National Political Organization Headquartered in Johnson County, IL

WeDemocrats an independent political group, which finds, trains, and supports fiscally responsible and socially progressive candidates at all levels of office across the country. They claim to harness the power of an enormous grassroots network to get these candidates elected and to work towards positive change from the bottom up.

“Our goal is to educate the American public about the disastrous record of the current Republican Government, and to create a positive issue environment for the success of a progressive agenda”, said Ron McBride, founder and organizer of the organization.

“Despite the fact that a significant majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the current direction of the country, the Republican leadership in Washington continues to pursue and enact a right wing, special interest agenda, contrary to the wishes and expectations of their constituents.” McBride said.

“In 2006, WeDemocrats’ objective is to shine the spotlight on Republican members of Congress, through aggressive advocacy campaigns aimed at educating and informing the public about these members' voting records, issue positions and ethical behavior.” He continued.

Inspired by the presidential campaign of Howard Dean, and his Democracy for America, WeDemocrats was formed as a political action committee as well as a coalition of progressive groups, dedicated to supporting fiscally responsible, socially progressive candidates at all levels of government—from school board to the presidency.

WeDemocrats is new, they began as a local group that within months became statewide in Illinois, then others, mainly members of Democracy for America, the grassroots organization began by Gov. Howard Dean began joining, so membership was opened to DFA members on Oct. 5th, 2006. Democracy For America (DFA) is now headed by, Gov. Dean’s brother Jim Dean, while the Governor is now head of the Democratic National Committee.

Three weeks after starting, the group now has 750+ members in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The National Steering Committee is projecting over 1,000 members by Election Day November 7th.

“DFA has 886 chapters in all states and D.C.”, said McBride, “but there are over 3,000 counties in the United States. WeDemocrats will be electing County Coordinators in each county, and State Coordinators in each State, giving us the ability to coordinate between the educational endeavors of DFA and the Democratic Party.”

WeDemocrats is headquartered in Simpson, Johnson County, Illinois. Join WeDemocrats at: http://dfalink.com/group.php?id=2043

Contact:
Ron McBride
netquest@shawneelink.net

Time and again, voters in Johnson County have proven that when a politician in office, isn’t doing his job right, that they will remove him from that office, even if it means voting for the other party.

When Glenn Poshard ran for Governor, Johnson County, which is about 80%, Republican voted an overwhelming 94% for the Democratic Candidate Poshard. When two former States Attorney’s failed in their posts, they were dumped by the voters of Johnson County by 4 to 1 and even 5 to 1 margins.

Johnson County is a rural county; therefore everyone assumes that in the upcoming Congressional race in IL-19 that it will vote overwhelmingly for John Shimkus. But from talking to others in and around the County, I am not so sure. Danny Stover is the Democratic Candidate for the IL-19 seat, and he is not only a down home boy, he is accessible and well liked where ever he goes.

Shimkus a multi millionaire, who holds a 10 to one advantage over Stover in his war chest, has ignored many in this district, favoring the East Metro area over the more rural areas, he uses his millions and connection to the Republican power elite in Washington to stay in office.

Shimkus who is under fire for the alleged cover up of the Mark Foley sex scandal in Washington, who had a lobbyist on his staff as his campaign PAC manager, who has taken huge donations from Big Power companies in support of their ridiculous attempt to raise the electric rates that you and I have to pay, some are reporting 30-50% increase in your light bill. In 1998 Shimkus received a large donation from Stuart Levine the indicted Businessman.

Levine whose appointment is being blamed on Rod Blagojevich, but who is a large Republican contributor and has been for years. Levine was Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan’s largest contributor and, over the years, mightily pumped up Lee Daniels campaign funds. Looking at only state campaign contributions, Illinois media tagged Levine as a major Republican contributor.

Look I don’t care if you are a Democrat or a Republican, when it comes time to vote, just do it. Vote for the best man or woman for the job, not because he or she is a Republican or Democrat.

Why do we all Democrat and Republican vote for Elry a Republican as Sheriff election after election? Because he is the best man for the job. Why vote for Danny Stover a Democrat in this upcoming election for Congressman from the 19th District of Illinois? Because he is the best man for the job.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch and the Springfield State Journal, and many other papers and media have endorsed Stover for Congress after meeting with both candidates and discussing the issues. Why? Because as they say he is the best man for the job.

Ron can be reached at: netquest@shawneelink.net
http://dfalink.com/group.php?id=2043

John Shimkus, is just another Republican who wants us to 'stay the course' with the Bush administration's failed policy in Iraq.

But wait a minute, I forgot, Bush said on a ABC interview, he never ever used "stay the course".

Even though his White House press secretary Tony Snow said Monday that President Bush was no longer using the phrase “stay the course” when speaking about the Iraq war, in a new effort to emphasize flexibility in the face of some of the bloodiest violence there since the 2003 invasion.

“He stopped using it, It left the wrong impression about what was going on and it allowed critics to say, ‘Well, here’s an administration that’s just embarked upon a policy and not looking at what the situation is,’ when, in fact, it is the opposite.”

