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Friday, October 15, 2004
As you know, this Friday, the Democratic Party is facing another critical fundraising deadline. I know from experience the importance of this deadline because it is when strategists need to make key decisions about battleground states like Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, and about all our key races.
https://www.democrats.org/support/kerry.html
In 2000, my campaign had to make excruciatingly difficult decisions on allocating our resources to the most winnable states. We knew the final margin would be razor thin, but we had to pick and choose which states we could afford to saturate with TV ads during the final drive to Election Day.
We were forced by the limitations of our campaign funding to make a series of tough choices -- including a decision to go for it in Florida and scale back in Ohio. If we had been able to pay for a full TV ad campaign in all of the key battleground states, we might not have lost Ohio by a thin margin. And of course, even though I think we won Florida, well, you know what happened there.
So don't let this happen again -- contribute now.
https://www.democrats.org/support/kerry.html
In these closing weeks, let's make sure that the Democratic Party has the resources to go all out for John Kerry and the Democratic ticket in Florida and Ohio and Pennsylvania and Michigan and elsewhere. Your contribution right now will make sure the Party has the ability to compete in every single battleground state.
Right now, party strategists are making those tough, last-minute decisions about where to spend resources. With your help, this time the Supreme Court will not pick the next president, and the current president will not pick the next Supreme Court.
https://www.democrats.org/support/kerry.html
You've put George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the Republican attack machine on the run. In these final weeks, they can't win a fair fight -- and you, the members of the Democratic Party's amazing online community, have the ability to make it a fair fight. Please respond as quickly as you can.
Then on November 2, we'll be celebrating our victories up and down the ballot in Ohio and Florida and other battleground states across the nation -- and not only in the popular vote, but in the electoral college too.
On to victory,
Al Gore
Posted at 12:32 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
Last week you demanded honesty about the draft--and people heard you. Cable news channels and major newspapers have been buzzing about the draft since you signed the petition. Last night's moderator at the Presidential debate even raised this question once again.
Other organizations also heard--and are following your lead. MoveOn and a group called Win Back Respect produced a TV ad about this issue. Over a million young people will see this ad on The Daily Show, MTV, and ESPN.
You can add to this momentum even more--tell some friends about the draft petition you signed:
www.democracyforamerica.com/SpreadNoDraft
We still have work to do getting our message out. The mainstream media coverage has focused on unsubstantiated rumors of some "secret plan" for a draft. They are missing the point.
It's not about a secret plan--we are concerned about a draft because, when it comes to meeting all of the military commitments he has made, George Bush has no plan.
He says he will "stay the course". But if we stay the course with this president, he will face a choice: drastically reduce our commitments or reinstate the draft. Ask your friends to join you in asking which one he will choose:
www.democracyforamerica.com/SpreadNoDraft
We see the results of his failed leadership. He chose not to bring meaningful allied help into Iraq. He allowed al Qaeda, North Korea, and Iran to become more dangerous. And he has left our homeland unprotected by sending the National Guard to Iraq. George Bush says he has no plans to reinstate the draft--but his reckless decisions may leave no choice.
A quiet draft has already begun--and it is no secret. Active duty soldiers who finish their commitments are being forced to stay on. We have begun calling up forces like the Individual Ready Reserves, consisting of older reservists who have not been on active duty and have not trained for some time. And there's no end in sight.
Americans need the facts. Inform your friends and ask them to sign the petition so that together we can demand the honesty we deserve.
Thank you,
Governor Howard Dean, M.D.
P.S. Here's what some of you are saying about the draft:
"As a young American who cares deeply about my country, I deserve to know if a draft will be put into effect. If not, how do you plan to fill the troop commitments necessary for success?"
--Ajay N.
"I have heard so many things over the years from politicians that have not been true that I no longer take anything for granted. I don't see how the country can continue under the present commitments of our armed forces with a complete volunteer military. If the intention is to bring back the draft I would like to know now and not after the presidential election. An informed voter is an intelligent voter."
--Charles M.
"Staying the course means we're going to need more troops in our go-it-alone strategy. How will we get them?"
