christian4dean (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} christian4dean) wrote,@ 2004-03-20 12:57:00 |
|
A letter to John Kerry
Many Dean supporters, and, I suspect supporters of other candidates as well, are struggling to come to terms with the idea of John Kerry as the Democratic nominee. We are in different places--some are resigned to vote for him in November but will need to "hold their noses", and some say they will vote for Nader or write in the candidate they supported during the primary season. Some will give money and time to the Kerry campaign, while others will focus on organizations that are anti-Bush rather than pro-Kerry. Dean's new organization, Democracy for America, promises to focus a great deal on getting progressive candidates to run at all levels of government, and supporting those candidates. Dean has also said that we will be supporting Kerry, but my impression so far is that members of the organization can decide to focus their own efforts in some other area if "supporting Kerry" with anything other than their vote in November is just too much to ask.
I feel that some healing needs to happen, and so far I have not really seen any moves in that direction from Kerry. And I do not believe that it is respectful for the DNC or John Kerry or anyone else to just expect us to fall in line because Bush is so bad. There needs to be some outreach, especially from Senator Kerry. With that in mind, a couple weeks ago I started compiling questions for Kerry. In this past week, I have selected some of those questions--the ones that were the most serious and the least combative in their tone--and set about trying to write a letter to the man himself. What follows is a letter I sent earlier this week. As I tried to find a way to get past my anger enough to write a gentle, respectful letter, I eventually decided to focus on one thing I knew that John Kerry and I had in common--our Catholic heritage. Although I was recently received into the Episcopal church, I spent most of my life as a Catholic. I am not aware of Senator Kerry's current level of observance, but he must have it in his psyche somewhere that Lent is a season of special significance. And so I used that thread as my inspiration in writing the following letter:
Dear Senator Kerry,
As I stare at this blank screen, I am trying to think of what I can say in opening to increase the likelihood that you actually read my words. I wrote once before--it was a very heartfelt plea to you to consider the effect your attacks on Howard Dean could have on our ability to support you if you became the nominee. A month later, I received a very generic letter, almost completely unconnected with what I had written, and was solicited for money. Repeatedly, actually.
So, my hopes aren't high, I suppose. And yet, I still believe that miracles can happen. We are now in the season of Lent. I doubt there is much that you and I have in common, but a Catholic heritage is one thing. I found this in an online sermon:
Entering Lent has to do with being in the wilderness. A place where we become vulnerable to God’s touch. A place where we no longer place our hands over our ears and shout, “I can’t hear you.”
Can you try to listen now?
Understand that I am only writing to you now because I am trying to listen to God's "still, small voice", and it really seems to be insisting that I do this. Yet, it is hard for me to put aside my anger about things you have said and done throughout this campaign. So I hope that you, likewise, will find a way during this season of reflection to put aside whatever your natural reaction might be to getting a letter from an unknown woman in Ohio that challenges you in the way this letter will. Instead, please listen carefully, and see if Someone might be calling you to something better.
Surely you are aware that many of Howard Dean's supporters have never been involved in politics before--at least not beyond voting. (I understand that is why you and others have been so interested in obtaining access to Dean's list of supporters.) My husband and I had never even done so much as vote in a Democratic primary before. Yet we ended up spending countless hours volunteering for the campaign, creating flyers, web banners, signs, bumper stickers--even "Flat Howard", a printable 2-D life size Howard Dean. We posted these things on a web site called People-Powered Graphics so that we could offer these resources to our fellow grassroots supporters. My husband is actually the artist, and I have focussed on other parts of the web site, such as the Live Journal, a blog called Another Christian for Dean, a page of supporter bios called "Meet the Blog Family", a page of thank-you messages to Judith Steinberg-Dean, and many other little projects. In a very real sense, the Dean supporters online have become family to me. And I look out for my family.
