WE THE PEOPLE…At War!

WeDemocrats support the notion that government has a proper and constructive role to play in regulating business, providing basic human services, and providing a "safety net" for people who suffer misfortune as a result of economic setbacks, natural disasters, or just plain bad luck.

James Carville in his book “We're Right, They're Wrong: A Handbook for Spirited Progressives” says, "We Democrats are the soul and conscience of this nation!" (thus was our name born ‘WE DEMOCRATS’.

“It seems to me that the minimum duty for good citizenship is to vote intelligently in the Primaries and on Election Day. To do this requires knowledge of the candidates, and thought given to the fundamental issues at stake. One cannot be an expert on many questions, but one can know what the qualities the candidates for any public office should have, and through personal contact or by letter, citizens can let those representatives know what they expect their attitude to be on fundamental questions.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt
(Democratic Digest, March 1939)

If you write letters to your representatives whether daily, or only occasionally you probably will get no reply, and when you do get a reply, it’s a request for donations. It's obvious that We The People don't matter to these people. As Mary in Louisiana says, “It's definitely time for a voter revolution in this country.”

Bob in Louisiana sums it up, “What ever happened to the concept in which politicians were elected to do the will of the people? Regardless of what the polls show the American people want done, it seems our brilliant elected officials always find a way to do just the opposite. What part of 'of the people, by the people, and for the people' don't they understand?”

Our United States Constitution begins, We The People, which says it all. And was the guiding light for the WeDemocrats organization.

Sometimes I get the feeling that there is a War between Congress and We The People, and when they go home on their many vacations, I feel and agree with Jerry in Georgia who said, "The way I see it, Congress going home...is the equivalent of a cease-fire in the War on the Middle Class."

In a recent article I used the immortal words of JFK, “Ask not what your county can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”, but Republicans in particular have their own version, ‘Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what can the country can do for ME’!

Daniel in Florida says, "I think the Senate pay should be directly related to the average pay of the middle class. If we go down, they go down, too."

By golly me thinks the boy has something there. Put Federal Legislature retirees on Social Security, and they will change the SS laws, pay them based on the minimum wage, with its ups and downs and you will see an improvement in the average man’s lifestyle, make them work at least a four day week, that would be 200 days a year not the 80 they now work.

It appears that public service is a steppingstone to private profit as seen in several investigations such as the Hastert windfall of $2,000,000 last year when he railroaded a highway bill through that would include land he had just bought. Corruption is rampant in Washington, and who suffers? WE THE PEOPLE!

Excerpts in this article can be found at:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/17/Dobbs.Oct18/index.html

Ron McBride
Join WeDemocrats at: http://dfalink.com/group.php?id=2043
General Meetup Room for Members: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheMeetupRoom/
Committee Meeting Room: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WeDemocrats

When Did We Become A Corporation?

DCCC leaders remain adamant that long-shot races are inherently less worthy investments. "We have a lot of great candidates out there. It would be terrific if we had a million dollars for all our terrific candidates, but we have a finite amount of resources that we're spending as wisely as we can," DCCC communications director Bill Burton told The Nation.

So when did we become a corporation, return on investment isn’t quite the term I would use. Instead of bragging about million dollar investments, and only supporting 50 or so candidates, make it ½ million to 100 candidates and reap the rewards of the surging Democratic wave. When Howard took over DNC I expected a shakeup but there too, candidates like Danny Stover in IL-19 that with an extra $500,000 would win big, are ignored by DCCC and DNC. We are up against a Congress that is driven by powerful corporations and dominant special interests; don’t let us sink to their level.

John Shimkus of the Foley scandal, is vulnerable, polls in Madison County, which has 21% of the votes in this the largest district east of the Mississippi River, and covering nearly a third of Illinois 102 counties (30), these polls show it a virtual tie with Stover at 43% Shimkus at 43% and 14% undecided. With $200,000 in Stover’s war chest compared to $2,000,000 in Shimkus’, it is just short of a miracle that Stover has battled his way to a tie.

With a ½ million from national organizations or a sudden increase in personal donations, Stover will turn a third of Illinois Blue.

Speaking of support, on a state level, in Kansas Terry McLachlan could use our support in his quest for state representative from Wichita. His is a totally grassroots campaign and deserves WeDemocrats support.

Terry said something interesting today, “I will say that I think you're headed
in the right direction. What I've found as a candidate is no one has ever written anything down telling a candidate "How to run a campaign." I get lots of advice but few who are willing to jump up and help, either monetarily or by volunteering. If we want someone elected, we all have to help.” Terry was speaking of WeDemocrats the organization I founded and he is a member of.

