The vote in June came and that left only two New York members of Congress (and 32 members overall) who pledged not to support a war supplemental bill. For New York, those two members of Congress are Congressman Eric Massa and Congressman Jose Serrano.
Massa and Serrano voting against the bill is obviously huge. For Serrano, it was a no brainer. He comes from a district that is the least Republican of any Democrat who voted no. But Massa's is the opposite. His district is the most Republican of any Democrat who voted no. Massa will have to fight in 2010 because the Republicans are gunning for him. They see him as vulnerable solely because of the district enrollment advantage they hold. So for Massa to vote no on this is very important to acknowledge and recognize with support.
To show support for those that kept their word, the No Means No! initiative was started. The goal of the initiative is to start having a serious and progressive conversation on the efforts in Afghanistan. With health care and other issues dominating the scene, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been on the back burner. Afghanistan at one point was referred to as "Forgotistan" because it was hardly, if ever, being talked about.
(For a good video on what has happened in Afghanistan, take a look at the video below.)
At this point, it is a very serious discussion we need to have.
Here is how you can help. Go to the No Means No! ActBlue page and give to Massa and Serrano or any other member of Congress (there are 32 of them) who supports the effort.
We also have a contest going today. IF YOU GIVE TODAY, YOU WILL BE ENTERED IN A DRAWING TO WIN AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF JONATHAN TASINI'S BOOK, AUDACITY OF GREED.
So make sure you contribute what you can today and make sure we can continue to fight for a progressive policy in Afghanistan.
