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GREEN PARTY OF WASHINGTON
www.wagreens.us
Aaron Dixon for U.S. Senate
www.dixon4senate.com
August 16, 2006
Released August 11, 2006
CONTACT:
Mike Gillis, Press Secretary, 206-755-4262, media@dixon4senate.com
Cantwell Can’t Hide Her Pro-War Record With Spin and Vague Rhetoric, says Dixon.
In the aftermath of pro-war Democrat Joe Lieberman’s defeat by Ned Lamont in the
Connecticut primary, many progressives are watching to see how this will affect
the fortunes-and the words-of Washington state’s pro-war senator, Maria Cantwell.
"The pressure is on for Sen. Cantwell right now," says Jesse Hagopian, campaign
manager for Aaron Dixon, Green Party nominee for U.S. Senate. "We fully expect
the senator and her supporters to start spinning her pro-war position on
America’s occupation of Iraq with a lot of rhetoric about "eventual withdrawal"
meant to make her seem anti-war -- when she’s still an unrepentant hawk."
Already, Cantwell defenders are reacting to Lieberman’s defeat. One local
Democratic blogger was quoted in Thursday’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer, claiming
that Cantwell and anti-war Lamont "essentially share almost identical positions
on the war."
"Nothing could be any further from the truth," says Dixon.
"Joe Lieberman and Maria Cantwell have effectively wrapped their
arms around the Republican position on the war. I have to wonder if her
supporters would be panicking like this if I weren’t running. I give voters a
chance Maria doesn’t give them -- a chance to vote for peace."
Nationally, a growing majority of people want to bring the troops home now. In
Washington, the anti-war majority is at 61 percent, according to a July 26 poll
by Strategic Vision.
As Sen. Cantwell continues to sustain fierce criticism for her unyielding
support for the continued occupation of Iraq and Israeli invasion of Lebanon, a
growing number of anti-war demonstrators routinely protest her position outside
of her Seattle office and at public events.Dixon and his campaign expect this
to continue as anti-war sentiment grows.
Despite the new anti-war spin that many of the senator’s supporters are
projecting on her to cloak her pro-war position, she voted last month, in a
unanimous Senate resolution declaring unconditional support for Israel in their
invasion of Lebanon, that has already claimed the lives of over 1,000 innocent
civilians.
"Washington state’s Democratic Party chairman, Dwight Pelz, proclaims that
George Bush has never kissed Maria Cantwell on the cheek the way that Joe
Lieberman was," says Hagopian. "But when she voted for the President’s war, and
the PATRIOT Act, and energy bill, she climbed into bed with Mr. Bush -- and it’s
made her Senate term a sordid nightmare for the rest of us."
Dixon added: "Our position is clear. We need to end this futile war
immediately, bring our troops home now, and start spending those wartime dollars
on the needs of ordinary Americans. Anything less is a pro-war stand, and I
believe the voters will be astute enough to know that."
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