That includes the failure of the War in Iraq and the turmoil in the Middle East with the deaths of thousands; the nuclear threat from both North Korea and Iran; the nuclear proliferation danger of supplying our nuclear technology to India; the very real danger of the military build up of "Communist" China which threatens the stability of Asia as well as the security of Hawaii and the Mainland US; the erosion of the combat readiness of our military and national guard; the loss of the goodwill we used to have in the world community and finally the loss of our ability to be a broker for peace around the world.
I'd say that this is a foreign policy failure of gigantic proportions that may take years, if ever, for recovery.
On the Domestic front we have a huge failure in our protection of the Homeland, which includes: incompetent disaster planning and execution; unsecured borders; unsecured ports along with the foreign ownership of their facilities (The Dubai Ports Deal); the ownership of key American defense industry companies by foreign interests; the selling of much of our national strategic infrastructure to foreign companies; the privatization of much of the military and other government functions; the shameful war profiteering that is being perpetrated by American companies enabled by this Republican Administration and Congress; our failed energy policy with energy companies gouging the consumer and our failure to enforce our immigration laws.
So we not only have a gigantic foreign policy failure by the Republicans and the Bush Administration but on the domestic side there has been an economic disaster for almost all Americans except for the wealthy and the corporate executives. And this is before we even touch on the attack by this Imperialistic Administration on our privacy, civil and human rights and the Constitution.
All these things should really give the Democrats plenty of issues to exploit in November rather than having to p*ssy foot around with the single issue of "the culture of corruption". So please start taking advantage of the anger that has been built up against these Republicans and the elitist Bush Administration and come up with an agenda to turn around this horror of a government with policies that emphasize "the common good" instead of the "common greed".
Shayne Munger
Riverside, CA
These are the times that try men's souls. ~Thomas Paine
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The Investigative Poll:
For Immediate Release
August 2, 2006
Contact: Susanne Savage, Courage Campaign - (323) 655-8154 or (213) 810-9733
ssavage@couragecampaign.org couragecampaign.org or Chris Bowers, MyDD - Chris@mydd.com
Investigative Poll Explains Busby Loss
Dissatisfied, Independent Swing Voters Stayed Home or
Voted for Third Parties
LOS ANGELES - The Courage Campaign(www.couragecampaign.org), a non-partisan, progressive 527 based in Los Angeles, and MyDD (www.MyDD.com), a political blog devoted to analysis and commentary on campaigns and political infrastructure, announce findings today from the poll they commissioned in California's 50th Congressional District to determine why the national Democratic message centered on allegations of Republican corruption failed to give Francine Busby the seat formerly occupied by convicted felon, Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Busby lost to Republican, Brian Bilbray in the June 6th election.
The poll was funded by grassroots activists and conducted by Wright Consulting Services of Phoenix, AZ, surveyed Democratic, Republican and
Independent voters in the June 6th run-off as well as non-voters who participated in either the 2003 recall election (which elected Arnold
Schwarzenegger governor) or the 2004 Presidential election. Complete poll results are available at www.couragecampaign.org.
Results show Democratic turnout, as compared to Democratic voter registration for the district, was actually very high. Republican turnout was slightly below registration levels. The make or break statistic was the Independent, "Swing Voter" turnout, which was both low, and leaned heavily
towards third party candidates. "In a district this Republican, in order for Democrats to win, they need a large Independent turnout and a large
margin among Independents. Francine Busby got neither" said Chris Bowers, Contributing Editor of MyDD.
In another twist, immigration, and the now infamous "gaffe" uttered by Busby did not have that much of an impact. While the punitive rhetoric may have held the Republican base together, it did not appeal to moderate or swing voters.
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