Political Archives - Page 13 of 14

East Orlando Obama Office Opens

November 11, 2008 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

*Note: Starting in September I sent several posts to The Huffington Post Off The Bus. Some of them were published-this one wasn’t.

By Jerry Waxman

Saturday, September 27.

It was the kind of day in Central Florida that the Tourist Bureau people dream about; Blue sky, bright sun, temperature in the low 80’s and no hint of humidity in the air. At 1:00 on a Saturday afternoon like this in a previous life, say thirty years ago, I would just now be coming off the golf course with my regular foursome and we would meet our wives at the tennis courts and have lunch. The rest of the afternoon would be spent playing mixed doubles and figuring out where to go for dinner that evening, and then whether or not to go to the casinos in Atlantic City. Life was good. Fast forward thirty years and 900 miles south of Philadelphia and I am searching for an address that even my Google map couldn’t find. Through trial and error I finally arrived. This place, ensconced in the rear of an office complex, will remain a well kept secret for the next thirty six days. My apprehension was quickly put to rest by the active crowd of enthusiastic supporters and volunteers both in the parking lot and inside the building. From Ten O’clock AM until well after Three O’clock PM there was a steady stream of people coming and going. Two gas barbecue grilles were constantly going and Tom, the steadfast chef, made sure that no one left hungry. As I observed the goings on I realized that my previous life was now just a part of my experience that served me well for my next life as a senior citizen activist.

The East Orlando office can easily hold between 50 and 100 people at any time, and it will serve the community well. East Orlando is really the key to winning Orange County. If all the volunteers and supporters work diligently Obama will win in Central Florida. There are two colleges in the area, Valencia and the University of Central Florida. When the two are included together they add up to significant numbers. There are also scores of apartment complexes in the area. I have now been appointed a team leader. My job will be to attract and empower volunteers to both canvass the area and make as many phone calls as possible to voters in our district. During this grand opening people from all walks of life were there. All age groups were represented as well as all income levels, ethnicities and religions. It was also a very friendly group. I met several of my fellow team leaders and I sensed real passion in this gathering.

The tide is turning in Central Florida. The community organizers here are astute and well trained at what they do. They are attracting very motivated people and there are boots on the ground all over the Orlando area. As I write this I am preparing for a meeting with the area organizer tomorrow morning where we will develop plans for covering our particular districts to be implemented within the next two days. The new office is located at 1842 N. Alafaya Trail, Orlando, FL 32826. If you are a resident in the area and want to volunteer please stop in. The office is open from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM every day, Sundays included. You can also call 407 949 8604. I’ll be there for the next several Saturday afternoons-it sure beats golf.

Something Old, Something New

October 12, 2008 by Jerry Waxman 1 Comment

Mon. Oct 6 This is the last day to register people in Florida. All applications are to be delivered to The Supervisor of Elections before 9:45 P.M., or they need to be postmarked before midnight. The push is on. Our office has volunteers with forms at every gathering place you can think of. Every supermarket, strip mall, library and truck stop is being covered. There’s even a registration table at the dog park and it’s active.

I decided to go into Waterford Lakes, a huge shopping area with almost every kind of chain outlet you can imagine and just walk around to every store, clipboard in hand rather than stay at a table in one place. That way I can talk to people at Best Buy, Joanne Fabrics, Office Max, Pet Supermarket, Target, Party City, Old Navy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Kinko’s plus every kind of restaurant and hair care shop you can imagine. There’s also a huge cinema complex, so I can register a multitude of people from all walks of life with myriad reasons to be there. In most places the people let me know they are registered and few of them thank me for caring.

The most interesting place I visited was Starbucks (yes, this one was still operating). A bunch of young people in their early twenties had shoved some tables together and were just “hangin’ out”. It was after 5:00 P.M. and I was tired of walking. I was invited to join them and registered four of them immediately. Most of them were UCF grads that were looking for work besides flipping burgers or doing hair. That led to a spirited discussion led by me of the Clinton economy which they were entirely unfamiliar with. I got several promises that they would vote for Obama, so we’ll see what happens.

Back at campaign headquarters there was furious activity checking all the applications for accuracy and making sure that all spaces were correctly marked. I have no idea of the totals, but in my head I figured that it was well over a thousand with all of us working out there.

Tue. Oct 7. There is lots of work to be done before we all go to the debate party. Today we are going to man the phones for volunteers. The next big push is to get as many volunteers as possible to come in Saturday for a strategy session to get out the vote. The phone banks are busy. I take a list and make calls for volunteers. Three hours and 137 calls later it’s time to quit for the day. The phone results were good today. We got a lot of promises-let’s see what happens Saturday.

