Tell Senator Schumer: No War with Iran!

Democratic Leadership

We, the American people, have made ourselves clear: we want diplomacy, not another catastrophic war in the Middle East.


Poll after poll shows that a strong majority of voters across the political spectrum oppose military strikes against Iran. But instead of listening, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is playing dangerous political games with the stakes of war and peace.
That’s why we’re pushing back – we’re asking grassroots supporters like you to co-sign our open letter to Senator Schumer demanding he retract his recent statements opposing diplomatic negotiations with Iran and instead stand with the American people in support of peace. Will you sign-on?

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To: Democratic Leadership
From: [Your Name]

Dear Minority Leader Charles Schumer,

As organizations representing millions of Americans and New Yorkers who oppose war, we do not expect to agree with you on every issue. Yet we do expect that you will treat weighty issues of war and peace as a statesman and with the serious gravity that it deserves.

Unfortunately, your recent social media video seeking to out-hawk President Trump’s negotiations with Iran fails that test. Your comments parroted the very same bad faith and conspiracy-fueled attacks that Republicans wrongly leveled at President Obama in a bid to tank his Iran negotiations a decade ago. We urge you to retract your video and to move in line with the vast majority of Americans who support a deal with Iran and oppose a disastrous war.

There are many valid reasons to stand up to and challenge President Trump. Yet negotiations aimed at ensuring Iran can’t weaponize its nuclear program and preventing war deserve support, not political attacks.

We recognize that you and fellow Democrats may have some concerns on President Trump’s approach toward Iran that could be valid and worth sharing. For example, President Trump’s open threat to bomb Iran if negotiations fail is deeply reckless and risks undermining Congress’ Constitutional role as the sole body in charge of declaring war. When President Obama’s administration pursued its historic diplomatic efforts with Iran ten years ago, their Administration held transparent and clear briefings with Members of Congress, and this Administration should be no different; you are well within your role as an institutional leader in Congress to uphold this good governance expectation without attacking the end goals of the process altogether. We would welcome these more principled examples of critiques from you and your party.

Yet rather than offer valid criticism or warn about the risks of war that the majority of Americans desperately want to avoid, you chose to argue that the real danger is if Trump chickens out on some of his hardline demands that experts widely believe will tank negotiations and push the U.S. toward war. This is profoundly reckless. All of those whose lives would be on the line in a war with Iran - in the United States, Iran and across the Middle East - deserve much better from you.

If Democrats want to be a party that delivers for Americans, they cannot continue this negligent abandonment of the pro-peace lane to the Republican party. We urge you to provide the urgent leadership that your party needs, including by retracting your attack on ongoing negotiations toward Iran and clarifying that your preference is for a deal, not war with Iran. If you cannot provide this leadership, we urge you to step down in favor of someone who can.

Sincerely,