MI]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-6221 (phone), 202-224-1388 (fax)
Grand Rapids, 616-456-2531 (phone), 616-456-5147 (fax)
Saginaw, 989-754-2494 (phone), 989-754-2920 (fax)
Escanaba, 906-789-0052 (phone), 906-789-0015 (fax)
Traverse City, 231-947-9569 (phone), 231-947-9518 (fax)
Lansing, 517-377-1508 (phone), 517-377-1506 (fax)
Warren, 586-573-9145 (phone), 586-573-8260 (fax)
Detroit, 313-226-6020 (phone), 313-226-6948 (fax)

Senator Mark Dayton [MN]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-3244 (phone), 202-228-2186 (fax)
Fort Snelling, 888-224-9043 (phone), 612-727-5223 (fax)
Biwabik, 218-865-4480 (phone), 218-865-4667 (fax)
Renville, 320-905 (phone)
East Grand Forks, 218-773-1110 (phone), 218-773-1993 (fax)

Senator Max Baucus [MT]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-2651 (phone), 202-224-0515 (fax)
Billings, 406-657-6790 (phone)
Helena, 406-449-5480 (phone)
Great Falls, 406-761-1574 (phone)
Missoula, 406-329-3123 (phone)
Butte, 406-782-8700 (phone)
Kalispell, 406-756-1150 (phone)
Bozeman, 406-586-6104 (phone)

Senator Kent Conrad [ND]  DEMOCRAT NOT SUPPORTING FILIBUSTER
Washington, 202-224-2043 (phone), 202-224-7776 (fax)
Minot, 701-852-0703 (phone), 701-838-8196 (fax)
Grand Forks, 701-775-9601 (phone), 701-746-1990 (fax)
Fargo, 701-232-8030 (phone), 701-232-6449 (fax)
Bismarck, 701-258-4648 (phone), 701-258-1254 (fax)

Senator Byron L Dorgan [ND]  DEMOCRAT NOT SUPPORTING FILIBUSTER
Washington, 202-224-2551 (phone), 202-224-1193 (fax)
Grand Forks, 701-746-8972 (phone), 701-746-9122 (fax)
Bismarck, 701-250-4618 (phone), 701-250-4484 (fax)
Minot, 701-852-0703 (phone), 701-838-8196 (fax)
Fargo, 701-239-5389 (phone), 701-239-5112 (fax)

Senator Ben Nelson [NE]  DEMOCRAT SUPPORTING ALITO
Washington, 202-224-6551 (phone), 202-228-0012 (fax)
Lincoln, 402-441-4600 (phone), 402-476-8753 (fax)
Omaha, 402-391-3411 (phone), 402-391-4725 (fax)

Senator Robert Menendez [NJ]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-4744 (phone), 202-228-2197 (fax)
Newark, 973-645-3030 (phone)

Senator Frank Lautenberg [NJ]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-3224 (phone), 202-228-4054 (fax)
Camden, 856-338-8922 (phone), 856-338-8936 (fax)
Newark, 973-639-8700 (phone), 973-639-8723 (fax)

Senator Jeff Bingaman [NM]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-5521 (phone), 202-224-2852 (fax)
Santa Fe, 505-988-6647 (phone)
Las Vegas, 505-454-8824 (phone)
Albuquerque, 505-346-6601 (phone)
Las Cruces, 505-523-6561 (phone)
Roswell, 505-622-7113 (phone)

Senator Jack Reed [RI]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-4642 (phone), 202-224-4680 (fax)
Cranston, 800-284-4200 (phone), 401-464-6837 (fax)
Providence, 401-528-5200 (phone), 401-528-5242 (fax)

Senator Tim Johnson [SD]  DEMOCRAT SUPPORTING ALITO DESPITE SAYING HE’S “TROUBLED”
Washington, 202-224-5842 (phone), 202-228-5765 (fax)
Aberdeen, 605-226-3440 (phone), 605-226-2439 (fax)
Sioux Falls, 605-332-8896 (phone), 605-332-2824 (fax)
Rapid City, 605-341-3990 (phone), 605-341-2207 (fax)

Senator Robert C Byrd [WV]  DEMOCRAT SUPPORTING ALITO DESPITE THREAT TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL SEPARATION OF POWERS
Washington, 202-224-3954 (phone), 202-228-0002 (fax)
Charleston, 304-342-5855 (phone), 304-343-7144 (fax)

Senator John D Rockefeller IV [WV]  DEMOCRAT SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-6472 (phone), 202-224-7665 (fax)
Fairmont, 304-367-0122 (phone), 304-367-0822 (fax)
Martinsburg, 304-262-9285 (phone), 304-262-9288 (fax)
Charleston, 304-347-5372 (phone), 304-347-5371 (fax)
Beckley, 304-253-9704 (phone), 304-253-2578 (fax)

Senator Lincoln D Chafee [RI]  REPUBLICAN SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-2921 (phone), 202-228-2853 (fax)
Providence, 401-453-5294 (phone)
Newport, 401-845-0700 (phone)

