Tag: Responsible Plan

(Cross-Posted at MyDD, Open Left, and Daily Kos)

This weekend, we saw once more that no matter what happens in Iraq, there is no end in sight to this war unless we demand it.

For the people of Congressional District 18 in South Florida, getting out of the war in Iraq is a top priority.

www.voteTaddeo.com

For years, George Bush and his cronies – like my opponent, Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen – said that American troops would redeploy from Iraq when the Iraqi people asked us to.  Last Saturday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki asked us to leave.

The out-of-touch Washington Republicans responded strangely, with George Bush speaking of “time horizons.” John McCain flip-flopped on his original position, and said that he knew better than Iraq’s democratically elected prime minister what the Iraqi people really wanted.

Bush-Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, my opponent, says nothing. Her silence is deafening.  For years, she has rubber-stamped President Bush’s failed Iraq war strategy unquestioningly.  Now she stays quiet, and doesn’t even mention Iraq on her website.

W’s Brother, Jeb Bush, was Ros-Lehtinen’s first campaign manager – in 1989

Ros-Lehtinen’s incumbency allows her to be the ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.  From that position, she forces her right-wing agenda into every element of our country’s foreign policy.

Ros-Lehtinen Uses Her Voice to Silence Other Women Who Need Help

Ros-Lehtinen is a leading proponent of the global gag rule, which denies millions of women at home and around the world access to life-saving affordable health care and sex education they require.

On the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ros-Lehtinen is the senior disciple of the Bush Doctrine of senseless, pre-emptive war in Congress.  She remains smug and unrepentant for her lockstep support of the war.

Annette at the Democracy for America-Miami Memorial Day Service

I believe it is time for Iraqis to take responsibility for the security of Iraq and to bring our troops home. The war in Iraq is costing American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars a day. That is money we desperately need here at home to invest in our schools, bring down health care costs, protect Social Security, and work towards energy independence. I will stand up for these priorities in Congress.

We can end this war. I am proud to be a Democrat, and I am proud to endorse the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq. After years of a mis-guided war, Democrats must lead the way.

Ros-Lehtinen rubber-stamps Bush’s Iraq policy every step of the way, and she joins McCain in wanting a war in Iraq without end. I attended Netroots Nation last weekend, and I felt the real desire for change across the country.  Change is more than a cliché in 2008.  It’s obvious that our country is going in the wrong direction, and that more of the same is not enough to put our nation back on the right track.

I’ve out-raised Ros-Lehtinen in the first two quarters, and my district is the most Democratic and most progressive of the three  seats at play in South Florida.  I am honored by the great support I’ve received from my community, and also from the Netroots.  I am honored to have been endorsed by Democracy for America and, as of yesterday, Blue America

After seven years of failed policies, we are in a recession, health care costs are rising, and we are in a war without end. I know America needs a new beginning. We need greater investment in renewable energy, an end to subsidies for the big oil companies, and affordable health care for children and seniors.

I am a successful small-business owner, and I have a business plan to win this campaign.  We are focused and disciplined, and I will defeat Ros-Lehtinen this November.

I ask for your continued support as I take on a 18-year incumbent with a long record of voting against families and against our men and women in uniform.

Thank you, and I welcome any questions and comments,

Annette Taddeo

[Cross-posted at Daily Kos, Swing State Project, Reno & Its Discontents]

http://www.jillderby.com

I’m Jill Derby, Democratic Candidate for Congress in Nevada’s Second Congressional District.  Many of you know me from 2006 when I ran for this seat against Republican Dean Heller.  Well, I’m back.  And I’m running to change the way business is done in Washington.

When Heller went to Washington after our very close race, many here in Nevada hoped that he would be an independent, moderate voice for Nevada.  Dean Heller has let them down.  Heller has stood as a rubber stamp for the Bush Administration from his very first day in the House, voting over 92% of the time with the party.  That record, and the continued decline of our great nation has me back in this race.

More below the fold…

The growth of the Netroots community has been remarkable over the last half-decade.  You have renewed and revitalized progressive discourse in America using a new medium, playing a powerful and ever-growing role in the success of Democratic candidates across the country.  I am excited to have the opportunity to meet many of you in person this weekend at Netroots Nation in Austin, where I will be on Friday’s “Future Leaders” panel with Jim Himes (CT-04), Dan Seals (IL-10) and Annette Taddeo (FL-18), and later at the Netroots Candidates Celebration.  But before we get a chance to meet in person, I wanted to tell you a bit more about myself and my race.

I am not a career politician.  I am an activist like many of you, who got my start in politics fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s.  Since then I have stayed active, serving on Nevada’s Board of Regents, and later as Chair of the Nevada Democratic Party.

I have always taken a strong stand against the Iraq War.  I opposed it from Day 1.  When my good friend Darcy Burner called me to about a plan she was putting together to find a comprehensive solution to the Iraq War and the problems it had created, I was thrilled to sign on as one of its first supporters.   The Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq is committed to bringing our troops home from Iraq and repairing the damage done to our democracy by eight years of Republican mismanagement.

I stand together with many members of the Netroots community in supporting our civil rights and condemning the recent passage of the FISA amendments granting retroactive immunity to the telecom industry.  Here in Nevada, we take our civil liberties very seriously.  This abdication of the constitution by the Bush Administration, supported by my right-wing opponent Dean Heller, has let big telecom off the hook.  This was wrong, plain and simple.

