Common Defense PAC

Campaigns

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  Veterans to Manchin: We Need Clean Energy Now

  When we were called to serve and protect our nation, we showed up. Congress: the American people are now calling on you for action. It's time to deliver real clean energy security that takes the power back from hostile dictators and greedy corporations.

  42 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Perry O'Brien
• Boy Scouts: Take Away Trump's Honorary Presidency

  I served six years as a Marine, but the first uniform I put on was as a member of Boy Scouts of America. In the Boy Scouts, I lived by the Boy Scout Law, learning their code of values. At the Boy Scouts National Jamboree on Monday, Donald Trump showed he shares none of these values, and disrespected tens of thousands of young Scouts and their families by turning a nonpartisan event into a bizarre, offensive campaign rally, leading chants booing his political enemies, praising himself, and bragging about his election. It has long been a tradition for the President of the United States to serve as honorary president of Boy Scouts of America, but it is clear that Donald Trump cannot serve as a role model for Boy Scouts and other young people, and is against the values Scouts live by and the oath Boy Scouts like me swear. Therefore, we demand that Boy Scouts of America take away Donald Trump’s honorary title of president of the organization.

  73,108 of 75,000 Signatures

  Created by Alexander McCoy
• Tell GOP leaders to disavow Trump and his attacks on veterans

  Over the weekend, Donald Trump publicly insulted the Khan family, making comments—rooted in Islamophobia—about a family grieving the loss of their son, Humayun Khan, a U.S. solider who died in Iraq. This is one in a long line of painful examples which make it clear that Trump cannot be trusted to honor the women and men serving this nation in the armed services. My organization, Common Defense, was started out of a shared belief that Donald Trump is unfit to be our next commander-in-chief. As an Operation Enduring Freedom veteran, I’m appalled at Trump's disrespect for military families and his use of veterans as political props. In the army, I swore to protect the rights of every American. But Donald Trump wants to divide us, and his actions will put us in danger. Sen. McConnell and Speaker Ryan have both released statements that failed to mention Donald Trump by name or outright condemn his attacks. If Republican leaders do not outright disavow Trump's dangerous rhetoric, they are not only endorsing Donald Trump's candidacy, but also his attacks on veterans. We cannot allow these comments to go unchallenged. Tell the leaders of the Republican Party to disavow Trump's attacks on veterans now.

  122,270 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Perry O'Brien
• End The Forever War

  The United States has been in a state of continuous, global, open-ended military conflict since 2001. We have been at war for so long that Americans born 17 years ago can now enlist to fight in a war that began before they were born. These wars have had devastating consequences for the military community, our nation, and the whole planet. As veterans and military families, we are tired of endless war, and we are asking our leaders to pledge that they will bring these wars to an end. We are also demanding that Congress reclaim its powers of oversight on matters of foreign policy. We cannot afford more reckless wars, and we need Democratic leaders who will boldly stand for a progressive, moral vision of U.S. involvement overseas.

  3,237 of 4,000 Signatures

  Created by Perry O'Brien
• Trump is unfit to lead our nation

  As a wounded combat veteran, I know firsthand the life-and-death importance of real leadership, which is why I'm compelled to act now. We've all had that moment where it became clear just how unfit Trump is to lead our nation. For myself it was his insensitive and disrespectful comment that he “always wanted” a Purple Heart — the medal you earn for being wounded in combat, and the same medal I earned 12 years ago while carrying out a mission in Iraq. There are so many reasons we can’t trust Trump to lead the world’s most powerful military. On the use of nuclear weapons, Trump has said “we need unpredictability,” and that he sees no problem in letting more countries develop nuclear capabilities. Speaking with a foreign policy expert about the U.S. nuclear arsenal, Trump reportedly asked, “If we have them, why can’t we use them?” Trump won’t commit to protecting our NATO allies, has asked Russia to conduct cyber attacks against the United States, and has even claimed that President Obama is "the founder of ISIS." Trump has consistently dishonored the men and women who have worn our nation's uniform. He has repeatedly attacked the Khans, a Gold Star family who lost their son in Iraq. He mocked Senator John McCain for his experiences as a P.O.W., lied about donations he raised for veterans' charitable organizations, and accused Iraq veterans of stealing reconstruction funds. He even claimed, “I know more about ISIS than the generals do. Believe me.” This combination of hubris and inexperience prompted 50 national security experts who served Republican presidents to write a letter warning that Trump, if elected, "would be the most reckless President in American history.” Finally, I cannot tolerate Trump’s unending bigotry. He has consistently insulted women, Muslims, immigrants, and so many other Americans, many of whom (unlike Trump) have donned a military uniform and served our country. We have one of the most diverse armed forces in the world, and our troops deserve a commander in chief who respects and honors their service. We cannot afford to be silent when our fellow veterans and service members are being slandered and the safety of our nation is at risk. Join me in telling political leaders at every level that they must disavow Trump now, and if they fail to do so, that they will not have our support in November.

