Returned Peace Corps Vols for a sane foreign policy

I received this email on an Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV) listserv I'm on.

July 29, 2004

Dear Friend,

We are writing to you in the belief that you share our distress at the way our country's foreign policy has been evolving. Since the end of the Cold War, we have been gradually drifting off course.

Today, major changes are needed. To achieve these changes, we Americans must elect men and women to Congress who will lead us in the right direction. Considering your connection to the Peace Corps, we believe that if anyone is to share and understand our concerns, it would most likely be you. If in fact we are correct in this assumption, please consider the information below and join us in supporting the solution offered by Voters for New Global Policies.

The idea of cooperative solutions to global problems is a concept shared by a multitude of U.S. non-governmental organizations. Through their educational activities at home and their operations abroad, they are working for a better and safer future. But none of these groups is established with the single goal of influencing U.S. elections. There is a critical need to mobilize American voters and to support Congressional candidates who wish to work for cooperative solutions.

By exercising our rights as citizens, we can help shape the way the U.S. defines its role in the world. You may have already heard of Voters for New Global Policies, a bipartisan Political Action Committee concerned with U.S. foreign policy. If you are hearing about it for the first time, we invite you now to learn about this important new initiative, which seeks to elect members of Congress who have a strong commitment in building a better and safer future through global cooperation.

In the upcoming November elections, much is at stake with regard to our country’s global role. We need to elect individuals who understand the importance of cooperative engagements over a range of issues. Voters for New Global Policies will endorse candidates for Congress who meet a set of criteria listed below. It will focus on open seats and candidates in highly competitive races. Incumbents will be judged upon their past performance while challengers will be evaluated on their stated policy stances.


The criteria to be considered by Voters for New Global Policies when evaluating candidates for endorsement are evidence of support for:

1) The concept that US national security is closely aligned with the safety, security and well-being of people around the world.

2) Using and strengthening the United Nations and other international organizations as significant forums and umbrellas for addressing global issues and problems.

3) The US turning first to existing international law and the appropriate international umbrellas to resolve a threat to international order prior to the use of military power.

4) Initiatives that reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation and the spread of other weapons of mass destruction.

5) A vigorous development assistance program, with a particular focus on global poverty reduction, based both on US national interest and US humanitarian values.

6) Programs and initiatives that explicitly benefit all countries’ long-term prospects, such as environmental protection, universal education, meeting critical global health needs like HIV-AIDS, and advancement of the participation of women in political and economic life.

7) Consistent, coherent approaches to trade, finance/debt and assistance policies that promote equitable development.

8) Policies that consistently demonstrate US values of support for the rule of law and the promotion of human rights and democracy, and for policies that exert maximum pressure on governments who act in a manner contrary to these values.



Voters for New Global Policies is now in the process of applying these criteria in a number of important races. Among the first candidates who are receiving endorsements are Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Arizona), Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa), Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-North Dakota), Rep. Chris Shays (R-Connecticut), Rep. David Hobson (R-Ohio), and Sen. Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota). We will be endorsing additional candidates in the weeks to come.



We hope you will agree on the importance of giving electoral support to those leaders who demonstrate an understanding of the necessity for global cooperation in resolving problems and meeting challenges. If you do, we ask you to join us in making a financial contribution to Voters for New Global Policies, by visiting its website at www.voters4newglobalpolicies.org and contributing online or by sending a check made out to Voters for New Global Policies at 1730 Rhode Island Ave, NW, Suite 712 in Washington DC 20036.

As we will be attending the National Peace Corps Convention in Chicago from August 5 to 8, we ask that you please stop by our booth if you will also be present. Your support will make a difference in improving the quality of Congress as it deals with the global issues that confront our country.

Thank you for your consideration.


Sincerely,

Thomas Fox
Deputy Director in Togo, first Country Director in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and Deputy Regional Director for Africa, 1965-1972



David Scotton
Chief of Staff to Director Loret Miller Ruppe, 1981-1989