 |
|
Friday, October 29, 2004
|
Poll Monitors on Their Way to History Need Your Support Now! |
|
Dear Bob:
As I write this quick note to you, some 25,000 volunteers are boarding airplanes and buses, traveling on trains or in carpools to take part in the largest get-out-the-vote and Election Protection effort in history. They will be arriving in locations from Florida to Nevada, Pennsylvania to New Mexico, Ohio to Colorado, and 11 other states in between.
They have one goal: to make sure that every citizen who goes to the poll casts a vote that counts.
Help us make sure that every vote counts!
To be sure, we're expecting to see wholesale efforts to suppress the vote through acts of intimidation, presentation of false and confusing information, voter purges, and understaffing of polls that will slow lines and present obstacles.
For the better part of a year, we've been preparing. Now, we're ready for anything.
Earlier this week, Broward County in Florida lost 60,000 absentee ballots on their way to the post office. Many of these were for retired and elderly voters. They will now have to face a maze of bureaucracy to get replacements or get to the polls and brave longer lines to cast their ballots.
Thankfully, the Ft. Lauderdale branch of the NAACP and People For the American Way Foundation will be there to help them by hosting a Saturday get-out-the vote motorcade and organizing van pools and rides to the polls on Election Day.
In Florida, Ohio, and other states, news reports document that the Republican Party will be sending lawyers with secret lists to challenge the vote of anyone whose name is on the list. Where are the lawyers going? Heavily African-American and Latino precincts.
Thankfully, our volunteers will be there to assure that all voters know the law and their rights and to help them cast provisional ballots if necessary. Provisional ballots will be sorted out and counted in the event of a close election.
Support our volunteers in polling places around the country!
Furthermore, White House attorneys are claiming that only Attorney General John Ashcroft has the authority to enforce voting rights set out in the Help America Vote Act, reversing decades of precedents where voters have gone to court to protect voting rights. It is not possible for John Ashcroft to be impartial in protecting voter rights.
This is the same Republican Party that, according to public reports, has paid operatives in at least six states accused of obtaining and then shredding thousands of Democratic registrations they obtained from citizens who thought they could vote, but recently learned they cannot.
We must not allow these kinds of tactics to corrupt democracy in America.
That is why, in this closing weekend before Election Day, I am asking you one final time to help support our 25,000 volunteers as they are on their way to their states and cities.
When I last wrote to you about Election Protection and our Adopt-a-State Matching Gift Challenge, I shared the news that we needed to raise $1.2 million in the closing week of the campaign.
The great news is that we are almost there. Because of the online generosity of thousands of supporters, we met the Challenge and have put those gifts to work immediately to assure fair, open, and honest elections in critical states.
In fact, since issuing the Challenge one week ago, we've raised almost $900,000 toward the closing $1.2 million budget gap. That means we only have to raise $100,000 a day in these last three days before the election.
Help us make history -- donate now!
We will put this money to work in five states where we must be especially vigilant in monitoring the conduct and decisions of election officials and rogue organizations: Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.
Whatever state you choose to "adopt," we'll give you a post-election report on our work, our progress, and our findings in that state.
Each of these five states is mired in critical election issues that must be addressed before November 2 if we are to have a fair and honest election.
To do everything we can and must do, we must raise the final $300,000 on the Internet between now and the election for these five states. That's why I need to hear from you today.
If we can meet the goal, we'll put it to work immediately in these five key states: Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.
Remember, we will rush your support to the state you select immediately. Together, we need to do all we can to assure that every vote cast is also counted.
Please be as generous as you can. Voter suppression strikes at the very core of our democratic values. We expect to find many surprises on Election Day in these and other states -- surprises that will tax our resources.
I cannot begin to tell you how important you are to our Election Protection work. Please help push us over the top and help us meet the challenge today.
With appreciation,
Ralph G. Neas
President
People For the American Way Foundation |
Posted at 09:37 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
Tonight at midnight is the final deadline to fund Election Day activities. With a race as tight as this one, every single donation will make a difference.
