Progressive Democrat Issue 96: THOUGHTS

This week will be another gloating newsletter. I really think it is important to realize the scale of our win. Here is a link to a diary I wrote on Culture Kitchen outlining how Democrats won BIG amoung Jewish voters, Asian voters, and the youth vote and how Native Americans won big running as Democrats, all groups that Republicans have been heavily courting in recent years. Democrats closed the gap among church-going Christians as well, cutting into the Republican base. Almost across the board and in every state we did better than expected. Why? Republicans partly dug their own grave. With corruption and a war based on lies, voters were bound to get fed up. But Democrats, uniting with a message of hope, joined populist, progressive and moderate voices to convince Americans that they offered a genuine alternative. Now we have to prove our worth.

Already Democrats have jumped on one important issue: accountability. The Republicans have recently tried to end the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, which is the agency set up to root out corruption in America's Iraq mission. This is the agency that caught Halliburton over-charging the government while providing sub-standard service, forcing Halliburton to pay back some of what it stole, but not stopping Bush and Cheney from continuing to give Halliburton as many no-bid contracts as possible. Republicans want this one source of accontability in Iraq to end. Democrats are already planning to reauthorize this oversight agency. I applaud this plan to reintroduce accountability into American government.

Democrats are also already pushing for a phased redeployment taht would mean withdrawal from Iraq over a 4-6 month period. Democrats are taking the initiative, trying to force an exit strategy whre Republicans have been unable to come up with one for 5 years. In fact, currently the Republicans are planning to send entire National Guard brigades BACK into Iraq for second tours of duty. Democrats want to move forwards...Republicans are locked in making all the same mistakes over and over again.

There are only two things I am asking you to do this week, and both are important to strengthen the hold VOTERS have on the Democratic Party and, through this election's victories, on the nations' government. First, wherever you live, contact your newly elected politicians at whatever level of government, and tell them your thoughts about the election, on the state of America, and what YOU expect of them. Be enthusiastic and specific. But speak out to them. If you already spoke out to them when I urged it last week, make a followup contact. Ask to meet with them before they go to Washington or the state capital. Get to know them, make sure they know you and what your thoughts are. Some politicians won't care. That is worth knowing. But many will at least give you a chance to express yourself. A former mayor of San Diego once told me that politicians, particularly on the local and state level, get so little personal input from voters that when they do they notice. Congressional Representatives and especially Senators are more used to it, but if they are newly elected, they will be at their most open to your comments. So have your say!

The second thing I ask you to do is to join Howard Dean's Democracy Bond program, highlighted just below in Howard Dean's post-election message. Simply put, a big part of our success and a large part of the future of the party rests in this one program. Right now there are 35,000 participants donating a small contribution a month. The average contribution is around $20. As I also emphasize below, that is $700,000 PER MONTH in small donations coming in. That is money with no ties to big industries or lobbyists...only tied to the voters. THAT is what Howard Dean is doing for the Democrats. MORE money with obligations only to the voters. That is the one action I am asking you to do...join this program if you haven't already. For as little as $10/month you can change the dynamics of American politics. See Howard Dean's message below for more information.

Later I will be back to urging you to take action on many issues, but for now, focus on these two actions.

Most of this week's newsletter will be passing along the post-election comments from newly elected Democrats from around the nation, as well as Jim Dean (chair of Democracy for America) and Howard Dean (DNC chair). Enjoy their enthusiasm and their thanks. WE got them elected. They are very appreciative of it!

Issue 96 Table of Contents:

THOUGHTS

THE FINAL THREE CONGRESSIONAL RACES OF 2006

A MESSAGE FROM HOWARD DEAN

A MESSAGE FROM JIM DEAN

A MESSAGE FROM THE INDIGENOUS DEMOCRATIC NETWORK

VETERAN'S DAY

VIRGINIA'S NEW SENATOR: JIM WEBB

MONTANA'S NEW SENATOR: JON TESTER

BROOKLYN ACTIVISM

A NEW YORK STATE CONGRESSWOMAN: KIRSTIN GILLIBRAND

Progressive Democrat Issue 96: THE FINAL THREE: Fight the Fraud

There are three Congressional races that still need out attention to round out the 2006 election year. All three are critical because all three address fraud on some level. FL-13 represents a major battle in the fight for election integrity and could lead to one more pick up for Democrats in the House. LA-2 represents a chance to replace an extremely corrupt poltiican who is likely to go to jail with an honest politician. NC-8 is a case where the Republican is trying to prevent the counting of all ballots, including those from areas where military families live. The Republican is just barely ahead and the Democrat picks up more votes each time a batch of uncounted ballots is finally counted. So whether you want to fight election fraud or more run-of-the-mill fraud, these three races deserve your attention.