The party held in a volunteer’s living room. Everyone’s reactions are pretty similar as John McCain continues to lie. Every time we catch him in an untruth or a distortion there are shouts of disbelief that he is not challenged-not by Obama, but by Brokaw, who was clearly not up to the job. It was either that or he was purposely tilting things to keep McCain competitive. I, frankly, can’t stand Brokaw and at best have only ever tolerated him. Later in this series I’ll do a perspective on him. We all agree that Obama won this one handily and that McCain looked like he was self-destructing.

Wed. Oct 8. I have plans to be away for the next four days so I need to wrap up what I can before noon. I bring my lap top to headquarters and download software that will enable me to keep tabs on my team and also make phone calls from wherever I happen to be. Tomorrow is Yom Kippur with Kol Nidre services beginning at sundown this evening. I suspect that most of the Jewish campaign workers will not actively participate, however there is no real way of knowing. I plan to make calls wherever I am when I am able to, and I do. I e-mail my totals to headquarters.

Thur. Oct 9. Today is a day of reflection, rather than atonement for me. My grandfather died on Yom Kippur in 1972, thirty six years ago. Members of my family told me that dying on this holiest of days is the highest honor a man can receive. He was a remarkable man who quit school in the fourth grade in order to support his very large family. He became a successful merchant and manufacturer and continued to support his brothers and sisters well into the great depression. At 9:30 this morning our daughter, Nancy, is in labor with her pains four minutes apart. Margaret Paige Gorczynski emerges from the womb at 4:15 P.M. delivered by her father, Erik, the old fashioned way. The midwife didn’t arrive until 10 minutes after her birth. I surmise that her being born today is an additional honor for my grandfather and that she will achieve great things in her life. I recall that the late Gertrude Berg’s paean to the family, The Goldbergs, was all about family and generations. Yes, today was a day of reflection and observance. The campaign will have to wait a few hours.

Fri. Oct 10. I change my schedule to be back in the campaign over the weekend. I’m back at the desk in the evening and I manage to make about 50 calls for volunteers before we have to get ready for tomorrow’s event. The UCF organizer has about 20 students in a meeting getting ready for the day’s events.

Campaign Journal: Bikers, Bill Clinton and Ballots in Florida

October 7, 2008 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

There are many ways volunteers can help during a campaign. There is always a need for data entry, phone calls, canvassing, sign posting, food runs, bathroom sanitation and general support. Anyone who cares can volunteer and the amount of hours contributed can vary. This volunteer has made a personal commitment to give at least twenty hours a week to the Obama campaign serving in whatever capacity they need. At the moment, I’ve been made a team leader for my district in East Orlando. In order to effectively lead the team I’ve been on the phones myself and I’ve been visiting the neighborhoods knocking on doors to get a sense of what’s happening here so that I can better advise the team. Amanda Michel suggested that I keep a diary and submit it on a semi-weekly basis and I thought it was a great idea.

Mon. Sep 29 9:30 AM The office has just opened on Saturday and many of the team leaders are assembled to receive basic instructions and lists of volunteers for our teams. There are young mothers with kids in tow, mothers of teens and lots of single women. The women probably outnumber the men four to one. Several ethnicities are represented. We get to meet each other and exchange ideas. We discuss the best times to run the phone banks, the best times to canvass and other ways to be effective. Right now the biggest push is for voter registration and early voting. There is one more week to register and big pushes are underway at Univ. of Central Fla. and Valencia Community College. These two schools represent seventy thousand potential voters and this area, East Orlando, is the key to winning Orange County. One of our organizers tells us to keep Wednesday from twelve o’clock to two o’clock open and that there will be a special announcement. I take several sheets of phone contacts home to make calls from the house.

1:00 PM This is not a good time to be making phone calls. People are at work, or out doing their daily chores. I’m getting a lot of voicemail responses. Leaving a call back number is a waste of time

Tue. Sep 30 9:00 AM Check in at the office. The new phone scripts are available. I’ll get them to my team members. I’ve rearranged my business and personal schedule to be free on Wednesday so that I’ll not be able to contribute ant more time today. We now know that Bill Clinton will be appearing at UCF and it’s a prime opportunity to register people.

