Subject: [big campaign] New Huff Post from Creamer -Friends Don’t Let Friends Not Vote Massachusetts’ Se
From: [email-masked]
To: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:54:10 EST
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

Friends Don’t Let Friends Not Vote Massachusetts’ Senate  Election 

Here’s the bottom  line: an enormous amount is at stake in Tuesday’s 
election in Massachusetts to fill  Senator Ted Kennedy’s seat.  So  much is at 
stake that every Democrat – and every independent who wants  fundamental 
change in Washington – has to vote – no matter how hard it is to get  to the 
polls, no matter how inconvenient, no matter how disappointed you are  with the 
pace of change in Washington. 
Not only that.  If you don’t live in Massachusetts, get on the phone, call 
every friend you  have in Massachusetts and tell them to stop what  they’re 
doing and go vote.  Tell  them that what they do will have a dramatic impact 
on you and your life no  matter where you live in America – that if they 
care about you  at all, they have to go vote to defeat Republican Scott Brown 
and elect Democrat  Martha Coakley. 
Just think how  outrageous it would be if an election to replace the nation’
s most ardent  champion of health care for all, stopped health care reform. 
 That’s exactly what Republican Scott  Brown has said he will do – be the 
41st vote to stop health insurance  reform dead in its tracks.   
But it’s not just  that.  Brown postures like an  advocate for ordinary 
people.  But  in fact he is a staunch advocate of the failed economic policies 
of George Bush  that resulted in: 
·       Zero growth in private  sector jobs over his 2 terms (compare that 
to growth of 22 million jobs over the  eight years of Bill Clinton); 
·       Huge tax breaks for  millionaires and a higher relative tax burden 
for the middle class; 
·       Zero growth in median  income for ordinary working people; 
·       Two thirds of all the  growth in Gross Domestic Product going to 
the top 1% of the  population; 
·       No accountability for  the Wall Street bankers whose reckless 
speculation plunged the economy into the  worst collapse since the Great 
Depression. 
Remember that George Bush inherited a huge budget surplus from Bill  
Clinton and ran up more debt than all of the previous Presidents in American  
history. 
And now, Brown says he would  oppose President Obama’s proposed tax on Wall 
Street profits that would allow us  to recover all the money from the 
massive taxpayers’ bailout that was necessary  to prevent the worldwide financial 
system from complete disintegration.   
Brown is apparently perfectly happy to let the Wall Street gang wallow in  
the obscene profits they made this year-- as a direct result of taxpayer  
assistance – taking billions of dollars in bonuses while many Americans who  
actually produce things for a living still can’t find work.  
By voting for Brown – or staying home from the polls – voters would be  
choosing to take the country back to the bad old days when Bush’s  
pro-Wall-Street-Banker-economic policy created the massive mess that we have  been 
slowly trying to clean up for the last 12 months.   
Surely one of the reasons why that clean-up has taken longer than hoped  is 
that some conservative Democrats have erected hurdles that block change.   
But it is nothing compared to what  we would see if the Republicans once 
again have enough votes to stall every  Democratic initiative in the Senate. If 
you’re a progressive Democrat and are  unhappy with how change initiatives 
are watered down by the conservative  Democrats, wait until we have to 
negotiate everything with the  Bush-economic-policy-Republicans.  
That is exactly what the Republicans hope to pull off Tuesday – and  that’
s why it is so important for every Democrat, every Progressive, every  
change-oriented Independent call their friends in Massachusetts and insist they  
go to the polls and vote for Coakley. 
I know there has been a lot of talk about the early complacency of the  
Coakley campaign --- or whether she knows the roster of the Red Sox.  But this 
is not a game.  And this election isn’t just about  Martha Coakley.  It’s 
about the  direction of America.  It’s about continuing the momentum for  
fundamental change that has begun this year and has so, so much further to  go. 
  
The outcome of this race is entirely a function of turnout. The latest  
poll has Brown up by 3 points.  Other polls have had Coakley slightly ahead.  
These poll results reflect different  assumptions the pollsters make about 
who turns out.   
There is also no question that early in this race, hardcore Republicans  
and Brown supporters were more motivated to turn out.  Now the percentage of 
our supporters who  say they are likely to vote is shooting up. 
One thing is clear: if there is a low overall turnout, the more-motivated  
Brown supporters will carry the day.  If turnout surges – especially among 
Democrats, Progressives, women,  African Americans, Latinos, and union voters 
– Coakley will win.  
There are substantially more Democrats registered in Massachusetts than  
Republicans, but don’t let that fool you.  There are loads of “un-enrolled” 
or independent voters in the state.  And even though the state is thought to  
be a Democratic stronghold, remember that until 2008 it had consistently 
elected  Republicans Governors– including former Republican Presidential 
aspirant Mitt  Romney.  
Luckily there is something each and every one of us can do about this  
race.  If you live in Massachusetts, go sign up  to walk precincts – join the 
phone banks being run by the Coakley Campaign or  Organize for America (OFA) – 
call all of your neighbors and friends – and make  sure you vote early. 
For  many years Massachusetts has exported volunteers to  surrounding 
states in big national elections.  Now it’s time for activists in  New Hampshire, 
Vermont, Maine,  Rhode Island, upstate New  York and Connecticut to return 
the favor.  Go to Massachusetts and help turn out the vote. No  one will 
have more impact on the outcome of this election than motivated,  reliable 
volunteers who pull out voters. 
If you live outside of Massachusetts you can also go the OFA’s  website and 
sign up to be part of a virtual phone bank 
_http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hqblog_ (http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hqblog) . 
Many people will be off work Monday to commemorate the birthday of Dr.  
Martin Luther King, Jr.  Take the  day and go do what Dr. King would want you 
to do.  I’m sure he would have agreed that there  is nothing more important 
you can do to fight for social and economic justice,  over the next two days, 
than beat back this attempt by the Republicans and Scott  Brown to return 
us to the failed policies of the Bush years.  
Don’t be one of those people who regrets months from now that they didn’t  
do something at a critical point to help change history.  Don’t allow us 
all to regret that  America didn’t pass health insurance reform, or 
re-regulate the Wall Street  Banks, or pass clean energy legislation, or comprehensive 
immigration reform, or  a serious jobs bill because we had to make a deal 
with Republican Leader Mitch  McConnell and his friends in the Chamber of 
Commerce, the big insurance  companies, and Wall Street in order to get 
anything done.  That may happen if Scott Brown wins  Tuesday in Massachusetts.    
Real democracy – and the fight for social and economic justice – are not  
spectator sports.  If you’re unhappy  with the pace of change, use this 
occasion to get out of the stands. Go onto the  playing field and do something 
about it.  The Republicans and Scott Brown want to  erect a huge new barrier 
to change in the Senate on Tuesday. It is up to each  and every one of us to 
go out in the streets and make sure that they fail.   
Friends don’t let friends not vote in the Massachusetts Senate  race. 
Robert Creamer is a  long-time political organizer and strategist, and 
author of the recent  book:  “Stand Up Straight: How  Progressives Can Win,” 
available on _Amazon.com._ 
(http://www.amazon.com/Listen-Your-Mother-Straight-Progressives/dp/0979585295/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213241439&sr=
8-1) 
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