NYC FOCUS: THIS is how Democrats Should be Speaking
As a blogger I get invited to many political events Now as a parent and scientist I can't make many of them, but I still meet more candidates and politicians than the average voter. So I hear lots of political speeches. Usually, since I am meeting similar minded people, I like the speech. But only occasionally do I find the speech to be dead on and exemplary of what ALL Democrats should be shouting from the top of every hill. Things like: Liberal IS patriotic, pro-Choice IS pro-life and marriage equality is about nothing but fairness. Oh, yeah, and how about we have to get out of Iraq. This is what I heard from Steve Harrison, a fairly traditional man running for Congress, and I would like to introduce you to him.
New York City has only one Republican Congressional Rep, Bush Lap Dog Vito Fossella. This guy opposes securing America's ports, flip flops on privatization of Social Security, and has voted to support Bush's Iraq quagmire at every opportunity. Fossella has voted the Bush Republican Party line more than 90% of the time. Hence his designation as Bush Lap Dog. Steve Harrison is the man who can defeat Lap Dog Fossella and actually represent New Yorkers.
Here is what the NY Times had to say about Vito Fossella in 2006:
Corruption, Bush Lap Dog and basically so uninterested in his constituents that Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat representing a neighboring district, is often left to advocate for Staten Island and Bay Ridge. Clearly, it is time for Vito Fossella to go.
In this context, almost ANY Democrat who goes up against Fossella is going to look good in comparison. It would be hard to be worse for NYC than Vito Fossella.
So it is particularly exciting to have a candidate that is really inspiring. Steve Harrison, who, in 2006, came closer than any other previous candidate to defeating Fossella despite being outspent 13:1, is eager for a rematch in 2008. And he has gotten a much earlier start and is holding fundraisers all over the place. At the end of last quarter, he had already raised nearly $50,000, more than a third of his total fundraising for 2006. Meanwhile, Vito Fossella is still in debt from the last time he faced Steve Harrison.
Yesterday, Joy and I went to a fundraiser for Steve in Gravesend (one of the Brooklyn communities in the NY-13 district) and got to hear Steve really hitting his stride. Taking a wrong turn out of the train in Gravesend, we missed the beginning of his speech. But we got to hear some very choice parts and I have to say, I really wish far more Democrats were saying what Steve says. We had heard Steve a few times last year and liked what he had to say. But this year he is hitting a stride beyond what he hit last year.
Of course I want to elect Democrats who vote the way I want them to vote. That is one of my bottom lines. And, having gotten to know not only Steve Harrison himself, but also many other progressives who have gotten to know him (including some fellow DFNYC people and fellow Kossacks), I am confident that he will vote the way I would like him to vote, and better represent the NY-13 district than Vito Fossella ever has. But I also want Demorats who can slap down Republican rhetoric and articulately stand up for Democratic values. And that is what I heard Steve Harrison do last night.
The primary message he gave is that we have to stop letting the Republicans frame the discussion. When you talk to the vast majority of American voter anywhere in the country, you find their values are fundamentally DEMOCRATIC values. In poll after poll this is borne out. By contrast, Americans don't like Republican values which divide us and which favor only the wealthiest 1% of Americans. Do Americans prefer funding port security here in America or sending our soldiers to die in Iraq? Overwhelmingly Americans prefer port security and reject the Iraq quagmire. They prefer DEMOCRATIC values. Do Americans prefer protecting the rights of Americans or giving government the right to invade your privacy at will and violate your rights? Overwhelmingly Americans prefer privacy and civil rights over an intrusive government. They preffer DEMOCRATIC values. Do Americans prefer environmental protection and dealing with global warming or do they prefer letting wealthy oil executives and the Saudis destroy the health of American citizens and the quality of our environment? Again, Americans prefer DEMOCRATIC values.
This is what too many Democrats forget. All Democrats have to do is PASSIONATELY stand up for DEMOCRATIC values and voters love it. This has recently been backed up scientifically in Drew Westin's book The Political Brain. People want passion...and they want the kind of values that Democrats stand for. Put them together and you have a damned good combination.