All three races (described in detail below) can be found on my Final Races for 2006 Act Blue Page.

Christine Jennings Recount Fund

Jennings is running to replace Katherine "Stolen Election" Harris who prevented the 2000 recount in Florida and was rewarded by the Republican Party with this House seat. Harris tried moving on to the Senate, but failed. Jennings is locked in a neck and neck race to replace Harris. But Harris' legacy of election fraud continues as electronic voting machines in this district gave strange results, leading to an unusually large undercount. This suspicious behavior on the voting machines' part could cost Jennings the election. This one race could be the smoking gun that will discredit the eVote machines that do not have a legal paper trail.

This may be a defining moment in the fight against electronic voting machines and election fraud. Jennings is challenging the cout as recorded by the machines and the challenge is to the machines themselves. But this will be a costly battle. Anyone who is concerned about the integrity of our elections should be on board with this one. Or, as they put it at Daily Kos, all "Black Box Activists should put up or shut up". I wouldn't go so far, but this could be THE case that will stop the rush to unreliable, unverifiable electionic voting machines. Please give to help Jennings fight for fair elections, starting with FL-13. This could be precedent setting and we don't want to lose due to lack of money.


Karen Carter Runoff Fund

The incumbent Democrat in LA-2, William Jefferson, was caught red-handed taking bribes. This is one of those cases of Democratic corruption I occasionally have to report while I am reporting on the far more prevalent Republican corruption. But Jefferson is still running for re-election. In Louisiana each race is a non-partisan scramble, and if no one gets over 50% the top two candidates go into a runoff. This year two Democrats made it to the runoff: corrupt William Jefferson and honest Karen Carter. As someone who yells alot about Republican corruption, I really want to emphasize that we need to keep our own house clean. So please help Karen Carter show the Republicans that Democats know how to deal with corruption better than they do. Republicans embrace corrupt Republiacns. Let's show them that Democrats reject corrupt Democrats.


Larry Kissell Recount Fund

In NC-8 the Republican is trying to prevent the counting of provisional ballots and trying to suppress votes in the counties surrounding Ft. Bragg (that's military families, of course!) Larry Kissell is trying to get every vote counted and it is costing him money. This could be another pickup for Dems if we gain just 2 votes per precinct! Let's fight to get every vote counted.

Please donate to one or more of these three final races.

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Progressive Democrat Issue 96: A MESSAGE FROM HOWARD DEAN (Democratic National Committee)

Howard Dean's 50-State strategy paid off its first benefits last year...but it really came into its own this year. All of us who bought into Howard Dean's Democracy Bonds were a part of this. I thank you...and, below, Howard Dean thanks you. Please help spread the word about Democracy Bonds. These are what will wean the Democratic Party from soft money (something the Republicans would never even DREAM of) and helps elecect Democrats nationwide. James Carvelle has attacked Howard Dean, saying he should be replaced. But subscribing to Dean's Democracy Bonds you are showing Carvelle that you appreciate what Howard Dean has done to clean up the party, make it more effective in EVERY state, and make it more accountable to us, the voters. Here is Howard Dean's message:

This year will be remembered as another moment when Americans started another historic process -- one that will usher in a new sense of community and demands for a government that focuses on the common good.

That's the thing about America. Whenever our leaders have failed to meet the challenges of the day, whenever our government's priorities have narrowed to represent the few at the expense of the many, the American people have risen up as one and corrected our course.

It will also be remembered as the rebirth of a political party devoted to ensuring that ordinary people not only have a voice, but real power at all levels of government.

Just 21 months ago we began the long process of breathing new life into our party with a 50-state strategy. After years of watching the playing field of "competitive" races dwindle and our operation disappear in many parts of the country, ordinary Democrats across the country demanded a truly national party.

Since then we've built the field organizing, communications, technological and financial infrastructure of a party that can and will compete everywhere. We've done it by growing our operation from the ground-up and empowering Democrats to take our party and our democracy into their own hands.

