Thank you Charles Chamberlain.


Run, Al, Run!

 IT'S FLORIDA ALL OVER AGAIN... So much for the DFA as "progressive".

Having forwarded the DFA site and pulse poll to many friends and relations, and no doubt gathered many new contributing members for DFA, I am truly embarassed by this micky-mouse reporting of the results. If you were not going to count the Gore votes, why did you pretend that we could vote for another person? This should have been made clear in the polling rules from the very beginning. So much for another so-called "Progressive" group that really has a hidden agenda. I resent your manipulation of my vote. I will not be voting for your candidate, nor will you have any more cash from me.

Sue Stinson 

Hi everybody,

I've been out petitioning again tonight, and I did pretty well.  I seem to be able to fill a page of 15 sinatures for Al Gore to be on the NY Ballot in about an hour.   If I can keep that up every night now, and maybe more on the week ends, it’ll be a lot in 20 days...(gulp)  I found some good techniques I thought I’d share:

Here in NYC there is plenty of foot traffic just about everywhere.  I stood on the corner at a busy intersection, this was 34th and Park.
Because it's busy, no one will cross against the light, and because they are both big streets, if one direction turns red, not that many people just choose to cross the other way... if they are heading south, for example, on Park, they are likely to be on the side they want to be, so if they hit the light at 34th, they have to wait.  Ok, so that's when I approach them.  I wait for the light to turn red, for people to stop at the corner, and I approach the ones who are away from the edge a bit.
No point in haranguing the ones out on the edge or in the gutter, they’re in a hurry.  So I approach someone, smile and say "Hi, are you a Democrat?"  Here in NY the odds are pretty good they'll say "Yes."
Some won't answer at all, some will say no, some will say they are not registered, some will shrug, some will say they are from another country (and they usually support Gore.)  But, if they answer "Yes", that's great because they are already saying yes to something, and I know immediately they are Democrats.  Then I say, "Would you like to see Al Gore's name on the NY Primary Ballot?"  Almost everyone says "Yes" again to that!  That’s to yeses in a row; I'm cruisin'.  Then I say, "I'm collecting signatures to put him on the ballot, can you help?"  People love to help, so that works really, really well.  Now, some times they say "He doesn't want to run" or "He's not going to run" or "He's doing better things now, not running" etc., to which I say, "Yes, but even if he doesn't run, this kind of ground swell of support only strengthens his hand, what ever he does…", which clinches the deal almost every time.  The hardest part is getting someone to say "Yes" to the first question.  "Are you a Democrat?" is good because it does double duty, it gets them to say yes, if they are, and it selects out the people who are not Dems right away.

Ok, so we need to get the numbers up!  Can any of you pitch in? 

 Here is the petition info for NY State

Instructions:
http://www.newyorkforgore.com/images/Petition_Instructions.pdf

8.5x11 Petition (10 signatures):
http://www.newyorkforgore.com/images/petition8.5x11.pdf

8.5x14 Petition (15 signatures):
http://www.newyorkforgore.com/images/petition8.5x14.pdf

Roy~

Can you change up your PDF so that I can use it in Arizona?

 I've met & spoken with Hillary, John, & Barack~ I want Al to join in the race!

Gore abandoned us in 2000 when he didn't have the guts to stand up to the conspirators and liars. He has no right to our endorsement or our nomination now. It's too late for him, and perhaps for democracy.

 He has only himself to blame for heeding his timid, mealy-mouthed, soft-handed Beltway advisors and spineless professional "Democrats"  who blew the campaign; then counseled cowardice and surrender. If he'd been more like his dad and less like a DNC "realist", he'd be in the White House right now, and thousands of American and Iraqi men and women would still be alive.

Aloha Roy & All,

Thanks for the gathering.

But this statement:

<< Then I say, "I'm collecting signatures to put him [Gore] on the ballot, can you help?" 

People love to help, so that works really, really well. >>

only appears to be true beause you have pre-qualified your audience.

