Trump and Bolton’s moves towards war with Iran have scared even Senate Republicans.
The Senators most vulnerable to public opinion right now on war and peace are the Senate Democrats running for President. On the one hand, they’re meeting Democratic primary voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, California. Democratic primary voters in these states tend to be disproportionately pro-peace, informed, activist-oriented. On the other hand, these people are still serving in the Senate, so they still have to make public choices like how to vote and which bills to co-sponsor.
On April 4, Senator Udall introduced S.1039 – the “Prevention of Unconstitutional War with Iran Act of 2019.” Here were the original co-sponsors:
Cosponsor Date Cosponsored
Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]* 04/04/2019
Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]* 04/04/2019
Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT]* 04/04/2019
Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]* 04/04/2019
Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]* 04/04/2019
Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]* 04/04/2019
Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]* 04/04/2019
Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]* 04/04/2019
Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]* 04/04/2019
Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]* 04/04/2019
Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]* 04/04/2019
Note that among Senators running for President, only Bernie Sanders was an original co-sponsor.
Here’s who has joined subsequently:
Cosponsor Date Cosponsored
Sen. Carper, Thomas R. [D-DE] 05/07/2019
Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] 05/13/2019
Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] 05/14/2019
Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] 05/15/2019
Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD] 05/15/2019
Note that among Senators running for President, only Elizabeth Warren has joined the bill since it was introduced.
Among Senators running for President, that leaves Kamala Harris [D-CA], Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY], Amy Klobuchar [D-MN], Cory Booker[D-NJ], and Michael Bennet [D-CO] unaccounted for. And by the way, what’s up with Tammy Baldwin [D-WI] and Tammy Duckworth [D-IL]? Dick Durbin was an original co-sponsor. Where is Tammy Duckworth?
DC phone numbers are below. Call your own Senator first. Then, if you want to call one or more of the other Senators who are running to serve as your President, who can stop you?
When you reach a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like: “I urge you to co-sponsor Senator Udall’s bill to prevent unconstitutional war with Iran.”
When you’ve made your phone call[s], please report so in the comments below, to inspire others to call.
Senator DC Phone
Kamala Harris [D-CA]: (202) 224 - 3553
Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]: (202) 224-4451
Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]: 202-224-3244
Cory Booker [D-NJ]: (202) 224-3224
Michael Bennet [D-CO]: 202-224-5852
Tammy Baldwin [D-WI]: (202) 224-5653
Tammy Duckworth [D-IL]: (202) 224-2854
You can also sign our petition here.