Protesters call on senators to defy Bush

Portland Press Herald
April 29, 2007
By SETH HARKNESS, Staff Writer

The political road out of Baghdad leads through Maine, according to an anti-war activist who called on Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to set a specific date for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

About 200 people gathered in Post Office Park in Portland on Saturday to hear former Maine congressman Tom Andrews and other speakers criticize the moderate Republican senators, who voted against a bill calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops to begin as early as July 1 and no later than Oct. 1.

The former 1st District congressman accused the senators, whose job-approval ratings are among the nation's highest, of representing the interests of the White House rather than their constituents.

Representatives of both senators denied this charge, citing the senators' opposition to President Bush's plan earlier this year to boost the number of troops in Iraq. They said the senators are working to find political solutions that would allow U.S. troops to exit Iraq, but they oppose setting a specific date for a pullout, out of concern that it would benefit the enemy.

In the audience, though, were many people who said Maine's senators have been too willing to comply with what they called a failed war strategy put forward by the White House.

"I believe they've knuckled under to the Republican administration," said John Sholz of Portland. "I think they should have the guts to stand up for what's right."

Andrews is the national director of Win Without War, which organized the event along with the Maine People's Alliance and sent almost 100 volunteers into Portland after the rally to collect signatures for an open letter to the senators.

Win Without War held a rally in Bangor later in the day and is organizing similar events in other states, with the strategy of trying to convince Republicans to support a timetable for withdrawal.

Andrews pointed to a poll commissioned by his group that shows that Mainers, by a margin of 53 percent to 36 percent, support bringing troops back from Iraq within a year. The poll was done by Lake Research Partners, a Washington political-strategy firm that primarily works for Democratic clients.

"We know unequivocally, undeniably where we stand as Maine people," Andrews said. "It's time for our senators to start representing us and start standing up to George Bush."

Both senators have said their support for keeping U.S. troops in Iraq, and for the president's war policy, is not indefinite. Snowe and Collins also have said that announcing a particular date for withdrawal would have catastrophic consequences for stability in Iraq and for the safety of U.S. forces.

"Senator Snowe has been steadfast in her opposition to a date and certain timelines because she feels that telegraphs to the enemy our plans, which jeopardizes the safety of our brave men and women on the ground in Iraq," said Snowe's press secretary, David Snepp.

In a statement she made after voting against the $124 million Iraq spending bill on Thursday, Collins said her willingness to go along with the president's plan is limited.

"My vote against the plan for an immediate and rapid withdrawal in this bill does not mean that I support an open-ended commitment of U.S. troops in Iraq," she said.

Collins said she is willing to give Bush's new strategy a try until August. If the troop increase does not show results by then, she said, Congress should consider "a gradual but significant withdrawal of our troops next year."

Snepp said Snowe is working on legislation that would give the Iraqi government 120 days to achieve certain political benchmarks. If the government were to fail to achieve these goals, Snowe would favor bringing U.S. military leaders back to Washington to create a plan to bring the troops home.

Referring to Snowe's position as he spoke to the crowd, which was gathered in the park between Exchange and Market streets, Andrews said the senator is acting too slowly. "It is outrageous that we don't have a plan right now to get out of Iraq," he said.

Portland resident Priscilla Grant said she's been writing to Snowe and Collins for months, urging them to put an end to the war. After the rally, she headed out to gather signatures from others who want to send the same message to their senators. "They talk independent, but they don't vote independent on this war," she said.

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