This is the year anniversary of DFA's founding.

http://www.democracyforamerica.com/candidates/recommendation.php


http://www.democracyforamerica.com/candidates/application.php

http://www.blogforamerica.com/archives/006107.html

Thursday, March 17, 2005
The Coming Fight
Democracy for America Chair, Jim Dean, sent the following email to supporters today.

Have you seen the flood of news this week about Tom DeLay's reckless abuses of power? Even Republicans are nervous about an indictment, and those protecting him are under fire.

The next few weeks will also bring more from USA Next, the fringe group dedicated to destroying Social Security—and anyone who stands in their way. In an interview, their president said that they planned to go on the air shortly.

Last month we stood up against the GOP operatives at USA Next, and together we'll be there to hold accountable any media outlet that airs their hate-filled propaganda. Last year we stood up against Tom DeLay's money-for-influence machine—giving him the electoral scare of his life—and in the coming months we will make sure that the Congress and the courts hold him accountable, too.

Accountability is the core of democracy—and it is at the heart of what we're fighting for. The call for accountability unites every candidate we support, every organization we work with, and every issue we take up. As we have seen in Iraq, politics affects life and death questions, and those stakes demand the highest accountability.

One newspaper reported this week that the Democratic strategy for 2006 involves running "squeaky clean candidates"—even if they haven't held elected office before—to show the contrast with a corrupt, out of touch Republican Party.

Sound familiar? Our fight is now our party's fight—and we will win.

A year ago this week we founded DFA—and no one could have imagined how far we have come. Together we can impact the national agenda, elect good candidates, and revive democracy in a way many of us have never experienced.

I am so proud of you—and I can't wait to see what we can do together next.

Thank you,
Jim (Dean)
Chairman

We had appx. 50 people at our meeting here in K.C. this month.

It's cool to see DFA doing so well! I think they're a great organization and I hope they have many more years. It'd be cool if they ever have a twenty-five year anniversary. Here's hoping!!

:toast:

We added about 5 this month. Seems to be more enthusiasm now.

It has been a long hard trip since we started supporting Dean in early 2003. Oddly enough, it was in March of 2003.

I have pictures. Many of us have been together since the start of the Dean MeetUps.

Ortega for mayor of St. Paul and Patty Wetterling for U.S. Senate, Minnesota.

DFA supports candidates that the DNC just can not handle right now. Some last year were running for local districts, road boards, etc..

Taking it back from the bottom up.

http://www.crocuta.net/Dean/Transcript_of_Dean_SF_Speech_18March04.htm

It was exactly one month after he dropped out of the race.

http://www.blogforamerica.com/archives/006106.html

Another DFA Success Story
Sarah Ayres is a junior at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. She took time off to work for the Dean campaign in New Hampshire, and has recently founded Dartmouth for Democracy to promote civic engagement among students.

We poured over the voter file, knocked on doors, held house meetings, and wrote letters to the editor. This time we were not campaigning for presidential candidates or U.S. Senators—we were getting votes for Karen Liot Hill, a 26-year-old activist aiming to bring her message of optimism, cooperation and progress to office in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

I met Karen back in the summer of 2003 when she attended her first Meetup, and I was taking time away from college to organize for Dean in New Hampshire. Karen is like many supporters who took to heart Dean's message of civic engagement, and so when she told me she wanted to run for Lebanon City Council, I was thrilled to help her campaign.

Becky Windt, another former NH organizer for Dean, managed Karen's campaign, planning house meetings, press, literature and overall strategy. Using what I learned on the Dean campaign, I wrote Karen a field plan that had her contact all the voters she would need to win the election.

Our hard work paid off—on March 8, Karen beat out the incumbent to become Lebanon's newest City Councilor! Karen's story is inspiring because it demonstrates how someone who is committed to his or her community can run for office and make positive change. Dean always says that merely voting will get you a C—I think we can all agree that Karen Liot Hill deserves an A.

—Sarah Ayres

Posted by Guest Writer at 11:03 PM