  14,641 of 15,000 Signatures

  Created by Alan Pitts
• VP Pence: you owe us $1 million for that NFL stunt

  Mike Pence flew 3,300 miles in Air Force Two on a Trump-promoted stunt—spending millions in the process—just so he could insult NFL players taking a knee for racial justice. After some players knelt during the national anthem at a recent Indianapolis Colts game, Pence walked out of the stadium, later saying in a statement "I stand with President Trump, I stand with our soldiers, and I will always stand for our Flag and our National Anthem."2 It was an obvious media stunt, designed to continue the administration's racist attacks on athletes peacefully demonstrating against police brutality and systematic racism. Unlike our vice president and Donald Trump, I actually served in the military, and I am 100% in support of the athletes calling attention to our broken, unjust system. I don't appreciate it when Trump and Pence talk about veterans and the flag to hide their own racist agenda, and I don't appreciate a expensive, taxpayer-funded publicity stunt to advance their politics of hate. Join me in telling Pence to pay us back for his stunt.

  22,538 of 25,000 Signatures

  Created by Perry O'Brien
• Tell the military to report domestic abusers and stop them from buying guns

  A veteran of the Air Force recently committed a terrible massacre in Texas. Adding to this devastating tragedy is the revelation that if the military had reported this veteran's record of violence against his wife and child, he never would have been able to purchase the weapons he used to kill 26 churchgoers. Pentagon policies already require the military to report violent crimes like domestic abuse, but this isn't happening, and this notification failure is putting lives at risk. Tell the Armed Services Committee to instruct all branches of the military to enforce this reporting and conduct a comprehensive review to make sure other violent offenders haven't fallen through the cracks.

  639 of 800 Signatures

  Created by Perry O'Brien
• Join Vets in supporting Kaepernick

  It's electric. All over the country, NFL players are taking a knee and linking arms. They're kneeling in opposition to police brutality. They're linking arms because Black Lives Matter. They're joining together in defiance of Donald Trump, who attacks People of Color but says white supremacists are “very fine people.” Trump has tried to turn the players and teams against each other, but his divisive, racist rhetoric isn't working. It's only strengthening their bonds, and unifying people against the politics of hate. Professional athletes courageously confronted Trump's bullying and bigotry yesterday, despite the fact that he has called on their employers to fire them, and even suggested a boycott of their league. Now, as a veteran, I'm joining them, along with thousands of veterans and military families. The NFL needs to know that Americans--all of us--support patriots like Colin Kaepernick, and all the other athletes who are peacefully protesting for racial justice. This isn’t about the flag, which I have personally taken an oath to defend. It’s about our basic values, like believing in the right to speak out, demand equality, and fight for justice. We need to live our values today--like these NFL teams are--by taking a knee and linking arms. When I was 19, I stood up and raised my right hand to enlist in the US Army, because I believe in our basic values of equality, justice, and free speech. The right to kneel and express oneself is exactly what I swore an oath to protect. And all of us at Common Defense--the organization of veterans and military families I co-founded--will continue our fight to uphold that. Will you join me and send a message to the NFL that we're with them?

  184 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Perry O'Brien
• Tell Congress: No Trump war!

  Donald Trump requested $54 billion in additional funds for things like war jets, air craft carriers, and nuclear weapons--even as his budget cut deeply into the U.S. State Department's diplomatic efforts. A day later, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that "all options were on the table" with regard to addressing increased tensions with North Korea--including, as Tillerson noted, a pre-emptive military strike on North Korea. And, to make matters worse, Trump has taken to Twitter, seemingly seeking to goad or shame China, which is a long-time ally of North Korea. Trump's reckless Pentagon spending, coupled with Tillerson's bellicose rhetoric, should prompt all congressional lawmakers to state right now that they will not support a Trump administration's war of choice. MoveOn members championed strategic and lasting diplomacy with Iran and were the backbone of the resistance to the Iraq war. Let's make it clear to Members of Congress that we're prepared to once again flood the streets in cities and towns across the country to stop Trump’s war making.

  74 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Nate Terani
• Trump: Stop Using Veterans and Military Families as Props

  For those of us who have served in uniform, or belong to military families, there was nothing respectful about Trump's "tribute" to the widow of Senior Chief Owens. Instead, it was a loathsome and gut-wrenching moment - using a family's grief over a slain service member as a political ploy to shield himself from criticism, while refusing to take responsibility for his actions. During the 2016 campaign, myself and fellow veterans joined together to form Common Defense, an organization dedicated to fighting back against Trump's attacks on our most basic values. Now that he is in the White House, it is deeply troubling that Trump continues the pattern of using the military to push an agenda of hatred and division. We need to say loud and clear that we and our loved ones refuse to be pawns in Trump's game. Trump does not speak for the military community, and Trump knows nothing of the sacrifices we and our families have made. Trump's exploitation of Owens' death is just as unacceptable as his disrespect for the Gold Star Khan family during the 2016 campaign, and continues his long history of shameful insults to veterans, including POWs and Purple Heart recipients, as well as the countless Muslims, Immigrants, women, and people of color who served in uniform -- unlike Trump, who still only seems interested in serving himself. Of course the sacrifices of Gold Star families deserve to be honored, but Trump's speech was not a way of honoring Senior Chief Owens, it was taking advantage of a family's grief for his own political gain. This cannot be tolerated. Stand with us in condemning Trump's use of veterans and military families as political props.

  290 of 300 Signatures

  Created by Perry O'Brien