I think it is crucial that you understand what drew many of us into this campaign. Opposition to the war in Iraq is often brought up as the reason many people were attracted to Dean's campaign. That is part of the reason for us, but there is more to the story than that. Dean stood up for us when few Democrats seemed to have the courage to do so. He "had our backs." Our concern about many in Washington, and you in particular, is that the concerns of ordinary people take a back seat to other concerns that you may find more pressing. I can certainly understand that you are concerned about your political survival, but I become really worried when ordinary people cannot have a real impact on the decisions politicians make. I worry that our voices and our concerns seem really distant to you when you are concerned about being reelected, or about your standing among fellow politicians.
Given the concerns I described above, the reason people like my husband and I threw ourselves so completely into Dean's campaign, is that we saw it as an opportunity to have a *real* voice in our government. My husband once said that he didn't think of the money we sent to the Dean campaign, or the work we did, as a donation. Rather, he thought of it as an investment in something that would benefit all of us. Even today, people are still giving--a little while ago, one of my fundraising bats reached its goal of $1000. All together, the bats my husband and I put up have raised close to $4500. We did not do this because we are political fundraisers in any generic, easily transferable sense. We did this because the Dean campaign is a cause we truly believed in and could support.
Right now, many of us are unable to consider ourselves your "supporters". Most will probably vote for you just to get Bush out of office, although a number have said that they will not. A common sentiment is that our votes and/or our support must be earned. Are you willing to earn our support, or will you just assume you've got it based on our dislike for Bush? How you respond to this challenge will tell us much about the kind of president you would be.
On April 8, it will be Holy Thursday. In many churches around the world, Christians will engage in the ritual washing of hands and feet. This part of the reenactmant of the Last Supper serves to remind us of something important--one who would lead must also be willing to humble him or herself and serve. With Jesus setting the gold standard for humble leadership, I hope you will see fit to follow. And we are not asking you to wash anyone's feet--just to enter into a dialog with those you hope to lead, and answer some questions.
What I have written above comes from me. I chose to call upon our shared Christian heritage as a way of reaching out to you in spite of my feelings of hurt, anger, betrayal, and mistrust. I thought it would be easier for me to use gentle words if I centered myself in my faith. What follows is a series of questions and concerns that have been submitted by my fellow Dean supporters. I hope you will consider this to be the beginning of a respectful, two-way dialog with us. We share your desire to get George Bush out of the White House, but are unready and unwilling to "fall in line" without having our concerns taken seriously.
--------------------
From Deborah:
During the debate prior to the vote in Wisconsin, you refused to take responsibility for your YES vote that handed George Bush war power that allowed him to invade Iraq. Over 500 young Americans and thousands of Iraqis have been killed in the war in Iraq and many thousands more have suffered horrible injuries.
Please answer these questions in less than 5 minutes:
Why didn't you know what George Bush was planning when millions of people from around the world knew? Why didn't you speak out, as you said you would, when you finally realized Bush was lying to you and the American people? When will you take full responsibility for the consequences of your poor judgement?
Editor's note: Someone recently pointed to an article by William Rivers Pitt, which was written for Truthout back in December when you were still down in the polls. This part stunned me:
http://truthout.org/docs_03/121003A.sht
Kerry nodded, bowed his head, and said, “You’re right. I was wrong to trust him. I’m sorry I did.” And then he was gone. Senator Kerry, this shows me that you are at least capable of showing a touch of humility and admitting your mistakes. Why have we, the voters, never seen that side of you?
-----------------
From Kate in Montclair
What I want to know, Senator Kerry, is:
Are you aware there is a racial divide in this country, and are you, too, tired of being divided by race?
Are you, too, eager to talk about race with white people, rather than just in communities of nonwhites, and just on the third weekend of January, some part of February, and when you're running for office?
And, do you agree that proper leadership could actually unite America around our shared challenges for quality schools, job opportunities, a clean environment, affordable healthcare, secure finances upon retirement, rather than divide us around our fears, our prejudices, and our race?
---------------
From Steviemo in MN
Senator, it appears Democrats didn't learn ANYTHING from the role Ralph Nader played in handing the White House to the Republicans in 2000. Here we are, four years later and no senator has introduced a bill to calling for Instant Runoff Voting which would allow Americans to vote FOR a candidate instead of AGAINST one.
