[IMC-Editorial] TODAY IS VOTING DAY AT MOVEON
The Sacred Earth Society
info at sacredearth.org
Tue Jun 24 16:16:53 PDT 2003
An extremely important thing is happening today and tomorrow (Tuesday
June 24, &25, 03). It may affect the outcome of the 2004 presidential
Election. If you are registered with MoveOn.org, today is voting day.
Don't forget to cast your ballet for your choice for the Democratic
Presidential candidate. See the message from Dennis Kucinich below.
Last week we asked if we should consider early endorsement of a
presidential candidate, and the results were overwhelming. 96.3% out
of 186,000 who responded said YES to an early "MoveOn Primary." So
we're moving forward. If one of the nine candidates receives more than
50% of the vote next Tuesday and Wednesday, we will officially endorse
that candidate. Today's message is one of three we'll be sending by
email from the candidates favored in our first straw poll on May 29th.
To make sure you have the information you need, letters to the MoveOn
membership and responses to the MoveOn interview questions from all
the Presidential candidates are online now at
http://www.moveon.org/pac/cands/. Invite your friends to register to
vote in the MoveOn primary by going to http://www.moveon.org/pac/reg/.
The more of us that join in this process, the better the chances that
ordinary voters, not pundits or big donors, will determine the
Democratic nominee. Thanks,
--Carrie, Eli, Joan, Peter, Wes, and Zack
Read letters from all the candidates here
Leading up to the MoveOn Primary next Tuesday, we've offered to
forward emails from the three candidates who polled highest with
our members. You can also view letters from all nine candidates
here
_____________________________________________________________________.
Here's the third email, from Representative Kucinich:
Dear MoveOn.org Sisters and Brothers, On February 17, 2002, more
than a year before the war with Iraq, I sat down and wrote "A
Prayer for America," a speech I delivered later that day to the
Southern California ADA, to a rousing reception. If that speech,
or this essay, touches or inspires you, volunteer--help us speak
truth to power: http://www.kucinich.us/volunteer.php
More than a year before the Bush Administration bombed Baghdad, I
spoke of "...the War Games of an un-elected President and his
un-elected Vice President." Months before anyone else now running for
President, I spoke these words: "Let us pray that our country will
stop this war...
Because we did not authorize the invasion of Iraq.
We did not authorize the invasion of Iran.
We did not authorize the invasion of North Korea.
We did not authorize the bombing of civilians in Afghanistan.
We did not authorize permanent detainees in Guantanamo Bay.
We did not authorize the withdrawal from the Geneva Convention.
We did not authorize military tribunals suspending due process and habeas corpus.
We did not authorize assassination squads.
We did not authorize the resurrection of COINTELPRO.
We did not authorize the repeal of the Bill of Rights.
We did not authorize the revocation of the Constitution.
We did not authorize national identity cards.
We did not authorize the eye of Big Brother to peer from cameras throughout our cities.
We did not authorize an eye for an eye.
Nor did we ask that the blood of innocent people, who perished on September 11, be avenged
with the blood of innocent villagers in Afghanistan.
We did not authorize the administration to wage war anytime, anywhere, anyhow it pleases.
We did not authorize war without end.
We did not authorize a permanent war economy."
It was still early in 2002, but many of us shared a feeling of
uneasiness and anger about the Bush Administration's unilateral
foreign policy, and the response to my speech was
incredible--thousands of emails, letters, calls. Obviously there
was a spirit alive in our nation, waiting to be released. Those
of you at MoveOn.org understand that spirit, because you have
touched it, too.
Like you, I didn't just speak against the war, I acted against
it--voted against it, organized against it, campaigned against
it. As Co-Chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, my
friend Barbara Lee and I led the fight against the war
resolution, organizing 126 House members to vote no, in just a
few weeks. I reintroduced my bill to establish a Cabinet-level
Department of Peace and Nonviolence, so that we can promote
peacekeeping, conflict resolution, and the nonviolence
principles of Gandhi and King. I was even attacked in the mass
media for suggesting that the Administration's obsession with
Iraq had a lot to do with its oil reserves. Imagine that... Then
on February 15th, 2003, a new spirit of peace exploded out of
millions of hearts, with 15 million marchers, including many of
you, in 600 cities around the globe, as the world said no to
war. The President was not listening, but the people of the
world heard us, for our voice was clear. This war was
unnecessary, destabilizing, illegal, immoral. This war was not
America at its best. This war would cost us our young soldiers,
our children's treasury, and our moral authority with the rest
of the world. That February Saturday was cold, but our hearts
were on fire as I spoke to the half million demonstrating in New
York City: "Peaceful coexistence or war. The whole world is
watching. A fist or an open hand. The whole world is watching.
