Do you know someone who should run for office? Someone with progressive ideals and natural leadership abilities? A friend or family member who is the kind of candidate that America needs? We need your help to draft them to run for office.

Often the best people who should run for office never do because they just simply never consider it. The ones who do run often take that first step just because of a simple suggestion from someone they respect.

Think of all the progressive people you know who should be running, but aren't. Then fill out the form below and we'll send you instructions on how you can draft them to run for office. We'll send them your message, along with instructions on how Progressive Majority can help, if they choose to run.

Update 3:20 pm ET: we won!! Both Obama and McCain rejected the proposal because they don't want one TV network to control these events - they want them on all the networks and the Internet too :)

Rich Republicans, led by billionaire Mike Bloomberg and the corporate executives of ABC News, are demanding to host the first Presidential town hall meeting on Wall Street.

Why? It's obvious: they want to fill the hall with other rich Republicans and attack Barack Obama for supporting tax cuts for hard-working Americans instead of the rich. 

The primaries are over and we are united as Democrats, progressives, independents, and thoughtful Republicans to take back the White House and bring about change: create good jobs, achieve energy independence, protect our planet, provide health care to all, end illegal torture and wiretapping, and bring our troops safely home.

Let's each ask 10 friends and relatives to join us in our urgent and passionate cause!

Dear Governor Spitzer,

Don't let the Republicans and the rightwing media drive you out of office!

You made a lot of powerful enemies in your career because you took on the most powerful crooks on Wall Street. Now your enemies are trying to get even by destroying your career and your life. Don't let them!

The whole investigation by the Bush Administration stinks to high heaven. This isn't a case of "structuring" or "money laundering." The FBI never investigates johns - so why are they investigating you?

The answer is obvious. George Bush and Karl Rove turned the Justice Department into the political destruction arm of the Republican Party. They've prosecuted 5.6 Democrats for every Republican.

That's why former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman is rotting in jail, and that's what they want to do to you.

As Americans, we are outraged by Bush's endless abuses of justice. If anyone should be removed from office, it's George Bush!

Governor Spitzer, please stand and fight against this outrageous and naked partisan Republican assault. We support you!

"I would guarantee you, guarantee you, that while a lot of people in Manhattan and Georgetown and on college campuses are worried about what happened in 2002 and the lead up to the war, Americans are concerned about what's happening now."

Got that? If you are "worried about what happened in 2002 and the lead up to the war," then according to Joe Scarborough you are not an American.

Here's the link - watch for yourself:
http://tinyurl.com/2tlmtx

Then sign our petition to MSNBC to fire Joe Scarborough:
http://www.democrats.com/fire-joe-scarborough

Bush's invasion of Iraq has killed nearly 4,000 young Americans and 1 million Iraqi civilians. It has maimed, terrorized and displaced millions more. It has cost $500 billion in future taxes and $3 trillion in total economic costs in the first five years alone. It has broken our military through extended deployments and recruiting abuses. And it has destroyed America's reputation in the world.

In other words, it was the worst foreign policy disaster in American history - and a war crime of historic proportions.

Polls show 60% of Americans believe the invasion was a "mistake."
http://www.pollingreport.com/iraq.htm
But that's way too polite - most of us believe it was a disaster for which Bush and Cheney should be held accountable through impeachment now, followed by indictment and prison after they leave office.
http://impeachforchange.org

And you'd better believe we're Americans, Joe.

It's Americans who are fighting and dying in Iraq, or returning home physically or mentally maimed. It's Americans who are paying the financial costs of the war through higher taxes and higher gasoline prices due to the Middle East turmoil that Bush unleashed. (Gas prices dropped to $1.10 per gallon after 9/11, but rose to $1.75 after Bush invaded Iraq, kept climbing to a record $3.18 now, and will hit $4 in the spring, even if George Bush doesn't know - or doesn't care.)

