Progressive Democrat Issue 80: THOUGHTS

Well, I am still too busy to be doing this, but I will put something together anyway since this is a very critical time to set the stage for November.

About all I will say “thoughts” wise is that I have been watching the analyses of House and Senate races across the nation. This year is becoming a highly unusual one because more and more races that seemed “safe” republican are becoming “competitive.” Now that doesn’t mean we definitely will win big. It simply means we MIGHT win big. More competitive races means more opportunities…but also means more work.

Keep engaged. Election Reform and the 2006 election are big on the agenda. Keep working on both.

Progressive Democrat Issue 80: CLEAN ENERGY

1. Switch to Compact Fluorescent Bulbs: Global warming is a reality and we are already having to deal with the consequences. In order to deal with it, we need to improve our energy efficiency throughout our society. In the past I have urged you to use compact fluorescent light bulbs not only because they save LOTS of energy, but in the long run they really do save you money. I still urge that you start with this one action.

2. Support the Clean Edge Initiative of 2006: In addition to switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, we can also urge our Senators to do more. From Act for Change:

Senator Cantwell of Washington - along with 24 co-sponsors - has introduced the Clean EDGE Act, which is designed to increase America's energy security be lessening our dependence on oil. Among other goals, the bill would:
set a national renewable portfolio standard requiring that 10 percent of all electricity produced in America come from renewable sources by 2020;

-accelerate conversion of America's auto fleet to better support "flex-fuel" technologies and encourage conversion of gas stations to support bio-fuels.

-End government subsidies to the oil companies -- who are currently earning obscene profits - and instead redirect this investment into serious federal-level incentives for clean energy and energy efficiency technologies.

-Protect consumers and businesses by going after gasoline price-gougers, and providing emergency assistance to low-income Americans and loans to small businesses when energy costs get too high.

The need to change our energy consumption patterns has never been more acute. Our thirst for oil leads to an interventionist foreign policy and support for
undemocratic regimes across the globe. Even more importantly, global warming is a grave and growing threat -- and we do not have a great deal of time to act.

Take action on this by going here and urging your Senator to support S. 2829, the Clean Edge Initiative of 2006.

3. The Apollo Challenge: A more ambitious effort is afoot. Taking inspiration from President Kennedy’s Apollo program, the Apollo Challenge is urging a similar program to get America on track to energy independence while helping the environment and CREATING 3 million jobs in America.

CLICK HERE TO HELP THIS EFFORT!

Progressive Democrat Issue 80: FIGHTING THE CONSERVATIVE MEDIA

Ann Coulter is possibly the nastiest and dumbest of the Conservative propagandists. Media Matters has a good round up of Ann Coulter’s stupid and un-American statements.

Included are suggesting Timothy McVeigh should bomb the NY Times building, suggesting people attack liberals with baseball bats, and suggesting that someone poison a Supreme Court Justice. She has expressed outright hatred for the 9/11 widows and has advocated the murder of Congressman Murtha. And THIS is considered acceptable commentary by the mainstream media?

Republican politicians are close with Ann Coulter, despite her advocacy of violence and terrorism. She is one of the favorite spokespeople of the Republican Party, having appeared, among other venues, at CPAC, the annual rightist conference in Washington; in that particular instance, she spoke right after Dick Cheney. Coulter is INVITED to these events by Republicans. So the question is, does the Republican party support the kind of terrorist actions that Ann Coulter advocates. Essentially, does the Republican party support terrorist attacks on Americans, from regular citizens like you and me all the way up to Supreme Court Justices and Congressmen.

Hold the Republican Party accountable for terrorist advocacy. It is time to ask the question of Republican politicians if they agree with Ann Coulter’s advocating bombing American buildings, poisoning Supreme Court Justices and attacking Americans with baseball bats. Call on the Republican Party to REJECT Ann Coulter’s advocacy of violence and to demand that the mainstream media stops paying terrorist advocates.

New Democratic Majority has initiated this campaign to hold the Republican Party accountable. You can see what they have to say here (scroll down)

If you are represented by a Republican on ANY level of government, go here, and look on the left column to contact your state, local and Federal politicians and contact them to demand they call for a stop to Ann Coulter’s advocacy of terrorism.

Specifically, if you live in New York (where a handful of Republicans HAVE condemned Coulter’s remarks) you can contact ALL the main NY State Republican politicians.

And by all means write to the media calling for Republicans to renounce Ann Coulter’s terrorist advocacy campaign.

