Intro note: First, it's great to be a part of this terrific effort. Thanks to NFTT for the invite. Second, the following was written as a Dean supporter and is aimed at other Dean folks, but I certainly welcome alla y'all from the rest of the camps. The rivalries from that campaign season strengthened and honed all of us. They made us better activists. Those campaigns helped make us more nimble fighters for our side, in all of its beautiful, "big tent" chaos. Please, those of you from the other campaigns, feel welcome to share your favorite story from your camp during the 2003-2004 madness. It was a wild ride no matter where your allegiance lay.
I'm posting The Big Blue Box of NFTT Information directly below the fold. The diary commences at The Bottom of the Blue.
Shall we?
Netroots For The Troops Blogathon: February 20-24, 2012
Netroots For The Troops® is holding a blogathon this week to raise funds to send Care Packages to our soldiers stationed overseas. For the first time this year, we will also be sending Care Packages domestically to troops rehabilitating at Veterans Administration Hospitals around the country.
We are asking all of you to support our efforts and to also make a contribution for this worthwhile cause.
We are honored and delighted that Senator John Kerry (D-MA); Democratic Candidate for the United States Senate from Massachusetts, Ms. Elizabeth Warren; and former Governor Howard Dean (D-VT) will be joining us through this week. Many Kossacks will also be contributing their thoughts, ideas, and support during the week.
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Over the years, many soldiers have sent letters to express their appreciation for these Care Packages and even posted thanks at Daily Kos
It was in the middle six months of my assignment in Afghanistan that the packages started arriving. I received an array of things from them… letters, candy, toothpaste, floss, baby wipes, razors, food, socks, books, dvd’s. The list could go on and on. It was amazing. Netroots for the Troops was always there... The packages were a reminder that our country knows about our fight. Every day, because of their support, I knew that if it was going to be my last day, I would be remembered and I would be honored.
Please make a donation HERE. Thank you from the entire 2012 NFTT Team.
Netroots For The Troops® is a project of Netroots for the Troops, Inc., a Virginia non-profit corporation. The organization raises money for the assembly, mailing and delivery of Care Packages to American military in war zones and to provide assistance to military families in the United States. Netroots For The Troops, Inc. is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.
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You remember. At some point in 2003 you came across the name “Howard Dean.” For me, it was at the last big anti-war rally. There were people perched along the route as we marched through Portland. Some had signs that said “Howard Dean!” “Dean for America” “Who is Howard Dean?” They looked happy. They were excited. They did some great visibility.
I went home and eventually remembered to go online and look for “Howard Dean." Oh... yes, please. A few clicks later, my life had changed completely. I found action. I found excitement. I found an amazing online community. And, most importantly, I found a guy who was unafraid to stand up and jab his finger in the air and demand, “WHAT I WANNA KNOW IS…”
I sat at home at my desk as I watched that speech, and when it was over, I rocketed out of my chair, pumped my fist in the air and shouted, “Yes! Yes! YES! THANK YOU!!" In the time it took to watch that speech, my Bush-induced despair had vaporized. I had work to do.
Like many of you, I jumped in with both feet. I got involved in the county Dem party. My hub and I became precinct committee people. We joined Meet-ups. We held house parties. I became a constant presence at Blog for America as PDXKelly. Blog for America was my first blog home, and I loved it there. Remember those days on BfA? Remember how great we felt? How much fun we had? The camaraderie? The hilarity? The support and encouragement?
And, of course, you remember your response to this:
How late did you stay up hitting the refresh button to see if we’d made our goal? How many 5, 10, 20 dollar donations did you make? Every time someone tore Dean down, we stepped up, and the chant would start: “Bring back the bat! Bring back the bat!” We lived for that bat. Of course, the campaign knew it. They played us like cheap guitars, and we loved every minute of it. Some of the greatest fun I've ever had was right there at BfA during fundraising.
And, if you hit that bat, you can understand what this little piece of memorabilia means:
You can hear him, can’t you? “YOU have the power!” Yes, we did. For that moment in the evolution of the internet, and for that moment in the history of American politics, we did have the power. And it felt great. You remember.
I got that pen in a packet when I hosted a 55th birthday party for the Guv'nor in November of 2003. At my Mom’s request, I held the fund-raising party at her retirement community, an amazing environment filled with wonderful, active, involved elders. It’s a huge campus. They have their own elected precinct people, both of whom were there that night. The common room that Mom had booked was packed.
It's hard to explain what it’s like to be in a room full of totally fired-up older folks, many of them in their 80s and 90s. It’s a subdued energy, amazingly focused and fearlessly unselfconscious. They know they only have so much time and effort to expend. They mean business. That’s one thing this pen reminds me of - a group of people who knew, from the vantage point of years, just what was at stake. And, let me tell you, they were absolute in their support for Howard Dean.
For all the years since that party, I’ve had that pen on my desk. I love it, and the great memories it brings back of a time when I believed. But - in the spirit of the Dean campaign, and for Netroots for the Troops, I’m willing to give up my bat. I will send it to someone who donates in this thread. I do this knowing that the money is going to a wonderful cause, and that the pen will likely go to someone who was there. Someone who believed. Someone who remembers…
UPDATE: And after it's all said and done, the pen goes to N in Seattle! My husband verified that it was all done properly. Thanks also to Diana in NoVa and to the rest who donated.
Be well. Do good.
Fondly,
Kelly