Senator Olympia Snowe [ME]  REPUBLICAN SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-5344 (phone), 202-224-1946 (fax)
Bangor, 207-945-0432 (phone), 207-941-9525 (fax)
Presque Isle, 207-764-5124 (phone), 207-764-6420 (fax)
Biddeford, 207-282-4144 (phone), 207-284-2358 (fax)
Auburn, 207-786-2451 (phone), 207-782-1438 (fax)
Augusta, 207-622-8292 (phone), 207-622-7295 (fax)
Portland, 207-874-0883 (phone), 207-874-7631 (fax)

Senator Susan Collins [ME] REPUBLICAN SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-2523 (phone), 202-224-2693 (fax)
Biddeford, 207-283-1101 (phone), 207-283-4054 (fax)
Portland, 207-780-3575 (phone), 207-828-0380 (fax)
Caribou, 207-493-7873 (phone), 207-493-7810 (fax)
Bangor, 207-945-0417 (phone), 207-990-4604 (fax)
Augusta, 207-622-8414 (phone), 207-622-5884 (fax)
Lewiston, 207-784-6969 (phone), 207-782-6475 (fax)

Senator Ted Stevens [AK]REPUBLICAN SWING VOTE
Washington, 202-224-3004 (phone), 202-224-2354 (fax)
Fairbanks, 907-456-0261 (phone), 907-451-7290 (fax)
Juneau, 907-586-7400 (phone), 907-586-8922 (fax)
Anchorage, 907-271-5915 (phone), 907-258-9305 (fax)
Kenai, 907-283-5808 (phone), 907-283-4363 (fax)
Wasilla, 907-376-7665 (phone), 907-376-8526 (fax)
Bethel, 907-543-1638 (phone), 907-543-1637 (fax)
Ketchikan, 907-225-6880 (phone), 907-225-0390 (fax)

Update: Added Stevens as an R to keep up the pressure on, per Sen. Kennedy’s request, as reported at Democrats.com.

Howie in Seattle reports:

One aide said part of the problem is that Democratic senators haven’t felt a groundswell of opposition from constituents. . . .

“People aren’t engaged in this fight,” one senior aide said. “The reality is this isn’t something that American people are calling in droves about.

“This is a fight for history, you can’t just take the issue off the table,” the aide continued. “Does the country understand what’s at stake right now? Probably not. But they will when Alito does damage to our Constitution, and if we don’t fight now, voters will say a pox on both our houses.”

Phone them all. Or fax them. Or as many as you can. Here are the numbers:

