This sounds great! I urge that we all get behind this effort. -- Liberty Belle
----- Original Message -----
From: Eli Pariser, MoveOn PAC
Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2005 10:33 AM
Subject: Don't get mad, get even: our big plan starts today.
As President Bush parties with his corporate donors, we're announcing our big plan to fight back: an unprecedented, two-year, neighbor-to-neighbor campaign to take back the House, win key Senate seats, and fight the right wing on the issues Americans care about. We need to raise $500,000 to get this campaign rolling. Can you help?
Donate Now!
Dear MoveOn member,
Today, as Bush's corporate donors celebrate their victory, it may feel like the progressive America we're all fighting for is very far away. But it doesn't have to be that way.
In 1994, just two years after a big presidential defeat, Republicans with a pro-corporate, right-wing agenda swept to power in the House. From there, they gained control of all three branches of government. It's our turn. If we can convert the passion and energy of the progressive movement we've built together into power on the ground, we can take back Congress and make 2006 our 1994.
Today, we're launching our plan to do that. Together, MoveOn members will build an organized network of neighbors and friends in every Congressional district to stop the Bush agenda. We'll organize press events, we'll hold living room meetings with our neighbors, and we'll meet with local leaders on the issues we care about most -- Social Security, right-wing judges, media reform, and more. We'll develop a national message together. And then we'll use this field network to take back the House in 2006. It's bold, it's audacious, and it's yours: the plan comes directly from tens of thousands of your comments about MoveOn's future.
Making this watershed moment come true will take real time, real energy, and, of course, real money -- we estimate at least $5 million over the next two years. We'll be spending the next months getting the program off the ground -- hiring organizers, building infrastructure, and recruiting the grassroots leaders who will make it all happen (stay tuned!). But we need to raise $500,000 this week to get this thing going.
Can you help? You can contribute by credit card or check quickly and securely at:
https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/2006.htmlNewt Gingrich's "Contract with America" swept in 54 new Republican representatives in 1994 and brought conservatives to power. The 15-seat gain that Democrats need in 2006 is modest by comparison. And we have three key advantages over Republicans in 2006:
1. Republican leaders have dramatically overreached -- they've staked the Party's future on a deceptive and extreme agenda. And now that they control all three branches of government, they're responsible for everything that happens. By exposing right-wing corruption and deception one community at a time, we can block their agenda and turn their strength against them.
2. A good team of dedicated volunteers can make a big difference in a House race -- much more so than in the race for President. So our energy in 2006 will have an ever larger impact.
3. We have enormous momentum from our presidential campaign. Today, the progressive movement is bigger and stronger than it has been in decades. Hundreds of thousands of new leaders got involved in politics in 2004, and we developed new tools that revolutionized grassroots organizing and fundraising. At MoveOn, our Leave No Voter Behind Campaign showed that by linking our members together locally, and focusing on systematic voter outreach, we could have an unprecedented impact -- literally turning out more voters than Kerry's victory margin in at least three key battleground states, and turning out hundreds of thousands more in battleground neighborhoods nation-wide.
In 2004 we ran a field program in 10,000 neighborhoods in the swing states. To win in 2006, we're going to use what we've learned to repeat it in every neighborhood in America. We'll ask MoveOn members and their friends to form local teams and commit a few hours a month, starting now. We'll use a variety of new and creative tactics to reach millions of people at their homes and through the media, to build the broad, national momentum for change that it will take to sweep aside our opposition.
In key swing districts where conservative incumbents are vulnerable, we'll take extra steps to publicly hold them accountable for every vote they cast against the public interest. And instead of starting three months before the election, we'll begin now to recruit leaders, persuade voters, and build a grassroots base for victory.
Changing the political direction of the country will not be cheap. In order to proceed with confidence and start hiring staff, developing materials and advertisements, and targeting carefully, we need to know that we won't run short of funds partway through, so today's request for support is an important yardstick. Can you help us raise the $500,000 we need to begin?
Click here:
https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/2006.html This big strategy stems from thousands of emails and conversations with MoveOn members, both online and at house parties and in-person gatherings. You told us to focus on key issues like social security, election reform, and energy policy. And we will, with a combination of high-profile, coordinated national grassroots actions (like our anti-war vigils) and constituent pressure in targeted swing districts. You told us you wanted to develop a progressive message. That national message -- which we'll develop from the grassroots on up -- will be a critical part of the 2006 campaign. And you emphasized the importance of intensive, local, grassroots organizing. That's what this plan is all about.
By combining the strategies MoveOn members are most passionate about, we can stop the Republican agenda, win at the ballot box, and put the country on a progressive path.
Sincerely,
--Adam, Eli, and the MoveOn PAC Team
January 20th, 2005
PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC www.moveonpac.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
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