Progressive Democrat Issue 80: ELECTION REFORM

As far as I can tell, many Democrats still refuse to recognize that there really is a threat to the integrity of our vote. Which seems very strange to me! We don't know whether the elections were stolen in Florida, 2000, Georgia, 2002, and Ohio, 2004. Think about that. We DON'T KNOW. Other elections around the country, including a couple in San Diego, California, have had suspicious outcomes and obvious flaws.

One concern is the accuracy and integrity of the new voting machines. America, after 2000, decided it needed to upgrade its voting machines. Fine. That sounds good. But ONLY if it improves the efficiency and accuracy of our voting system.

Today in NYC and around the nation we are faced with a choice: upgrade to DRE machines where the vote is all done on a touch screen, or PBOS machines where the vote is done in Scantron fashion with a real paper ballot, but computer tabulation. These are the only choices being offered by manufacturers.

Democrats got burned potentially in three election years in a row. And part of the problem are these new machines. Both DRE and PBOS machines have had problems. The difference is that if an election board wants to completely check the accuracy of an election, it can be done with PBOS machines. It can't with DRE machines.

With PBOS, as a last resort, a non-partisan or bi-partisan election board can fairly and accurately count the paper ballots that are left as a record of the vote. In fact, the voter him or herself can check before leaving the voting booth to see that the vote is properly cast. With DRE machines it is all in the computer and the software is a company secret. That means, with DRE machines we will never and can never know how the votes are recorded and tabulated. Only the company knows. That puts private companies in charge of our vote, and puts oversight of the accuracy of an election in the hands of the companies that are selling us the machines.

With DRE, the potential for corruption is nearly endless. And DRE companies are mostly owned by vocal Republican supporters. This is NOT proof of anything, but it is a situation that is NOT acceptable in a democracy.

I should note that DRE machines have also been found to be notoriously unreliable, hackable and inaccurate as well as costing much more to buy and maintain. PBOS are cheaper to buy, cheaper to maintain, last longer and, though they have their own flaws, as a last resort a complete recount is possible without having to rely on the integrity of a private company. I think Enron shows us how companies are not always strictly honorable.

Many Democrats, including my City Councilman, David Yassky, don't care about this issue. David Yassky has even said this in public at a forum I was co-hosting. They are afraid to care. They deny the irregularities that the DRE machines in particular have been shown to have and they rely on the company reps' word regarding the machines. These company reps want to sell NYC (and the entire nation, ideally) DRE machines because they are more expensive and require the city to hire company workers to oversee elections. It is a GOLDMINE for the companies, so they tell our State and local electeds that DREs are the way to go and too often our electeds don't care enough about voter integrity or financial responsibility enough to realize they are being lied to by the company reps. In my field, if a company rep tells me something about a product, I don't take that rep's word for it. I compare price and reliability. Our electeds are trusting company reps. Not smart!

Many Democrats, including David Yassky, DON'T CARE about the integrity of our voting system or the cost effectiveness of what the city purchases. THEY DON'T GET IT!

But some people get it. San Diego bought some of the unreliable machines and you know what? They have had problems. And the people who are noticing aren't always Democrats. From Democracy for NYC:

Right-wing radio host in San Diego concerned about voting machines:

Roger Hedgecock, right-wing host on San Diego's KOGO and also a frequent fill-in for Rush Limbaugh, has also stated his concerns about the electronic voting machines in California's special election being sent home with poll workers:

"[W]e now have allowed a system of counting our votes to be presented to us as a system that does it accurately, when it has manifestly been proven that it can be monkeyed with…and the results tampered! . . It seems to me if we have any bedrock notion in this country it ought to be that the votes ought to be fully and fairly counted. . ."

- Roger Hedgecock, right-wing radio host, when Brad Friedman of BradBlog.com went on his show

I used to live in San Diego. What isn't mentioned here is that Roger Hedgecock used to be MAYOR of San Diego. He was mayor when I lived there and was indicted for corruption. Oddly, we all voted for him anyway because, despite being Republican and despite being corrupt, he was the best candidate on a non-partisan ballot. Go figure. He won, but later had to resign when he was convicted. He ultimately was acquitted on a technicality and went on to become a right wing nut of a talk show host. He wasn't bad as mayor, for a Republican.

Former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock, Republican, is sounding the alarm regarding San Diego's voting machines. And yet some Democrats DON'T CARE to learn from San Diego's mistake and make a better choice. When people like Roger Hedgecock (and, for that matter, Lou Dobbs) start saying the machines are a problem, and in county after county across the nation election boards are regretting shelling out huge amounts of cash for machines that don't work well, why do Democrats not care?

My city councilman, David Yassky, and the entire Democratic Party and, for that matter, members of all Parties in America who care about democracy: YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT VOTING MACHINES!