Will you reach out to Greens and independents and mitigate the Nader factor by putting Instant Runoff Voting before the Senate PRIOR to this years election?
---------------------
From Agatha:
Senator Torricelli, one of your top financial contributors, funded the smear ads in Iowa associating Howard Dean with Osama bin Laden. Will you publicly apologize to Dr. Dean for your indirect but obvious involvement in this filth? My vote for you in November HINGES on your response to this question.
Editor's note: Many people have asked this question or a similar one. I really hope you will address this concern.-----------------
From Michelle:
How about asking Mr. Kerry if he will be willing to break up the media conglomerates, and do some re-regulation of that industry, as Dean said he would do. This has got to change. The media has tremendous influence, because it shapes the public's opinions on Everything. As he knows all too well. It destroyed one candidate and built up another.
Then I might consider giving him my vote. I would begin to respect him, but not until he states what he will do concerning this.
--------------------
From Judy:
Will you reinstate Public Television taxpayer funding and ban corporations from financially supporting the public airwaves? Our taxes have built the infrastructure and the American people own the airwaves. PBS should NOT be a venue for government or corporate influence. A society is only as free as we demand it to be, and the American people have the right to a free and honest media.
--------------------------
From Joni in OK:
Do you support the roping off of dissenters during the Democratic Convention?
If not, what will you do to change what is obviously being arranged at this time?
If so, where does our freedom of speech begin and end in your estimation?
------------------------
From Kyna:
Will you take on the full implications of being a uniter of the Democratic party by carrying the newly formed platform of principles from the ground up...a platform that is pro-community, that establishes equality that is non-negotiable in terms of basic rights (civil, health care, minimum wage) that works off of an appropriate timeline for each concern (20 years for education, 100 years for environment, etc.)? Will this platform serve as your compass point that you are beholden to even as pundits and politics suggest that you adjust to a platform that is more "central?"
---------------------
From Corinne:
Now that you are the presumptive Democratic nominee, will you update and release your list of bundlers and pledge to do so regularly throughout the campaign? As a March 13 editorial in the Washington Post correctly notes, "Knowing the identities of the campaign's bundlers would be critical to assessing the policies and personnel of a Kerry administration. Mr. Kerry needs to make clear that releasing a list of his financiers was not a one-time event but part of a regular system of providing meaningful disclosure."
Also, when do you plan to make good on your promise to release the records of your meetings with lobbyists over the years? In January, you said that you'd happily release any lobbyist meeting you've ever had. Now would be a good time to do that.
---------------------
From Susan in Ohio
1. The drug companies are out of control. Their prices are a joke. Every other commercial on T.V. is for a drug. Some of the drugs are rushed into market so fast they're not thoroughly tested and cause deaths (ex: Ephedra). What would you do to rein in the drug companies?
2. Credit card companies are now charging an average of around 24%, some higher. Isn't this usury? It's funny that when credit card interest was a tax deduction, interest averaged around 7.5%. What would you do to stop this consumer abuse?
3. Will you work seriously to develop alternate fuel/power sources (NOT NUCLEAR) to make us less reliant on oil?
4. Will you put security in place for incoming cargo vessels?
5. Will you do something to stem the influx of illegal aliens from Mexico?
6. Will you do something to halt the outflow of jobs? When companies outsource to make bigger profits they don't share. Prices don't go down for products, and remaining workers don't get raises. Only the CEO's and shareholders get rich.
7. Will you see that the media is broken up? Right now 5 companies control the media. American must have a free press.
8. Will you see that Robert Novak is charged for exposing a CIA agent?
9. Will you safeguard Social Security? I worked all my life, but I made lower pay as a woman and had to take time out to have and raise children. Consequently I have no pension savings. I'm quite sure I'm not alone.
10. Will you make a promise to regularly get out among the "real people"? Outside the Washington bubble, outside the Millionaire/Billionaire club, where most people live for a week on what you might spend on one dinner. America has millions more "regular folks" than rich ones. You'd be well advised to keep in touch. Will you?
----------------------
From Janice:
Senator Kerry,
Do you care enough about the concerns of Dean supporters to answer the above questions, or are we considered "collateral damage" to you, of some peripheral concern but ultimately expendable.
