DU project: proposed Activist Corps action - need your ideas

[EarlG]

Over the weekend we received http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=106x32155">some suggestions for the first DU Activist Corps action of 2008. I think most practical suggestions were the ones about going after McCain's credibility - highlighting stuff about him that the MSM barely wants to touch - and spreading this information on a grass-roots level. The simplest method of delivery would probably be a viral email that members of the DU Activist Corps can send to their friends, family, co-workers, email lists, etc.

Note that UNLIKE the Obama smear emails, everything in our email should be true and verifiable. Also, I think it would be counter-productive to include stuff about McCain's military service (for example, the number of planes he crashed) so please don't bother with those.

So here are my first suggestions for the email - please chime in with your own, and I'll compile the best suggestions before we do the announcement tomorrow.

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain came back from Vietnam and cheated on his disabled wife before leaving her (and his three children) and marrying a rich heiress 17 years his junior. McCain obtained a marriage license for his second marriage while he was still married to his first wife.

DID YOU KNOW? The McCains own ten homes, valued at more than $13 million, including TWO beachfront condos in a swanky California town.

DID YOU KNOW? The McCains regularly charge hundreds of thousands of dollars a MONTH on their credit cards.

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain's chief economic adviser, rich Swiss Bank lobbyist Phil Gramm, recently told the Washington Times that the current economic crisis is a "mental recession" and said that America is a "nation of whiners."

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain has repeatedly stated that he needs to be "educated" about the economy, and that "The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should." Unfortunately the man responsible for educating him is Phil Gramm.

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain recently called Social Security "an absolute disgrace." McCain was a big supporter of President Bush's unpopular plan to ditch Social Security and replace it with private accounts.

DID YOU KNOW? American taxpayers spend $340 million EVERY SINGLE DAY in Iraq. Yet John McCain thinks it would be okay to keep our brave troops there for up to "one hundred years."

Okay, let's have your ideas!

[NattPang]

1. I posted my idea -

Write to the Media asking coverage of candidate events.
No more commentators talking while they show us pretty pictures
of Barack Obama's mouth moving.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=106x32181

[EarlG]

5. I mean specifically your ideas for

what should be in this email.

[patrice]

2. I'd can the "DID YOU KNOW?" and use FACT: and then include

source cites.

[EarlG]

7. I'd prefer not to cite sources

I'm going to check that all the stuff in the email is factually correct, but I think it would be a mistake to cite sources, because then it's easier for the person who's reading the email to dismiss the messenger instead of the message.

As long as we know that everything in the email is true, that's good enough for me.

[patrice]

8. Won't there be just as many, or more, who will discredit it because it isn't sourced?

I get the point that some will look at some sources and that will be the end of it, "No need to discuss something from that liberal rag ___________________!"

But aren't there other souces that they won't discount immediately? Possibly, No, because anything that makes some people uncomfortable gets accused of being of Liberal bias.

Maybe we ARE referring to audiences, unlike the DU, that don't care whether something is sourced or not.

And maybe they will repeat the facts more without sources, even if they were sources that they could not discount.

[EarlG]

10. I think that by including sources

people might be more likely to think of the email as an academic document, which could be an immediate turn-off. I believe it would be more effective if it came across as conversational, with a sort of friendly-but-concerned tone. I think it's more likely to be read and forwarded if stikes an emotional chord, and sources might spoil that effect.

I want to make sure that we know all the facts are true and verified before it goes out. That way if someone receives the email, reads an item and thinks "that can't possibly be true," they can, if they want, choose to take a more active role and Google it. This makes them more involved in the process, so when they get their Google results and discover that it IS true, maybe it will have more of an impact on them. I don't know if this would be the case or not, it's just a thought.

[World Citizen]

15. it might be worth trying ...

some email blasts WITH sources and some without

[patrice]

24. I see your points about source cites.

I hope we can agree upon the broadest possible spectrum of the issues being represented in related facts about John McCain.

- Or -

We could do issue focus messages in which all of the facts about John McCain point to one important issue and the result is a detailed portrait of his true attitude toward that issue.

[babylonsister]

3. I'd like to see something in here about how McCain has NOT supported

the troops, his lies to the contrary...


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6091953


During a March 2005 Senate budget debate, McCain voted to kill an amendment that would have "increase veterans medical care by $2.8 billion in 2006." That amendment lacked an assured funding stream, but lest one mistake this incident for a maverick's stance against budget-busting, there's more. Just a year later McCain voted against an amendment that would have "increase Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes." Two days after it failed, he voted to kill "an assured stream of funding for veterans' health care that take into account the annual changes in the veterans' population and inflation to be paid for by restoring the pre-2001 top rate for income over $1 million, closing corporate tax loopholes and delaying tax cuts for the wealthy." That amendment died quietly, forty-six to fifty-four.

