Blogswarm - Online Political News Magazine

From the Party

On Thursday night, John Kerry told America in no uncertain terms that, as president, he will take the fight directly to the terrorists and leave no stone unturned in the fight to keep America safe.

The Democratic Party is taking that message -- using John Kerry's own words -- directly to the American people with our first television ad of 2004: Strength.

Click here to watch John Kerry describe in his own words how he will vigorously defend America with a strong military and strong alliances.

And be sure to pass the word on! Use our tell-a-friend form to let your friends and family know about our new TV ad.

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Help boot Bush in 2004 with your custom page on Democrats.org and tell your friends to join the fight.

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Create your personal team of online activists today and do your part to spread the Democratic message.

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From the DCCC:

89 Days Left

We urgently need your help to build the army of committed volunteers and raise the funds necessary to ensure victory on Election Day. We will be defending Democrats and challenging Republicans in hundreds of Congressional districts across the country, but we can’t do it without your help.

Join this fight by becoming a “Majority Maker” today.

http://makers.democraticaction.org/

Set up your own campaign headquarters, motivating and enabling your friends and colleagues to join this important fight by donating their time and dollars to the cause. Every hour – and every dollar – will make a critical difference in determining our victories. Will you volunteer and bring 1, 2, or 10 or your friends for the final weekend before Election Day? Can you give / raise $100, $500, $1,000 or more. WE NEED YOU!

In a guest post on our blog last week, Maura Keaney, one of the five Majority Makers contest winners who accompanied us to Boston noted: “The energy in the Fleet Center is amazing. As you can imagine, Al Gore, President Carter, and President Clinton fired up the room last night.” Now it is our turn to do the same. Join us by becoming a Majority Maker today!

http://makers.democraticaction.org

Defending America: Taking the Lead on Intelligence Reform

On the day the 9/11 Commission released its long awaited report, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi made clear the issues at hand:

“The purpose of the 9/11 Commission was not to assign blame, but to find answers for the families and to reduce risk to the American people.  We must take the Commission's work and use it to make certain that such horrific attacks never occur again.”

But on the other side of aisle, Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert was arguing that nothing would likely be done before the next Congress entered in 2005. Further, a joint press conference held by Hastert, GOP Leader Tom DeLay, and other Republican Leadership struck such a partisan discord that a reporter was forced to ask:

“Mr. Speaker, the commission this morning pushed emphatically for the Congress to act in a bipartisan fashion. They placed blame for the -- squarely across all officials of the federal government of this and the former administration. Yet in this press conference you seem to be talking about what great things Mr. Bush and you guys have done and the terrible things that happened in the '90s. What should the American people expect in terms of bipartisanship?”

In light of this reaction from the GOP it became clear that serious leadership was necessary in order to address the urgent recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, many of which had already been known but awaited action until the final report was released. In an attempt to make it a bipartisan effort, Leader Pelosi wrote a letter to Speaker Hastert:

“I urge you to use the authority under the adjournment resolution to reconvene the House in August so that we are in the best possible position to conduct the review of the Commission's recommendations.”

When days went by with no response, Leader Pelosi took the initiative herself, calling Democrats to forgo their normal break and reconvene on August 10th, shortly after the Democratic Convention. In preparation, Pelosi and the Members of the Democratic Caucus heard an analysis of the recommendations from Homeland Security Committee ranking Democrat Jim Turner of Texas, who earlier this year co-authored a “Plan to Win the War on Terror” with Democrat Jane Harman of the House Intelligence Committee. Following the briefing, Leader Pelosi issued another statement:

“Democrats are moving quickly but carefully to give the Commission's recommendations the consideration they deserve. Today's presentation by Congressman Turner was helpful in bringing definition to the issues raised by the Commission's report.”

Democrats continue to work in examining and evaluating the Commission’s recommendations, and will get to work on August 10th, with or without the rest of the House, to make our country safer - quickly and carefully.

Defying the Commission

Reading the headlines on Tuesday one might have gotten the impression that President Bush had accepted all but a few trivial details of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations. However, Josh Marshall, a columnist for The Hill takes a close look at the administration’s proposal to “accept” the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and comes to the conclusion that, “in fact he was doing close to the opposite, doing more or less what they said shouldn't be done.”