Wed. Oct 1 11:00 AM On the grounds at UCF. The crowds are already here. The speech is going to be held outdoors. Much time is going to be spent jockeying for position and finding a vantage point in order to record and take pictures. I should have brought a milk crate to stand above the crowd. Several people faint at this event because it’s hot and the crowds are preventing a lot of air circulation. Two young women succumbed at different times less than ten feet away from me. In person he is everything positive you have ever heard about him. He redeemed himself in my opinion for his lackluster support up until now. There were registration tables set up for the college crowd and there was activity there.

Thur. Oct 2 3:00 PM I’ve put Susan, my wife, on a plane to Baltimore to be with our daughter, Nancy, who is expecting her second child. The figures are in from yesterday and we registered over 200 new people at UCF and over 100 people from Valencia. My organizer has asked me to lead a team of canvassers to the Valencia area neighborhoods. I said okay, but the final tally was the organizer and me. We should work in teams; one person covering the odd number addresses and the other covering the even numbers. The focus of this canvass is to identify voter preference and to register new democratic voters, as well as, pick up early voting ballots and get early voting pledges.

4:30 PM Lots of people are not home. The ones that are home are hospitable even if they are not Obama supporters. I’m not trying to convince anyone here; I’m just trying to identify. I do ask open ended questions where I can so we can determine why people are supporting McCain. Most of the people in these neighborhoods are of Hispanic descent, not necessarily Cuban. There are also Arab families, Indian, African American and oriental families living here. There are very few actual white people, however, in the middle of one block there was a picture perfect biker family that saw me coming. They were not on my list but I just had to comment on the big Harley in their driveway and the 79 Corvette (needing much restoration) and how much I admired the vehicles. I asked what it was that they liked about McCain. The answer was frightening: “he’s one tough guy-you guys are pussies.” I responded that we Democrats also buy Corvettes and motorcycles and moved on. Some of the Obama supporters invited us in and told us how affected they are by the current administration. We signed up several volunteers and actually registered some people right on the spot.

7:30 PM We’re back in the office. We must have covered a couple of hundred addresses and I learned a lot. Here are some rules:

1. Wear comfortable shoes.

2. Don’t waste time with non supporters. If they are undecided ask them what issues are important to them and leave some literature.

3. Do not argue. Even if you win you lose. Be cordial at all times

4. Carry a pocketful of dog biscuits. It’s a way of winning over people if their dog likes you.

Time to man the phones. Making calls is different. The contact rate is much smaller, and when you do connect you can’t look them in the eye and control the conversation. I had one contact who said to me straightforward “I wouldn’t vote for that SOB if you paid me” just as I identified myself as an Obama campaign worker. Another contact, a Jewish middle aged woman said that she was supporting McCain. Normally I would thank her for her input and hang up, but I was intrigued that she was so adamant. I tactfully asked her to give me a reason for her McCain support and she said that “Obama is not ready to lead.” When I hear that phrase my stomach turns. I know where she’s coming from and she’s too ignorant to educate herself properly. There’s no use arguing with ignorance and my job is not to influence her, it is only to collect the information. I thanked her for her input and hung up, making notations on the contact sheet.

8.45 PM It is time to go to a debate party. After a long day I really wasn’t in the mood to be with a lot of people so I elected to go home, play with our dog and four cats, have dinner and watch the debate.

Fri. Oct 3 4:00 PM I need to finish the Valencia area from yesterday. Friday is not a good day. People make plans to go out and don’t have time to talk to you. Again there are many homes with nobody home. One wonders if anyone actually lives there. On these blocks I found more Obama people and I collected some absentee ballots. The undecided are leaning more towards Obama, but they have not yet made a commitment. Once it gets dark there’s no use in trying to see more people, so it is back to the office. I’ll finish off the area tomorrow and take a new area as well.

We decide that Friday after 5:00 is no time to make cold calls on the phone. I called members of the team to try and mobilize them for tomorrow. We agree to meet at 9:30

Sat. Oct 4 9:30 AM I’m here. Where’s everyone else? I talk to the organizer about putting the team to work. I’ll go out now with another partner and the team will go to work when they arrive. I only have three hours today as I must babysit for my other daughter today and tomorrow. Another thing that I discovered on the street is that I like it. It energizes me. I’m talking to people with names like Sanchez, Rodriguez, Kwan, Aboud, Shakir as well as Gibson, Wilson Becker et al. We’re all communicating as best we can. Everyone should do this.

Uh oh, there’s competition. No, it’s not the McCain people. It’s church people. We’re all knocking on the same doors. They are trying to sell books and magazines and they are in large groups. No way am I going to compete with them because they speak fluent Spanish. I’ll send someone out tomorrow to finish this neighborhood.

