Congressional District Caucus Results

We know that in the 7th CD the Dean delegates are Jason Sawatzki and Janis Traven - but we want to know who the entire delegation is, for each CD! Let us know who you elected for each candidate, and we'll compile a list of all of the delegates Washington is sending Boston.

BTW, congrats to Jason and Janis (and everyone elected!) and DfW's own Kelley Bevans, who was elected as alternate Elector from the 7th CD. Come December Kelley's eagle eye will be ensuring that the official elector vote cast for president is who it actually should be - go Kelley!

FW: [democracyforwashington] Spread the Word!

FW: [democracyforwashington] Spread the Word!

-----Original Message-----
From: Bryan Kesterson [mailto:bryan_kesterson4dean@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 11:05 PM
To: Democracy for Washington
Subject: [democracyforwashington] Spread the Word!

All,

Here is a simple, easy, and fun thing you can do to help send George Bush back to Crawford, Texas. It has been said by media observers that the right wing communicates through talk radio and the left communicates through book. Well here is a good way to spread the word. Got a good book that you think has good ideas that should be spread around? Release it into the wild and let it spread those ideas around. You can even go track where it goes and what people think of it. Here is all it takes:

1. Get a book
2. Go to bookcrossing.com
3. Register your book and write the registration number in the book
4. Bring it to the State Convention. We'll have stickers to put in the book to travel a long with it.

It is that easy. We will have a table to collect the book and send them on their way. Can't come to the convention? You can play too! You can give your book to someone who is going. Also, I will soon mail out a label form so you can release the book any where you want. (I would have attached it to this e-mail, but I was just too excited about this idea to wait.)

Please let other's know who might be interested.

Bryan Kesterson
8th CD Dean Delegate
253-639-3515

Sending George W. Bush back to Crawford, Texas one voter at a time!

Salmon Bake Our Country Back!

An Outrageous Summer Opener to Benefit MoveOn.org

SUNDAY, JUNE 27th – still a very long day of the year!
Golden Gardens Picnic Shelter #2, Ballard
Festivities, sandcastles, kibbitzing and snacks begin at 3:00 PM
Dinner served at 6:00 PM. Salmon, salads, hotdogs for the kids!

Bonfire when the spirits are willing….bring your effigies (and old wood) to share!
Bring beach chairs or a blanket and your best castle-building equipment too!

Minimum Donations for this lovely day and dinner:
Individual Activists $25
Couple of Troublemakers $45
Nukular Family Dissidents $50

Please give as generously as you are able to support this wonderful cause! Pay before June 10 and be listed as a sponsor!

Space is limited. Please register before June 10 by contacting any one of us:
Nancie Kosnoff 206-282-0180 Nancie@growing-solutions.com
Bev Marcus 206-528-0500 Bevmar3@comcast.net
Lauri Kraemer Serafin 206-789-6980 Lauriks@hotmail.com

John Kerry to Speak in Seattle

PI: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry will be in Seattle at a free public appearance on Pier 62 tomorrow morning.

The 9:45 a.m. event is open to the public. Those who want better seating can stop by the Democratic Party campaign headquarters at 1848 Westlake Ave. N. for reserved seats. The morning event is not a fund-raiser.

Kerry, who arrives in Washington late this evening, plans to talk about the steps he would take as president to make the country energy-independent. Kerry will speak tomorrow evening at a $1,000 a plate fund-raiser at the Westin Hotel.

Count Every Vote: Sign the Petition

Email from DFA:

In order for your vote to affect the outcome of this election, it must be counted. As November nears we must act now to ensure that our voting systems produce accurate and verifiable results.

Right now, some states are planning to use machines that will not allow voters to verify their choices. This means that any flaws in the machine or software will never be caught -- and no recount will be possible. And the head of the largest e-voting machine company -- who is a major contributor to George Bush and has promised to deliver Ohio to him -- asks that we just trust him.

