Olympia Snowe intervention: Bring our war $$ home now!

"Olympia Snowe Thinks / Speaks" by Elizabeth Kelley, from Draw-a-thon I to Bring Our War $$ Home. Interactive: you fill in the blanks.

On Thursday 8/11 I had voicemail from my sister in PINK Pat Taub saying that today she had a chance encounter with Sen. Olympia Snowe, and had about 5 min. to "do an intervention" with the senator. Sen. Snowe has voted for every military funding bill ever, and refuses to meet except accidentally with campaigners from the Bring Our War $$ Home coalition in Maine.

Pat wrote in an email later: "I recognized Sen. Snowe because she was sitting right behind me on the plane.  When I got up to collect my overhead bag I turned and noticed her.  I immediately decided that I had to use this opportunity to address my anti-war concerns and BOW$H.  I got five minutes or more with her because we were stuck waiting for the plane to disembark.  She was a captive audience and uncomfortable but forced to listen to me because she had no where to go! I introduced myself as a member of Codepink Maine."

CODEPINK Maine Interventionist Pat Taub (right) with keynote speaker co-founder Medea Benjamin and Local Coordinator Lisa Savage at Peace Action Maine annual supper, Portland, Maine  May 7, 2011

Pat said she talked up the Bring Our War $$ Home campaign and Olympia said she had NEVER HEARD OF IT. Wow, who does our senator think is buying this b.s.? Bruce Gagnon just had a conversation with her at a parade last month, I delivered letters to her Bangor office twice in the last three weeks, plus there have been numerous visits to her offices by various BOW$H activists over a two year period.

Dud Hendrick looks on as Sen. Olympia Snowe hears from Bruce Gagnon about the Bring Our War $$ Home campaign in Maine, Old Hallowell Days parade, July 16, 2011

Then Pat said we'd better start funding needs at home before we end up like London. Of course the senator said, but we need to fight terrorists. And Pat said, we're creating more terrorists every day with our policies.

Pat writes: "I felt great, empowered at being able to speak my truth to her, to deliver an anti-war message in the context of our budget deficit, growing social cut-backs, etc.  I wish now that I had challenged the Senator with the fact that considerable BOW$H materials have been left at her office. Essentially she said very little except to nod in a concerned way; she was speechless without a rebuttal to my comments.  Her very tall aide looked annoyed.  I loved that I had them trapped with nowhere to go until the plane disembarked."

Here I am having a conversation with Sen. Olympia Snowe at the Old Hallowell Days parade in July, 2010. Guess what the banner that Mark Roman and I are holding says on it in bold letters? (Mary Beth Sullivan and Cat Erdman are witnessing the fact that this conversation really happened.)

Why not let Sen. Snowe hear from you? 202-224-5344 Toll-Free in Maine:800-432-1599