--Carl T.
"A feasible, realistic plan needs to developed, shared with the American public and put in place to bring peace in Iraq and end American occupation of the territory. Can this be done without instituting a military draft? The American people want to know before the 2004 presidential election."
--Sharon S.
"Our forces are stretched thin and the situation in Iraq is getting worse. We will no doubt be there a long time and other troubles lurk on the horizon. Be honest with America and tell us how we are going to do this without the draft."
--Phil S.
"My wife and I have deep concerns about this issue. We've been through the Vietnam years and saw how the draft split this country in half. We don't want to have to relive our worst nightmares, not with our sons."
--Lance K.
"A straight and clear answer, please."
--Janice M.
Ask someone you know to speak out: www.democracyforamerica.com/SpreadNoDraft
Posted at 12:31 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
In July it was Michigan.
Last week it was Ohio.1
Today it's Milwaukee!2
We must protect democracy wherever forces attempt to suppress and disenfranchise voters.
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker today denied Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's request for additional ballots for use on November 2.
After receiving only 679,000 ballots -- less than the city was given in 2000 and 2002 -- Milwaukee's mayor, expecting major turnout in this election, asked the County Executive for more ballots. "No way," said the county, telling the Associated Press that election-fraud "'chaos' could occur at understaffed polling places where voters could grab ballots."
We cannot allow the County Executive to deny Milwaukee voters their right to cast a ballot on Election Day.
The stakes have never been higher and people will do almost anything to influence the outcome.
Sign the petition - insist that Walker provide the ballots Milwaukee needs to ensure a fair election!
http://www.pfaw.org/go/letmilwaukeevote
Posted at 12:31 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
AP Story:
Bush said in the second presidential debate that there would be no revival of the military draft under any circumstances if he is re-elected. "We're not going to have a draft, period," the president said.
However, Kerry told The Des Moines Register, "With George Bush (news - web sites), the plan for Iraq is more of the same and the great potential of a draft." The interview was published Friday as Kerry was leaving for Wisconsin and a speech on the economy.
Bush said in the second presidential debate that there would be no revival of the military draft under any circumstances if he is re-elected. "We're not going to have a draft, period," the president said.
However, Kerry told The Des Moines Register, "With George Bush (news - web sites), the plan for Iraq is more of the same and the great potential of a draft." The interview was published Friday as Kerry was leaving for Wisconsin and a speech on the economy.
Posted at 12:29 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
Posted at 09:34 am by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Chris Bowers:
George Bush repeatedly talks about the need to spread freedom around the world. However, here at home, his own campaign has engaged in a nationwide effort to keep people from casting votes. Across the country, in important swing state after important swing state, Republicans want to reduce the number of people who vote in the upcoming election:
In Colorado, they do not want you to vote.
In Florida, they do not want you to vote.
In Minnesota, the do not want you to vote.
In Nevada, they do not want you to vote.
In Ohio, they do not want you to vote.
In Oregon, they do not want you to vote.
In Pennsylvania, they do not want you to vote.
In West Virginia, they do not want you to vote.
In Wisconsin, they do not want you to vote.
By contrast, Democrats have worked tirelessly to register as many new voters as possible and increase national participation in the political process nationwide. In state after state, Democrats have registered tens of thousands more new voters than Republicans. One party wants you to vote; one party does not. This is something voters need to know.
Don't fall for it, Compare | Decide | Vote November 2nd at www.comparedecidevote.com
Posted at 08:54 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
ROCK THE VOTE
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Republican Party Chairman Tells Us To Stop Talking About The Draft" name=109779237957217297>
Yesterday, Rock the Vote received a very startling letter from Ed Gillespie, Chairman of the Republican National Committee. He demanded that we stop talking about the issue of the military draft.
The letter leaked out on the Internet and a lot of people wondered whether it was even real. Yes, it is real.
The letter from Chairman Gillespie is here. Our response is here and below.