In September 2006 McCain voted to table an amendment to a Defense appropriations bill that would have prevented the department from contracting out support services at Walter Reed. The amendment was indeed tabled--by a vote of fifty to forty-eight, the sort of margin a true veterans' senator might have been able to flip if he really cared about veterans' healthcare.

"John McCain voted against veterans in 2004, '05, '06 and '07," says Jeffrey David Cox, who spent twenty-two years as a VA nurse before moving to the American Federation of Government Employees, where he serves as secretary-treasurer (AFGE represents employees of several federal agencies, including the VA). Cox is right. Under Bush, McCain has voted for measures that target so-called Priority-7 and Priority-8 veterans (those whose injuries are not service-related and whose incomes are above a low minimum threshold) for annual fees, higher co-pays and even suspended enrollment. Priority-7 veterans without dependents earn more than $24,644 annually. Priority-8 veterans without dependents earn an annual minimum of $27,790.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080602/beutler

[islandmkl]

4. i would add some 'vote statistics' of mccain's in reference to veterans/GI bills...

his 'hawkishness' does not transfer to either taking care of veterans or providing lasting securities to enlistees/current military personnel...

his 'approval rating' among veterans' groups is dismal, except for the groups that give him 90% for being a POW...

edit to add: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080709184025AAZZWQm

and: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/08/mccain-veterans-award-redux/

[World Citizen]

6. for the first entry you could add that...

he lied about when he started dating Cindy in his book.

[World Citizen]

9. how about...

Did you know that John MaCain lied about his vets voting record?
At his townhall meeting in Rochester, MI, John McCain lied about his veteran's voting record saying, "I received the highest award from literally every veterans organization in America." The truth is, the recognition McCain has received from veterans groups is not "high awards" but failing grades. Check the record for yourself. Why does he feeling the need to lie?

[EarlG]

11. I like that suggestion

Do you have a link on hand? (I can search if not.)

[World Citizen]

14. here it is

http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/John_McCain_lies_about_his_vets_voting_record

[World Citizen]

12. another possibility

Did you know that:
McCain voted against efforts to restore $50 billion in excessive Medicare cuts to pay for new tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.




http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5369/is_200805/ai_n25501425

[World Citizen]

13. and another

Did you know?
John McCain has not voted (NV) on the last 19 proposed bills in the Senate (dating back to 2005) concerning Environmental Issues.
Is the environment important to him?


http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=53270

[Imperialism Inc.]

16. Did you know..

Any links are for verification not the email obviously. I'm sneaking this in at work so I realize it needs work. Any editors reading?

-McCain was initially in favor of flying the confederate flag and then changed his position. When asked why he originally was for it he said it was an act of cowardice and that he did it due to "ambition". What other lies for ambition is he telling us?

-John McCain claimed to have a perfect Veterans voting record but groups like Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave him a D in 2006.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/07/8973_john_mccain_bad_week.html
http://www.iava.org/full-ratings-list

-McCain has attacked Obama for not voting on a bill to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group. McCain didn't vote on the bill, either.


-John McCain is considering Phil Gramm for the position of treasury secretary. A man whose law opened the loophole that Enron used and whose banking legislation is at least partially responsible for the current mortgage crisis. The same man who was lobbying for UBS bank about the sub-prime crisis and advising McCain at the same time.
^^^^
(Needs serious work. Which bits and how to word them?)

-McCain, like Bush, supports using the form of torture known as waterboarding

-McCain wanted to change the Republican Party platform to protect abortion rights in cases of rape and incest. Now he doesn't.

-that by using the promise of public financing to secure loans for his campaign and then opting out of public financing that McCain is in violation of campaign financing laws

Edit: some more lines starting with "McCain, like Bush, " would probably be a good idea. I like that format pointing up how much McCain will be more of the same.

[EarlG]

17. This is good stuff

Thanks.

[Imperialism Inc.]

18. Couple more I thought of

DID YOU KNOW? McCain, like Bush, thinks tax cuts should favor the wealthy. If you make under $112k per year your taxes will be lower under Obama's plan than they will be under McCain's.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/11/news/economy/candidates_taxproposals_tpc/index.htm?cnn=yes Some of the article sucks but the table lays out the facts pretty clearly.

McCain's health care proposals will cause you to pay taxes on the value of your employer provided health care plan, where most Americans get their insurance. Most economists agree that over time this will force people to abandon their employer plans. This is no accident, conservative organizations like the CATO institute have been advocating doing away with employer provided health insurance for years.