Today we call on Congress and the states to require any electronic voting machine used in this election to produce a paper trail -- one that allows voters to verify their choices and officials to conduct recounts. Add your name to the call for accountability:



We will deliver the petition to Congress and the secretaries of state of every state planning to use electronic voting machines.

Please forward this message to everyone you know who wants to see that every vote is counted this year. You can also spread the word by using our grassroots action center, Organize for America, to invite your friends to sign the petition:

http://www.democracyforamerica.com/verifyinvite

Casting a vote is the most fundamental action we take as citizens. But voting is not a symbolic act -- the last presidential election demonstrated that every vote matters. Our responsibility in the months before November is to ensure that this time, every vote will be counted.

Thank you.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

KUOW: How Can Voters Get Their Information?

KUOW Audio available at 10:05 am after the show.

It's an election year. Voters will choose everyone from President down to sewer district commissioner. What is the best way to get information on the candidates? What information do you use to evaluate candidates? The Municipal League and Project Vote Smart are two organizations that evaluate candidates. We talk with them about how they do it and how you can use the information.

Guests:
Keven Franklin Municipal League trustee and member, candidate evaluation steering committee
Adelaide Elm National Board Chair, Project Vote Smart
David Domke Associate Professor of Communications, University of Washington

Related Links:

Municipal League
Vote Smart

Talk-show host Dave Ross reveals he's a candidate

Radio talk-show host Dave Ross last night unexpectedly announced he plans to run for Congress.

Ross, whose bass voice and curiosity about public affairs have been a fixture on KIRO-AM (710) for 17 years, made the announcement during a radio event called "Battle of the Talk Show Hosts."

He will run as a Democrat for the 8th Congressional District seat left open by the retirement of U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn.

21st Century Democrats Training in Portland

Attention Democratic activists, candidates and campaign staff:

Get the skills you need to make your campaign a success -- join us in Portland, Oregon or Washington, D.C. for our annual grassroots campaign trainings!

21st Century Democrats has earned a national reputation for the quality of our annual, intensive field organizer trainings. These four-day summer sessions include tracks for entry-level organizers, grassroots activists, and candidates.

Our trainings bring in top Democratic campaigners to teach the fundamentals of campaign work. Trainees will learn to incorporate grassroots organizing, voter contact strategies, fundraising and Get-Out-The-Vote efforts into an effective campaign plan. Students will also complete a campaign simulation that will teach them to implement the campaign plan from now through Election Day.

Recruiters from 21st Century Democrats and other campaigns will be on hand to conduct interviews for campaign staff positions.

Our first training will be June 4-7 at American University in Washington, DC. The second will be June 18-21, 2004 at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.

For more information, visit our website or email kim@21stdems.org

A Special Offer for National Delegate Candidates

If you are a legislative district delegate and you're running for national delegate, Democracy for Washington wants to host your ad for free! Check out the ads here, read our submission guidelines, and then send your ad to action@democracyforwashington.com.

We'll get your ad up in 24 to 48 hours (depending on volume). Happy campaigning!

WA State Kerry Campaign Office Grand Opening Tomorrow!

From Washington State Democrats and the Kerry campaign:

Please help us open up the WA State Kerry Campaign HQ this Wednesday, starting at 5:30 PM at 1848 Westlake Avenue North, Seattle. Here's your chance to welcome Mike Leighs and Dan Shin, our very own Kerry staffers who will be organizing the state for John Kerry. Also come to mingle with other Democrats, pick up some Kerry Gear, and enjoy light refreshments.

Washington State Kerry Headquarters
1848 Westlake Avenue North
3rd Floor
Seattle, WA
206-281-9124

Swing the Bat!

OK, everyone - for you non-Dean Democrats out there, welcome to a fun tradition we had on Dean for America! Howard Dean and John Kerry have teamed up to raise money, and they're using our favorite motivator! There is nothing more fun tham making your contribution for $5, $10, or whatever amount you can afford and watching the bat climb towards the goal. In the primaries we loved watching the power of small donations "break the bat"!

Here is the intro from the text of an email that HD and JFK sent today:

"George Bush has failed our country. And my top priority between now and November is making absolutely certain that the American people hold him accountable.