The deadline is just hours away.
https://www.democrats.org/support/kerry.html
The money you give now translates directly into votes on Election Day, and we are just $500,000 away from our goal. It has never been more urgent for you to give than at this moment.
Earlier today, John Kerry told you how he and I discuss your efforts each time I update him on campaign activities. Watching what you have accomplished during this race has been a real source of excitement and inspiration. People like you changed the dynamics of this race in a truly historic way.
Never before has a campaign manager been able to communicate with so many supporters on an almost daily basis. It has been a great honor to share this experience with you.
We are now just days away from the end of this campaign and just hours away from our fundraising deadline. I would not ask you to act this final time if it was not critical. However, I know that if we can turn potential voters into actual votes on Election Day, we will win. It is as simple as that.
Please contribute to the Democratic Party before tonight's deadline:
https://www.democrats.org/support/kerry.html
Again, thank you so much for all that you have done during this campaign.
Mary Beth Cahill
Campaign Manager
Posted at 09:36 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
Dear Bob,
THIS IS IT. This is the last time you'll hear me ask for your support before the election. This is also your last chance to make a contribution to the DSCC's $3 Million Match Campaign.
Because your response to our fundraising effort was so astounding, we're just $64,208 away from meeting our $3 million goal. We're ahead of schedule so we're closing the deadline at midnight tonight and wiring your contribution out to the tightest races for the last 72 hours of the Fight for 51.
Click here to contribute to the DSCC's $3 Million Match Campaign now.
This is no ordinary fight. The Republicans are so desperate to hang onto their Senate majority because it may be the only power they have left on Election Day. They know that the momentum is with Democrats right now. They know they're facing the real possibility of a total leadership change in the U.S. government.
That's why the Republicans went after our Senate leader, Tom Daschle's wife this week. That's why they called our candidate, Dr. Dan Mongiardo 'limp wristed' and started spreading rumors about his sexual orientation in Kentucky. And that's why Republican Tom Coburn once again resorted to race baiting in Oklahoma by claiming that black males have a "a genetic predisposition to have less of a life expectancy." (AP, 10/28/04).
Your generous support has helped our candidates fight back against these desperate last minute attacks. We are so grateful for your support throughout this campaign. But now, our Democratic candidates need our help to match the Republican smear machine on the air and on the ground over the last 72 hours.
We're so close to victory -- just $64,208 and 4 days away. We have a historic opportunity to hold this Republican leadership accountable for their misdeeds on Election Day. It took a Republican President and a Republican Congress supporting him to create the mess we're in at home and abroad; it will take a Democratic President standing side by side a Democratic Congress to get us out of it.
My staff and I thank you again for your incredible dedication to the Fight for 51. We will keep you posted on the latest developments from the campaign trail over the next 72 hours. But this will be the last time we will write to you about contributing to the DSCC for this election -- it's time for victory.
Sincerely,
Sen. Jon S. Corzine
Posted at 09:35 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
For most of this year, we've focused our TV buys on Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania -- the three swing states with the most electoral votes. But over the last few months Colorado, a state that Bush has been counting on to win, has been getting closer and closer. Although Colorado's nine electoral votes went red in 2000, the latest polling shows Kerry ahead by a hair.
We have a last-minute opportunity to go on the offensive and buy $174,000 in TV air time there today -- enough to make sure that most Coloradans in key areas see our "He Just Doesn't Get It" ad between now and the election. In the ad, which was created by Win Back Respect, a woman who lost her brother in Iraq responds to Bush's outrageous jokes about not finding WMDs there. We know "He Just Doesn't Get It" really connects with voters. But the advertising books close at noon today, and we'll need your support to make this happen.
Can you help win back Colorado from Bush? You can check out the ad and make a donation now at:
https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/doesntgetit.html
There's no disputing that the race nation-wide is very, very tight. But as the Washington Post reported last Sunday, the Bush camp is nervous -- their internal tracking polls don't look pretty. And the past week hasn't been good for the President, who spent most of his time trying to duck the growing scandal around the tons of explosives that went missing in Iraq.
