BigPath has some awesome hand-outs, talking points, that would be good for blog posts, phone calls, or just taping up around your city.

http://bigpath.net/Election-Day-Checklist/

Most people I’ve talked to are sick of the negative ads and want to know what the different candidates would actually DO, so these fliers would be really helpful in telling them.

Sandy,

Great link to Big Path. There’s lots of good stuff there with many pdf’s which can be downloaded by people needing campaign material to distribute.

This is what we’re fighting for.  It’s not about John Kerry, it’s about this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhzF5J94VRE

Wow, even Superman knows that it’s time for a new direction.

President Bush won’t give you the truth on Iraq and you won’t get any justice spending billions of taxpayer money on an illegitimate war. Instead we need a gradual redeployment from Iraq, an increase in the minimum wage, a policy that endorses embryonic stem cell research, a repeal of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, and a plan for fiscal responsibility.

Therefore:

VOTE DEMOCRATIC ON TUESDAY

For Truth, Justice, and the American Way, as Superman would say.

Senator Kerry,

You carry a terrible burden, and you have done an awesome job for all of us. 

Some Americans resent what you have to say; and they thus condemn your speech.  After Vietnam, you participated in the Winter Soldier testimony.  They like to repeat your words about atrocities and say you were attacking the troops.  But that is a lie.  You spoke truth and we know that atrocities were part of the disaster called the Vietnam War.

Some resented you when you asked that the $87 billion be paid for by Americans in their taxes, and not added to the deficit with more tax cuts for the wealthy.  But they twisted your words to make you sound indecisive.  But they were switching their votes at the same time as you were.  You sought fiscal responsibility; they used that to smear you.

Some resented you when you suggested that the all volunteer army might end up being made up of racial minorities and the poor.  This does not denigrate those of less means or those who are minorities, or even those of lesser academic skills.  You were concerned about those portions of our society being exploited to fill the ranks of the military.  Recent headlines about difficulties in recruiting, and the acceptance of drop-outs is unfortunately what you predicted.  And yet they twist your words.

You recently reported about the ICRC report on American soldiers involved in acts of terror in Iraqi homes.  This continues to be documented even in the Haditha trials and elsewhere.  But they twisted your words to say that you thought Americans were terrorists.

And in California, pointing out that the President, who lives in a state of denial, hadn’t prepared, hadn’t studied, and had gotten stuck in Iraq, they pounced.  They twisted your words until nothing made sense any more.  They made it appear that you didn’t support or thought that our troops were less educated. 

You, above anyone, have supported our soldiers.  From not wanting to put them into harms’ way to fighting for Veterans’ benefits, you have led the way in Congress.  Recently, you have crisscrossed this great nation of our campaigning for veterans from Tammy Duckworth to James Webb.  For this we are grateful.  We know that you support the troops!

America needs your leadership and your willingness to face the fire of those who seek to destroy their political opponents.  We can get through 2006, but 2008 awaits us.  After Tuesday, it is time to start speaking to America once more! 

We have got your back John!

Robert Freedland
John Kerry for President 2008

Kerry all the way 2006 and 2008.

Thank God for John Kerry. If it wasnt for John Kerry’s email I would have never known about the moveon.org call campaign.

We love you Kerry.

We need a Superman-like candidate for President.  This site is helping to get the word out!

Otter, check out Mike Stark’s diary at dailykos:

As the Senator finished his speech, I tried to ask my question.  They did something that is absolutely acceptable.  They shouted louder than me.  “Six more years.  Six more years!”  Fair enough.  They crowded between me and the Senator.  Equally fair.

I however, saw an opening.  There was no obstruction between me and the door through which the Senator had to pass in order to get to the tarmac.  I made haste to establish position so that I could ask my question before the Senator left.  I had just about arrived when I saw a blur out of my peripheral vision.  A kid that had stood in front of me during Allen’s speech (whispering things back and forth to whom I thought was his mom) just barely clipped my arm and took a dive.