Akaka, Daniel K. D-HI     Ph.  (202) 224-6361     Fax (202) 224-2126

Baucus, Max D-MT     Ph.  (202) 224-2651     Fax (202) 224-4700

Bayh, B. Evan D-IN     Ph.  (202) 224-5623     Fax (202) 228-1377

Biden, Joseph R. D-DE     Ph.  (202) 224-5042     Fax (202) 224-0139

Bingaman, Jeff  D-NM     Ph.  (202) 224-5521     Fax (202) 224-2852

Boxer, Barbara  D-CA     Ph.  (202) 224-3553     Fax (415) 956-6701

Byrd, Robert C.  D-WV     Ph.  (202) 224-3954     Fax (202) 228-0002

Cantwell, Maria  D-WA     Ph.  (202) 224-3441     Fax (202) 228-0514

Carper, Thomas R.  D-DE     Ph.  (202) 224-2441     Fax (202) 228-2190

Clinton, Hillary Rodham  D-NY Ph.  (202) 224-4451 Fax (202) 228-0282

Conrad, Kent  D-ND Ph.  (202) 224-2043 Fax (202) 224-7776

Dayton, Mark  D-MN Ph.  (202) 224-3244 Fax (202) 228-2186

Dodd, Christopher J.  D-CT Ph.  (202) 224-2823 Fax (202) 224-1083

Dorgan, Byron L.  D-ND Ph.  (202) 224-2551 Fax (202) 224-1193

Durbin, Richard J.  D-IL Ph.  (202) 224-2152 Fax (202) 228-0400

Feingold, Russ  D -WI     Ph.  (202) 224-5323     Fax (202) 224-2725

Feinstein, Dianne  D-CA     Ph.  (202) 224-3841     Fax (202) 228-3954

Harkin, Tom  D-IA     Ph.  (202) 224-3254     Fax (202) 224-9369

Inouye, Daniel K.  D-HI     Ph.  (202) 224-3934     Fax (202) 224-6747

Johnson, Tim P.  D-SD     Ph.  (202) 224-5842     Fax (202) 228-5765

Kennedy, Edward M.  D-MA     Ph.  (202) 224-4543     Fax (202) 224-2417

Kerry, John F.      D-MA     Ph.  (202) 224-2742     Fax (202) 224-8525

Kohl, Herbert H.  D-WI     Ph.  (202) 224-5653     Fax (202) 224-9787

Landrieu, Mary L.  D-LA     Ph.  (202) 224-5824     Fax (202) 224-9735

Lautenberg, Frank  D-NJ     Ph.  (202) 224-3224     Fax (202) 228-4054

Leahy, Patrick J.  D-VT     Ph.  (202) 224-4242     Fax (202) 224-3479

Levin, Carl  D-MI     Ph.  (202) 224-6221     Fax (202) 224-1388

Lieberman, Joseph I.  D-CT     Ph.  (202) 224-4041     Fax (202) 224-9750

Lincoln, Blanche D-AR     Ph.  (202) 224-4843     Fax (202) 228-1371

Menendez, Robert Ph. (202) 224-4744 Fax (202) 228-2197

Mikulski, Barbara A.  D-MD     Ph.  (202) 224-4654     Fax (202) 224-8858

Murray, Patty  D-WA     Ph.  (202) 224-2621     Fax (202) 224-0238

Nelson, Bill  D-FL     Ph.  (202) 224-5274     Fax (202) 228-2183

Nelson, E. Benjamin  D-NE     Ph.  (202) 224-6551     Fax (202) 228-0012

Obama, Barack Ph. (202) 224-2854 Fax (202) 228-4260

Pryor, Mark  D-AR     Ph.  (202) 224-2353     Fax (202) 228-0908

Reed, John F.  D-RI     Ph.  (202) 224-4642     Fax (202) 224-4680

Reid, Harry  D-NV     Ph.  (202) 224-3542     Fax (202) 224-7327

Rockefeller, John  D-WV     Ph.  (202) 224-6472     Fax (202) 224-7665

Salazar, Ken Ph. (202) 224-5852 (202) 228-5036

Sarbanes, Paul S.  D-MD     Ph.  (202) 224-4524     Fax (202) 224-1651

Schumer, Charles E.  D-NY     Ph.  (202) 224-6542     Fax (202) 228-3027

Stabenow, Debbie  D-MI     Ph.  (202) 224-4822     Fax (202) 228-0325

Wyden, Ron D-OR     Ph.  (202) 224-5244     Fax (202) 228-2717

I’m posting this as a diary so y’all can hotlist for easy reference if you like. Please let me know if you find any errors so I can correct them.

Here’s a link to the For Justice Day 12 diary which has links to the other 11 days, in case you need more ammunition. (What can I say, you guys? Amazing work. Thanks.)

And to today’s NYTimes editorial, Judging Samuel Alito. Lays out what’s at stake very well.

General format for a letter or fax:

Date
The Honorable (full name)
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator (last name):

[Your letter]

Sincerely,
[Your name and address]

Now go get ’em!
The Honorable Arlen Specter
711 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-4254
Fax (202) 228-1229
http://specter.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInfo.Home

The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch
104 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-5251
Fax (202) 224-6331
http://hatch.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Offices.Contact

The Honorable Charles E. Grassley
135 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-5972
Fax (202) 224-6020
http://grassley.senate.gov/webform.htm

The Honorable Jon Kyl
730 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-4521
Fax (202) 224-2207
http://kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm

The Honorable Mike DeWine
140 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-2315
Fax (202) 224-6519
http://dewine.senate.gov

The Honorable Jeff Sessions
335 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-4124
Fax (202) 224-3149
http://sessions.senate.gov/email/contact.cfm

The Honorable Lindsey Graham
290 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-5972
Fax (202) 224-3808
http://lgraham.senate.gov/index.cfm?mode=contact

The Honorable John Cornyn
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-2934
Fax (202) 228-2856
http://cornyn.senate.gov/contact/index.html

The Honorable Sam Brownback
303 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-6521
Fax (202) 228-1265
http://brownback.senate.gov/CMEmailMe.cfm

The Honorable Tom Coburn
172 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-5754
Fax: 202-224-6008
http://coburn.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy
433 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-4242
Fax (202) 224-3479
senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov

The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-4543
Fax (202) 224-2417
http://kennedy.senate.gov/contact.html

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
201 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-5042
Fax (202) 224-0139
senator@biden.senate.gov

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-3841
Fax (202) 228-3954
http://feinstein.senate.gov/email.html

The Honorable Russell D. Feingold
506 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-5323
Fax (202) 224-2725
russell_feingold@feingold.senate.gov

The Honorable Herbert Kohl
330 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-5653
Fax (202) 224-9787
http://kohl.senate.gov/gen_contact.html

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-6542
Fax (202) 228-3027
http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/contact/webform.cfm

The Honorable Richard J. Durbin
332 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Ph. (202) 224-2152
Fax (202) 228-0400
http://durbin.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Just what the hell is this “Democratic Party” that various people on this blog are threatening to leave?

Look, in the 70’s and early 80’s Democrats were losing elections right and left. The Reaganauts were dismantling everything they could of whatever was left of the New Deal and the Great Society and the War on Poverty and the Civil Rights movement as fast as they could. Most of the Democrats in office and in visible support roles were supine, rolling over. They had no new ideas. They had the enthusiasm and energy of overcooked broccoli. All they cared about was protecting whatever crumbs of their own personal power they could.

So some Democrat governors got together and made an alternative to the entrenched party structure. They called it the DLC. They had some good ideas. They had some bad ideas. But they didn’t like what they saw and got to work making an alternative to it. They won elections.  

Now the DLC is the entrenched, moribund wing of the Democratic Party. Fuck `em. Their time is past.
In January, I went to my first DFT meeting. This was a few weeks before Howard Dean was elected to chair the DNC and one of the speakers was a DNC member telling us about the behind the scenes of the race for DNC chair. Explaining what the DNC is and how it works. How he got to be a member of it – it’s an elected position. He ran for it. He campaigned, just like for any other elected position.  He won.