Here are just a few examples of how that work impacted this election:

Kansas: Our 50-state strategy organizers helped transform the Democratic Party in Kansas under the leadership of Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Strong leadership from the Democratic Party created a wave of party-switchers -- moderate Republicans fed-up with the right-wing stranglehold on their party. The reinvigorated state party knocked on hundreds of thousands of doors and elected Democrats up and down the ballot, including new Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Boyda in the 2nd Congressional district and new Attorney General Paul Morrison, who beat his opponent by over 134,000 votes.

Minnesota: Four DNC field organizers in Minnesota have created an unprecedented field program. Republican Mark Kennedy was supposed to have a lock on the open Senate seat, but with new technology by the DNC and 1.6 million voters contacted, Amy Klobuchar defied expectations and handily won the race after thousands of unlikely voters came to the polls. We're not stopping here -- this work will continue apace as we position our party to take back a Senate seat in 2008.

Ohio: Our field organizers in Ohio expanded the state party's infrastructure, making inroads deep into what has long been considered "Bush Country." A DNC-funded field director, four field organizers, and a voter database manager all helped run voter contact operations in parts of the state that hadn't heard from the Democratic Party in years. Take Butler county, for example, where Democratic performance improved by nearly 50% on our 2004 results as we elected a new Democratic Senator, Democratic Governor, Democratic Secretary of State, and more Democrats up and down the ballot.

South Dakota: The Democratic Party in South Dakota is now a powerful political operation. In 2002, Democrats recruited only 66 legislative candidates. This year we recruited 90. Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth was re-elected, and South Dakotans rejected a radical measure that denies the basic right of women, in consultation with their families and doctors, to make their own decisions about their reproductive health.

New Hampshire: In this crucial state we re-elected our Democratic governor and picked up House seats. In the course of our work we laid a permanent foundation for the party -- including a research and tracking operation that helped elect Democrats this cycle and will be the foundation of a tracking operation to hold Republican presidential candidates accountable as they crisscross the state.

Indiana: Over a year ago, Democrats in Indiana started planning for Election Day. They focused on a strategy that initiated a new media campaign to hold Republicans accountable for their actions, and worked to drive the Democratic message using grassroots support. The state party was able to hire a communications director, and because the executive director no longer had to focus on working with the media, he was able to concentrate on fundraising - raising enough money to hire an organizer to work in the 2nd congressional district, another Democratic pickup, where Democrat Joe Donnelly gained more than 17,000 votes than the Democrat had in 2002.

And in other states, Democrats gained new majorities in eight state legislative chambers. We now have majorities in 55 state chambers - the largest shift since 1994.

Next week will mark one year of organizing for 2006 -- we began in earnest just a week after 2005 elections that yielded new Democratic governors in Virginia and New Jersey. Across the country, at over 1,000 venues in all 50 states, ordinary Democrats came together to organize for elections nearly a year away.

Those nationwide events built over time -- the 50-State Canvass, the Democratic Reunion, the 50-State Turnout Kickoff -- bringing more and more ordinary people into the Democratic operation in every state across the country.

That process will continue, and soon you're going to have more opportunities to participate meaningfully than ever before.

For the first time in a generation, after a national election our party operation will not disintegrate. Our growing party operation in the states will support newly elected Democrats and educate the public about the common sense solutions we'll be pursuing, and hold Republicans accountable for their corruption and continued failures of leadership.

A special group of people make that possible. Nearly 35,000 Americans have been invested in this victory for months -- many for over a year. They give a small amount every month in the form of a Democracy Bond. Democracy Bond holders are a community of people committed to providing the long-term financial backbone necessary to pursue this kind of 50-state operation.

You can commemorate these historic wins and lay the groundwork for a generation of victories ahead of us by joining the Democracy Bond community now.

It's been a big Election Day, and every Democrat has earned the right to celebrate today. We won elections up and down the ballot tonight because Democrats are ready to lead.

There's one more thing anyone watching the Democratic Party should know today:

We're only getting started.

Thank you.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

Think about that: 35,000 Democracy Bond holders. The average contribution is around $20 per month. That is $700,000 of hard money from small donors per month...every month. If you aren't a part of it, please join!