Steve Harrison passionately stands for good, old-fashioned, Democratic values that resonate with most voters. And he seeks to retake the dialogue from the radical right wing. Steve advocates that we stop running from being Democrats and being Liberals. He seems to favor the term "liberal" to "progressive," and for solid reasons. Liberal is what this nation was founded on, the liberal values of liberty (same root), equality, fairness and rights. Our founding fathers were so passionate about Liberal values that they demanded Liberty or Death...they were willing to die for liberty. George Bush and Vito Fossella ask us to surrender our liberties out of fear of our enemies. Our founding fathers, Liberals that they were, would reject that as cowardly and fundamentally un-American. Liberty is patriotic and this is why Democrats are more patriotic than Republicans today. Steve Harrison believes that surrendering the Constitution out of fear of terrorists is un-Patriotic and un-American because the Constitution is the very foundation of our liberties, of our nation. The Constitution is the codification of the liberties and Liberal values that our founding fathers were willing to die for. We should be proud to call ourselves Liberal because THAT is what America is all about: liberties, equality, fairness. And those are Liberal Democratic values.
In recent weeks Steve Harrison has been attacked on some NYC blogs for being too conservative. These accusations stem from two things: Steve's conservative Catholic background, which he is proud of, and his ties in the past with local Republican politicians. And yet, here is a man, whose basic, personal, values lean conservative, defending Liberal values with a passion that few Democrats muster today. There is no mincing words with Steve. He is proud of our nation's Liberal values and he is proud of his personal conservative values and finds no conflict in this. I believe President Jimmy Carter would agree with Steve on this one.
Steve discussed abortion at some length. For him, the issue is indeed a matter of life. But he denies that the Republican stand is the pro-life stand. He refuses to yield the term "pro-life" to the radical right. He begins from a belief in fairness: there are only two fair ways of treating abortion. Either ban it for everyone or permit it for everyone. No other stand is fair. If you ban it for everyone, Steve argues, women will die. It is as simple as that. That is what history has shown. Ban abortion and women die. The Republican stand, which denies all abortions, puts the value of a woman's life beneath the choice of the rapist who they rape or the choice of the child abuser who rapes his child. Steve argues that protecting a woman's right over her own body is the stand that truely protects life. It is clear he is personally uncomfortable with abortion. He recognizes it as an unpleasant choice, a desperate option. But to deny the choice, deny the option is an anti-Life stand.
Steve approaches marriage equality with a similar sense of fairness. To him there should be no question in the matter. If two consenting adults wish to share their life together, it shouldn't matter if they are the same gender or a different gender. It is a matter of simple fairness to give the same recognition to gay and lesbian love and relationships as heterosexual love and relationships. I don't remember him quite wording it this way, but he in essence made the same arguement he made with abortion: there are only two ways to address marriage. Either permit marriage for all consenting couples or deny it for all. There may not be a life-or-death aspect to marriage, but there is indeed a fairness aspect. Unsaid in what Steve said was a clear sense that he doesn't really understand why any heterosexual marriage would be threatened by marriage equality. Steve is about as traditional as you get, yet he seems completely unthreatened by the idea that gays and lesbians could have equal marriage rights to his traditional marriage. I feel the same. Why do so many feel threatened by the idea that gays and lesbians deserve equality? It shouldn't even be a question. Tradition is not shaken by allowing others equality. And America, Liberal nation that it is, is about equality, fairness and liberty.
Steve had one major criticism for the Democratic Party: Steve Harrison strongly believes the Democrats need to do far, far more to end the Iraq quagmire. Steve is one of the strongest advocates of withdrawal. Steve advocates for securing America's ports and bringing al-Qaeda to justice, but has no patience for Bush's war against a nation that had nothing to do with 9/11. Earlier this year Steve put it this way:
Sums it up pretty well. Simple, clear, concise...and don't you wish more Democrats were saying it?
Steve Harrison is traditional. He has worked closely with both Democrats and Republicans in the past, including donating to some conservative Republicans from time to time. And he enjoys talking with both conservatives and progressives. Yet he is publicly and unequivocally advocating Choice, Marriage Equality and withdrawal from Iraq. And he does so with a passion that is too often missing in the Democratic Party today.
To help Steve Harrison defeat Bush Lap Dog Fossella and restore traditional American Liberal values of fairness, equality and liberty, you can donate through Daily Gotham's official Act Blue Site. Please help me bring this man to Washington, D.C.
New York City has only one Republican Congressional Rep, Bush Lap Dog Vito Fossella. This guy opposes securing America's ports, flip flops on privatization of Social Security, and has voted to support Bush's Iraq quagmire at every opportunity. Fossella has voted the Bush Republican Party line more than 90% of the time. Hence his designation as Bush Lap Dog. Steve Harrison is the man who can defeat Lap Dog Fossella and actually represent New Yorkers.
