“Do you think the result of the war with Iraq was worth the loss of American life and other costs of attacking Iraq, or not?” Sixty percent of people asked say it was not worth it. Fifty percent or more have agreed since May 2004.

Seventy percent of U.S. troops serving in Iraq believe that the United States should end its operations in that country by the end of 2006.

In spite of huge efforts by the Bush administration, most Democrats, and the corporate media to convince people that the war has been justified and progress is being made, tens of millions continue to oppose the war on Iraq. Large sections of the working classes, the people who build the tanks and who are often compelled by economic need to enlist in the army, oppose the war. This steadfast opposition to the war is the foundation of the strength of the antiwar organizations and a building block for the future.

There have also been successful campaigns against military recruitment on many campuses. Iraq Veterans against the War has grown. In April, Wisconsin activists organized antiwar referenda on ballots across the state. People overwhelmingly supported the non-binding resolutions to “bring all the troops home now.”

August 8, Ned Lamont won the Democratic Senate nomination in Connecticut with an openly antiwar campaign against Joe Lieberman, vice presidential candidate in 2000. His antiwar stand is conservative and only refracts the more consistent and passionate opposition that is in the working classes. His victory will be used to in-crease the illusory and deceptive hope that the antiwar and peace movements can reform the Democratic Party.

In 2004, several key organizations and the majority of antiwar activists supported voting for John Kerry, the Democratic Party nominee, as the lesser evil. The more consistent antiwar activists refused to support Kerry and said so. Some supported antiwar candidates for president such as Ralph Nader or David Cobb.

Echoing some of the former Kerry supporters, Cindy Sheehan, who revitalized the movement with Camp Casey [named after her son who died in Iraq] outside of the Bush ranch, said: “I will not support a pro-war Democrat. I regret supporting John Kerry in 2004. The movement gained nothing from his candidacy.” Hundreds of thousands have signed a Voters for Peace pledge, stating: “I will not vote for or support any candidate for Congress or President who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign.”

Some antiwar organizations, those most closely linked to supporting the Democrats as a lesser evil, refuse to demand the immediate withdrawal of Israel from Lebanon and instead condemn both sides in the conflict, in yet another concession to empire.

And, the antiwar majority has not found a way to express itself fully, to act against the war. This is a challenge to antiwar organizations: what can they do to reach deeper into neighborhoods, workplaces and communities and find ways to help millions of people express their feelings against the war? Voting for consistent antiwar candidates is one way.

Many Green candidates as well as the Stop the War Slate candidates do not think that voting, by itself, can stop the war. The Iraqi resistance, soldiers’ refusal to fight, anti-recruitment campaigns and demonstrations: these all play and will continue to play a decisive role in ending the war.

What the antiwar candidates want to do is, as Derek Grigsby says: “educate my brothers and sisters to the truth” about this war. US Senate candidate David Sole says “make the elections an antiwar demonstration.” Or as Margaret Guttshall, Wayne State Board of Governors candidate said in Critical Moment #16, “make the elections a referendum on the war.”

The alliance of the Green Party and the Stop the War Slate gives the people of Michigan an opportunity to express their opposition to the war at the ballot box. The slate is composed of a diverse group of candidates; here are some of those running. For more information on the Green Party of Michigan visit www.migreens.org. For more information on MECAWI, a local anti-war movement in Detroit, visit www.mecawi.org

Derek Grigsby, City of Detroit worker, State Representative, 7th district Detroit (Stop the War Slate/Green Party):

“One major issue is the billions of dollars they are spending: $300-$400 billion on the military. In Detroit we’re closing elementary and junior high schools. $15 million a day is going to the war effort. That is horrible when children in Detroit are having their schools closed.

“The money is being wasted on murdering people in other countries solely for the sake of profit. This is a factor why I am in this race. I want to bring that to the attention of as many Detroiters as possible. We can make it; the money is there. Our money, our tax dollars are there, and we should use them for the social programs in our cities, for schools, for healthcare. Our taxes don’t need to be increased. We don’t have to fall for the lies to hike them.

“I’m a city worker. They are raising our co-payments and the fees that we have to pay for health care. Tax dollars are what I get paid with so it directly affects me. We could be using the money to lower the healthcare rates of city workers.

“Most of the citizens in my district are uninformed or mal-informed. Our media is distorting facts, distorting history. One of my goals in my district is to educate, if possible. We’re a hard-headed people. I want to educate my brothers and sisters to the truth. I am a Christian and I believe that the truth will set you free if we just hear it and contemplate it. We don’t have to support this evil, criminal war. If I can make them understand that, it would be a great accomplishment, even if I don’t win the seat. Education is my goal.”

Loren Spenser, 18, Michigan State University student, Michigan State University Board of Trustees (Stop the War Slate/Green Party):

“The big issue I want to bring up is the war. Besides the issue of the morality of the war, look at how much we are spending on the war, and how much tuition is going up each and every year. What I want to make others running for this office take a position on is this: more and more money is going into this war and less and less is being spent on education. The economy is going down and tuition is going up. How are people going to pay for it?

“I think MSU is right in giving benefits to same sex partners and I oppose the lawsuit filed against MSU to deny these benefits.

“I want MSU’s anti-discrimination policy to include gender identity and expression in their policy. Discrimination comes in all forms and all forms need to be ad-dressed.

“Lastly, I oppose the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative. Michigan State uses affirmative action and we still have less than 20% minority students. I think that MCRI is a huge threat to affirmative action. So much education takes place outside of the classroom. I just finished my first year and I learned so much from talking to people from different backgrounds. Diversity is so important in higher education.”

Michael Merriweather, 26, WSU student, Wayne State University Board of Governors (Stop the War Slate/Green Party):

“I’m a member of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). One of our goals is to create a political climate on campus; to have students run for office on cam-pus; appealing to students and the issues that affect them to make the whole idea of control of the university as a student right. We want to challenge students to take more control of their education: it is their university, too.

“About 51¢ of every dollar goes to war and homeland
security; about 7¢ for education. War is a tax on everything, particularly education. The government plans for a future filled with nuclear weapons, but they won’t plan for kids going to school. The idea is that we are much more important than the bombs that’ll never be used.”

Fred David is an editor of Critical Moment.