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Progressive Democrat Issue 96: A MESSAGE FROM JIM DEAN (Democracy for America)

Democracy for America members are amazing! You've seen the national news. Let me give you a taste of what you may not have seen yet...

*One of the fifty-three Congressional seats in California switched hands. DFA Grassroots All-Star Jerry McNerney defeated Richard Pombo in a campaign with important implications for our environment.
*In Massachusetts, Deval Patrick swept to victory, becoming that state's first African-American governor.
*In North Carolina, DFA-List candidate Ty Harrell helped the Democrats regain control of the state House for the first time since 1994.
*In upstate New York, nine months after a DFA Training Academy seminar in the 20th Congressional District, Kirsten Gillibrand won her exciting race against John Sweeney. [Note: See Gillibrand's comments elsewhere in this newsletter]
*In the Granite State, Democracy for New Hampshire-endorsed candidates won dozens of races and took the state House and Senate for the first time since the Civil War.
*Change for Kentucky ran radio ads in the last week of the election and won an important Urban County Council race.
*In Orlando, Scott Randolph won an upset against a two-term incumbent. Scott will bring experience and integrity to the state House in Tallahassee, Florida.
*There's going to be a new Secretary of State in Ohio. Jennifer Brunner won!
*In an incredibly important ballot initiative battle, South Dakota voters rejected severe restrictions on a woman's right to choose.

Thank you for all that you've done,

Jim Dean
Chair

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Progressive Democrat Issue 96: A MESSAGE FROM KALYN FREE (Indigenous Democratic Network)

Kalyn Free, former Democratic Candidate for Congress, member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and founder of the Indigenous Democratic Network, has the following comments about the election from a Native American perpective:

At least 16 INDN candidates were victorious last night in their bids for seats in state legislatures across the nation, including six Indians who had never before been elected to public office. (One race in WA remains too close to call, while another in PA is separated by 19 votes and is going to a recount). Their victories will bring new Indian officials to eight.) INDN’s List supported 22 candidates in 10 states for the general election and we are proud to have helped elect dedicated public servants to office in seven states across the nation. That is a 76% win-record for last night and our first election cycle!

“Yesterday Americans cast their vote for change throughout this country,” said Kalyn Free. “We are so proud that our INDN candidates were a part of that message of change and their victories are an affirmation of our hard work over the past year.”

Without the help and support of you and all our supporters around the country, we could never have achieved the successes that we did. In races nationwide, you made the difference in electing Indians to public office.
INDN’s List contributed to several significant races. Claudia Kauffman and Carol Juneau became the first Indian women to be elected to their state senates in Washington and Montana, respectively. Like our other candidates, Claudia and Carol broke down barriers in their communities by showing they share the interests, ideas, and aspirations of all families across America. And in Oklahoma, INDN’s List added 5 more Indians to the state legislature, three in the house and two in the senate. Finally, in Pennsylvania our candidate Barbara McIlvaine Smith is behind by only 19 votes and the recount process has begun. A victory there will give Democrats control of the state house.

Candidates winning races last night are:

• Scott BigHorse, Sean Burrage, Chuck Hoskin, and John Sparks for seats in the Oklahoma legislature

• Norma Bixby and Carol Juneau for seats in the Montana State House and Senate respectively

• Albert Hale and Albert Tom for seats in the Arizona State Senate and House, respectively

• John McCoy and Claudia Kauffman for seats in the Washington legislature. Results in the Don Barlow election remain too close to call.

• Theresa Two Bulls and Thomas Van Norman for seats in the South Dakota State Senate and House, respectively

• Lyman Hoffman and Woodie Salmon for seats in the Alaska State Senate and House, respectively

• W. Patrick Goggles for the Wyoming State House

We are disappointed that not all of our candidates pulled through last night. Solomon Little Owl (CO), Ed Brownshield (ND), Jack Gordon (OK), and Phyllis Ray (OK) are shining examples of the growing leaders that INDN’s List will continue to support. Each has a bright future in public service and we look forward to their future success.

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Progressive Democrat Issue 96: VETERAN'S DAY

Last Saturday was Veteran's Day, a day of particular importance now while we are stuck in a quagmire in Iraq, led there by lies and incompetance by Bush and the Halliburton Republicans at the same time that Bush has cut veteran's benefits. The layers of hypocricy are astonishing!