First use of nuclear weapons or leadership in global
disarmament. The whole world is watching. Bombs or bread to the
Iraqi people, to the Iranian people, to the North Korean people.
The whole world is watching."
http://www.kucinich.us/speeches/speech10.htm And when the war
finally came, like MoveOn.org, I did not flinch from my American
duty to dissent. This is what I said, the same night the war
started: "This is a sad day for America, the world community,
and the people of Iraq. Tonight, President Bush has commanded
U.S. forces to go to war in violation of American traditions of
defensive war. This war is wrong; it violates the Constitution
and international law." http://www.kucinich.us/speeches.htm At
that point, some politicians backed away from dissent. Some
stayed silent, hoping that the national agenda would soon pass
on to other issues. But you and I kept fighting, kept calling
for the truth, and kept challenging the so-called evidence that
was used to sell this war. And in the last few weeks, day after
day I have gone down to the well of the U. S. House to call on
the Bush Administration to finally come clean about the pre-war
evidence for the weapons of mass destruction. Just last week, I
introduced H. Res. 260, a "Resolution of Inquiry" demanding that
the Bush Adminstration produce the evidence for their charges
about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. I now have 36
co-sponsors, and am adding more every day. We are having an
impact, the Administration is beginning to feel the heat, and
some in the mass media are finally asking the right questions. I
hope you will join me in this effort, which MoveOn.org and
TrueMajority.org and Working Assets and Win Without War are also
stressing now. We know the Bush team cheated in Florida in 2000,
when Bush Co-Chair Katherine Harris made thousands of false
felon purges. We know they manipulated the 2002 elections, using
fraudulent charges of an imminent threat from Iraqi WMDs to
scare the voters and force a rush to war. If we don't stand up
to them now, they'll do it again in 2004. Help me expose the
truth about the cooked-up intelligence. Sign our petition to
call on George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld to
release the evidence. Email your Congressperson, either to thank
them for signing on as a cosponsor, or to urge them to join me
on this resolution, H. Res. 260. Fax the committee, to urge them
to hold open, public hearings. Go to www.kucinich.us and join me
in forcing them to come clean. When the Progressive magazine
calls me "the Peace candidate," I accept that label with pride.
Like MoveOn.org, I am not afraid of the names we are called for
upholding the best traditions of Jefferson, Paine, Lincoln, and
Dr. King. Like you, I understand that America's roots are in
dissent, change, reform--and that change agents are always
attacked as threats to the established order. My political
career has been built on big ideas, fighting for them, and
winning. I have a history of defeating entrenched Republican
incumbents. And in this Presidential race, I still have the big
vision. When I was interviewed by Bob Edwards on NPR, he asked
me if I was running to win, or just to raise issues. I told him:
by raising these issues, I'm going to win. (link to NPR
interview, http://www.kucinich.us/npr_transcript.htm) Of
MoveOn's top tier, I'm the only one who will cut the bloated
Pentagon budget. With George W. Bush's proposed increases for
next year, the U.S. military budget will just about equal the
military budgets of all other nations in the world combined.
That's too big. America is not supposed to be an Empire; we are
supposed to be a Democracy. As the ranking Democrat on the House
Reform Subcommittee on National Security, I know about wasteful
Pentagon spending firsthand. I will cut the military budget,
because we have to cut it, in order to have real money to spend
on education. More money is desperately needed to rebuild our
schools; to pay our teachers; to allow our children to be taught
in smaller classes; to wire our older schools for the internet,
and help bridge the "digital divide;" to at long last fully fund
Head Start. Without cuts in the Pentagon budget, there will not
be enough money for education, much less health care,
environmental cleanup, and other needed domestic programs. Among
the people of America, this is a common sense position; but
among the MoveOn top tier candidates, I stand alone on this
issue. The military budget is not the only issue on which I
stand apart. I am the only Presidential candidate who voted
against the civil-liberties-shredding Patriot Act. From nuclear
weapons in space, to nuclear disarmament, to medical marijuana,
to the role of the W.T.O. in the too-fast expansion of
genetically-modified foods, to opposition to the death penalty,
to Canadian-style national health care, my position is the
progressive position, the standard that other candidates will
not match. On core Democratic issues, I stand with progressives
on the fundamental positions of our party--I am for more money
for social safety net programs; I am for a total, not partial,
rollback of the extravagant Bush tax cuts for the rich; I am
pro-choice, and will not appoint any Supreme Court justices who
do not affirm Roe v. Wade; I strongly support clean air and
clean water, affirmative action, tough civil rights and voting
rights enforcement, strengthening OSHA and the rights of workers
to organize, gay and lesbian equality, Title IX protection,
affordable housing, living wages, and signing the many treaties
that the Bush Administration has rejected, including the Kyoto
global warming treaty and the land mine ban treaty. I will fight
hard to get private insurance companies and their bureaucracies
out of health care, and to keep your Social Security retirement
safe for Main Street, rather than privatize it for Wall Street.
