We need your help on Election Day to keep PA Blue!
Download the PA Democratic Statewide Judicial Candidates Voter Guide at this link:
http://www.padems.com/Officials/Candidates/PA_Dems.pdf
A simple resolution to recognize October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives was halted by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, a Republican representing Butler. Why? Because, he said, “It has a homosexual agenda.”
On the same day, also on the House floor, he made matters worse. The House was about to vote on increasing marriage license fees from $3 to $28, with the increased amount going to a fund for victims of domestic abuse. Metcalfe opposed the measure, calling the funding a domestic violence programs “a slap in the face to family values.”2 The bill passed despite his outrageous claim.
More information at this link:
http://keystoneprogress.blogspot.com/2009/09/rep-metcalfe-domestic-violence-family.html
Metcalfe information:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/house_bio.cfm?id=13
This document was put together by Jodi Griffin from Red Lion, PA. She was tired of the spin and misstatements about health care reform. She wanted to know in more detail what the President wanted to achieve; what were the accurate statements and what is spin?
It looks like Insurance Companies (like United Healthcare) and Republican Senators (and some Democratic Senators) think that if the debate takes too long the emerging bill will be defeated. They think it is a victory to push a vote until after the August recess. They think during the delay they can win by spreading fear.
I think that delay gives us time to share accurate information with friends and neighbors and call our senators. Who wins the debate is up to us. We can fight organized money with organized people. We can fight fear. Yes We can.
Declare your support: http://my.barackobama.com/reform
Have you heard the health care reform bill is coming together? It is by no means a done deal. President Obama needs us to lobby for his 3 principles of reform. We can not control every detail in the plan (and this wouldn't be much of a democracy if we could), but we can help keep it on the track the President laid out. The three principles:
1) REDUCE COSTS
2) GUARANTEE CHOICE (including a public plan option)
3) ENSURE AFFORABLE CARE FOR ALL
Many of us are not as intimately familiar with the legislative process as a lobbyist but the next couple weeks will be critical. To make our impact we need everyone's help. There are 1500 past volunteers in our area that we need to contact next week. Yes, it needs to be next week. Organizing For America wants each of them (and us) to contact all of their congressman to request that they support the health care bill and the reform principles. While lobbyists have made this kind of effort for years, a grassroots organization directed by the President's goals has not. Let's make history together again! We need to fill up our congressmans' voice mail with messages of support for the President's health care reform principles. If you want health care reform. Next week will be the chance to keep it on track and influence the legislation. "There's going to be a major debate over the next three weeks, and don't be fooled by folks trying to scare you saying we can't change the health care system. We have no choice but to change the health care system because right now it's broken for too many Americans." - Barack Obama When can you make time in your schedule to help?
We had our monthly local OFA steering committee meeting on July 14th. Michael Shapiro from the PA OFA Staff called in to our meeting to introduce our new Regional Director Devorah Fried. They presented information about the new healthcare reform bill congress is producing. They outlined that the next 3 weeks will be critical in the effort to make real change. Over that time we need volunteers to host phone bank efforts to recruit volunteers, canvassing efforts to pursuade our neighbors and for each of us to contact our congressmen. We need to fill up their voicemail. It is time to create a bill with the President's 3 health care reform principles.
The steering committee agreed to host several events over the next week and a half. State OFA staff will help us reach out to all our past volunteers so we can all participate in the legislative process. When you get a call, take time to help us out at an event or simply with a phone call to your elected officials in congress.
It was an exciting meeting, discussing how we could help locally and getting great support from the growing OFA staff in PA.
We had a great turnout at the listening tour meeting held at Park City Mall on Tuesday July 7th. David Driscoll-Knight answered questions about heathcare and the new OFA staff in PA. He emphasized the uniqueness of OFA. It has not been attempted to re-staff campaign organizations so soon after an election to help promote the elected official's agenda. The organization will provide us with training, support, and goals to promote the President's agenda but also a way to share ideas with national OFA staff and the White House. State staff participate in weekly phone meetings with Mitch Stewart, OFA Director. National OFA staff communicate regularly with White House staff. Our feedback will help them stay in touch and improve this experiment.
We recorded all questions and comments and provided that information to David for the State OFA staff to review. Thanks to everyone that attended
I provided an opening statement that I felt remind us of the change we need (text in double quotes are from President Obama's books)...