Michael Boudlin, my fellow contributing edior at Daily Gotham, wrote a good piece about Veteran's Day which I will pass along:

On November 11th, 1918, the Central Powers surrendered to the Allies in a railroad car in the forest of Compiègne in Northern France, marking the end of what was then known as the Great War. Ever since, November 11th has been commemorated by the 1918 allied nations - the UK, France, Canada, the United States, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand – as the occasion of what was clearly understood to be more deliverance than victory.

Veterans Day 2006 finds us not in a war, but in occupation of a foreign country that rather clearly does not want us there. What was supposed to be a war, a 'war on terror', has succumbed to the usual difficulties of making war on a noun rather than a country.

Meanwhile, the men and women of our Armed Forces have been subjected to carnage in a war of occupation, without having been given the tools, such as body armor, to prevail. What they got instead was photo ops, plastic turkeys on a platter held by a smiling draft-dodger. At the same time, the United States government, run by men and women who without exception did not see combat, did not do them the simple honor of executing the occupation the military fought to achieve with anything approaching competence. What we, and they, got instead was an employment program for the hyper-ideological spawn of Washington think tanks, a laboratory experiment for the so-called 'conservative movement'. The first thing ordered by Viceroy Bremer, even before he disbanded the defeated Iraqi army, was the privatization of the Iraqi energy industry. He moved on to impose a flat tax, invite foreign investors, and stand aside as looters ransacked the museums of Iraq. Bremer opened the Iraqi stock exchange before the main hospital in Baghdad had an uninterrupted power supply. Read about it, here and here.

As any normal human being can glean from the headlines and the evening news with its maddening drumbeat of casualties, that conservative experiment has failed. The architects of this disaster have been punished at the polls. A new group of veterans has been elected to Congress, as Democrats.

What remains is this: to explain to the more than 20,000 maimed, and the families of almost 3,000 dead, why their service was required, and why their sacrifice was not treated with more respect by those in power. And yes, honesty and competence should be considered as the bare minimum of respect. As the country commemorates its veterans today, it will be thinking about those who demanded so much sacrifice, and gave in return so little honesty and achievement. Our men and women were sent into combat to prove the theories of the Project for a New American Century and the Heritage Foundation.

Commemorate that.

The impact of the war on those who have to fight it (as opposed to those chickenhawks who sent them there to fight for lies) has led many Veterans to run for office as Democrats. Several of them won or are still in recounts. Here is a list of Veterans who are newly elected as Democrats to Congress (from the DNC website):

IL-17: Phil Hare

Phil Hare joined the United States Army Reserve where he served his country for six years. Simultaneously, he went to work at a clothing factory, where Hare served as President of his union. Hare became Congressman Evans' District Director when Evans was elected, serving in the position for 24 years. After Evans retired, Hare decided to run for Evans' seat when he announced he was retiring.

MN-1: Tim Walz

At the age of seventeen, Tim enlisted in the Army National Guard retiring in 2005 after twenty-four years of service that included overseas duty with his battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In addition to military service, Tim taught overseas in China for Harvard University and developed a program of cooperation between American and Chinese students through a scholarship funding American students to travel and study in China – a program that continues to this day. Walz also established a small business called Educational Travel Adventures, Inc.

PA-7: Joe Sestak

In January, Navy Vice Admiral Joe Sestak retired after 31 years of service to run for Congress in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District against Republican incumbent Curt Weldon. Sestak's impressive resume includes service as the Director of the Navy Quadrennial Defense Review, Director of Defense Policy on the National Security Council staff at the Whie House, and has a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard. Sestak's campaign for Congress burst on to the national scene on successive days in early April. First Sestak announced that his campaign had raised an impressive $420,000 in the first sixty days after kicking off the effort. The next day, his opponent Curt Weldon "tried to score political points on a residency issue" suggesting "to a Washington newspaper that Sestak should have sent his daughter [being treated for a malignant brain tumor] to a hospital in Pennsylvania or Delaware." [Philadelphia Daily News - 4/6/05]

PA-10: Chris Carney

A Lieutenant Commander in the United States Naval Reserve, Chris Carney served multiple tours overseas and was activated for Pperation Enduring Freedom, Noble Eagle, and Southern Watch. After 9/11, Chris served at the Pentagon as an intelligence analyst and senior advisor on intelligence and counterterrorism issues. Chris coordinated counterterrorism activities in the Middle East and later worked on the integration of national-level intelligence products in the effort to destroy international terrorist networks. Chris is currently an Associate Professor at Penn State teaching courses in U.S. Foreign Policy, American Government, and U.S. Security Policy.