Do you care that our concern is that you have a pattern of being unable to discern the truth in a crisis?
Did you really expect George Bush would not use the power you gave him in October of 2002? If I had been reading his intentions since before the 2000 election, how could you have missed this? Please explain this to me.
Are you counting on our support simply because you know we want Bush out of office?
Do you not realize, once again, that the problems in our country are bigger than that and that if you miss this, even with our support and our votes and a majority, you may still lose in November?
-----------------
This is a sampling of questions that have been submitted to me. I only included the ones I could use without major editing, but other concerns included your missed votes in general and your missing the vote on the "partial birth abortion" ban in particular, Hoffa's comment on Hardball regarding ANWR that "Kerry will drill everywhere," your vote for the unfunded mandate No Child Left Behind, as well as your plans to reverse the damaging effects of that legislation, and the push polling and robo calling against Dean that was used by your campaign in some states.
Pay special attention to the question by Janice--it reflects the level of distrust and cynicism that many of us are experiencing right now. We believe America deserves better than the politics of cynicism. We want very much to have something real and hopeful to vote for in November rather than simply voting against Bush.
Retired Bishop John Shelby Spong, an early endorser of yours, spoke at my church in January. In the question/answer session that followed, someone asked his thoughts about the election in November. Spong expressed his optimism, noting that because of your service in Viet Nam, no one would be able to question your courage or patriotism. Your endorser Max Cleland would probably attest to the fact that the Bush administration is not squeamish about questioning anyone's patriotism. Please consider that this election in 2004 may be calling for you to show a different, ultimately more powerful kind of courage and patriotism--by entering into a truly open and respectful dialog with those you hope to lead.
We Dean supporters, and all others who want Bush out of office, but are not yet ready to call ourselves "Kerry supporters" look forward to your thoughtful and sincere response.
Sincerely,
Renee in Ohio
P.S. Adding one question of my own: What mechanism will you set up *before* November to insure ongoing two-way communication between yourself and grassroots organizations dedicated to working for a government of the people, by the people, and for the people?
Many Dean supporters, and, I suspect supporters of other candidates as well, are struggling to come to terms with the idea of John Kerry as the Democratic nominee. We are in different places--some are resigned to vote for him in November but will need to "hold their noses", and some say they will vote for Nader or write in the candidate they supported during the primary season. Some will give money and time to the Kerry campaign, while others will focus on organizations that are anti-Bush rather than pro-Kerry. Dean's new organization, Democracy for America, promises to focus a great deal on getting progressive candidates to run at all levels of government, and supporting those candidates. Dean has also said that we will be supporting Kerry, but my impression so far is that members of the organization can decide to focus their own efforts in some other area if "supporting Kerry" with anything other than their vote in November is just too much to ask.
I feel that some healing needs to happen, and so far I have not really seen any moves in that direction from Kerry. And I do not believe that it is respectful for the DNC or John Kerry or anyone else to just expect us to fall in line because Bush is so bad. There needs to be some outreach, especially from Senator Kerry. With that in mind, a couple weeks ago I started compiling questions for Kerry. In this past week, I have selected some of those questions--the ones that were the most serious and the least combative in their tone--and set about trying to write a letter to the man himself. What follows is a letter I sent earlier this week. As I tried to find a way to get past my anger enough to write a gentle, respectful letter, I eventually decided to focus on one thing I knew that John Kerry and I had in common--our Catholic heritage. Although I was recently received into the Episcopal church, I spent most of my life as a Catholic. I am not aware of Senator Kerry's current level of observance, but he must have it in his psyche somewhere that Lent is a season of special significance. And so I used that thread as my inspiration in writing the following letter:
Dear Senator Kerry,
As I stare at this blank screen, I am trying to think of what I can say in opening to increase the likelihood that you actually read my words. I wrote once before--it was a very heartfelt plea to you to consider the effect your attacks on Howard Dean could have on our ability to support you if you became the nominee. A month later, I received a very generic letter, almost completely unconnected with what I had written, and was solicited for money. Repeatedly, actually.
