Republican and Democratic Senate offices report "overwhelming" opposition from their constituents to war with Iraq. This comes as Congress prepares to pass a war resolution granting President Bush sweeping powers to invade Iraq.
The national news radio show Democracy Now! conducted an informal survey on Thursday of 70 Republican and Democratic Senate offices.
Of the 26 offices which responded to our inquires, 22 reported an overwhelming majority — in some cases up to 99 percent — of constituents opposed war in Iraq; three said the response was split and just one office reported a majority called backing the war. Among the findings:
Democrats
* Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl: Aides say they are receiving 1,000-2,000 calls per week with the overwhelming number opposed to an attack on Iraq.
* Washington Sen. Patty Murray: Over 5,000 letters and phone calls were received last week on Iraq, aides say. Only about 100 came from constituents who supported an attack.
* California Sen. Dianne Feinstein: Staff in her San Francisco office reported about 200 calls a day with 99 percent of the callers opposing the war.
* New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman: The D.C. office has been receiving at least 1,300 calls a day with about 70 percent opposed to war.
Republicans
* North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms: Staff declined to give figures but said the "majority is against" when it comes to calls on Iraq.
* Nebraska Sen. Charles Hegel: According to aides, constituents favor diplomacy over war at a rate of 5 to 1.
* Virginia Sen. John Warner: About 150 constituents a day are calling into the D.C. offices. "A very small minority supported military action," said one aide.
"It's extraordinary that, as Senators work with the Bush Administration to draft a war resolution, their constituents are expressing overwhelming opposition an attack against Iraq," said Amy Goodman, the host of Democracy Now! "Unfortunately we are hearing very little about this in the media. These calls represent the silenced majority, not the silent majority."
Democracy Now is a daily nationwide news show based in New York. It is broadcast on over 130 public radio and television stations around the country.
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