VA-Senate: Jim Webb

Jim Webb's illustrious military career began as a cadet at the U.S. Naval Academy. Out of the 841 cadets in Jim's graduating class, only he and seventeen other people chose a commission in the United states Marine Corps. After a tour of duty in Vietnam and serving on the immediate staff of the Secretary of the Navy, Webb moved on to his next achievement, a law degree from Georgetown University. Still dedicated to his life of service, Webb did six years of pro bono work for Marine convicted of a war crime in Vietnam until the conviction was overturned. Ready to face his next challenge, Webb wants to represent the people of Virginia in the U.S. Senate.

Others are in as yet undecided races. Welcome to these new Fighting Dems who are ready to go up against the chickenhawk Republicans of the Bush Administration.

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Progressive Democrat Issue 96: JIM WEBB (Virginia)

Jim Webb is the newly elected Senator from Virginia, replacing the racist Republican Allen, shattering's Allen's Presidential asperations. Here is Webb's letter to Democrats:

When we started this general election campaign, we were facing an opponent with tens of millions of dollars. He had won two statewide races already. He had the power of incumbency on his side, and also the awesome power that comes with the backing of an incumbent President. We had, at the moment, not a lot of money, a candidate who had never run for office, and 2,500 rag-tag rebels who had volunteered for what many thought was a hopeless, quixotic journey.

At that time, I said:

I like those odds, actually. It'll make us all work a little harder. It fits with one of my favorite films, Cool Hand Luke -- one of the great lines in that movie: "Sometimes nothing is a pretty cool hand!"

On Tuesday, against huge odds, you carried our campaign to victory, and I cannot express how grateful I am to you for helping us make history in this election.

As you know, I made two promises to myself when I started this campaign. The first was that I was not going to trade anything I believed in order to get a vote or a dollar, and I did that. I’m walking into the U.S. Senate with the independence to represent the people who have no voice in the corridors of power, and I intend to do that.

The second promise that I made was that as much as humanly possible, we were not going to run a negative campaign. And I thank all of you for helping me to make sure that we did that.

We have a situation in Virginia where Mark Warner began a journey. Tim Kaine has added on to it. We are going to add onto it even more. We’re going to work hard to bring a sense of responsibility to our foreign policy that will, in my view, result soon in a diplomatic solution in Iraq. We’re going to work very hard on issues of economic fairness in a country that has become divided too much by class in an age of the internationalization of corporate America, where corporate profits are at an all time high while wages and salaries are at an all time low. I look forward to joining my fellow Senators in voting very soon to increase the minimum wage.

And finally, we’ve had a situation where, as a result of this Administration’s policies post-9/11, we’ve had far too much power gravitate to the Presidency at the expense of the power of the Legislature.

With your help, we now have the opportunity to put this country back on the track where it needs to be. Thank you for everything you have done for our campaign and our country.

Remember, folks: the Revolution started here...

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Progressive Democrat Issue 96: JON TESTER (Montana)

Jon Tester is an organic farmer who just defeated the corrupt Republican, Conrad Burns, who has publicly advocated testing pesticides on humans. Jon Tester is one of our best new faces in the Senate. Here is what he has to say:

We did this together.

When Sharla and I sat down 18 months ago and decided that we had to try to increase opportunities for our new grand-daughter -- and your kids and your grandkids -- we knew that the road from Big Sandy to Washington, D.C. would be a long one.

Many didn't believe that we could ever complete the journey -- didn't believe that a dirt farmer from Big Sandy, whose grandparents homesteaded here, could beat an incumbent Senator with a ton of money.

But as we traveled the state and talked to people, we found we weren't alone in wanting a better future for our kids and grandkids. And from those conversations began the greatest grassroots campaign for change that Montana has ever seen.

You built that campaign. You believed. And now, 100,000 miles later -- here we are. Real Montana is ready for Real Change.

I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done. Words cannot express how deeply grateful and deeply honored Sharla and I are for the hard work and support that grassroots and netroots Democrats gave to this campaign. You opened up your schedules, opened up your wallets, and opened up your hearts to make Montana and our country a better place.

