I discovered Daily Kos through Joe Conason a few weeks ago and have been reading it daily since. Great source, quality discussions. I wanted to share the letter to friends and family below, as it encapsulates my feelings about the Dean campaign and the reasons I joined it.
Family, friends:
I write today on the all important topic of the 2004 general election, following up on conversations we've had in the past few months and more intensely, during the holidays. I should note, at the outset, that those amongst us who are permanent residents can and do play a significant role. As such, we are allowed to contribute money, time and energy to the campaigns of individual candidates as well as political action committees (PACs) and progressive 527 organizations such as MoveOn.org. Elected officials are our employees, there to do a job on our behalf - be it locally or nationally. Our expectations of them can only be proportionate to the level of our participation in the process of hiring them in the first place.
As most of you know, in 151/2 years of permanent residency in the US - and while paying taxes and generally being a good citizen - I have maintained a respectful distance and observation stance vis-à-vis US election politics, locally or nationally. A large part of it is due to the fact that I originally came from a less than democratic society. The other part of it is that I was unable to ever identify with a candidate, let alone a party. Reagan was President when I arrived to the US, then Bush 1, then Clinton. They mostly irritated me, especially on foreign policy and Israel, global trade, international assistance, and of course, social injustice and economic inequity domestically - especially health care, social security and retirement. The Florida 2000 debacle was scary to me in too many ways to list here and completely turned me off ever getting involved.
However, not getting involved is no longer an option. It was clear to me, as I watched Democrats in Congress bow to the Bush Administration's recklessness over and over again, that I could not, would not support in any way anyone who voted to give George Bush the authority to go to war unilaterally in Iraq. It became equally clear to me that the media - in it's greatest majority - failed to play its role of watchdog on behalf of the people. And all polls were indicating such "popular support for Bush and the war" that I was starting to feel that we had all gone through some sort of a major lobotomy. Despondency doesn't describe my feelings then, as I anxiously anticipated four more years of Bush/Cheney and therefore more conflict around the world, more blood, more death, more suffering, more hate, more poverty, more despair.
I have followed the Dean candidacy from it's inception. He made sense to me but I kept wondering if he could be for real AND run as a Democrat. Washington Democrats had become even more repugnant to me than their fellow Republicans or neo-conservatives who at least exhibited the darkness of their purpose openly, proud as they are of their ideologies. While religious extremists were given free airtime ad nauseam to spout hate, I didn't see any particularly huge outcry, from Washington Democrats, about it. Nor did I see any real movement, on the part of Washington Democrats, to influence events in Palestine. What I saw instead - with the great exceptions of individuals such as R. Byrd, D. Kucinich and a few others - were Washington Democrats literally leading the way to the invasion of Iraq. And all the while, the polls kept going in favor of Bush and the war. I was feeling let down by fellow Americans.
So - I watched Dean, yes, closely and intently and waited. I waited to see if others - out there - would follow him or ridicule him. Both are happening, big time. I'm not surprised, at all, at the reaction of the media or the Washington establishment. I AM stunned - even as I monitored his campaign from day one - at the momentum Governor Dean keeps gathering.
I still dare not hope, frankly, that real change is about to engulf this nation as it should, as it needs to do if it is to retain its strength, dignity and honor. Nor do I imagine for one second that the election of one man alone will bring the kind of change we want, of the magnitude we need. The reason to hope - and get involved NOW - is the Dean constituency. The tip of that iceberg can be seen interacting daily on the Dean Blog, in Meet-ups, working as volunteers in all 50 states and naturally in Howard Dean's own performance as a leader. The single, most striking difference between this campaign and any other I've ever followed is that it seems truly propelled by a grassroots movement that has been able to come together through all the new technologies developed in the 90s. Should some horrible disaster strike and Gov. Dean disappear somehow, the Dean Constituency will remain organized, strong and active. This is what I am betting on.
Dean, and his current constituency have given us one major challenge - as they work hard to regain executive power - which I ask you to consider: if 2 million people each give $ 100, we can match (surpass?) Bush's 2004 fundraising estimate. We all know the importance of money in American politics. The country is huge and TV advertisements remain a treacherous and lethal weapon against insurgents with poor resources.
If nothing else, let's, at the very least contribute our share to the $ 100 Revolution. You can do it here. If you prefer not to contribute online, let me know and I'll collect the checks and send them to Dean for America.
