There's a new pledge that several major blogs will be asking Democratic voters to take. It's at www.boldprogressives.org
The premise: Vote Dem in 2008, but Democratic voters across the country are pledging that in 2009 we will demand bold progressive leadership. If Dem leaders won't be progressive, we'll help replace them as leaders. We won't blindly cut checks to the Democratic Party -- we'll channel our money to strong fighters. This isn't about those of us who already do this. It's about reaching our friends and family who may instinctively support the Democratic Party, but in recent days have come to realize that not all Democrats are progressive.
The goal is 10,000 signatures. If folks could post this on your sites, send the below message to family/friends, and share on Facebook, that would be great. Announcement of the new pledge is below.
Take the Pledge. Pass it on.
Please email the below message to your progressive friends and family.
This week, Democrats helped George W. Bush and Republicans loot the federal treasury and hand billions over to Wall Street.
For some reason, we can never find money for kids' health care, clean energy, or other progressive priorities. But when it comes to right-wing priorities like war and giveaways to failed Wall Street executives, Republicans always find the money and Democrats go along.
There were progressive solutions to the financial crisis that would have truly held Wall Street accountable and helped the middle class. But instead of fighting for a bold progressive alternative, Democrats caved to the least popular president in history.
ENOUGH. Anyone with common sense will vote for Barack Obama and Democratic congressional candidates this November. But it's time for citizens to fight back and take this pledge -- will you join in signing it?
"In 2009 and beyond, I will be part of the movement that pushes Democrats to be bold progressives -- and that helps pass a bold progressive agenda into law."
Sign the Bold Progressives pledge here.
This pledge is endorsed by top progressive bloggers and activists. When you sign, you can also write a message to top Democrats about what bold progressive leadership means -- BlogPAC will deliver it top staffers for Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, and Steny Hoyer.
What does taking the pledge mean? It means that when Democratic "leaders" tell Americans we must settle for watered-down solutions while bold back-benchers in the House or Senate are pushing strong progressive alternatives, we will clamor for those bold alternatives together until they are passed into law.
What else does it mean? It means we will turn those bold back-benchers into leaders. Just as grassroots progressives fueled Howard Dean's election as Democratic National Committee chair and pushed aside insiders who wanted more of the same, we will make sure that Democratic "leaders" are the ones who actually show bold progressive leadership.
What else does it mean? It means we will no longer just write checks to the Democratic Party and assume they know how best to spend it. We'll give our money to bold progressive candidates -- bypassing the influence of corporate lobbyists and entrenched Democratic insiders who are used to picking the winners and using their purse strings to make bold progressives in Congress fall in line.
Please sign the pledge and then email this message to every progressive you know.
Also, share the link to http://www.boldprogressives.org/ on Facebook. We will update this blog as pledge signers reach 100, 1,000, and 10,000. We will let the media know. And we will work together as a movement to usher in a bold progressive era starting in 2009.
Sign the Bold Progressives pledge here or below:
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