Some guy got up and started ranting about how the Democratic Party needs to do this, and the Democratic Party had to stop doing that, or else he was leaving the Party, he wasn’t going to give “them” another goddamned penny until they started . . .  whatever. Two hundred people shouted him down. DLC guy explained it to him. YOU are the Democratic Party. You don’t like what “the party” is doing? Fine. Then get to work doing something else. You’re it.

The DNC is not the Democratic Party. The DNC is an organization that raises money for Democratic candidates and distributes that money in the way that they think will be effective. Howard Dean is adding distributing organizing skills and field workers – the 50-state strategy – to that. I like his ideas. I’ve given them some money. You don’t like it – don’t give them money.

Look, folks, the “Democratic Party” is not some group of politicians and consultants presenting a product we can sit back and watch the ads for and decide whether or not to “buy” or not. If it looks that way to you, perhaps it’s because we’ve all been so programmed to be passive consumers that we have a hard time seeing that democracy is not a product.

Democracy is what we do. If we don’t do it, someone else will. Someone else is going to be running our lives. DC consultants. Vichy democrat politicians. The DLC. Even worse – Bu$hCo and the neo-cons.

So if you don’t like what they’re doing, get to work. Do democracy. Yes, you. Run for office. Become a precinct chair. Be a delegate. Work for a candidate whose values you believe in. Join a progressive group. Organize a coup of your local county party if it’s filled with spineless hacks. Donate money if you can afford it. Donate time and energy if you can’t. Can’t get out of the house? Use your computer – the party needs website maintenance, data bases, on-line organizing tools. Inform yourself on local issues. What’s your state lege up to these days? Your city council? Your school board? Write letters to the editor supporting progressives and blasting the right-wing nutcases. Talk to your neighbors, your coworkers. Stand up for liberal progressive values. Say it out loud, “I’m a liberal and I’m proud!”

The presidential election is three years away. Getting ourselves all worked up about, – if Hillary runs I’m outta here – is a waste of energy that could be put to better use at the grassroots. Hillary could be run over by a bus before ’08. In the meantime, grow some progressive grassroots. Give voters in your city, your congressional district someone to vote for who will fight for them.

What BooMan said.

Take our country back. Yes, you.

The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam by Jerry Lembcke examines the myth of the spat-upon Vietnam veteran and comes to some conclusions that extend far beyond the question of whether or not soldiers returning from Vietnam were actually spat upon by anti-war protesters.

While acknowledging that it is impossible to prove a negative (that no veteran anywhere, anytime was ever spat upon) he presents convincing evidence that the “spat-upon veteran” was actually a fabrication designed to whip up support for wars of American empire (most specifically, Bush I’s Gulf War) and to discredit anti-war Vietnam vets and to rob them of their historical legacy.

In light of the front page stories posted by BooMan today Taking Care of our Vets and Don’t Expect the Truth, We are the Enemy it is critical that anyone who is opposed to the Iraq war heed what Lembcke has to say. BooMan’s two posts are not two separate topics – they are intimately related.

Extended quotes from The Spitting Image below. I’ve transcribed them from my copy – any errors mine. I’m going to let them stand without comment from me – if you want to know my memories of the Vietnam era – as a young woman opposed to the Vietnam war with many friends who were Vietnam vets, see my comment on leftvet’s diary Coming Home: A Vietnam Veteran Remembers. And please read his diary and the many comments left by veterans (of several wars) on it.
Important to know about The Spitting Image – it was written in 1998.

. . .  the idea that Vietnam veterans had met with malevolence gained prominence during the Fall of 1990, when the Bush administration used it to rally support for the Persian gulf War. After sending troops to the Gulf in August, the administration argued that opposition to the war was tantamount to disregard for their well-being and that such disregard was reminiscent of the treatment given to Vietnam veterans on their return home. By invoking an image of anti-war activists  spitting on veterans, the administration was able to discredit the opposition and galvanize support for the war. . . .

An analysis of the news stories gleaned from press accounts from the fall of 1990 reveals that the administration put forth one explanation after another for the impending war, to the point that nobody could reason about the rightness or wrongness of it because the objectives to be served by military means kept changing. When reasoning within a means-ends framework became paralyzed, public opinion about the war derived from emotion, symbolism , and myth. In effect, the administration invoked the image of the spat-upon Vietnam veteran to solidify support for the war and opposition to an anti-war movement that was growing rapidly during December of 1990.

The hurt and confusion that many Americans felt with the loss of the [Vietnam] war was exacerbated by the inadequacy of the attention given veterans. Assessing blame for those wrongs was part of the process by which the country put the war behind it and moved on. But the laying of blame for the loss of the war and the mistreatment of veterans at the feet of the anti-war movement was misdirected. It was a form of scapegoating, and as such it left the real sources of peoples’ troubles unaddressed. The war itself went unexamined, and the leaders who got us into it were never held accountable. America’s war in Vietnam remains a festering sore covered over by such mythic bandages as the spat-upon veteran.