 

There was a cop right there.  “Why did you push him?” he asked as he grabbed my arms and began the process of handcuffing me.  Of course, I did nothing of the sort.  I knew the entire time that I was at that event that I needed to be on my best behavior.  And I was.

 

I had been questioned hostily throughout the wait for the Senator and I answered all questions with patience, sincerity and politeness.

 

The beautiful part about all of this?  There’s video of everything that happened.  Look for it soon.

Just received this reminder of why we’re voting from the pen of Larry Gelbart - the brilliant writer of MASH, TOOTSIE, OH GOD, FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, SLY FOX and CITY OF ANGELS.

Apologies if overly long, but the reasons for change are many.

Iraq—Iraq—Iraq—Abu Ghraib—Guantanamo—Evil Doers—Evil Do Gooders—Terrormercials—Outsourcing Jobs—OutsourcingTorture—Quitting International Criminal Court—The Kyoto Protocol—The Geneva Conventions—Leaving Habeas Corpus for Dead—Civil War Abroad—Uncivil War at Home—Sound Bites—Unsound Policies—Unremorseful—Unregretful—Unrepentant—The Middle East Mess—The Middle Class Collapse—Predictably Unprepared—Perpetually Unequipped—Unmatched Ignorance—Unbridled Arrogance—Unwarranted Phone Taps—Unprecedented Powers—Compassionate Imperialism—Faith-Based Fascism—Total Dicktatorship—700 Club—700 Mile Border Fence—Over 700 Presidential Signing Statements—Unmatched Incompetence—Unparalleled Corruption—Ethic Cleansing—Governor Bob Taft—Governor John Rowland—Governor Bill Janklow—Oversight—Overlook—Stuff Happens—Stuffed Shirts—Tailored Suits—Tailored Stories—24/7 Spin Cycle—Executive Privilege—Privileged Executives—Wordsmiths—Warsmiths—Surrogate Samurais—Draft Dodging Doges—Potomac Pattons—A Coven of the Craven—Representative Tom Delay—Representative Roy Blunt—Representative Ken Calvert—Representative John Doolittle—Representative Jean Schmidt—Representative Jim Gibbons—Representative Tom Feeney—Representative Patrick McHenry—Representative Christopher Shays—Representative Katherine Harris—Representative Barbara Cubin—Representative Joe Barton—Representative Jerry Lewis—Representative Gary Miller—Representative Marilyn Musgrave—Representative Richard Pombo—Representative Rick Renzi—Representative John Sweeney—Representative Charles Taylor—Representative Curt Weldon—Representative J.D. Hayworth—Representative Don Sherwood—Representative John Patterson—Representative Rodney Alexander—Representative Roy LaHood—Representative Bob Beauprez—Representative Bob Ney—Representative Randy Cunningham—Representative Chris Cannon—Jeff Gannon—Representative Mark Foley—Representative Dennis Hastert—Representative Jim Kolbe—Representative John Shimkus—Representative Tom Reynolds—Over Paid—Over Reaching—Over Logging—Under Armored—Under Suspicion—Beneath Contempt—Senator Bill Frist—Senator George Allen—Senator Conrad Burns—Senator Joe Lieberman—Senator Rick Santorum—Senator Trent Lott—Senator James Inhofe—Senator Pat Roberts—Senator Sam Brownback—Rubber Stamps—Robber Barons—Senator Larry Craig—Craig Schelske—Ken Blackwell—Lester Crawford—Crawford, Texas—Brian Bilbray—Margaret Spellings—Media Consolidation—Homophobia on the Range—Fearmongering—Smearslinging—The RNC—The DNC (Do Nothing Congress)—DC (Dutifully Corporate)—Family Valuables—The Far Wrong—The Far Righteous—Reverend Jerry Falwell—Reverend Pat Robertson—Reverend James Dobson—Reverend Lou Sheldon—Ralph Reed—Gary Bauer—David Safavian—Vice Presidential Energy Task Force—Seventy Dollars a Barrel—Three Bucks a