Clearing the Roadblock - UPDATED
Yesterday JK launched the campaign against Roadblock Republicans. Here’s the standing as of 7 AM ET this morning. I’ll add the count as of noon ET today when it’s available at the bottom of this post. Not bad for 19 hours of contributions.
The campaign was noted by d-day at his(?) blog as well as by Mahablog in a thoughtful post. People left comments on JK’s diary at dailykos that contained the notes they sent along with their contributions. Enjoy the selections.
What I wrote to Sununu, Collins and Coleman after making a small contribution to each of these Senate campaigns on your actblue page:
“I hope you receive enough emails like this that it will have some impact on your thoughts about the Iraq war. It is terribly dispiriting for Americans
- who voted so clearly for a different direction in 2006 -to see only two Republican senators vote to follow the consensus opinion of the Iraq Study Group and begin pulling troops out of front-line combat in Iraq. There is no causus belli for this war- it is a remarkably discredited war, deeply unpopular with American citizens and around the world. If it is no longer a just war -what is it? Chuck Hagel called it a meat-grinder- a horrible world of carnage and blood, death, paralysis, broken bones, brain damaged young men and women -unspeakable horrors in fact. All for no purpose, at this point, other than stubborn political gamesmanship. Please reconsider your support and enabling of this war. I have only contributed a small amount to the fund for your future opponent in 2008, but I am sure to contribute more- and so will many other grassroots activists -if you continue to support the Iraq war, with all of its bloodshed and carnage.”
mine was a little more ‘in your face.
“Last November the American people cleaned house on the ‘rubber stamp’ Congress. With accountability back on the table the only thing standing in the way to restoring a government that represents the will of the American people is the few remaining ‘Roadblock Republicans’. You, Senator, are one of these roadblocks. I have just contributed against you and three of your fellow roadblocks. I will encourage my friends and family to do the same as long as you continue to ignore the will of the American people. Stop enabling president Bush and help Congress achieve a veto-proof majority on legislation enacting a timetable withdrawal from Iraq or you will soon find yourself an ex-Senator the same way the “Untouchable George Allen” did just a few months ago. I am a member of the netroots sir and our collective power exceeds that of corporate lobbyists. For evidence of that just look at how much money Sen. Obama has raised for his presidential campaign as compared to Sen. Clinton. Make no mistake, you WILL be defeated by us if you continue to defy us.”
The time for being nice is over. Nothing worries these people more than their political future. They need to see a direct correlation between their actions and whether they will still have a job in 2008.
I have to be honest, sometimes I read about these ‘action/donation’ campaigns and I don’t do anything. I felt it was essential to act here. I hope others who get similar feelings of reluctance do the same as I did. by pullbackthecurtain on Wed May 02, 2007 at 02:18:26 PM EDT
<!“I proudly contributed against you.” What I wrote: by Miss Butter on Wed May 02, 2007 at 01:59:20 PM EDT
I am proud to have contributed to a campaign to get you kicked out of office.You have failed in your duty to Americans, and you do not deserve the offices you occupy. By enabling an inveterate and corrupt liar- a man with no honor, no principles, and contempt for the law and for American troops -to continue to kill and maim thousands of Americans and untold Iraqis for no reason any of your party has been able to articulate coherently in IN OVER FOUR YEARS, and to do so AGAINST THE ADVICE OF HIS OWN MILITARY COMMANDERS, whom he fired for doing their jobs and telling the truth that he so desperately avoids hearing, I am pleased to have contributed to a campaign to get you removed from your positions as enablers. I will continue my contributions on a regular basis, giving the most I can possibly afford, and I will not stop until you and your ilk are gone.The sentiment that drives me to oppose you with everything I have is alive and growing. Like the majority of Americans- as poll after poll has confirmed -I want American troops out of Iraq. Because you have aligned yourself with a criminal who has defied the will of the people at whose pleasure he serves, your days in office are numbered.I donated to the ActBlue page, and I sent the following letter
Dear Senator,
I would like you to consider the future of this country and the world. It is time to pressure the Iraqi government to some agreement to end the violence so that we can end our occupation. I believe that the country spoke in the last election, and it is your duty to respond. Please stand with the bipartisan decision to fund our troops and pressure the Iraqis to end this war.
Thank you for your service to this country. I hope that you will put this country before the President.