I will fight against sweatshops and child labor worldwide; to
thwart the takeover of family farmers by agribusiness giants; to
return the Social Security retirement age back to 65, as our
elders were promised; to pass a massive renewable energy program
that provides jobs to Americans, renewable power for the world,
and "small-is-beautiful" technologies to developing nations. I
am committed to international cooperation, to working with the
U.N. and our historic allies. I want to help build a world where
billions of people do not have to try to survive by living on $1
or $2 per day, by cutting down their forests for heat, or by
giving away their national resources in order to repay debts
that were previously incurred by dictatorial regimes, often
supported by our government. I am committed to fair trade
practices that provide a higher quality standard of living in
the developing world without unsustainable consumption; to
providing clean water to the entire world; to placing children
into schools rather than into child labor; and to joining
Brazil's new President, Lula da Silva, as he seeks to eliminate
hunger in a world of plenty. In short, I am a leader in the
"Wellstone wing of the Democratic Party," and like most
MoveOn.org members, I'm proud of it. Maybe that's why Paul
Wellstone was the lone Senator who joined the Progressive Caucus
that I co-chair (with that brave peace advocate, Barbara Lee).
Like Paul, I am a passionate, populist advocate of principled
politics. Like Paul, I believe in organizing as well as
legislating. And like Senator Wellstone, I won my seat by
defeating an incumbent conservative Republican, thanks to a
volunteer-based grassroots campaign that united Democrats,
Greens, independents, and former "Reagan Democrats" into a
winning coalition. The gatekeepers of conventional wisdom would
like you to believe that I cannot win. These big shot media
types, of course, are the same crowd that didn't understand the
worldwide web, thought the Beatles were a fad, never believed
Jerry Brown, Jesse Jackson or George McGovern would win any
primaries, and laughed when a rumpled, unknown, progressive
college professor climbed onto a green bus in Minnesota to
challenge a popular, well-funded, experienced conservative
incumbent. They laughed; but the voters responded--and Paul
Wellstone won the upset victory of 1990 to take his place in
United States Senate history. The fact is, like Paul, most of
the base of the Democratic Party is both antiwar and opposed to
corporate-dictated trade deals. That's why, with your help and
your passion, I can win this nomination. My principles, and
MoveOn.org's principles, are those of most Democratic Party
primary voters. When we do win, the gatekeepers of conventional
wisdom will then try to tell you that George W. Bush cannot be
beaten. Of course, they said that about his father, too. Once it
is clear that George W. Bush's credibility gap has grown to
Nixon-like proportions, his Teflon shield will be cracked, and
his reckless mishandling of the economy will send him back to
Texas. The big pundits will also tell us that the only way we
can win is to be cautious, to run to the middle. But that's not
what the Right wing did--when they were in trouble, they turned
to their champion, Ronald Reagan. The conservatives ran on their
issues, stood fast on their principles and ideas, and triumphed.
Now it's our turn. The truth is, the so-called experts never see
the change coming beforehand. They never see the paradigm shift.
They're too busy explaining the old habits, while a new world is
being born. A year ago, they would have told you MoveOn.org was
declining. A year ago, they would have told you there was no
peace movement in America. The pundits never saw the "Teamsters
&turtles" coalition coming together against the WTO in Seattle
in 1999; but I was there with 50,000 blue/green protesters as we
changed the way the world looked at corporate globalization. And
the pundits never, ever predicted that on a cold Saturday in
February of this year, millions and millions of people around
the world would gather together at one time, to speak in one
voice, to say no to a destabilizing, aggressive, unjust war. You
know how that massive demonstration came together, because you
and I helped build it. We organized using the internet, creating
a new model of localized, principled, non-hierarchical action.
