Progressive Democrat Issue 33: 9/11 CAMPAIGN: TARGETING THE ELECTIONS:

Recently I started a campaign to retaliate against the Republican hijacking of 9/11. 9/11 killed nearly 3000 New Yorkers—residents of a city that overwhelmingly voted for Gore and Kerry and about 80% of whom hate Bush. The Republican exploitation of 9/11 is like a violation of our grief, a desecration of the memories of our friends and families. Karl Rove’s comments are what finally made me realize that it is time to take the fight right into their faces and really punish them for their corruption, their greed, their lies and their cynical exploitation of 9/11. This week I want to focus on nailing them in the 2005 elections.

2005 ELECTIONS:

The first thing I want to focus on is the Democracy for America A-List. These are the candidates for 2005 that have made the cut for DFA. Check out their candidates and if there are one or two you like, please make a small donation. Of course if you or anyone you know lives in the area of any of these candidates, please consider volunteering to help them. I should note that some of their candidates have already won or lost their special elections, so check to make sure that whoever you want to support still has their election ahead of them.

Next let us remember that there are two big Governor’s races this year: New Jersey and Virginia. We have to really make sure that these two states are as blue as possible this year. Let’s start with Virginia. Here is a diary by Teacherken on BooMan Tribune describing a personal encounter with Tim Kaine, the Democrat running for Gov. of Virginia.

The summary of this encounter is:

My reactions to the event were overwhelmingly positive. My sense is that if Kaine does not get overwhelmed by money he will win. For one thing, he is part of an administration that hs financially put the state's house in order, and that plays well in Virginia. For another, his opponent will eventually have to appear on stage with him and debate him, and Kilgore comes across as very weak. Kaine is imaginative, as his advertising on Christian radio talking about his missionary work demonstrates. it is similar to Mark Warner's having sponsored a Nascar race vehicle.
I hope this gives readers a sense of the man, and of why people involved in this campaign are excited. If you want to get involved including but not limited to giving money, or if you just want to find out more, go to his web page.

I think we HAVE to keep in mind what the author of the diary said: “My sense is that if Kaine does not get overwhelmed by money he will win.” If you possibly can, send Kaine some money. If you live in or near Virginia, PLEASE volunteer for Kaine’s campaign. I think this race is one of the absolute most key races in 2005.
But Virginia isn’t just about Kaine. It is about establishing the grassroots infrastructure to turn Virginia blue with a solid progressive and populist agenda in opposition to the elitist and corrupt Republican agenda. To do this we have to work with the local Dem. Groups and DFA groups. I harp on this a lot but it is what we have to do to defeat the neo-Cons and save our democracy.

Here are three Virginia groups to help out for 2005:

Democracy for Virginia.

Virginia Grassroots Coalition.

And the local Dem clubs.

Next comes New Jersey. Remember Karl Rove was campaigning for Doug Forrester, Repub candidate for NJ Gov when he made his disgusting comments about 9/11. For that we must take Forrester down big time. I want Karl Rove’s comments to backfire and bring down Forrester’s numbers and boost Corzine. So, let’s support Corzine and the New Jersey Democrats!

Support Corzine for Governor of NJ.

And/or help out one of the local NJ Dem clubs or DFA groups.

Finally there is the mayor’s race in NYC. Naturally this is dear to my heart, but it is more. Mayor Bloomberg is a Republican representing NYC. He is in a prime position to take his party to task for it’s exploitation of 9/11. But he hasn’t. For that we have to take him down as well. My way of approaching this is to pick the reddest part of NYC and help out the Dems in that area. The reddest part of NYC is Staten Island. Focusing here not only will help defeat Bloomberg, but it will also aim for the 2006 race against Republican Vito Fossella who represents Staten Island. Here are two Dem groups in Staten Island for your consideration:

a. Staten Island Young Democrats
b. Richmond County Democratic Committee.

These are the things we need to focus on for 2005. In a later issue I will deal with the key races in 2006. We do have to start now for 2006, but for this issue let’s just focus on 2005.