Blogswarm - Online Political News Magazine

Following up on Moveon PAC Blogswarm:

We were hoping folks would be excited about the launch of Leave No Voter Behind, MoveOn's drive to turn out hundreds of thousands of unlikely voters for Kerry in key battleground states. But we never dreamed that the response would be so big: since Tuesday, more than 20,000 MoveOn members have donated over $1.5 million to get this ambitious vote drive started. It's the most we've ever raised for a MoveOn program from a single email, and we're deeply inspired by your generosity.

If you missed Tuesday's email, the details on Leave No Voter Behind are attached at the bottom of this email. Today, we're asking you to push us over the top by reaching out to your friends and family to raise money to fund this program and beat George Bush. The Leave No Voter Behind election-winning ground campaign will cost about $5 million. If just 700 of us agree to raise $5,000 each by the end of the month -- enough to support 10 neighborhoods -- we can cover the whole rest of the plan. If that's too steep for you, think about raising $500 by the end of the month to support one targeted precinct. It's easier than you think, it feels good, and it's critically important in our movement to beat Bush. We'll help you every step of the way.

Can you raise money from your friends and family to support this election-winning program? To pledge now, please go to:

http://www.moveonpac.org/f2f

If you don't have the time to reach out to your friends and family, can you donate today to move us closer to our $5 million goal? You can give securely and easily by credit card or check at:

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

We've put up a progress bar on that page so that you can see how far along we are toward our $5 million goal. And if you pledge, we'll provide you with tips, tools, and even pre-written letters to send to your friends and family.

Raising $500 or $5,000 may seem difficult, but just think of the number of people you know who want to have change in the White House and how much they'd give to make a tangible impact on the election. Do you know 20 people who'd give $25? Or 30 who'd give $15? Today we're giving you a way to help them make an impact.

As we sat down to write this message, we received a letter from Ian, a 14-year-old in upstate New York who chose to raise $1,000 for our effort to beat Bush as his "Eighth Grade Challenge". He took this on, he wrote, because "I have realized that [Bush] and his administration have an awful record on just about every issue." After passing out lots of flyers and talking to friends and family, he raised $1,000 and then some. Ian concluded: "In this country money is power and Bush has a lot of money in his campaign. And money is what it is going to take to beat him."

If Ian can do it, we can too.

Other MoveOn members who have tried raising money from friends and colleagues have reported that it's a lot easier than they thought it would be. In fact, many have been overwhelmed by the response. "I had no idea how people would react to my asking for money," said Maurice, a member from Maryland. "I sent an email to friends who I thought might respond, asked for money, and offered to match it. On my first email, I raised five times my goal... The important thing is to ask, because there are a lot of people who feel very strongly about the need to change administrations for the good of the country."

Register a pledge to raise money from your friends and family right now at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/f2f

Or make a contribution directly at:

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

Thank you so much for your selfless generosity. Working together, we will retire George W. Bush.

Sincerely,

--Adam, Eli, Hannah, James, Laura, and the whole MoveOn PAC Team
  August 5th, 2004

P.S. Here are the details on the Leave No Voter Behind program:

MoveOn PAC is undertaking a groundbreaking, precinct-level neighbor-to-neighbor campaign we're calling Leave No Voter Behind. We will 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.

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

---

Today, we’re asking you to reach out to your friends and family to raise the rest of the funds for Leave No Voter Behind, our election-winning program to get out the vote for Kerry in battleground states.  It’s easier than you think, and if we all raise a little, we’ll have the $5 million needed to put the program in action. Can you raise $500 over the next month to support one neighborhood?

Pledge Now!

Or, if you don’t have time to fundraise, can you help us reach our goal by making a contribution yourself?

Yesterday, we made a spur-of-the-moment stop at a construction site in Davenport, Iowa, where we spotted a very large Kerry-Edwards banner on display. I had a chance to talk to some of the workers there and to listen to their concerns about the economy. Just an hour later, I spoke at an economic summit with business leaders where I heard CEOs of some of America's largest corporations voicing the same concerns. The day underscored that all of us are in this together.

