Great new Democratic site set up by Howard Dean

[SharonRB]

I received this e-mail from Howard Dean yesterday. This has all kinds of great features, including blogs, friends lists, event planning, etc. See below and go check it out! It would be great to use to set up local events.

Dear Sharon,


The ability of our citizens to engage in the political process is only as meaningful as the tools they have to do it.

Special interests and lobbyists have the money and power to dominate our political system -- and that's exactly what they've done under this Republican president and Republican Congress.

So today we officially launch a suite of tools in an unprecedented and permanent drive to empower Americans to take back our political process.

Why today? The Tuesday after Labor Day traditionally starts the homestretch of the election season. This year Americans face a choice of historic importance, and with the launch of these new tools you have more ability than ever to affect the outcome.

But the work we do now for 2006 must be the foundation for a permanent Democratic Party infrastructure, and these tools won't go away after Election Day. We're going to continue to expand them, and the networks of activism that solidify will power a 50-state Democratic Party for the first time in a generation.

That's why our brand new suite of web tools is called PartyBuilder.

Explore the tools here:

http://www.democrats.org/partybuilder

When it comes to the mechanics of running elections, Democrats have in the past been accused of showing up to a gunfight with only a knife.

No more.

In this new era of using the Internet to empower people to take meaningful action, we're way ahead of the Republicans. We're bringing the Democratic Party online and asking you to take control by putting more power into your hands than they ever could.

Here are a few of the things you can do:

Social Networking: Create a profile and connect with your network of friends and fellow Democrats
Groups: Create or join a group, which will have its own listserv, common blog and events
Search: Easily search for other people or groups in your area
Blogging: Create and promote your own blog
Events: Plan and manage your own real-world events
Fundraising: Fundraise from your contacts and track your progress
Letters to Editors: Easily connect with local, regional and national papers
Petitions: Make your voice heard on important issues
Messaging: Send and receive messages while keeping your email address private
And it's all tied together with an easy-to-use PartyBuilder Dashboard -- a simple, straightforward management center where you can keep everything organized.

If you already have a login and password for Democrats.org, you can use the same one. If you haven't explored our web site before, now is the time to create your account and explore:

http://www.democrats.org/partybuilder

From its voter suppression activities in Ohio, Florida and elsewhere to its scorched-earth political tactics nationwide, the Republican Party knows that it wins when people don't participate.

We choose a different path. We know that when more people participate, we win.

This year hundreds of thousands of new voters are joining the Democratic Party. They're joining a party of tens of millions of Americans that's more active than it's been in a generation -- one that's growing in all 50 states.

We're seeing a new generation of Americans become involved in politics, and they're becoming Democrats.

With PartyBuilder, they will have the tools to organize, communicate and build a community of Democrats committed to making America better.

Now let's get to work!

Thank you,

Howard

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.