So, my hopes aren't high, I suppose. And yet, I still believe that miracles can happen. We are now in the season of Lent. I doubt there is much that you and I have in common, but a Catholic heritage is one thing. I found this in an online sermon:
Entering Lent has to do with being in the wilderness. A place where we become vulnerable to God’s touch. A place where we no longer place our hands over our ears and shout, “I can’t hear you.”
Can you try to listen now?
Understand that I am only writing to you now because I am trying to listen to God's "still, small voice", and it really seems to be insisting that I do this. Yet, it is hard for me to put aside my anger about things you have said and done throughout this campaign. So I hope that you, likewise, will find a way during this season of reflection to put aside whatever your natural reaction might be to getting a letter from an unknown woman in Ohio that challenges you in the way this letter will. Instead, please listen carefully, and see if Someone might be calling you to something better.
Surely you are aware that many of Howard Dean's supporters have never been involved in politics before--at least not beyond voting. (I understand that is why you and others have been so interested in obtaining access to Dean's list of supporters.) My husband and I had never even done so much as vote in a Democratic primary before. Yet we ended up spending countless hours volunteering for the campaign, creating flyers, web banners, signs, bumper stickers--even "Flat Howard", a printable 2-D life size Howard Dean. We posted these things on a web site called People-Powered Graphics so that we could offer these resources to our fellow grassroots supporters. My husband is actually the artist, and I have focussed on other parts of the web site, such as the Live Journal, a blog called Another Christian for Dean, a page of supporter bios called "Meet the Blog Family", a page of thank-you messages to Judith Steinberg-Dean, and many other little projects. In a very real sense, the Dean supporters online have become family to me. And I look out for my family.
I think it is crucial that you understand what drew many of us into this campaign. Opposition to the war in Iraq is often brought up as the reason many people were attracted to Dean's campaign. That is part of the reason for us, but there is more to the story than that. Dean stood up for us when few Democrats seemed to have the courage to do so. He "had our backs." Our concern about many in Washington, and you in particular, is that the concerns of ordinary people take a back seat to other concerns that you may find more pressing. I can certainly understand that you are concerned about your political survival, but I become really worried when ordinary people cannot have a real impact on the decisions politicians make. I worry that our voices and our concerns seem really distant to you when you are concerned about being reelected, or about your standing among fellow politicians.
Given the concerns I described above, the reason people like my husband and I threw ourselves so completely into Dean's campaign, is that we saw it as an opportunity to have a *real* voice in our government. My husband once said that he didn't think of the money we sent to the Dean campaign, or the work we did, as a donation. Rather, he thought of it as an investment in something that would benefit all of us. Even today, people are still giving--a little while ago, one of my fundraising bats reached its goal of $1000. All together, the bats my husband and I put up have raised close to $4500. We did not do this because we are political fundraisers in any generic, easily transferable sense. We did this because the Dean campaign is a cause we truly believed in and could support.
Right now, many of us are unable to consider ourselves your "supporters". Most will probably vote for you just to get Bush out of office, although a number have said that they will not. A common sentiment is that our votes and/or our support must be earned. Are you willing to earn our support, or will you just assume you've got it based on our dislike for Bush? How you respond to this challenge will tell us much about the kind of president you would be.
On April 8, it will be Holy Thursday. In many churches around the world, Christians will engage in the ritual washing of hands and feet. This part of the reenactmant of the Last Supper serves to remind us of something important--one who would lead must also be willing to humble him or herself and serve. With Jesus setting the gold standard for humble leadership, I hope you will see fit to follow. And we are not asking you to wash anyone's feet--just to enter into a dialog with those you hope to lead, and answer some questions.
What I have written above comes from me. I chose to call upon our shared Christian heritage as a way of reaching out to you in spite of my feelings of hurt, anger, betrayal, and mistrust. I thought it would be easier for me to use gentle words if I centered myself in my faith. What follows is a series of questions and concerns that have been submitted by my fellow Dean supporters. I hope you will consider this to be the beginning of a respectful, two-way dialog with us. We share your desire to get George Bush out of the White House, but are unready and unwilling to "fall in line" without having our concerns taken seriously.
