In Las Vegas on March 17, 2007 (time still to be determined), a group calling themselves the Las Vegas Peace Coalition is planning to hold a massive march against the occupation of Iraq in front of the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse. The Las Vegas Peace Coalition is made up of various groups and individuals, including: MoveOn, Democracy for America, Nevada Workers Against the War, Nevada Desert Experience, Food Not Bombs, and members of many different unions and progressive political parties. The group states that "ending this war must be a priority, the elected officials must do more than non binding resolutions, they must cut off funding and demand this occupation be ended immediately. Not one more death or one more dollar for Bush's war of aggression" (announcement).

The protest is coming off momentum from an earlier protest this past January 27, 2007 (1 | 2) which attracted between 75 and 150 people. When it comes to actions against the occupation in Las Vegas, this is a good number of participants. The history of anti-occupation actions fluctuates in Las Vegas as it seems to do around the nation.

In this case, many of the groups involved are supportive of the Democratic Party. Where was the Democratic Party after the occupation started back in 2003? It was at that time that the resources and influence of elected Democrats was most important to stopping the occupation, but instead, it was used to support the occupation. The excuse given at the time from patriotic Democrats was that they could no longer protest the war once it began and had to, instead, support the troops. Years later, billions of dollars later, thousands of dead innocent people later, they finally realize the error of their ways and openly protest the occupation of Iraq?!? Something doesn't feel right. This very occupation that they are now protesting couldn't have existed without them ... and certainly wouldn't have been as harmful if Democrats would've protested this occupation from the beginning.

If one looks closely at the signs many Democrats carry, one will see that they focus on impeaching Bush/Cheney or they focus on how it's Bush and Cheney and their right wing accomplices that have kept this occupation raging on for so long. The implication is that we need new leaders. The goal of getting involved with anti-war actions and organizing in order to replace the current regime with Democrats is obvious based on the Democrats for America's recent training on Feb. 10, 2007.

If the Democratic Party is successful in amassing large numbers of people against the war in 2007, then they will be successful in winning a presidential election in 2008. In some sense, by supporting this protest, one might also be supporting the Democratic Party. What can we do to prevent even more dangerous co-optation by these groups that support the Democratic Party?

We must point out the truth about the Democratic Party and its complicity regarding the illegal occupation of Iraq every chance we get. In meetings. During protests. Anywhere we see someone holding a sign that suggests we impeach Bush, Cheney, or whoever, we need to question them about their support for the Democratic Party and how they can be against this occupation while supporting corporations and candidates who thrive from occupation and war. We must question those who support Democratic candidates about the source of their donations and funding. We must speak out and act against those that benefit from donations coming from corporations who profit from war and occupation.

According to Opensecrets.org, the current Democratic Party Senate leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, holds stock in corporations such as Bank of America, Citigroup, Exxon-Mobil, Apache Corp, Chevron, General Electric, IBM, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Microsoft Corp, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart, and many others. He's estimated to be worth anywhere between $2,235,107 and $5,179,000 ... this is probably a low estimate. His campaign contributions in 2004 came from corporations like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Co, DynCorp, RJ Reynolds Tobacco, Tyson Foods, Clear Channel Communications, Time Warner, Viacom, Walt Disney, and on and on and on.

Oh and just to be clear, we need to hold the Republican Party accountable in this manner as well, just in case they try to co-opt any movements any time soon.

If we decide to support the current Democratic Party co-opted movement against occupation and war, then we must also be clear that we will not support the war-profiteering corporations and we will not support the political parties and candidates that harbor them.

As one of the organizers for this demonstration, you are correct that many of the groups involved do have ties to the Democratic Party, but most are grass root groups who want to change the direction of the main stream democratic party and to start holding any elected official, regardless of party accountable. If you have read any of my prior postings from a couple of years ago, I am not a huge party supporter, I do political work for my union which mostly does involve campaign work for local (state and county government) politicians, but if those politicians most of whom are democrats don't deliver on their message, the next election we will work just as hard to replace them.

It is going to take a mass movement to end this war, it means that main stream political people must be involved in order to have the numbers to make Washington (regardless of party) to respond. My goal is to end the illegal occupation of the sovereign nation of Iraq, to withdraw the US forces, and for the VA to provide the proper care for those who have been physically, mentally, or emotionally damaged from this war.

I call for peace before politics and as a veteran and step father of an active duty soldier - the care for those who served in the military and whose wounds are too many times ignored by the VA when they return.

The reality of the world is that change must be made through the government which is made up of elected officials from the democratic and republican parties. They are the one who have to be made to understand that to ignore the will of most people is not going to be acceptable and that the people who put them in their seats can take them out too.

