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August 29, 2005

Local Article About Fundraising w/Focus on Kaine

This article appeared in this morning's News & Advance here in Lynchburg. Many know that I'm not a huge News & Advance fan for one reason or another, but this article covered the bases fairly well on the topic of local grassroots fundraising:

Political parties for true believers - Aug 29, 2005

An excerpt:

As all politicians and lawn care companies know, grassroots grow best during spring and summer.

"The election is going to be close," said longtime Campbell County Democrat Carter Elliott at the Reids' dinner party. "If you win by five percent these days, it's a landslide."

So what's going on now in both political camps is not so much about winning votes as solidifying the base. Getting someone to vote for you is one thing. Getting them to pound in yard signs, ring doorbells, answer phones or, in the case of Heather Van Cleave, donate a personal salad recipe to the cause, requires a little more salesmanship.

In other news, Kaine's new ads start today as we get closer to the real burst of campaign activity that leads into fall and the November election.

Posted by amahler at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)

August 13, 2005

Cindy Sheehan is asking Bush to tell the truth about a single Iraq war death

Cindy Sheehan, whose son died In Iraq, has put George W. Bush on the hot seat for his war in Iraq in a way that hasn't happened before. The president has been taken to task for the war in many ways that relate to the specific policy. But Sheehan - through her highly public vigil outside Bush's ranch in Crawford - has asked Bush to explain to her one simple thing: the real reason for the death of her son. (By Rick Howell)

Why, after all, did Casey Sheehan have to die? Because Iraq was a threat to us? No, we know better than that now. Because we're fighting terrorism in Iraq and, as so many Americans seem to believe, "it's better to fight them over there than over here?" No, we're fighting a native-born insurgency that doesn't want its country occupied. There were no Iraqis on the planes Sept. 11, and Saddam had nothing to do with it.

Was it because of a deep commitment to Iraqi freedom? Well, if so, we're still stuck with the question of why Iraqi freedom is so much more important than Korean freedom, Cuban freedom, Chinese freedom, Zimbabewean freedom, etc. Plenty of countries aren't free, but we're not fighting in those places.

The war in Iraq was wrong from the start, and it's wrong now. Cindy Sheehan has brought this simple truth home with a request from the president to tell her personally why her son had to die. The president, of course, will not do this. He knows he wanted this war long before Sept. 11, 2001. He knows this war had nothing, and has nothing, to do with "fighting terrorism."

It appears that a majority of the American public is finally turning against this war. Cindy Sheehan's quest in Crawford, Texas, is representative of that fact. The attacks upon her by the president's knee-jerk, pro-war supporters are only beginning. Let's do all we can to support her when she, and we, need it the most.

(Rick Howell is chairman of the Amherst County Democratic Committee. He publishes a Web blog at http://RickHowellSpeaks.blogspot.com, and can be reached at NewCenHowell@aol.com)

Posted by rickhowell at 03:44 PM | Comments (0)

August 07, 2005

State party chairman to speak at Lynchburg headquarters opening

All across Virginia, Democrats are organizing and plotting the course that will put Tim Kaine in the governor's mansion. In my neck of the woods, the Lynchburg area, this is very much in evidence. As Amherst County chair, I often work with my friends "across the river." Last year, we saw a very encouraging growth in the number of volunteers, given the excitement of a presidential race. We'd like to build on that in 2005. An Aug. 19 appearance by the state party chair might be just the thing to get us rolling. (By Rick Howell)

Party chair Richard Cranwell will speak at the grand opening ceremonies of the city committee's new permanent Democratic headquarters. The event will begin at 6 p.m. The headquarters is located inside the Galleria building on the city's Main Street, downtown. Once inside the building, go to the third floor.

I've lived in Virginia for all of my nearly 49 years, except for a five-year period as a journalist when I worked in Tennessee and Kentucky. I followed state politics even when I didn't live here, and the name "Dick Cranwell" seems to have always been a part of it. For many years, he was our strongest voice when a Republican was in the governor's chair, and our second strongest leader when we held it.

He truly is a legend, not just in Democratic Party politics but in Virginia political history. Somehow, we knew he wasn't done when he left the legislature. Now, as state party chairman, he'll guide our efforts in Virginia with the same combination of intelligence, wit, bravado, and the occasional use of sarcasm to which we're all accustomed.

The headquarters in Lynchburg has actually been in operation for a while, and is serving as a work station of sorts for Tim Kaine's regional field director for this area. Tim Kaine meet-ups are held there, too. City Democrats are making every effort to staff the headquarters on a regular basis.

They are also holding a fundraiser to help with the necessary finances. That event, scheduled for Sept. 24, will be held at the city's historic Point of Honor. For more information about either event, call the headquarters at 434-845-1400. But, hey, don't miss a public appearance by chairman Richard Cranwell. Entertainment is guaranteed!

(Rick Howell is chairman of the Amherst County Democratic Committee. He publishes a political Web blog at http://rickhowellspeaks.blogspot.com He can be reached at NewCenHowell@aol.com)

Posted by rickhowell at 04:58 PM | Comments (0)