Dear Friend,
I am writing to inform you that CCAG has granted me a leave of absence, effective today, to assist in running Ned Lamont’s primary challenge to Joe Lieberman. John Murphy, our Political Director, will be joining me shortly.
I want to thank the CCAG Board and my co-workers for making this opportunity possible and express my confidence that the team (Judy Maslen, Acting Director, Phil Sherwood Legislative Director, Gretchen Vivier HealthCare for All Director, Rich Sivel, Lead Organizer, etc) that remains at CCAG will continue to make great headway on health care for all, restoring the public trust in our democracy, and in addressing high energy prices. I urge your continued support for CCAG.
We are taking this leave because we believe that Ned Lamont’s potential candidacy for United States Senate presents a historical opportunity to challenge the status quo in Washington DC and to help turn Connecticut’s congressional delegation truly blue in 2006. This is a race that can be won!!!
It is unacceptable to us that Nancy Johnson, Chris Shays, and Rob Simmons can hide behind Joe Lieberman to rationalize their support of George Bush’s war on Iraq. Senator Lieberman’s recent vote for and against Samuel Alito’s appointment to the Supreme Court is another painful reminder of how Joe is no longer the fighting Attorney General that many of us remember. On other issues like health care, trade, vouchers, social security, civil liberties, and energy, Joe continues to frustrate progressives in Connecticut, but our greatest frustration lies in his apologist behavior towards the Bush administration.
Ned is a progressive democrat who understands that the war in Iraq has made us and our allies less secure, who believes in an activist government that guarantees everyone a quality education and affordable health care, who is committed to equality and privacy, and who is also alarmed by the blatant disregard of our Constitution by the Bush administration.
John and I understand the mountain that a Ned Lamont campaign will have to climb to win on August 8th. We are committed to working with Ned to build the largest volunteer campaign operation that Connecticut has ever seen. As part of his deliberations, Ned has said that he needs at least 1,000 volunteers to sign up at his web page, (www.NedLamont.com) coming from every town and city in the state to formally become a candidate. While we have made significant progress towards the numerical portion of our goal, there is still a significant way to go before we have people from all 169 of Connecticut’s towns. We must build this volunteer base to overcome the money and the advantage that Lieberman has as a result of being an 18 year incumbent.
This campaign will must rely on grassroots and netroots participation to win. We will need every hour anyone can volunteer, but we're also going to need people who can take on formal roles and responsibilities in their precincts, towns and regions. Our first task is to start going through the ranks of volunteers who have signed up so far to identify people who can commit to taking on these parts of the campaign.
If you haven’t please sign up today at www.NedLamont.com and, if you have, please ask your friends, family, and neighbors to join us in standing up to George Bush by electing Ned Lamont to the Senate.
Sincerely,
Tom Swan
P.S.: Thank you in advance for your participation in this historic race and for your continued support of CCAG.
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