Steve Bannon (still time to sign the petition to Congress)

Donald Trump offered right-wing extremist Steve Bannon a seat at the most powerful table in the world. Sign the petition to call on your representatives in Congress to keep Bannon off the National Security Council.

Dear Eddie,

It’s not too late to block Steve Bannon from sitting on the National Security Council. Just this week, we’ve seen news reports that Bannon is amassing power in the White House, helped the president decide to launch a disastrous military raid in Yemen, and has a worldview that is even more dangerous and violent than previously known.^1,2,3 It's more clear than ever that we must do everything possible to stop him now.

With the Trump Administration already banging the drums of war, Bannon’s seat at the center of America’s national security is even more troubling. Just over a year ago, Bannon said there is "no doubt" that the U.S. would soon be fighting a "major shooting war in the Middle East," and only months ago, he declared "we’re going to war in the South China Sea in five to 10 years."⁴

Unless we stop him, he now has the power to turn those terrifying predictions into reality. Add your name to the petition to help oust Steve Bannon from the National Security Council.

Congress can act to remove Bannon from the National Security Council—and in the past 72 hours, 69 members of Congress have signed on to Representative Stephanie Murphy's bill that would do just that.⁵ Now is a moment for all members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, to choose a side. Will they trust our national security to a white nationalist political operative with a reckless, apocalyptic worldview, or will they fight back?

Click here to sign the petition and join nearly 300,000 fellow MoveOn members who have called on Congress to stop Steve Bannon.

(For more details, please see my colleague Stephen Miles' first email, below.)

Thanks for all you do.

—Amy Frame, Win Without War

Sources:

1. “Steve Bannon Builds a New Node of Power in the White House,” The Daily Beast, January 31, 2017
http://act.moveon.org/go/8037?t=5&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB 

2. “Raid in Yemen: Risky From the Start and Costly in the End,” The New York Times, February 1, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/8038?t=7&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB   
 
3. “This Is How Steve Bannon Sees The Entire World,” Buzzfeed, November 15, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/7964?t=9&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB   
 
4. “Steve Bannon: 'We're going to war in the South China Sea ... no doubt,'” The Guardian, February 1, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/8039?t=11&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB  
 
5. "Rep. Stephanie Murphy Joins Unofficial Team of Women Against Trump With Anti-Bannon Bill," Slate, February 2, 2017
http://act.moveon.org/go/8040?t=13&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB

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Dear MoveOn member,

Steve Bannon is a dangerous right-wing extremist, and Donald Trump just gave him a seat at the most powerful table in the world.

Will you sign this petition calling on your representatives in Congress to stop this?

Donald Trump's decision to seat right-wing white nationalist Steve Bannon on the National Security Council, while downgrading the standing of our military and intelligence leaders, is dangerous for America and the world. Congress must be a check on this dangerous politicization of our nation's security and immediately act to keep Steve Bannon off the National Security Council.

The National Security Council (NSC) is a group of the president's most senior military, diplomatic, and intelligence advisors, or at least it's supposed to be. Under a directive issued on Saturday by Donald Trump, Steve Bannon—the "alt-right" white-nationalist chief strategist to the president—has been appointed to the inner circle of the NSC, while the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence have been relegated to attend NSC meetings on an as-needed basis.¹

This unprecedented move politicizes our national security far beyond what George W. Bush and Karl Rove did, and it opens the door to even more disastrous efforts like the Iraq War and the Patriot Act—or much worse.² 

Thankfully, Congress has the power to stop this. Congress created the National Security Council and as recently as last year passed legislation regulating it. Right now, members of Congress are drafting legislation to keep Steve Bannon off the National Security Council and protect the independence of our national security from Donald Trump's political meddling.

Join us in demanding that Congress do all they can to block Steve Bannon from serving on the National Security Council. Click here to add your name.

This isn't just about sending a message. Bannon is reportedly the driving force behind the extreme, un-American executive orders Trump has issued in his first week in office.³ In fact, according to CNN, Bannon personally spearheaded Trump's order banning all immigrants and visa holders from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S., and slamming America's door to all refugees indefinitely.⁴

Congress must immediately undo this politicization of America's national security.

Bannon represents the worst of the Trump administration's hardliners.⁵ He has made a career out of facilitating the rise of white nationalism, argued that being perceived as evil is a source of political power, has been praised by the KKK and neo-Nazis, and more.^6,7,8,9 All signs suggest that Bannon believes deeply in the so-called clash of civilizations and that the United States needs to be made into a hub for a new kind of right-wing populism centering on white identity politics.¹⁰ We cannot let this vision be the beating heart of our nation's national security policy.

We know that this is terrifying. But the amazing mobilization of our movement over the past 10 days shows that we have the power to stop this. Millions of us have taken to the streets: from the unprecedented Women's March to the actions across the country at airports that helped reunite families torn apart by Trump's Muslim ban. Now it's time to keep the architect of Donald Trump's hateful and dangerous agenda away from America's national security.

Take two minutes to make sure your members of Congress hear loudly and clearly that they must act.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

—Stephen Miles, Win Without War

Sources:

1. "A few things to know about Steve Bannon’s ascension to the National Security Council," Miami Herald, January 31, 2017
http://act.moveon.org/go/7967?t=19&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB

2. "The danger of Steve Bannon on the National Security Council," The Washington Post, January 29, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/7924?t=21&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB

3. "Steve Bannon Is Making Sure There's No White House Paper Trail, Says Intel Source," Foreign Policy, January 30, 2017
http://act.moveon.org/go/7959?t=23&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB

4. "Inside the confusion of the Trump executive order and travel ban," CNN, January 30, 2017
http://act.moveon.org/go/7932?t=25&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB

5. "Donald Trump taps hardliners for national security team," CNN, November 18, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/7965?t=27&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB

6. "After Naming White Nationalist as Top Aide, Trump Installs Him On the National Security Council," Global Progressive Hub, November 18, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/7961?t=29&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB

7. "'Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. That's power': Steve Bannon speaks out for first time since being named Donald Trump's top White House adviser," Salon, November  18, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/7962?t=31&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB

8. "After Naming White Nationalist as Top Aide, Trump Installs Him On the National Security Council," Global Progressive Hub, November 18, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/7961?t=33&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB

9. "Stephen Bannon and Breitbart News, in Their Words," The New York Times, November 14, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/7963?t=35&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB

10. "This Is How Steve Bannon Sees The Entire World," BuzzFeed, November 15, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/7964?t=37&akid=177549.10220574.mhXWbB

 

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