This week, I have been writing to you each day from the road about a different piece of the plan John Edwards and I have laid out for a stronger America. Today, I would like to talk about our commonsense plan to cut the deficit in half, make health care affordable, support small business, and improve our schools:

1. Cut middle class taxes: Let me be very clear: I will not raise taxes on middle-class Americans by one dime -- I will cut them, including tax cuts to make health care and education more affordable. 98 percent of Americans will pay less taxes under my plan, period.
2. Repeal Bush's tax cuts for the elite to pay for health and education: I will make health care affordable and accessible for all Americans and invest in education by rolling back the Bush tax cuts for individuals making over $200,000 per year.
3. Get government spending under control: I will restore the spending caps of the 1990s to ensure that spending -- outside of education and security -- does not grow faster than inflation.
4. End corporate welfare to reduce the deficit: I will push the McCain-Kerry Corporate Welfare Commission to eliminate wasteful and unnecessary corporate subsidies, and I will use the savings to reduce the deficit.
5. Reduce the corporate tax rate by 5 percent by ending tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas.
6. Provide significant relief to employers who offer their employees quality health coverage. Our plan will cover certain high-cost health cases and save families up to $1,000 per year.

View our full plan here: http://johnkerry.com/plan

One of the most powerful voices we heard from at the roundtable yesterday was that of Peter Chernin, President and COO of News Corporation and CEO of the Fox Group. Here is some of what Peter had to say:

The deficit is just plain bad for the country and bad for business. I don't think you can fight two wars, one internationally and one domestically, and at the same time cut taxes for the wealthy.

The next issue is health care. I think improving health care and supporting health care is not only good public policy, it's also good business policy. Health care costs are choking American business -- clearly small businesses -- but also big businesses like my own where health care costs tend to rise by double to triple the rate of inflation.

Third is help for small businesses. Small businesses are the job creation engines of America. And I think the Kerry-Edwards plan, which calls for a tax credit for the creation of new jobs and helps share the burden of health care costs, will be a real boost to small businesses.

John Edwards and I can only achieve our plan for a stronger America with your help. We have said that we want five million voices to reach out to the 55 million voters we need to win on November 2. By learning about our plan for America -- by learning the specifics of what we're fighting for in this campaign -- you can be one of those voices, spreading hope, building optimism, and bringing new energy to our campaign every day. Please take the time to read our plan today:

http://www.johnkerry.com/plan

Sincerely,

P.S.	Today, I'd like to call especially on leaders of businesses large and small to join and endorse our campaign. Your leadership and experience will make our campaign stronger. Sign up here: http://www.johnkerry.com/businessleaders

A nation's artists and musicians have a particular place in its social and political life. Over the years I've tried to think long and hard about what it means to be American: about the distinctive identity and position we have in the world, and how that position is best carried. I've tried to write songs that speak to our pride and criticize our failures.

These questions are at the heart of this election: who we are, what we stand for, why we fight. Personally, for the last 25 years I have always stayed one step away from partisan politics. Instead, I have been partisan about a set of ideals: economic justice, civil rights, a humane foreign policy, freedom and a decent life for all of our citizens. This year, however, for many of us the stakes have risen too high to sit this election out.

Through my work, I've always tried to ask hard questions. Why is it that the wealthiest nation in the world finds it so hard to keep its promise and faith with its weakest citizens? Why do we continue to find it so difficult to see beyond the veil of race? How do we conduct ourselves during difficult times without killing the things we hold dear? Why does the fulfillment of our promise as a people always seem to be just within grasp yet forever out of reach?

I don't think John Kerry and John Edwards have all the answers. I do believe they are sincerely interested in asking the right questions and working their way toward honest solutions. They understand that we need an administration that places a priority on fairness, curiosity, openness, humility, concern for all America's citizens, courage and faith.

People have different notions of these values, and they live them out in different ways. I've tried to sing about some of them in my songs. But I have my own ideas about what they mean, too. That is why I plan to join with many fellow artists, including the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks, Jurassic 5, James Taylor and Jackson Browne, in touring the country this October. We will be performing under the umbrella of a new group called Vote for Change. Our goal is to change the direction of the government and change the current administration come November.

Like many others, in the aftermath of 9/11, I felt the country's unity. I don't remember anything quite like it. I supported the decision to enter Afghanistan and I hoped that the seriousness of the times would bring forth strength, humility and wisdom in our leaders. Instead, we dived headlong into an unnecessary war in Iraq, offering up the lives of our young men and women under circumstances that are now discredited. We ran record deficits, while simultaneously cutting and squeezing services like afterschool programs. We granted tax cuts to the richest 1 percent (corporate bigwigs, well-to-do guitar players), increasing the division of wealth that threatens to destroy our social contract with one another and render mute the promise of "one nation indivisible."

