We delivered this petition to Bernie's office in DC and Burlington on October 4th, resulting in the arrest of 11 CODEPINK peace activists!
Now, Bernie and The Squad need to hear from you!
Dear Bernie and The Squad—Reps AOC, Omar, Tlaib, Pressley and Bush,
As the war in Ukraine continues, resulting in needless death, destruction and climate devastation, we urge you to vote no as a block on President Biden’s request for more weapons for a war that can only be resolved through diplomacy.
Continuous shipments of cluster bombs, F-16 fighter jets, long-range bombers and depleted uranium will only escalate a war that poses the risk of global nuclear annihilation.
In addition to opposing the next request for more weapons, we call on you to publicly support an immediate mutual ceasefire and peace negotiations. This war has taken hundreds of thousands of precious lives, displaced millions of Ukrainians, worsened the climate crisis and caused thousands of dolphins to wash up dead in the Black Sea from the explosions coming from all sides.
We are horrified by the numbers of soldiers and civilians killed and wounded, the harm inflicted on the environment and the threat of a nuclear confrontation between the United States and Russia, the two most nuclear armed nations.
Also, given the depths of this climate crisis and the enormous needs of our people at home, we can’t continue to spend $223 million dollars A DAY on a war that will only end through diplomacy, not more war.
While world leaders—including the Pope, the heads of seven African nations, the presidents of Mexico, Brazil, China and others—have presented peace proposals, the most progressive members of Congress have continued to throw gasoline on the fire with billions for weapons.
This is why 50 peace activists staged a sit-in in Senator Bernie Sanders’ office on Wednesday, October 4th, with 11 people handcuffed and arrested, including an 89-year old woman who walks with a cane.
During the sit-in, we read the words Senator Sanders spoke on February 4, 2022, on the Senate floor: “We must do everything possible to achieve a realistic and mutually agreeable resolution, one that is acceptable to Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and our European allies. That approach is not weakness; it is not appeasement. Bringing people together to resolve conflicts without war is strength, and it is the right thing to do.”
Those words rang true then; they are even more urgent today.
We need you to build a bi-partisan consensus that will send a message–loud and clear–to the White House. It is the same message that the majority of Americans expressed in a recent CNN poll–Stop funding this war.
Negotiate, don’t escalate. Peace talks NOW.
Sincerely,