---------------------
October 14, 2004
Mr. Ed Gillespie, Chairman
Republican National Committee
310 First Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
VIA FASCIMILE: (202) 863-8774
Dear Chairman Gillespie,
The letter I received from you yesterday was quite a surprise. It struck us as just the sort of "malicious political deception" that is likely to increase voter cynicism and decrease the youth vote. In fact, it is a textbook case of attempted censorship, very much in line with those that triggered our organization's founding some fifteen years ago.
I am stunned that you would say that the issue of the military draft is an "urban myth"that has been "thoroughly debunked by no less than the President of the United States."
I have some news for you. Just because President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Secretary Rumsfeld, and for that matter Senator Kerry, say that there is not going to be a draft does not make it so. Just because Congress holds a transparently phony vote against the draft does not mean there isn't going to be one. Anyone who thinks that the youth of America are going to take a politician's word on this topic is living on another planet.
By your logic, there should be no debate about anything that you disagree with. There's a place for that kind of sentiment (and your threats), but its not here in our country.
There are questions that the politicians are running away from. How long can we keep 138,000 U.S. troops or more on the ground in Iraq? What if full-scale civil war erupts there, as the CIA has warned is a realistic possibility? Would the next President be faced with a choice of pulling out of Iraq rather than institute a draft? Would women be drafted? What exactly would the draft-age be?
According to the Pentagon's own internal assessment, there are "inadequate total numbers" of troops to meet U.S. security interests. The current issue of Time magazine reports that, "General John Keane, who retired last year as the Army's No. 2 officer, says the continued success of the all-volunteer military is not guaranteed" Keane has told Congress that adding more than 50,000 troops to the Army would require thinking about a return to the draft."
But you want young people to believe that the draft is just an "urban myth." I was expecting that you were going to present some facts to back up your assertion. But, instead, you have demanded that we stop talking about it.
Although the draft may not be a discussion topic for someone of your age, we have found that young people - Republicans, Democrats and Independents - are very interested in this issue. We believe in the capacity of young Americans to make their own judgments when fairly presented with the facts. That is why we are actively promoting an informed, educated dialogue. I urge you to review the "Debunking the Myths" section on our website where we address misperceptions about the draft.
Mr. Gillespie, this is a generational issue. Nothing cuts closer to the core of the very reason Rock the Vote exists. We think young people deserve to know where the politicians stand on this issue - and that a generation that could be called to service deserves more than the phony debate they are getting. We believe that it is only by asking questions - not by censoring debate - that our democracy can remain strong and vital.
Issues such as jobs, health care, Iraq, taxes, and education have energized the electorate, and the draft issue deserves the same serious treatment and candor. Blanket denials do not square with the facts and do not level with the electorate.
As far as the possibility that Rock the Vote's efforts might "decrease the youth vote," we are feeling very confident at this point that the opposite is true. More than 1.1 million people have used our website to fill out voter registration forms this election cycle. Our street teams and ground partners have registered hundreds of thousands more. Young voters are going to surge at the polls on Election Day and make the difference for whichever candidate does the best job reaching out to them.
Despite the strong and often strident tone of your letter, I would hope that we could both agree that honest and open debate is the surest guarantor of our democracy and liberty.
Sincerely,
Jehmu S. Greene
President
:: posted by hans @ 3:19 PM
http://www.blog.rockthevote.com/2004_10_10_archive.html#109779237957217297
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
The draft issue is more than rumors on the Internet(s).
As the media begins to actually dig into an issue that it has largely ignored throughout the year, awareness is growing that, regardless of political unpopularity, the draft deserves more attention.
Check out this new Time magazine piece for a very comprehensive overview of the draft issue from all sides. Everyone from draft-age young men and women to experienced military experts see, at the very least, that a draft is indeed a possibility.
The article brings up a Pentagon fallback plan to increase the financial incentives for enlisting, with some rewards reaching as high as $40,000 for special-op fighters. Realistically, that seems like where we are headed.
This is a good example of something that we think needs public discussion in this presidential race. How long could we keep up incentive-based recruiting? And at what point does fairness come into play? To put it bluntly, are these really “volunteers” in the sense of the word that both candidates use on the stump, that the military leaders use in the press conferences?
