Have you heard that there will be a little thing known as the Iowa Caucus going on Monday night, February 1???
Iowa Citizen Action Network encourages all of our members, friends and allies to make their voices heard by attending your precinct caucus! It’s easy, interesting and can even be fun!
To find your caucus location and for more information on HOW to caucus, you can go to your party website:
Iowa Democrats:
http://iowademocrats.org/2016-democratic-caucus-locations/
Iowa Republicans:
https://www.iowagop.org/2015/12/03/iowa-gop-precinct-locations/
Or click HERE to be directed to the Iowa Secretary of State website.
One of the things you can do at your caucus is present a resolution to be entered into the party platform. Whether you are going to the Republican or Democratic Caucus, we know that national security is a big issue.
In today’s conflicts, the over-reliance on the use of force makes us less secure; it’s like pouring gasoline on a fire. The big problems of the world – climate disruption, fighting over resources, terrorism, civil conflicts, poverty, racial and ethnic inequities – can only really be solved by countries working together.
Below is resolution language that you can print out and take to your caucus to submit for consideration as a part of the platform.
Audit of the Pentagon
Whereas the waste of taxpayer money in any form is unacceptable, and
Whereas all budgets must be scrutinized for waste, fraud, and abuse, and
Whereas the Department of Defense makes up half of the discretionary federal budget, and
Whereas nearly all major cabinet departments have completed a financial audit, but the Department of defense has not, and
Whereas the national debt poses an unacceptable threat to our national security and economic stability, and
Whereas the Department of Defense is unable to account for billions in spending, and
Whereas reporting has shown that the Department of Defense has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on unnecessary, unworkable, or ill-conceived projects,
We believe that the Department of Defense, which makes up half of the discretionary federal budget, should be scrutinized, as all budgets must, for waste, fraud, and abuse, and to that end support the timely completion of a financial audit of the Department of Defense.
Non-military tools of power
Whereas modern threats to American security come in many different forms, and
Whereas many of our greatest threats, such as domestic radicalization or a terror cell hiding in a major American city, can not be addressed with traditional military means, and
Whereas we spend billions of taxpayer dollars on military hardware that is not designed to address modern security threats, and
Whereas many of the solutions to the threats we face require American leadership beyond the battlefield,
We believe that America’s national security spending should be focused on the most cost-effective means to address the threats we face in the 21st century and that the solution to those threats may not necessarily be military-only engagement.
If you plan to attend and submit a resolution, we’d love to know! We have commitments from precincts in a dozen Iowa counties so far!
Let us know you are submitting resolutions by replying to this post with your name, party and county to sdinsdale@iowacan.org.
As always, feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be interest and thanks for all you do!