22Apr
Common Defense Warns Democrats: Vote to Fund This War, Lose Our Endorsement
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Common Defense, the nation’s leading grassroots veterans organization, today issued a stark warning to Democrats: any member of Congress who votes to fund Trump’s war with Iran will not receive the organization’s endorsement.
“Trump promised to end forever wars. Instead, he’s started one of the most reckless military escalations in a generation,” said Perry O’Brien, Campaigns Director at Common Defense. “Post-9/11 veterans are still living with the consequences of congress putting a bipartisan stamp on Bush’s Iraq war. Democrats cannot repeat that failure again.”
The stakes could not be higher. According to Pentagon reports, the first six days of the war already cost an estimated $11.3 billion to $12.7 billion, and now, Trump is demanding an additional $200 billion. With over 55% of Americans opposed to this war, any elected official who votes to fund it isn’t just wrong. They’re on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of the Constitution, and the wrong side of the people they were elected to serve.
“We are done with half-measures,” said Naveed Shah, Political Director of Common Defense. “For years, Washington has promised to end forever wars while continuing to fund them. That approach cost countless lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it will do the same across the entire Middle East if Congress doesn’t change course. We are not going to watch Democrats help rubber-stamp the sequel.”
The announcement marks a new phase in Common Defense’s Ending Forever Wars campaign. Common Defense was proud to make stopping forever wars a cornerstone of the 2020 Democratic Party platform. Now, we are done with half-measures, and are calling on allied organizations, progressive coalitions, and Democratic donor networks to adopt the same standard.
A vote to fund this war is a vote veterans will remember in 2026 and beyond, and we will fight back against anyone who supports this war while Americans suffer at home.
No excuses. No exceptions. No votes for Trump’s War.
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Common Defense Civic Engagement (501c4) (CDCE) is a grassroots, veteran-led organization that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.