Iowans Join Edwards in Innovative Call for Congressional Courage on Iraq
Groundbreaking Ad Uses YouTube Technology to Send Message from “We the People”
Des Moines, Iowa – Iowans are among the first to join with Senator John Edwards in recording their own message to Congress urging them to stand up to President Bush and end the war in Iraq. Using YouTube technology, Edwards has invited Iowans and people from across the country to add their voices to an innovative TV and online advertising campaign that tells Congress to stand firm against President Bush and send him the same Iraq funding bill again and again until he signs it and brings the war to an end.
A new version of the ad featuring the Iowans is available on http://www.johnedwards.com/wethepeople. As more and more people send in video clips, they will be added and the new ad will be posted on YouTube and JohnEdwards.com.
“Iowans have joined this important call to bring our troops home and standing up to the President, and their message must be heard,” said Edwards. “Congress should answer the president's veto by sending him another bill with a timetable for withdrawal. And if he vetoes that one, they should send him another and another until we end this war and bring our troops home. It’s time for Congress and the President to listen to the voices of the American people."
“People sent a clear message in the last election that it’s time to end this war,” said Mary Clark of Carlisle, one of the Iowans featured in ad. “I hope that Democrats and Republicans in Congress take our message seriously, and do whatever it takes to get our troops home. Our troops have shown enormous courage, but now we need our Congress to do the same.”
Edwards said that the messages from regular Iowans are particularly important now that President Bush has vetoed legislation to bring our troops home. He has expressed great concern at reports that Congressional negotiators have taken a timetable for withdrawal off the table in talks with the White House.
A 30 second version of the ad is running in the Washington, D.C. media market - so that Congress will hear the message – while the longer version, including a growing number of people who have submitted their own video, will continue to run on the John Edwards website and YouTube.
Iowans who have added their voices to the ad include Mary Clark of Carlisle, Jackie Rote of Ankeny, Erika Horstmann of West Des Moines, Karen Miller of West Des Moines, and Dan Kelley of Newton.