Another Republican LIE! In his interview on ABC Bush claimed he never ever used "stay the course". Now Snow says "he stopped using it".

Snow asked, “Where would anyone have gotten that idea?” Try your boss Tony.

"We will stay the course. We will help this young Iraqi democracy succeed," he said in Salt Lake City in August.

"We will win in Iraq so long as we stay the course," he said in Milwaukee in July.

"I saw people wondering whether the United States would have the nerve to stay the course and help them succeed," he said after returning from Baghdad in June. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch 10-13-2006]
John Shimkus, the proverbial ‘YES’ man of President Bush, who votes 98% of the time along Bush lines, is a true ‘stay the course’ Repbulican

Shimkus’s refusal to take responsibility for his failure to protect Congressional pages comes as the American people are rejecting the Republican leadership’s handling of the scandal. According to a recent poll, 79 percent of Americans believe House Republican leaders were more concerned about their political standing than about the safety of teenage Congressional pages. [New York Times, 10/10/06]

Instead of explaining to voters why he failed to launch an investigation into whether Foley had inappropriate contact with other Congressional pages or alert criminal authorities to the possibility that a member of Congress was preying on minors, Shimkus has joined House Republican leaders in trying to deflect blame. Last week, in his desperation to avoid responsibility, Shimkus called the page scandal “a political agenda by the Democrats” and said the media had “fallen hook, line and sinker” for an “October surprise” orchestrated by his “former friends who are Democrats and who are leading this charge.” [opley News Service, 10/4/06]

House Majority Leader John Boehner today echoed Shimkus’s outlandish and unsubstantiated claims by calling the scandal a “political ploy.” [Associated Press, 10/13/06]

Despite a cloud of denials, deflections and finger-pointing, it is clear that key members of the Republican House leadership failed to take action to protect students in the Congressional page program, choosing instead to sit on their hands for as much as a year after learning that Republican Congressman Mark Foley had sent inappropriate emails to a minor. According to reports, Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert, House Majority Leader John Boehner and National Republican Congressional Campaign Chairman Tom Reynolds all knew about Foley's emails as early as last year and did nothing. Posted in [Democratic National Committee on October 2, 2006 12:14 PM]

“Unfortunately, Republicans like John Shimkus just can’t understand that the American people are looking at this as concerned parents, not as Republicans or Democrats. They don’t want more finger pointing, they want real leaders who will take responsibility for their actions and stop putting politics ahead of the safety of our children.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch 10-13-2006]

Vote for Danny Stover, a man who understands the people of his district, a man who will bring honesty and integrity back to Washington.Take the smirk off George W. Bush's face. Wipe the smug look off John Shimkus’ face. Don't back down. Don't stop working.

Ron McBride
Join WeDemocrats at: http://dfalink.com/group.php?id=2043
Help Stover in November, Please Donate NOW! http://www.actblue.com/page/wedemocrats

I believe that elections are contests of ideas. Anyone who seeks public office needs to declare their positions publicly - before the votes are cast - and then be held accountable to represent their constituents if and when they are victorious.

Have you ever voted for someone then after the election said, “Hey I want my vote back” we all have. One of the reasons has been that the candidates don’t talk about the issues and their position on them, take John Shimkus (please do) Republican in the IL-19 Congressional District. Shimkus refuses to talk about the issues, he is more concerned with covering up what his sick and crooked friends in Washington are doing.

Danny Stover his opponent, and Democratic Candidate is very vocal on his position on the issues and has repeatedly called for Shimkus to debate him, Shimkus has refused to even acknowledge the requests. http://www.stoverforcongress.com

To insure that we have a campaign with candidates that are speaking about issues, WeDemocrats http://dfalink.com/group.php?id=2043 are publishing the following key points, and providing grassroots support for the following progressive issues*:

1. End the War in Iraq immediately; bring Illinois’s National Guard back home to Illinois to insure real homeland security.

2. Say NO to the Death Penalty under any and all circumstances. The US remains alongside China, Iran and Saudi Arabia as one of only a handful of nations that execute people, a form of punishment that has been abandoned by all of Europe and most of the rest of the civilized world.

3. Work to pass a full measure of meaningful campaign ethics and finance reforms.

4. Support a lead role in furthering the efforts to find cures for illness through embryonic stem cell research.

5. Support a woman’s right to choose whether or not to terminate an unwanted pregnancy and guarantee that all individuals have unrestricted access to purchase prescribed pharmaceutical birth control at any licensed pharmacy.

6. Work to develop and transition to alternative energy systems that derive power from “flow” sources like sun, wind and geothermal rather than “fuel” sources like coal, oil, bio-diesel and nuclear. In the interim Agricultural Innovations (Ethanol and Bio-diesel) could be acceptable.