--------------------
From Deborah:
During the debate prior to the vote in Wisconsin, you refused to take responsibility for your YES vote that handed George Bush war power that allowed him to invade Iraq. Over 500 young Americans and thousands of Iraqis have been killed in the war in Iraq and many thousands more have suffered horrible injuries.
Please answer these questions in less than 5 minutes:
Why didn't you know what George Bush was planning when millions of people from around the world knew? Why didn't you speak out, as you said you would, when you finally realized Bush was lying to you and the American people? When will you take full responsibility for the consequences of your poor judgement?
Editor's note: Someone recently pointed to an article by William Rivers Pitt, which was written for Truthout back in December when you were still down in the polls. This part stunned me:
http://truthout.org/docs_03/121003A.sht
Kerry nodded, bowed his head, and said, “You’re right. I was wrong to trust him. I’m sorry I did.” And then he was gone. Senator Kerry, this shows me that you are at least capable of showing a touch of humility and admitting your mistakes. Why have we, the voters, never seen that side of you?
-----------------
From Kate in Montclair
What I want to know, Senator Kerry, is:
Are you aware there is a racial divide in this country, and are you, too, tired of being divided by race?
Are you, too, eager to talk about race with white people, rather than just in communities of nonwhites, and just on the third weekend of January, some part of February, and when you're running for office?
And, do you agree that proper leadership could actually unite America around our shared challenges for quality schools, job opportunities, a clean environment, affordable healthcare, secure finances upon retirement, rather than divide us around our fears, our prejudices, and our race?
---------------
From Steviemo in MN
Senator, it appears Democrats didn't learn ANYTHING from the role Ralph Nader played in handing the White House to the Republicans in 2000. Here we are, four years later and no senator has introduced a bill to calling for Instant Runoff Voting which would allow Americans to vote FOR a candidate instead of AGAINST one.
Will you reach out to Greens and independents and mitigate the Nader factor by putting Instant Runoff Voting before the Senate PRIOR to this years election?
---------------------
From Agatha:
Senator Torricelli, one of your top financial contributors, funded the smear ads in Iowa associating Howard Dean with Osama bin Laden. Will you publicly apologize to Dr. Dean for your indirect but obvious involvement in this filth? My vote for you in November HINGES on your response to this question.
Editor's note: Many people have asked this question or a similar one. I really hope you will address this concern.-----------------
From Michelle:
How about asking Mr. Kerry if he will be willing to break up the media conglomerates, and do some re-regulation of that industry, as Dean said he would do. This has got to change. The media has tremendous influence, because it shapes the public's opinions on Everything. As he knows all too well. It destroyed one candidate and built up another.
Then I might consider giving him my vote. I would begin to respect him, but not until he states what he will do concerning this.
--------------------
From Judy:
Will you reinstate Public Television taxpayer funding and ban corporations from financially supporting the public airwaves? Our taxes have built the infrastructure and the American people own the airwaves. PBS should NOT be a venue for government or corporate influence. A society is only as free as we demand it to be, and the American people have the right to a free and honest media.
--------------------------
From Joni in OK:
Do you support the roping off of dissenters during the Democratic Convention?
If not, what will you do to change what is obviously being arranged at this time?
If so, where does our freedom of speech begin and end in your estimation?
------------------------
From Kyna:
Will you take on the full implications of being a uniter of the Democratic party by carrying the newly formed platform of principles from the ground up...a platform that is pro-community, that establishes equality that is non-negotiable in terms of basic rights (civil, health care, minimum wage) that works off of an appropriate timeline for each concern (20 years for education, 100 years for environment, etc.)? Will this platform serve as your compass point that you are beholden to even as pundits and politics suggest that you adjust to a platform that is more "central?"
---------------------
From Corinne:
Now that you are the presumptive Democratic nominee, will you update and release your list of bundlers and pledge to do so regularly throughout the campaign? As a March 13 editorial in the Washington Post correctly notes, "Knowing the identities of the campaign's bundlers would be critical to assessing the policies and personnel of a Kerry administration. Mr. Kerry needs to make clear that releasing a list of his financiers was not a one-time event but part of a regular system of providing meaningful disclosure."