It is through the truthful exercising of the best of human qualities - respect for others, honesty about ourselves, faith in our ideals - that we come to life in God's eyes. It is how our soul, as a nation and as individuals, is revealed. Our American government has strayed too far from American values. It is time to move forward. The country we carry in our hearts is waiting.

Bruce Springsteen is a writer and performer.

TED KOPPEL: Bruce, let me put it very bluntly ... Who the hell is Bruce Springsteen to tell anybody how to vote?

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: This is my favorite question.

KOPPEL: I thought it would be.

SPRINGSTEEN: First of all, I don't even tell anybody anything. You know, you ask people to think about things together, you know.

Second of all, it's an interesting question that seems to only be asked of musicians and artists, for some reason, you know. If you're a lobbyist in Washington, you're a business guy. Well, shut up and do business. Stay out of public policy, you know. Nobody complains about that. These big corporations, right, you influence the government your way, right? Labor unions influence the government their way. Farmers influence the government their way, right?

Artists write, and sing, and think, and this is how we get to put our two cents in, and we do it right in front of people, not in secret meetings behind closed doors. We let people know what we think….

I don't know if people go to musicians for their politics. I doubt that they do, you know, but you can rally people to think on serious issues together, and that's what we're trying to do.

KOPPEL: This is clearly not the way you felt most of your professional life. Most of your professional life you have very carefully — you've spoken out about a lot of issues …. But you've never gone partisan on us, at least not that, not that I was aware of.

SPRINGSTEEN: Well, I've always felt I was partisan to a set of ideals, and that was my job, you know, whether it was economic justice, transparent government, how do we treat our weakest citizens, say, in foreign policy, when did we decide that it's all right to risk the lives of our very bravest young men and women? You know, I've written about these things for 25 years.

I stayed a step away from partisan politics because I felt it was always important to have an independent voice. I wanted my fans to feel like they could trust that ….

You build up credibility, and you build it up for a reason, you know, over a long period of time, and hopefully we've built up that credibility with our audience. And I have an audience that's Democrats, Republicans and everything else, you know. And I think there comes a time when you feel, all right, I've built this up, and it's time to spend some of this.

And I think it's one of the most critical elections of my adult life, certainly. Very basic questions of American identity are at issue: who we are, what do we stand for, when do we fight ....

I want to say basically I feel that, as a nation over the past four years, we've drifted away from I think very mainstream American values. I think that in the question having large tax cuts for the richest one percent. Hey, that's great, you know [for] corporate bigwigs, wealthy, well-to-do guitar players, but we've also watched services get cut, after-school programs for people that need it the most, we've watched rollback on environmental regulations, and a foreign policy that I think put at risk the lives of the very bravest young men and women under what ended up to be discredited circumstances.

What I do believe is I believe that John Kerry and John Edwards — I don't think they have all the answers, but right now for the problems we have, I haven't seen anybody who does ….

KOPPEL: I want to know whether you think this is going to hurt you …. It's a lot of concerts, a lot of cities. And to put it bluntly — it's a late night broadcast — you're going to piss a lot of people off.

SPRINGSTEEN: Oh, yeah.

KOPPEL: Yes.

SPRINGSTEEN: That's for sure. We who are about to be lambasted, salute you, you know?

KOPPEL: Is it going to hit you hard? ...

SPRINGSTEEN: ... I think you have a bond with your audience, and it's very particular because you've put your fingerprints on their imagination. It's really intimate. We've done it for a long time ….

I think for a percentage of my audience, this may feel like a severance of that bond, you know. But basically I feel like the relationship is more complicated than that, you know, that we're one, but we're not the same, you know ….

Basically, I would hope that I'm going to clarify some of the things that I stand for, and that clarification enriches my relationship with all parts of my life. I welcome everybody to our show, and I would always want everybody to feel, you know, to always feel welcome.

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.

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

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

Tell a friend!
Get your friends involved with the new Democrats.org.

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Get the latest news about the issues and communities that matter to you. Sign up for email updates and stay on top of the news you want to know.

http://www.democrats.org
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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