We had a decent turn out of 7 at out our meeting on Tuesday to discuss a Health Care day of service. But considering that we had 16 people RSVP and many people responded to our email or phone calls saying they were interested but too busy, we came up with an idea we hope will work effectively with our busy schedules. Here is the outline of our project along with tasks we need completed. Health Care Service Project - a healthy summer brochure/pamphletI believe we are envisioning something that is easy to distribute amount friends and neighbors, brings the health care discussion into public interactions locally, and communicates valuable information in a simple, new way. We see this coming together in several steps...
Pennsylvania Democratic Party State Committee Meeting June 5 - 6
June 5-6, 2009The Westin Convention Center, Pittsburgh
We still have tickets for the Inaugural Catherine Baker Knoll Dinner, scheduled for Friday, June 5th, available at PA Dems Party Headquarters and padems.com. Call Rachel Moore at 717-920-8470 to order by phone or click here to order your tickets online.Join Governor Ed Rendell, Sen. Bob Casey, Sen. Arlen Specter and PA Democratic Party Chairman T.J. Rooney for what promises to be an unforgettable night honoring an unforgettable public servant.
And don't miss the FREE workshops on Friday afternoon. All workshops will be held in the Westmoreland Room and are open to all registered Democrats in Pennsylvania
A Personal Message for Obama Supporters from Judge Anne Lazarus
Democratic Candidate for Pennsylvania Superior Court – Vote Tuesday May 19,2009
My name is Anne Lazarus and I am a Democratic candidate for Superior Court. I'm asking for your support on May 19th.I began my career as a judge nearly 20 years ago when I was appointed by Governor Robert P. Casey as a merit selection judge to the Court of Common Pleas of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. On the Court of Common Pleas, I have served as a judge in both the Criminal and Civil Divisions and currently on the Orphans’ Court. I remain as excited today about the opportunity to dispense justice fairly and equally as I was when I first joined the court.For the past four years, I have served as Chair of the Ethics Committee of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges, a role that requires me to provide guidance to judges throughout the Commonwealth on standards of ethical behavior as directed by the Code of Judicial Conduct. I am proud to say that no judge that has sought an advisory opinion from the committee, and has followed our advice, has ever been disciplined for misconduct.As committed as I have been to the law, I have been equally committed to the community and volunteering. I have served as a board member of the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program and in 2006, the Pennsylvania Bar Association recognized my work with the first-ever Judicial Pro Bono Award. I also serve as an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law, the National Judicial College, and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. I believe it was for all of these reasons that I was again given the Bar Association’s highest rating “Highly Recommended” for this campaign. They wrote that I am “intelligent, thoughtful, candid and scholarly, … and demonstrate superior writing ability, knowledge of the law and exceptional judicial temperament.” I am the only Democrat running for Superior Court who won the Bar’s highest rating. I hope I can count on your vote on May 19th. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me at anne@lazarusforsuperiorcourt.org or 215-687-6348.Thank you.
http://www.lazarusforsuperiorcourt.org/
Obama Supporters the PA Democratic Judicial Candidates Need Your Help
Judge Jack Panella for Supreme Court http://votejackpanella.com/
Judge Anne E. Lazarus for Superior Court http://www.lazarusforsuperiorcourt.org/
Judge John Milton Younge for Superior Court http://www.judgejohnyounge.org/
Judge Robert J. Colville for Superior Court http://www.judgecolville.com/
Dan Bricmont for Commonwealth Court http://danbricmont.com/
Judge Jimmy Murray Lynn for Commonwealth Court http://www.padems.com/node/1765
Reminder it is petition time in Pennsylvania.
First day to circulate and file nomination petition February 17
Last day to circulate and file nomination petitions March 10
PA Democratic Municipal Primary May 19, 2009
Obama supporters stay active and engaged at the local level.
Your local Democratic Party needs your help and ideas.Use the PA Democratic Party map to locate your local party website.
PA Democratic Party County Map: http://www.padems.com/about/map
If the local county party does not have a website listed on the PA Democratic Party Map contact the PA Democratic Party for local contact information.
PA Democratic Party: http://www.padems.com//
http://www.padems.com/about/staff
Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times Virdia McGee showed passers-by a photograph she had taken of President-elect Barack Obama’s motorcade on Tuesday.