This administration will say anything to avoid responsibility for the massive mistakes it has made. But John Kerry will not let them hide -- and you can help by contributing to his campaign now:

http://www.johnkerry.com/dean

George Bush cannot be trusted to tell the truth. He misled us about Iraq and his administration's paranoid secrecy cuts the public off from information about our government's actions. He would not testify under oath to the September 11th commission -- and could not even meet the commission in private without Dick Cheney's supervision.

...

We had a spirited primary season this year. But the differences between any of the former Democratic candidates are nothing compared to the fundamental difference between the Democratic agenda and the right-wing ideologues who are destroying this country.

John Kerry will restore American values and our nation's traditional purpose in the world. And the millions of engaged citizens who will participate in this election will revive our democracy. That work is already beginning with organizations like Democracy for America:

http://www.democracyforamerica.com

With your help, we can take our country back -- and take back the White House in 2004!"

Success by Six in Washington State

On this, the 50th Anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, we recognize that the work to provide educational opportunities to all children regardless of color or economic status is still ongoing. There are so many levels to the problem of education, that it is sometimes difficult to know where to start looking. One problem that has been identified is the ability of children to make their best efforts in school starting in Kindergarten and the 1st Grade. Giving children a chance to succeed in school starting at the age of 6 often depends on the events and environment that they live in during those first 6 years of life. Science shows us that by the age of 3 or 4, most of the brain has already developed, including the core neuron structures behind the skills of language, mathematics, social skills and self-expression.

In Vermont, the Success by Six program has been developing over the last 12 years to help new parents provide an environment in their homes and their communities that will help their children's development be the best it can be. This program was originally submitted to the Vermont Assembly by a Republican Assemblyman, and the Governor at the time, Howard Dean, recognized the potential the program had for working on the underlying problems that our society has. It passed.

I know of many people who were aware that one of Howard Dean's potential programs that he wanted to push nationally was 'Invest for Success', which would have been a national version of the Success by Six program. I for one hope that he will continue to push for this program. But we all came to the same realization. Howard Dean was not the President of the United States when he signed the law establishing the Success by Six program in Vermont. Programs like this start on the grassroots level and make their way up to the attention of Legislators and Governors. We can do this, community by community, state by state. The question is how.

A focus group is forming to discuss and explore this concept. We have established a mailing list (yet another one, I know), to keep track of our ideas and efforts.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WA_SuccessbySix/

Whether this idea results in an Initiative to the Legislature in Olympia, going directly to the People, or yet another solution will be part of the ongoing discussion. Everyone is welcome to join the list. Please feel free to pass this message on to all the other activist lists that you are aware of.

The DFW Dozen: Races to Watch

Both Democracy for America and DailyKos have announced races across the nation that they are focusing time, attention, energy, and money on. So far none of those races are in Washington State. Let's brainstorm a list of the top twelve races in Washington State for folks to watch and participate in. We're talking anything from Governor to city council to state legislature. If you think it's a crucial race for us to win this year let us know.

The ground rules
-->Viability is not an issue; if a candidate has good progressive creds, and they are running in a solid Republican district, we still want to know about them. Sometimes David wins against Goliath.
-->No cannibalism: some races are huge primary battles right now - we will *not* endorse a single person in a wide open primary; example: the WA-8 US House seat. However - it should be noted that this race WILL be huge and on our list post-primary.
-->Races where we are challenging Republican held seats are preferred over incumbents. There are exceptions to every rule, tho' - such as Patty Murray's re-election, which is a hot race for us.

Post a comment, or talk about your suggestions in our forum!

The Rise (and Fall) of American Fascism

I've had an article published on Three Imaginary Girls, a local indie-rock 'zine working with No Vote Left Behind to rock the vote.

"Growing up as an American Jew, I was raised keenly aware of the fact that my family was something like half the size it should have been as a result of the last time humanity wrestled with the specter of fascism. Even more oppressive than the thought of cousins who never existed was the simple question of "how?" How could an entire nation of people have allowed something as horrible as the Holocaust to happen, and how could they have done nothing about it?

