"He who is willing to sacrifice freedom for safety deserves neither freedom nor safety." - Ben Franklin
"One useless man is called a disgrace; two useless men are called a law firm; and three or more useless men are a congress" - John Adams
Politicians and diapers should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it."--Mark Twain
This was a big week in the struggle for fair judges. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid led the Senate Democrats down the Capitol steps and pledged an all-out war against the Republican plot to break the Senate and stack the courts with partisan, corporate judges. Thousands of MoveOn members formed local teams and phoned in 26,692 calls to Senators across the nation. And hundreds of MoveOn members joined Senator Byrd and seven other leading senators to rally for fair judges in Washington DC.
It's time to take the battle for fair judges and democracy in the Senate to the air waves. The Republican plan calls for Dick Cheney to eliminate a centuries-old rule requiring federal judges to get broad support in the Senate -- they call his maneuver the "nuclear option." Moderate Republicans are nervous, because they know that Cheney's plan assumes that real people won't care about Senate rules, and won't pay attention. And we only need six Republican votes to win.
The key to victory is to prove that the public is watching. Together, if we can raise $250,000 today, we can put our new "Rubber Stamp" TV ad on the air nation-wide tomorrow--and run radio ads in the home states of moderate Republicans who could still go either way. Can you chip in? If just 10,000 of us contribute $25, we can do it.
You can check out the ad and donate securely at:
http://www.moveonpac.org/donate/rubberstamp.html
We've also put up a "thermometer"--so you can see how we're doing on our fundraising goal over the course of the day.
This national ad buy is the most visible thrust of a major grassroots campaign to shift the consensus early on Bush's bad judicial nominees and the "nuclear option."
Yesterday, we held a rally featuring Senator Byrd, the fiery 87-year-old Senator from West Virginia who became a progressive hero for his outspoken stance on the war in Iraq. In a raucous and energetic rally, Senator Byrd told hundreds of MoveOn members about the Republican outlook on the courts:
These instant Constitutional "experts" want to warp the Senate's Constitutional purpose with a witch's brew of half-truths, twisted logic and vicious attacks on American history. Why? Because they don't like the rules. They want to change the rules so they can pack the courts.
They want to change the rules in the middle of the game to get their own way. Who cares about the consequences for the rest of the country? Who cares about minority views in a free society?...
They want the Senate to rubber stamp their judges, just like they wanted the Senate to rubber stamp the wrong-headed war in Iraq!
This is a nation built by God-fearing people who want to preserve liberty. The people fear the policies of this White House and its judicial nominees. They worry about the $1 billion a week that we spend for the war in Iraq. They worry about the ballooning federal deficit. People are afraid for their social security. People are afraid for their basic rights.
Are we going to be muzzled by a majority that wants to silence us on all of these issues? Delay, deliberation, and debate may be a waste of time to some, but it's free speech and the American way to all of us who love our country.
It was a high-energy event with a great line-up of progressive leaders. Senator Byrd was joined by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, and Senators Dick Durbin, Patrick Leahy, Ted Kennedy, Charles Schumer, Barbara Boxer, and Hillary Clinton, as well as our friends from the Alliance for Justice, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and People for the American Way. You can watch highlights from the rally and read Senator Byrd's full speech at:
http://www.moveonpac.org/donate/rubberstamp.html
The campaign to save our courts is growing at the grassroots, too.
Almost 350,000 of us have signed our national petition to oppose Bush's already-rejected, re-nominated, corporate judges.
And last week, we launched Operation Democracy--our neighbor-to-neighbor field network-- with 15,000 members gathering in 1,500 living rooms across the country to draw up local campaign plans to defend the courts. Yesterday, those local teams reported that they'd generated 26,692 calls to Senate offices around the country, and handed out 14,613 flyers to boot.
Operation Democracy teams found support in every corner of the country. Karen, a team member in Mobile, Alabama, reported that "It was good to know that the young people in Alabama, a very RED state, were very receptive and want to make a change."
This kind of grassroots ground swell is the last thing Republicans expected--they thought they could push the button on the "nuclear option" and no one would notice. If we can keep up the pressure, we can help turn this whole fight around. Can you help send a message to the nation and key Republican senators by putting our new TV ad and targeted radio ads on the air?
You can donate now at:
http://www.moveonpac.org/donate/rubberstamp.html
Together, the three million of us and our friends in the Leadership Conference for Civil Rights, People for the American Way, and the Alliance for Justice--along with dozens of other allied organizations working on the environment, labor rights, women's rights, civil liberties and more--are making a real impact. Thanks for everything you're doing to defend our democracy and make sure our judges are fair.
Sincerely,
--Ben Brandzel, Eli Pariser, and the MoveOn PAC team
March 17th, 2005
P.S. By the way, if we're unable to use your contribution for the purpose you specify, either because of oversubscription or for another unforeseen reason, it's our policy to use your contribution for other advertising, public relations, advocacy or organizing activities.
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