And because of your hard work and efforts, hundreds of thousands of Montanans joined you and our call for change on Election Day.

This never would have happened without you.

The message sent by Montanans in this election is clear: it is time to get to work. Time to make government work again for ordinary Montanans. Time to fix health care. Time to achieve energy independence. Time to find a plan to end the crisis in Iraq and bring our troops home. Time to restore the Montana values of honesty and integrity to the United States Senate. And time to end destructive party politics and work together for real solutions and real change in Montana and this great nation...

But most of all, I want to thank the people of Montana and you for all of your hard work. There aren't many places in this great country where a small family farmer with just a few acres could make it to the United States Senate...

Winston Churchill said that politicians work for the next election, and that statesmen work for the next generation. I will do my best to work for the next generation of Montanans, and to get this country moving forward again for the benefit of Montana's working families.

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Progressive Democrat Issue 96: BROOKLYN ACTIVISM

The NY State and local Brooklyn Democratic Parties have been facing difficulties for some time. Lack of vision, strong arm tactics, and, at worst, outright corruption have plagued NY State and Brooklyn Democrats. This has led to the rise of a reform Democrat movement which I have highlighted from time to time. Reform Democrats and Progressive Democrats overlap a great deal, though they also sometimes fall prey to the usual infighting that Democrats are prone to.

Today I want to urgently ask Democrats living in Brooklyn to help strengthen one of these reform Democratic organizations that ALSO holds progressive views. The Central Brooklyn Independent Democratic club (CBID) is an organization with deep roots both as reformers and progressives. Here is what they say in their "Who we are" section:

As a neighborhood Democratic Club, CBID has fought for reform and progressive causes since its founding in 1968 by reform Democrats, and anti-war and neighborhood activists. Based in Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, and Kensington, we have been instrumental in the election of many public officials.

Staunchly opposed to political corruption, and committed to JUDICIAL REFORM, we are proud of our independence and progressive politics.

CBID did well helping progressive candidates get on the ballot in this last primary election in Brooklyn. I found their work in that primary to be very dedicated. However, they have since been paralyzed by internal factions. CBID also has deep roots of infighting and this infighting currently threatens the effectiveness of this club. The factions do not seem to differ that much ideologically, but rather often support the same candidates just as avidly. The infighting is between egos more than ideas, and the bulk of the club is caught in the middle.

Coming up soon is the race to replace Yvette Clarke in the City Council and CBID might play a strong role in that race. The larger the active membership, the more likely that a progressive reform Democrat can be elected. That race will be coming up early next year.

What CBID needs is an influx of new members, with no ties to either of the old factions, to shore up the club. CBID president Josh Skaller, and my wife, Joy, who is a board member, are calling on dedicated, reform/progressive Democrats who want to see this three-decades-old Brooklyn political tradition continue as a force of reform and progress. Please contact Josh Skaller ( jskaller@gmail.com ) to find out about membership and how you can help.

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Progressive Democrat Issue 96: KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (New York)

Kirsten Gillibrand won in a district that was considered unwinable. When I first started pushing NY State as a state where we could pick up many Congressional seats, few people seemed to agree with me. Gillibrand won one of those seats that I emphasized. Here is what she has to say:

Dear Friends,

It is with tremendous honor that I write to you to express my gratitude for your incredible friendship, support and commitment to our efforts. Because of your support, we turned a very Red seat to Blue. Because of your generosity, NY-20 was the 15th seat won on Election Day, officially shifting the balance of power and restoring the checks and balances to our government. Because of your faith in me, we built a campaign that compelled 53% of our district to support our vision for change. Because of your belief in Democracy, we have won a district that the pundits said could not be won.

I cannot thank you enough for all that you have done for me. I am so excited and honored to be going to Washington to represent the families of my district and to begin to turn this county back on the right direction - restoring fiscal discipline and reducing the deficit, ending our dependence on Middle East oil with energy independence legislation, lowering healthcare costs and fixing Medicare Part D, promoting tax cuts for the Middle Class including making college tuition tax deductible, reforming unfunded mandates and investing in education, supporting our troops and veterans with the benefits they have earned, and focusing on a new strategy for success in Iraq. With this new agenda for change, we can begin to give a voice to my district and to our great Nation.

Please stay in touch during the next year - your support and encouragement have been incredibly valuable to me, and I am eternally grateful.

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