Greetings!
I just sent out the following email to a huge bunch of people. Feel free to cut and paste it and send it along...
UG.
Friends --
In a little over three months, we will have an incredible opportunity to stand up and change the course of our great nation. In the past six years, we have seen our jobs shipped overseas and what jobs weren't affected haven't seen raises in five years, and what jobs were actually created, all twelve of them, were substantially below the levels of the pre-Bush days; we have seen record bankruptcies and foreclosures; we have seen mercury levels in fish go up and temperatures go up higher and then there's gas prices; we have watched as our civil liberties have been trashed, and America squabble over what exactly constitutes torture and who exactly should be protected from it; we have gone into war while cutting benefits for our active duty soldiers and our veterans. Over and over again, everything that has made America strong over the past two centuries, everything that has made us proud to be Americans, has been sold out to the highest bidder.
In the next three months, we can change things. We can stand up and we can say, it is time to stop destroying America; it is time to stop dividing Americans. It is time for us to stand up and demand candidates who have respect...
respect for this great nation.
respect for the Constitution.
respect for the laws.
respect for our soldiers.
respect for our veterans.
respect for our elderly.
respect for our teachers.
respect for our medical providers.
respect for our judges.
respect for our fire fighters.
respect for people who work for a living.
respect for our unions.
respect for our citizens, because, after all, we are a nation of the people, and our government needs to be by, for, and of the people.
There are some great candidates out there, all over our great nation, and a lot of the old Republican safe districts aren't safe anymore. There's a lot of stuff you can do to help make a difference. Here are some ideas.
1) Make sure that you are registered to vote, and make sure that you actually do vote.
2) Make sure that your friends are registered to vote, and ask them to make sure that they actually do vote.
3) Realize that there are no unimportant races, there are no Republican incumbents who are safe. In the safest Republican districts in the nation, good Democrats are making a run of it. Idaho's first district; Wyoming's Congressional District; Montana's; Colorado's fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh are all in play. Districts in Texas and Tennessee and all across the South are in play. Districts whch were deep red a mere two or four years ago are showing Democrats even or running ahead. It's not just swing states or close districts. It's everywhere.
4) Realize that the Republican party has moved so far to the Right (towards fascism), that they have pushed the Democrats to the Center. While that's irritating to us liberals hanging out on the Left, it means that many people who used to be Republicans for whatever reason are coming out as Democrats. Witness former Republicans like Wesley Clark, Jim Webb (running for the Senate in Virginia), and a huge portion of the former Republican apparatus in Kansas. So, if a person respects the Constitution, the rule of law, our veterans, that person should be voting Democratic, even if they used to vote Republican. This means, if we can get the word out, we can have landslides across the country. Talk to your friends and family and neighbors and colleagues, even if they were red red Republicans, and if you can get them to look at what the Republicans are doing to destroy our great nation, and the wonderful Democrats running against them, you might be surprised at who changes over.
5) If you can donate, please do. Every dollar counts. You don't need to throw a zillion bucks at a race, five dollars matters. At the bottom of my email is a link to the Democratic National Committee, which is trying to rebuild the Democratic party precinct by precinct, county by county, across all fifty states of our Union. If you are interested in seeing some of the races I personally am fundraising for, check my Act Blue page at http://www.actblue.com/.... I've raised over $600 so far, five and ten bucks at a time, and if you wanted to throw a couple of shekels on it, that would be terrific.
6) If you have some time to spare, you might want to volunteer for a candidate in your area, or volunteer with your precinct, or maybe just write a letter or two to the editor of your local paper. Again, the Democratic Party has made this easy. The link is http://www.democrats.org/...
7) If you are comfortable with bumperstickers and yard signs and so on, they're a wonderful way for people to know that they aren't alone. It costs next to nothing and it shows a whole area that the Democratic party is on the rise again. And it is. It really is.
The Republicans are weak this year. They have shown their true colors. They have shown that it is more important to them to keep Terri Schiavo alive than to provide body armor for our troops. They have shown that it is more important to parse words in an attempt to reinterpret the Constitution to limits people's rights and freedoms than to honor those who have fought and died to keep America free. There are so many examples of where the Republicans have led this nation astray, but none of it matters if we don't stand up to them and change the direction of our great nation. And we can do it. Together. We have a little over three months. Let's do it.
<Ultrageek>
--
Start now working for a Blue 2006! Contribute today!
https://www.democrats.org/page/contribute/democracybonds