You got to love it, the State of Calif is going down the toliet and this idiot State Legislator wants embark on a foreign policy initiative. I wish they would Address the State issues, like no tax incentive for hybrid owners instead of things they weren't elected to do.
Perata launches anti-war ballot measure
By Judy Lin and Shane Goldmacher - Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 10:27 am PDT Thursday, April 5, 2007
BERKELEY -- Saying voters are fed up with the war in Iraq, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata announced Thursday that he is introducing legislation to place a measure on next year's presidential primary ballot calling for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
"It's long past due the time we should be leaving Iraq," said Perata, D-Oakland.
"We've had over 3,000 Americans killed, 25,000 injured. We're spending upwards of $400 billion that we know of and there seems to be no end in sight," Perata said, standing in front of the Veterans Memorial Building in Berkeley.
Referring to the federal government's foreign policy decision in Vietnam, Perata said Bush, "clearly doesn't understand history. We've got a failed policy that once failed us and is once again failing us. He does not recognize that."
"We have done what we can in Iraq," Perata said. "We have created a democratic rule. But you can't have a democracy that's enforced. It has to be organic...Let the voters of this state say, 'Mr. President, get us out of Iraq.'"
The bill is a majority vote measure and would require the governor's signature. Aaron McLear, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's press secretary, said the governor had not yet taken a position on the bill.
Specifically, the measure would ask voters to approve the following statement:
The people of California, in support of the men and women serving in the Armed Forces of the United States, urge President Bush to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq and immediately begin the safe and orderly withdrawal of all United States forces; and further urge President Bush and the United States Congress to provide the necessary diplomatic and non-military assistance to promote peace and stability in Iraq and the Middle East.
Perata said he intends to send letters to his counterparts in states planning to hold Feb. 5 primaries, urging lawmakers in those states to launch a similar measure. The move, he said, would force all presidential candidates to state their position on Iraq.
Perata acknowledged that the measure's presence on the ballot could increase Democratic voter turnout, but denied that it was intended to boost fortunes of another possible measure on primary ballot that would change the term limits law for state lawmakers and allow him, among others, to serve longer.
Perata said he believes the bill, which will be introduced in the Democratic-controlled Legislature on Monday, will be approved and signed by the Republican governor.
Anne Roesler, of Military Families Speak Out, joined Perata and said the advisory measure is needed because there's no guarantee that Congress will use the power of its purse to pull troops home. Roesler said her son, Michael, did three tours in Iraq and is now suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome.
"We don't want to see any more die," Roesler said. "We don't want to see one more return with broken spirits and broken souls."
Re: No Hybrid Tax Credit with AMT
Re: No Hybrid Tax Credit with AMT