It’s Time For Lots Of Changes

September 21, 2007 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

The events of the last couple of weeks and the shameful performance of our elected Democrats have caused me to rethink the entire situation.

1. It’s time for a change of congressional leadership. If Harry Reid isn’t sharp enough to know when he’s being strung along by the Republicans he has no business being the majority leader. Get someone in there who will not only play hardball with them but smack them over the head with a bat if they don’t cooperate. What folly for our leadership to allow a condemnation resolution to even come to the floor. To add insult to injury the leadership introduces absolutely meaningless troop funding bills that they know won’t pass or will be vetoed. We’ve got to stop Reid’s Folly.

2. It’s time to change this administration. This congress has the power to not bring any legislation to the floor. Every committee should be engaged in investigative work that could result in impeachment charges against every administration official as well as criminal charges against former officials. The Senate should not even hold hearings on any Bush nomination for office. That means AG, judgeships, cabinet officers etc. Let this administration rot until it decides it wants to act in good faith.

3. It’s time to change the media. Congress has the power to break up the corporate consolidated ownership of the media. It won’t happen unless we press for it to happen. This is probably more important than impeaching Bush or dumping Harry Reid. This speaks to how we get our news and information and how biased it is. We must have a free and independent media; one that seeks truth and facts and eschews propaganda. We must urge congress to act in the public interest on this.

Why I Joined MoveOn.org

September 15, 2007 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

I’ve been away from this post for three months. Sorry about that, but a few minor things happened in my life that had some impact on my time. Within that space of time both of my daughters gave birth to the most beautiful baby girls you have ever seen, plus we moved to a new residence. During the period of the move my wife, Susan, had triple bypass surgery, so I was rather busy as well as apprehensive. I’m happy to report that she has made a complete recovery. For eight solid weeks I was her nurse, cook and housekeeper. It was a wonderful experience and we’re both now on heart healthy diets and getting our bodies into first class shape. Oh, yes…..and my wonderful mother (86 years young ) passed away in late July. That was a real blow to me. So you’ll excuse me if I didn’t do any posting, but now I’m ready and more enthusiastic than ever.

Over the last few months it seems as if our Democratic leadership has been paralyzed when it comes to confronting and dealing with this administration. The few bright spots were the Justice Dept. hearings but even they fell flat, partially because the Democratic leadership in Congress decided to take a month long vacation. This country is in serious trouble and they should have at least cut vacation time or staggered it.

If you are not already listening to progressive talk radio, you should be. There are several nationally broadcast shows available and if there is no station in your area you can always go to the hosts websites. You can also listen over the internet to several stations that are available. I’ll list some of these at the end of this post. It was through listening to Ed Schultz that got me interested in MoveOn.org

What got me re-energized was the reaction by some Democrats to the ad placed by MoveOn.org in the New York Times. This PAC is actually doing something to counter the misinformation being spewed out by the administration and its right wing parrots. My word! What are the Democrats afraid of ? Galvanizing the Republican? Being called nasty names? Come on! The Republicans are going to do that anyway. Over the last several years these cowards have never been properly confronted, because they scream foul when it happens to them. They certainly cant take their own medicine. So, what are we afraid of?

Once I realized that MoveOn.org represents my sentiments better than my elected representatives my course was clear. I joined, and I also volunteered to become an intern for them if they choose me. This is an organization that actually is doing something unfettered by the niceties of the Washington establishment.

What has to happen is that we need to be able to advertise in every major Newspaper and in the electronic media as well. If we all join and donate some money, we can possibly make the Democrats fear us more than they fear the right wing noise machine. Wouldn’t that be great. At the same time we can also balance the playing field with truth and facts as opposed to what the right wing does.

I urge everyone to join MoveOn.org and to contribute so that we can take this country back. Especially for my two beautiful granddaughters. They deserve the best world we can give them.

In addition, listen on the radio or the web to Stephanie Miller, Randi Rhodes, Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann, Laura Flanders, Rachel Maddow, Bill Press and if your heart can stand it-Mike Malloy. There are many others in different markets but if you google these names you can go directly to their websites. In a later post I’ll compile a list of every progrssive show for you. A word of caution on Mike Malloy-he gets passionately violent (which I love about him) so be prepared for a roller coaster ride, but its well worth it. This is the man who coined the phrase “Bush Crime Family” and he’ll prove it to you every night.