Do yourself a favor and read the Time magazine article.
:: posted by Matt Teper @ 8:24 PM
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Rock the Vote Draft Campaign Garners National Attention" name=109746281217818319>
Check out this great LA Times article about our campaign to make sure all young voters are educated about the possibility of a draft. Looks like the right people are starting to take notice ...
THE RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE
Rumor of a Draft Touches a Nerve. Bush and Kerry deny conscription plans, but Rock the Vote raises the specter.
By Kathleen Hennessey Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — An army of new voters received a startling call to serve recently, when one of the largest nonpartisan groups trying to increase voting by young people sent fake draft cards to nearly 640,000 e-mail addresses.
"You've been drafted" was the subject line of the message sent by Rock the Vote. The message contained an image of a draft card addressed to the recipient and warned, "real cards may be in the mail soon if the situation doesn't improve."
President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry both have rejected suggestions that they would move to reinstitute the draft, positions they reiterated in their debate Friday night in St. Louis.
But by raising the threat of the draft, Rock the Vote has staked its claim as the edgiest of the multimillion-dollar campaigns trying to push young people to the polls. The effort has also caught the attention of Republicans, who said the group misled voters and crossed into partisan politics. "
It has the face of a nonpartisan group, yet it's promoting the agenda of the liberal left," said Alison Aikele, spokeswoman for the College Republican National Committee. Aikele said has she received complaints from local chapters about draft rumors on campus.
Rock the Vote political director Hans Riemer said the group was trying to inform its members about the limits of U.S. military forces, not persuade them to vote for a particular candidate.
"It would be crazy if young people went to the polls and didn't factor this into their votes, however they come down on it. It's very real," said Riemer. "We're one major military conflict away from the draft. I don't see why candidates get to talk about war all day long and we can't talk about a draft."
Despite the stated opposition by Bush and Kerry to reinstating the draft, a recent survey found that only a quarter of young people knew this, compared with 42% of older people.
About half of 18- to 29-year-olds believe that Bush wants to reinstate the draft, according the poll conducted by the Annenberg National Election Survey this month.
Last week, House Republicans sought to dispel suggestions that the war in Iraq could lead to a new draft by hastily bringing the idea to a vote and defeating it in a 402-2 vote.
But that move is unlikely to end the talk on college campuses.
"If there is a draft, I would still be eligible," said University of Michigan student Paul Indyck, explaining why he was leaning toward Kerry.
Posted at 08:51 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
Comment on Kos:
EMAIL ROCK THE VOTE AND TELL THEM YOU SUPPORT THEM AND WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SKILLS DRAFT MEMO RECOVERED THROUGH THE FOI ACT.
blog@rockthevote.com
The most important thing to keep in mind is that the Bush Administration could add several billion dollars to the Defense budget and add two active-duty divisions to the military to save the Volunteer Army. John Kerry is actually proposing just that in his $7 billion plan to add the 2 divisions, and strengthen the military with increased benefits, a doubling of Special Ops and several other programs like his volunteer Civilian Stability Corps (kind of a Peace Corps on steroids).
Yet instead Bush is stretching the Army so thin, they are now calling up the retired Individual Ready Reserve--and they have even sent Company B of the Arlington Color Guard to the Mideast, giving them real bullets instead of the blanks they were firing at military funerals. If they want to preserve the Volunteer Army, as Bush said in the first debate, and not have to reinstate the combat draft, why has the Bush Administration not added the several billion needed to avoid having to call a draft? Out of the $200 billion allocated for Iraq, not one penny was ever allocated to do this.
