Howard Dean: Consequences

[Rose Siding]

"Elections have consequences."

Remember that saying? It was a favorite of George Bush and the pundits after his narrow victory in 2004.

In 2006 Americans sent a crystal clear message. As the war in Iraq continued and ordinary people struggled to make ends meet, scores of Republicans at every level of government were removed from office by the voters, every single Democrat running for reelection as a Senator, Governor, or Representative was reelected -- every single one.

It didn't happen by accident. It happened by building a strong opposition party with a clear message of change. Most importantly, it happened by building the Democratic Party organization in places it had never been before.

One group of unsung heroes made it happen -- people like you, the nearly 35,000 members of the Democracy Bonds community.

I am so deeply grateful for your continued commitment to the Democracy Bonds community. You are part of a core group of people that provides unprecedented financial stability for our party that allows us to make the historic investments in a national organizing and communications infrastructure.

As you watched the ceremonies on the news yesterday, you saw the historic change that a whole lot of ordinary people can make when they band together. This community is changing our party and changing America, and they're doing it at an average of about $22 a month.

Yesterday was a banner day for the Democracy Bonds community, and I hope you will share the good news with someone you know. Will you take a moment to tell someone about your commitment to the community, and ask them to join us?

http://www.democrats.org/consequences

Want a clear example of the difference that your Democracy Bond can make?

Take Kansas, for example. In a state that had become an emblem in the media for the rise of the radical right, we put field organizers on the ground more than a year before the 2006 elections. By organizing locally and building a network of volunteers for the long-term, we re-elected Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius, took a U.S. House seat from the Republicans, and soundly defeated an extremist Republican Attorney General.

Thanks to a revived and strong Democratic Party, we've seen a trickle and then a flood of moderate Republicans changing their registration to Democrat.

And that U.S. House seat we won in Kansas? Freshman Representative Nancy Boyda says that she decided to run for the seat specifically because our 50-state strategy was in place to support her.

There's no better day to bring someone new into the Democracy Bonds community -- let them know about your commitment by sending them a note:

http://www.democrats.org/consequences

The Democracy Bond community is the necessary foundation for the 50-state strategy. Without that core of support, everything we've done for the past two years would not have been possible.

The Democratic Party made historic gains because of this unprecedented commitment from ordinary people.

I am deeply proud to be a Democracy Bond holder myself, and as I see new Democrats sworn in at every level of office this week I can't think of a community of which I'm more honored to be a member.

Thank you.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.



It's $20 bucks a month that I know was well spent. If you can afford it, buy a bond. -RS