Mr. Holder would be the first African-American to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement official. As a top adviser to Mr. Obama, he has long been considered the front-runner for the job of attorney general because of his extensive record as a prosecutor and a judge and a well-honed reputation inside Washington. Mr. Obama’s advisers appear to have overcome concerns that Mr. Holder’s involvement in a presidential pardon scandal as President Bill Clinton left office in 2001 might cloud his nomination for the job.Word that Mr. Holder was likely to be nominated as attorney general leaked out as Mr. Obama also began settling on other members of his team and signaling his policy priorities upon taking office.
Mr. Obama is set to hire Peter R. Orszag, the director of the Congressional Budget Office, as the White House budget director, people involved in the transition said. They said the leading candidate at this point for another top post on the economic team, director of the National Economic Council, is Jacob Lew, who was Mr. Clinton’s budget director.While Mr. Obama has yet to name any of his cabinet secretaries, his early choices for White House staff positions and the names currently at the top of the list for staff and cabinet jobs suggest that his administration could be heavily stocked with Democrats who served under Mr. Clinton. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, under consideration to be secretary of state, was said by an adviser to be torn about giving up her Senate seat. In his only public appearance on Tuesday, Mr. Obama indicated that he intended to move rapidly on one of the most ambitious items on his agenda, tackling climate change.
Speaking to a bipartisan group of governors by video, the president-elect said that despite the weakening economy, he had no intention of softening or delaying his ambitious goals for reducing emissions that cause the warming of the planet. “Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all,” Mr. Obama said. “Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response.”He repeated his campaign promise to reduce climate-altering carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent by 2050 and invest $150 billion in new energy-saving technologies. Some industry leaders and members of Congress have suggested that Mr. Obama’s climate proposal would impose too great a cost on an already-stressed economy — having the same effects as a tax on coal, oil and natural gas — and should await the end of the current downturn. A bill similar to Mr. Obama’s plan failed to clear the Senate this year, largely because of concerns about its impact on the economy.Mr. Obama rejected that view, saying that his plan would reduce oil imports, create jobs in energy conservation and renewable sources of energy, and reverse the warming of the atmosphere.
“My presidency will mark a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process,” he said.Mr. Obama said that although he would not attend a meeting on climate change sponsored next month by the United Nations, he had asked members of Congress who would be attending to report back to him on what the United States could do to reassert leadership on global climate policy.Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, who has been a consistent skeptic on global warming science and legislation, said Tuesday that Mr. Obama might be getting out ahead of his own party on climate change. Mr. Inhofe noted that nearly a third of Senate Democrats had opposed the similar climate change bill that came to a vote this year. “President-elect Obama will face an even tougher sell in the years ahead, with economic concerns remaining front and center,” Mr. Inhofe said.
In Washington, Michelle Obama and her two daughters, Malia and Sasha, visited the White House on Tuesday, the final day of a two-day trip devoted to scouting out private schools for the young girls. Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Obama, said Laura Bush had invited Mrs. Obama for her second visit to the White House — she and Mr. Obama visited last week — so the girls could get a feel for their new home-to-be. During their trip to Washington, Mrs. Obama and her daughters also toured Sidwell Friends School and Georgetown Day School, two private schools they are considering.
Members of Mr. Obama’s transition team said Tuesday that no decision had been made on the attorney general spot and denied reports that Mr. Holder, 57, had already been selected. People involved in the transition process said, however, that the decision appeared all but certain once the process of vetting of Mr. Holder was completed. If Mr. Holder is selected as attorney general and confirmed by the Senate, his biggest challenge, legal observers agree, will be to restore the credibility of a department that was badly battered by political scandal during the Bush administration. The dismissal of eight United States attorneys in 2007 and other controversies opened up the Justice Department to accusations that it had routinely let politics trump legal considerations.
Mr. Holder first met Mr. Obama at a small dinner party in 2004 welcoming him to Washington. The two lawyers, each the son of immigrant fathers, were seated next to each other at the dinner, and Mr. Holder said he was immediately impressed by the new senator. Mr. Holder went on to serve as an adviser to Mr. Obama’s campaign on legal issues and served on the two-member vice-presidential selection team that led to the choice of Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. as Mr. Obama’s running mate.