As I got older, my concept of the nature of the rise of Nazism became more complex, and more a bit more rational. Anne Frank had convinced me that people were fundamentally good, and I became more and more convinced that the German people themselves were victims to the insidious nature of Nazism. They were good, if desperate, people, lulled into slumber and ignorance by faith in strong leaders, and a general sense of security after years of hardship. But I still didn't really understand the how — not completely. How could a smart, caring group of people check out so completely that they didn't question, they didn't push, and they didn't demand answers?

Well, now I know."

Read the rest at:
http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/fascism04may.asp

Times: Poll results show Ross is contender, Democrats say

Well, it looks like things could get even more interesting in the race for the WA-8 U.S. House seat. The poll that state Dems put in the field indicates that Ross has strong enough name recognition and favorable ratings to jump into the race. Here is the salient 'graph from the Times article:

"The poll showed the host of a longtime midmorning show on KIRO-AM (710) had name recognition higher than 80 percent of the 600 people polled, with a favorable rating of roughly 45 percent, Ross said. The overall recognition is comparable to that of King County Sheriff Dave Reichert, considered one of the leading contenders for the Republican nomination. Reichert, however, has a favorable rating of around 60 percent, Ross said."

Sign the Petition for Rumsfeld's Ouster

John Kerry is taking a stand on the recent revelations of horrific abuse at Abu Ghrabi prison in Iraq. Let's stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him to call for the ouster of Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense.

The events of the last week are a stark reminder of the stakes in this Presidential election. John Kerry’s remarks yesterday painted a striking contrast to President Bush’s evasion of responsibility:

"As president, I will not be the last to know what is going on in my command," Kerry said. "I will demand accountability for those who serve, and I will take responsibility for their actions. And I will do everything that I can in my power to repair the damage that this has caused to America, to our standing in the world, and to the ideals for which we stand.... Today, I have a message for the men and women of our armed forces. As Commander in Chief, I will honor your commitment, and I will take responsibility for the bad as well as the good."

Show George Bush and show the media that you support John Kerry’s stand: Donald Rumsfeld MUST resign immediately.

Sign the petition, and forward this link to your friends:
http://www.johnkerry.com/petition/rumsfeld.php

Seattle Weekly: The Gubernatorial Campaign Gets Ugly

"It's only May and already the governor's race has gotten ugly. By the time most voters start paying attention—usually after Labor Day—the blood on the floor will be knee-deep.

The current flare-up is between the Democratic front-runner, three-term Attorney General Christine Gregoire, and her primary opponent for the nomination, two-term King County Executive Ron Sims. Last week, former state Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge, the other major Democrat in the race, dropped out due to health and campaign difficulties. Meanwhile, former state Sen. Dino Rossi, the only serious Republican candidate for governor, is licking his lips as the Democrats tear into one another with great ferocity.

The conflict is mostly over hardball campaign tactics successfully used by Sims' campaign against Gregoire, although the two candidates are also tangling over issues such as gay marriage, a state income tax, and education funding. Sims' electioneering shenanigans have angered other Democrats, including Washington State Democratic Party Chair Paul Berendt. "Ron Sims should know better than to throw this mud around," says Berendt."

Note: the article has a certain tilt to it - what do you think about the race so far?

Pooling Medical Insurance for part timers

From the Seattle Times:

Companies try to pool uninsured

Millions of American workers don't qualify for the health insurance their companies provide because they are part-time or contract workers.
Today, 45 of the nation's largest employers, including IBM, Sears Roebuck, Ford, Gap, Home Depot and Textron, will unveil a possible solution - pooling their uninsured workers, then seeking an insurer willing to offer a variety of health policies at prices lower than the workers could buy individually.
"We're tired of waiting for people to figure out what to do about the uninsured," said Randy MacDonald, senior vice president of human resources at IBM. "We could not get that reform through the halls of Congress, so we are reforming the marketplace."
The number of uninsured is growing rapidly and now is estimated at more than 43 million.
Details of the program have not been finalized. The idea, formed by the HR Policy Association, a group of senior company executives, may result in a new insurance pool by early next year.