And now Colorado's slipping away from them. Our Leave No Voter Behind field program there is working overtime to turn out voters for Kerry; tomorrow former Vice President Al Gore will be flying in to rally our volunteers in Denver. Meanwhile, MoveOn-endorsed Senate candidate Ken Salazar is running ahead in the Senate race against right-wing activist and beer magnate Pete Coors. Salazar, a Latino, is expected to pull out lots of new voters to the polls. Between our deep ad buy, the work on the ground, and Salazar's robust grassroots campaign, it's not a stretch to imagine a blue Colorado.
We're humbled and grateful for your generosity throughout this campaign -- with your time, your ideas, and your money. Thanks to your tremendous support last week, "He Just Doesn't Get It" is already on the air in Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, New Mexico, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Iowa, and Nevada. But with 96 hours to go, we can't leave anything to chance. Can you support one last ad buy to win back Colorado?
You can give online right now at:
https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/doesntgetit.html
Thanks for everything you do.
Sincerely,
--Adam, Eli, Hannah, James, Laura, and the whole MoveOn PAC Team
Friday, October 29th, 2004
P.S. Today, we're also launching our next-to-last 10 Weeks ad, a moving and powerful ad on job loss by Doug Liman, the director of Swingers, The Bourne Identity, and Go that features the voice of Matt Damon. You can watch the ad now at:
http://www.moveonpac.org/10weeks/
And if you aren't canvassing or calling all evening tomorrow -- though we truly hope that you are! -- the Sundance Channel is re-airing the breathtaking finale of the Vote for Change tour, which was presented by MoveOn PAC to benefit America Coming Together.
Tune in on the Sundance Channel at 6:30 pm, ET Saturday, for the show, which features Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Dave Matthews Band, The Dixie Chicks, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, John Fogerty, John Mellancamp, Jurassic 5, Keb' Mo', Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Pearl Jam, and R.E.M. If you have a satellite dish or receive over 60 cable channels, you probably have the Sundance Channel.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC www.moveonpac.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Posted at 09:34 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
Posted at 12:16 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
Posted at 12:05 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
Posted at 08:21 am by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Dear Bob,
We are learning about new tricks being pulled by Republicans every day across the battleground states. And for months, you've led the fight against them. Please don't stop now.
A few weeks ago, ACT04.org alerted you to the dubious dealings of Ohio's Republican secretary of state, Ken Blackwell, who was trying to bar thousands of newly registered voters from the polls by citing an arcane ruling that requires voter registration cards be printed on 80 pound paper stock.
More than 250,000 of you showed your outrage by signing your name to our "Paper Stock" petition. Your response, and the media storm it fueled, forced Blackwell to back down. The result? - Next Tuesday, record numbers of new voters across Ohio will be voting for change and electing Democrats to federal, state and local government.
Read about the GOP tricks in Ohio and ACT's fight to stop them.
But It's Not Just Happening in Ohio...
Ohio is not alone. Dirty tricks and deception are now happening in Florida, West Virginia, Nevada, Wisconsin and elsewhere. Across the electoral battlegrounds, Republicans are scared and pulling out all the stops.
Read Salon's article on what GOP officials have in store for Florida.
Salon.com has been breaking these stories (and many others) as part of its Election 2004 "War Room." They've broken stories on electronic voting problems, ballot access and many other important issues.
Read this recent article on Sproul & Associates, a consulting firm hired by the RNC to register voters. Former volunteers for Sproul now allege that it asked them to lie, cheat and even destroy the registration forms of Democrats whom they had registered to vote!
Now, you can help ACT Fight Back and Win Next Tuesday and get an annual Salon Premium membership, too.
For a limited time, when you select a $34.99 annual membership to Salon Premium, Salon will donate the proceeds right back to America Coming Together. You'll enjoy a great subscription and support ACT's historic voter mobilization effort during these critical last days.
With your support, ACT will lead the fight for Democratic candidates in federal, state and local elections, and you will have a year of great in-depth news and commentary from the leading online publication - Salon.com.