This would be a good addition to DFA’s educational efforts, a campaign training program for candidates and or potential candidates, no more of the good ole boys in back rooms with their cigars and beer, deciding the fate of the rest of us, no more politics as usual. Its time the American people not only become aware of how politics work, but saw how and what is involved in a campaign, the sacrifices that are made by candidates in their quest for higher office from which to make our lives better.

Stover in IL-19 and McLachlan in Kansas are but two small steps for the Party, but huge steps for the citizens in their respective districts.

We have twenty (20) days to make it happen.

Ron McBride
Join WeDemocrats at: http://dfalink.com/group.php?id=2043
General Meetup Room for Members: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheMeetupRoom/
Committee Meeting Room: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WeDemocrats

TAGS: scandal,grassroots,Terry McLachlan,IL-19,Danny Stover,John Shimkus,DCCC,The Nation,Illinois,Kansas,DFA,Democrats,Republicans,WeDemocrats

Why do I bother to write daily about the abuses and crimes of our elected officials in Washington? Because “freedom of speech and the right to dissent are cornerstones of our democracy. Truth is the American bottom line.” Quote from a recent letter I received from John Kerry.

Today I am fed up with the corruption in Washington.

The Bush Cheney machine failed the American people when they crawled in bed with the oil companies & Iraq non-bid contractors, including Custer Battles & Halliburton. Why should Americans be surprised by the illegal activities of Abramoff, Cunningham, DeLay, First, Libby, Ney, and for a different, the Foley sex scandal, and the cover-up conducted by Hastert, & Shimkus?

Now we can add Weldon & Crawford's Pepsico stock options. A federal investigation into Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) intensified, with agents raiding the home of the congressman's daughter as well as several other locations near Philadelphia and Jacksonville, FL. Weldon is under investigation for corruption, facing accusations that he used political influence to gain lucrative lobbying contracts for his daughter.

News of another scandal broke yesterday. Former FDA Chief and Bush appointee Lester M. Crawford was charged with lying about the fact that he and his wife own stock in companies regulated by the FDA, a clear conflict of interest. These companies primarily deal in pharmaceutical and medical concerns, but the Weldon's stock options also include the food company Pepsico. Crawford served on the board of the FDA Obesity Working Group while in possession of at least $62,000 in Pepsico stock.

So what can you do? Volunteer to work for candidates, including canvassing, phonebanking, field coordinating, writing, training, research and strategy, public relations, speaking, canvassing, organizing, petition, door to door canvass, directing, candidate organizing, poll working, speeches, research and writing about issues, taxation related, project management training, blogging, media editing, Lit Drops, visibility, voter reg, fund raising, scheduling, volunteer management, event management, strategy development, web design, film, Flash animation, voter registration, precinct walking, Event Production, computer programming, database work, press relations, software development and more.

I know, you tried to talk to your precinct committeeman, he smiled nodded his head and as soon as you walk away forgot about you…. A typical scenario in many areas of the country. So what is it that we can do?

My solution to you is join WeDemocrats and help create the nationwide organization that can not only find a place for you, but will thru our partners at Democracy for America train you to become a true political activist, teach you how to conduct meetings and how to do all the above listed chores that are necessary to make a campaign a success.
In the immortal words of JFK, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”

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

This morning I read an article in the Washington Post by By Michael Grunwald and Jim VandeHei, Washington Post Staff Writers, Monday, October 16, 2006; Page A01.

What follows is excerpts from that article and a couple comments from yours truly.

Hastert's commitment to winning at almost any cost will taint his legacy, as the longest-serving GOP speaker in history. He'll be the speaker who presided over an era of unprecedented partisanship, an era when winning seemed to be the only thing that mattered. I like to win as much as the next person, but I believe that there are limits, and the Republicans have crossed the line.

Hastert ignored warnings about former representative Mark Foley (R-Fla.). He is a symbol of a see-no-evil Republican House. His top priority as speaker has been protecting the GOP majority, not investigating the president or his own caucus.

He appears blind to GOP misconduct -- not only Foley's inappropriate electronic messages with teenage pages but the corruption of lawmakers such as Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), as well as Bush's missteps in Iraq and New Orleans. A frontman for former majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), He eviscerated the House ethics committee after it admonished DeLay, and tried to change the House ethics rules to help DeLay stay in power. What good is oversight and checks and balances when Leaders like this destroy what our forefathers instituted to maintain an honest and accurate representation of the people.

He didn't pay for a fundraiser he held at disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff's restaurant until reporters asked about it two years later; the same month of the fundraiser, he wrote a letter opposing an Indian casino that Abramoff was trying to kill, and received $27,500 from Abramoff and five Indian tribes. Money seems to be an addiction for Hastert.

