A Message to Supporters   Deborah Vollmer's Entry in the League of Women Voters Voters Guide Deborah Vollmer's Entry in the Gazette Voters Guide  See Deborah Vollmer on Cable TV Status of Campaign: Next Steps Upcoming Forums and Events Welcome to the Site Biography of Deborah Vollmer Index to Site Articles that Mention Deborah Vollmer Letters to the Editor Out of Iraq Flyer (printable pdf file [click here to download pdf reader]) Letter to Voters Flyer (printable pdf file [click here to download pdf reader]) Endorsements of Deborah Candidates Endorsed by Deborah in 2006 General Election A Challenge to Debate Chris Van Hollen Press Releases & Announcements Photos

Write-in Candidate for Congress, CD-8

  August 8, 2008

In the 8^th Congressional District in Maryland—Let the Debates Begin! Chris Van Hollen, Who has a mixed voting record on Iraq War funding,  Signs on as Co-sponsor to Resolution Adding to the Drumbeats of War with Iran!

Friends,

           While citizens across this nation continue to focus attention on the upcoming Presidential elections, Congress has gone on its summer recess.  The two major parties will be having their conventions, and then we will undoubtedly see a series of debates among the Presidential candidates.  Hopefully, those debates will include not only the Democratic Party candidate Barak Obama, and Republican John McCain, but also independent and third-party alternatives including Cynthia McKinney (Green), Bob Barr (Libertarian), and Ralph Nader (independent).  The people of this country deserve the opportunity to hear from all the candidates. 

          In the 8^th Congressional District of Maryland, voters will also have a choice.  In addition to the candidates of the major parties, Chris Van Hollen, Democrat, and our incumbent Congressman, and Steve Hudson, Republican, there will be other candidates running, including Gordon Clark of the Green Party, and Libertarian Ian Thomas.  There will also be one or more candidates running who are official write-in candidates, myself included.

          My own campaign is based on my opposition to certain positions that our incumbent Congressman, Chris Van Hollen, has taken,  most notably with regard to his mixed voting record with regard to continued funding for the Iraq War, and his signing on as a co-sponsor to House Concurrent Resolution 362, adding to the drumbeats for war with Iran.

          I have spent most of my time and effort in these messages on focusing on urging Chris Van Hollen and others in Congress to use Congress’s power of the purse to end the war in Iraq.  I have pointed out that our current representative, Chris Van Hollen, has what, to put it kindly, has been a mixed voting record on the issue of Iraq war funding.  But it is not only the war in Iraq that should concern us, but the mindset of the Bush Administration and its enablers, that could lead us to even wider wars with other nations.

          It has frankly come as a bit of a shock to me that Chris Van Hollen, who had seemed to be moving in a somewhat better direction on the issue of Iraq War funding than he had been, by casting some significant votes against funding—has now signed on as a co-sponsor to H. Con Res 362.  The resolution calls upon President Bush to increase economic, political, and diplomatic pressure on Iran; the wording allows for the possibility of a blockade of Iran—an act that could well be interpreted as an act of war.  There are 261 co-sponsors to this now, and Chris Van Hollen’s name is among them.

          Contact Chris Van Hollen’s office (you can reach his office through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121) and let him know that you want him to REMOVE his name as a co-sponsor of H. Con. Res. 362—and you want him to vote NO on the resolution when it comes to the floor of the House.  And when you make your call, you just might remind him that you have the option to vote for someone else to be your Congressman this November.  (That could, for example, be a write-in vote for Deborah Vollmer, or a vote for Green Party candidate Gordon Clark.)

          For my assessment of Chris Van Hollen’s recent votes on Iraq War funding, and his vote against giving the telecoms immunity, please click below to read my earlier Messages to Supporters.  As noted above, his record on Iraq war funding is mixed. 

We must mobilize now more than ever, to pressure Congress to bring an immediate end to this tragic, illegal, and immoral War in Iraq—to prevent a wider war with Iran and other nations--and to restore civil liberties at home.

As the Presidential candidates prepare to debate the issues on the national stage, we should also mobilize to have full debates here in the 8^th Congressional District.  These debates should include all of the candidates running, including the official write-in candidates.  You can help.  If you are a member of an organization that might be willing to sponsor a Congressional Candidates debate for Maryland’s 8^th Congressional District, please work within your organization to make this happen.  I am hoping that organizations such as the League of Woman Voters, Peace Action, the NAACP, and others will be willing to organize and host such debates. 

The voters deserve the opportunity to hear from all of the candidates in Maryland’s 8^th Congressional District!  I cannot speak for any of the other candidates, of course, but in my own behalf I will say that it will be my intention to accept any invitations extended to me to participate in such debates.

Deborah A. Vollmer

Click here to read previous messages from Deborah.

Dear Friends,

Sincerely,