Here is what the NY Times had to say about Vito Fossella in 2006:
He has been a real water-carrier for the Bush administration and the Republican leadership, staunchly backing the war in Iraq while at the same time denying health benefits to National Guard and Reserve members who make up much of the American force there.
The congressman...has been unsympathetic to environmental concerns and has opposed a woman’s right to choose. He does his constituents no favors by his support for privatizing Social Security. He has voted to protect gun makers and sellers. While Mr. Fossella has lately sought funding to deal with health problems related to to the attacks of Sept. 11, he has largely been missing on important local issues. His Democratic colleague, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who represents the Sixth District, has often been left to advocate Staten Island’s many transportation needs, including the North Shore rail.
Mr. Fossella has offered only lame excuses for improperly using his campaign funds for skiing holidays in Vail (including lessons and equipment), as well as vacations in Florida — transgressions first reported by the Daily News. He has received donations from a lobbying firm with ties to Jack Abramoff. Earlier this year, he was fined a reported $60,000 for misusing his taxpayer-funded official mailing privileges.
— NY Times Editorial Board in 2006
Corruption, Bush Lap Dog and basically so uninterested in his constituents that Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat representing a neighboring district, is often left to advocate for Staten Island and Bay Ridge. Clearly, it is time for Vito Fossella to go.
In this context, almost ANY Democrat who goes up against Fossella is going to look good in comparison. It would be hard to be worse for NYC than Vito Fossella.
So it is particularly exciting to have a candidate that is really inspiring. Steve Harrison, who, in 2006, came closer than any other previous candidate to defeating Fossella despite being outspent 13:1, is eager for a rematch in 2008. And he has gotten a much earlier start and is holding fundraisers all over the place. At the end of last quarter, he had already raised nearly $50,000, more than a third of his total fundraising for 2006. Meanwhile, Vito Fossella is still in debt from the last time he faced Steve Harrison.
Yesterday, Joy and I went to a fundraiser for Steve in Gravesend (one of the Brooklyn communities in the NY-13 district) and got to hear Steve really hitting his stride. Taking a wrong turn out of the train in Gravesend, we missed the beginning of his speech. But we got to hear some very choice parts and I have to say, I really wish far more Democrats were saying what Steve says. We had heard Steve a few times last year and liked what he had to say. But this year he is hitting a stride beyond what he hit last year.
Of course I want to elect Democrats who vote the way I want them to vote. That is one of my bottom lines. And, having gotten to know not only Steve Harrison himself, but also many other progressives who have gotten to know him (including some fellow DFNYC people and fellow Kossacks), I am confident that he will vote the way I would like him to vote, and better represent the NY-13 district than Vito Fossella ever has. But I also want Demorats who can slap down Republican rhetoric and articulately stand up for Democratic values. And that is what I heard Steve Harrison do last night.
The primary message he gave is that we have to stop letting the Republicans frame the discussion. When you talk to the vast majority of American voter anywhere in the country, you find their values are fundamentally DEMOCRATIC values. In poll after poll this is borne out. By contrast, Americans don't like Republican values which divide us and which favor only the wealthiest 1% of Americans. Do Americans prefer funding port security here in America or sending our soldiers to die in Iraq? Overwhelmingly Americans prefer port security and reject the Iraq quagmire. They prefer DEMOCRATIC values. Do Americans prefer protecting the rights of Americans or giving government the right to invade your privacy at will and violate your rights? Overwhelmingly Americans prefer privacy and civil rights over an intrusive government. They preffer DEMOCRATIC values. Do Americans prefer environmental protection and dealing with global warming or do they prefer letting wealthy oil executives and the Saudis destroy the health of American citizens and the quality of our environment? Again, Americans prefer DEMOCRATIC values.
This is what too many Democrats forget. All Democrats have to do is PASSIONATELY stand up for DEMOCRATIC values and voters love it. This has recently been backed up scientifically in Drew Westin's book The Political Brain. People want passion...and they want the kind of values that Democrats stand for. Put them together and you have a damned good combination.
