Dear Bob,  Thanks for the apology.  Now I’d like you to listen to me for a bit (since you walked away, calling me “worse than Bush” when I tried to talk to you in Anaheim).

My great grandmother was a nurse, and also a Democratic Committee woman in Astoria New York from 1917 – 1920 on behalf of getting the vote for women. 

My grandmother was a single mom, supporting her two daughters, mother & father during the Great Depression making lampshades as a seamstress.  She lived in the Bronx and worked at this job in Manhattan until she was 73 years old.  She was a proud member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. 

My mother was a union member (as a nurse and as a postal worker) as well as an activist for fair housing in the 1950’s and 1960’s. 

I come from a line of hard working women, be it for survival or principle. Without making my mother rise from the grave in protest, the last thing I could ever be is an “armchair activist.” 

My dad managed to survive WWII as a B-25 bomber pilot with just a little shrapnel in his leg as a souvenir.  He was also a smart, hard drinking, friendly, jazz musician. If he was alive today to hear all the stuff about “the greatest generation” he would have laughed and seen the hype for what it is.  Every generation faces it’s own challenges, and different individuals handle those challenges differently, depending on their background, life experiences and personal human nature. 

For the past four and a half years plus, I have spent nearly every waking hour finding ways to bring more people to the movement, and nurturing the social network we need to keep at it – to take our country back from the Republican scum who are running it and (sad to say) the clueless Democrats who think the political landscape hasn’t actually changed.  I work full time at my day job, and another 20 – 30 hours a week for my country. 

When George Bush stole the 2000 election I waited in vain for Democrats in Congress to object.  When he began marching us to war in 2002 (we now know he began much earlier than that) I waited for the Democrats to hold up the Stop sign.  When Howard Dean spoke up, I heard the call and began the hard work of reclaiming my country for sensibility and decency. 

As far as I’m concerned, nothing is the same since November 7, 2000. 

Also, I learned that I can’t ask what my Party will do for me, I have to ask myself what I can do for my Party. 

I’m not the only one to have come to this conclusion. 

Briefly:  We want veto-proof Democratic majorities in both The US Congress and the California legislature.  We want universal, single payer health care.  We want free and fair elections.  We want a political system in which officeholders are beholden to voters instead of donors.  We want a competent government to take care of the tasks that are properly the responsibility of the commons.  We want our taxes to pay for useful infrastructure.  We want an economic system that provides opportunities for all to live decently, and an end to our tax dollars subsidizing war profiteering.  We insist on the protection of our earth.  We want a government that earns the respect of the world and provides leadership to other nations and peoples for their common benefit. 

We are here to work in partnership on this mission.  There are 10s of thousands of others like me in California.  I’m pretty sure we speak for millions of voters.

If you can work with us (and really it ought to be clear by now it’s a good idea to do that) that would be super.  If you can’t, well, we’ll see what happens. 

caligal
aka Janet Stromberg
Chair East Bay for Democracy Democratic Club
14th AD Executive Board Representative
Co-Chair Berkeley Albany Emeryville United Democratic Campaign