[Peace-discuss] re: Kerry support premature

Thu Mar 4 11:46:38 CST 2004

I completely agree with Ricky.  It seems to me our role is not to support
candidate Kerry but to create an atmosphere that pushes and pressures him
and the democratic party, and to build organizations that can keep that
going in the future.A quick glance at the Kucinich, Dean and Sharpton
websites shows they are all committed to continuing to mobilize their
supporters. They may primarily have an eye on the democratic convention and
positioning themselves within, inshallah, a new administration, but it could
also mean we will have a more activated and more highly organized political
scene in general. Dean's website says they will be announcing on March 18 a
new national grassroots network.
I remember when B**h (can't stand to even utter the name) was elected some
people saying it was good because now the complacent opposition would have
to get organized...

Lisa

>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Ricky Baldwin" <baldwinricky at yahoo.com>
> To: <peace-action at lists.cu.groogroo.com>
> Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2004 12:50 AM
> Subject: [Peace-action] Kerry support premature
>
>
> > 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
> > >
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> > >
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