Bada This

June 12, 2007 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

Last night I watched the final episode of The Sopranos strictly out of morbid fascination since I never watched it during the eight years it was on. No matter how well a movie is done; no matter how well it is written, produced, directed or acted when the subject matter deals with people who commit crime for a living I can’t condone the characters being worshiped as either heroic or sympathetic beings. Unfortunately, The Godfather changed things about our culture that deal with morality and how we perceive it. At least in the final movie of the series Michael Corleone’s world falls apart and he gets his just desserts. Without the requisite emotional attachment to these characters that the show’s loyal fans have I was free to watch it objectively, not prejudging what the relationships are and how they interact with each other. I don’t feel that I missed ANYTHING over the last eight years. Excepting the two kids there wasn’t one person in the cast that I could feel sympathetic for. Now don’t get me wrong-I’m not a prude. I spent the last fifteen years being a theatrical producer and I presented many plays that dealt with controversial subjects. My philosophy has always been that any subject can be presented if handled properly; however, the purpose of our productions has always been “what lessons can be learned?” Plays rarely provide answers; what they do best is prompt us to ask relevant questions. Movies and TV shows do society an injustice when they cater strictly to prurient interests without anything redeeming in them. Oh, there are a few exceptions over the years such as (but not limited to) Topkapi, It Takes a Thief, Nothing But the Best (starring Alan Bates) and a few others but these by and large were done in a light handed manner, not trying to be anything but entertainment. Recently the plethora of casino rip-off movies (Ocean’s 11, etc.) have glorified stealing on an unimagined scale. The top stars in Hollywood rush to make these movies because they are a lot of fun to make and it’s very nice payday. The worst offender (to me, of course) was the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. My kids were then 16, 14, and 12 and we all saw the movie together. I can’t say that I didn’t laugh because I did, but underlying the obvious humor was the message the movie sent: It’s okay to break the rules and destroy property. If you’re rich enough and smart enough you won’t get caught, and you won’t get punished. It really doesn’t matter who gets hurt. Fast forward twenty years. The sixteen to twenty year olds who saw the movie have either reached or are rapidly approaching forty. They also voted in the last four or five elections. The current administration has a penchant to emulate Ferris Bueller’s approach to running the government. They certainly have no respect for the rule of law. Is there something in our national character that only looks at armed robbers, murderers, rapists and other violent people as criminals? Since when is lying under oath not a punishable crime? Same for obstruction of justice and a whole host of other offenses too numerous to mention. Intellectually, people will say that they are not influenced by these things, but on an emotional level I wonder. Intellectually, we as a nation are the most vapid and incurious that we have ever been. With all the information resources available to us we still have the attention span of 30 second or less, preferring the sound bite to real discourse. Madison Avenue has been very adept at appealing to our emotions over our brain. A mind is too precious a commodity to be toyed with that way. My fear is that there is a subliminal message being sent. It may not be intentional in the sense that the producers are encouraging us to condone the actions of their characters (What? The Hollywood liberal elite like George Clooney think breaking the law is OK?), but the message is there and it does influence our attitudes about right and wrong on a subliminal level. Just in case you don’t know it I do not believe in censorship. I do, however, believe in responsibility and recourse. Remember, this post is about solutions. How can we as a society get back on track and make sure that wrongdoers get properly punished. How can Hollywood become more responsible towards that end without sacrificing artistic integrity? Given the abdication of our moral authority in the world, how can we successfully teach respect for the rule of law to the next generation. The examples we have been setting have been detrimental to say the least. Lets keep asking the tough questions. The answers are there somewhere.