Now in private practice as a partner at the Washington law firm of Covington & Burling, Mr. Holder served as a federal prosecutor, a trial court judge, and United States attorney for the District of Columbia before becoming the top-ranking aide to Attorney General Janet Reno in 1997. He was regarded as a strong ally for federal prosecutors and helped shape Mr. Clinton’s program to put 100,000 police officers on the street. His last days at the Justice Department in 2001 were marred by his peripheral involvement in Mr. Clinton’s pardon of the fugitive financier Marc Rich, as Republicans sharply criticized Mr. Holder as failing to oppose the pardon and allowing the White House to bypass the normal pardon review process at the Justice Department. Mr. Holder told the Clinton White House at the time that he was “neutral, leaning toward favorable” on the idea of pardoning Mr. Rich, whose former wife, Denise Rich, had contributed heavily to Mr. Clinton’s presidential library. Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, which reviews nominees for attorney general, told reporters on Tuesday that while he had not taken any position on the prospect of Mr. Holder as attorney general, his role in the pardon of Mr. Rich should be “a factor to consider” in any confirmation.
With the battered economy the most immediate problem facing him when he takes office in January, Mr. Obama interviewed Mr. Orszag in Chicago last week for the cabinet-level job of director of the Office of Management and Budget, people familiar with the transition said. Mr. Obama’s budget director will have to scramble to draft a proposed budget to be ready soon after the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration, and to help with the economic stimulus proposals that Mr. Obama has said he will offer after taking office. Like several other candidates for top posts, Mr. Orszag is a protégé of Robert E. Rubin, former Treasury secretary to Mr. Clinton, and shares Mr. Rubin’s centrist approach to fiscal policies and concern about big deficits.Mr. Orszag was also considered for the job of director of the White House National Economic Council, which coordinates the work of the president’s principal economic and fiscal advisers. That post is expected to go to Mr. Lew, another Clinton White House veteran who is now chief operating officer of Citi Alternative Investments, a unit of Citigroup, where Mr. Rubin is a director.While the economic crisis has forced Mr. Orszag to focus on the $700 billion bailout program and various stimulus proposals before Congress, his emphasis has otherwise been on health policies. He has sought to draw attention to the growing costs for Medicare and other federal programs that are driving the projections of unsustainable budget deficits. Recently, for example, he gave a speech highlighting studies on potential cost savings from preventive medicine and more cost-efficient treatments.Reporting was contributed by Jackie Calmes, Rachel L. Swarns, Helene Cooper, Jeff Zeleny and Peter Baker.
For the first time, the weekly Democratic address has been released as a web video. It will also continue to air on the radio.
President-elect Obama plans to to publish these weekly updates through the Transition and then from the White House.
Today's address from the President-elect concerns the current economic crisis:
Also available on AOL, Yahoo, and MSN High-resolution, Quicktime format: (106MB .mov file).
Remarks of President-elect Barack Obama
November 15, 2008
Today, the leaders of the G-20 countries -- a group that includes the world's largest economies -- are gathering in Washington to seek solutions to the ongoing turmoil in our financial markets. I'm glad President Bush has initiated this process -- because our global economic crisis requires a coordinated global response.
And yet, as we act in concert with other nations, we must also act immediately here at home to address America's own economic crisis. This week, amid continued volatility in our markets, we learned that unemployment insurance claims rose to their highest levels since September 11, 2001. We've lost jobs for ten straight months -- nearly 1.2 million jobs this year, many of them in our struggling auto industry. And millions of our fellow citizens lie awake each night wondering how they're going to pay their bills, stay in their homes, and save for retirement.
Make no mistake: this is the greatest economic challenge of our time. And while the road ahead will be long, and the work will be hard, I know that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis -- because here in America we always rise to the moment, no matter how hard. And I am more hopeful than ever before that America will rise once again.
But we must act right now. Next week, Congress will meet to address the spreading impact of the economic crisis. I urge them to pass at least a down-payment on a rescue plan that will create jobs, relieve the squeeze on families, and help get the economy growing again. In particular, we cannot afford to delay providing help for the more than one million Americans who will have exhausted their unemployment insurance by the end of this year. If Congress does not pass an immediate plan that gives the economy the boost it needs, I will make it my first order of business as President.
Even as we dig ourselves out of this recession, we must also recognize that out of this economic crisis comes an opportunity to create new jobs, strengthen our middle class, and keep our economy competitive in the 21st century.
That starts with the kinds of long-term investments that we've neglected for too long. That means putting two million Americans to work rebuilding our crumbling roads, bridges, and schools. It means investing $150 billion to build an American green energy economy that will create five million new jobs, while freeing our nation from the tyranny of foreign oil, and saving our planet for our children. It means making health care affordable for anyone who has it, accessible for anyone who wants it, and reducing costs for small businesses. And it also means giving every child the world-class education they need to compete with any worker, anywhere in the world.