Write your state and local electeds and tell them to get off their asses and GET INFORMED! Write your local media and tell them to follow the lead of Roger Hedgecock and Lou Dobbs (ever think I'd say that???) and speak out against over-priced, unreliable voting machines and advocate for PBOS machines and non-partisan or bi-partisan election boards. That is the ONLY way we can be sure of our vote.

And please do me a favor. Whether or not you do all that recommend above, please, write NYC Councilman David Yassky in particular and tell him he BETTER care and be informed about voting machines. He knows me and he has said publicly he doesn’t care. Tell him I sent you. It’ll drive him crazy, but if people from all over the nation write him and tell him David Michaelson sent them, he may just take notice. Write him at: yassky@council.nyc.ny.us

Progressive Democrat Issue 80: WINNING IN 2006

More and more races are becoming competitive. Both the Senate and House are within our reach…BARELY. To get them, we have got to work for it because the Republicans are really desperate to hold onto the single-party control of our lives they have engineered.

I believe that if we work extremely hard, we will win big. I also believe that if we are complacent, we will lose. Naturally, I am pushing hard for the first scenario.

That has led me to work on developing the “Sweep out the Republicans” meme. It is time to believe we are winners and that we WILL win. I started this meme in my effort to help Democrats Sweep NY State's Congressional seats. The goals are two-fold: to scare the pants off Republicans and to genuinely see if we can get up enough momentum to make Eliot Spitzer's long coat tails sweep in a solidly Democratic Congressional contingent from NY State. Click on the above link to join in that effort. Already I have raised $650 for Congressional races in New York State.

My second territory I want to generate Sweeping momentum within, as I have written before, is the Frontier...cowboy land...the West. I have pushed this before, and I plan on starting a Sweep the Heartland next. But with two major Senate races and several major house races, I really want to push the Sweep the West meme one more time.

Remember in 2004 the wonderful and unexpected win in Montana on a state level. This was a sign that the Democrats COULD deliver a message that would work in the Western States. The key here is something that Democrats used to know instinctively, but seem to have forgotten: be populist, young man! The populist Democrat movement that took Montana can spread to at least five Western states if we give a big push. Analyzing who is targeting what, where corruption is rife and where there are some really promising Democratic candidates, I want to introduce you to my Western efforts. I had some more of these Act Blue sites put together, but I notice that as primary elections happen, some of what I set up gets lost. But I will try to fill in.

Let me begin with an Act Blue site I have already introduced and which has already collected $245: my Blue Nevada site. I think Nevada is our key state this year because it has EVERYTHING: Governorship, Senate (Jimmy Carter's son) AND House seats. Nevada is considered one of the Purple States, very finely balanced between red and blue. I think this year is the year to turn it solid blue. First off, we have Jack Carter, son of Nobel Laureate and former President Jimmy Carter. Jack Carter is a great candidate with integrity and a real populist message that is going to work in the West. If we want to retake the Senate, I think this race is a must win. There are also two House races in Nevada and here is where I think we have a shot, albeit a long shot, at Sweeping Nevada. One of these House races, NV-3, is a genuinely close race, one of the 10 House seats the Republicans most fear losing. If we can win BOTH the Nevada Senate AND NV-3, we will have gone a long way to turning Nevada solid blue. But there is one more race worth considering: NV-2. This is not seen as a close race, BUT...it is an open seat this year and we all know that open seats are opportunities NOT TO BE MISSED. A concerted web-based effort to help out NV-Sen, NV-2 and NV-3 could just push the whole state into our camp. Hence, my Blue Nevada site. Please help take Nevada.

Next comes a blogsphere favorite, and for good reason. Come to my Blue Montana site, which gives us an opportunity not only to follow up on the wonderful victories in Montana in 2004, but to actually Sweep Montana. First off there is the Montana Senate race. This is one of the most important Senate races in 2006 because the seat is currently held by one of the most corrupt Republicans in the Senate. For this reason, Montana is listed by BBC news as one of the states to watch this year. Tester, one of the blogsphere's favorites, is our Senate candidate. Not only is the Republican, Conrad Burns, a corrupt, callous bastard, but our candidate, Tester, rocks! I mean this guy really kicks ass and the ass he is aiming for is Conrad Burns.’ We can win this seat and, like the NV Senate race, this is a must-win if we want to recapture the Senate. But there is also a House race to be won in Montana. This is more of a long shot than the Senate race, but BOTH are state-wide races and so will be determined by the same voters. A competitive Senate race can make this House race competitive...and if we can help the Democrat in the House race, it will also help our candidate beat Conrad Burns. Please donate to my Blue Montana site and help complete the victory that we started in Montana in 2004. Montana and Nevada are two of the most important states for us to focus on if we want the Senate!