Click here to follow the breaking news of the critical days ahead and help ACT when we need your support most.
Thank you.
America Coming Together
PS. Americans overseas? Their ballots are in jeopardy too. Read the exclusive story here .
Contributions to ACT are not deductible for federal income tax purposes.
Paid for by America Coming Together (888 16th Street, NW, Suite 450, Washington, DC 20006), and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. |
|
Posted at 09:32 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
5 Days: Last Chance! October 28, 2004
5 Days, It's Now Up To You: Act!
Last 5 Days: Make Your $ Really Count with New Majority Tickets
Although there are many races in play, we've set up a series of regional "tickets," allowing you to support a slate of races in a specific part of the country. We've identified some of the top races in each region - although we're still keeping a few tricks up our sleeve up until the very end.
Each and every dollar donated to a "ticket" will be used exclusively to support our efforts for the candidates in that group.
We're past the point where we can wait for checks to clear. The financial support of the internet community can't be over-emphasized.
Please take a look at our Majority Tickets right now. We know it's been an exhausting couple of years, and so many of us have put more time and money into this election than in the rest of our lives combined. Thanks again for all that you've done during this cycle, and we humbly ask you to help us one more time.
Defend Texas
http://www.democraticaction.org/tix/texas.php
Ticket East
http://www.democraticaction.org/tix/east.php
Ticket West
http://www.democraticaction.org/tix/west.php
Ticket South
http://www.democraticaction.org/tix/south.php
Ticket Heartland
http://www.democraticaction.org/tix/heartland.php
Last Chance: Road Trip for a New Majority
Last week we described the vital importance of our presence on the ground in tight races, and we won't bore you with a full rehashing, but suffice it to say that in the South Dakota special election our volunteers knocked on 180,000 doors in a race decided by 2,981 votes. Now, allow us to update you on the status of three key road trips this weekend, and as you read through them consider whether you would be willing and able to hoof it for a weekend to put them over the top.
GA-12: Republican Max Burns in ruing the day he declared his support for a national sales tax designed to shift the tax burden from wealthy Americans to working Americans. The national sales tax idea is the most extreme extension of the Bush/DeLay agenda, which Newsweek's Wall Street Editor rightly described as an effort to "create a new class of landed aristocrats who could inherit billions tax-free, invest the money, watch it compound tax-free and hand it down tax-free to their heirs." A huge Washington Post headline blared, "Ads on National Sales Tax Draw GOP Ire," which gives a pretty good indication that we've hit a sore spot with our attack on the "Max Tax."
Sign up now: Departing from Washington, DC - Friday, October 29, 2004
KY-03: You can run down Republican Anne Northup's record and find rubberstamp support for just about any issue you can imagine. Outsourcing a good thing? Yup. Saddam connected to Al Qaeda? Of course! No Child Left Behind? No problem there whatsoever. Right on down the line. Democrat Tony Miller is a veteran, a board member of Louisville Urban League, and has 16 years experience as Jefferson County Circuit Court Clerk. This district is ripe for the picking, and all that stands between us and victory is that Northup has done well in keeping her constituents in the dark on her real positions. That's where you come in.
Sign up now: Depart from Maryville, TN; Washington, DC; Aurora, IL; Valparaiso, IN
Friday, October 29, 2004 / Saturday, October 30, 2004
NY-27: Allow us to share a specific frustration with you. As we work on the Hill, watching as Republicans use their ever-so-slim edge to cram through offensive policies, there is a constant pang of watching supposed GOP "moderates" - representing Democratic districts - cast deciding votes time after time with Tom DeLay. NY-27 is such a district. With Democrats holding an 80,000 voter registration advantage, this was among the most Democratic seats in the country held by a Republican until Jack Quinn's surprise retirement. Now the 27th is one of the best Democratic pick-up opportunities in the nation. Don't let Nancy Naples, another rubberstamp in moderate's clothing, slip into this seat - help us put a Democrat in this Democratic district.
