I’ve spent the last year trying to cure myself of a political cynicism that had sunk too deep, and one of the great inspirations for me has been the steady grinding work of Kossacks actually trying to hold power accountable.
We’re five days out from Saturday’s huge Step It Up demonstrations on climate change, and the work that you and many others have done is paying off in remarkable ways. As of late afternoon, 43 Senators and Congresspeople had agreed to come speak at a rally somewhere on Saturday, or in some cases to send a representative. We’re betting that number will be north of 50 by the time the weekend rolls around, and that’s as many national leaders addressing their constituents about a single topic in a single day in a very long time.
Your work on the presidential candidates has borne fruit too. John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, and John McCain signed up to speak right away, and Chris Dodd and Mike Gravel not long after. We’ve had more trouble with the rest, but that's beginning to change. Mitt Romney may attend a rally in Michigan. Richardson and Joe Biden are sending surrogates, which isn't precisely what we want, but it's a start. Hillary has promised to send a representative, David Slutzky, an environmental official in the last Clinton administration, to speak at a rally in Des Moines, which isn’t what we want precisely but it’s a start. Obama’s made the same offer — Tom Daschle is coming to speak on his behalf at a demonstration in Des Moines — and today he also sent over this video. It’s up to you to decide how well he addresses our three priorities—80% cuts by 2050, no new coal, and a green jobs campaign.
It’s also up to you to keep this momentum going another few days. That invite tool works wonders—we’ve got Congressional schedulers and presidential campaigns on the phone all day now trying to work out times and places. If you keep ringing the bell, they’ll keep answering. And then when Saturday rolls around, get to the rally nearest you. It doesn’t save the world by itself—I’m still cynical enough to know that. But it helps.
Take action, invite the leaders, and learn more at: http://www.stepitup2007.org