[mgj-discuss] 203:214 = SOA/WHINSEC Survives Vote in Congress by 6 Votes

[Close the SOA!]

"There's no turning back...We will win. We are winning because ours is a
revolution of mind and heart..." - César Chávez

203:214 = SOA/WHINSEC Survives Vote in Congress by 6 Votes

Last night at 11:52 PM, Congress defeated the McGovern/Lewis amendment to
cut the funding for the SOA/WHINSEC by a margin of six votes.

The grassroots mobilizing effort was tremendous: Tens of thousands of
emails, faxes and calls flooded the halls of Congress over the past three
days. Students, clergy, union members and veterans travelled to DC and
visited with hundreds of Congressional offices to communicate clearly that
there is no room for institutions like the SOA/WHINSEC in our future.
Despite this, 214 Members of Congress missed the chance to stand up for
human rights, justice and democracy, and voted to keep the funding for the
SOA/WHINSEC flowing.

The WHINSEC PR machine and high-ranking Pentagon officials used taxpayer
money to put a lot of pressure on Members of Congress. However, this is no
excuse for Representatives to not be accountable to their constituents. 
There were Representatives this week that committed to vote to cut funding
for the SOA/WHINSEC, and then shifted their vote.  Those people need hear
from all of us, loudly and in public.  If we can mobilize around the vote
the way that we have, we can mobilize around targeted primary elections
and make clear to constituents in those districts how their candidates
feel about supporting the Pentagon policies and this school of shame.

Please visit http://www.soaw.org/legislative, check the roll call to see
how your Representative voted and contact her/him with thanks if they
voted to cut SOA/WHINSEC funding. Express your displeasure to those who
sided with the SOA/WHINSEC and your extreme displeasure to those who said
that they would vote with us but didn't.

WE WILL CLOSE THE SOA/WHINSEC

While we did not get enough Members of Congress to vote with us, it was
clear to us and to our supporters in the House that we have tremendous
power when we mobilize together. We gained the support of new Republicans
and new members of Congress, the margin of SOA/ WHINSEC survival is
rapidly dwindling, and this week due to grassroots pressure, we added
several new cosponsors to HR 1707 bringing our total to 111.

Your work these past weeks was remarkable. Because of your persistence,
203 Members of Congress voted with us, despite the pressure that was
exerted by the Pentagon. Please take the time to thank your Representative
if she/he stood up for human rights and voted with us. Together we
educated hundreds of Representatives and staffers about the SOA/WHINSEC.
We built new relationships and strengthened long-term ones. We have gained
a lot of ground in Congress and our goal of closing this School of the
Death is coming closer and closer.

We thank you for all your amazing work, sacrifice, commitment and support!
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