Issue One, U.S. veterans partner together to call on Congress to uphold the Constitution

Issue One is continuing its crosspartisan Check the Exec campaign to protect American democracy with the launch of a new effort using the voices of everyday military veterans to urge members of Congress to defend the Constitution and uphold our system of checks and balances.

Amid ongoing abuses of executive power — including the recent federalization of the National Guard in California and deployment of U.S. Marines to quell civil protests in Los Angeles — a new Issue One ad is airing digitally across the Washington, D.C., region featuring U.S. veterans calling on lawmakers to keep their oath and protect American democracy.

 

 

 

“I swore an oath to protect our country, our Constitution, and our freedom with my life,” the veterans state. “I kept that oath. Congress, it’s time you kept yours.”

The ad will be displayed on mobile billboard trucks outside Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-ME) office in Portland, Maine; Sen. Mitch McConnell’s and Rand Paul’s (R-KY) offices in Bowling Green, Kentucky; and Rep. Don Bacon’s (R-NE) office in Omaha, Nebraska, this Thursday, June 19, and Friday, June 20.

“The Founders didn’t just fear concentrated power, they feared the abuse of it — especially when the line between the military and civilian law enforcement starts to blur,” said Issue One CEO and Founder Nick Penniman. “Congress is the centerpiece of the Constitution for a reason. Unlike the singular presidency, it’s a deliberative body meant to reflect the will of the people. But over the past four months, it’s been sidelined. It’s time for Congress to reassert its authority and restore the crucial checks and balances our system depends on.”

Issue One has leveraged constituent voices in support of our constitutional guardrails across key states including Alaska and Maine, where opinion pieces authored by local veterans and published by the Anchorage Daily News and Bangor Daily News have called on Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, respectively, to uphold their oath to the Constitution and defend the democratic values that underpin our freedoms and liberties.

“Our veterans and service members know what it means to serve — not a political party, not a person, but the Constitution of the United States,” said Chris Purdy, CEO of The Chamberlain Network, a nonprofit organization empowering veterans to protect democracy that Issue One partnered with on the new ad. “They didn’t lay their lives on the line for a system where one branch of government uses the military for political ends. When we see military force being weaponized as a political tool, it betrays the very oath we took. Congress must step up, reassert its constitutional role, and ensure that our freedoms aren’t eroded by unchecked executive power.”

Earlier this year, Issue One sponsored a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal warning the public about the serious consequences facing all Americans if the executive branch seizes for itself powers that defy accountability. “They didn’t want kings,” the ad read, referring to the Founders’ fear of unchecked power. The ad accompanied an open letter from more than 60 bipartisan former members of Congress calling on the legislative branch to exercise their constitutional role and serve as a check on the executive branch.

“Article I of the Constitution places Congress at the center of our democracy for a profound reason,” the letter states. “The legislative branch was designed to be the primary voice of the people, containing all political viewpoints, not just one. This is why the Constitution grants Congress specific and immutable powers, including the power of the purse — a vital check on executive authority.”

Learn more and take action at www.CheckTheExec.com.