We created, in the words of the New York Times, a new global
superpower--world popular opinion. And we can do it again in
2004--only bigger and stronger. Together, we can win this next
election. Together, we can put the brakes on the war machine.
Together, we can take our country back from the would-be
empire-builders, and come home to democracy. Together, we can
build a world of peace and prosperity and unity. One final
point--if you help my campaign strike a strong blow for peace
and justice, you will not just gain a candidate for a year--you
will gain an ally for your causes for a lifetime. I am running
to be President, but I intend to struggle for a better world for
the rest of my life. I think those of you in MoveOn.org and my
growing network can work together as a formidable team, as we
did in the days leading into February 15th, and as we are doing
even today in our battle to force the Bush Administration to
come clean on its pre-war claims about the weapons of mass
destruction. Join me, at www.kucinich.us. A better world is
possible. Peace, Dennis Kucinich
If you choose to volunteer for the Kucinich for President campaign, here's what we
need you to do:
1) NOW: Forward via email (or by phone) one or both of the following
"calls to action" (listed below) to every single person you know
.
immediately! Or cut and paste one or both, and send to your own lists!
2) Sign up at http://us.denniskucinich.us/phpBB2/ to meet other
volunteers! Post your introduction and share your applicable skills and
interests, and the tasks you'd like to do!
3) Visit http://www.denniskucinich.us/ to read and respond to blog
entries posted by Dennis! Spread the word to your family friends, and
other bloggers to visit and interact with Dennis!
4) Post any local campaign resources at the Wiki:
http://www.civicactions.org!
5) We are specifically looking for volunteer programmers with PHP and
PostgresQL experience. Contact us by by emailing poole at affero.com with
subject "Kucinich Tech Volunteer".
6) Get the word out for Dennis to everyone you know
.and do it RIGHT
NOW!
"Call to Action #1"
WHO IS THE PEACE CANDIDATE?
Beginning Tuesday, activists who've joined the peace and justice group
MoveOn.org will be able to vote online. If you are one of the many
planning to vote for a "peace candidate," please read this email
closely, and forward it to others.
An interesting exchange occurred at yesterday's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition
Candidates' Forum, in answer to a question about the "Digital Divide"
that separates minorities and the poor from middle class whites in
computer access. Congressman Dennis Kucinich received warm applause
when he declared: "As long as we're spending so much money for the
Pentagon, and so little money for education, we're going to have all
kinds of divides in this country
The only way we're really going to
close the divide in this country is to start cutting the Pentagon budget
and put that money into education."
Howard Dean spoke next and commented: "I don't agree with Dennis about
cutting the Pentagon budget when we're in the middle of a difficulty
with terror attacks."
That's a stark contrast on one of the biggest questions facing
Democrats. Dean describes himself as a fiscal conservative adamant
about balanced budgets. But if the soaring Pentagon budget is
untouchable, are we being candid with voters about delivering them an
enhanced domestic agenda of which Democrats can be proud?
With Democratic candidates promising increased spending in such areas as
healthcare, education and the environment, how can the federal budget be
balanced while Pentagon cuts are deemed off-limits?
Dennis Kucinich has made cuts in the bloated military budget central to
his campaign. He has repeatedly pointed out that Pentagon spending will
soon rival the military budgets of all other countries in the world
combined, that unneeded and Cold-War era weapons are still being
produced, that Star Wars missile defense is a boondoggle, and that the
Pentagon has a trillion dollars in irreconcilable accounts.
Kucinich's commitment to fundamentally shift our nation's budget
priorities toward civilian needs like healthcare, schools, cities,
retirement security and environmental cleanup has attracted thousands to
our campaign, and last week helped earn the endorsements of progressive
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey and leading peace activist and businessman
Ben Cohen. (Text of endorsements at http://www.kucinich.us.)
If you're an activist committed to peace and justice, think about these
issues before you vote in any primary, including the MoveOn Primary that
occurs this Tuesday and Wednesday.
If you have not yet signed up with MoveOn, you must register today to
vote for the genuine peace candidate, Dennis Kucinich, in this week's
balloting: http://www.moveon.org/pac/reg/.
Learn more about the Kucinich program: http://www.kucinich.us.
Donate to our campaign -- which, thanks to federal matching funds, makes
your donation mean double to the Kucinich Campaign:
https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php.