The myth also functions to reverse the verdict of history, to find the innocent guilty and guilty innocent. The indicters were themselves indicted as the responsibility for the loss of the war shifted from those whose policies had failed to those who were critical of the policies all along. In the process, the resolve and resourcefulness of the Vietnamese people was denied, and the credibility and character of Vietnam veterans, who were the most convincing witnesses for the case against the government, was attacked. Initially dismissed as imposters and then discredited as deviant malcontents, this generation of “bad” war veterans were eventually recast as “mad” war veterans.

The myth sullies the reputation of those individuals and organizations who dared to dissent, and strips Vietnam veterans of their true place in history as gallant fighters against the war. The identity crisis supposedly suffered by Vietnam veterans because they were denied the military victory of their youth might be better laid at the feet of a culture that confers manhood on warriors, but not on peacemakers.

In The New Winter Soldiers, Richard Moser writes about what he calls the “soldier ideal.” The soldier is constituted of the images we have of soldiers and the values we attach to those images. There is a duality in the American soldier ideal, he says, between the dominant vision of the frontier fighter and the defender of empire, and the alternative figure of the citizen-soldier. Soldiers of the first sort live in a world separated from civilian concerns, fighting wars with neatly drawn lines between good guys and bad guys. The citizen-soldier, on the other hand, as represented by the Revolutionary War’s minuteman and by the armed fugitive slaves of the Civil War era, is someone who fights to create of defend freedom. He is a character capable of crossing boundaries, of fighting as a soldier but also as a citizen against wars he deems unjust. It is this spirit of the citizen-soldier that anti-war Vietnam veterans connected with, and thus began to transform what it means to be an American soldier. The loss of the war in Vietnam made their identification with the citizen-soldier ideal all the more imperative for Vietnam veterans. But their place as citizen soldiers who stood up against military authority, racism, and genocidal warfare was stolen from them. By the late 1970s, the culture of empire and its dominant image of the soldier ideal was reasserting itself, and the fabricators of the national imagination lent themselves to the pathologizing of the Vietnam veterans’ image.

On a societal level we have largely forgotten that much of the energy and inspiration for the anti-war movement came from the veterans themselves. Such political amnesia is dangerous. For militarists, the failure to remember the GI and veteran opposition to the war could lead to overly optimistic assessments of what to expect from soldiers in a future conflict. . . .

The Gulf War of 1990-91 is a marker by which we can assess the impact of the myth of the spat-upon Vietnam veteran on American political culture. The myth’s awesome power to sow confusion, stir political passions, and lead large numbers of citizens into war was exhibited at the time. But that was by no means the end of the story.

Reclaiming our memory of the Vietnam era entails a struggle against very powerful institutional forces that toy with our imaginings of the war for reasons of monetary, political, or professional gain. . . . it is a struggle of epic importance . . . .

Remembered as a war that was lost because of betrayal at home, Vietnam becomes a modern-day Alamo that must be avenged, a pretext for more war and generations of more veterans.

Remembered as a war in which soldiers and pacifists joined hands to fight for peace, Vietnam symbolizes popular resistance to political authority and the dominant images of what it means to be a good American. By challenging myths like that of the spat-upon Vietnam veteran, we reclaim our role in the writing of our own history, the construction of our own memory, and the making of our own identity.

It was an incredible weekend at DemFest here in Austin. This morning was Grassroots Training 101 – brilliant, common sense “how-to’s” from two campaign managers and a candidate. Our blogger’s caucus Friday afternoon was packed and the speakers, especially TX State Rep. Mark Strama, lined up by othniel were great. Being able to hang out with folks like Jeffrey Feldman (sole proprietor of the Frameshop), Barbara Radnovsky (our next Senator from Texas – woo hoo! – go Barbara!), listen to Molly Ivins and Glen Maxey tell hilarious stories about life as a liberal in Texas . . . . wow.

But I can’t put it all in one diary, and others of our group (the Austin Kossacks – here’s roses diary which includes links to more) will surely be posting some too, so I’d just like to say a few words about Jesse Jackson, Jr tonight.

Rep. Jackson and Rep. Lloyd Doggett led a panel on Legislative Updates.  

I had never heard Jackson speak. I swear I’m surprised the walls of the buildings at Huston-Tillotson University (where DemFest is being held) are still standing. The passion of the man is beautiful.

Here’s what he had to say:

The republicans have a simple theme: Less government, lower taxes, strong defense. It doesn’t matter which Republican is running for whatever office – the theme is consistent and clear. Democrats don’t have a theme. We wait for the presidential candidate to tell us what the theme is, and we rally round. Four years later – a new candidate sets a different theme, and we rally round it. Then four years later – another candidate, another theme . . . We wait each time to be told what the theme is – what Democrats stand for – this time. It’s time for us, the people, to say what Democrats stand for and for the candidate to take our message to the country.
We need to start standing for people’s rights. What rights do the Democrats fight for? . . . . NONE! We fight for policies. Now there’s nothing wrong with good policies – but every time, the Republicans co-opt our policies, distort them beyond all recognition and pass them into law. Marian Wright Edelman worked to give every child an equal, high-quality education. She called on America to “leave no child behind.” Instead of her vision, we now have the travesty known as NCLB, courtesy of the republicans. Prescription drug benefits. Protecting Social Security. Ad nauseum.

