*** THIS IS THE EMAIL I JUST SENT TO ALL MY REPUBLICAN FAMILY MEMBERS ***

[Thom Servo]

And believe me...I am risking future uncomfortable Thanksgivings by doing this...but you know what? Anything is worth Sen. Obama becoming President.

Hey everyone!

Well, I hope everyone is doing well =) But well, this is a political e-mail. I know, I know...but, I feel obligated to send this. Because we are at a point in all our lives where, in my humble opinion, the future of our country is at stake, and so I need to force this on you =)

I know that with 30 days left until election day, maybe everyone has made up their mind. And yes, I know I am probably the most politically active one out of us all =) But this time, I feel we, and our country, are at at a crossroads.

I am voting for Senator Barack Obama.

I know...most us of have been Republicans all our lives. Hell...I voted for Bob Dole in '96, and I voted for George W. Bush in '00. I know Mom & Dad used to be liberals back in the 70s and 80s, voting for Mondale and Dukakis (good choices!), but that all changed =) I was raised to be a Republican.

But in 2004, I got fed up with things. I never agreed with this murderous and destructive, pointless war in Iraq. Thousands of kids...my age or younger...and including a good friend of mine from law school...have lost their lives in this destructive war. Dad, I know you probably entertained these same views during the Vietnam War. Kids your age, being sent to fight and die in a war that just didn't make any sense anymore.

And so my political views changed. And now, I really feel that Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and their administration, can bring us the change we need. They can get us out of this war and change our priorities.

I have spent many hours studying John McCain and his policies, hoping he or his administration would say or do something I could believe in, but they have not changed my mind.

So I am casting my vote this November for Senator Obama.

And before you make your final decison, I implore you all to vote for Senator Obama. And I would hope each of you watches the following 10-minute video about him. It's only 10 minutes, but it might change your views about him, and what is best for our country.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1772824031?bclid=416330929&bctid=1797097875

Anyways...it's just politics, and no matter who you vote for, I love you all. But I really think we have a chance to make a big difference.

Love,

Jon

[BlooInBloo]

1. Very nice. A link to the AFL/CIO guy's speech would also be good.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

2. A hearty Welcome to DU Thom Servo!

:hi:

Hope your family takes what you wrote under serious consideration.

[FrenchieCat]

3. Fabulous!

I watched it again.

Thank you!

And Welcome to DU! :patriot:

[Thom Servo]

4. I hope they listen

I grew up in Chicago. My parents were liberals from the 60s and voted for Carter ('80), Mondale ('84) and Dukakis ('88) until I guess they gave up and voted for George H.W. Bush in 1992 and forever corrupted themselves =)

I will do everything I can to change their minds.

I used to be a Republican. I used to think of politics as dollars and cents and tax cuts. But something changed in my heart. I realized that politics is not just about dollars and cents. Politics is about hope, and optimism, and about people. And life means more than dollars and cents.

And since I made that change, my life has been better. I'm a lawyer. I went from defending insurance companies....to fighting for peoples' rights. I quit my corporate job, and started my own law firm with my best friend. We now help and defend consumers against big corporations and the government.

I now see the hardship that "Joe Six Pack" endures, without it merely being a snazzy talking point. I now see why we need compassionate government. I now see, first hand, why we need drastic change in our corrupt justice system.

I truly, truly believe that Sen. Obama will bring about this change. Everything will change...for the better.

[FrenchieCat]

5. It has to.....

Here's something I wrote to an Undecided Independent that I know a while back:

If McCain wins, nothing changes, and China will own us.

We need intelligence and Innovation in the White House in order to inspire a new day in America.
We need for our young people to have an education that will prepare them to compete.
We need a new economy of jobs that cannot be outsourced.
We need a leader that will restore the world's confidence in the United States...
because terrorism will only be solved if the nations of the world cooperate with us.
We can't continue to defend the world, when they don't even respect us. We can't afford it,
and it is only breaking our treasury while making the defense industry rich.
We can't continue not to offer health care to our citizens,
yet offer bail outs and tax cuts to mega corporations whose only interest is in the bottomline,
and who don't care what job they ship where,
as long as that means that they will pay less in labor cost.

A 72 year old man who chose the type of Vice President that McCain did clearly demonstrates that winning an election was what was most important to him; and that was not Country First. Voting for a country club type man who owns 9 houses, 13 cars, and 26 years parked in the senate deregulating everything he ever saw, just won't achieve what is needed in America right now.

Just as we were tested in our tolerance and greatness during the 1960 election in electing John F. Kennedy, so it is a parallel now in 2008. Ask those who voted for Richard Nixon in 1960 whether they understood that they had sat on the sideline of history when they didn't have to. What it took then, and what we need now are those independent and innovative thinkers who realize that gifts are never meant to be squandered. We have an opportunity today to turn the page to a new dawn, and turning away from it could be dire to the future of this country in just too many ways, including our financial credibility and Global market confidence.

Electing Barack Obama, a man who against all odds succeeded in this country,
without any built in advantages is the quintessential American Story.....
It is how we will restore The United States to a leadership position
and how we inspire the dream for all who live in it,
and all who might live afar but who admire it.

Anything short of Obama being elected will result in the kind of negativity toward us
that will be a continuation if not a worsening of what we have experienced over the last
Eight Years. Doing the same thing over and over again will not bring about change.

[BanzaiBonnie]

6. Welcome Thom Servo

Life is better when lived from the heart. That doesn't mean you lose your brain. Just that the heart comes first. We are, after all, one family.

[ClayZ]

7. K and R

[Inspired]

8. Welcome to the DU Thom Servo!

We are glad to see you.

:hi:

I have the same situation with many members of my own family. I know first hand how brave you were to send this email. It was written very thoughtfully and I think it might make a difference. Bravo!

:applause:

[Window]

9. K/R.

And, welcome to DU. Great email.

[intheflow]

10. That's the video they showed during the DNC at Invesco.

Just as moving the second time I've seen it, now. thanks for the link!

Sadly, I can't share this with my Republican family, there have just be too many fights over the better part of a decade, now. I commend you for attempting to broach the subject with your family (again), but the Republicans in my family are the Fox-worshipping variety. My mother might listen to reason, but not my step-father or any of my many cousins who watched the Twin Towers go down from their backyards and workplaces. Even my cousin Alex, who admits Bush is a disaster, will still vote for McCain because of McCain's supposed domestic security experience. :(

[1corona4u]

11. Yes, add this too...if it's not too late

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/04/union-president-defends-o_n_131954.html

[dhpgetsit]

12. Thanks for sharing your opinions with people who may be undecided.

There are lots of great reasons to support Obama over McCain.

I think the economy is one of the most powerful factors we can be talking about today. This little chart really does it for me. It points out that Republicans - for all their talk about fiscal responsibility - cannot balance the budget. We are now facing 10 trillion dollars in debt!