Please re-circulate this action alert widely.
"Call to Action #2"
DENNIS J. KUCINICH FOR PRESIDENT
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN OFFICE
JUNE 23, 2003
HIGH PRIORITY: ACTION ALERT
Issue #1: MoveOn's "Primary" Endorsement Vote
On Tuesday, June 24th, 2003: 1 More Day To Register - It's Free!
The actual MoveOn PAC Primary voting will take place Tuesday, June 24th 12:00AM
through Wednesday, June 25th 11:59PM (Eastern).
ACTION ITEM #1 Mobilize Your Community, Family and Friends for Dennis!
Register free for the primary at the MoveOn site and vote for Dennis!
http://www.moveon.org/pac/reg/.
Make sure this ACTION ALERT gets to your online and real-time community.
And ask these family, friends, and others to pass the info along! We are
working hard and smart to make this happen, so please join us and spread
the word fast and furious!
What's At Stake? Plenty!
The candidate or candidates who come in at the top will receive MoveOn
PAC's seal of approval and significant financial support from them, plus
the electronic and on-the-ground organizing and fundraising efforts of
MoveOn's seasoned staff and membership.
Think that would be significant logistical and endorsement power on a
citizen's campaign such as the one for Dennis...and for the future of
this country? You better believe it!
Help Dennis win the MoveOn primary! Go to
http://www.moveon.org/pac/reg/ and vote!
You Want to Forward This ACTION ALERT to a Group of Friends from Your
Address Book, but Don't Know How?
Try a search for your particular email or office program to find out
how, or find info on the following links:
Microsoft Outlook: http://www.microsoft.com/office/support/default.asp;
Eudora: http://www.eudora.com/;
AOL: http://aolsvc.help.search.aol.com/index.adp?query=add+group+&x=14&y=8
Issue #2: June 30th Campaign Finance Reporting Date - Deadline,
Deadline!!!!
With the June 30th second quarter fundraising deadline approaching,
Dennis needs each of us to help finance this grassroots, insurgent
campaign. It's easy and secure to donate at
https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php.
ACTION ITEM #2 So, spread this email far and wide across the internet!
Get your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to donate at
https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php.
The Kucinich for President campaign has already qualified for federal
matching funds. Your donation of $50 means $100 to this campaign --
because all contributions up to $250 are matched by federal funds. Of
course, if you can give more than $250, it will really help Dennis
amplify his message to new voters, young voters,
disgruntled voters and 3rd-party voters. Help us broaden the Democratic Party
in a progressive direction!
Only a full-out, up-front challenge to this Administration's policies,
together with a serious and pragmatic alternative program, can defeat
George Bush in 2004. Half-way challenges, where Democrats concede to him
on war, defense policy, unfair tax breaks, education, and constitutional
civil rights will lead to disaster -- like they did in November 2002.
Read On for More Contact Info!!!!!!
DENNIS J. KUCINICH FOR PRESIDENT
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN OFFICE
JUNE 23, 2003
HIGH PRIORITY: ACTION ALERT
Where To Send Your Blogs, Lists, and Find Other Info!
We also must get the word out to many groups, unions, and associations!
We are URGENTLY calling on you to help us reach these potential
campaigners and donors by sending us links, urls, individual or group
email contacts, etc. for anyone you think will help our cause -- local,
regional or national. Weblogs (blogs) are even better! Such as
education advocates K-12 and beyond, or PTAs. Labor unions. Progressive
groups, independent political groups (Greens, Libertarians, etc).
Environmental, human and civil rights groups. Teachers unions. Campus
activists - high school or college. Peace and justice advocates. Media
watchdogs and indy media activists. Yahoo, MeetUp, and Google groups you
formed or joined. Tell us if you are an officer or member, or the best
contacts if you can.
To post your blogs, lists and other info as soon as possible, please go
to the new Kucinich for President forum at http://us.denniskucinich.us/.
To learn more about the MoveOn PAC Primary, please visit
http://www.moveon.org/pac/reg/. You register to vote there, too, and
it's free to do so.
And for more information or to contribute to the Kucinich for President
campaign, please visit http://kucinich.us/.
This is The Moment! Restore America!
Thank you from the Kucinich for President national campaign office,
1-(866) 388-2004! Together we can restore the best of American
democracy, and bring Dennis to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington,
D.C.!!!
Please re-circulate this action alert widely.
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