Kerry letter to MOVEON.ORG (Is this collusion Senator?)

Three words sum up why we need to take action today: The Supreme Court. I need you to join me in keeping the Supreme Court out of the hands of right wing ideologues. I am prepared to filibuster, if necessary, any Supreme Court nominee who would turn back the clock on a woman’s right to choose, on civil rights and individual liberties, and on the laws protecting workers and the environment.

If you agree with me that there should be no equivocation, no double-speak, no avoidance of the issue, then sign my online petition today at:

I will deliver this petition to Senate Democratic Leader, Tom Daschle, and the Ranking Democratic Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Pat Leahy, as well as their counterparts on the Republican side of the aisle – Majority Leader Bill Frist and Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch. We will assure that they hear our voices loud and clear that we will oppose a nominee who would turn back the clock on a woman’s right to choose, on civil rights and individual liberties, and on the laws protecting workers and the environment.

The criteria are basic: Any person who thinks it’s his or her job to push an extreme political agenda, rather than to interpret the law, should not be a Supreme Court Justice. Any person who thinks it’s his or her job to carry out the President’s political agenda, rather than to provide justice to ordinary Americans, should not be a Supreme Court Justice.

Make no mistake, we need to take back the White House in 2004 and that’s why I’m running for President. When I’m President there will be no John Ashcroft trampling on the Bill of Rights – but before I become President we must stop George W. Bush from using the Supreme Court to carry out the President’s political agenda, rather than to provide justice to ordinary Americans.

The differences today are clear: George Bush wants to criminalize the right of women to choose, he’s willing to take us back to the days of back alleys, to gag doctors and to deny families the right to plan and be aware of their choices. And don’t take my word for it: just look at who they’ve already tried to ram down our throats: Judges like Charles Pickering and Priscilla Owen who have long records of opposition to Roe v. Wade, have sought to restrict laws barring sexual discrimination, have supported a ban on interracial marriage, and have worked to narrow laws on gender discrimination. Or Judges like James Leon Holmes who dismissed arguments for the availability of abortion for rape victims claiming that conceptions from rape occur with approximately the same frequency as snowfall in Miami. Each year in America, over 30,000 women become pregnant as a result of rape or incest; snow falls in Miami roughly once every 100 years.

I believe America should move forward and advance our right to privacy and equal rights, the civil rights, and the right to choose in this nation.

No one is better at demanding action and holding government accountable than MoveOn.Org – and together we can stop the Bush right-wing juggernaut by mobilizing the United States Senate to reject any Bush Supreme Court nominee hostile to the rights of women to choose.

Don't let the DNC get away with the talking point that they don't collude with MoveOn.org:

"Nov 13, 2003
The DNC is also conducting a major petition drive in partnership with MoveOn.org. More than 310,000 Americans have signed the petition to protect our courts — with more than 172,000 of those signatures coming in the past 36 hours. The petition calls on Bush and the Republicans to stop nominating judges that are out of step with mainstream Americans and praising the Democrats for standing up for their rights."
http://www.democrats.org/news/200311140002.html

DNC Chief Operating Officer Josh Wachs (left), Senator Leahy, and Zack Exley from Moveon.org pose with the more than 310,000 signatures.
http://www.democrats.org/blog/display/00010183.html

I suppose this isnt collusion either is it senator?

http://www.gopusa.com/news/2004/august/0803_moveon_echo_kerry.shtml

MoveOn Wants to 'Echo Kerry's Message' to Overcome Bush's 'Misleading Attack Ads'
By Jimmy Moore
Talon News
August 3, 2004

SPARTANBURG, SC (Talon News) -- Liberal political action group MoveOn.org encouraged its members on Monday to "echo Kerry's message" to overcome the "misleading attack ads" from the Bush campaign in the coming weeks.

In an e-mail to supporters, MoveOn.org founder Eli Pariser said liberal Democrats should be excited by Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John F. Kerry (D-MA) after last week's Democratic National Convention in Boston.

"Last week, John Kerry laid out a powerful vision for our country in his speech at the Democratic Convention," Pariser remarked.

However, Pariser said MoveOn.org supporters need to prepare for a wave of political attacks from the reelection campaign for President George W. Bush.

"This week, the Bush campaign is launching a major new campaign, focused on misleading the public about Kerry's record," Pariser warned, referring to a new ad that highlights Kerry's lack of accomplishment as a U.S. senator and missing nearly 90 percent of his votes on Capitol Hill in the past year.

Despite most major political polls taken after the Democratic Convention ended last week showing Kerry gaining little ground on Bush in a close election, Pariser said the Bush campaign is hoping to slow down Kerry's rise in popularity among voters.

"With misleading attack ads on the air and a national media tour, Bush is hoping that this assault will stop the powerful momentum Kerry has built from the convention," Pariser exclaimed, although some would argue Kerry benefited little from the event.

Sending out a call to action to MoveOn.org supporters, Pariser requested every member write a letter to the editor of their local newspaper to "carry [Kerry's] message forward."

"If we don't echo Kerry's message, the Bush attack may drown it out," Pariser cautioned.

To assist their supporters with this, MoveOn.org has listed "talking points, sample letters, and a tool to find your local paper" at their web site.

Touting Kerry's "positive message," Pariser said the Massachusetts senator hit on many ideas that are of importance to liberals, including universal health care coverage, a passive military that will not engage unless it is attacked first, opposition to outsourcing of jobs, alternative energy sources, more government programs for prescription drug coverage, keeping Social Security from being privatized, and more money for schools.

Also included in the "positive message" is "restoring credibility and honesty to the White House" and "never misusing the Constitution for political purposes," two obvious jabs at the Bush administration's handling of the war on terror.

Although supporting Kerry to be victorious in November is the immediate goal for MoveOn.org, Pariser said the long term achievements of the group are to implement the leftist ideas they espouse.

"Of course, these important changes won't happen by themselves," Pariser noted. "We will have to work hard to get Kerry elected, and then work equally hard to make sure there is a political environment where these reforms can become reality."

Getting the message out "in the editorial pages of the nation's newspapers," Pariser said that will send a message that people are "supporting and protecting [Kerry]."

"Writing a letter to the editor of your local paper is one of the most effective ways to get your voice in the media, and the opinion page is the most-read page for many papers," Pariser concluded.

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