Again, I'm not married to the wording and details of either of these. I have several links for the second but I'd have to track them down.

[World Citizen]

19. Did you know that

while Jon McCain is trying to convince you that high oil prices are due to environmental regulations that limit off-shore drilling, Department of Energy figures show that allowing unlimited drilling offshore would lower the price of gasoline by less than 6 cents a gallon. And not until the year 2025.


http://politicalirony.com/2008/06/23/mccain-lies-media-repeats-lies-as-truth/

[EarlG]

20. UPDATED VERSION

Here's the updated version with the addition of suggestions from nam78_two, World Citizen, WakingLife, nc4bo, berni_mccoy.

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain came back from Vietnam and cheated on his disabled wife before leaving her (and his three children) and marrying a rich heiress 17 years his junior. McCain obtained a marriage license for his second marriage while he was still married to his first wife.

DID YOU KNOW? The McCains own ten homes, valued at more than $13 million, including TWO swanky beachfront condos in California. The McCains failed to pay taxes on one of those beach homes for the past four years.

DID YOU KNOW? The McCains regularly charge hundreds of thousands of dollars a MONTH on their credit cards.

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain's chief economic adviser, rich Swiss Bank lobbyist Phil Gramm, recently told the Washington Times that the current economic crisis is a "mental recession" and said that America is a "nation of whiners."

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain has repeatedly stated that he needs to be "educated" about the economy, and that "The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should." Unfortunately the man responsible for educating him is Phil Gramm.

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain regularly plays craps for "a few thousand dollars at a time." He loves to gamble and is very superstitious.

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain recently called Social Security "an absolute disgrace." McCain was a big supporter of President Bush's unpopular plan to ditch Social Security and replace it with private accounts.

DID YOU KNOW? American taxpayers spend $340 million EVERY SINGLE DAY in Iraq. Yet John McCain thinks it would be okay to keep our brave troops there for up to "one hundred years."

DID YOU KNOW? Disabled Veterans of America give John McCain a D rating on his voting record for Veterans; Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America give him a 20% approval rating.

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain says he wants to save the environmnent, but the League of Conservation Voters ranks him DEAD LAST among all 535 members of Congress, with a 0% rating.

DID YOU KNOW? McCain has failed to vote on the last 19 environmental bills in the Senate, dating back to 2005.

DID YOU KNOW? Every single day for the first four months of this year, 1.6 million barrels of U.S. oil were exported to foreign countries - up 33% from last year. Instead of putting a stop to this, John McCain and George W. Bush agree that we should give the oil companies more opportunities to pollute our pristine coastlines and drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

DID YOU KNOW? The Department of Energy estimates that if we start the McCain/Bush offshore drilling plan today, we could lower gas prices by 6 cents - but not until the year 2025.

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain, like George W. Bush, supports using the form of torture known as waterboarding.

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain promised to use public financing for his campaign, then he used those promises as collateral to take out large private loans. Once he'd secured the money he needed, he decided to opt out of public financing after all.

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain will continue George W. Bush's "rich get richer, poor get poorer" fiscal policies. If you make under $112,000 per year you will pay higher taxes under John McCain than under Barack Obama.

What do you think so far? Anyone want to do some fact double-checking?

[World Citizen]

21. its good, but maybe too long and...

attention span challenging. With a couple of additions I think it could be divided into two different blasts.

[Imperialism Inc.]

22. I think you got the vet ratings reversed. DFA gave him the 20% and

IAVA the D grade.

Edit: I meant DAV not DFA. I think it is Disabled American Veterans. http://capwiz.com/dav/scorecard.xc

[Imperialism Inc.]

23. Wow. I didn't read my own link on the tax plans to the end!

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/11/news/economy/candidates_taxproposals_tpc/index.htm?cnn=yes

"the McCain plan gives nearly one-quarter of its benefits to households making more than $2.8 million annually"

That is shocking to me. Is there a way to incorporate that fact? Maybe I am overreacting but that seems astounding. But, maybe it isn't really needed. Still, wow.

[World Citizen]

26. when will this be ready to send out?

I don't have much of an email list and those that I have are people that DO KNOW this stuff. Is there a procedural operation plan? What is needed at this point?

[babylonsister]

25. I hope you put something in this about McCain's stand on abortion

and the SC. I met a gal last week who couldn't believe he would abolish Roe v. Wade. I'm sure she's not alone.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/

[EarlG]

27. The action has been posted

See here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=106x32240

Thank you to everyone who contributed ideas for the email! Sorry if I didn't use your suggestion. If this action seems successful, we can do a "Part 2" in a few weeks with more John McCain facts.