Doing all this will require not just new policies, but a new spirit of service and sacrifice, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. If this financial crisis has taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers -- in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people. And that is how we will meet the challenges of our time -- together. Thank you.
Send the Kids to the Inauguration (Community Service)
There are 45 school children from Coatesville who will be going to the Inauguration in January 2009.
A community concert will be held on November 14th beginning at 6:30 PM at the Scott Middle School located at 800 Olive Street, Coatesville, PA 19320.
The event is produced by the Chester County Internet Radio Project and the Scott Middle School Mentoring Project.
Expect to see some great gospel, hip hop and rhythm and blues. The event has a free will donation. There will be food and activities for children.
Time: Monday, November 17 from 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Host: John Hall Location: Scott Middle School (Coatesville, PA) 800 Olive Street Coatesville, PA 19320 Maps:
Directions: Take Rt. 30 By-Pass to Reeceville Rd. exit. Turn left onto Reeceville Rd. Continue south towards Coatesville. Turn right on Rt. 30 (Lincoln Highway. Go three lights turn left. Scott Middle is one block on the left. The auditorium entrance is on the left.
Associated Groups: B Reed Henderson High School Students For Obama, Berks for Obama, Berks Region 5--Dream Team, Brandywine Valley for Obama, Chester Countians for Obama, Chester Springs for OBAMA, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Students for Barack Obama, Coatesville, PA for Obama, Lionville Middle School for obama, Pennsylvanians for Obama, Rock For Barack, West Chester Henderson High School for Obama!, West Chester University (WCU) for Obama!
Signup for 'Send the Kids to the Inauguration'
Myself i moved to a farm and i am helping two elderly people a couple get their farm back together. They are older and needed help real bad. Things are looking up here and soon they will be producing more with less. Its been about making sure they are not wasting or ruining machinery just to keep going. I have been able to help guide them in many things and do a lot of the hard work that is needed that was being put off due to their age. This summer will be a bountiful yr and will produce so much more with less work. I had to do some major weeding and organizing and now this place is really looking up. Many farmers do need help. Many are elderly and their kids have left and well they don't have funds to pay but the benefits are great if a person is willing to help them.
PS: Some pics of my horse buddy and my buggy = http://www.eons.com/images/members/2008/11/13/8/9/89609562219117541829_610w.jpeg and http://www.eons.com/images/members/2008/11/13/4/7/47019562215413541829_610w.jpeg
http://www.eons.com/groups/topic/1296571-BUDDY-THE-HORSE-WENT-BUGGY-FOR-OBAMA-IN-PA?page=1#replies
The story of the campaign and this historic moment has been your story. Share your story and your ideas, and be part of bringing positive lasting change to this country.
Florida, I have just two words for you: five days.
After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush, and twenty-one months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California, we are five days away from change in America.
In five days, you can turn the page on policies that have put the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks on Main Street.
In five days, you can choose policies that invest in our middle-class, create new jobs, and grow this economy so that everyone has a chance to succeed; from the CEO to the secretary and the janitor; from the factory owner to the men and women who work on its floor.
In five days, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope.
In five days, at this defining moment in history, you can give this country the change we need.
We began this journey in the depths of winter nearly two years ago, on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Back then, we didn't have much money or many endorsements. We weren't given much of a chance by the polls or the pundits, and we knew how steep our climb would be.
But I also knew this. I knew that the size of our challenges had outgrown the smallness of our politics. I believed that Democrats and Republicans and Americans of every political stripe were hungry for new ideas, new leadership, and a new kind of politics - one that favors common sense over ideology; one that focuses on those values and ideals we hold in common as Americans.
Most of all, I knew the American people were a decent, generous people willing to work hard and sacrifice for future generations. I was convinced that when we come together, our voices are more powerful than the most entrenched lobbyists, or the most vicious political attacks, or the full force of a status quo in Washington that wants to keep things just the way they are.
Twenty-one months later, my faith in the American people has been vindicated. That's how we've come so far and so close - because of you. That's how we'll change this country - with your help. And that's why we can't afford to slow down, sit back, or let up for one day, one minute, or one second in this last week. Not now. Not when so much is at stake.