Timeline of activity on Skills and Medical Drafts
Feb. 11 2003--Top-level meeting between the head of the SSS and Deputy Undersecretary Abell in charge of Personnel and Readiness of the DoD on a new type of draft, the Skills Draft. This is the meeting recorded in the unpublicized Agenda Document, revealed by a Freedom of Information Act request in May 2004, which recommends a Skills Draft and an upgrading of the Medical Draft. The memo proposes the SSS be able to call up any number of several hundred skills the Pentagon and even the Dept. of Homeland Security might be short of. Option 3 of the agenda's "Next Steps" outlined moving "promptly" to change the mission of the SSS, to actively plan and prepare for the massive datbase needed to track men and women, "virtually every young American" under 35 and their skills (more details below). The SSS goes back to the drawing board after this meeting, encouraged enough to do some more planning.
http://www.blatanttruth.org/selective_service091304.pdf
Summer 2003--A drive begins to start filling Draft Board vacancies by asking current board members to find new ones. (Salon, "Oiling Up the Draft Machine")
July 25, 2003 - World Net Daily article on plans for the medical draft (HCPDS). System could draft up to 80,000 doctors, nurses and specialists, men and women.
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33754
Fall 2003 - In its July 13th , 2004 article, "Could Your Child Be Drafted?", Family Circle reported that in the Fall of 2003, "Karl Rove polled Republican members of Congress on how they felt about the draft. They said they'd support the President." Despite Family Circle's circulation of 23 million, this charge was never refuted by the White House. http://www.oregonparentsunited.org/article..._be_drafted.htm
Fall 2003--DoD announces critical skills shortages in linguists, computer experts and engineers. SSS Director Brodsky orders the designing of the SKILLS DRAFT procedures, the registration card, and the massive database needed to track every young American under the age of 35 AND their skills (the first step in creating a database is to decide what data fields are needed). The two-year process to gear up SKILLS DRAFT starts a year ago, in Fall 2003, meaning a skills draft could be ready in late 2005 (a new law would have to be passed by the Congress and signed by the President along the lines suggested in "Next Steps" at the end of the Skills Draft Agenda document).
September, 2003 - Acting SSS Director Brodsky, misleads J. E. McNeil, the head of Center on Conscience & War, a Conscientious Objector support and information group, telling her that in February of 2003 the SSS had to "justify their existence" before a hostile committee and that the Skills Draft "planning" was just a way to keep the Selective Service funded for another year. In reality, the SSS and DoD were having the Skills Draft meeting in that same month of February and he himself had just started designing the new draft registration cards and procedures, making it his top priority when the Pentagon announced the critical skills shortages. http://www.nisbco.org/UAA/03152004.html
September 23, 2003 - Draft Board Recruitment ad appears on Defense.Link site. First public ad for Draft Boards in decades. Page scrubbed within a few days of being noticed by some media in early November. Spokesman says there is "no plan" to reinstate draft, that it must be authorized by Congress. Public concern over new draft begins. "If a military draft becomes necessary," the notice explained, "approximately 2,000 Local and Appeal Boards throughout America would decide which young men, who submit a claim, receive deferments, postponements or exemptions from military service, based on Federal guidelines."
http://www.thememoryhole.org/mil/draft-boards.htm
November 2003--Draft board ad scrubbed.
Nov. 12, 2003 - "If President Bush is re-elected, it is likely that he will reinstate the draft. The war on terrorism will not end in Iraq, but instead will proceed into countries like Syria and Iran," said Daniel Ellsberg, of Pentagon Papers fame.
Dec. 2003--Acting SSS Director Brodsky announces the Skills Draft to be the "top priority" of the SSS in the Winter 2003 newsletter The Register, talking of rapid progress to come on the Skills Draft. As with the health care draftees, no medical deferments are allowed in the Skills Draft except for total disability. Startling inside information is revealed: "SSS officials consulted with DoD planners to learn that medical personnel, computer specialists and linguists are difficult to recruit and hard to retain. There are also fears that lengthy and repetitive activations of Guard and Reserve members will boost Reserve Component attrition rates. So a principal objective of PIP-2003 is to shift the Agency's focus away from maintaining a high state of readiness to execute a large draft of untrained manpower and toward preparing for a much smaller draft of trained personnel possessing critical skills needed for military service in a national crisis." This is a direct statement the Selective Service is focused on "preparing" a Skills Draft, that it is not just a planning paper or "food for thought". In addition, there is the internal Pentagon fear that the Guard and Reserves will not meet re-enlistment rates, despite public statements by DoD spokesmen and Rumsfeld himself that a draft is not needed.
