Goodbye, Good Luck, and Keep Fighting! (by Jim Wade)

Written by: Pam Hoye on Dec 30, 2006 3:14 AM EST

This will be my final email as DFA meetup host, after nearly 2 years in the position.   January will bring a new moderator, our friend Bob McDaniel, and a new organization to the Meetup.com and DFA-link lists, so please keep your eyes peeled.  Carol Changus will take over as the Meetup.com organizer, and Pam Hoye will take over as the DFA-Link organizer.  The meetup steering committee is comprised of Bob McDaniel, Carol Changus, Carlene Johnson, Leon Thompson, Fae Desmond, and Kelly King. Please speak to any one of them if you are interested in joining; the team meets once a month, and has always had an open-door policy.
DFA has always been really clear about what we're fighting for, and for whom.  We are fighting, not only for generally progressive principles and candidates, but for a deeper politics of authenticity, best embodied in politicians like Paul Wellstone and Howard Dean.  We want our leaders to get into politics for the right reasons--to do something for their community and country?and to unapologetically stick to their principles.  (Genuine grass-roots progressives who don't triangulate about their core values)  Here in San Diego, we are blessed with many such leaders:   people like Bob Filner, Francine Busby, Roxana Folescu, Chris Larkin, Mary Salas, and John Rinaldi, to name only a few.

In Bob's case, his start in politics was getting beaten in a Mississippi jail for two months while on a college "vacation," so that others could enjoy the blessings of liberty; for Francine, it meant standing up to challenge Duke Cunningham, and speaking the unpopular truth about him, long before his treason became generally known; and for John Rinaldi, it meant standing up and challenging Duncan Hunter, in a similar way, after burying too many of his friends, felled in battle for lack of adequate armor.   These are our people, and each of these principled progressives entered politics for the right reasons to serve.  We need to fight for them -- and never STOP fighting for them.  My greatest privilege, as DFA host, has been to work for these authentic American heroes.

As my earlier email indicated, not everyone in the leadership of the California Democratic Party shares our values; indeed, too many of them sell out their own communities by viewing public service solely as a means to personal gain.  (Juan Vargas and the Inzunza family are just the local examples.)  And that?s why it?s so important for us to get involved in the CDP; please run for a delegate position, and do what YOU can to re-make the party in the image of DFA.  And let?s not just work within the party to force the needed changes; let?s keep working outside the party as well, to bring pressure from all sides--including DFA. 

We need to coordinate and work well with other progressive groups who can make a difference, and especially local student groups who are only getting their start in progressive politics, and represent the future of our movement.  You can also support John Hartley in his efforts to bring about clean money reforms through the initiative process, or work with the Richard Barrera and Don Cohen at the Center for Policy Initiatives (CPI) on a variety of non-partisan reform issues.  Get involved in the "Courage Campaign", led by Rick Jacobs (Dean's former California manager), to bring a real grass-roots focus to the CDP, or look for ways to work with the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), our trench-mates in the battle for the soul of the Democratic party.  And please support Judy Hess in her efforts to re-organize her local PDA Metro chapter and find a new meeting time and place; she deserves our help and support.  Most of all, let's keep our "eyes on the prize", never forget what we're fighting for, and keep working together for future success.<p><p>Here are two wonderful charitable organizations fighting for peace and justice, and fighting third world poverty in really practical ways:
    http://www.afsc.org         
    http://www.heifer.org
(Contributing or working with the AFSC will have the added advantage of making you the subject of illegal Pentagon spying.)
Thank you to everyone, and especially to Valerie Polichar, my predecessor as Meetup host, for her tireless work in building our successful meetups, and to Carol Changus, for her tireless work in recruiting guest speakers to keep these meetups going.
   Jim Wade

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