His analysis, posted on his blog talkingpointsmemo.com, stands on its own, so we offer this extended excerpt:

The key point made by the commission, you'll remember, is that the new NDI would have to have budgetary authority across the various intelligence agencies and the ability to hire and fire senior managers. As the Times makes clear, the president's proposal does none of those. Indeed, the dailies do a pretty good job making this clear. The Post says that ...

“Bush's statement embraced the two most significant of the 37 recommendations by the commission that investigated the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but with significant limitations. Under his plan, the new intelligence chief would lack the authority over budgets, hiring and firing that the commission had envisioned.”

But as Marshall notes, that is only the beginning:

You'll remember that we already have a national director of intelligence, someone in charge of overseeing the work of all the various American intelligence agencies. That person is the DCI, the Director of Central Intelligence.

The only problem is that for a variety of reasons, some intentional, some historical and some incidental, the DCI does not really serve that function. In fact, the current set-up can reasonably be viewed as a worst of both worlds scenario since the DCI doesn't have this broad supervisory function and yet -- as we saw in the Iraq WMD debate -- the DCI can improperly tilt joint national intelligence findings in favor of his agency, the CIA. Now, if you go back and read the actual 9/11 Report you'll see that the commissioners description of the organizational shortcomings of the DCI post reads more or less exactly like the description of the new post the president outlined today.

I quote from page 410 ...

“The current DCI is responsible for community performance but lacks the three authorities critical for any agency head or chief executive officer: (1) control over purse strings, (2) the ability to hire or fire senior managers, and (3) the ability to set standards for the information infrastructure and personnel.”

And it gets better.

The Times article notes that the president said that while the new NID wouldn't have full control of the purse strings, he or she would have a 'coordinating' role in budgeting. Yet, in the very next paragraph of the report, the commissioners note how this doesn't cut it.

Again on page 410 (emphasis added) ...

“The only budget power of the DCI over agencies other than the CIA lies in coordinating the budget requests of the various intelligence agencies into a single program for submission to Congress. The overall funding request of the 15 intelligence entities in this program is then presented to the president and Congress in 15 separate volumes.”

Democrats are determined to use the invaluable and expert work of the 9/11 Commission to make America safer. Lip service, and claims to be abiding by the recommendations are not enough, and Nancy Pelosi continues to urge a special session of Congress.

Quick Links: The Loss of Credibility

Mixing Politics with Terror Alerts: Nobody outside the administration has access to the information they have, so the country depends on the administration’s credibility. But in what has become a routine, Tom Ridge undermined our confidence in his recent alert by mixing serious warnings with campaign rhetoric: “We must understand that the kind of information available to us today is the result of the president's leadership in the war against terror.” In addition, although Ridge told us many specifics, and many more were leaked by the administration, we only found out two days later that “most, if not all, of the information about the buildings seized by authorities in a raid in Pakistan last week was about three years old, and possibly older.”

Capturing the Source: The source of the information on which Ridge’s recent alert was made was a Pakistani Al Qaeda suspect captured last week. While that capture was more than welcome, it reminded many of a story that appeared in The New Republic last month which predicted the exact timing of such a capture based on information from Pakistani intelligence sources. An editor’s note to that story explains, “The timing of this announcement should be of particular interest to readers of The New Republic. Earlier this month, John B. Judis, Spencer Ackerman, and Massoud Ansari broke the story of how the Bush administration was pressuring Pakistani officials to apprehend high-value targets (HVTs) in time for the November elections--and in particular, to coincide with the Democratic National Convention. Although the capture took place in central Pakistan ‘a few days back,’ the announcement came just hours before John Kerry [gave] his acceptance speech in Boston.”

Not the First Time: In May, John Ashcroft drew fire and raised eyebrows from newscasters when he appeared for a dramatic press conference announcing a terrorism warning, but eventually made clear that he had no new information to report. The terrorism alert system was not raised, and law enforcement agencies reported receiving no additional instructions. According to the New York T imes, “‘There is absolutely nothing specific enough’ that warrants a change in the alert level, Mr. Ridge said on NBC's ‘Today.’” The press conference came just as President Bush’s poll numbers dropped to their “lowest point ever.”