The invasion of Iraq was based entirely on lies - lies about non-existent Iraqi WMD's and lies about non-existent Iraqi ties to Al Qaeda. Those lies were entirely deliberate, as we learned from the Downing Street Memos:
http://afterdowningstreet.org

But in the months before Bush invaded Iraq, all the TV networks - led by MSNBC and NBC - broadcast nothing but lies.
http://www.warmadeeasythemovie.org
http://www.democrats.com/node/15849

MSNBC actually fired the only host who dared to allow war critics to appear - Phil Donohue. And who did they replace Donohue with? You got it - Joe Scarborough, a former rightwing Republican Congressman who totally supported the invasion.
http://www.jeffcohen.org/

Joe Scarborough owes his TV career to NBC's pre-war lies, so it's no wonder that Scarborough doesn't want to talk about "what happened in 2002 and the lead up to the war."

But Americans do - and that's why Joe Scarborough should be fired.
http://www.democrats.com/fire-joe-scarborough

On 2/7/08, Chairman John Conyers presided over a House Judiciary Committee hearing at which Attorney General Michael Mukasey testified he would not investigate torture (video) or warrantless spying (video), he would not enforce contempt citations (video), and he would treat Justice Department opinions as providing immunity for crimes (report).

It is now the official position of the Bush-Cheney administration that the President and Vice President are above the law.

It is time for Chairman Conyers to uphold his oath to "Protect and defend the Constitution of the United States" by holding impeachment hearings for Vice President Cheney.

If Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, he wouldn't be sniping over the Voting Rights Act of 1964 or Iraq War speeches in 2002.

He'd be leading the largest protests our nation has ever seen to end to the occupation of Iraq, restore the Constitution, massively shift funds from the military to humanity, and impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney for their war crimes and lies.

If Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama want to compete on who is a better agent of change, it's time for them to stop talking and start acting.

I am joining the boycott against the New York Daily News and its advertisers because columnist Michael Goodwin viciously attacked all progressive New Yorkers in his 11/7/07 column entitled "Chuck bucks the loony left."
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/11/07/2007-11-07_chuck_bucks_the_loony_left.html

I will boycott the New York Daily News and its advertisers until Michael Goodwin apologizes for this outrageous attack on progressive New Yorkers - or is fired. 

Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) betrayed the Constitution by announcing their support for Michael Mukasey for Attorney General.

But Mukasey's nomination can be defeated if 40 Democrats support a filibuster - and it takes just one Senator to start one.

This petition will go to the PACs of the Senators who claim to be progressive leaders: Joe Biden at JoeBiden.com ... Barbara Boxer at Pac for a Change ... Hillary Clinton at HillaryClinton.com ... Chris Dodd at ChrisDodd.com ... Russ Feingold at the Progressive Patriots Fund ... Ted Kennedy at the Committee for a Democratic Majority ... John Kerry at JohnKerry.com ... Barack Obama at BarackObama.com ... Harry Reid at Searchlight Leadership Fund ... Bernie Sanders at Bernie.org . 

Have you had enough of George Bush and the Republicans?

• Iraq War disaster - 4,000 soldiers died for Bush's lies - $1 trillion in tax dollars and counting - 1 million Iraqi civilians killed - 4 million refugees
• Abu Ghraib, torture, mercenaries
• Threatening war with Iran - a nation three times larger than Iraq
• Terrorism growing worldwide - Osama Bin Laden is still free
• Massive corruption and scandals - Halliburton, Blackwater
• $3 gas - and climbing!
• Health care costs out of control
• Global warming threatens the planet

Democrats want change:

• Bring all our troops safely home from Iraq 
• End torture and mercenary armies like Blackwater
• Switch from oil to renewable energy
• Make health care affordable for all Americans
• Restore honesty to government
• Save our planet

After passionate lobbying by the Netroots. Senator Chris Dodd took heroic action by putting the wiretap immunity bill on hold. Hooray!!!!!! First, let's thank Senator Dodd here.

Second, we need all of the progressive Senators to join Senator Dodd's hold, because the pressure on him to surrender to Bush and the telecom giants will be huge.  