*Democrats* love to help.    ;-)

IMO, its one of the major defining differences between Dems & GOPs.  Or Progressives & 'Social Darwinists'.

Cheers,

Jayj Jacobs 

"Just 'cause I'm funny it don't mean I ain't serious" -- Captain Color, PSHAW

Sue,
I understand your anger, but this is too important to letanything get in the way.  I hope you'll support the mostprogressive candidate and that'll be a Democrat unlesswe suddenly find ourselves in Bizarro world.  (Hmm, maybewe're already there, but that's another story.) 
I've nearly always had to support candidates who were notmy first pick, so maybe I've gotten too accustomed to this.  But, you can be sure the Republicans wlll be glad to hear ofany Democrats sitting out the race.
Bob Bruner

c'mon Mr. Gore it's time to throw your hat in the ring. Please don't let us down.

Bob Carpenter

Al Gore is not really a progressive candidate.  He supports nuclear power and never saw a weapon system he didn't like.  Although he raised a tremendous scare in An Inconvenient Truth, he neglected to reallly address the solutions that will reduce the carbon burden on our planet.  See A Sustainable Energy Future is Possible Now, www.abolition2000.org  And see also
Alexander Cockburn's column on his record athttp://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn10132007.html .  We all know how Gore failed to stand up for Democracy when the black Florida Congressmembers tryied to challeng the seating of the Florida electors and Gore gavelled them out of order.  I don't know why DFA is supporting him so strongly.  Alice Slater, A True Progressive

Gore abandoned us?  Where was the public outcry after 2000?  I didn't see his supporters out on the streets demonstrating the bogus election.  Don't blame Gore for deciding that it was the appropriate time to give up.  Perhaps, he wanted to maintain some dignity.  It was our apathy that was disturbing.  The election was stolen and I did not see people raising hell the way we would have 30 yrs ago.  Our political system is such that  people honestly believe it doesn't matter and no longer have the fight they once had.  It is understandable, but very sad.  I have never blamed Gore for deciding it was time to throw in the towel.  We abandoned him.  He did not abandon us.

A few thoughts on the comments:

 "Our political system is such that people honestly believe it doesn't matter and no longer have the fight they once had."

 I can't argue with that, but I can say that we are in the difficult situation we are now because we haven't engaged the political system the way we should.  And if Mr. Gore wants to go "quickly, far" than he will have to engage the system too.  I can tell you after years in advocacy, that unless you have that person at the top who can raise their hand in a vote, oh yes, you will eventually get what you are fighting for but you won't get it quickly.  You can blow in the sails for years, but it is that person that is standing at the helm that will make the biggest impact.  For the first time in my lifetime, we have the opportunity to draft a presidential candidate of our choosing.  Think of that.  No, this isn't about what Mr. Gore wants, it's about what is the greater good.  We need to color outside the lines if we want to bring about change. This isn't simply about what Gore wants. It is about the people  empowering themselves through direct action.  And where are the people?  While 225,000 people is a tremendous army, it isn't a mandate.  Were they in the streets in 2000?  No.  Except for a few committed citizens, are they out walking the streets in NH or NY or CA for Mr. Gore?  No.  Well, then, expect second best.

 Electability, Integrity, Experience -  there is no more qualified candidate than Al Gore.

Eva,

Well said!  I completely agree with you.  I am part of the Draftgore brigade.  I need to do more; we all do!  We will end up with second best or worse, if he does not join this race. 

Eva Ritchey's comments are quite compelling.

Rather than blow in the sails, a new captain is required for the ship of state.

Battleship New Hampshire is the only early primary state where ordinary sailors can "write in" their candidate for captain. 

The Gore write in effort, now underway in earnest, is less a campaign than a mutiny. It is a movement where voters themselves choose who they want to navigate our ship through perilous waters.

 Join the crew for the primary: volunteer@draftgorenh.com.