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND
TO TOUR IN SUPPORT OF VOTE FOR CHANGE
Bruce Springsteen is excited to announce his participation in the Vote for Change concert tour. Between October 1 and October 8, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform at five Vote for Change concerts, sharing the bill with R.E.M., and Bright Eyes with a special appearance by John Fogerty (see dates below).

Vote for Change is a loose coalition of musicians brought together by a single idea—the need to make a change in the direction of our country. We share a belief that this is the most important election of our lifetime. We are fighting for a government that is open, rational, just and progressive.

"I felt like I couldn't have written the music I've written, and been on stage singing about the things that I've sung about for the last twenty five years and not take part in this particular election," said Bruce Springsteen.

Artists participating in Vote for Change have merged their energies and talents to focus on states that are expected to have the closest race in the presidential election this fall. This unprecedented effort will include approximately 34 shows in 28 cities in 9 battleground states over the course of a week.

These concerts will feature Babyface, Jackson Browne, Bright Eyes, Dave Matthews Band, Death Cab for Cutie, the Dixie Chicks, John Fogerty, Ben Harper, Jurassic 5, Keb' Mo', John Mellencamp, My Morning Jacket, Pearl Jam, Bonnie Raitt, R.E.M., James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and more. These and other artists will appear on separate bills on the same night in selected cities around several battleground states.

Vote for Change artists hope to accomplish a single goal through the tour: to get people to the polls on November 2nd to vote for a change.

The Vote for Change tour will be presented by MoveOn PAC, with all concert proceeds benefiting the work of America Coming Together (ACT).

Be sure to register to vote early and make your Vote for Change!

BACKGROUND:

Unprecedented in scale and strategy, ACT is building the largest voter mobilization effort in history to elect progressive candidates to federal, state and local offices in November. For more information on ACT visit www.act04.com.

MoveOn PAC is a 2.5 million-member online grassroots political action committee working to take back our government. By gathering small contributions from ordinary citizens, it is using the Internet to level the playing field against the interest of big corporate money in politics. It's sister organization, MoveOn.org, raises issues of war and peace, social justice, media integrity and honesty in government. For more information, visit www.moveonpac.org.

TICKETS:

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be performing at the following Vote for Change shows:

Date	City
Fri, October 1	Philadelphia
Sat, October 2	Cleveland
Sun, October 3	Ann Arbor
Tues, October 5	St. Paul
Fri, October 8	Orlando

Click here for more information on how to get tickets to Bruce Springsteen's performances.

For more information about Vote for Change, including ticket information and updates, go to www.moveonpac.org.

For more thoughts and information about the upcoming election please go to:
www.moveonpac.org
www.act04.org

Something very special is happening out here. Yesterday we stopped in Milwaukee and Beloit, Wi., and Davenport and Dubuque, Ia. So much hope has been pinned on this campaign -- we can feel that in the incredible size of the crowds and in the energy and excitement at each campaign stop. Thousands are even lining the sides of the road, waiting hours just to watch our caravan drive by. Nothing like this has ever happened during a presidential campaign as early as August.

We have come to listen -- but also to deliver our plan for a stronger America. All this week, I have been writing you about that plan, and today I would like to talk about health care.

During the New Hampshire primary, I met a woman named Mary Ann Knowles. Despite undergoing chemotherapy, she struggled to keep going to work every single day -- just to hang on to her health insurance. Mary Ann's story stuck with me not only because I got to know her, but because we keep hearing similar stories all across the country. Sadly, it represents the predicament so many Americans are living with: unreliable access to health care and skyrocketing costs. Nothing has been done to address this problem, and now, nearly 44 million Americans are living without health insurance.

Health care should not be a privilege for the wealthy, the connected, and the elected. We are the wealthiest nation on earth. There is simply no excuse for hard-working Americans having to worry about whether they will be able to afford the treatment they need when they are sick.

John Edwards and I have proposed a practical plan to immediately provide health care to every child, get health care and prescription drug costs under control, and ensure doctors -- not insurance company bureaucrats -- make health care decisions.