Also, when do you plan to make good on your promise to release the records of your meetings with lobbyists over the years? In January, you said that you'd happily release any lobbyist meeting you've ever had. Now would be a good time to do that.
---------------------
From Susan in Ohio
1. The drug companies are out of control. Their prices are a joke. Every other commercial on T.V. is for a drug. Some of the drugs are rushed into market so fast they're not thoroughly tested and cause deaths (ex: Ephedra). What would you do to rein in the drug companies?
2. Credit card companies are now charging an average of around 24%, some higher. Isn't this usury? It's funny that when credit card interest was a tax deduction, interest averaged around 7.5%. What would you do to stop this consumer abuse?
3. Will you work seriously to develop alternate fuel/power sources (NOT NUCLEAR) to make us less reliant on oil?
4. Will you put security in place for incoming cargo vessels?
5. Will you do something to stem the influx of illegal aliens from Mexico?
6. Will you do something to halt the outflow of jobs? When companies outsource to make bigger profits they don't share. Prices don't go down for products, and remaining workers don't get raises. Only the CEO's and shareholders get rich.
7. Will you see that the media is broken up? Right now 5 companies control the media. American must have a free press.
8. Will you see that Robert Novak is charged for exposing a CIA agent?
9. Will you safeguard Social Security? I worked all my life, but I made lower pay as a woman and had to take time out to have and raise children. Consequently I have no pension savings. I'm quite sure I'm not alone.
10. Will you make a promise to regularly get out among the "real people"? Outside the Washington bubble, outside the Millionaire/Billionaire club, where most people live for a week on what you might spend on one dinner. America has millions more "regular folks" than rich ones. You'd be well advised to keep in touch. Will you?
----------------------
From Janice:
Senator Kerry,
Do you care enough about the concerns of Dean supporters to answer the above questions, or are we considered "collateral damage" to you, of some peripheral concern but ultimately expendable.
Do you care that our concern is that you have a pattern of being unable to discern the truth in a crisis?
Did you really expect George Bush would not use the power you gave him in October of 2002? If I had been reading his intentions since before the 2000 election, how could you have missed this? Please explain this to me.
Are you counting on our support simply because you know we want Bush out of office?
Do you not realize, once again, that the problems in our country are bigger than that and that if you miss this, even with our support and our votes and a majority, you may still lose in November?
-----------------
This is a sampling of questions that have been submitted to me. I only included the ones I could use without major editing, but other concerns included your missed votes in general and your missing the vote on the "partial birth abortion" ban in particular, Hoffa's comment on Hardball regarding ANWR that "Kerry will drill everywhere," your vote for the unfunded mandate No Child Left Behind, as well as your plans to reverse the damaging effects of that legislation, and the push polling and robo calling against Dean that was used by your campaign in some states.
Pay special attention to the question by Janice--it reflects the level of distrust and cynicism that many of us are experiencing right now. We believe America deserves better than the politics of cynicism. We want very much to have something real and hopeful to vote for in November rather than simply voting against Bush.
Retired Bishop John Shelby Spong, an early endorser of yours, spoke at my church in January. In the question/answer session that followed, someone asked his thoughts about the election in November. Spong expressed his optimism, noting that because of your service in Viet Nam, no one would be able to question your courage or patriotism. Your endorser Max Cleland would probably attest to the fact that the Bush administration is not squeamish about questioning anyone's patriotism. Please consider that this election in 2004 may be calling for you to show a different, ultimately more powerful kind of courage and patriotism--by entering into a truly open and respectful dialog with those you hope to lead.
We Dean supporters, and all others who want Bush out of office, but are not yet ready to call ourselves "Kerry supporters" look forward to your thoughtful and sincere response.
Sincerely,
Renee in Ohio
P.S. Adding one question of my own: What mechanism will you set up *before* November to insure ongoing two-way communication between yourself and grassroots organizations dedicated to working for a government of the people, by the people, and for the people?