Next there's Colorado, another very rich state for pickups. Not only do we have a good shot at picking up the Governorship, but there are TWO of the most critical House races PLUS one of the Katrina 11 Republicans to target. This Act Blue site has yet to receive contributions, so let me introduce my Colorado Blue site. Winning these Colorado seats will be a big victory and is critical if we want to win back the House!

Then there is Arizona. Here there is a long-shot Senate race, two very hot House races and yet another one of the Katrina 11 Republicans to target. Yet another rich pick up chance. So please help out with Blue Arizona. As with Colorado, Arizona is critical for winning back the House.

I also had a detailed Sweep New Mexico Page, but its contents got largely lost in the primary. Which is fine, though, because the existing New Mexico Page still has three extremely good way to help win in the west and is still worth your time to check out.

On all of these sites I have included the State Democratic Party because not only will they help win the key seats I list but also will help with many state and local races that are important for developing our future national candidates. I also include Frontier PAC, one of the best organizations delivering a populist and progressive Democratic message THROUGHOUT the west. Finally, I include one more excellent group. With all of the talk of "natives" vs. "immigrants" in American politics today, I want to urge support for empowering the TRUE Native Americans through the Indigenous Democratic Network (INDN), which I also include on each of the above sites.

So come on folks! How badly do you want to win? Do you want to finally start beating the bastards who are ruining our country? Then help Sweep NY State and Sweep the West. Coming up soon...sweeping the Heartland. Even $10 here and there will help.

Progressive Democrat Issue 80: NYC FOCUS

I will be pushing this continually because THIS is a major deal for NYC.

Here in NYC we have a Congressional race to win. Democrat Steve Harrison is running to replace Bush-supporting Republican Vito Fossella representing New York’s 13th Congressional District. I have already been able to raise $500 for Harrison through my Sweep NY State page. But here are other ways to help defeat Fossella. Contact his campaign if you can help even just for an hour: (718) 836-0760 or tomr@harrison06.com

Here is a message from Steve Harrison to you:

On the Fourth of July, I’m running a different race, the Pepper Martin 5K. The Pepper Martin starts at 9:00. The race goes by our campaign office, where we’re manning a water station. Please come help us with that, or run the race with me and get a free T shirt. (Registration for runners begins at 7:00am).

After the race, at noon, we’re walking in the Travis Parade, raising awareness of the race and introducing Steve to voters. We’re meeting at the review stand, in front of P.S.26, which is at 4108 Victory Blvd. Because of the parade, cars won’t be able to go past the corner of Travis Ave. and Victory Blvd. To get to the meeting place, park at the corner of Travis and Victory and walk about five minutes down Victory.

Finally, in the evening, we’re meeting voters before the St. George Fireworks display. We’ll meet at the 9/11 memorial at 8:00 and work the crowd until the fireworks start.

If you can join us for any of these events, please call us at 718-836-0760

Once the holiday weekend is over, we’re settling in to do phone banking from the Staten Island office. This is critical work that will run all the way through election day. We don’t have Vito’s two million dollar campaign chest, and won’t be able to rely on slick media and television ads, which makes personal contacts with voters even more important to us. How important? Each volunteer who phones for three hours a week from now until Election Day will bring in around 100 votes!

Please make a commitment to help us with this. No matter how much time you can spare—once a week, once a month, whatever your schedule allows—talking to voters is one of the most important things you can do to help us win this district. You can make phone calls from our office or from home, during the day, evenings, or on weekends. We’re committed to making this as convenient for our volunteers as possible—give us a call and we can find a way that works for you.

If you can help us talk to voters, please give us a call at 718-836-0760

Please do what you can to help win this Congressional seat. But we also have some State Senate Seats to win. Democracy for NYC and ACT NOW are teaming up to phone bank to seize the State Senate:

Wed, 07/05/2006 - 6:00pm
ACT NOW has seats to fill as we fight to take back the State Senate!

What will we be doing? We're going to be using landlines to do low-pressure Voter ID and/or Volunteer Recruitment calling -- not undecided voter persuasion -- to dramatically increase Democratic voter turnout in the most competitive State Senate races. This is a great way for first-time callers to get started.

Why care about the State Senate? If you care about fair elections, education, transportation, the environment, healthcare, security, and other major issues in New York, you should care a lot about winning back the New York State Senate. Now that reformer Eliot Spitzer is likely to be New York's next governor, it's even more important to have a Democratic legislature in place.