Here are the major features of our plan:

• Up to $1,000 of health care premium relief. Our plan will provide relief for employers who offer their employees health coverage by helping out with high-cost health cases -- saving families up to $1,000 per year.
• Tax credits to make health insurance more affordable. Our plan will provide tax credits to make health insurance more affordable for people between jobs, Americans ages 55-64, and small businesses.
• Health care for every child. Our plan will pick up the full cost of more than 20 million children enrolled in Medicaid. In exchange, states will expand eligibility for children's health coverage and low-income adults and enroll every child.
• More affordable prescription drugs. Our plan will cut the cost of prescription drugs by requiring the government to negotiate better prices and by allowing Americans to re-import discounted drugs from Canada.
• Control skyrocketing costs. Our plan will reduce health care costs by cutting administrative costs, waste, fraud, and abuse; enhancing disease management efforts; and reforming malpractice insurance.
• A real Patients' Bill of Rights. The Bush administration sent its lawyers to the Supreme Court to stand with the HMOs and against patients. John Edwards and I support a real Patients' Bill of Rights to ensure that patients have the right to see the specialists they need without interference from bureaucrats.

Please take the time to read our entire health care plan by visiting:

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/health_care

This plan will only happen with your support. On Friday, after I accepted the nomination, I called for 5 million voices to speak to the 55 million voters we're going to need to win. Nearly everyone in America is feeling the sting of runaway health care costs. But it's up to us to let them know that America can do better. Read our full plan online, and help spread the word right up to Election Day.

Sincerely,

P.S.	Join us on our tour across the country by going here: http://blog.johnkerry.com

We've always believed that popular culture and populist politics go hand in hand. That's why MoveOn PAC is very proud to be presenting a truly historic cultural event: the Vote for Change Tour, featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Babyface, Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Harper, Jurassic 5, My Morning Jacket, Keb' Mo' and Bright Eyes. The tour will benefit America Coming Together (ACT). As Mike Mills of R.E.M. said, "this unprecedented coming together of musicians underscores the depth of the desire for change in our country's direction."

For more information, and to sign up for pre-sale tickets, go to:

http://www.moveonpac.org/vfc/

Never before have so many world-famous musicians come together to shift the balance in an election. But these artists created the Vote for Change tour because they feel that this is the most important election in our nation's history. The schedule is designed to make a maximum impact: each of the concerts will occur in a key battleground state during the first and second weeks of October.

Like many MoveOn members, most of the artists have never been involved in electoral politics before. And like many of us, they're jumping in now because they believe there's just too much at stake on November 2nd to sit on the sidelines. Here's how Dave Matthews put it:

"A vote for change is a vote for a stronger, safer, healthier America. . . It is our duty to this beautiful land to let our voices be heard. That's the reason for the tour. That's why I'm doing it."

Tickets go on sale to the public on Saturday, August 21st, but we have hundreds of tickets to each show that we'll be able to offer to MoveOn members -- and anyone who joins MoveOn -- a few days before. To check out the tour dates and sign up for a chance for pre-sale tickets, just go to:

http://www.moveonpac.org/vfc/

Please pass this link on to friends and colleagues. As long as people who click it agree to receive MoveOn emails, they'll have a shot at the pre-sale tickets.

We're partnering in this effort with America Coming Together (ACT), the terrific on-the-ground organization which is reaching out to millions of voters during the run-up to the election. ACT will receive all of the proceeds from the ticket sales. (There are some important legal disclaimers on this below.)

The Vote for Change tour is going to be a clear, passionate, and powerful call to arms for folks in the key battleground states and beyond. But the incredible array of artists involved is also a tremendous endorsement of the work we're all doing together -- a cultural event that will strengthen our voice in national politics.

Thanks for making this possible, through everything you do.

Sincerely,

--Eli Pariser
  MoveOn PAC
  August 4th, 2004

P.S. By purchasing tickets to these concerts, you will be making a political contribution to ACT, subject to the limitations and restrictions of federal campaign laws. Contributions to ACT are not deductible for federal income tax purposes."

