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Leonard Boswell’s Campaign in Freefall as Election Day Nears
Released: May 30, 2008
BURLINGTON, VT – DemocracyForAmerica.com, our nation’s largest progressive political action organization, endorsed Ed Fallon for Congress because he offers his 3rd District constituents the leadership and intelligence they need in Washington. Ed Fallon’s opponent in the June 3rd primary is so out of touch with the needs of Iowans and so scared about losing this election his supporters have started to send false attack mailers to voters. (In an editorial published on May 29th the Des Moines Register debunks the false attack mailers: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080529/OPINION03/805290382/1110)
“What Leonard Boswell is selling, the voters aren’t buying.” said Jim Dean, Chair of Democracy for America. “Races like this are won at the door and over the phone. Ed Fallon’s grassroots campaign understands this and that is why he is going to win on June 3rd.”
Democracy for America will use its grassroots infrastructure in the 3rd District to turn out hundreds of volunteers to participate in get out the vote activities in support of Ed Fallon. DFA and its members have, time and again, shocked the political establishment by focusing on the neighbor-to-neighbor outreach that is crucial for victory in tough races. Earlier this year, DFA and its members were instrumental in helping Donna Edwards defeat incumbent Congressman Al Wynn in Maryland.
Ed Fallon’s campaign which is funded by small donations from individuals contrasts with Leonard Boswell’s campaign which is dependent on large contributions from PACs like AT&T and Wal-Mart. Ed Fallon has excited and energized voters from across the District who have volunteered in large numbers to drive his people-powered campaign to victory in the primary. While Ed Fallon talks about bringing high-paying jobs to Iowa and fixing our country’s broken health care system and ending the War in Iraq, Leonard Boswell lashes out in a pathetic and vain attempt to confuse voters about his own shoddy record.
“Leonard Boswell has had his chance and he has failed. Leonard Boswell has failed on education, on the environment, on farm issues, and on the War in Iraq,” said Daniel I. Medress, Communications Director of Democracy for America. “Ed Fallon has the grassroots support and understands the issues that matter to voters. That is why Ed Fallon was endorsed by the Des Moines Register and why Ed Fallon will win on June 3rd.”
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Say It Ain’t So, Joe: Democracy for America and J Street Call on Joe Lieberman To Reject Pastor John Hagee, Withdraw from keynote address to Pastor’s DC Israel Conference in July
Released: May 27, 2008
BURLINGTON, VT/WASHINGTON, D.C. – DemocracyForAmerica.com, our nation’s largest progressive political action organization, is partnering with J Street, the political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement, to demand that Sen. Joe Lieberman cut all ties with Pastor John Hagee and "Christians United for Israel”.
Last Thursday, Senator John McCain renounced the endorsement of Pastor Hagee and made it clear that his views are simply out of bounds for mainstream American politics. Now it’s Joe Lieberman’s turn to follow the lead of his good friend, the Republican nominee for President.
J Street and DFA launched the “Say Ain’t So Joe” petition asking Sen. Lieberman to reject Pastor Hagee’s hatemongering and to refuse to appear at the 2008 Christians United for Israel Washington-Israel Summit this July 22. Democracy for America and its over 700,000 members and J Street are asking Americans to sign the petition and join the movement to keep Pastor Hagee’s brand of religious intolerance out of American political discourse.
Pastor Hagee has a long and despicable record of hate speech that has been well documented:
On Muslims -- "All Muslims have a mandate to kill Christians and Jews."
On Hurrican Katrina -- "I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that."
On Women -- "Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? You can negotiate with a terrorist."
“Joe Lieberman has been hustled by a hate-filled con-artist who hides behind the cloak of religion to spread a particularly pernicious type of bigotry,” said Arshad Hasan, Executive Director of Democracy for America. “Does Joe Lieberman have no shame? Will he stand with a hatemonger and continue to praise this intolerant figure? Or, will he recognize that Pastor Hagee is no friend of Americans who believe that tolerance and understanding are things that make America great?”
“There should be no place in American politics – and certainly no place in the American Jewish community – for a man who holds John Hagee’s views,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street’s Executive Director. “John McCain finally got that on Thursday. Now it’s time for American Jewish leaders to admit that, for too long, Pastor Hagee’s supposed ‘pro-Israel’ views have bought him a free pass in the Jewish community. This has to end. It simply isn’t worth sacrificing core values and principles that the Jewish community holds dear for a political alliance of convenience. And the great irony is, Hagee in the end really isn’t ‘pro-Israel.’ His support for Israel is simply a means to an apocalyptic end of destruction or conversion for the Jewish people.”
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Democracy for America Starts the Right to Vote Campaign
Released: May 15, 2008
DFA Mobilizes Members Against Anti-voting Laws
BURLINGTON, VT – DemocracyForAmerica.com, our nation's largest progressive political action organization, today, kicked off the Right to Vote Campaign to stop Republican efforts to require citizens to present government-issued photo identifications before voting. DFA sent a message to its membership asking them to participate in the multi-pronged campaign to defeat the Republican anti-voting plan.
"The progressive community is not going to sit idly by while Republicans work to dismantle our democracy," said Jim Dean, Chair of Democracy for America. "These photo ID laws are just literacy tests dressed up in new clothes."
Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court upheld an Indiana law that requires voters to present a government-issued photo ID before casting a ballot in an election. Republicans say these laws are designed to protect against voter fraud, but the truth is that this is a solution in search of a problem. The real aim of these voter ID laws is to disenfranchise traditionally Democratic voters: the elderly, the poor, people of color, and new voters.
Already, six states in addition to Indiana — Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Michigan, and South Dakota — now require voters to show a photo ID before voting. 19 more states are considering passing such requirements. And, Missouri is trying to take all of this a step further and require voters to prove their citizenship before voting.
In his message to Democracy for America's members, Jim Dean said, "Republicans can't win elections based on their failed philosophies, so, they've latched onto a new plan: make it as hard and expensive as possible for people to exercise their constitutionally protected right to vote."
Democracy for America recognizes that voter ID laws are just the latest attempt to disenfranchise voters and place additional hurdles before citizens who want to participate in our political process. As a stunning example of how voter ID laws disenfranchise and punish voters, just last week in Indiana, as many as 12 nuns were turned away from their polling place because they did not have photo identifications.
Democracy for America has a long track record of successful grassroots action. DFA has helped elect over 550 progressives to office from Governor Deval Patrick in Massachusetts to Rep. Jerry McNerney in California's 11th Congressional District. DFA has been instrumental in the ongoing fight to block President Bush's attempt to grant retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies that participated in his illegal wiretapping program.
"The Right to Vote Campaign starts today with a petition that will be delivered to Democratic legislators and it will continue with online and offline action to beat back this outrageous attempt by Republicans to strip people of their right to vote," said Arshad Hasan, Executive Director of Democracy for America. "DFA and its members will be active across the country and, together, we will protect the right to vote."
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Democracy for America Members Mobilize to Stop Voter ID Law
Missouri Voter ID: A Solution in Search of a Problem
BURLINGTON, VT – DemocracyForAmerica.com, our nation's largest progressive political action organization, is standing firm in its opposition to Missouri's House Joint Resolution 48; a resolution that would require voters to prove citizenship before exercising their constitutionally guaranteed right to vote. This morning, DFA sent a message to its Missouri members calling on them to contact their state Senators and demand that they vote No on HJR 48.
"HJR 48 is as bad as it is unnecessary," said Jim Dean, Chair of DFA. "HJR 48 is a big government power grab that will disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of American citizens."
Republicans forced the resolution through the Missouri House of Representatives over the weekend and it will likely be voted on by the Senate this afternoon. The resolution will force American citizens who vote in Missouri to prove their citizenship by presenting an approved form of government-issued photo identification.
"It's a sad day when the General Assembly spends the people's time crafting legislation that is intended to disenfranchise elderly and poor citizens," said State Senator Joan Bray (St. Louis), an opponent of HJR 48. "My Republican colleagues try to talk a good game about protecting elections, but in the end this is just another example of big government run amok."
Democracy for America recognizes that voter ID laws are just the latest attempt to disenfranchise voters and place additional hurdles before citizens who want to participate in our political process. HJR 48 follows in a long line of measures designed to prevent people from voting. Like poll taxes and literacy tests, voter ID laws are intended not to protect the integrity of elections, but to disenfranchise traditionally Democratic voters. As a stunning example of how voter ID laws disenfranchise and punish voters, just last week in Indiana, as many as 12 nuns were turned away from their polling place because they did not have photo identifications.
"Republicans know the American people have rejected their failed philosophies, so, all they have left is to stop as many people as possible from voting," said Arshad Hasan, Executive Director of Democracy for America. "HJR 48 is a despicable and desperate attempt by Republicans to win an election through Draconian means when they can't win on their own merits."
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Mario Diaz-Balart Discovers Working Men and Women
Released: May 2, 2008
Republican Shocked to Learn that Individuals Care About Their Community
BURLINGTON -- DemocracyForAmerica.com, our nation’s largest progressive political action organization, endorsed Joe Garcia for the U.S. House because, unlike his opponent, he knows it’s the job of a Congressman to represent his constituents and not just high-dollar donors, lobbyists, and corporate PACs. Rep. Diaz-Balart, being unfamiliar with the idea of small-dollar donations from individuals concerned about their neighborhoods and country, tried to make a controversy out of Joe Garcia’s robust fundraising.
In yesterday’s Miami Herald, Lesley Clark reported that U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart is accusing Joe Garcia of 'hiding' the source of campaign contributions. As the article makes clear, campaign finance regulations do not require disclosure of donors' identities for contributions under $200.
“Joe Garcia is supported by real men and women who give $5, $10, or $20 contributions. This manufactured attack shows how little respect Mario Diaz-Balart has for small-dollar donors,” said Jim Dean, Chair of Democracy for America.
“Mario Diaz-Balart is, once again, showing how out-of-touch and unfit he is to serve in the United State House of Representatives,” said Wendy Sejour, resident of Florida’s 25th Congressional District.
Democracy for America has helped Joe Garcia raise over $30,000 from over 1000 donors for an average contribution of $28. These small-dollar donations have made his campaign a true threat and that is why Rep. Diaz-Balart is now blindly lashing out and making ridiculous, false accusations.
“Mario Diaz-Balart has been living in his ivory tower for too long,” said Daniel I. Medress, Communications Director of Democracy for America. “Rep. Diaz-Balart is frighteningly misinformed about how campaigns work and this is further proof that his days of misrepresenting South Florida are numbered.”
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Daniel I. Medress
Communications Director
802-651-3200 x148
media@democracyforamerica.com