Sign up now: Departing from Washington, DC; New York, Plattsburgh, and Geneseo, NY
Friday, October 29, 2004
Races to Watch: On the Cusp of Victory
Here are just a few of our candidates surging into November:
TX-32: Sneaky Pete become Streaky Pete... Pete Sessions, the Republican moralizer and anti-public nudity crusader (in the wake of the Janet Jackson fiasco), ran into his toughest opponent yet this week when it was revealed that a younger Pete Sessions was not only an early "streaking" enthusiast, but was quoted in local papers espousing the virtues of such "free spirit" behavior. For laughs, we threw together StreakyPete.com, where you can watch a hilarious "flash" animation of the entire affair.
PA-08: Ginny Walks... Reacting to what Stacey Kerr of the DCCC called "the most hateful piece of mail we have seen in this election cycle," Democrat Ginny Schrader walked out on a debate with her Republican opponent when he refused to apologize or denounce the piece. The mailing made a series of wild leaps from Schrader to "Fahrenheit 9/11" to Hezbollah, declaring that "The Hate America crowd has found their candidate." Schrader (commonly referred to simply as "Ginny") responded: "'Let me assure you, I don't hate America,' Schrader said in her opening remarks Monday. 'This mentions Hezbollah. Half my family is Jewish. This is totally unacceptable.'" Schrader has nearly completed a transformation from long-shot candidate to Cinderella surprise, and her opponent's extreme anti-choice positions are far out of the mainstream in the district. Once again, PA may be front and center in the Democratic surge.
UT-02: Unquotable? Oh my. Salt Lake Tribune Columnists Paul Rolly and JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells accuse Republican John Swallow of "hitting below the belt": "To use a popular Utah word, it's time to call 'bullcrap' on the one high-profile campaign in Utah that has grossly distorted the opponent's record. The culprits: Republican congressional candidate John Swallow and his political consultant, Peter Valcarce." Unfortunately for Swallow, that was the good news for the day, as the Tribune also endorsed Democrat Jim Matheson for re-election. Matheson is one of the GOP's ever-elusive targets, and he looks to be slipping the NRCC's shoddily concocted noose once again as well. Better luck in '06 fellas.
NC-11: Keever Choice Grows Clearer... Responding to complaints from Veterans about his record on Vets' issues, Republican Charles Taylor decried their protests as "political propaganda." He should not have been surprised when two veterans fired back: "The priorities of Mr. Taylor are reflected by his votes in Congress. In this era when America's involvement in the war against terror is creating a new generation of wartime veterans, and the VA is taking on the needs of Vietnam War, Korean War and World War II veterans, Mr. Taylor has not been forthright with our veterans and the voters of Western North Carolina. He has distorted his record, claiming to 'have always fought in Congress for our veterans.' However, his voting history, which is public record, proves different." Meanwhile, the analysts at CQ Politics Daily have shifted the race from longshot to "slight" Republican favorite, and there can be no question that Democrat and former teacher Patsy Keever has all the momentum going into the election.
KS-3: Another cycle down the tubes... Much like Utah's 2nd, Kansas' 3rd is a perennial target of the national Republicans, and in both districts Republicans have had recurring nightmares: nominate a wingnut blind party loyalist in the primaries, cede the center to the Democrat, desperately try to paint the Democrat as an "ultra-liberal," fail miserably and end up with egg on your face for distorting his record. And while Democrat Dennis Moore's 12-point edge can hardly compete with Matheson's 20-30 point edge in Utah, both are look pretty good going into November, and the nightmares are coming back for the NRCC.
TX-19: Stenholm's Stand... When Tom DeLay concocted his crooked redistricting scheme, he singled out the senior Texas Rep., Charlie Stenholm for extermination. Stenholm is indeed in one of the toughest races around, but he is making his race anything but a cakewalk, hammering his opponent and DeLay for their inability to rule ethically: "But Stenholm pointed out that DeLay's demand for the irregular redistricting is just another instance of the Republican leader's attempt to consolidate his power at any cost. The same mindset, Stenholm said in the Lubbock debate, has resulted in 'no energy bill, no budget ... , no increase in the debt ceiling.'" In a more comical turn, it seems the national Republicans have been phonebanking for his opponent, but in their angst to convey their heartfelt affinity for his values, forgot to figure out how to pronounce his name.