7. Demand that sexual preference never be utilized as a constitutional means to deny equal rights to some individuals.

8. Oppose any restrictions on worker’s rights to organize Labor unions or bargaining agencies and work to establish regular annual increases in the state minimum wage keyed to the rate of inflation. The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 an hour since 1997, but it should currently be at least $7.25.

9. Work for much needed educational reform and financial support in correcting a host of problems from low K-12 teacher’s pay to ever-increasing tuition levels at all public universities.

10. Support the DNR to serve as a watchdog on the environment and further that effort and authority by restoring the office of public intervener.

11. Health care policy is mentioned last because it’s simply the elephant in the corner… probably the single most important issue to everyday citizens, yet one that Republicans continue to dodge with a steady stream of divisive, emotionally charged, but worthless time-wasting legislation. When the discussion is shaped by loyalties to big business contributors that include the pharmaceutical and insurance industry you can be sure the interests of the citizen community will be ignored while legislators work to run out the clock. Ooooops, game over. Maybe next session.

*These issues are selected by WeDemocrats and are not necessarily the same as those supported by any candidate, its merely our watch list.

Average citizens are tired of waiting for their elected representatives to deal with these real, life-or-death issues in a creative, non-partisan manner that reflects a genuine concern for their best interests. I am just one of those citizens who would like to see some progress. Please, remember Danny Stover’s name on November 7, 2006 when you vote in the election. A Progressive Democrat for Illinois’ 19th Congressional District.

Ron McBride
Join WeDemocrats at: http://dfalink.com/group.php?id=2043

Over the last six years, the Republican Administration and Congress have repeatedly given the small business people in this country the cold shoulder, while attempting to mislead them with lies and deceptions, it isn't working any longer.

Republican Congress Criticized for SMB Failures
By Keith Girard of AllBusiness.com October 23, 2006

When it comes to Congress's track record on small business issues, the glass is half empty, according to two small business groups.
The American Small Business League (ASBL) and the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce assert that the Republican-controlled Congress failed to act on nine specific issues that would have benefited small businesses, even though "Republicans have promoted themselves as the party of small business."

In particular, ASBL President Lloyd Chapman said Congress did nothing to address the findings of a dozen government investigations that documented the misallocation of billions of dollars in small business contracts to major corporations.

The groups also said Congress did nothing for six years while Bush consistently cut the Small Business Administration's budget and staff. "The poor response to Hurricane Katrina is a dramatic example of this," said Chapman.
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If the Republicans are counting on the small business persons vote, they may be counting their chickens before they hatch. Speaking of Chickens, Republican IL-19 Congressman John Shimkus who supported Bush in all his maneuvers, saw the St. Louis Post Dispatch endorse his opponent Danny Stover for Congress www.stoverforcongress.com and this is the same paper that not a month ago was singing the praises of Shimkus and ignoring Stover. I would say the Chickens should come home to roost (read retire).
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St. Louis Post Dispatch endorses Danny Stover!
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/6E30DBA4AC9EE8568625720E00084DB8?OpenDocument

"In the Illinois 19th, which takes in a bright red swath of Illinois from Springfield southward, Rep. John Shimkus, 48, was cruising toward a sixth term until his name popped up in the investigation of the scandal surrounding former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla. As head of the House Page Board, Mr. Shimkus confronted Mr. Foley in the fall of 2005 over one relatively innocuous e-mail to a former page. Mr. Shimkus says he had no inkling that Mr. Foley's problems went deeper. "There's a lot of guilt," e said, adding "I'm pretty clueless on people's private lives."

We take him at his word. His consistent support for the White House's economic policies and incursions against civil liberties is harder to accept. Since 2004, when he broke his pledge not to seek more than four terms in Congress, Mr. Shimkus seems to have settled in as a member of the "go along to get along" crowd.

His Democratic challenger is Dan Stover, 55, the retired chairman of the political science department at Kaskaskia College in Centralia. He says Mr. Shimkus' "shallow and incompetent" investigation of the Foley affair brought a newfound attention to his race, but acknowledges he faces a "dollars and lines" problem. Mr. Shimkus has 10 times more dollars to spend on his campaign than Mr. Stover, and the 19th district's boundary lines heavily favor Republicans.

Still, Mr. Stover is a credible alternative for voters looking for an independent, progressive voice in Congress. He asks voters if they've "had enough" of Republican control, of a misguided war, of threats to abortion rights, of unfair trade policies, of big pay raises for Congress and tax cuts for the wealthy and no increase in the minimum wage. Regardless of what Mr. Shimkus told Mr. Foley, Dan Stover is the better choice."
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Well Golly WeDemocrats have been saying this all along, glad that the blinders are coming off and others are waking to the shoddy job Shimkus has done in Washington.

Democrats serve PEOPLE, Republicans serve MONEY.
Democrats care for the Needy, Republicans care for the Greedy.

Ron McBride
Join WeDemocrats at: http://dfalink.com/group.php?id=2043
603 NEW MEMBERS IN FIRST 17 DAYS 13 HOURS - IN ALL 50 STATES AND DC!!! It’s a Start.