We'll send this petition to these Senators through their national PACs, which are always eager to get our money - now is the time for them to earn it! Joe Biden at JoeBiden.com ... Barbara Boxer at Pac for a Change ... Hillary Clinton at HillaryClinton.com ... Russ Feingold at the Progressive Patriots Fund ... Ted Kennedy at the Committee for a Democratic Majority ... John Kerry at JohnKerry.com ... Barack Obama at BarackObama.com ... Harry Reid at Searchlight Leadership Fund ... Bernie Sanders at Bernie.org ... Chuck Schumer at the DSCC

Copies will also go to the other Presidential candidates who can use the "bully soapbox" to support our cause: John Edwards at JohnEdwards.com ... Mike Gravel at Gravel2008.us ... Dennis Kucinich at Dennis4President.com ... Bill Richardson at RichardsonForPresident.com

This will be a huge fight and Chris Dodd needs all the help we can give him!

Update 10/22: Moveon and the Big Blogs just joined the fight and persuaded Obama and Clinton to support Dodd's filibuster. That's 3 down, 37 to go!

Upon being chosen for the Nobel Peace Prize, Al Gore wrote:

We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level. 

While we admire all of the Democrats who are running for President, no candidate could provide the leadership we need better than Al Gore.

Of course Al Gore won the 2000 election, but the GOP-controlled Supreme Court threw out 175,000 never-counted votes in Florida so they could appoint George Bush and Dick Cheney.

Over the past 7 years, Bush and Cheney have unleashed death and destruction upon America and the world, while Al Gore has worked tirelessly to save the planet. 

We need to put Al Gore in the White House for the sake of ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren.

Run Al Gore!
http://democrats.com/run-al-gore

On 9/26/07, the utterly incompetent "Democratic" leaders of the House followed the utterly incompetent "Democratic" leaders of the Senate in voting to condemn Moveon for an ad ... in a newspaper.

The vote was 341-79, with 146 Democrats joining 195 Republicans to stab the progressive Netroots in the back.

The 146 Democrats included several candidates who would not even be in Congress without Netroots support. This petition will go to their campaigns by email. To have the maximum impact, we also encourage you to call their campaigns:

John Hall (NY): ?
Patrick Murphy (PA): (202) 488-1445
Carol Shea-Porter (NH): (603)531-9653
Jerry McNerney (CA): 925 833 0643

 

In 2006, the voters of America elected Democratic majorities to the Senate and House in order to end 
the occupation of Iraq and restore the Constitution of the United States. We, the Netroots, helped elect
Democratic majorities with large contributions of money, time, and passion.

Unfortunately Congressional Democrats have surrendered to George Bush and Dick Cheney on all 
of the issues we care about most: Iraq, Iran, warrantless wiretapping, torture, and habeas corpus.

We recognize that "Bush Democrats" are primarily to blame for Democratic failures, and we will do 
whatever we can to change their minds - or replace them with true Democrats in 2008. But we cannot wait 
until then to fix the urgent problems we face.

We will therefore begin a donor strike against the official fundraising committees for
Senate Democrats (DSCC) and House Democrats (DCCC) until our core demands are met. 
We will instead contribute only to individual candidates who firmly support the values of the Democratic
Party and the American people, as certified by BlueAmerica and Progressive Challenge 2008.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich wants to put the name of everyone who supports Dick Cheney's impeachment in to the Congressional Record!

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session and is fully searchable.

Every day that Congress is in session, Rep. Kucinich will submit 5 single-spaced pages of names with states, which is the daily limit under House rules. To be included, all you need to do is submit this petition.

Rep. Kucinich will not use this list for any other purpose besides entering it into the Congressional Record. 

On 7/17/07, FOX News host Bill O'Reilly began a hate campaign against the largest Democratic web site, DailyKos.com. Over the following week, O'Reilly repeatedly lied about about the site and launched a boycott campaign against JetBlue, a sponsor of the YearlyKos conference. Of course, O'Reilly really does encourage hate speech on his web site.

