''Moving faster''

"Monday I wrote to you about our progress growing the party from the ground up, and put the timetable in your hands. Democrats everywhere overwhelmingly responded to the challenge. The goal was $250,000 by Friday to add another state to the program -- you hit it in only 48 hours.

That means organizers and other resources can be immediately put on the ground in one more state: Kansas. It's a so-called red state where we know we can win. We have won state-wide before -- and building an organized, permanent grassroots base will help elect Democrats up and down the ballot. Your response made it clear that you want to move fast. So I spoke yesterday with the staff leading this unprecedented national organizing effort. I asked them to speed up the process, and they told me that if we have the resources we could have four more states ready to announce as early as next week. This means a bigger commitment to fund the program. But if we can raise half a million dollars through next week we can start hiring and training organizers in four new states.

Several of the organizers you have hired came on the payroll this week. They will be traveling to Washington soon for training. And they will be heading back to their home states to reach out to the state parties, grassroots leaders, and ordinary people who want to get involved.
We saw this week what we can do when we organize. Millions of Americans persuaded seven Republican Senators to abandon their leadership's drive for one-party rule. They joined Democrats to do what was right and protect check and balances. Right-wing demagogues had declared their intention to win this fight at all costs -- this loss will loosen the death grip the right-wing has on the Republican Party. We did this with organization -- with our petitions, phone calls and events. Most importantly, we reached out to each other and to people in our communities and mobilized them, too.
But we need to do more. It's not enough to stop the fringe GOP leadership issue by issue. Building infrastructure and organization in every state will help us do more to set the agenda -- and provide the base to elect Democrats. Can we go into four more states as early as next week?Please make a contribution to get four more states moving now.

So far you have put this program to work in eight states: Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming. Today you put a ninth into the program: Kansas. Our mandate is to take every state to the next level -- building capacity, building experience, and building community among Democrats who want to make an impact.
Please make a contribution to get four more states moving now:

The faster we do this, the more prepared we will be for elections this year and next, and the more people we can bring into the process. But the ability to make it happen is in your hands.

Thank you."


Governor Howard Dean, M.D.