Steve Harrison passionately stands for good, old-fashioned, Democratic values that resonate with most voters. And he seeks to retake the dialogue from the radical right wing. Steve advocates that we stop running from being Democrats and being Liberals. He seems to favor the term "liberal" to "progressive," and for solid reasons. Liberal is what this nation was founded on, the liberal values of liberty (same root), equality, fairness and rights. Our founding fathers were so passionate about Liberal values that they demanded Liberty or Death...they were willing to die for liberty. George Bush and Vito Fossella ask us to surrender our liberties out of fear of our enemies. Our founding fathers, Liberals that they were, would reject that as cowardly and fundamentally un-American. Liberty is patriotic and this is why Democrats are more patriotic than Republicans today. Steve Harrison believes that surrendering the Constitution out of fear of terrorists is un-Patriotic and un-American because the Constitution is the very foundation of our liberties, of our nation. The Constitution is the codification of the liberties and Liberal values that our founding fathers were willing to die for. We should be proud to call ourselves Liberal because THAT is what America is all about: liberties, equality, fairness. And those are Liberal Democratic values.
In recent weeks Steve Harrison has been attacked on some NYC blogs for being too conservative. These accusations stem from two things: Steve's conservative Catholic background, which he is proud of, and his ties in the past with local Republican politicians. And yet, here is a man, whose basic, personal, values lean conservative, defending Liberal values with a passion that few Democrats muster today. There is no mincing words with Steve. He is proud of our nation's Liberal values and he is proud of his personal conservative values and finds no conflict in this. I believe President Jimmy Carter would agree with Steve on this one.
Steve discussed abortion at some length. For him, the issue is indeed a matter of life. But he denies that the Republican stand is the pro-life stand. He refuses to yield the term "pro-life" to the radical right. He begins from a belief in fairness: there are only two fair ways of treating abortion. Either ban it for everyone or permit it for everyone. No other stand is fair. If you ban it for everyone, Steve argues, women will die. It is as simple as that. That is what history has shown. Ban abortion and women die. The Republican stand, which denies all abortions, puts the value of a woman's life beneath the choice of the rapist who they rape or the choice of the child abuser who rapes his child. Steve argues that protecting a woman's right over her own body is the stand that truely protects life. It is clear he is personally uncomfortable with abortion. He recognizes it as an unpleasant choice, a desperate option. But to deny the choice, deny the option is an anti-Life stand.
Steve approaches marriage equality with a similar sense of fairness. To him there should be no question in the matter. If two consenting adults wish to share their life together, it shouldn't matter if they are the same gender or a different gender. It is a matter of simple fairness to give the same recognition to gay and lesbian love and relationships as heterosexual love and relationships. I don't remember him quite wording it this way, but he in essence made the same arguement he made with abortion: there are only two ways to address marriage. Either permit marriage for all consenting couples or deny it for all. There may not be a life-or-death aspect to marriage, but there is indeed a fairness aspect. Unsaid in what Steve said was a clear sense that he doesn't really understand why any heterosexual marriage would be threatened by marriage equality. Steve is about as traditional as you get, yet he seems completely unthreatened by the idea that gays and lesbians could have equal marriage rights to his traditional marriage. I feel the same. Why do so many feel threatened by the idea that gays and lesbians deserve equality? It shouldn't even be a question. Tradition is not shaken by allowing others equality. And America, Liberal nation that it is, is about equality, fairness and liberty.
Steve had one major criticism for the Democratic Party: Steve Harrison strongly believes the Democrats need to do far, far more to end the Iraq quagmire. Steve is one of the strongest advocates of withdrawal. Steve advocates for securing America's ports and bringing al-Qaeda to justice, but has no patience for Bush's war against a nation that had nothing to do with 9/11. Earlier this year Steve put it this way:
What are we doing in Iraq? Saddam is dead, we found no weapons of mass destruction, and we know that Iraq didn’t attack us — we need to get out.
Steve Harrison, Democratic Candidate for Congress
Sums it up pretty well. Simple, clear, concise...and don't you wish more Democrats were saying it?
Steve Harrison is traditional. He has worked closely with both Democrats and Republicans in the past, including donating to some conservative Republicans from time to time. And he enjoys talking with both conservatives and progressives. Yet he is publicly and unequivocally advocating Choice, Marriage Equality and withdrawal from Iraq. And he does so with a passion that is too often missing in the Democratic Party today.
To help Steve Harrison defeat Bush Lap Dog Fossella and restore traditional American Liberal values of fairness, equality and liberty, you can donate through Daily Gotham's official Act Blue Site. Please help me bring this man to Washington, D.C.
posted by mole333 | 11:27 AM
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