Anti-war Petitioners Meet Goal in Shorewood

Source: Milwaukee* Journal Sentinel Day Watch

Let me start off by laughing directly in the faces of these smelly hippies. First off, how pathetic is it that they could not get nearly half the signatures required to put the Iraq War referendum on the ballot in Milwaukee, quite arguably the second-most liberal county in the state. And secondly, why are the anti-war activists so eager to humiliate themselves further by having this on the ballot in the first place? It will not do a damn thing because the state of Wisconsin, or more specifically the individual counties, have no authority to dictate how the war in Iraq is operated. Even if this is for demonstrative purposes, given Wisconsin’s track record as a mainly Republican state (outside the counties of Madison and Milwaukee – and even exceptions can be made for those two exceptions as well) this seems ill-planned. But then again this always seems to be the case for anti-American organizations like this. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the true reason why we lost Vietnam. If Madison turns out to be the only county in the state to vote against continuing the war in Iraq, which I suspect it will unless by chance all the communist sympathizers of UW-Madison drink too much the night before and are too hung over to struggle to the polling stations to vote, these activities are going to be hard-pressed to legitimize this for the entire state of Wisconsin.

Activists seeking local referendums on whether U.S. troops should withdraw from Iraq said today that they have collected enough signatures to get on the ballot in Shorewood but have fallen short in Milwaukee.

With about 850 signatures needed to seek an April referendum, volunteers in Shorewood have collected nearly 900 and will deliver petitions at Village Hall next week, said Keith Schmitz, an organizer with the civic group known as Grassroots Shorewood.

Grassroots Shorewood is among anti-war groups in more than 20 communities across Wisconsin circulating petitions for April referendums to gauge public support for continuing the war in Iraq.

Petitions for war referendums also are being circulated in Wauwatosa and Whitefish Bay. Circulators in Madison gathered enough signatures for a question to be placed on the ballot next April.

Milwaukee petition organizer Ruth Weill said her group's deadline arrived today with volunteers having collected fewer than half the 21,000 signatures needed to seek a citywide referendum.

* The Journal Sentinel does not represent the opinions of mainstream Milwaukee