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Inside/Outside Update
PDA Staff Report
October 4th, 2005

In This Issue:

• Moving Forward from Planning to Action
• Taking Action Now: No More Tax Dollars for Iraq War
• Message from a PDA Grassroots Organizer, Michael Carano (Ohio)
• William Rivers Pitt: "I Remember Democrats"

Moving Forward from Planning to Action

Following a very powerful grassroots strategy session in Washington, D.C., PDA's field staff convened in Phoenix, AZ, to begin moving forward the 2006 action plan. We are pleased to announce some of the goals for the organization in the coming months:

From now until March 2006, we hope to begin uniting our chapters and our allies at the grassroots level. During the next few weeks, PDA staff will begin conversations with our allies in regards to trainings and mobilization tools that they have agreed to offer local chapters. We will begin moving those resources into each chapter. Our goal is to host a dozen trainings in chapters from now until March of 2006. These trainings will be geared toward the upcoming election cycle both locally and federally.
• We will continue a dialogue with each of our chapters as to their local endorsements. Our editorial team led by William Rivers Pitt will showcase these activities on our website. We will also begin to incorporate our political strategic team led by Steve Cobble and Kevin Spidel into this work. In the coming months, stay tuned to the website for our nationally endorsed federal races. We plan to make a strong impact in 2006 with a slate of progressive Congressional Candidates running in the Democratic primaries.
• In the coming weeks, we will reintroduce the People's Petition. So far PDA activists have collected over 15,000 signatures, and with our allies have delivered over 20,000 to the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC.) The goal: To urge members of the CPC to introduce legislation similar to the exit strategy. Thus far, they have been very receptive. We need to continue the momentum. Stay tuned for a re-launch of this successful campaign.
• PDA will mobilize support for Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and her Progressive Caucus Co-Chair, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and others who will sponsor an amendment in January 2006 to bar funding of the continued occupation of Iraq. PDA will work with a wide array of local and national progressive groups to publicize this effort, to educate voters on the related issues, and to help orient and train our members and other grassroots activists to systematically communicate their support for a funding cut-off with their members of Congress.

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Take Action Now: No More Tax Dollars for Iraq War!

The $441 billion Defense Authorization bill passed by the House and currently pending in the Senate includes almost $50 billion as a "bridge fund" to cover military operations in Iraq. This bill will probably be attached to the Defense Appropriations bill, which may get a vote as early as Wednesday, October 5.

Unfortunately, Senate procedures will probably not allow an up or down vote exclusively on the war funding, so we are asking our Senators to vote against the entire defense spending bill.

Most Senators will lack the courage to vote against the entire defense spending bill in order to stop funding the war – so we don’t expect the vote to be close. But, it is important that our Senators hear our call to stop funding the war.

Call your Senator today! Click here to take action.

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A Message from a PDA Grassroots Organizer, Michael Carano - Ohio

(The following is a condensed version of Michael's letter, read as a speech on Sept. 25, 2005, at the PDA Grassroots Strategy Day in Washington, DC. To read the full version, click here.)

In my experience with PDA I have found it is the first national organization that truly gets it. They understand the importance of the grassroots organization, whether it has 5 members or it has 50. PDA has made the connection to the grassroots movement like no other national organization and we are fortunate to be a part of it. National organizations set the agenda but never make that personal connection to the local organization and the political climate you are working in. Not so with PDA. Visit their website and see the tools they have put together to strengthen your organization giving you the ability to be more effective in grassroots activism. The relationship PDA engenders with the grassroots throughout the country is based on real partnerships.

Progressive Democrats of America is our ally. They invest in people. PDA helps citizens like you and me realize that together we can make a difference, not just in our own lives but in our neighborhoods, precincts, wards, towns and cities. We, in turn, must give back.

Is it worth becoming a sustainer so that PDA's work can take the progressive message to all segments of our society? Would you be willing to make a monthly or quarterly donation?

We all see the fruits of their work. Without our financial support they can't carry on the work for change. Without it, PDA would lose its effectiveness. We must support PDA. With PDA, we receive a ten-fold return on our investment. I am asking for each Chapter, Partner and Alliance to work within your organization to find five new sustainers. It can be $10.00 a month or it can be $100. Please donate today.

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Additional Reading

PDA's William Rivers Pitt is still a contributor for Truthout. His latest article is a must read for PDA'ers:

I Remember Democrats: The leadership caste of the Democratic party - those worthies and also-rans in the Senate and the DNC - should take a walk down to the Rayburn House office building and find Representatives Conyers, Lee, Woolsey, Abercrombie, Sanders, McDermott, Waters and Waxman. William Rivers Pitt asserts that this crew has been keeping good company, has been burning the midnight oil, and has been speaking the truth of this administration all day and every day, and PDA has been with them alongside this struggle. [read more]

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