In the spring of 2019 the Wellstone Club Peace Committee proposed four peace resolutions for adoption by the California Democratic Party.  We reached out to other Democratic clubs and Party organizations in California and they endorsed these resolutions.  This statewide grassroots effort proved  successful: the resolutions were officially approved by the Party at the Convention and eBoard meetings this past summer (2019).

The resolutions support the following actions:

1. Peacefully Resolve the Crisis in Venezuela
2. Support Nuclear Arms Control
3. Repeal the AUMF (Military Force Authorization)
4. Audit the Pentagon

1. Peacefully Resolve the Crisis in Venezuela

WHEREAS United States foreign policy has contributed in the past to the overthrow of governments in Latin America, including the 2002 coup in Venezuela; and

WHEREAS the Trump administration along with other Republican and some Democratic leaders have called for the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro — whose government is recognized by the United Nations — and have recognized an unelected pretender, have abetted Venezuelan military officers seeking to overthrow their own government, have threatened to use U.S. troops to invade the country, and have violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations by failing to secure Venezuelan consulates from hostile takeover and abetting a siege on the D.C. Embassy by a violent anti-government mob — actions that are even more troubling coming from a president who openly admits that control of oil is a main driver for his policies, is anxious to win a foreign policy victory and desperate to distract from criminal investigations; and

WHEREAS the actual effect of the Trump administration’s sanctions, placed in violation of the UN and OAS charters, has been the opposite of their proclaimed purpose — they have increased the suffering of the Venezuelan people by cutting off the availability of basic necessities and critical medications while wreaking havoc on Venezuela’s currency, thereby greatly polarizing the Venezuelan people, exacerbating civil conflict, and driving the Maduro government into a repressive posture;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the California Democratic Party opposes any attempts by the Trump Administration to overthrow the government of Venezuela directly or indirectly by arming other forces, internal or external, that aim to take power undemocratically and in violation of international law, calls for the lifting of economic sanctions, affirms the right of the Venezuelan government to safely operate and control its own embassy in Washington, D.C., opposes infliction upon the Venezuelan people of more suffering that open or covert war and sanctions surely bring; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call on our Democratic leaders to support multilateral diplomatic efforts to promote negotiations between the Venezuelan government and the various opposition groups to resolve the Venezuelan crisis peacefully and democratically.

2. Support Nuclear Arms Control

WHEREAS the U.S. has announced that it is walking away from 1 the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, an agreement made between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in 1987 to eliminate nuclear weapons deployed in Europe that put the continent on a trip-wire to nuclear war; and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which limits the number of US and Russian strategic nuclear weapons, is set to expire soon, with no renewal in sight; and

WHEREAS the U.S. has also withdrawn from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement that prevents Iran from building or acquiring nuclear weapons; and

WHEREAS the threat of nuclear war is the most acute it has been in decades because of the world’s 15,000 or so nuclear weapons that have the risk of literally ending the world according to International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Chief Beatrice Fihn of Sweden;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the California Democratic Party urges the California Congressional delegation to vigorously advocate U.S. adherence to the INF Treaty and reject the funding of nuclear weapons systems which the INF Treaty bans; support U.S. diplomacy to negotiate continuation of the INF Treaty, renew START, and honor the JCPOA agreement; and advocate negotiations to eliminate all nations’ nuclear weapons, in keeping with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty passed by the U.N. in 2017;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be transmitted officially to all members of the California Congressional delegation.

3. Audit the Pentagon Budget

WHEREAS the Pentagon Budget represents more than half of the discretionary 1 spending in the national budget of the United States; and

WHEREAS the Constitution of the United States of America (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11) specifically grants to Congress the authority to declare war, making the AUMF a fundamental violation of division of power among the branches of the government codified in the Constitution; and

WHEREAS the military’s wasted and misdirected funds would be far better used to assist conversion from a military and fossil-fuel based economy to a sustainable economy that meets such civilian needs as health care, education, housing, mass transportation, renewable energy, and ending poverty;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the California Democratic Party urges the Congressional Delegation from California to support on-going auditing of the Pentagon budget and to vote against any Defense Appropriations legislation in 2019 and 2020 that does not directly address Pentagon waste;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be transmitted officially to all members of California’s Congressional delegation.

4. Repeal the AUMF

WHEREAS the Congress of the United States passed the AUMF (Authorization 1 of Use of Military Force) in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks – with Congresswoman Barbara Lee casting the lone dissenting vote – granting the President of the United States sole discretionary power, without specific Congressional authorization, to direct the U.S. military to undertake offensive operations; and

WHEREAS the Constitution of the United States of America (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11) specifically grants to Congress the authority to declare war, making the AUMF a fundamental violation of division of power among the branches of the government codified in the Constitution; and

WHEREAS since the passage of the AUMF, the United States, under three Presidents, has engaged in military action in at least 14 different countries without Congressional approval;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the California Democratic Party urges the Congressional Delegation from California to support the repeal of the AUMF;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be transmitted officially to all members of California’s Congressional delegation.