Becky Burgwin
January 2, 2004
(Copy of letter sent to the chairman of the DLC asking why the Democrats still aren't doing their homework and why they're doing Herr Rove's work for him by irreparably damaging their most promising candidate. Attached documents: 8 issues of Dean Daily Dose and an article by Becky Burgwin entitled, Dean is Thinking Outside the Box.)
Dear Mr. From,
I am writing to you as a result of this quote of yours from the Dec. 30th Washington Post article, Democrats Battle for Anti-Dean Mantle. You were quoted as saying, "The point we've made over and over again and continue to make, we cannot win this election just by depending on people who don't like George Bush"We've got to be able to persuade people to support us. That's still the challenge in front of Dean. He needs to lay out a thoughtful agenda to get people to support him. It's not enough to just tap the activist anger against George Bush."
I have one question"well, a couple of questions. Do you live in a spider hole? Does Rush Limbaugh's maid clean your house? Don't you own a television? Are you incapable of reading a newspaper? Because I cannot think of any other reason why you would be so clueless as to Howard Dean's agenda.
Let me just give you some of the highlights of Dr. Dean's agenda from an article I wrote on Dec. 24th entitled, Dean is Thinking Outside the Box. I have also enclosed this article in its entirety.
FOREIGN POLICY: " helping-disease stricken impoverished nations will not only help the world it will become an important tool in his war against terrorism.
THE MILITARY: " increase military salaries and benefits, making it more attractive for young people to join.
WMD's: "expand the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program by $60 billion.
ALLIES: "turn America back into a country to be emulated, not hated and feared and our allies will join with us in the fight against global terrorism.
EARLY CHILDHOOD INTERVENTION: " "Success by Six." Offer every new mother, not just single moms, a chance to have a home visit. 91% say yes. After 10 years they have seen a 43% decrease in child abuse and a whopping 70% decrease in cases of incest.
COLLEGE: "make broadband internet access available to people in the most rural parts of our country, thus enabling them to take all kinds of college courses"Russian, advanced engineering, business law or African poetry.
COLLEGE TUITION: "a program in which a middle income families would never have to repay more than 10% of its income in student loans and never for more than 10 years.
HEALTHCARE: " plan that covers almost everyone right away and leaves time for the total overhaul costing $87 billion to insure everyone in the country.
GUNS: "keep all of the existing federal laws and leave the rest to the states.
TRADE: "insist that the countries that we send our manufacturing business to have the same labor standards for their workers who are primarily women because, "It has been shown over and over that when you empower women fully in a society, you will have a stable democracy because stable democracies always work better when women have full and equal rights."
JOBS: " give the tax breaks to the middle class and small businesses because 70% of all new jobs come from small businesses and they don't move their companies offshore.
ENERGY: "Improving energy infrastructure will create jobs. Strict mileage guidelines for SUVs. 10% ethanol in every gas tank. Become less dependant on foreign oil from countries that are raising their kids to hate America.
I am also including 8 of Dr. Dean's frequent e-mail updates entitled, Dean's Daily Dose. The archives only go through October but they started in July and have continued right up to the one I received today, which I also included. In July he stopped talking about what's wrong and began laying out detailed ideas of how to make things right.
Why don't you know this?
"Building a National Community with Labor's Help" from 7/21/03
"Restoring Rural Communities I" from 8/13/03
"Restoring Rural Communities II" from 8/14/03
"Generation Dean" from 10/3/03
"Medicare and Seniors" from 10/6/03
"Welcome Baby" from 10/8/03
"Fighting Domestic Violence" from 10/9/03
"Restoring Trust in Mutual Funds" from today, 1/2/04
Do you know that 1/3 of the people who show up for Dean Meetups are Republicans? Why not?
Number of people signed up for John Kerry Meetups: 18,000"Dick Gephardt: 624"Wes Clark: 53,000"Howard Dean: 163,000 in US and, at least 3 other countries. He's not a candidate, he's a phenomenon.
Why don't you know this?
Furthermore, Mr. From, on your angry activist charge, I am a 53-year-old mother of two. My husband is a physician and we live in an upscale Pittsburgh neighborhood. One of my neighbors, who is also a huge Dean supporter, is a minister. We can be counted among the many, many Dean supporters who gave him the maximum donation allowed by law this year and will be doing the same in 2004. We hosted a $1000 dollar a plate fundraiser for him in Pittsburgh, PA in October!! Our chairperson was a Republican attorney. We raised $75,000 dollars for a candidate in a state who's primary doesn't even count, months before anyone here even begins to talk about primaries.
I have a novel idea. Why don't you watch one of Howard Dean's speeches?
In case you're not aware, everywhere he speaks hundreds of excited supporters show up and almost every time you'll see someone who is crying or holding their hand to their mouth like they just won a million dollars. These are average Americans realizing that they are hearing the words of a man who is not just another presidential candidate. He's man of passion"a man who has dedicated his life to keeping people alive and healthy"a man with dozens of tried and true ideas"a man who isn't afraid to say the things that need to be said"a man who believes, like so many Americans, that this broken and bedraggled country of ours is worth saving.
Mr. From, if you open your eyes, your ears and your heart, and you make an effort to do your homework and listen to some of the things Dr. Dean has to say, you may get lucky and hear him say something like this. "This election isn't about me or George Bush or any of these candidates. It's about you. And I want to know, are you going to do something about this or are you just going to complain? If one person is left behind in this great country of ours, then the United States of America isn't as strong as it can be. That's the kind of country I want back." And maybe then you'll realize what hundreds of thousands of Americans already know"that Howard Dean is righteous, Howard Dean is a patriot and, hopefully, if you'll get out of his way, Howard Dean will be our next president.
Respectfully yours,
Becky Burgwin
Ms. Burgwin's writing has appeared in Newsweek, Time, New York Magazine, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Tribune Review as well as several online Op Ed sites. She is also involved in gay rights, women's issues and the environment. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family.
