Voters for Peace,
Candidates for Peace

	Linda Schade

With midterm elections coming up, it is now evident that the Iraq war is on trial. According to a recent ABC/Washington Post poll, most Americans oppose the conflict. According to the same study, a majority of Americans don't believe that Washington leaders from either major political party are effectively challenging Bush's unjustified and illegal war. Increasingly, voters are gravitating towards anti-war candidates. In the recent Connecticut primary, anti-war Democratic candidate for US Senate Ned Lamont had a surprise victory over incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman. And in spite of the mainstream media's repeated dismissal of New York Senator Hillary Clinton's rivals, anti-war candidates in New York are gaining voters' attention.

In March of 2006, a new anti-war group called Voters for Peace was launched. Voters for Peace is a non-partisan organization which does not endorse candidates, but gives voters a unified public opportunity to voice their opposition to the Iraq war. With support from a growing coalition of progressive and anti-war organizations, Voters for Peace has the goal of making the Iraq war and any future war of aggression "an issue candidates can't ignore." Its Peace Pledge invites citizens to sign a petition which reads: "I will not vote for or support any candidate for Congress or President who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign."

According to Voters for Peace, "The Pledge makes the peace vote a force that politicians cannot continue to ignore. What if millions decided to vote their conscience and said 'No More War Candidates?' The Peace Pledge sends a clear message to the hawkish minority that leads both major parties to end the occupation of Iraq and to end unprovoked attacks on other nations."

For this Conversation, we welcomed Executive Director for Voters For Peace Linda Schade. Linda Schade is a 20-year political veteran with experience in issue advocacy, electoral campaigns, media, coalition, and grassroots organizing. As co-founder of TrueVoteMD and VoteTrustUSA, Ms. Schade led a state and national organization fighting for transparent elections voters can trust, and paper records for electronic voting machines. Ms. Schade is also co-founder of the Maryland-based Montgomery County Coalition for Alternatives to War.

--Diane Wittner, CoProducer