As Democrats and progressives, it's time to stand up to Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and the rest of Rupert Murdoch's right-wing propagandists. If Bill O'Reilly can promote advertiser boycotts, so can we.

Our friends at News Hounds are keeping a list of O'Reilly Factor advertisers here:
http://www.newshounds.us/2007/07/24/advertisers_on_the_oreilly_factor_update_707.php

This petition will go to those advertisers with email addresses listed - for other advertisers you must call or use a web form.

From Keith Olbermann's Special Comment, July 3, 2007: 

Nixon's mistake, the last and most fatal of them, the firing of Archibald Cox, was enough to cost him the presidency. And in the end, even Richard Nixon could say he could not put this nation through an impeachment.

It was far too late for it to matter then, but as the decades unfold, that single final gesture of non-partisanship, of acknowledged responsibility not to self, not to party, not to "base," but to country, echoes loudly into history. Even Richard Nixon knew it was time to resign

Would that you could say that, Mr. Bush. And that you could say it for Mr. Cheney. You both crossed the Rubicon yesterday. Which one of you chose the route, no longer matters. Which is the ventriloquist, and which the dummy, is irrelevant.

But that you have twisted the machinery of government into nothing more than a tawdry machine of politics, is the only fact that remains relevant.

It is nearly July 4th, Mr. Bush, the commemoration of the moment we Americans decided that rather than live under a King who made up the laws, or erased them, or ignored them-or commuted the sentences of those rightly convicted under them-we would force our independence, and regain our sacred freedoms.

We of this time-and our leaders in Congress, of both parties-must now live up to those standards which echo through our history: Pressure, negotiate, impeach-get you, Mr. Bush, and Mr. Cheney, two men who are now perilous to our Democracy, away from its helm.

For you, Mr. Bush, and for Mr. Cheney, there is a lesser task. You need merely achieve a very low threshold indeed. Display just that iota of patriotism which Richard Nixon showed, on August 9th, 1974.

Resign.

Moveon's leaders have refused to support impeachment because they said Moveon members don't support impeachment.

But this is unfair because they have never asked Moveon members about impeachment, and actually prohibited discussion of impeachment at its last agenda-setting house parties.

Due to increasing pressure from its members, Moveon recently conducted a very limited member poll on impeachment. But we believe Moveon should listen to all of its members, not a selected few.

After the Downing Street Memos proved George Bush lied about Iraq's WMD's, Democrats.com began lobbying corporate media polling organizations to include impeachment questions in their polls.
http://www.democrats.com/bush-impeachment-polls

For two years, those pollsters have contemptuously dismissed our requests. But now that Rep. Dennis Kucinich has introduced Articles of Impeachment for Dick Cheney, it is time for pollsters to include impeachment questions in every poll they take.

It is time for Speaker Pelosi and the members of the Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on the impeachment of Vice President Cheney.

Congressman Kucinich's H.Res. 333, Articles of Impeachment for Vice President Dick Cheney, has 23 co-sponsors. On 11/6/07, 86 Democrats and 165 Republicans voted for a floor debate.

H.Res. 333 (now H.Res. 799) cites three reasons for Cheney's impeachment: his pre-war lies about non-existent Iraq WMD's, his pre-war lies about non-existent Iraq ties to Al Qaeda, and his ongoing threats of illegal war against Iran.

70% of Americans believe Cheney has abused his official powers, and 43% believe he should be impeached and removed based only on public evidence - even before Congress has sworn in a single witness to testify under oath about Cheney's still-secret illegal actions.

Ask Speaker Pelosi, House Judiciary Chairman Conyers, and members of the Judiciary Committee to heed the public's demand for hearings on the impeachment of Vice President Cheney.

The draft, with my written comments embedded, is posted at
http://www.wheresthepaper.org/6210cmt.htm

It is time for everyone to send an email, fax, or paper letter to the State Board to recommend changes.

We most certainly do!!!

Let's join Cindy Sheehan in asking Rep. Kucinich to act immediately to change the course of history.