IL-08: Bean's Clean Sweep... The Daily Herald endorsed Democrat Melissa Bean for this Republican-leaning seat, making it pretty much a clean sweep of area endorsements. After noting his not necessarily admirable tendency to stick to his extreme conservative views no matter what, they go on: "Unfortunately, Crane has built another solid reputation in Congress that clearly is not admirable: That of a show horse, not a workhorse. After 35 years in office, he has accomplished little of significance." Bean is a candidate who has captured the Democratic spirit at its best, harnessing tremendous grassroots energy and catapulting herself into the spotlight with astounding national coverage.
News From the Blog
IL-08: The Anti-Crane Conspiracy
Republican Phil Crane shoots himself in the foot... again.
Stop that Canoodling!
Katherine Karris gets caught playing footsie on the House floor.
The Breeze
DCCC Chairman Matsui defies critics, predicts major gains.
Poor Guy
Tom DeLay is forced to go door-to-door for the first time in perhaps a decade.
Checks & Balances
George H.W. Bush has trouble interpreting the Constitution.
Speaker Soprano's Pathetic Return!
For the third time this year Hastert blackmails voters.
Bush Loves the Democratic Party
After three and 5/6 years Bush courts the Democratic vote.
Pelosi: Incompetence has a Cost
Statement from Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on the announcement that Bush will seek $70 billion for Iraq next year.
Corrupted Ralph
Bush-Cheney strategist Ralph Reed's long history of selling his morality.
Posted at 09:31 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
Some Republicans see the voting booth as a country club where a few people decide that others just don't belong. They reject the foundation of our democracy: we believe in the sacred principle of One Person, One Vote.
Now that fundamental right is under threat. Every day we hear of new GOP tactics to corrupt the system and prevent people from voting.
Our volunteers have made direct contact with voters in thousands of precincts. But the prospect of intimidation and legal manipulation grows every day. Please help us ensure that every American who wants to can get to the polls:
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/contribute
We finally started living up to the One Person, One Vote principle only a generation ago. For a hundred years after the Civil War our laws systematically blocked millions of people from voting. It took until 1965 to pass federal law that ended the schemes of Jim Crow.
We outlawed poll taxes and literacy tests because they are undemocratic. But those bad laws were made even worse by selective enforcement -- to discriminate against opponents of those in power.
The tactics today are the same as in the bad old days.
The 2000 election opened the eyes of the right-wing fringe that runs the Republican Party. When conservatives on the Supreme Court stopped votes from being counted in Florida, they saw an opportunity. They could again manipulate the legal system to justify denying people the right to vote.
Now we have a Republican in Ohio trying to throw out heavily Democratic new voter registrations because the paper isn't thick enough.
We have a Jeb Bush appointee in Florida drawing up a wildly inaccurate list of supposed "felons" that included thousands of innocent African-Americans -- but almost no Latinos (who are much more likely to vote Republican).
Republican officials in Pennsylvania tried to move polling places out of inner-city neighborhoods for "safety" reasons.
Right-wing Republicans question whether new voters -- particularly the young and the poor -- "deserve" to vote. They wonder out loud whether Americans who they think aren't "informed enough" or need a ballot in another language should be allowed to vote at all. Suggestions like these are disgusting and immoral.
They know that George Bush's failures have affected people who until now never gave politics a second thought. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Americans have registered to vote for the first time this year.
Republicans say they fear fraud. But they really fear defeat.
We cannot wait for judges or legislatures to stop them. We have to protect Americans at the polls on Election Day and defend against any attempt to tamper with our fundamental rights.
There are two ways you can help. Find your polling place and make sure that you and everyone you know votes:
http://www.mypollingplace.com
And make a contribution now to help get voters in swing states to the polls on Tuesday:
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/contribute
We have just a few days. Please act now.
Governor Howard Dean, M.D.
Posted at 09:30 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
|
|
|
|
|
|
