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How to Become Involved
We need to work and be vigilant to insure that
our government is responsive, that our Constitution and Bill of
Rights are upheld, and that the rights of the minority are not
trampled. You can contribute to that process in the
following ways:
1.
Be a Precinct Executive or, if you
prefer a smaller job, let our club president and/or ward chair
know that you'd be willing to be the contact person for your
block, street, or whatever you'd be willing to do. (the
PE job description will be on line soon).
2. Communicate with your elected officials.
3. Write letters to
newspaper editors.
4. Work
with local candidates.
5. Try
to get like-minded friends and neighbors involved, too. We
need people in every precinct to either be PEs or to help their
PE out with literature drops, canvassing, telephoning, and more.
Even a few hours would be helpful! Just contact
cardanko@yahoo.com or
pinged@one.net.
6.
Volunteer at
Hamilton County Democratic Party headquarters. Contact Caleb
Faux, executive director, at 421-0495 or by emailing
caleb@hamiltoncountydems.org .
7.
Be a poll worker on election day -- the next election is
in May 2007.. For additional information, contact Democratic Coordinator Gena
Howard at 632-7041, and/or check the website at
http://www.votehamiltoncountry.com .
Being a Precinct Exec:
"The Bedrock of Responsive Democracy"
It's a volunteer job that represents the
grass roots involvement in democratic politics, according to
Jim O'Reilly, long-time political veteran, and the Ward
Chair of Wyoming. (If you're not familiar with these
terms, just go to
How the Democratic Party is organized.)
Being a PE means you make an effort to meet
your neighbors/members of your precinct, listen to their
needs, and communicate those needs when appropriate.
You can voice your views to the party, and participate in
electing the party leadership.
(If this already sounds like too much work, perhaps you'd be
a block captain or neighborhood worker, helping the Precinct
Executive with the work of the party with people you know or
who live around you.)
At election time the PE and other workers might display or
distribute signs, and aid candidates with visits to area
festivals. Your participation in getting out the vote
is also important.
There are few hassles to this job, but you
serve as the link between your precinct members and the
party, and it's fun, exciting, and important. Many
Democrats who are very active in politics today got their
start this way.
For more information, contact
cardanko@yahoo.com .
Please be a precinct exec and be an agent for change in our
democracy!
Nightfall
does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In
both instances, there is a twilight when everything
remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight
that we all must be aware of change in the air however
slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the
darkness.
-- Justice William O. Douglas |
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The
Politics of Shoe Leather
By William Rivers Pitt -
t
r u t h o u t | Perspective 3/6/06
All politics is local.
- Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill (D-Mass.), Speaker of the
House
If you met Rudy Perkins on the streets of Keene, NH,
you would not immediately suspect that you were dealing with
a shaper of momentous events....Rudy Perkins played a
significant role in one of the great stories of the 2004
election.... Perkins has, for the last several years, been
working as a dedicated political activist, and in his own
small way, helped to turn the state of New Hampshire blue in
2004.[He] is one of the founding members of a group called
New
Hampshire Swing the Vote. Swing the Vote sought to flip
Cheshire County, in the southwest corner of New Hampshire,
to the Democrats.
The complete article is both instructive and inspirational for those
of us who want to begin to turn our state and country
around.
More>>
Communicate with Your
Elected Officials
What is the most effective
way to contact people to express your opinion? Every
elected politician handles things differently, but the
consensus seems to be that your best bets are (in decreasing
order of effectiveness):
1. Personal meeting with the politician or his or her staff.
2. Fax a personal letter (this is better than mailing a
letter because it is immediate and it doesn't have to be
screened for anthrax).
3. Email a personal message.
4. Phone the office (they often just tally opinions, and you
may not get to say much).
5. Sign one of the form letters circulated by organizations
such as MoveOn, Planned Parenthood, etc. (see
Links).
It is also very
instructive to attend Town Hall Meetings of elected
officials. Remember, the Republican office holders
also represent you!
Senator George Voinovich (R-OH)
http://voinovich.senate.gov/contact/index.htm
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
http://brown.senate.gov/ -- the click on "email form"
Other members of the US Senate
http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Other members of the US House of
Representatives
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
You can reach any senator's website by
going to
http://senatorsname.senate.gov (for example,
http://boxer.senate.gov
Interesting info on the US
Congress (schedules and more)
http://www.senate.gov/
http://www.house.gov/
This and no other is the root from which a tyrant
springs; when he first appears he is a protector.
-- Plato
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