http://www.sss.gov/PDFs/NovDec2003-Register.pdf (go to P. 6)
March 13, 2004--Word of Skills Draft leaks out in a SF Chronicle story--the SSS admits it but tells reporters it's just a "planning contingency." In a misleading statement to allay fears, the SSS also says it would take 2 years to gear up and work the kinks out of a Skills Draft and that there is no funding for it. In fact, the SSS admits 6 weeks later that it has been actively designing the procedures and the data fields to be used on the Skills and Medical Registration cards since Fall of 2003 when the Pentagon announced shortages in liguists, computer experts and engineers. And SSS Spokesman Richard Flavahan contradicts spokesman Amon saying: "We want to gear up and make sure we are capable of providing (those types of draftees) since that's the more likely need," Eric Rosenberg, the reporter on the story, finds out about the Feb. 11 meeting agenda document and files a Freedom of Information Act request to get a copy.
May 1, 2004--Eric Rosenberg's writes an article on the Skills Draft Agenda memo with the memo in hand--but fails to mention several key points: skills conscription would be expanded to fill labor shortages throughout the Dept of Homeland Security, which is 1/3 of the whole government, the Skills Draft can be called without a combat draft, Skills induction will take a mere 90 days of reauthorization, the SSS wanted to "promptly" change the very MISSION of the SSS, and so on. The article does, however, reveal many major points of the sweeping plan. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/171522_draft01.html
May 2, 2004 - Second Rosenberg article with memo in hand. ""These ideas were only being floated for Department of Defense consideration," Amon said. He described the proposal as "food for thought" for contingency planning." "Nonetheless, <SSS spokesman and Congressional liason> Flahavan said, "the agency has begun designing procedures to conduct a targeted registration and draft of people with computer and language skills, in case military officials and Congress authorize it." In actuality, however, the SSS was right then designing the cards and data fields needed for the entire Skills Draft and upgrading the Medical Draft based on that design work, they were not just working on a draft for computer and language skills. http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/dailystar/20404.php
Summer, Fall, 2004--Mock Combat Draft Lottery held, and sample medical exam report orders issued to sample addresses with mailing list software. Alternative Service is geared up for first time in 31 years. Papers to place Conscientious Objectors with employers as Alternative Service Workers are actually drawn up. With the Alternative Service for the first time geared up in the culmination of a 5-year readiness plan, the SSS is brought up to 95% operational capability. Full Medical Draft capability is set for 2005, and all DRAFT BOARD vacancies are to be filled by Spring 2005, according to column by Ted Rall. The SSS must report to the Director on March 31, 2005, that the entire system could be operational within 75 days. This means that all 1,980 local draft board offices would be open by June 15, 2005. Theoretically, the first draft lottery for Combat for 20 year-olds and older Skills and Medical registrants could then take place. http://www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004
Sept 13, 2004--Agenda memo of key Feb 2003 meeting posted on the Web. The .PDF file reveals the full scope of the Feb.11 agenda and, in the context of the statements by Flavahan and Brodsky, makes clear the SSS was told by the Pentagon a year ago to go ahead with the Skills Draft. What Option 3a and 3b at the end of the memo indicates for the future of "virtually every young American" can now be read by everyone, so each person can decide for themselves what it may mean to them.
Sept 20, 2004 - Howard Dean reports in a column entitled: "Hidden Agenda: A National Draft in the Future?" that two draft board members told him that the Selective Service has informed boards that a draft is coming next year: "Selective Service boards have already been notified that 20-year-olds and medical personnel will be called up first."
http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_13568.shtml
Sept 27, 2004 - When the Rocky Mtn News noted the Feb. 11 memo itself was circulating on the Internet, SSS Spokesman Amon "said the memo was authentic, but he called it nothing more than a `food for thought kind of thing' that was largely rejected inside the Pentagon." These were the same exact words he used in early 2004, despite Flavahan's "gear up" statement, and the revelation that the SSS had been "designing procedures" and data fields for the Skills Draft since Fall of 2003. <ROCKY MTN NEWS> http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elec...3212279,00.html
October 7, 2004 - Rock The Vote posts Feb. 11 Agenda memo on their Blog!
http://blog.rockthevote.com
HANG UP THIS FLYER EVERYWHERE!!