 -Farrell Seiler, (JOC, USNR-Ret)  

 State Coordinator, Write In Gore Mutiny (er, Campaign) 

Draft Gore New Hampshire, Littleton, NH 

Thanks for the advise, but I've been supporting Democratic candidates ACTIVELY since 1960, pounding the streets, calling, knocking on doors, transporting black voters in the ghetto after dark so they could get their chance to vote. But one of the problems that the Democratic party must face up to is that it has lost its spine looking for the funding. Aside from Mr. Gore,I can't see a whole lot of difference in today's candidates on either side, and I don't trust any of them.

Sue 

                                         Ode To Sue 

 

To all who are encou raged and discou raged;

and just plain raged.

We gotta get the co as in co operation, as in co mingling our Spirited efforts

Get that co with that rage and we got courage!

Gore is a focal point, no less and perhaps more!

Win or lose let's push him to choose.

If he says no we ain't gonna go...

nowhere,  no way.

Hell I'de vote for  Kucinich over Gore if it was an either/or sure shot win...

Kucinch would be in as fast as yer head could spin!

The fact is any scenario in which Gore would run is one in which Gore will win!  

So we get real hot and take a shot; no losing here; the struggle is the wind in our sails..

Dear strong struggling Lady, our hearts broke together on the day JFK was blown away...

I remember being in the sixth grade classroom with a tearful teacher telling us the news...

I remember delivering the papers that afternoon as a shocked and saddened child feeling it was my duty to carry on; (as if people needed to read the Jersey Journal to aprehend what had happened...) Life goes on...

Since then to now... 

So much frustration and corruption and temptation and failure and foulness in this greatest of great notions...

Yes......we're still a notion, the USA...a notion in progress;

Sue; you and I may not live to see "the promised land" of the kind of Nation that we hold dear...

Like it was a rockflow made of hearts in the sacred bloodshine of our imagination.

Lennon said it well...

Images of nations take root, like fetuses, in the wombs created by he fruits of our struggle. 

No effort was wasted. 

No seeming failure was as it seemed...

We schemed and dreamed and shall be redeemed IF we ...

"keep hope alive".     It ain't no bullshit jive.

Our we is to be trusted or your me is sure to be busted...

Trust Not in what

democracy

might do for you; but in what we

all

Must do to preserve democracy..... 

So let us "hang in" together; lest we be

"hung out to dry"                                                               separately. 

Love! 

************************************************************************** 

Nick Lento 

Thanks Nick.

Maybe we are the "whale" Gore went to rescue on 30ROCK last night. Hope so. Meanwhile, back to work.

Sue 

Nick,

You will be happy to note that you turned me around (I was teaching that 3rd grade below you, still have Jackie's reply to our condolence letter). I just replied to a similarly discou raged poster on the Alternet airing of Gore's last night's 30Rock on NBC (http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/67409/). Here's what I said:

I share your frustration, but my faith is in Gore's using all of this to show us how our democracy can have campaigns based on issues, not corporate funding. As Gore says in his interview in the latest "Rolling Stone":

"When enough unexplainable new phenomena pile up, there is sometimes a shift in consciousness that moves us quickly and suddenly to recognize a new pattern that explains all of these things that have been mysterious in the context of the old way of thinking. That's what we're on the cusp of right now."

Try the article at http://rollingstoneextras.com/rsdigitaledition/editionLg.php
and go to page 55 by way of the TOC button (Gore interview)

There is an excellent analysis of what all this interview means at:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/11/4/01843/2665

Gore is already in the race, we just have to see the pattern.

Sue Stinson

Thanks, I'm back on track now. 