Go here for more info and to RSVP

Progressive Democrat Issue 80: BROOKLYN/QUEENS GROUPS AND EVENTS

ALL NYC:
CRITCAL MASS BICYCLE MOVEMENT! Critical Mass is a bicyclist movement (NOT an organized group!) that holds weekly protests all over the world to protest pollution. Rides are the last Friday of every month starting in Union Sq. Park North, 7PM! At a DFNYC meeting attended by Norm Seigel, Norm used Critical Mass as an example of the kind of activism that NYC needs most and the way Bloomberg is trying to squelch our rights and our voices. Critical Mass deserves our help. According to Bloomberg, my inclusion of this in my newsletter is probably illegal. Well, I refuse to let Bloomberg tell me what I can and cannot write in my Newsletter.

And see their worldwide calendar for Bike Workshops and other locations.

There is more you can do to support Critical Mass. This comes from a reader in Manhattan:

To help keep people involved in Critical Mass, people who might be sacred off because of renewed aggressiveness by the police, I have started a pledge drive that sponsors arrestees. This is a great way for people to stay involved in Critical Mass, stay on top of the issue, and use the NYPD and Bloomberg's tactics to work for us not against us. I am pledging $2 per arrestee, and the money will go to the Legal Aid Society. Pledges are made on the honor system. The more bicyclists the cops arrest the more money for defending civil rights is raised.


BROOKLYN EVENTS:

New Democratic Majority in Brooklyn:
I will be a co-host of this meeting. We meet the 4th Thursday of every month at the 5th Ave. Ozzie’s in Park Slope, 249 5th Ave (intersection of 5th and Garfield) at 7 PM.


Democracy for America Meetings: CLICK HERE!
WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 7PM

Park Slope, Brooklyn, LOCATION TBD, with host Josh Skaller

Williamsburg/Greenpoint, Brooklyn,, TENTATIVE (due to July 4th holiday, check back soon), Boulevard Tavern, 579 Meeker Ave Between N. Henry and Monitor St., with host Ben Morrison

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Wycoff-Bennette Homestead, 1669 East 22nd. St. (between Quentin & Kings Highway), with hosts Annette Mott and Estelle Glasser


To help Dmeocracy for NYC petition to get candidates on the ballot, please go here.

Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID) (mostly covers Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, and Kensington). http://www.cbidems.org/

June 6 to July 10 is Petitioning season for soliciting signatures on designating petitions for our endorsed candidates to qualify them to run in the Sept. 12 Democratic primary. I urge you to work with CBID to circulate petitions.


Lambda Independent Democrats (Brooklyn’s gay and lesbian organization) for meeting info contact LID@LIDBrooklyn.org.

DRINKING LIBERALLY: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Here are our local Brooklyn groups:

Park Slope: First Wednesday of each month, 7:00 pm onward, Commonwealth, 497 5th Ave (at 12th Street). Hosted by Emily Farris and Peter Wohlsen, parkslope (at) drinkingliberally.org

Williamsburg: Every Tuesday, 8:00 pm onward the Levee, 212 Berry St. (corner of N. 3rd). Hosted by Elana Levin and Michael Freedman-Schnapp, williamsburg (at) drinkingliberally.org

To find your nearest Brooklyn Democratic club, please CLICK HERE.

QUEENS:

Democracy for America Meetings: CLICK HERE!
WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 7PM

Sunnyside, Queens, NO JULY LINKUP AT THIS VENUE (we will return to this venue in August) The Grind, 39-24 Queens Blvd., with host Dan Jacoby

Bayside, Queens, The First Edition, 41-08 Bell Blvd, right near the LIRR stop, with host Steve Behar of Democrats for New Politics

To help Dmeocracy for NYC petition to get candidates on the ballot, please go here: http://www.dfnyc.org/cms/node/86993


Queens Jefferson Democratic Club: Our meetings are normally held the first Thursday of every month, @ 8:00 p.m. (the doors open @ 7:30 P.M.) except for July, August, and months in which a holiday falls on the First Thursday. Meetings are held at the Auburndale American Legion Hall, 198-09 33rd Ave Flushing, New York 11358 (just off Francis Lewis Blvd. near 33rd Avenue).

Queens County Young Democrats: for information CLICK HERE.

DRINKING LIBERALLY: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Here are our local Queens groups:

ASTORIA: Third Wednesday of each month, 7:30 pm onward. Cassidy's, 34-16 Broadway (at 35th Street). Hosted by Bob Chamerda, astoria (at) drinkingliberally.org

To find your nearest Queens Democratic club, please CLICK HERE.

