From the Change for America blog:
Last weekend, those of us who were able to make the journey to Cummings Creek decided that we needed to take immediate steps to continue the work we were doing at Dean for America. The work is too important—and the community we built is too valuable—to end with the primaries.
We drafted the following statement. It is the final product of our gathering and the founding document of Change for America. Please pass it on to every American who believes that changing this country is a cause worth fighting for.
CUMMINGS CREEK COMPACT
For the last thirteen months, we helped build a community that is changing America. We came together from every background and from every region—and we're going to stick together—because we believe in the change that Howard Dean's campaign represented. And we believe in the power of the American people.
Today, by signing this letter, we reaffirm our commitment to bringing change to this country, to building the tools that will grow this community and to fighting for the principles that brought us to Howard Dean's campaign.
More than 600,000 Americans achieved something extraordinary. Although we lost the Democratic nomination, our campaign still won: we changed Americans politics forever.
We awoke the Democratic Party and showed how to take on George W. Bush—and defeat him.
We proved that the American people can take power back from the special interests.
We revived our democracy, and brought hundreds of thousands of people into politics.
And this is only the beginning.
Change for America will be a national organization that unites progressive communities and sets an agenda of meaningful reform. The values that shaped our campaign are the same values that formed the moral foundation of our American democracy—and we carry those values today. We are committed far beyond a single election.
Our immediate path is clear: we must defeat George W. Bush and elect a new president, we must infuse elections at every level with the same commitment that built this movement—and you must decide how to do it.
Two weeks from now, our movement will come together in a series of summits across the country, convening in Boston, New York, Washington, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Denver. We want every group associated with the campaign to be represented. Together, we will all shape the platform and mission of Change for America.
Later this week, we will announce final dates, locations and details of the Change for America summits.
Join us by signing up at http://www.changeforamerica.com/join. Please circulate this message—spread the word.
Adam Mordecai
Andrew Rossmeissl
Ben Self
Clay Johnson
David Bender
Gray Brooks
Janine Gottlieb
Jascha Franklin-Hodge
Jennifer Powers
Jesse Davidson
Jim Brayton
Joe Drymala
Joe Rospars
Joe Trippi
Jon Haber
John Pettitt
John Wadsworth
Justin Pinder
Karl Frisch
Kathy Lash
Laura Williams
Mark Sundeen
Matthew Gross
Michael Silberman
Mike Carvalho
Nicco Mele
Rob Stryker
Tim Jones
Tom Limoncelli
Tony Lyon