P.P.S. In a climate where artists are often reprimanded for speaking out against the President, signing on to do this tour is a sign of real courage. If you'd like to send a short message of appreciation and encouragement to the artists for their willingness to speak out, just click here:

http://www.moveonpac.org/vfc/comments.html

PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC www.moveonpac.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

VOTE FOR CHANGE TOUR ANNOUNCED

Coalition of Musicians Makes Way to Battleground

States in an Effort to Get Out the Vote this Fall

Babyface, Bright Eyes, Jackson Browne, Dave Matthews Band, Death

Cab for Cutie, the Dixie Chicks, John Fogerty, Ben Harper, Jurassic 5,

John Mellencamp, Keb’ Mo’, My Morning Jacket, Pearl Jam, Bonnie

Raitt, R.E.M., James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

and more

All Shows On Sale August 21

SEATTLE—More than 20 artists, including Dave Matthews Band, the

Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen and the E Street

Band, and John Mellencamp announced today the launch of the

"Vote for Change" Tour, which will kickoff on October 1st and bring

its Vote for Change message to 9 of the 17 key electoral

battleground states.

"The upcoming election provides everyone an opportunity to

change the direction our country is headed and to elect a

government that is just, rational and respectful of the views and

rights of the people it serves. This coalition of artists wants to be a

part of that change," said Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam.

Conceived by a loose coalition of musicians four months ago, Vote

for Change is a multi-city, multi-artist tour that will include

approximately 34 shows in 28 cities in 9 states over the course of

one week.

--more--

Artist lineups include:

• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band/R.E.M./John Fogerty/Bright Eyes

• Dixie Chicks/James Taylor

• Pearl Jam/Death Cab for Cutie

• Dave Matthews Band/Ben Harper/Jurassic 5/My Morning Jacket

• Bonnie Raitt/Jackson Browne/ Keb’ Mo’/ others TBA

• John Mellencamp/Babyface

These and other artists will be appearing on separate bills on the same night in

select cities around several battleground states. Vote for Change artists hope to

accomplish a single goal through the tour: to get people to the polls on

November 2nd to vote for a change.

The Vote for Change tour came about as part of an informal conversation

among a handful of artists on how they could make a difference in this year’s

elections and beyond. This idea has resulted in a first-of-its-kind endeavor where

Vote for Change participating artists will focus their energies on the states where

the elections are expected to be the closest. All Vote for Change artists are

donating their time and talent in support of the tour.

The Vote for Change tour will be presented by MoveOn PAC, with all concert

proceeds benefiting the work of America Coming Together (ACT).

BACKGROUND:

Unprecedented in scale and strategy, ACT is building the largest voter

mobilization effort in history to elect progressive candidates to federal, state and

local offices in November. For more information on ACT visit www.act04.com.

MoveOn PAC is a 2.5 million-member online grassroots political action

committee working to take back our government. By gathering small

contributions from ordinary citizens, it is using the Internet to level the playing

field against the interest of big corporate money in politics. Its sister organization,

MoveOn.org, raises issues of war and peace, social justice, media integrity and

honesty in government. For more information, visit www.moveonpac.org.

"This election is the most important one in our lifetime," said Dave Matthews. "It

may be the most important in America’s history."

Vote for Change tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster on August 21 for all tour

dates in all cities. (Full list of Vote for Change dates attached.) For more

information about Vote for Change, including ticket information and updates,

go to www.moveonpac.org.

Attachments follow below:

#1 Vote for Change Declaration

#2 Vote for Change Artist Quotes

#3 Vote for Change Tour Schedule

Attachment #2

Artist Quotes

"A vote for change is a vote for a stronger, safer, healthier America. A vote for Bush

is a vote for a divided, unstable, paranoid America. It is our duty to this beautiful

land to let our voices be heard. That's the reason for the tour. That's why I'm

doing it."

Dave Matthews

"As concerned mothers, women and most importantly concerned Americans, we

are compelled to do what we can to inspire other voters to get involved in this

year's election. We hope our participation in the Vote For Change Tour will be a

catalyst for positive change."

The Dixie Chicks

"This is an extraordinary example of America coming together to win this election

and change the direction of the country. These artists feel so strongly about this

election that they are doing something unprecedented in creating this magnificent

tour. They are sending an important message to voters in the battleground states:

you can change the country if you go to the polls and vote."

