email from John Laesch - conceding the primary to Foster

[frogcycle]

edit - for those not familiar, Laesch ran against Hastert in '06 and did moderately well; he ran in two primaries in Feb - one for November, one for a special election to fill hasterts vacated seat. Foster won both - the special by about 2500 votes; the regular by just a handful. Foster has already beaten the pug, known as the milk nazi, in the special and will be seated in congress soon. Foster will run again in the fall against the same pug)

Dear Friends,

I thank you for all of your hard work and support during my last 909 days of campaigning. Together, we stood for real change and showed that unity of purpose combined with an unwavering progressive message could challenge power and money. The final election results sent a positive message about the prospects of changing our political system away from a money-driven machine. Unfortunately however, the numbers below still underscore the real problem in our Democracy; Washington is for sale to the highest bidder.

Name Vote Totals Campaign Costs

Bill Foster 32,410 $2,000,000

John Laesch 32,012 $140,000

Jotham Stein 5,865 $215,000

Joe Serra 6,033 * Less than $5,000


This campaign has never been about me as an individual. Any success that we have achieved in building a stronger political structure in Illinois and raising the bar on our Democratic opponents is because of you. Many of you have written e-mails encouraging the pursuit of the recount or a third-party run over the last four weeks. I have considered and carefully weighed the opinions of those who worked hard going door-to-door and contributing for real change.

However, close analysis of the numbers and Saturday's election results has led us to make a difficult decision; to end the recount process. As we close down the campaign office and ready for the next campaign, I have my own thoughts to share; however, I would first like to share some advice that my younger brother, Sgt. Pete Laesch, recently wrote:

"I would concede and then let them know, that despite everything you are going to fight on for Single Payer, because that is where the Democratic party should be, fair trade agreements, because that is where the democratic party should be."

Pete and I became active in electoral politics in 2003 when the Iraq War started. I have pledged to remain involved in politics until every U.S. service man and woman is safely home from Iraq. I hope that you will join me by making a similar pledge.

Bobby Kennedy was known for saying, "the hottest place in hell is reserved for those who fail to act in great times of moral crisis." It is my belief that my generation and future generations will face moral and economic crises greater than Vietnam and the Great Depression combined. As new leaders rise to these challenges within our political system, I would like to leave you with some political theory and some other thoughts.

Revolutionary Political Science - how we win.

Copernicus revolutionized the way that human beings viewed earth's relationship to the universe. In his 1530 publication, De Revolutionibus, Copernicus theorized that the earth travels around the sun. This revolutionary thought varied greatly from Ptolemy's theory that put planet Earth at the center of the universe. Copernicus was able to arrive at this theory because most of his studies were conducted quietly and alone without help or outside influence from other Western philosophers of the time.

Because he was not trapped by linear thought that grew from others' observations of the universe, Copernicus discovered something new and true.

There is a reason that I have never subscribed to the, "how much money do you have" way of thinking about electoral politics. I know that the earth is not the center of the universe and I know that our current political system is broken because the people who are trying to "fix it" have subscribed to the same broken theory that money should be at the center of our political system.

If a young political hopeful were to walk into the late Senator Paul Simon's office and ask for advice before she or he ran for public office, Simon would have instructed that future politician to, "Shake as many hands as you can, tell people who you are and listen to what they have to say." Simon theorized that every voter one met would tell at least 10 other voters about you.

If a young political hopeful were to walk into either of our current Senators' offices and ask for similar advice, a consultant would likely greet him or her and then tell that person to, "raise $300,000 and call me when you have enough money to run."

As a direct result of this line of thinking, the leadership vacuum in Washington has been filled with excellent fundraisers and hundreds of millionaires. I would contend that the lack of real leadership and representation in Washington is a big reason why we as a nation have lost our respect in the world and are facing a looming economic crisis.

Having exceeded expectations in our vote total while being outspent 17:1 against Hastert and 14:1 against Foster, I feel that we are on the right track towards developing an electoral political process that does not depend solely on money. I admit that I still don't have a working formula for a more modern Paul Simon style of campaigning. However, I do know that changing our political system is vital to restoring democracy and placing political power into the hands of the rightful owners, the people.

If we want to change the agenda, then we are going to have to change the "how we win." And, unfortunately, if we don't change our agenda we will go back to losing elections.

Why a new agenda is so important.

I did not get involved in politics for personal gain or power. I got involved because the alternative was doing nothing about the injustices I see every day, namely Iraq. Injustice will continue if the Democratic Party does not stand for something (see my brothers note above). At this point in time, the Republican Party is irrelevant and the fight for equality and justice will be fought within the Democratic Party. Primary season just became very important and we need to place greater emphasis on the issues during the primaries. Democrats are not winning elections because we are good. We are winning because the Republicans are that bad. Let's be honest, you know that they are hurting when Jim Oberweis is leading the ticket.

Will I run again?

Many have asked this question and Jennifer and I have yet to determine our own future in politics. I consider myself to be a "small d" democrat that puts country and policy before party. There are many "BIG D" Democrats who put party before country. This way of thinking has led to the demise of the Republican Party in Washington and is eroding our ability to be effective with overwhelming Democratic majorities in Springfield. For those who are wondering why I am not supporting Mr. Foster's candidacy, I respond by stating that, "I feel that his campaign represents the epitome of what is wrong with our democracy and should be seen as the beginning of aristocracy." As the influence of money in politics continues to grow, I remain confident that those who lead with integrity will, at the end of the day, have the power of the people on their side and provide effective leadership.

Thank you again for all of your support and encouragement throughout this campaign.

Sincerely,

John & Jennifer Laesch

This email was sent to (frogcycle)

Paid for by Friends of John Laesch

[murielm99]

1. Thank you frogcycle.

John is a good guy. I met him and his wife at a couple of events in Dixon IL. He was always willing to talk to me and the people who attended events with me, even though we live in the 16th and were not able to vote for him. My husband gave him money for his campaigns, too.

His decision is a wise one. Foster beat the odds and has become something of a celebrity by winning Hastert's old seat.

I hope John stays in politics in some capacity.

[frogcycle]

4. I don't think John is going anywhere

He is one of the good guys - someone who really cares. I suspect his being raised by missionaries may have instilled some of the "I have to do what I can, even if it seems insignificant against the odds" spirit.

Foster is better than the milk nazi. It means the dems won a traditional rep stronghold. I think John would have won too, and I would have preferred that. So far in my support of candidates I am batting flat zero.

[Tinksrival]

2. John and Jennifer are wonderful people.

He was near perfect candidate for congress on the issues for me. I am in the next district but he captured my political heart and I attended some of his events. We had a blast when we protested this embarrassment:


I really wish John won. He came a lot closer than I thought.

[frogcycle]

3. I met Jen and worked with her some

when I went out to Aurora to volunteer. She is a sweetie. I met John several times too, but more briefly. They are very much down-to-earth people who just want to save the country. I congratulated Jen on their marriage, which was recent, told her I got this email from Jennifer Laesch and knew something was up! She laughed and said the campaign was the honeymoon.

I went out when the weather permitted and gathered up all the 4' by 4' Laesch signs I had put up, noting the remaining litter of other candidates... who probably paid people to put up signs.