Dear Mississippi Organizers.

Online Activism and Organization is the way of the future. I hope you will also reach out to those in Mississippi who are without internet access or who haven't become familiar with such internet sites as Democrats.org, MoveOn.org, TrueMajority.org etc. Please make catchy and creative flyers that can be passed around individual neighborhoods, windshields of movie theatres, and all local community boards. Make these available on your website, so that people can print them out, maybe even on colored paper, and take a nice walk. I don't have all the slogans, but I know I like to have a purpose when I stroll around the town on my feet.

Some of the concepts I'd like to see on billboards or flyers to publicize internet groups and the Democratic Party would be the following:

You want to join a groups of committed political activists... Join the Democratic Party.

Have you ever considered being active in politics... check out www.MoveOn.org.

You think you can't make a difference... join www.truemajority.org.

Etc.

I'm sure more better things will pop into your heads as the years go by, but we must not get planted in front of our computers and assume everyone knows about the Democratic Party and what we stand for.

Peace guys. And thank you. Thank You. for taking part in this.

Lots of Love.

Ted.

WOW! What an amazing group of people...thanks for your committment to the cause of helping to elect Democrats in some the most difficult states in the country. Please keep us updated on your activities in the field...it's always good to hear from folks on the ground, particularly for us Beltway folks.

One issue that matters: Gay Marriage.
If we learned one thing in ohio, its that people are sensitive on letting gay people get married. something like 80% voted for issue 1, and it NO DOUBT played into Bush's 'success' in that state. Now Im very much a liberal (i actually used to be a moderate republican very recently, but have since changed my views) and a democrat nonetheless, but it is not going to happen over night. My idea is this------ a democratic government should empower the church by letting a mandate say instead of "no gays allowed", but "Let the Church decide." I mean after all, the church is a private institution, and under the constitution it can accept or decline anybody it pleases, including the sacrament of marriage. I think if we can get to this stage, the "leap" to gay marriage becomes a regular "step". I want to see this (my gay friends be able to get married) happen as much as everybody else does, but it wont be accomplished with one big swoop! People are scared, not because they are bad people, but because they dont realize that it wont affect them at all. I think this would be a good way to "wean" them off that fear.

I used to be a Republican, in fact, I used to be one until very very recently. But I always disagreed with them on this issue; every time. So I guess what I am saying is that rather than forcing 20 different issues on people, start with one. Anybody who agrees blindly to the conservative party, im afraid, those are votes that we just wont get. But when it comes to persuading people why our party can do a better job than their's, it starts with one issue, thats how it started with ME!!!

Posted by JR34 on August 12, 2005 at 12:22 PM

JR34...I'm confident our new organizers will do a great job of bringing Mississippi Dems together around issues they identify with. Your concern for gay rights as being 'the' priority issue, however socially just it may seem, plays more to Republican 'get of the base' 'moral' issue strategy than to Democratic 'Bread and Butter' issues. Issues which truely affect peoples lives; education, taxes, health care, jobs, equitable pay, honest government representation as exemplified by real election finance reform, and a host of other 'everyday' issues that can make every American's life better today, are much more likely to energize our democratic base and bring them to the polls in 2006.

Boiler Man

ps...IMHO Hailey Barbour will prove to be a HUGE one term wonder! But, eh, why should he care? His bed already has more feathers than your's or mine!

I wish we could help you more in Mississippi. My only advice is to take it slow and steady. The long term approach. Keep your energy up. Eat healthy. Take time for resting the brain. And then come out swinging with everything you have. And then rest again. Whatever works best for you I guess. Just good luck. Because I am so sick of these next generation Mississippi Burning criminals running the country again. Gene Hackman and Willem Defoe should provide enough encouragement and reason to get the job done right. Peace.

Can we just put ALL THE VOTING MACHINES and GOP corruption on TV advertisements now!??? That is what the viewers want--to hit back and hit back HARD!!!!

Talk about culture so you can reach the rural voters, this kind of culture. Supporting moral values like honesty, INTEGRITY, and NON-HYPOCRISY! Do unto others what they would do unto you, that includes do not lie and steal where republicans lie and steal. So you can show everyone they are hypocrites!

That includes giving a fair shake to gays, but keeping them out of organized religions where they are not welcome. But also includes giving them freedoms and not descriminating!

The moral values of inclusion, integrity, honesty, and humbleness. Those values!!!! And support GUN RIGHTS!!!!! That's why I love Paul Hackett, you can give everyone, even the rural voters a reason to vote democratic.

nick

Mudcat Sanders says, and I agree, that we got to push wedge issues out of the way, by hitting them with stuff such as, we don't want to take you guns, the states have control over abortion issues, and Religion is not a government issue, it is a church issue so we will let the churches deal with that and we will deal with government.
Now that we got past that, let's talk poverty, education, jobs, healthcare, etc. He used it in many campaigns and one in Va. that send a long time republican packing out of the Governor's mansion there. I can give you a link to his article about it if you want to know more.

Gay Marriage is a wedge issue. Be careful with it as it could lose voters. Best thing in Mississippi is to note an amendment was passed in 2004 elections so it is going to require appealing that amendment depending on how that process is done in the state in question. Stay off it if possible and hit main issues, like jobs, education, etc.