Republicans use constitutional amendments as a weapon. In non-election years, they introduce constitutional amendment after amendment – to ban gay marriage, to ban abortions, to ban flag-burning – on and on – one amendment after another. Why? It is unlikely that any of the amendments will ever make it all the way through the process and become part of our constitution. (Thank god.) They do it because during non-election years they can force votes on these proposed hateful amendments and then use the votes as a wedge when elections roll around.

Republicans use proposed constitutional amendments to define what they are for – even though what they are for is hateful, telling people what you are for is always more powerful and persuasive than telling people what you are against.

Democrats can use the same amendment process to define what we stand for. Rep. Jackson has introduced three amendments.

Did you know that we do not have a constitutional right to vote in presidential elections?

In Bush v. Gore, justices in the 5-4 majority reinforced their belief that “the individual citizen has no federal constitutional right to vote…” Although their statement refers to electoral votes for president, it reinforces the view that voting is merely a state function and a privilege granted at the discretion of those in power.

Rep. Jackson has introduced HJR 28 – an amendment to the constitution that would give us a constitutional right to vote.

He has also introduced HJR 29 The Right to A Public Education of Equal High Quality Amendment and HJR 30 The Right to Health care of equal high quality.

What is Rep. Jackson’s theme? “Toward a more perfect union.”

A few hours later at Stubb’s, Rep. Jackson had the crowd roaring with his powerful support for Howard Dean. The Backbone Campaign fought their way to the stage to present him with a Golden Backbone trophy.

And damn straight he deserves it. The Congressional Black Caucus is saving Democracy.

Our Austin Kossacks group has been excited about DemFest since we first heard about it. Looking for a way to contribute, we decided to host a Blogger’s Caucus in the Specific Interests Caucuses timeslot. Note that we’re the only caucus with a link – and it’s to our Kos at DemFest blog, natch.

Othniel has been working hard to line up speakers for the caucus and now Democracy for Texas has put up a special shout out and press release about our caucus.

Netroots organize panel for blogger’s caucus
Democracy Fest | DemocracyFest – Media | Immediate Release

State Rep. Mark Strama, Charlie of PinkDome and Dan Fletcher of lookinforward.com to address emerging role of blogs in political news and discourse

In true grassroots fashion, DemocracyFest attendees who regularly post on DailyKOS.com and other progressive political blogs have put together a panel to address the “Blogger’s Caucus” on the afternoon of June 17.

The caucus concept was planned by DemocracyFest organizers as a way for communities of interest to meet and confer during the first day of the conference, but a group of bloggers took that to the next level by bringing in their own panel of speakers notable in the blogosphere.

Pink Dome has a reputation as the snarkiest of the blogs that cover our egregious State Lege.

Mark Strama (D) won his seat to that same egregious Texas Lege by only 500 votes of 60,000 cast. As he says,

Without our tremendous grassroots and online organization, we could not have withstood the negative attacks launched against me in the last days of the election. These attacks were funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars that poured into my opponent’s campaign in the last few weeks, when it became clear that we were leading in the polls.

. . . if we could get 60,000 people to vote, instead of 55,000, then I felt we were certain to win. Sure enough, over 60,000 people voted, and I’m convinced the surge in turnout made a huge difference in my election. (emphasis mine)

Dan is an Austin Kossack who is exploring ways to use blogs and other software to mobilize the grass/netroots to replace R’s with D’s in ’06. We’re especially determined to defeat U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (Tom DeLay enabler and sycophant).

Great work, Othniel!  

If you are going to be at DemFest, join us at the Blogger’s Caucus – we’d love to meet you!

[Update] – If you read this diary earlier and want to know how the politicking is going, please read othniel’s comments below. All Texan BooTribbers – please call, fax, email your senators, with thanks and support for the good guys and making your views known to those who haven’t yet committed. This can still be stopped, but it won’t be easy.

I just got back from testifying before the State Affairs Committee of the Texas Senate at the hearing on HJR 6. This is a bill that would ask Texans to vote on a constitutional amendment that would write denying equality of marriage rights to gay and lesbian citizens into our state constitution. Similar moves to change state constitutions are afoot in many states – very likely in yours.

My purpose in posting this diary is to remind the members of the community how important it is for those of us who are not gay to speak out when the rights of gay citizens are under attack.

(Warning! It’s going to be long since I’m including my written statement to the committee at the end of this diary.)
Testifying was an interesting experience – I’d never done anything like this before. Othniel testified before I did, followed by his son Zane. His testimony was as he said it would be in this comment on his diary about Zane’s prepared remarks. Othniel did the lawyerly constitutional implications thing, which was very necessary, and he did it very well. Zane was composed and did a great job speaking up for young people, as did one of his friends who also testified.

I lived up to my reputation as the absent minded professor by forgetting the 10 copies of my written statement. Othniel saved me by taking me to Rep. Garnet Coleman’s office where they made copies of the one I had in my purse.

(We progressives in Texas deeply (heart) Rep. Coleman. He’s the one holding the adopted child of a lesbian couple in the picture that I used in this diary about gay and lesbian foster parents – who are also under attack.)

