Democrats in Name Only

We've all heard it from the Democratic leadership over and over again: "we don't have the votes."

This fall, we face a pivotal series of votes on Iraq. We've made phone calls. We've run ads and written letters to the editor. But now we have an important decision to make together. Should we support primary challengers against some Democrats who side with the President on Iraq? Click Here

Hundreds of thousands of us worked to get Democratic majorities elected. So why don't they have the votes? One reason is that there are a set of weak Democrats who side with the president—especially on Iraq. They're too scared to fight for what's right and what they were elected to fight for.

This fall, we face a pivotal series of votes on Iraq—votes that, if we win, could spell the end of the Iraq war. MoveOn members have made phone calls. We've held town meetings. We've run ads and written letters to the editor. But now, given this big moment, we have an important decision to make together.

Should we support primary challengers against some Democrats who side with the president on Iraq? It's a tough question, and one we need everybody's input on. Click below to fill out our survey and let us know what you think:

http://pol.moveon.org/primary07/?id=11191-7018451-8SAzpj&t=2

Polls show that a majority of voters everywhere support an exit from Iraq. That means that there isn't a single Democratic member of Congress whose constituents don't want to bring our troops home. Representatives who vote with President Bush on Iraq are voting against their districts.

But deciding to support primary challenges is a big step—some folks have argued that we should keep our focus on Republicans, the primary architects and supporters of the war.

There are a few key things to keep in mind. We would only get involved in a primary race if MoveOn members in the district or state wanted to—and a majority supported that primary challenger. And we'd focus on races where a progressive had a good chance of beating the sitting Democrat and also winning the general election.

Why now? There are a lot of Democrats in Congress who are Democrats In Name Only (DINOs)—they don't represent their constituents, a lot of them have been in office for years and they think that they can vote however they want. That's just wrong. Their job is to represent their constituents.

Back in January, many of us were excited about the new Democratic Congress and all the progress we could make. And together, we have made real progress on minimum wage, children's health care and even renewable energy.

But in some critical issue areas the Democrats have failed us—usually because too many of them were afraid to fight. Just last month, Congress capitulated to President Bush and politics of fear over wiretapping. And we've all been disappointed and frustrated by the way Iraq policy has been handled.

We have to work together to make sure that Democrats are held accountable to their voters. But the question is, should we use primary challenges as a way to hold them accountable?

This is a really big decision, and we need your input before we go forward. Please click below to tell us what you think:

http://pol.moveon.org/primary07/?id=11191-7018451-8SAzpj&t=3

We'll report back to you next week on the results of the survey. Thanks for taking the time to think through this important question and for all you do.

Sincerely,

–Nita, Eli, Justin, Jennifer and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Thursday, September 6th, 2007

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