Progressive Democrat Issue 80: MANHATTAN GROUPS AND EVENTS

CRITCAL MASS BICYCLE MOVEMENT! Critical Mass is a bicyclist movement (NOT an organized group!) that holds weekly protests all over the world to protest pollution. Rides are the last Friday of every month starting in Union Sq. Park North, 7PM! At a DFNYC meeting attended by Norm Seigel, Norm used Critical Mass as an example of the kind of activism that NYC needs most and the way Bloomberg is trying to squelch our rights and our voices. Critical Mass deserves our help. According to Bloomberg, my inclusion of this in my newsletter is probably illegal. Well, I refuse to let Bloomberg tell me what I can and cannot write in my Newsletter.

And see their worldwide calendar for Bike Workshops and other locations.

There is more you can do to support Critical Mass. This comes from a reader in Manhattan:

To help keep people involved in Critical Mass, people who might be sacred off because of renewed aggressiveness by the police, I have started a pledge drive that sponsors arrestees. This is a great way for people to stay involved in Critical Mass, stay on top of the issue, and use the NYPD and Bloomberg's tactics to work for us not against us. I am pledging $2 per arrestee, and the money will go to the Legal Aid Society. Pledges are made on the honor system. The more bicyclists the cops arrest the more money for defending civil rights is raised.


Democracy for America Meetings: CLICK HERE!
WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 7PM

Upper West Side, Cosi (downstairs) 2160 Broadway @76th Street, with host Merle McEldowney

Upper East Side, Manhattan Lounge, 1720 2nd Ave. (btwn. 89th & 90th), with host Lewis Cohen & David Kogelman

West Village, Kettle of Fish, 59 Christopher St. (near 7th Ave.), with host Dana Northcraft

East Village, TENTATIVE (due to July 4th holiday, check back soon), Cinema Classics/Rafiffi 332 East 11th Street (btwn. 1st & 2nd), with host Abhishek Mistry

To help Dmeocracy for NYC petition to get candidates on the ballot, please go here.


DRINKING LIBERALLY: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Here are our local Manhattan groups:

Upper East Side Last Tuesday of each month, 6:30 pm onward, Doc Watson's, 1490 2nd Avenue (at 77th). In the backyard, weather permitting. Hosted by Matthew Bachiochi, ues (at) drinkingliberally.org

In Manhattan: Thursday, 7:30 pm onward, Rudy's, 627 9th Avenue (between 44th & 45th Streets). Hosted by Justin Krebs and Matthew O'Neill, nyc (at) drinkingliberally.org

Bar Hopping Manhattan: Second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-9:00 pm
A monthly Democratic drinking club at different gay bars around Manhattan. Join the mailing list to receive updates of future venues. Hosted by Dirk McCall, outnyc (at) drinkingliberally.org

East Village: Last Wednesday of each month, 8:00 pm onward, Grassroots Tavern, 20 Saint Mark's Place (between 2nd and 3rd). Hosted by Quinn Raymond, Elena Morin and Abby Cook-Mack, eastvillage (at) drinkingliberally.org

For those who prefer running to drinking, you can join RUNNING FOR CHANGE: Building a progressive America through organized runs and other grassroots activities.

To find your nearest Manhattan Democratic club, please CLICK HERE.

Progressive Democrat Issue 80: NEW JERSEY FOCUS

Bob Menendez is your candidate for US Senate. Democrat won big in 2005 in NJ. Time to do even better. Sign up to help Bob Menendez win in 2006!

I also want to highlight a Democracy for America endorsed candidate in New Jersey that I strongly urge you to help with money and time.

Linda Stender for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District. If we're going to take control of Congress, we're going to have to defeat some incumbents. In New Jersey, Linda Stender is running against a Rubberstamp Republican who needs to go. Linda's already racked up endorsements from Emily's List and New Jersey for Democracy. Now, she's got DFA on her side too. Grassroots activists from across New Jersey have been flooding the 7th Congressional District for months. And Assemblywoman Stender has done a terrific job raising money and building momentum. Please do you your part and help her today.

Push hard for Menendez and Stender this year.

Progressive Democrat Issue 80: NEW JERSEY GROUPS AND EVENTS

Westfield Neighbors For Linda Fundraiser
July 9, 2006 Home of Ann and Larry Cary Westfield, NJ

Please join the Westfield neighbors for Linda, Amy Berman, John Boyle, Ann Ormsby Cary, Larry Cary, Arlene Gardner, Cindy & Larry Goldman, David Haas, Ken Rotter and Carl Salisbury as they support Assemblywoman Linda Stender in her run for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th District. 5-7pm, $100 contribution.