If Mr. Gore wont run for President of these great United States, I will. Somebody has to. I believe I am a better candidate than any of those out there at this time. I hope that as Sue says that Gore is in the race but as each day goes by I get more and more skeptical. I believe that universal quality healthcare should be a right and not a privilege. I believe in an equalized tax system with no tax-breaks for the wealth.  I believe in drastically changing our enviromental impact on our planIt via alternative fuels and energy sources. I believe that the war in Iraq was and is a complete debacle but understand the need to somehow stabilize the region prior to withdrawing troops, (which is are greatest challenge). I don't believe in isolationism but do believe in securing our borders to provide a better means of accounting of residents and visitors to the United States. I feel that Illegal Immigrants should be given the oppurtunity to gratned legal staus  and thus contribute to a healthy economy , by actually collecting taxes like everyone else and limiting the amount of funds being sent out of our country. I believe in a civil service model that would provide college funds for young adults. thus increasing Patriotism and overall growth of the economy and leadership of this nation. Civil Service has been done in the past with great results only to have been stymied by a World War. I don't believe in a global economy as I feel all the shipping can;t be good for the enviroment but tend to think that trade helps reduce the possibilty of war. I have no religious preference nor hate of any religion. I don't encourage abortions but supports women's rights. I am a father of five children whom I love dearly and want to provide the best possible place to live. Of the choice of candidates I see none who could best Mr. Gore but if doesn't run I can't see voting for anybody else, so I will vote for myself. I know that I won't lie to the American public, I know that I will do what's best for the many and not the wealthy few. I don't really want the job but  see no other alternative if Mr. Gore doesn't run.

My name is Scott Thomason and if Mr. Gore won't run for President I will.

Everyone! Don't lose heart!

I know things look bleak (Hell, I've cried a few times) but we got to keep on going and hitting the pavement. I'm the lone Gore Girl collecting signatures in Albuquerque, but I'm still doing it, even though my classmates think I'm delusional.

If more of us would just turn our fear into courage, then some major magic would happen.

*Mwe*

Ms. Lopez,

 How can a citizen collecting signatures for a qualified candidate for president be delusional?  If you were collecting signatures for a bubble gum starlet, I would be worried.   The greater truth is that every single voter who doesn't vote and/or engage their own political system as you are doing is living in unreality because they think they will get a governmental system that supports a life of dignity by doing nothing.  That is delusion. 

 And if this draft fails, it isn't you that has failed.  You'll take your integrity, your courage, and the skills you have gained and apply it to next worthy candidate.

I believe we have to accept todays' announcement that a spokesperson for Gore asked them to stop the draft movement for the California primaries.  Hearing the news from CA tells me Gore is out of the game.  I am disappointed, but there is a time for acceptance.  If he has asked them to stop in California, it is time for him to make it official that he is not going to run.  He's left the door slightly open long enough. 

It is a horrible disappointment for all that President Gore has chosen to remain out of the race.  I believe this choice was made out of respect for Bill.  Whether or not this is true, the fact remains, our greatest American asset has refused to lead this country.  Woe is me.  Will I jump in and place my support with another Democratic candidate?  Doubtful.  I have never voted by party, only by person.  Although I am impressed with the character and speaking abilities of the current Democratic candidates, I do not believe any of them has the strength or necessary tools to fix the domestic and international mess left by the current administration.  Only Al Gore does.  This is a sad day indeed, and my vote (as of this moment) will most likely fall into Republican hands.  I am not alone.  In my house, four out of the six (five Gore supporters) intend to vote Huckabee, with one for Obama and one undecided.  Mr. Gore, should not your loyalties have remained with the American people instead of the First Lady?

Just read the interview via this site.http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/11/4/01843/2665

Remaining out of the race as a matter of respect for Bill?  Maybe.  The article, however, implies something much deeper.  Mr. Gore is committed to change, and his focus is on the environment.  Coming from a time in history of filth... highly polluted lakes, piles of roadside trash, etc... I can honestly say that I admire and respect Gore's cause and conviction.  We truly need that strength, intelligence, and conviction at the helm of this country, but he's right.  Humanity needs it internationally.  At the risk of sounding like a loon, Mr Gore, I agree with you.  BUT, as heated as the political environment is (and has the potential to become), I truly believe your leadership is needed in the front office now... before there isn't a planet left to save. With respect sir, t.