There were, of course, many gays and lesbians present to speak in opposition to the bill. They addressed the point that even though the law passed in 2003 and this bill with the same language state that gays and lesbians do not need marriage or civil unions since they can just get powers of attorney, make a will, etc. this is not really the case. One woman brought tears to many eyes when she testified that she was literally dying for lack of health insurance, since she could not get it through her domestic partner.

The committee chair asked us not to read our statements – to just talk to them, so I tried to do that. We only had two minutes each. As a professor, I’m used to speaking in front of a group, so I had an advantage that some people might not. But even so, it’s hard not to be nervous in a situation like that, so I’m not entirely sure what I said.

OK, here’s my written statement:

Testimony Prepared for the State Affairs Committee of the Texas Senate, Hearing on HJR 6, May 19, 2005

Prepared and Respectfully Submitted by:

[“Janet Strange”, PhD]
Professor of Biology, Austin Community College
[address]

What, exactly is the purpose of HJR 6? I support full equality of rights for all Texas citizens, including the right to be married. I am not gay, but I have a nephew and a grand nephew who are, and they are family. My best friend of 30 years, who died two years ago, fell in love with a woman and she was my friend. I do not understand why the Texas legislature wants to discriminate against people who are dear to me. I also have gay neighbors, students, colleagues, and acquaintances. I think they should have the same rights that I do.

I realize that some people disagree with me. They are opposed to full equality for my family, friends, and neighbors. However, the laws of the state of Texas – as misguided as I think they are – already prohibit not only marriage equality, but also civil unions for gay people.

SB 7, passed and signed into law by the governor in 2003, added Section § 6.204 to the Texas Family Code which states,

(c)  The state or an agency or political subdivision of the state may not give effect to a:

(1)  public act, record, or judicial proceeding that creates, recognizes, or validates a marriage between persons of the same sex or a civil union in this state or in any other jurisdiction;  or

(2)  right or claim to any legal protection, benefit, or responsibility asserted as a result of a marriage between persons of the same sex or a civil union in this state or in any other jurisdiction.

So I ask you again, what is the purpose of this joint resolution? It cannot be simply to prohibit marriage equality for gays, or even to bar them from the legal protections of civil unions. That is already the law in this state.

Looking at the Texas Legislature Online website this morning, I see that there are 2914 bills pending before the Texas Senate this session. There are 190 bills pertaining to business and commerce in Texas, just under the heading “general.” There are 86 consumer protection bills. Sixty-three bills have been filed that would affect our courts, and 144 concerning criminal procedure.

I am a professor at Austin Community College. There are 72 higher education bills and 64 more that affect junior colleges specifically. The public schools of Texas have not been adequately funded in my lifetime, and there are 94 bills awaiting action that address school funding.

Fifty-nine bills affect our most basic right as a citizen of a democratic republic – our right to vote. Forty-six bills on the environment, and 36 on energy.

If your goal is to protect families, there are 42 bills for your consideration on child protection, 54 on child services, and 24 on family violence. Twenty-nine bills address marriage including issues of community property and the rights of children and parents following a divorce.

According to a study released less than a month ago by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Texas has the highest percentage of working adults – 26.6% – without health insurance. Twenty-five percent of our children so not have health insurance, again the highest rate in the nation. There are 152 bills for your consideration on health care providers, 102 on medical assistance, 153 on health insurance, and 25 that specifically address insurance for children.

Add in 23 bills on worker’s compensation, 45 for our parks and wildlife, 16 on science and technology, and 127 on transportation. As one who pays into the Teacher Retirement System, I am a Texas citizen who is very concerned about how these bills will affect my financial security when I retire.

The only purpose of this resolution that I can see, is political pandering, pure and simple. It changes nothing concerning the rights – or more precisely the denial of rights – to our gay and lesbian citizens.

I was born in Beaumont, Texas, 56 years ago. As a lifelong Texan, I think I speak for many other Texans when I say, we do not like political posturing that does nothing to address the real issues that face our state.

It looks to me like you senators have a lot of work to do. Why are you not spending your time on the job we elected you to do? Why are you not at work, right now, on Texas’ economy, health insurance for our children, funding for our schools? Why are you wasting your time and my tax money on this resolution that accomplishes nothing?

Some legislators evidently believe that this resolution will gain them favor with the voters. They may think that gratuitous attacks like these will harm only a minority of Texans – gay and lesbian Texans. They are wrong.

Attacks on any citizens diminish us all. If gays and lesbians are attacked by our elected representatives, those who would physically attack gays and lesbians may feel justified by these reckless verbal and legislative attacks.

I am harmed by the reckless disregard for my safety and the safety of everyone in my community when legislators espouse discrimination and attacks on minorities. I am harmed when you attack my friends and my family. There are millions of us in this state who are not gay, but who have gay friends and family and neighbors, and we will fight for them.

The National Conference for Media Reform in St Louis concluded today. It was inspiring, overwhelming, inspiring, exhausting, and frightening.

From the rousing call to action delivered by Amy Goodman Friday morning to Bill Moyer’s powerful closing speech this afternoon, the weekend was filled with warnings, rants, history, inspiration, practical advice, pep talks, and wonkery of all kinds.