For more info, go here: http://www.njfordemocracy.org/component/option,com_extcalendar/Itemid,29/extmode,view/extid,8/


Somerset Dems Summer Picnic
1 Danby Court
Princeton (Montgomery), NJ 08540

Join us for food, music and lots of fun in support of Louise Wilson and Dennis Sullivan, Democratic Candidates for Somerset County Freeholder. This is our year Somerset Democrats and we need your support. Requested Contribution: $50 per person, $35 Seniors, $10 Children Under 12, $100 Family. Checks should be made payable to Wilson & Sulivan for Freeholder. For more information contact Terri and Alan Bookman at (609) 279-1314


Democracy for America Meetups: DFA is one of the best hopes we have of retaking America. I strongly urge you to get involved with your local group. New Jersey for Democracy Meetups take place on the first Wednesday of every month @ 7pm. There are many meetups around the state: North, Central and South Jersey.

Common Cause: Common Cause is a major force in Progressive Politics. It was founded in 1970 (by a Republican, mind you!) to counter the influence of special interests in Washington. Today they work on many of the same issues I am trying to highlight. Check out the NJ Common Cause website.

Here is how you can find your local Dem clubs. Go to HERE and click on your county.

Drinking Liberally: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Find your local drinking liberally group or start your own with a few buddies: (and thanks to the people in NJ who keep me updated on the changes...I appreciate it!)

New Brunswick, 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of every month, 7:00 PM @ Doll's Place, 101 Paterson St. New Brunswick, NJ

Hoboken, New Jersey, Fourth Wednesday of each month, 8:00-10:00 pm, Mulligan's, 159 1st Street (between Bloomfield and Garden), Hosted by Leigh Wolinsky, David Alpert and Morgan Baden, hoboken (at) drinkingliberally.org

Princeton, Princeton, First Thursday Each Month 7:00 PM @ Sotto Ristorante and Lounge (formerly the Annex) 128 1/2 Nassau St, Princeton, NJ. princeton@drinkingliberally.org or http://princeton.drinkingliberally.org/

Montclair Every other Wednesday, 6:30 pm onward, Egan & Sons, 118 Walnut St. Hosted by Jon Hershberg, montclair (at) drinkingliberally.org

Morristown, Third Thursday of each month (next meeting April 20), 7:00 pm onward; The Famished Frog, 18 Washington St. Hosted by Jim Long, Tracy Kurland, Rob Gregory and Dave Cochran, morristown (at) drinkingliberally.org


RUNNING FOR CHANGE: For those who prefer running to biking, you can join RUNNING FOR CHANGE: Building a progressive America through organized runs and other grassroots activities.

Progressive Democrat Issue 80: VIRGINIA FOCUS

From the Virginia Grassroots Coalition:

Voter Registration -- Looking around the country, we’ve seen that the Republicans are filing suits against .orgs that register voters. These suits both sap their coffers and threaten their charters. Reaching out to new and disenchanted voters is key to being able to advance a legislative agenda as well as an important part of knitting together a community. Manifest involvement, commitment and compassion tend to beget the same so we think reaching out to the public is important.

As a group of individual citizens who come together without a formal organization or, heaven forbid, an IRS classification, we have the advantage of being able to register voters with fear or reprisal. In addition, we can explicitly target potential voter who support our values. So, as George W. Bush would say, “Bring It On!”.

So, here’s what we’re going to do – We’ll provide a coordination clearinghouse for registration drives. All you folks need to do is to decide amongst yourselves when/where in your community you’d like to register voters. Send us the announcement and well post it. People from the VGC list will then contact you to connect with your team. Some assembly required. Send announcements to info@vagrassroots.org

Progressive Democrat Issue 80: VIRGINIA GROUPS AND EVENTS

Tuesday, July 11th, Tuesday, June 13th, 6:30-9:00pm. Voter registration/outreach planning at the July VGC meeting. Citizen involvement in the electoral process is at all-time lows. On purely philosophical level, we’d like to change that. From a tactical level, that means every voter we get in support of progressive issues and candidate means even more. Bring your ideas and be ready to take the lead in your community. At Capitol City Brewing, 2700 S. Quincy St (at the corner of 28th). Arlington, VA. We’ll start networking and dinner at 6:30, Program at 7:10-ish, and the film at 7:30 sharp. We need it to be dark in the Brewers’ Room……… info@vagrassroots.org

Democracy for America: One of the best ways to get active! FIND YOUR LOCAL DFA MEETUP AND GET INVOLVED!

The Democratic Party: Here are links to some of your local Dem clubs. This is another very important way to be active.