I stand together with members of the Netroots in supporting the working and middle classes of America.  Nevada has the highest rate of home foreclosures per capita in the United States.  We have a high rate of bankruptcy as well.  I stand with my friends in organized labor in supporting a living wage, healthcare for all Americans, secure retirement benefits, and the right to collective bargaining.  I am appalled by the assault on middle America, with gas prices rising and bankruptcy protections eroded at the same time that oil companies make record profits and Republicans–including my opponent–refuse to make critical investments in energy independence and renewables.

Since November of 2006, the Republican registration advantage in this district has been cut by a remarkable 40%, from 48,000 to 29,000.  This 19,000 voter Democratic shift is more than 50% greater than Heller’s margin of victory in 2006.

I just outraised my opponent by over nearly 30% this quarter and am quickly gaining ground on him as his far right voting record becomes better known throughout the district.

We have a real race on our hands in this R+8 district and I am thrilled to have a chance to earn the support of the Nevada Netroots and those of you across the nation.  I look forward to meeting many of you this weekend in Austin.  And I look forward to working together in the coming months to set America back on track.  

www.jillderby.com

Jane Mitakides, a Responsible Plan endorsee running in the Ohio Third, has reported $164,252.53 in total receipts for the first quarter of fundraising.

With money coming in at more than twice the rate of her opponent, Jane will be able to run an aggressive campaign that builds on the record-breaking Democratic turn-out in the March 4th primary and the changing dynamic of a district that is trending blue.

Some speculate that Mike Turner’s dwindling support is due to ethical issues and frequent exaggerations that are affecting his campaign’s bottom-line.

Jane Mitakides, a Responsible Plan endorsee running in the Ohio Third, has reported $164,252.53 in total receipts for the first quarter of fundraising.

With money coming in at more than twice the rate of her opponent, Jane will be able to run an aggressive campaign that builds on the record-breaking Democratic turn-out in the March 4th primary and the changing dynamic of a district that is trending blue.

Some speculate that Mike Turner’s dwindling support is due to ethical issues and frequent exaggerations that are affecting his campaign’s bottom-line.

With her strong grassroots support, Jane won a competitive three-way primary with more votes than her opponents combined, and she still held on to more of her first-quarter raised cash than her opponent, who has spent more than he raised in Q1, even though he was unopposed in the primary.

Fundraising is a tangible measure of support for a race, and it’s big news when a challenger is consistently out-raising an incumbent.  It shows that voters are ready to make change happen and finally end the era of back-room deals and no-bid contracts.

This is a winnable race, but we still have a long way to go – and we’re counting on you to help!

Learn more about Jane at Jane Mitakides for Congress and be a part of the campaign by contributing!

Today, President Bush will be in the Dayton area, less than a week after US service member deaths in Iraq reached the grim milestone of 4,000. Bush will speak about the “global war on terror” at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, no doubt using this solemn moment to conflate the GWOT with the war in Iraq.

From there, he will honor the memory of our fallen soldiers by shaking hands and cracking jokes at a $10,000 per person private reception co-sponsored by a major outsourcer of jobs and a convicted money launderer. $1,000 gets you a seat at the luncheon. The fundraiser is for the Ohio GOP’s Victory ’08 coordinated campaign in support of John McCain and Ohio’s Republican congressional candidates, ostensibly helping Mike Turner. And why not? Turner has been a reliable ally in the House, voting for the failed Bush agenda 87% of the time. He has even voted against expanding benefits for our veterans, earning a grade C from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Let’s send a message to the President and Mike Turner by contributing to his opponent, Jane Mitakides. Jane is ready to bring the kind of change that the people of the Ohio 3rd and the nation at-large are seeking – ending an irresponsible war, fixing a broken economy, and restoring America to its pre-Bush greatness.  Jane recently endorsed the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, putting her in the company of some of the best Democratic challengers in the nation, like Darcy Burner and Donna Edwards.

This morning, Jane spoke at a press conference with the Ohio Democratic Party about how Bush’s policies have maligned our nation – news to those that can pay $10,000 to take a photo with the President – and met with some anti-war protesters.

The March 31st filing deadline is around the corner – please take this opportunity to learn more about Jane and help out the campaign.  While Mr. 29% approval rating is raising money, we can do the same thing – we’ve done it before.

(Full disclosure: I am the New Media/Voter Outreach Director for Jane’s campaign)

(Full disclosure: I am the New Media/Voter Outreach Director for Jane’s campaign)

Today, Jane Mitakides, Democratic challenger in OH-03, proudly endorsed the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, adding her to a list of leading Democratic candidates that are standing up to move the country forward.

The Responsible Plan fills the void of leadership in Washington, yet relies only on common sense solutions, basing its objectives on Iraq Study Group recommendations and legislation currently in the hopper. Perhaps it is a measure of how bad things have gotten when “respect the Constitution,” “fund veterans care,” and “stop torture” are ideas that cannot get traction in DC.

The American people are ahead of the politicians on these issues, and they want change. They know that Iraq is not only a cause of many of our ills, but a symptom of even larger ones. Luckily, the people will soon be able to exercise their most basic right, and vote for candidates that truly represent them: Jane Mitakides is one of those candidates.

Click here to view the press release.

With a filing deadline on the 31st, it’s a great time to support Jane in this winnable swing district. Here’s her ActBlue page.