We are in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. 760,000 workers have lost their jobs this year. Businesses and families can't get credit. Home values are falling. Pensions are disappearing. It's gotten harder and harder to make the mortgage, or fill up your gas tank, or even keep the electricity on at the end of the month.
And just today, we learned that the GDP, or Gross Domestic Product - a key indicator economists use to measure the health of our economy - has actually fallen for the first time this year. That means we're producing less and selling less - so our economy is actually shrinking. And we saw the largest decline in consumer spending in 28 years as wages failed to keep up with the rising cost of living, and folks have been watching every penny and tightening their belts.
Now, this didn't happen by accident. Our falling GDP is a direct result of eight years of the trickle down, Wall Street first/Main Street last policies that have driven our economy into a ditch.
And the central question in this election is this: what will our next President do to take us in a different direction?
Well, Florida, if you want to know where Senator McCain will drive this economy, just look in the rearview mirror. Because when it comes to our economic policies, John McCain has stood with President Bush every step of the way. Voting for the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy that he once opposed. Voting for the Bush budgets that sent us into debt. Calling for less regulation twenty-one times just this year. In fact, after twenty-one months and three debates, Senator McCain still has not been able to tell the American people a single major thing he'd do differently from George Bush when it comes to the economy.
And you've got to ask yourself, after nine straight months of job losses and the largest drop in home values on record, with wages lower than they've been in a decade, why would we keep on driving down this dead end street?
Folks who can't pay their medical bills, or send their kids to college, or save for retirement can't afford to take a back seat to CEOs and Wall Street banks for four more years.
At a moment like this, the last thing we can afford is four more years of the tired, old theory that says we should give more to billionaires and big corporations and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. The last thing we can afford is four more years where no one in Washington is watching anyone on Wall Street because politicians and lobbyists killed common-sense regulations. Those are the theories that got us into this mess. They haven't worked, and it's time for change. That's why I'm running for President of the United States.
Look, the biggest gamble we can take is embracing the same old Bush-McCain policies that have failed us for the last eight years.
It's not change when John McCain wants to give a $700,000 tax cut to the average Fortune 500 CEO. It's not change when he wants to give $200 billion to the biggest corporations or $4 billion to the oil companies or $300 billion to the same Wall Street banks that got us into this mess. It's not change when he comes up with a tax plan that doesn't give a penny of relief to more than 100 million middle-class Americans. That's not change.
The average working family is $2,000 dollars poorer now than when George Bush took office. When Bill Clinton was president, the average wages and incomes went up $7,500 dollars. So I've got an economic plan that is similar to Bill Clinton's and Senator McCain's got an economic plan similar to George Bush's. Look and see what works and what doesn't.
We've tried it John McCain's way. We've tried it George Bush's way. Deep down, Senator McCain knows that, which is why his campaign said that "if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." That's why he's spending these last weeks calling me every name in the book. Because that's how you play the game in Washington. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run away from. You make a big election about small things.
Florida, we are here to say "Not this time. Not this year. Not when so much is at stake." Senator McCain might be worried about losing an election, but I'm worried about Americans who are losing their homes, and their jobs, and their life savings. I can take one more week of John McCain's attacks, but this country can't take four more years of the same old politics and the same failed policies. It's time for something new.
The question in this election is not "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" We know the answer to that. The real question is, "Will this country be better off four years from now?"
I know these are difficult times for America. But I also know that we have faced difficult times before. The American story has never been about things coming easy - it's been about rising to the moment when the moment was hard. It's about rejecting fear and division for unity of purpose. That's how we've overcome war and depression. That's how we've won great struggles for civil rights and women's rights and workers' rights. And that's how we'll emerge from this crisis stronger and more prosperous than we were before - as one nation; as one people. We just need a new direction. We need a new politics.
Understand, if we want get through this crisis, we need to get beyond the old ideological debates and divides between left and right. We don't need bigger government or smaller government. We need a better government - a more competent government - a government that upholds the values we hold in common as Americans.
We don't have to choose between letting our financial system run wild, and stifling growth and innovation. As President, I will ensure that the financial rescue plan Congress passed helps stop foreclosures and protects your money instead of enriching CEOs. And I will put in place the common-sense regulations I've been calling for throughout this campaign so that Wall Street can never cause a crisis like this again. That's the change we need.
