An Open letter to Chicagoland Peace and Justice Activists
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An Open letter to Chicagoland Peace and Justice Activists
Dear friend and fellow activist,
We are weeks away from a potentially historic election on November 7 that could defeat the Republican majority in Congress and send political shockwaves across the country. As you know, the Democrats need only 15 seats in the House of Representatives to win the majority and six in the Senate.
The Bush administration and its extremist allies sense defeat and are using every dirty trick to maintain their majority including whipping up anti-immigrant hysteria and trying to scare the people using the terror issue.
One of the national battlegrounds in this fight is in the 6th Congressional District where Tammy Duckworth is in a close race against Bush ultra right clone State Senator Peter Roskam. It is one of the few local races with national implications.
We are appealing to you to throw your energy and commitment into this race. Many of you were deeply active in the "swing state" mobilizations in 2004, but are not engaged in the "swing district" mobilizations of 2006.
Some are reluctant to become involved because Duckworth is not progressive enough and is not strongly enough against the war. Others are upset with Rahm Emmanuel and the DLC for their role in convincing Duckworth to run against Christine Cegelis.
We do not agree on every issue with Duckworth. But we cannot reduce this race to a single candidate or a single issue.
This race is bigger than Tammy Duckworth. Defeating the Republican majority could constitute a turning point and alter the terrain of struggle against the anti-democratic Bush administration and its ultra right pro-war policies.
A victory by Duckworth would constitute a political upheaval in DuPage county, which has been the base of the state Republican Party and a fountainhead of reactionary politics for years.
This race is about far more than Tammy Duckworth. This race is about effecting national change by changing congress. It is about Rep. John Conyers as the new head of the House Judiciary Committee instead of Rep. James Sensenbrenner; Rep. George Miller chairing the Education and the Workforce Committee; Rep. Henry Waxman chairing the Government Reform Committee and Rep. Charles Rangel chairing the Ways and Means Committee.
In fact, if the Democrats get the majority, members of the Congressional Progressive (CPC) or Black Caucuses (CBC) would chair 11 of the 20 House Committees. 45 of 92 Sub-committees would be chaired by members of the CPC, CBC, Congressional Hispanic Caucus or Congressional Asian Pacific Caucus.
The reality is that the new majority will be made up of progressive and center and even right of center Democrats reflecting the broad coalition of forces needed to defeat the ultra right. But the Democrat majority will not drive an ultra right agenda. Center and right of Center Democrats who have caved in to the Bush agenda will have to deal with a new and different agenda.
The Democratic leadership has pledged to introduce legislation that would enact the 9/11 Commission recommendations, which Bush has shelved, raise the minimum wage, make prescription drugs affordable, cut interest rates for student loans in half and repeal billions of dollars in tax cuts to the rich and oil/ energy corporations.
Recently, in a big change, the DLC was forced to agree to support the Employee Free Choice Act supported by the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win Coalition that would make it easier for workers to form unions.
The differences between Duckworth and Roskam are very stark. Roskam supports the Bush ultra right agenda down the line. On Iraq, Duckworth supports an exit strategy in accordance with the build up of the Iraqi troops. This may not be "out now," but it is in opposition to the Bush and Roskam policy of permanent bases and occupation.
She supports women's right to choose, Stem Cell Research and the McCain-Kennedy Immigration Bill, and opposes privatization of Social Security. Roskam takes the Bush or ultra right position on each of these issues.
The Democratic Party leadership is not static but has been forced to change because of the peace upsurge. One need only look at the shift in positions by Sen. John Kerry and others. If anything the movements for peace and justice will accelerate after the elections even with a Democratic majority.
Are any of us willing to abandon the electoral arena of struggle at this crucial moment? By not engaging fully, we risk handing the 6th Congressional District seat to an extremist and strengthening Bush and his cronies nationally.
And what if Tammy Duckworth takes office and disappoints us, much like Melissa Bean? One only need look to Connecticut for an answer. Any Democrat elected official who ignores popular will does so at his or her peril and faces defeat in a future primary by a more progressive candidate.
So we appeal to you to join the thousands of other volunteers who are going door to door speaking with voters about the issues. Let's all make November 7 a historic victory.
