Thousands of DFA members (many upon many of whom are Kossacks too) signed the DFA Primary Petition demanding action on global warming in April. The goal is to keep the pressure up on the Democratic candidates for President. We’re demanding they stay true to progressive principles and articulate a clear vision on the most important issues of our time.
The first petition back in February demanded action on Iraq and the response from the Presidential candidates was illuminating. Senator John Edwards responded first and made his position clear. Senator Barack Obama and Governor Bill Richardson responded back to back with solid specifics. And just today, Representative Dennis Kucinich sent DFA his Iraq response (preview it now before we make it officially public) and he doesn't hold back. Interestingly, DFA has not yet heard from the other candidates.
Now the responses to the DFA Global Warming petition have started rolling in...
Members asked the candidates to lead America forward with a plan to stop global warming, encourage conservation and invest in renewable resources. Yesterday, we announced that Senator John Edwards was again the first candidate to respond. Check it out!
Senator Edwards takes three minutes to lay out every aspect of his plan. You won’t hear responses like this at the primary debates or in a T.V. commercial. The mainstream media acts like it doesn’t have time and won’t pay attention to the detail. But we will.
John has a strong position that includes "a national cap on carbon dioxide and green house gas emissions." It would require an auctioning off of rights to emit any green house gases below the cap. The auction will generate billions of dollars that "should be used to transform the way we produce energy in America."
Senator Edwards lists numerous simple goals that we can achieve right now too. "These conservation efforts are an example of what I think the President should do, which is to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war."
There are many great candidates running for President. It is up to each of us to find the candidate that best represents our views and do everything we can to help them win. A healthy primary challenge will make our eventual nominee stronger and the unity of the progressive movement more powerful. That’s why DFA brings these videos directly to you as an honest broker in your decision making process. This is NOT an endorsement of Senator Edwards’ campaign. However, if you like what you hear today, you can join his campaign at:
JohnEdwards.com
DFA will continue pressuring the candidates to take positions and share them directly to you. If your favorite candidate hasn’t sent DFA a response yet, please e-mail the campaign and ask them why not.
Thank you for all your hard work and for moving America forward!
Charles Chamberlain
Political Director