[Peace-discuss] Re: [Peace-action] Kerry support premature

Thu Mar 4 11:31:34 CST 2004

Amen! to the sentiments of Ricky.

But one should not get carried away and vote for "none of the above". 
As many have pointed out, although there are many alliances and 
affinities between (Kerry-like) Democrats and (Bush) Republicans, there 
are nonetheless  important differences between them: in ourt 
appointees,  fundamentalism and religiosity, gender issues, 
environmental issues, governmental appointees, the degree of 
militarization, and others.

The main point is that we are perhaps at a critical juncture in 
history, and in any way to promote, directly or indirectly, the 
election of George Bush would be narrow-minded and oblivious to what is 
happening around us. That would be the case in refusing to vote for the 
only alternative we have at present, a Kerry administration.

We have to work for an inflection in the direction of our national 
policies in the present situation; a discontinuous leftward shift in 
those policies is not now realizable.

Perhaps an apocalypse is needed to change the system, to allow the 
emergence of a better political system, but I for one don't want to 
live through it, nor do I wish my grandchildren to live through it. We 
have to live with improvements on the margins of what our ideals would 
desire. If the stakes were not now so obviously high, I could vote for 
Nader (as I did before) or someone else who aspires to the same ideals, 
but that is not the case with which we are confronted.

My two cents: MKB

On Mar 4, 2004, at 12:50 AM, Ricky Baldwin wrote:

> I usually like and support what I see on this list,
> but frankly I think this one is wrong.  Others may
> disagree, of course, out of fear of Bush, I guess.
> But I think we need to hold on.
>
> The primaries are not over, and I believe the evidence
> is quite good that our cause is best served by holding
> out as long as possible for candidates that line up
> better with our principles.
>
> Kerry needs to know how much support there is for
> these principles more than he needs to believe that he
> can take our votes for granted.  He needs to know that
> we will back him more enthusiastically, the more he
> stands for what we believe in and fight for -- less
> so, the more he panders to the middle.
>
> How important is enthusiasm?  In what's likely to be a
> very close race, with voter turnout paramount, I'd say
> Kerry can't afford to play games.  Nader's running
> again, ya know - and I notice one of my neighbors
> already has his Nader sign out.
>
> Sure, I'll drag my pitiful self to the polls and vote
> for Kerry *if I have to*.  But for the mugwumpish
> campaign he's running right now, I wouldn't give him a
> plug nickel.
>
> Sorry, but I think it's important.
> Ricky
> --- patton paul <ppatton at ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> wrote:
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> Date: Wed, 03 Mar 2004 08:53:36 -0800
>> From: "Eli Pariser, MoveOn PAC"
>> <moveon-help at list.moveon.org>
>> To: Paul Patton <ppatton at uiuc.edu>
>> Subject: Urgent: Kerry Needs Our Support
>>
>> Dear MoveOn member,
>>
>> It's now clear that John Kerry will be our
>> Democratic nominee.  That's why today marks one of
>> the
>> most important points in the race to defeat George
>> Bush.
>>
>> Tomorrow, President Bush will begin airing the first
>> of his campaign ads.  He's amassed a
>> campaign fund of more than $100 million to use for
>> this purpose.  Now that the nominee's known,
>> the Bush campaign and allied groups will "go
>> nuclear," saturating the air waves in swing states
>> with ads intended to frame the contest early.
>>
>> Senator Kerry is coming off a long and hard primary
>> fight during which much of his money has
>> been spent.  But as the media focus on him and he
>> steps into the role of the Democratic nominee,
>> he also has an opportunity to frame the choice
>> before voters.  The big question is whether Kerry
>> will have the resources in this key moment to
>> powerfully respond to the Republican attacks and
>> present his positive vision for our country.
>>
>> Together, we can answer this question.  If you've
>> been holding off on contributing to a
>> Presidential campaign, now's the time to jump in.
>> We have a Democratic nominee, and he needs our
>> support today.  Please join us in contributing $5,
>> $50, or $500 today to the Kerry campaign at:
>>
> https://contribute.johnkerry.com/contribute.html?team=338
>>
>> Over the course of the primary race, all of the
>> candidates have contributed to the fight to beat
>> Bush. Howard Dean reminded Democrats that they can
>> take President Bush head on, and
>> revolutionized the way campaigns can be run.  Dennis
>> Kucinich, Carol Moseley Braun, and
>> Al Sharpton reminded us that strong progressive
>> values are something to be proud of.  Wes Clark
>> and Bob Graham took Bush to task on national
>> security.  Dick Gephardt spoke powerfully for
>> working people and jobs.  And John Edwards
>> demonstrated the power of a positive vision for our
>> country.
>>
>> When we held the MoveOn primary in June, we asked
>> MoveOn members to vote for their preferred
>> candidate, but we also asked you to indicate which
>> other candidates you would support.  Even
>> though Howard Dean received far more votes than
>> anyone else, a great majority of you
>> indicated you'd enthusiastically help Kerry beat
>> George Bush.
>>
>> And after a race that Republicans hoped would be
>> deeply divisive, our unity is even more clear.
>> We're all ready to put aside our small differences
>> and focus on the big goal: a new President.
>> Even Howard Dean, who has had a bumpy relationship
>> with Senator Kerry, told his supporters last
>> week, "We must beat George W. Bush in November. I
>> will support the nominee of our party and do
>> everything I can to beat George W. Bush and I urge
>> you to do the same."
>>
>> With Bush going on the air tomorrow, it's a critical
>> moment for us to show our support.  Please
>> give whatever you can to help defeat Bush this fall.
>>  You can contribute now at:
>>
> https://contribute.johnkerry.com/contribute.html?team=338
>>
>> And welcome to the beginning of the end of the Bush
>> Presidency.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>> --Eli Pariser
>>   Executive Director, MoveOn PAC
>>   March 3rd, 2004
>>
>> P.S.  This effort is a part of our MoveOn PAC
>> campaign to take our country back.  Through the
>> MoveOn PAC, MoveOn members can change who has
>> influence in politics -- from a few big-money
>> donors to a massive number of small-money donors.
>> Yesterday, we launched MoveOn PAC's big
>> campaign to defeat President Bush, which will engage
>> hundreds of thousands of us across the
>> country. You can support this effort directly at the
>> following web page:
>> http://www.moveonpac.org/moveonpac/donation.phtml
>>
>> PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC, www.moveonpac.org
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>>
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