Initiating signers
(organizations for identification only)
Bill Barclay
Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice
Gene Birmingham
West Suburban Faith-based Peace Coalition
Cristobal Cavazos
DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition
Lori Challinor
DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition
Kevin Lindemann
Co-Chair, DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition
Kevin McDermott
Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice
Peg Strobel
Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice l
Dear friend and fellow activist,
We are weeks away from a potentially historic election on November 7 that could defeat the Republican majority in Congress and send political shockwaves across the country. As you know, the Democrats need only 15 seats in the House of Representatives to win the majority and six in the Senate.
The Bush administration and its extremist allies sense defeat and are using every dirty trick to maintain their majority including whipping up anti-immigrant hysteria and trying to scare the people using the terror issue.
One of the national battlegrounds in this fight is in the 6th Congressional District where Tammy Duckworth is in a close race against Bush ultra right clone State Senator Peter Roskam. It is one of the few local races with national implications.
We are appealing to you to throw your energy and commitment into this race. Many of you were deeply active in the "swing state" mobilizations in 2004, but are not engaged in the "swing district" mobilizations of 2006.
Some are reluctant to become involved because Duckworth is not progressive enough and is not strongly enough against the war. Others are upset with Rahm Emmanuel and the DLC for their role in convincing Duckworth to run against Christine Cegelis.
We do not agree on every issue with Duckworth. But we cannot reduce this race to a single candidate or a single issue.
This race is bigger than Tammy Duckworth. Defeating the Republican majority could constitute a turning point and alter the terrain of struggle against the anti-democratic Bush administration and its ultra right pro-war policies.
A victory by Duckworth would constitute a political upheaval in DuPage county, which has been the base of the state Republican Party and a fountainhead of reactionary politics for years.
This race is about far more than Tammy Duckworth. This race is about effecting national change by changing congress. It is about Rep. John Conyers as the new head of the House Judiciary Committee instead of Rep. James Sensenbrenner; Rep. George Miller chairing the Education and the Workforce Committee; Rep. Henry Waxman chairing the Government Reform Committee and Rep. Charles Rangel chairing the Ways and Means Committee.
In fact, if the Democrats get the majority, members of the Congressional Progressive (CPC) or Black Caucuses (CBC) would chair 11 of the 20 House Committees. 45 of 92 Sub-committees would be chaired by members of the CPC, CBC, Congressional Hispanic Caucus or Congressional Asian Pacific Caucus.
The reality is that the new majority will be made up of progressive and center and even right of center Democrats reflecting the broad coalition of forces needed to defeat the ultra right. But the Democrat majority will not drive an ultra right agenda. Center and right of Center Democrats who have caved in to the Bush agenda will have to deal with a new and different agenda.
The Democratic leadership has pledged to introduce legislation that would enact the 9/11 Commission recommendations, which Bush has shelved, raise the minimum wage, make prescription drugs affordable, cut interest rates for student loans in half and repeal billions of dollars in tax cuts to the rich and oil/ energy corporations.
Recently, in a big change, the DLC was forced to agree to support the Employee Free Choice Act supported by the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win Coalition that would make it easier for workers to form unions.
The differences between Duckworth and Roskam are very stark. Roskam supports the Bush ultra right agenda down the line. On Iraq, Duckworth supports an exit strategy in accordance with the build up of the Iraqi troops. This may not be "out now," but it is in opposition to the Bush and Roskam policy of permanent bases and occupation.
She supports women's right to choose, Stem Cell Research and the McCain-Kennedy Immigration Bill, and opposes privatization of Social Security. Roskam takes the Bush or ultra right position on each of these issues.
The Democratic Party leadership is not static but has been forced to change because of the peace upsurge. One need only look at the shift in positions by Sen. John Kerry and others. If anything the movements for peace and justice will accelerate after the elections even with a Democratic majority.
Are any of us willing to abandon the electoral arena of struggle at this crucial moment? By not engaging fully, we risk handing the 6th Congressional District seat to an extremist and strengthening Bush and his cronies nationally.
And what if Tammy Duckworth takes office and disappoints us, much like Melissa Bean? One only need look to Connecticut for an answer. Any Democrat elected official who ignores popular will does so at his or her peril and faces defeat in a future primary by a more progressive candidate.
So we appeal to you to join the thousands of other volunteers who are going door to door speaking with voters about the issues. Let's all make November 7 a historic victory.
Initiating signers
(organizations for identification only)
Bill Barclay
Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice
Gene Birmingham
West Suburban Faith-based Peace Coalition
Cristobal Cavazos
DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition
Lori Challinor
DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition
Kevin Lindemann
Co-Chair, DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition
Kevin McDermott
Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice
Peg Strobel
Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice l
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