Ellen Malcolm, America Coming Together

"R.E.M. is very happy to be a part of the Vote for Change Tour. This unprecedented

coming together of musicians underscores the depth of the desire for change in our

country’s direction, and it feels right to use some of the freedoms granted to us in a

democracy to try and effect that change."

Mike Mills

"It's about showing up and being counted. I'll be there and I hope you

will too."

Keb' Mo'

"We’ve always believed that popular culture and populist politics go hand in hand.

It’s an honor to be working with so many respected and influential artists, and

we’re indebted to them for having the courage to speak out at a time when our

country so desperately needs change. For our 2.5 million members and far beyond,

the Vote for Change tour will have a seismic cultural impact."

Eli Pariser, MoveOn Pac

"There has never been a more important time to band together and bring about

real change. I want to see Americans everywhere honor those who have fought

and died for our right to vote by getting out to the polls on Election Day.

Democracy only works if we work it."

Bonnie Raitt

"I felt like I couldn't have written the music I've written, and been on stage singing

about the things that I've sung about for the last twenty five years and not taken

part in this particular election."

Bruce Springsteen

"This is the fourth presidential election which Pearl Jam has engaged in as a band,

and we feel it’s the most important one of our life time. We believe in the power of

the first amendment, and have always exercised our right to free speech in every

aspect of our lives and music. This year there is no more powerful way for all

Americans to exercise that right than by voting. Given the extreme political climate

of a country at war, we are proud to stand among the many artists involved in this

tour and to encourage Americans not only to vote for a president this November

2nd, but to vote for the change they wish to see in the world."

Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam

From MoveOn PAC:

We've done bake sales. We've done house parties. We've bought ads. Now it's time for the home stretch - getting out each and every vote where it counts. MoveOn PAC is planning an incredibly ambitious, groundbreaking, precinct-level neighbor-to-neighbor campaign we're calling Leave No Voter Behind. We want to hire 500 organizers in the last weeks before the election to work in 10,000 key neighborhoods in battleground states to get 440,000 new votes for John Kerry to the polls.

If anyone can do this, together we can. The best proven model for getting out votes like this requires paid organizers helping thousands of volunteers ensure that their neighbors get to the polls. It will cost $5 million to make this happen. So we can't do this without you.

If we can raise the first $1 million in the next 48 hours, we'll go for it. You can sponsor a precinct in a battleground state for only $500 and make a huge difference in this election. But whether you can give $25 or $2,500, we're asking you to help launch this program today. Just go to:

https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/leavenovoterbehind.html

John Kerry has now accepted public funding and stopped raising money for his campaign. That means that the most effective thing you can do to retire President Bush is to support MoveOn PAC or the Democratic National Committee.

This is going to be an incredibly tight election. Most analysts believe that with so few undecided voters, this election is going to come down to three things: turnout, turnout, and turnout. The MoveOn network is in a great position to make the difference here: a personal contact from a friend or neighbor is the most effective way to get people out to vote. It's a tried and true technique but its impact would be unprecedented: together we can produce 440,000 new votes for Kerry in the most important swing areas - more than enough to win.

Of course, Leave No Voter Behind won't just happen in swing states. Whether your state is red, blue, or a tossup, we'll offer powerful ways that you can make this program effective, from making phone calls and to getting on buses and going to nearby states to help with the final push.

Using the Internet to make our work more efficient, we can cover each neighborhood for only $500. If you can support one or even 10 neighborhoods yourself, that's a huge boost to our efforts.

If that's too steep for you,

• with $225 we can knock on the doors of each of our target voters in one neighborhood,
• with $110 we can run the crucial final 2 weeks of our campaign in one area, or
• with $55 we can contact every voter in one area one last time on Election Day itself.

Help build our Leave No Voter Behind campaign. Just click here:

https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/leavenovoterbehind.html

If we hit our goal now, we'll get back in touch with you next week to start the on-the-ground effort and tell you what you can do. This is the biggest challenge we've ever taken on. But with your help we can do it, and make history together.

Sincerely,
--Adam, Carrie, Eli, Hannah, James, Justin, Laura, Mat, and Sam
  The MoveOn PAC Team
  August 3, 2004

PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC www.moveonpac.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee

As we make our way westward, the crowds keep getting bigger. Yesterday, an amazing 20,000 people greeted us in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The energy at these events is unlike anything I have ever experienced.