Sincerely, Karen Hoffman
Thanks Senator Kerry
I contributed against Senator Coleman…here’s my message sent to him:
Your support for Bush's war in Iraq has caused me to do something I've never done before. I contributed money to ANY Democrat to run against you. I was disappointed when you got elected, and your continued support for the presence of our military in what is now a civil war in Iraq will hopefully end your tenure in the Senate. It gives me no pleasure to do this, but you stand in the way of the United States getting itself out of this horrible war of choice that was justified by lies.I like the new, aggressive strategy. by Science and Art on Wed May 02, 2007 at 03:30:08 PM EDT
My letter:
You are responsible for prolonging one of the greatest foreign policy messes in U.S. history. The Iraq war is fast becoming a tragedy of historic proportions, and the disgrace of it is that this war was preventable. After four years of deception and stubborn inaction, George W. Bush decides it’s time to delegate his responsibilities as Commander-in-Chief to a War Czar. As if this head-scratching effort wasn’t enough to cause a few more war supporters to jump ship, Bush decides to veto hope. As two retired Generals put it (http://nsnetwork.org/node/143):
We deserve more from our commander-in-chief and his administration. —Maj. Gen. John Batiste, USA, Ret.
More than ever apparent, only the Army and the Marine Corps are at war – alone, without their President’s support. —Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, USA, Ret.
Your support for the foolhardy escalation of the war has earned my contempt. Despite repeated warnings from Generals, experts in foreign policy and the Middle East, and critics, including some with ties to the administration, that there is no military solution, you agreed with Bush that sending more American troops into Iraq’s civil war was the best solution. Unfortunately, you were wrong. April 2007 was the sixth deadliest month of the war for U.S. troops and the fourth deadliest month for coalition troops (icasualties.org).
With the situation in Iraq worsening, the cost of the Iraq war surpassing Vietnam and no end to the crisis in sight, acknowledging that the Iraq war is lost isn’t treason, it’s reason.
I support our troops, our Vets and their families, and join with the Generals in saying they deserve better. I join the critics of the war in saying enough, bring the troops home.
I wholeheartedly support Senator Kerry in his efforts to ensure that a Democrat is elected to your seat. I thank him for his leadership in trying to end the war in Iraq.
Nice letter. Mine’s shorter.
I’ve just contributed to your Democratic challenger. My plan is to make this a monthly donation for as long as you continue to support Bush’s war in Iraq.
We’ve seen too much death and destruction brought about by Bush’s war based on lies. We’ve seen far too many of our tax dollars wasted in this war when that money is needed here at home, all because the President is too stubborn or too foolish to adjust his course. Is that the kind of leadership you want to be associated with?
Please support the withdrawal efforts voted on by the majority of Congress and the American people by supporting a sensible timeline for withdrawal.
Had you listened to Senators Kerry and Feingold a year ago, you would not be receiving this message from me today.
Remember ‘06 when you make your decision to represent either the will of the people or George Bush, because you can not do both.
The American people are watching, and we will not forget.
Sincerely, by globalvillage on Wed May 02, 2007 at 06:42:16 PM EDT
Want to send your own message? Just visit JK’s ActBlue page and tell them what you think. UPDATE: And as of noon ET today, Roadblock Republicans has over $45,000:
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I contributed. Here’s my letter:
“It has been clear that the Bush administration has made poor decisions every step of the way in Iraq, from their decision to invade without allowing the inspectors to finish their job, without trying to find a diplomatic solution and without really getting the neighboring countries and the rest of the world to go along to their recent decision to “surge”.
The Bush administration has said it has no plan B, if the surge doesn’t work - their plan, they say, is to make it work. The problem is that this is not the first surge - with all past surges the end result has been greater violence.
The Democratic plan, like the brave Kerry/Feingold bill is an attempt to use any remaining leverage we have in conjunction with diplomacy to try to push the Iraqis to work towards whatever level of stability they can achieve. Few Republicans even considered the plan choosing instead to distort it and demonize its authors.
The Bush plans have been tried for 4 years. Is any one convinced they worked? Isn’t it time to put politics aside, stop backing a President, who has rarely been right, and do what is good for the soldiers, the country, Iraq, and the world?
Please be a patriot and do the right thing.”
Hey, thanks Violet! I see you put up my letter to the Roadblock Republicans.
I’m glad to see the tally keeps climbing. This is a fantastic grassroots effort. All that money combined with all those fabulous letters is bound to send a message to the ‘Four Flunkies’ that following Bush’s failed stragegy is only going to lead them to a new career path.
Sorry, Susan. I thought you were kinda OK for a Republican, but you’re destined to go down with your pals next election. Don’t forget, when you lie down with dogs ...
‘Former Senator Collins’. That doesn’t sound so bad, now does it?
This is how the netroots work. Give them a cause, and this I may say is an outstanding idear, and the netroots respond.
As of right now “we the people” have donated close to $50,000. Give us a roadblock and we’ll give you a road out of DC.