Wisconsin voters say U.S. out of Iraq now

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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Twenty-four of 32 Wisconsin communities approved referendums April 4 calling for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, while eight others voted against such measures.

Though the referendums carry no weight — municipal governments can’t dictate the federal government’s actions — organizers hoped to send a message.

The Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, which helped organize the efforts, was already looking at expanding it to more cities in future elections, said spokeswoman Rachel Friedman. She said elected officials should take the results into account as they look toward the November elections.

“They have seven months to listen to us, to the voters and to do the right thing,” Friedman said. “The people have spoken. This is what democracy looks like.”

Voters in the capital Madison, the Milwaukee suburbs of Shorewood and Whitefish Bay and the western city of La Crosse were among those approving a pullout. Those voting down the measure included the south-central city of Watertown and the northwestern city of Hayward.

Terri Librizzi, 78, of Shorewood, was among the 70 percent of voters in the village to approve the measure. “Maybe if George Bush’s daughters would have to go into the service, the war would end tomorrow,” Librizzi said.

Most of the referendums asked whether the voters supported withdrawing the troops immediately, and Evansville also had one urging support of President Bush, a measure that voters rejected.

Bush has refused to set a deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Fifty-one soldiers from Wisconsin have died in Iraq since the invasion three years ago.

Geralyn Lu, 50, of Madison, voted to withdraw the troops in that city’s referendum. “So many lives lost in a futile war. I didn’t want them there in the first place.” she said.