The choice in this election isn't between tax cuts and no tax cuts. It's about whether you believe we should only reward wealth, or whether we should also reward the work and workers who create it. I will give a tax break to 95% of Americans who work every day and get taxes taken out of their paychecks every week. I'll eliminate income taxes for seniors making under $50,000 and give homeowners and working parents more of a break. And I'll help pay for this by asking the folks who are making more than $250,000 a year to go back to the tax rate they were paying in the 1990s. No matter what Senator McCain may claim, here are the facts - if you make under $250,000, you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime - not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes. Nothing. Because the last thing we should do in this economy is raise taxes on the middle-class.
When it comes to jobs, the choice in this election is not between putting up a wall around America or allowing every job to disappear overseas.
The truth is, we won't be able to bring back every job that we've lost, but that doesn't mean we should follow John McCain's plan to keep giving tax breaks to corporations that send American jobs overseas and promoting unfair trade agreements. I will end those breaks as President, and I will give American businesses a $3,000 tax credit for every job they create right here in the United States of America. I'll eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-up companies that are the engine of job creation in this country.
We'll create two million new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling roads, and bridges, and schools, and by laying broadband lines to reach every corner of the country. And I will invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million new energy jobs over the next decade - jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced; jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and a new electricity grid; jobs that will help us eliminate the oil we import from the Middle East in ten years and help save the planet in the bargain. That's how America can lead again.
When it comes to health care, we don't have to choose between a government-run health care system and the unaffordable one we have now. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change under my plan is that we will lower premiums. If you don't have health insurance you'll be able to get the same kind of health insurance that Members of Congress get for themselves.
And as someone who watched his own mother spend the final months of her life arguing with insurance companies because they claimed her cancer was a pre-existing condition and didn't want to pay for treatment, I will stop insurance companies from discriminating against those who are sick and need care most.
When it comes to giving every child a world-class education so they can compete in this global economy for the jobs of the 21st century, the choice is not between more money and more reform - because our schools need both. As President, I will invest in early childhood education, recruit an army of new teachers, pay them more, and give them more support. But I will also demand higher standards and more accountability from our teachers and our schools. And I will make a deal with every American who has the drive and the will but not the money to go to college: if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford your tuition. You invest in America, America will invest in you, and together, we will move this country forward.
And when it comes to keeping this country safe, we don't have to choose between retreating from the world and fighting a war without end in Iraq. It's time to stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq while the Iraqi government sits on a huge surplus. As President, I will end this war by asking the Iraqi government to step up, and I will finally finish the fight against bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. I will never hesitate to defend this nation. From day one of this campaign, I have made clear that we will increase our ground troops and our investments in the finest fighting force the world has ever known. Watching our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines fight in Iraq and Afghanistan has only deepened my commitment to invest in 21st century technologies so that our men and women have the best training and equipment when they deploy into combat and the care and benefits they have earned when they come home.
I won't stand here and pretend that any of this will be easy - especially now. The cost of this economic crisis, and the cost of the war in Iraq, means that Washington will have to tighten its belt and put off spending on things we don't need. As President, I will go through the federal budget, line-by-line, ending programs that we don't need and making the ones we do need work better and cost less.
But as I've said from the day we began this journey all those months ago, the change we need isn't just about new programs and policies. It's about a new politics - a politics that calls on our better angels instead of encouraging our worst instincts; one that reminds us of the obligations we have to ourselves and one another.
What we have lost in these last eight years cannot be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits alone. What has also been lost is the idea that in this American story, each of us has a role to play. Each of us has a responsibility to work hard and look after ourselves and our families, and each of us has a responsibility to our fellow citizens. And that's what we need to restore right now - our sense of common purpose; of higher purpose.
Yes, government must lead the way on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and our businesses more efficient.
Yes, we must put more money into our schools, but government can't be that parent who turns off the TV and makes a child do their homework.
Yes, we can argue and debate our positions passionately, but all of us must summon the strength and grace to bridge our differences and unite in common effort - black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American; Democrat and Republican, young and old, rich and poor, gay and straight, disabled or not.
In this election, we cannot afford the same political games and tactics that are being used to pit us against one another and make us afraid of one another.
Despite what our opponents may claim, there are no real or fake parts of this country. There is no city or town that is more pro-America than anywhere else - we are one nation, all of us proud, all of us patriots.
There are patriots who supported this war in Iraq and patriots who opposed it; patriots who believe in Democratic policies and those who believe in Republican policies. The men and women who serve on our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.