Albemarle County Democratic Committee, Albemarle County, VA

Arlington County Democrats, Arlington VA. Contact Name: Elizabeth Weitzman mewsician1@msn.com (703) 528-8588

Arlington Young Democrats, Arlington VA. Contact Name: Jaime Mulligan publicity@arlingtonyoungdems.org 571-334-7626

Democratic Party of Fluvanna County, Virginia, Bremo Bluff, Virginia VA

Hanover Democrats, Ashland VA

Loudoun County Democratic Committee, Leesburg, VA. Contact Name: Steve Deak chairman@lcdems.com

Norfolk Democratic Party Meetup, Norfolk VA. Contact Name: Alma D. Kesling akesling@yahoo.com 757 333-8694

Rappahannock County Democrats, Rappahannock VA.

Stafford County Democrats, Fredericksburg VA:

Virginia Beach Democrats, VA

Virginia Young Democrats, Richmond, VA. Contact Name: Justin Wilson justin@justin.net


Drinking Liberally: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Find your local drinking liberally group or start your own with a few buddies. Currently there are only two Drinking Liberally groups in all of VA (see below). But it is easy to start your own!

Charlottesville, Virginia Drinking Liberally: Every Tuesday, 7:30 pm, Mellow Mushroom, 1320 West Main Street, Hosted by Jared Jenkins, charlottesville (at) drinkingliberally.org

Richmond, Virginia Drinking Liberally: Every Thursday, 7:30 pm onward Commercial Taphouse, 111 N Robinson St. Hosted by Scott Goode, richmond (at) drinkingliberally.org


RUNNING FOR CHANGE: And if you want a healthier alternative to Drinking Liberally (or want to do some running after your drinking), you can RUN for progressive causes. Building a progressive America through organized runs and other grassroots activities. To find your local Running for Change events, CLICK HERE.

Progressive Democrat Issue 80: NATIONAL ACTION WITH MAINSTREET MOMS

All right. The nation is gearing up for November. This year will probably be the biggest show down in a non-Presidential year in a very long time. Your help is needed.

Please! Get local with Democracy for America. It is the best way possible to push for a Democratic Victory and to push for a stronger voice for progressives within the party.

Get involved!

Progressive Democrat Issue 80: GETTING LOCAL AROUND THE NATION

This is how our coalition will be built: through out local action. Our success depends on you and your activism. There are many ways you can get active. Below I try to provide a good variety of options and urge you all to find a couple that suit you. These groups below are the way we can get our country back. If we don’t get involved we won’t win in 2006 and beyond. Joy and I are currently involved in a few groups plus our own organizing efforts bringing different groups together and we are finding it a good boost to our social life. We are meeting cool people and it makes us get out a couple of times a month more than we would otherwise.

Finding your local groups:

Democracy for America: Founded by Howard Dean, now run by his brother Jim Dean, this group is very effective at the local grass roots. Many think this is the future of the Democratic Party. I think this is partly true, though the neighborhood Dem party clubs will continue to be vital to our efforts as well. This is a group that you really should be active in either by joining a local meetup or starting one of your own.


Drinking Liberally: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Find your local drinking liberally group or start your own with a few buddies.


The Democratic Party: Now that Howard Dean is in the driver’s seat I am hoping the Democrats will become more effective on the local level. One of the main complaints against the DNC in the past couple of elections is that they didn’t help the local parties in most parts of the nation. If you go to the DNC website and find the “Get Local” pull down menu on the left, you can find your local Dem groups. I strongly urge you to get involved with your local Dem club since it is often these groups that actually do much of the footwork to win each district.

Critical Mass: Critical Mass is a bicyclist movement (NOT an organized group!) that holds weekly protests all over the world to protest pollution. Go here to find the closest Critical Mass action in your area (site covers ALL of North America).


Wellstone Action: Paul Wellstone started something in Minnesota and his death hasn’t stopped it. Wellstone’s family is continuing his work and expanding it throughout the nation. Wellstone Action trains activists and grassroots candidates and they did very well in the last election. I urge you to look into any nearby Wellstone Action events.


Common Cause: Common Cause is a major force in Progressive Politics. It was founded in 1970 (by a Republican, mind you!) to counter the influence of special interests in Washington. Today they work on many of the same issues I am trying to highlight. Look for your state’s Common Cause organization.

To find the League of Conservation Voters branch in your state, CLICK HERE. This is the group you should be involved with if the environment is your thing.

To find the NARAL branch in your state, CLICK HERE. This is the group you should be involved with if choice is your thing.

Finally I suggest Americans for Democratic Action. ADA is a progressive branch of the Democratic Party. Email: adaction@ix.netcom.com for info on local groups.