They really think we’re stupid

June 7, 2007 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

The only Republican debater that made any attempt to appeal to our intellect the other evening was Ron Paul. The others used the same old fear tactics (and that’s exactly what they are) to appeal to their base. No one in the debate even attempted to ask Mitt Romney to correct his statement about weapons inspectors not being allowed into Iraq, which is a totally untrue statement. Wolf Blitzer let the statement go as well, although he did cite Romney for not answering the question he asked. Since this was the first question asked during the evening it is clear that everyone involved was going to support a lie and it was downhill from there. They really must think we’re stupid. Add Fred Thompson into this mix and that’s a sure prescription for failure as a society. The only way we can save our republic is to completely reject the idea that these prevaricators and charlatans can run the country; they can’t, and over the last six years they’ve proven it. All of these men are part of the Republican sweep of the nineties that helped elect the Bush Administration and they tacitly watched the systematic destruction of our society while vociferously supporting Bush without the slightest bit of criticism. If one of them (other than Paul) had an original thought it would completely screw up their programming. The truth is that none of these guys deserve to hold any elective office. These guys are deluded enough to think that they can continue to spew out the same tired, unfounded and debunked rhetoric constantly. If they repeat their lies enough they think people will buy it. The country was gullible enough until the 06 elections. Fool me once shame on you-fool me twice shame on me. Are we gullible? To a point we all are. We all want to believe in our government, whether or not we always agree with its policies. What this current administration has done to our country’s stature and credibility will take the better part of a generation to remedy no matter who wins the election. We certainly can’t afford to be gullible or stupid now. There’s no way you can trust a Republican, even Ron Paul, to bring us back properly, protect our rights, give the middle class back its place in our society and respect the rule of law. The fact that these men condoned the actions of Scooter Libby and refused to even recognize his deceptions proves that there is no morality in the GOP. I’m not giving the Democrats a pass on this. The war funding vote still sticks in my craw. As much as I like Joe Biden I cannot support him in the primary nor can I support Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The freshman congresswoman was not elected to cave in to GWB. Her excuse was that she could not leave our soldiers unprotected. I heard her explaining her vote on a morning radio show and then thought to myself “she bought the lie”. She certainly is not stupid, so she must, as a freshman legislator, be extremely gullible. No fewer soldiers will die or be maimed because of the war funding. All she did was prolong the agony. The opportunity to break the President’s power and turn the tide was there and our Democratic leadership blew it. Maybe they think we’re a little less stupid than the GOP. I refuse to be gullible any more. Note to Debbie Wasserman Schultz: you’re first responsibility is to your constituency, not to the military. If you want the war to end then it’s your responsibility to either stop this commander-in-chief from pursuing a failed policy or fire him. That’s a vote I can support. Stop thinking we’re stupid. Do what you were elected to do-ruthlessly! Then I can feel comfortable voting for you.

Women Unite!

June 5, 2007 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

In 2000 I was telling everybody that “this is the most important election since 1932” for a variety of reasons, not the least being that presidents appoint federal and Supreme Court judges and there was no way that we could allow George Bush to appoint any judges. In 2004 I felt that this is the most important election ever and we were lucky that he had not appointed any Supremes. The Iraq War, the dismal economy, the deficit, were all things that, while important, would work themselves out through the political process. Judgeships, however, can last a lifetime. Bush has done his damage, so now we’re coming into 2008 (albeit a little early) and I am now saying that this is the most important election since The Civil War. We were lucky back then-the good guys won. In the 140 plus years since, our society has undergone radical changes, however, our legal system still plods along in the 19^th century.

Last week the Supremes by a 5 to 4 (thanks to GWB) decision slapped the collective faces of American women and let them know that they are second class citizens in the job marketplace. Where’s the outrage? I would think that even Republican women would be outraged at this decision. Well, perhaps there is so much going on in government right now that this is an issue that will have to wait its turn. I think that this should be a presidential election issue. Hillary Clinton has already indicated that she would take action to remedy this, but I haven’t heard from any other Democrat on the issue. The Democrats must make this a platform issue whether or not Hillary is the candidate, and they must fly it in the face of the Republican candidate at all times. It’s too early for me to pick a candidate to endorse, but it’s not too early to put together a winning strategy, and win over all the undecided women as well as some dissatisfied Republican women. I can’t understand why any smart, self-respecting woman would want to be a Republican. Maybe something like this can be the tipping point

A Regrettable Choice

May 28, 2007 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

Yesterday in my last post I urged everyone to withhold contributions to democratic legislators who voted for the supplemental war funding, as well as vote for whoever their Democratic opponent is in the next primary election. I never thought I would be faced with this problem. Well, I am. My congressperson, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz voted for the war funding.

Here’s my problem; she’s a fantastic legislator and a rising star in the House. She’s smart, erudite, and is on top of the issues. She’s everything I want my legislator to be…..except for this one issue. I contacted her today and informed her that I would not support her financially, nor would I vote for her in the primary. It broke my heart to do this, but this is too important an issue to let pass.

The Democratic leadership could have withheld any legislation, thereby forcing GWB’s hand. If they don’t show that kind of initiative they’ll never gain any respect. The funding was the only legislation that mattered. Everything else was window dressing and could have been attended to any time. Frankly, nothing else really matters until we resolve
Iraq.

Solution: Run for office, or find someone to run for office. Seriously, that’s how things can change. Any person from any walk of life can run. The two most powerful men in the House last term were Tom DeLay and Dennis Hastert. Think about it-an exterminator and a wrestling coach shaping the lives of all of us. If they can do it so can you.