Progressives seek 59 candidates to replace "Bush Democrats"

( – promoted by DocHoc)

In reaction to the retirement announcement from Cindy Sheehan over the Memorial Day weekend, Democrats.com have announced a campaign to rid Congress of the “Bush Democrats” that betrayed America by voting to fund Bush’s disaster in Iraq. They are seeking qualified challengers for these “representatives” in the 2008 Democratic primary and are offering information and support to help the effort.

Excerpt:

In May, 169 House Democrats voted for the McGovern Amendment to end the occupation in March 2008, while only 59 “Bush Democrats” voted against it. If we can switch 43 of those 59 “Bush Democrats,” the McGovern Amendment will pass. So let’s recruit anti-war Democrats to run against those 59 “Bush Democrats” in the 2008 primaries.

This, of course, includes Oklahoma’s own Dan Boren, who represents the 2nd Congressional District.

VENUE: 431 W. Broadway, Muskogee, OK 74401
starts: 09/09/2008 – 12:32am

On 5/10/07, Rep. Dan Boren betrayed the voters and troops of Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District by voting to continue George Bush’s disastrous Iraq War forever.

Democrats.com is looking for an “aggressive progressive” Democrat who will challenge Boren in a Democratic primary in 2008.

Read our Candidate Guide.

If you are interested in running against Boren, or know a good candidate who could run against Boren, post a comment below.

Full statement below the fold.

Let’s Keep Fighting for Cindy Sheehan

Today Cindy Sheehan “retired” from the anti-war movement after leading the fight for two years with every piece of her heart and soul.

Cindy wrote: “Good-bye America… you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you be that country unless you want it. It’s up to you now.”

Sadly, America needs Cindy more than ever. Eight more Casey Sheehans died today in Iraq, leaving eight more grieving Cindy Sheehans back home. Sgt. David Safstrom of the 82nd Airborne told the NY Times, “What are we doing here? Why are we still here? We’re helping guys that are trying to kill us. We help them in the day. They turn around at night and try to kill us.”

Cindy lost heart after a few dozen “Bush Democrats” voted with virtually every Republican to keep Bush’s criminal occupation going forever.

And it’s easy to lose heart when we put our time and money into electing anti-war Democratic majorities, only to have those majorities betrayed by a few dozen “Bush Democrats” who are bribed by powerful defense contractors or intimidated by Karl Rove’s political henchmen.

But we cannot afford to lose heart because May’s total deaths of U.S. troops hit 114, the highest since Cindy began her anti-war campaign and the third highest of the war. And at the current monthly rate, 2007 will be the deadliest year for U.S. troops in the four years of Bush’s criminal occupation.

So all of us must pick up the torch that Cindy laid down and find a way to end this war. But how?

In May, 169 House Democrats voted for the McGovern Amendment to end the occupation in March 2008, while only 59 “Bush Democrats” voted against it. If we can switch 43 of those 59 “Bush Democrats,” the McGovern Amendment will pass. So let’s recruit anti-war Democrats to run against those 59 “Bush Democrats” in the 2008 primaries.

This strategy produced dramatic results in 2006. Both Jane Harman (CA-36) and Al Wynn (MD-4) voted for the war in 2002, but voted against the occupation in 2007 as a direct result of primary challenges by outstanding anti-war candidates Marcy Winograd and Donna Edwards. (Edwards lost by only 3% and will run again in 2008.)

So let’s find challengers for all 59 “Bush Democrats”! We created a map of all 59 “Bush Democrat” districts here:
http://tinyurl.com/2…
Click the pins to see the incumbent’s name and a link to a page for that incumbent.
If you know an anti-war candidate who could run a good race, click that link and nominate that candidate in a comment. Also share your thoughts on other nominees you find there.

We also created an online pledge form to start building support for our anti-war challengers:

“I pledge to vote against every Senator and Representative who approves funding to continue the disastrous Iraq War. We have already given far too much of our blood and treasure – and killed far too many Iraqis – for a war based on lies. We are now occupying a hostile nation divided by civil war for the benefit of military contractors and Big Oil.

The only way to support our troops is to bring them home NOW, and no funds should be used for any other purpose. If Congress fails to bring our troops home, I will do everything I can – and urge everyone I know – to defeat pro-war Senators and Representatives, both in my party’s primary elections and in the November general election.”

Over 18,000 have already signed our pledge. Sign it now and tell your friends:
http://www.democrats…

Let’s do it for Cindy Sheehan – and for her beloved son Casey.