Sen.Mikulski Has Her Own Constituents Arrested
Contact: Gordon Clark (301) 466-5689
February 27, 2007
Sen. Barbara Mikulski Has Her Own Constituents Arrested
Nonviolent Maryland citizens protesting Iraq War are taken away by Capitol Police; Senator continues to support war funding
Washington, D.C. - At 6:05pm today, Sen. Barbara Mikulski had Capitol Police arrest four of her own constituents when they refused to leave her office. The four were part of a group of 20 that nonviolently occupied Sen. Mikulski’s office for three hours that afternoon, reading the names of Iraqi and American dead in a memorial to those killed, and in a plea to Sen. Mikulski to stop voting for continued war funding.
Sen. Mikulski has refused repeated requests to meet with the Maryland groups opposing the war, and has said that she will continue to vote for funding for the Iraq war even while she claims to oppose it. She has also called President Bush, whose war plan the Senator is fully funding, a “reckless and dangerous†man.
The ceremony was a moving one for the participants, and started with a reading of the names of the 55 Marylanders who have been killed in the Iraq War. A gong was rung softly after each name, and their picture taped to the walls of the Senate office, where they stayed for three hours. Capitol Police and the Sen. Mikulski’s staffers also joined the protesters in a moment of silence for those who had died in the war, before clearing the office and arresting those who refused to go.
The four arrested had the following comments as they were taken away in handcuffs by police -
Kristen Sundell, 34, of Baltimore, MD: “We will continue to call on Sen. Mikulski to support our troops and the Iraqi people by voting against the supplemental war budget, and using her power to help end this war.â€
Steve Lane, 66, of Bethesda, MD: “Being arrested is a small price to pay to stand up and oppose this illegal and immoral war in Iraq.â€
Jean Athey, 61, of Brookville, MD: “We read names of American and Iraqi dead for three hours, and we didn’t even make a dent in the list. When is the killing going to stop?â€
Peter Perry, 37, of Durwood, MD: “We plead with Sen. Mikulski to do the right thing, to stop being an accomplice to this horrible war and to vote against its continued funding.â€
The groups involved vowed to return, and are currently planning additional nonviolent actions at Mikulski’s offices in the coming weeks.
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March 15th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
I just watched Mikulski’s diatribe about the Iraq vote today (March 15th), and it was shocking- though it shouldn’t have been. She isn’t very smart, she is nasty, and she could be a poster child for the rest of the I-want-to-be-reelected-Democrats.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:22 am
Baltimore Sun
Mikulski counters protesters
Capital News Service
March 16, 2007
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski took to the Senate floor yesterday to respond to anti-war activists who occupied her Capitol Hill office in protest three times in four weeks, saying she will continue to vote for war funding in order to support the troops.
“You can sit-in every single day. You can follow me throughout my Senate career. You can follow me to my grave,” Mikulski shouted at the conclusion of her speech on a supplemental funding request pending in Congress.
“I will not vote to, in any way, harm the men and women in the U.S. military, nor will I cut off the support to their families,” the Maryland Democrat added. “I’m going to support this [Democratic leader Harry] Reid resolution.”
The bill provides money to back President Bush’s proposed troop increase but also funds tools such as armor and health care after troops return home.
“All the good things in the bill we absolutely agree with, [but] you don’t need to keep funding active combat to keep funding those things,” said frustrated protester Gordon Clark in response to Mikulski’s speech.
The group of about 20 protesters contend that even though Mikulski voted against the war in 2002, and continues to speak out for troop withdrawal, the only actions that will end their sit-ins are a “no” vote on the supplemental bill, or the inclusion of an amendment to bring the troops home by December this year, Clark said.
“We are on your side,” Mikulski said to the “well-intentioned liberal activists,” but “I can’t vote against” the supplemental funding bill.
Copyright © 2007, The Baltimore Sun |
June 27th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
As a maryland vetern of the Iraq War who was injured in combat, I disagree with your assesment of Senator Mukulski. Not only did she ensure that I recieve the best care available and not just through the military health care system but also Johns Hopkins she was sympathetic and caring about all of her wounded and non-wounded soldiers that have returned from this war. Her vote to continue funding this war is as simple as she needs to make sure her constiuants that are serving the Armed Forces have the supplies and equipment they need. She does believe we need to change tactics and find a better way to fight this war, but she won’t short change her troops and leave them with no ammo, body armor or fuel to get home. Lets open our eyes and see that she is not the cause of this war, but she wants to be part of its solution.