Friend, thousands of people have signed onto General Mattis's statement denouncing Trump as a threat to the Constitution.
This is a red-alert moment for our democracy. Thank you for standing up for America. -- Stephanie Taylor and Adam Green, PCCC co-founders
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Our democracy faces grave times. Donald Trump used our U.S. military to gas and attack peaceful protesters this week, and then lied about it.
Hopefully you saw the good news -- Trump's own former Defense Secretary, James Mattis, and other retired military officers spoke up and said: Hell no. Not in America.
Mattis wrote: "Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try...We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership... We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in Lafayette Square. We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution."
This is a red-alert moment for our democracy. We are asking everyone to co-sign Mattis's statement here -- ESPECIALLY veterans. If you know veterans who are disgusted, please forward this to them.
On the link above, you can read Mattis's full statement. We will elevate the names of co-signers publicly, including possibly in full-page newspaper ads.
It's almost unheard of for retired generals and admirals to speak out against the Commander In Chief. But here's some of what they're saying:
"June 1, 2020. Remember the date. It may well signal the beginning of the end of the American experiment." -- John Allen, four-star Marine general
"It sickened me yesterday to see security personnel—including members of the National Guard—forcibly and violently clear a path through Lafayette Square to accommodate the president's visit outside St. John's Church. I have to date been reticent to speak out on issues surrounding President Trump's leadership, but we are at an inflection point, and the events of the past few weeks have made it impossible to remain silent." -- Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents Obama and Bush
"The president proclaimed himself the 'ally of peaceful protesters.' But, at that very moment, just a few hundred feet away across Lafayette Park, fully equipped riot police and troops violently, and without provocation, set upon the peaceful demonstrators there, manhandling and beating many of them, employing flash-bangs, riot-control agents, and pepper spray throughout. These demonstrators had done nothing to warrant such an attack." -- General John Allen
"Whatever Trump's goal in conducting his visit, he laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country...We must, as citizens, address head-on the issue of police brutality and sustained injustices against the African American community. We must, as citizens, support and defend the right—indeed, the solemn obligation—to peacefully assemble and to be heard." -- Chairman Mike Mullen
"The vast majority of the people protesting in the streets are justifiably furious at the murder of George Floyd, but they’re even angrier over pervasive injustice, mass incarceration, frequent false arrests, and an institutionalized devaluation of black lives and property...as much as the president would like them to be—indeed, needs them to be—terrorists, that is not what these people are...the obvious targets for designation as domestic terrorists are, first and foremost, violent white supremacist groups." -- General John Allen
"I am deeply worried that as they execute their orders, the members of our military will be co-opted for political purposes...Our fellow citizens are not the enemy, and must never become so." - Chairman Mike Mullen
"The words 'Equal Justice Under Law' are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding...Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside." -- James Mattis, former Defense Secretary
The floodgates are opening. Republican senators who were silent before have even started criticizing Trump after military brass spoke out.
This is a red-alert moment for our democracy. We are asking everyone to co-sign Mattis's statement here -- ESPECIALLY veterans. If you know veterans who are disgusted, please forward this to them.
Thank you for standing up for America.
-- Stephanie Taylor and Adam Green, PCCC co-founders
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 | PCCC co-founder Stephanie Taylor's first picture book, I Can Change Everything, teaches kids the power of their imaginations — from changing their socks and shoes to changing the world. Buy it (or any other book) from Powell's using this link, and a portion of your purchase will fund PCCC's organizing! |
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