Algoma, Amory, Baraboo, Casco, Draper, Edgewater, Egg Harbor, Ephraim, Evansville, Exeland, Forestville, Frederic, Hayward, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Ladysmith, Luxembourg, Madison, Monona, Mt. Horeb, Newport, Ogibwa, Oseola, Shorewood, Sister Bay, Sturgeon Bay, Watertown, Whitefish Bay, and Winter. All are Wisconsin places where citizens petitioned last year to put a non-binding resolution favoring withdrawal from Iraq on the April 4th ballot.
While most eyes will be focused on Madison as the Iraq War referenda are voted on, the real story is in the smaller communities, especially those that are traditionally not Democratic strongholds. Want to know how Heartland America really feels? Watch Ladysmith. See how Evansville votes; there's a countering resolution there opposing troop withdrawal. Watch Egg Harbor, Ephraim, Sister Bay, and Sturgeon Bay in Door County, which went for George W. in 2004.
How each of these towns got these resolutions on the ballot are great stories of local folks deciding to petition their neighbors at farmers' markets, bowling alleys, cafes, and door to door. The Evansville groups pushing competing resolutions, for example, both got enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. EvilleAlderFred (Alderperson Fred Jeurgens), who is also running (unopposed) for re-election on April 4th, was a pro-withdrawal petition organizer. Evansville held a heated, yet orderly public forum on the two questions last night, and local curmudgeon Grumps actually put on pants over his blogging pajamas to attend. Someone at the State Journal had the good sense to send George Hesselberg to cover it. This is real democracy at the grassroots level.
If places like Evansville go solidly for "Yes" when asked to approve the withdrawal resolution, we will have evidence of the coming groundswell against the war. The resolution's wording: "The citizens of Evansville, Wisconsin request that the United States Government begin an immediate and orderly withdrawal of all its military personnel from Iraq, beginning with the National Guard and Reserves."
Sounds sensible to me.
We'll know next week. Stay tuned.
And, if you can vote in any of these places, do so, even if the outcome is preordained, as it is in Madison and in Whitefish Bay. As we used to chant, back in the day, trying to stop another wrong-headed war based on lies: "The whole world is watching."