Honor Roll Recognizes Foreign Policy Change Agents
July 1st, 2008
According to a poll conducted by Public Agenda in Spring 2008, “two-thirds of Americans want to withdraw from Iraq.” Also, “seven in ten believe we need to emphasize diplomatic and economic efforts rather than military to fight terror.” As the 2008 election approaches, now is a critical time to evaluate whether our representatives in Congress are delivering the new foreign policy vision America wants to see.
To assist voters in determining how well their voices are being heard by Congress, Peace Action and Peace Action West have released our 2007 congressional scorecard. We chose eleven votes each in the House and Senate, grading members of Congress on Iraq, Iran, weapons spending and human rights. Click here to download the 2007 congressional scorecard.
It also features an “honor roll,” recognizing representatives and senators who took leadership by cosponsoring important pieces of legislation on issues like nuclear nonproliferation and the use of cluster bombs.
Within the scorecard, we highlight strong leadership that encourages those of us who see the need for a new approach to foreign policy, especially from members of the Out of Iraq and Progressive caucuses. At the same time, Congress has failed to substantially challenge the foreign policy of a president with the lowest recorded approval rating in history. The American public has responded by giving Congress abysmal approval ratings.
The congressional scorecard serves as a tool to educate voters and mobilize them to pressure their representatives in Washington, DC, to take concrete action to change our foreign policy. It is also a reminder to Congress that we are in fact watching every vote and expect them to be the leaders we elected them to be.
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