It won't be easy, Florida. It won't be quick. But you and I know that it is time to come together and change this country. Some of you may be cynical and fed up with politics. A lot of you may be disappointed and even angry with your leaders. You have every right to be. But despite all of this, I ask of you what has been asked of Americans throughout our history.
I ask you to believe - not just in my ability to bring about change, but in yours.
I know this change is possible. Because I have seen it over the last twenty-one months. Because in this campaign, I have had the privilege to witness what is best in America.
I've seen it in lines of voters that stretched around schools and churches; in the young people who cast their ballot for the first time, and those not so young folks who got involved again after a very long time.
I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see their friends lose their jobs; in the neighbors who take a stranger in when the floodwaters rise; in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb.
I've seen it in the faces of the men and women I've met at countless rallies and town halls across the country, men and women who speak of their struggles but also of their hopes and dreams.
I still remember the email that a woman named Robyn sent me after I met her in Ft. Lauderdale. Sometime after our event, her son nearly went into cardiac arrest, and was diagnosed with a heart condition that could only be treated with a procedure that cost tens of thousands of dollars. Her insurance company refused to pay, and their family just didn't have that kind of money.
In her email, Robyn wrote, "I ask only this of you - on the days where you feel so tired you can't think of uttering another word to the people, think of us. When those who oppose you have you down, reach deep and fight back harder."
Florida, that's what hope is - that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that there are better days ahead. If we're willing to work for it. If we're willing to shed our fears. If we're willing to reach deep down inside ourselves when we're tired and come back fighting harder.
Hope! That's what kept some of our parents and grandparents going when times were tough. What led them to say, "Maybe I can't go to college, but if I save a little bit each week my child can; maybe I can't have my own business but if I work really hard my child can open one of her own."
It's what led immigrants from distant lands to come to these shores against great odds and carve a new life for their families in America; what led those who couldn't vote to march and organize and stand for freedom; that led them to cry out, "It may look dark tonight, but if I hold on to hope, tomorrow will be brighter."
That's what this election is about. That is the choice we face right now.
Don't believe for a second this election is over. Don't think for a minute that power concedes. We have to work like our future depends on it in this last week, because it does.
America, the time for change has come.
In five days, we can choose to invest in health care for our families, and education for our kids, and renewable energy for our future.
In five days, we can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo.
In five days, we can come together as one nation, and one people, and once more choose our better history.
That's what's at stake. That's what we're fighting for - for the small business owner in Denver to keep his doors open; for the hardworking couple in Cincinnati to retire in comfort; for the young student in Sarasota to afford her tuition; for men and women in every city and town across this nation to achieve the American Dream.
And if in this last week, you will knock on some doors for me, and make some calls for me, and go to barackobama.com and find out where to vote - and remember, you can vote early here in Florida.
If you will stand with me, and fight by my side, and cast your ballot for me, then I promise you this - we will not just win Florida, we will not just win this election, but together, we will change this country and we will change the world. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America.
With the McCain campaign putting a big chunk of their remaining effort into PA we will need everything our volunteer team can do to win this election. The canvassing effort is the primary focus. Here is the canvassing schedule:
On Saturday 10am-1pm, 1pm-4pm, 4pm-7pm; we will be reminding voters about when to vote, where to vote and how to vote. This will be a day with very brief conversations with friendly voters.
On Sunday 10am-1pm, 1pm-4pm, 4pm-7pm; we will be handing out door hangers as another reminder with the voter's specific polling location.
On Monday 10am-1pm, 1pm-4pm, 4pm-7pm; we will be handing out door hangers as another reminder with the voter's specific polling location.
On Tuesday 8am-11am, 11am-2pm, 2pm-5pm, 5pm-8pm; we will be going to doors urging supporters to go vote. This will be a day of exciting but quick conversations, we'll leave door hangers for people who aren't in.
If you can fill in any shifts email or call me (717-332-7429, george.a.sanders@gmail.com)! All our shifts start at the Red Lion Bed & Breakfast, 101 S Franklin St in Red Lion. Thank you for any help you can provide. We are looking for more drivers/runners and food donations too. If you are not sure about any jobs described, email me and we can find something for you to help with! Thanks again for everyone's help so far.
Senator Lieberman, Former Democratic VP Candidate now McCain pusher talking about Sarah Palin yesterday:"Thank God, she's not gonna have to be president from day one, because McCain's going to be alive and well," Lieberman said in a conference call with reporters.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/25/lieberman-on-palin-thank_n_137769.html