"When it's come to a choice between the integrity of the House or the Republican majority, he's always put his thumb on the scale to protect the majority," Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said. While he might look the part of the obese friendly neighborhood butcher with his thumb on the scale, he isn’t, he is more like the con-man who cheats to get his way. Shall we say spoilt.

Hastert's team has shut House Democrats out of the governing process, refusing to allow their bills on the floor, limiting debate, calling midnight votes on complex bills that few have read. The Hastert Rule decrees that the House will consider only bills approved by the GOP caucus -- "a majority of the majority" -- and the speaker has enforced it with few exceptions. What the heck, Democrats have nothing to contribute to America? What happened to the old saying two heads are better than one? Let Freedom, Fairness and Truth be presented and then let the representatives of the people make the decisions, not a few fat cats in smoke filled back rooms who believe they and only they know what is best for America. You can SPIN but you can’t WIN!

Hastert encouraged an effort to oust Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) as a committee chairman after Smith bucked party leaders on veterans benefits. Typical, either you are for us and vote our way, or we will kick you out with no support.

He held open a 3 a.m. vote in 2003 on the prescription drug bill for three hours until he could round up a majority. Anytime politicians hide behind closed doors and conduct secretive votes in the wee hours of the morning, you know something is shady.

Republicans say Hastert wins by appealing to party loyalty and taking care of members with earmarks, campaign cash and other goodies. Conservatives aren't happy that earmarks have quadrupled under the GOP Congress, but they recognize that the House has passed almost everything Bush has requested, including his efforts to expand executive power. Bribe them and they will let you sell America down the drain.

Denny, you can SPIN but you can’t WIN.

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

I made the decision

“There is stuff that everybody would have done differently,” Representative John Shimkus, who has been chairman of the Congressional page program since 2001, said Friday after testifying under oath for more than three hours before the House ethics committee. “Having 20/20 hindsight, a lot of things would have been different.”
Mr. Shimkus, Republican of Illinois, said that had he known of the complaints about Mr. Foley, he would have handled concerns about Mr. Foley’s e-mail messages to a page from Louisiana differently.

Mr. Shimkus said that he learned of concerns about Mr. Foley last fall and that he and the clerk of the House confronted Mr. Foley at a meeting in Mr. Foley’s office.
Mr. Foley, a Florida Republican, resigned last month after a separate series of sexually explicit messages became known.

The ethics committee, which held a closed session, is investigating whether Republican leaders, particularly those inside Speaker J. Dennis Hastert’s office, had warnings before last year that Mr. Foley had a history of being overly friendly to pages.

A longtime adviser to Mr. Foley has testified that he asked Mr. Hastert’s office to intervene at least three years ago, an account that the speaker’s aides have denied.
Mr. Shimkus said, “The first time I had any indication that I needed to address Congressman Foley” was after being alerted to the e-mail exchange with the former page from Louisiana.

When asked whether Republican leaders had told him to exclude other members of the page board — a Republican, a Democrat and the House sergeant-at-arms — when ultimately confronting Mr. Foley last year, Mr. Shimkus replied, “I made the decision.”
He did not elaborate.

Of course he didn’t elaborate, he knows any thing he says can be used against him!

It is the meeting in Mr. Foley’s office late last fall, which Mr. Shimkus said ran no more than 45 minutes, that is of particular interest to the ethics committee. Mr. Shimkus said after the hearing on Friday that he and the clerk of the House, Jeff Trandhal, showed excerpts of the e-mail messages to Mr. Foley, who in Mr. Shimkus’s account recoiled and promised to stop contact with the Louisiana teenager.

After the meeting, Mr. Shimkus said, he thought that Mr. Foley did keep his distance.
“I had no reason to believe there wasn’t changed behavior,” Mr. Shimkus said. “We would always do an end-of-the-year ‘bye-bye’ to the pages on the House floor, but Congressman Foley did not show this year. Historically, he always did.
“But this year, he wasn’t there. So we thought the intervention may have been successful.”

Now I am confused, if Shimkus knowledge was limited to this one “innocent” email from a former page in LA, why would Foley’s failure to appear at the “bye-bye” on the house floor have been thought to be an indication that the intervention was successful, unless there was a lot more to this meeting than Shimkus is telling. This old bird dog smells COVER-UP!

It was sexually explicit messages from years earlier, however, that led Mr. Foley to resign after ABC News acquired them. Those exchanges were a maddening disclosure, Mr. Shimkus said, and they have piqued his curiosity about whether anyone was familiar with previous reports of Mr. Foley’s behavior.

Why does it pique his curiosity now when he is one of those under investigation, why not back when it was necessary to stop this Foley from preying on young people? Shimkus you dropped the ball and should resign immediately.

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