Gallon—Record Oil Company Profits—Anwar Pipeline—Anbar Province—Arthur Anderson—ABB—Adelphia Communications—Merck—Eli Lilly—Mirant—AOL Time Warner—Kmart—Bristol-Myers Squibb—CMS Energy—Duke Energy—Nicor Energy—Reliant Energy—Dynegy—Peregrine Systems—Homestore.com—Xerox—Qwest—Tyco—WorldCom—Global Crossing—Global Warming—Global Boiling—Lee Raymond—Exxon—Enron—Abramoff—Tribe Bribes—Mike Scanlon—Grover Norquist—War Profiteers—War Privateers—Halliburton—Bechtel—Blackwater—CACI—Titan—Carlyle Group—Custer Battles—Kellogg, Brown & Root—George Tenet—Unanswered Questions—Questionable Answers—Adam Kidan—Timothy Flanigan—Lawrence Lindsay—Jessica Lynch—Jim Ellis—John Colyandro—Donald Keyser—Peter Roskam—Katherine Gun—Garrett Lott—Armstrong Williams—Talking Points—Pointless Talking—Chuck McGee—James Tobin—Thomas Scully—Kenneth Tomlinson—Allen Raymond—Claude Allen—Katrina—Rita—Harriet (Miers)—FEMA—FISA—NSA—Cut and Run—Run on Cuts—Bring It On—Dead Or Alive—Terri Schiavo—Bill Frist, MD—John Bolton—Diebold—Florida, 2000—Ohio, 2004—North Korea 2006—Selective Diplomacy—Preemptive War—Iraq.—Iran?—Sleeper Cells—Stem Cell Research—Darfur—Dubai Ports World—Swift Boat Hit Men—Max Cleland—Douglas Feith—Mumming the Press—Dumbing the Proles—Roger Ailes—Sean Hannity—Bill O’Reilly—Fred Barnes—Morton Kondracke—Brit Hume—John Gibson—Ann Coulter—Laura Ingraham—Michelle Malkin—Glenn Beck—Neil Cavuto—Neal Boortz—Neil Bush (No Brother Left Behind)—Rush Limbaugh—David Frum—David Horowitz—Golden Parachutes—Shrunken Pensions—Sunken Bipartisanship—Bernie Kerik—Eminent Domain—J. Steven Griles—Numerous Convictions—Occasional Confessions—Social Security Privatization—Abrupt Resignations—Porter Goss—Dusty Foggo—Zero Accountability—Even Less Credibility—Michael Chertoff—Homeland Insecurity—Ahmad Chalabi—Baghdad Museum—Tora Bora—Taliban Resurgence—Iraqi Insurgents—General William Boykin—General Eric Shinseki—General Janet Karpinski—General Ricardo Sanchez—General Anthony Zinni—Mission Accomplished—Lawbreaking Lawmakers—Impeachable Sources—Suppressed Medicare Costs—The Donut Hole—Intelligent Design—Intelligence Failures—Ari Fleischer—Scott McClellan—Tony Snow—Tony Perkins—Tony Rudy—Tony Blankley—Tony Blair—Downing Street Memo—The Late Great Britain—Ken Mehlman—Dennis Prager—Wayne Simmons—Frank Gaffney—Expiration of Assault Weapons Ban—John Ashcroft—Alberto Gonzales—Alberto Fernandez—Danny Diaz—William Bennett—Stephen Hadley—Karen Hughes—Bunnatine Greenhouse—Richard Grasso—Brian Doyle—Thomas Noe—Ted Van Der Meid—Tan Nguyen—Michael Gerson—Michael Medved—Michael Reagan—Michael Maloof—Michael Savage—Aluminum Tubes—Rice—Yellowcake—Niger—Valerie Plame—Joseph Wilson—Scooter Libby—Robert Novak—Richard Armitage—Brent Bozell III—Paul Bremer III—Gulf II—Non-Regime-Changing Regime Changers—Neoconmen—Ex-Non-Vet Vulcans—Playing to an Enraptured Audience—Armageddon Uber Alles—Paul Wolfowitz—Richard Perle—David Wormser—Elliott Abrams—James Woolsey—Zalmay Khalizad—William Kristol—The Coalition of the Dwindling—Staining the Course—WMD (W’s Mass Denials)—Mad Cowboy Disease—Mad Cowhands Disease—Kissinger Redux—Duck Cheney—Rumbo—Blossom (the Turd)—George (the Fourth):Son of a Higher Father; Uniter, Decider, —Flatulater; —Reader of at least three Shakespeares, Camus’ “The Stranger” and “The —Pet —Goat;”—Prematurely discharged National Air Guardsman, missing in inaction, who —describes members of the political party that successfully prosecuted —two —world wars as quitters.—Billions Missing in Iraq—Trillions Missing in D.C.—Missing Limbs—Missed Lives—Iraq—Iraq—Iraq.

