For the war?

October 26, 2007 in Iraq, Missoula City Council

by Pete Talbot

I saw the small display ad only once this week on Page B2 of Tuesday’s Missoulian. It’s asking folks to vote against municipal ballot Referendum 2007-01 (otherwise known as the Out-of-Iraq Referendum).

To me, this is the quintessential Missoula ballot issue and says a lot about what this town is all about.

So the ad caught my eye. It was paid for by “Missoula Supports U.” The ad also names the councilmen and women who voted to put the referendum on the ballot. It reads:

“Referendum 2007-01 supported by Childers, Jaffe, Kendall, Marler, Rye, and Strohmaier demands the immediate and orderly withdrawal of 138,000 U.S. troops from Iraq. The immediate withdrawal of a force this large will not be orderly. It will be chaotic. Passage of this referendum will endanger our soldiers’ lives. Vote against the referendum. Protect our troops through a gradual withdrawal.”

The ad raises a number of questions. The first being that the language in the ad is very similar to the language in the referendum:

“The citizens of Missoula, Montana, hereby urge the Congress of the United States of America to authorize and fund an immediate and orderly withdrawal of the United States military from Iraq in a manner that is fully protective of U.S. soldiers.”

The only difference between the two versions is semantics: immediate v. gradual. Both sides want the troops out in a safe and orderly manner. The ad just doesn’t say when.

Another question would be: why would you name the members of council who helped put the referendum on the ballot? Is this ad targeting the referendum, or some councilmen and women who are up for re-election, or both? What’s the real issue?

My final question is: who paid for the ad? The small type on the bottom of the ad lists “Missoula Supports U.” These folks don’t have a treasurer but named Dennis Gordon is the contact person.

So I gave Mr. Gordon a call. We had a very civil conversation and this is what I learned. It seems like his biggest concern is the referendum’s language; that having both an “immediate” and “orderly” withdrawal is an oxymoron, he said. He believes that there are “strong indications that large sections of the country are being pacified” and that the Iraq Army could begin taking over responsibilities.

We agreed to disagree on the success of the surge, and the reasons to leave now or later. Our common ground was the safety of U.S. troops.

He said that “several other folks — a like minded group” were behind the campaign. He admits that by naming council members who supported the referendum made it “a political ad,” but then “it’s a political issue.”

“Missoula Supports U” isn’t registered with Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practice. Now, I’m all for freedom of speech, but if more than a couple people are going negative on a referendum and certain council members, they need to register as a PAC [MCA 13-1-101 (18)]. Folks like me might want to know who’s paying for the advertising, but I’m not going to nitpick over campaign laws.

I respect Mr. Gordon’s position and I believe we want the same thing. I just want it sooner than later.  I can’t follow his thought process that leaving the troops there longer is in their best interests.

Opponents to the referendum have done a decent job of sprinkling goofy dust on the notion of a city weighing in on the war. The main argument being that it isn’t the city’s business to get involved in worldly affairs. Council should just take care of filling potholes in the summer and plowing the streets in the winter.

But this is a moral town, despite what the far right says. Citizens should take every opportunity to give their opinion on the Iraq War. I sincerely hope that Missoula voters add their voice to the growing number of cities and towns that want the troops out, pronto.

If you haven’t sent in your ballot yet, you can still…

Help end the war. Please vote ‘yes’ on Referendum 2007-01.

(Postscript: Helena is running a similar referendum and my sources there say it looks like it will pass. Even the Helena Independent-Record, not known for having a particularly progressive editorial stance, endorsed the referendum. Missoula’s Independent endorsed it here but not a peep from the Missoulian.)