The bottom line is this: No matter what you are passionate about as a progressive – ending the war, saving the environment, economic justice, women’s issues, LGBT issues, returning the Democratic party to power, access to health care, protection of the vulnerable, the marginalized, the children, the poor, the sick, the elderly, and many more issues and causes just as urgent and important – we will be able to accomplish none of it if we do not have access to the media.

If citizens cannot communicate with each other, there can be no democracy.

If citizens cannot hear the truth, there can be no democracy.
I listened to Rep. Diane Watson describe the so-called “choice” that we have in the world of media. “You can watch Michael Jackson walk into the courtroom and Michael Jackson walk out of the courtroom. Then you can watch the re-enactment of what happened in the courtroom. Every hour. Then you can get your morning paper and find a recap of the previous day’s Michael Jackson coverage on the front page. This is choice?”

Five minutes after she said this, I sneaked off to the hotel bar for a cigarette. Fox News on a huge TV screen across the room. And there was Michael Jackson, walking out of the courtroom.

This is what they want us to see. They do not want us to see what is really happening to our country, to our planet. I returned to BooTrib tonight to find that now those who want to keep us ignorant and distracted are on the way to taking Newsweek down. Don’t look at the abuses at Gitmo – there are traitors at Newsweek!

This is a dangerous time. A few powerful corporations control what we see and hear. Control what we know and what we do not know. They use this power to buy the politicians that make the policies that ensure that they will gain even more power and money. They support dangerous ideologues who lead us into war to build an American empire and destroy our freedom, our constitution, in pursuit of their ideological ends. And those dangerous ideologues, in turn, support the media corportations because they can be used to build that “American Empire” – the empire whose foundations were to be laid in the rubble and the corpses of Iraq.

Again and again, we see that the majority of the American people do in fact support most of the goals and ideals of the progressive movement. Without a means to share this, to communicate this, each person, each small group, thinks that they are the only ones who think this way, who feel this way. They think that they are surrounded by a huge majority of Americans who are ignorant and intolerant and concerned only with satisfying their own greed. Who embrace the radical right agenda.

This belief leads them to give up, to not try. To think that it’s hopeless to try to fight the radical right juggernaut. Better to simply hunker down and try to survive the coming storm. Or try to avoid even thinking about what is happening and hope that it will all go away. Hope that what they think is happening is not really happening – hope that they are being too paranoid. And the powerful become more powerful. The ideologues become more dangerous. The rest of us become weaker.

This weekend I listened, I learned. Tonight it’s late, I’m worn out. I’m going to Chicago early tomorrow and I don’t know what kind of internet access I’ll have for the next few days. I hope to be able to post more about what I learned later.

Besides Amy Goodman, Congresswoman Diane Watson, and Bill Moyers, other people I was able to see and hear – David Brock, Rep. Bernie Sanders, Bob McChesney, Janine Jackson, Al Franken, Jim Hightower, Robert McChesney and many others. George Lakoff was there, and Phil Donohue. I stood next to Patti Smith after she sang “Power to the People,” and almost bumped into Amy Goodman – just a little bit star-struck, I can report that I have said, “Excuse me” to Amy Goodman. This morning as I was listening to Noah Winer of MoveOn give us tips about how to mobilize people with email action alerts, Danny Schechter lined up at the mic to ask a question at the Q&A.

For now, I hope you all will listen to the speech Bill Moyers gave today. The fight for truth, for access to the truth is indeed the fight of our lives, and the fight for lives.

In his diary today, Othniel asks us to remember Kent State.

I remember. I remember walking past the student union at the University of Texas early that Monday and seeing Jeff Jones and some of the SDS people sitting on the steps planning a protest of the bombing of Cambodia.

Don’t forget. At a time when most of the American people were sick to death of the Vietnam war, sick of their children coming home in coffins, sick of fighting the draft, sick of napalmed children – Nixon was expanding the war into another country. By the time the bombing was over, 600,000 Cambodians were dead. The devastation of that once peaceful and independent country by American bombs opened the door for Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

That’s what the students at Kent State were protesting. That’s what got four of them killed. Saying, stop, stop, stop this madness.
I remember the armed Guardsmen and police lined up shoulder to shoulder along 19th street. I remember the fear.

I remember sleeping on the mall. Years later, when I was a graduate student in the 80’s, every time I passed the patch of grass where I slept those nights, I remembered.

I remembered the power of the march, filling the streets as far as the eye could see.

Most of all, I remember the hard hats at work on the construction sites downtown cheering us on. Those blue-collar, short-haired guys cheered us on. That’s when I knew that those who opposed the war were no longer just us America-hating, draft-evading freaks.

May 1970. On May 9, 1970, five days after the Kent State killings, 100,000 Americans marched in Washington DC to protest the war.

The first Marines landed at Da Nang in March 1965.

Five years later, in 1970, the majority of the American people wanted our troops home, now.

The killing and dying continued for five more years.

The last American soldier was killed and the last Americans were lifted off of the embassy roof on April 29, 1975.

Excerpts from History of Student Activism at the University of Texas at Austin (1960-1988) by Beverly Burr. Chapter 4.