My first loyalty is to the working class, whose children have been recruited by the military with promises of health care, education, and bonus's and as a way to escape a life of struggling with a job for a corporate boss. I hope for the Labor Party to develop into a real political force, but they currently do not have the power to win elections. I want to see working class people in senate and house seats. People who understand the importance of univerisal health care, workers having a equal voice with management in the workplace, fair distribution of the wealth of this nation, and what it takes to support a family on working class wages today. Since this is not going to happen overnight, I therefore must deal with those who do have that power but not without holding them accountable for their actions.

Too many Democrats did vote in favor of this invasion and occupation of Iraq at the beginning and too many today think voting on nonbinding resolutions is enough. I remember those who have done both and I will wield whatever influence I can to see that they are held accountable.

In the meantime I will continue to work with groups who want to end the occupation for the sake of the people of Iraq and our service members.

Join with us on March 17th to demand an end to the occupation. The more demonstrations from you, me and our communities is going to send the message that the political lives of those in elected positions are going to depend on them to abide by the will of the people.

The Las Vegas "Out of Iraq" Coalition chose March 17th at 2pm as the time for the "Rally to Support the Troops by Bringing Them Home" event.

Come to the Anti Occupation Rally on March 17th at the Lloyd George US Courthouse, 333 Las Vegas Blvd South between 2 and 4 pm.

This is a speech I gave at the Peace Now Sept 24, 2005 rally at Huntridge Circle Park in Las Vegas.

Sisters and Brothers, it's great to see you here today. Today we are sending a loud and clear message that we won't accept imperialist wars in our name, we won't accept the deteriorating social conditions in this county and the world and that we demand the needs of the people in health care, education, jobs, and housing be addressed rather than committing U.S. military might against sovereign nations. We support the G.I.'s; we want them home safe and sound NOW!!

I wear many hats in my life, many of them connected to the struggles of working people. I am a union steward and official and fight daily against injustice against workers; I am a public employee who serves the needs of our community's children; I am a veteran of the USAF and see first hand how the government treats those who have served, and I am the father of an active duty Army Nurse who just returned from Afghanistan, and I am a member of Peace Now to join with other members of this community to stop the insanity of the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.

As a veteran I feel a bond with the young soldiers sent to the war zones, as I was sent to Southeast Asia in my youth. As one who spent a large portion of life in the military, I fear war. Unlike the Bush-Cheney Gang who never spent time on active duty, I fear the destructive power the US can bring against the world. I feel sorrow for the death and destruction that rained down from the skies on the Iraqi people at the beginning of war.

As the father of a son on active duty, I don't want to see him sent to the war zone again. I want him to be safe at home with my two granddaughters. I don't want him to be apart of the Bush regime's imperialist objectives.

Our community has sacrificed too much in this needless war, 26 Nevadan's have died. Did they die in vain? I say it is worse than them dying in vain; they died as a result of the Bush regime's premeditated illegal commitment of military force against a sovereign nation. For those who say we can't withdraw the military because of those who died, I say how many more must die before they are satisfied. I can't stomach one more death either American or Iraqi for this war to rob the Iraqi people of their oil, religion, and culture. Bring the troops home now.

Our community's sacrifices are not only limited to the loss of our young people, we have lost millions of dollars which should have been committed to caring for the needs of our people. We need more teachers, we need a universal health system, we need affordable housing for all, and we need to protect our workers from multinational corporations who use them up and spit them out like WalMart.

Not only is the Bush regime and it's multinational corporate allies waging war against the people of Iraq and Afghanistan abroad, they are trying to crush the voice of working people here at home. As a union activist I fight against unfair labor practices every day. Since Reagan smashed the PATCO strike and Air Traffic Controller's union in the 80's the government and corporate American have been waging a successful war against workers by using the Taft Hartley Act to bust strikes, by passing Right to Work for Less laws to deny workers a voice with a union, and by spending millions on union busting tactics. Strong unions mean the workers have a voice in the workplace and create a better standard of living for all. The Bush Regime has used the "war on terrorism" to take union rights away from thousands of federal government workers forced into the Dept of Homeland Security. Bush's Dept of Labor is used to harass unions and attempt to stop workers from organizing. Free trade treaties supported by the US government like NAFTA and CAFTA make it easier for multinational corporations to export good paying union jobs to economically deprived nations where workers are more easily exploited, the environment can be raped, and unions controlled by goon squad assassination teams.

We in Peace Now demand that the US and UK forces be withdrawn from the Middle East immediately and that the war machine give back the money stolen from the people of Las Vegas to support the illegal occupations so that it can be used to provide for the needs of our community. We demand the end to military recruitment activities in our high schools. We demand an end to the Right to Work law in Nevada which robs us of our right to organize to be more powerful in the workplace. We demand universal quality health care for the people of this country. We demand that public services be fully staffed to meet the needs of our community.

Simply put – WE DEMAND PEACE AND JUSTICE at home and abroad. We call on all here today to stay involved until we have met our goals of Peace and Social Justice. Stop the occupation and BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!