Calling All Candidates

Dear Candidates,

The Democratic Party of Georgia would like to thank you for your decision to participate in this year's upcoming elections. We are looking forward to working closely with you over the coming six months, as we work to restore mature, steady leadership to our government. In order to assist you, we will be hosting a Candidate Training Session (CTS) on June 7, 2008 at the Loudermilk Center in Atlanta, GA. This is an event you don't want to miss, because the purpose of the CTS is to equip your campaign team with the necessary information to help you win this November.This is the first of several candidate training sessions that we will hold between now and November. Due to our desire to make sure all of our candidates have the best experience possible, this session is only open to candidates who do not have Democratic primary opposition, and to candidates running in open seats. The CTS will focus on the topics that are important to you and your campaign: fundraising, field organizing, direct mail, and campaign management. We will also introduce you to our state-of-the-art voter file and targeting system, VoteBuilder, as well as our winning messages for 2008. Training on these topics will be provided by some of the most experienced persons in their fields. We encourage you to bring one person from your campaign team to accompany you to the training session so that they can also benefit from the campaigning strategies that will be discussed.The training session will last from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In addition to the various topics that will be discussed, lunch will be provided. In order to make certain that everyone benefits from the CTS, the session will be FREE!!!In order to participate, it is mandatory that you contact us by email at rsvp@georgiademocrat.org by Wednesday, June 4, 2008. Again, this event is free, it is open to you, the qualified candidate, and one other person, and it will be on Saturday, June 7, 2008 at the Loudermilk Center. RSVP immediately and we will contact you to confirm your reservation.

Thank You,

Matt Weyandt
Executive Director

Democratic Party of Georgia
matt@georgiademocrat.org
(678) 278-2008

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Hillary's Nonsequeter

So, the DNC shouldn't disenfranchise voters, but it's fine for super delegates, or even elected delegates, to ignore the will of the voters thereby disenfranchising them. That seems to be Hillary's argument these days. Clinton thinks that the right thing to do is to seat the Florida and Michigan delegates so that the millions of voters in those states will not be disenfranchised, but at the same time argues that it is fine for delegates-elected or super-to disenfranchise the voters by ignoring how they voted. What kind of pretzel logic is that? If this makes sense to you, please explain it to me.

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Fox News Was Here This Morning

This morning, a reporter from Fox News-big Fox, not local Fox-dropped by my office to ask my opinion on the implementation of SB10, the voucher bill for exceptional children. They are putting together a package on the voucher issue from a national perspective for air in a few days. There were several items on the blog about that bill last year, our local school board passed a resolution opposing the measure, and I continue to have concerns about the new law. I told them what I have always said on this issue-no one opposes innovation when it comes to education, but if tax dollars are going to flow into the private sector, then accountability should follow.

The vouchers for special needs children in Georgia are controversial, and were just implemented in July. At this point, there is really no track record to judge. The state is essentially experimenting with our most vulnerable students. Plus, there is a concern about whether the local school system will continue to be responsible for the results with these students, even if they do not have control over the quality of instruction.

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Hugo Now at Category Two

It looks like Hurricane Hugo has grown to a category two storm with sustained attention from local media, bloggers and now, none other than Fox News. Residents are encouraged to board their windows and stay inside to avoid the flying garbage.

Yes, reaction to Mayor Ellis's statement of solidarity with Hugo Chavez has now blown a news crew into town. We will, apparently be featured on Brit Hume tonight and have already been the subject of a morning news cast on the network. (City Councilman Rick Hutto "reluctantly agreed to be interviewed.")

Don't you love it that this is the news the world will hear about out little town? Did I mention that Mayor Ellis has endorsed Barack Obama for President? I hate to break it to the Mayor, but I think that any hope of a foreign policy post in an Obama administration just blew out the window.

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Edwards Leads-Again

John Edwards is making leading on tough issues a habit. He was the first presidential candidate to call for universal health care and to put forward a comprehensive plan to make it a reality. He was the first to apologize for his vote to authorize the war in Iraq, and the first to say that we need to get out troops out of Iraq. Now, today, after months of political "if I had known then what I know now" double-speak, Hilliary Clinton is also calling for a March 2008 time line for withdrawal.

And on Thursday, Edwards was the first candidate to pull out of the Nevada presidential debate because it was sponsored, in part, by Fox News. His principled stand on this and other issues could've come with a big price tag- he could've been the only candidate to miss the debate in this key early primary state of Nevada. But sometimes when you do the right thing, others ultimately follow, and on Friday, the Nevada Democratic Party pulled the plug on the debate, pointing to the participation by Fox.

Edwards has the strength of character, the courage and the vision to lead on all of these issues. I want a leader to be President, not a politico who checks a poll and then decides what he believes.

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