Summer of Action!

Written by: John Schneider on Jun 21, 2006 5:58 PM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA Anne Arundel

Hello fellow DFA'ers!

Your DFA/Anne Arundel steering committee has been hard at work laying the ground work for a Summer of Action in progressive political activity in AA county. With the arrival of the first day of summer, it's time to get busy, and planning sessions are scheduled for next week!

Action Item #1 -- Iraq War Forum

At the national level, Democracy for America is planning a series of forums on the Iraq War this summer. Your local group has led the way in this area, producing the first such forum last October at the University of Maryland.

The event was a big success - so we're going to do it again, toward the end of August at a location in Anne Arundel.

Thus far, we have tentative commitments to speak from Lt. Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and former Secretary of Defense Dr. Lawrence Korb from the Center for American Progress. An invitation has been sent to Rep. Jack Murtha (PA-12) to speak as well.

The symposium is intended to get people thinking about the war - because recent polling shows that when the issue of Iraq is held up to the light, Progressives win. If you have the skills, experience or a desire to get involved with a high profile speaking event, this one is for you.

Action Item #2 -- Voter mobilization project

Steering committee member Hank Barru is in contact with several campaigns about conducting an innovative voter identification program in Anne Arundel county designed to locate and turn out new voters in sizable numbers. He used this technique in Minnesota to win a closely contested election for a progressive candidate in the state assembly. Hank is looking for help in the design and execution of the program, as well as campaign selection.

If you've been looking for an electoral project that can make a real difference in an Anne Arundel campaign, if you've done on-the-ground campaign work or want to develop experience, this one is for you.

How do you get involved?

Attend one (or both) of the following planning sessions on Wednesday, June 28.

Session 1 (Iraq War Forum): 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Session 2 (Voter turnout project): 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Location: Annapolis or Severna Park, to be determined based on RSVPs. To confirm attendance, go here: www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=960...

or send an e-mail to: aivset@yahoo.com

Either way, you'll get a confirmation of the event location several days prior to the meeting.

Thanks for helping make it a Summer of Action!

John

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Location: Anne Arundel County, MD 21146