Printable pdf: http: http://somnamblst.tripod.com/draftalert.pdf
More: http://blatanttruth.org/draft.php
Posted at 08:46 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
A few minutes ago, the third and final presidential debate came to a close. Once again, I am about to head over to the "spin room," and once again I am going to have the chance to talk about a victory for John Kerry.
During these debates, John Kerry has left no doubt that he has the strength and character we need in a commander in chief. He has shown the American people his command of the facts, steady demeanor, and well reasoned arguments. He offered hope and optimism, and showed that he will fight for middle class families.
The Bush campaign has tried to lower the bar for each debate. But the bar can only go so low.
The bottom line is, when it comes to the concerns of the middle class, George Bush just doesn't get it -- doesn't know how to talk about it -- and has no way to fix it. While he offered nothing but more of the same tired rhetoric -- John Kerry presented real solutions to real problems. That's the reason why John Kerry won and George Bush lost -- lowered expectations and spin from the Bush campaign will not change this.
Tonight George Bush's denials further damaged his credibility. He denied we have problems with immigration, No Child Left Behind, equal pay for women and the minimum wage. Bush pretends our problems don't exist, and he won't level with the American people.
Posted at 10:16 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
"It is the same people who told us that Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11; the same people who told us Saddam Hussein had something to do with weapons of mass destruction; the same people who told us we would be able to use the oil for reconstruction money; the same people who told us we would be greeted as liberators, not occupiers; the same people, the same President who told us the Taliban is gone; the same President who told us that Poland is our ally 2 days before they pull out; the same President who tells us Iraq is going just great; the same President who tells us the economy is going just great; the same people who told us the tax cuts were going to create millions of jobs; the same people who told us that the Medicare program only cost $400 billion when it really cost $540 billion."
— Rep. Tim Ryan, October 5, 2004
Dear Friend,
 When I spoke those words on the floor of Congress last week, I never dreamt the reaction they would cause. But the truth is that people are fed up with being denied the truth. For too long — far too long — we have been fed one pack of lies after another by the President and the Republican leaders in Congress; by the Karl Roves and the John Ashcrofts; by the apologists and the excuse makers.
And here's one more truth: We have the opportunity to change all of that on November 2nd, but it's up to us to make it happen!
https://secure.dccc.org/win/ryan.aspx?id=ryan
Those of us who have expressed outrage, who have complained, and who have proclaimed, "Someone needs to do something," must realize that it's up to each and every one of us now — no one's going to do it for us.
As part of DCCC leadership, one thing I am doing is urging people to join our "Million for a Majority" campaign. As you may know, in just the last two weeks we shocked Republicans by vastly expanding the number of races we were targeting in states in every region of the country.
If we can raise $1 million more between now and October 24, we can put additional races in play, strengthening our position and our ability to remove Tom DeLay and his allies from control and restore a Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. We've already raised $612,000, so we need less than $400,000 more to go. Whether you can afford to give $12, $18, $25, or $100 or more, please understand how your contributions add up to give us the critical resources needed for this fight.
https://secure.dccc.org/win/ryan.aspx?id=ryan
This election is about more than just honest disagreements about policies, it is about a pattern of behavior that rewards lying to the American people about every issue we hold dear.
On November 3, I don't want to hear that President Bush has been reelected and that Tom DeLay is still in charge of the House. We cannot reward this President and his right-wing allies in Congress with another victory. Please do what you can right now to help us remove George W. Bush and Tom DeLay from doing more damage to our country and to our collective future:
https://secure.dccc.org/win/ryan.aspx?id=ryan
Warmest Regards,
Rep. Tim Ryan
U.S. House of Representatives (OH-17)
Posted at 10:14 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
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