It's about time we heard from the companies on this issue, and I think this direction is fantastic.

We Have Comments!

We asked for feedback, and you gave it - our users wanted not just the permanent commentary of our Forums, but also the ability to comment on our blog postings. Thanks to ghe kind folks at Blogger, we've added comment threads. As a trial, we're going to leave the comments open, so anyone can comment as they please.

We've also moved the blog to the homepage, so now you can get your daily dose of DFW with one page view. We're committed to updating the blog daily, as Washington State political news demands. If you've got a hot tip, don't forget to send it our way - or just add it to the comment thread and we'll grab it!

News from the Washington Labor Council

The Washington State Labor Council shied away from backing any candidate for governor Saturday, refusing to endorse leading Democratic candidate Christine Gregoire or challenger Ron Sims.

The article talks about several other votes, and is a great read.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/printer/ap.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20Labor%20Council

Public Forum to discuss Voting Machine Issues

There is still time to protect our votes in the Fall 2004 election

EVERETT, WA - On Monday evening, May 17, 2004, the public is invited
to review proposed solutions to current voting machine issues that
are not being discussed in the media or being readily offered by any
of the current candidates for WA Secretary of State. A few of the
topics we will cover: pending legislation, voter verified paper
audit trail, voting machine simulations, open source code, "how can
you help" and a few guest speakers will help us with audience
questions.

WHO: The moderator is Martin Daniels, an Everett area software
developer. Martin creates and delivers high tech solutions to many
different industries and corporate clients all around the country.
He is currently volunteering much time to raise awareness of the
availability of practical solutions to our urgent voting machine
issues.

WHEN: Monday, May 17, 2004,
Public Forum 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

WHERE: Snohomish County PUD Building
2320 California Street
Everett WA 98201

This event is free and open to the public and the press.

NOTE: For more information on our OPEN SOURCE CODE project visit us
online at www.OpenTheCode.com.

Press Contact:
Martin Daniels, Moderator
Martin@Quest-Solutions.com
www.OpenTheCode.com
(425) 514-8083

With such a close election this year, local organizing in
'battleground
states' is crucial to tipping the scales. Sign up to join in
National Election Action Day, organized by MoveOn PAC and dozens of other
groups, to make a difference in your community.

We'll be doing voter registration events locally on Saturday, 5/8, and in
many places we'll also hold a community meeting the week before, to bring
MoveOn members together and talk about strategies to win this year.

Together, we will register 250,000 voters in a single day!
http://action.moveonpac.org/may8/

I hope you'll sign up to help.


Election Action Day in Seattle:

Voter Registration Day
3013 S Mt. Baker Blvd.
Seattle, WA
12:00-4:00 PM
Field team leaders should be there from 10:30-4:00 (team leaders will be
trained at the community meeting)
Off of Rainier Ave. at McClellan. Click here for directions.
Saturday, May 8, 10:00 AM
http://action.moveonpac.org/may8/selectmtg.html?zip=98109&distance=10

Can't miss posting this:

-----Original Message-----
From: Dina Lydia [mailto:dina@costumegoddess.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 01, 2004 6:17 PM
To: chadlupkes@earthlink.net
Subject: 'bellydancers for dean'

Hi,
Last night two of us "Bellydancers for Dean" performed at what may be our last hurrah before changing our name, at a pre-caucus event for Dean delegates. Rep. Jim McDermott gave a talk to the delegates about just how bad it is in DC, and how this may be the ugliest American election ever, and the most important.

Last night's pictures here:
www.costumegoddess.com/dean/bdfordems.htm
You might want to post this on your site.
We are changing our name to Bellydancers for Democracy. Here are some more pictures from the New Year celebration and fundraiser that we performed at.
www.costumegoddess.com/newyear_bellydance.htm


Dina Johnson