I think I’ll post to DCP.

Posted by Marjorie G | November 4, 2006 10:54 PM

Great list!

I downloaded some of the handouts and distrubuted them yesterday. One of the issues that is important for many of the people in my neighborhood is not related to which party to vote for but rather the person. People around here, despite this being a heavily Republican district (IL-6) would rather look at the candidate and not the party. That being said, it is easy to tell people that if they agree with the Dem’s position, they should vote for the candidate that agrees with them on the issues. Psychologically, it creates an enormous cognitive dissonance for life long Republicans to vote for a Democrat.

Crooks and Liars has a good post up about “Iraq for Sale”.  I’ll have to go see it.  In the meantime, war profiteering is immoral if not criminal.  And of course, Bush just cut out the funding to the Iraq accountability office so they can’t protect us from these war-profiteering companies and the incompetent policies any longer.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/11/05/iraq-for-sale-director-robert-greenwald-on-real-time/

ABC poll slows slight improvement for Dems among military veterans since last poll in October (poll conducted Nov 1 - 4). The analysis calls it “essentially the same” yet Dem support is 2 points higher and Rep support is the same, meaning (ignoring MoE) that some undecideds moved to Dem. Now, they may be saying “essentially the same” because 2 points is within MoE, but what would they have said if it went the other way?

Another question is whether the Democrats were hurt by a comment last week by Sen. John Kerry that some took as disrespectful to veterans. In this poll military veterans split 42-51 percent (Dem.-Rep.) for House; in an early October ABC/Post poll, it was essentially the same, 40-51 percent.

... the Democrats don’t show direct damage from the Kerry remark ...

However, in the discussion of this poll at dailykos, this point seems to have been missed.

On a side note, I give the writer props for neutral phrasing: “comment” and “some took as…” rather than the more biased phrasing most writers have been using. JMHO on that one, though.

OTOH, on reflection the damage would not have been from the remark, but from the flap surrounding it, which was given air by Dems who jumped on the RW bandwagon instead of standing up for the truth.  So take props away from the writer for referencing the “comment” not the flap.

Ever more horrifying:

Army Guard, Reserve face new call-ups to Iraq
Citing rule changes and mounting stress, leaders express concern

By Ann Scott Tyson

Updated: 12:18 a.m. ET Nov 5, 2006

The Army’s National Guard and Reserve are bracing for possible new and accelerated call-ups—spurred by high demand for U.S. troops in Iraq—that leaders caution could undermine the citizen-soldier force as it struggles to rebuild.

Two Army National Guard combat brigades with about 7,000 troops have been identified recently in classified rotational plans for possible special deployment to Iraq, according to senior Army and Pentagon officials, who asked that the specific units not be named. One brigade could be diverted to Iraq next year from another assignment, and the other could be sent there in 2008, a year ahead of schedule.
More here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15555730/

Keep in mind we face two wars without end.

First of all, it is questionable whether the Republicans can get us out of Iraq in the forseeable future.

Secondly, even if we get out of Iraq, there is still the “war on terror” which Republicans will milk politically as long as they can. The “war on terror” is becoming a perpetual war with no end which will continue to give them justification for increased government secrecy and increased restrictions on civil liberties.