But today I want to tell you about a smaller event that took place when I met with fifty firefighters at the Kalamazoo Fire Station yesterday to discuss the problems facing our nation's first responders.

One firefighter from the neighboring city of Wyoming stood up and told me that his town will vote today on whether it can maintain current funding levels for first responders. If the vote fails, the town will be forced to shut down one of its two firehouses. That would mean one already-understaffed station would be forced to answer all 4,700 annual calls for help. Our communities should not have to make these kinds of dire choices. If we can build new firehouses in Baghdad, then we should not be closing them down here at home.

Sadly, the firefighters of Wyoming, Michigan are not alone. Nearly two-thirds of firehouses are understaffed, making it difficult to respond to fires and medical emergencies, let alone the threat of terrorism.

John Edwards and I have proposed to create the Father Mychal Judge Fund -- named for the chaplain of the New York City Fire Department who died delivering last rites on September 11 -- to hire up to 100,000 new firefighters and provide the equipment necessary to ensure that our heroes are always prepared. We will also create an Orange Alert Fund to reimburse communities for additional costs incurred in responding to raised threat levels.

George Bush seems to be satisfied with the way things are. John Edwards and I feel that obvious priorities are being neglected and that our homeland can be more secure. That is why we are proposing a united strategy that will eliminate homeland security vulnerabilities and make America safer. The major points of our plan are:

1. Improve our ability to gather, analyze, and share information so we can track down terrorists and stop them before they cause us harm.
2. Better secure our airports, seaports, and borders.
3. Harden likely terrorist targets and critical infrastructure.
4. Improve domestic readiness.
5. Win the war on terror without losing the values of freedom and justice for all that make us proud to be Americans.

Please read more about our homeland security plan here:

http://johnkerry.com/plan

We will not be able to change America alone. This campaign will need 5 million voices to reach the 55 million voters we need to win. Please join us and be one of those voices.

Sincerely,

P.S.	Join us on our tour across the country by going here: http://blog.johnkerry.com

The incredible energy that you, our supporters, have shown over the past five days has changed the way I will look at campaigning forever. Since we left Boston, more than 100,000 Americans have shown up to meet us at campaign stops between Massachusetts and Michigan. This includes 17,000 people in Scranton, Pa; 25,000 in Harrisburg, Pa, waiting until after 9:00 p.m. on a Friday night; 10,000 people in Greensburg, Pa, standing in the rain; and another 15,000 in Wheeling, WV. In most cases, these are the biggest political rallies these towns have ever seen.

All of that followed the greatest mobilization of grassroots power that the Internet has ever made possible: as I accepted the nomination on Thursday, our supporters made history once again by contributing an astounding $5.7 million online in one day. The next day, I sent an email asking for volunteers and we now have more than 400,000 signed up. You have helped us kick off the general election on the strongest footing of any presidential challenger ever.

At the convention, John Edwards and I outlined our plan to build a stronger America. This week, we are going straight to voters in towns and communities across the country. Today, we are releasing a new book, "Our Plan for America: Stronger at Home, Respected in the World," that details these plans and talks about the values and experiences behind them.

You are the heart of our campaign. That is why I wanted to offer you the first look at "Our Plan for America." You can download and read the book here:

http://johnkerry.com/plan

As John and I travel across the country, we hope to see some of you along the way. For those we cannot see in person, we will send dispatches from the road to try to relate to you the energy and enthusiasm we are finding at every campaign stop, to tell you about some of the people we are meeting and communities we are getting to know, and to lay out our plan for a stronger America. We want you to be right alongside us fighting as we work to win back the White House.

Reaching our goal is going to require a lot of work from millions of people over the next few months. That is why I want to make sure everyone who is on board this campaign knows exactly what it is we are fighting for so we can tell voters across the country why we have the right plan for America. Please join us on our trip across country and learn the specifics of our plan for America by reading this week's emails.

Sincerely,

John Kerry

P.S.	Throughout the day, the campaign is posting stories and pictures from the road on our website. Join us on our trip right here: http://blog.johnkerry.com