Swift Boat style-attacking Republican Party

I just received this email from John Kerry's office. It does a good job of dealing with the Republican talking points that Democrats have nothing to offer except criticism of Republicans. And by the way, John Kerry's voluntary combat duty was systematically diminished by the well-financed "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" in a highly successful effort to insulate a president who avoided having to go to war. The same attempt is being made against Rep. John Murtha, but I believe at this point people are wise to the tactic. The fact is that it smears all veterans and it's being employed by a group of politicians who use "support our troops" as nothing more than a slogan.

I've been hearing a lot of talk about what we're up against in the critical 2006 elections as we take on the corrupt, power-abusing, Swift Boat style-attacking Republican Party.

But, truth is, they need to worry about what they're up against.

Just look at what we've done in the last twelve months. Time and again, we've demonstrated that we have the power and political will to fight for the things we value most and for the candidates who embody those values.

This past November, our 3 million citizen volunteers helped spearhead Get Out The Vote efforts in critical Democratic victories across the nation ... And since the end of 2004, together we gave $4.5 million to Democratic candidates, committees, state parties, and progressive causes.

We mobilized to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from the Bush-Cheney drill-at-any-cost onslaught... And we garnered endorsements from over 700,000 citizens, from every state in the nation, for our Kids First Act to provide health care for the 11 million uninsured children.

Our national lawyers' network helped ensure that the voting problems of 2000 and 2004 were not repeated in 2005, and it is poised to do it again in 2006.

You also helped me travel around the country to rally citizens, engage grassroots volunteers, and help raise funds on behalf of Democrats.

In Pennsylvania, we've helped Bob Casey wage a strong Senate campaign that has incumbent Rick Santorum on his heels. Long a poster boy for mindless support of Bush policies and the right-wing agenda, Santorum is now scrambling to convince Pennsylvania voters otherwise.

In Washington state, we've stood by Senator Maria Cantwell. She joined me in leading the fight to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - and now powerful oil company special interests are coming after her with everything they've got.

In Florida, we're helping Senator Bill Nelson, who is running for re-election against Katherine Harris. As you know, Harris made a name for herself by playing a leading role in the 2000 Florida voting fiasco, and we will not allow her to parlay her partisanship into a seat in the Senate.

And that's just a small sampling of the dozens of candidates who have come to count on us to be there for them. Together in 2006, we're going to do even more to help pull through to victory Democrats running at the local, state, and federal levels.

We'll defeat candidates who refuse to challenge the Bush/Cheney administration's illegal, warrantless spying ... We'll replace Republicans who have refused to lift a finger to end the Bush administration's mind-numbing incompetence... We'll end the careers of Republican politicians who have cozied up to unethical lobbyists and sold out the American people.

And, we'll be there, each and every day, to make sure no Democrat stands alone in the face of the Republicans' desperate, underhanded election tactics and facts-be-damned campaign ads.

Thanks for all you've done to help Democratic candidates set the stage for victory. And stay tuned for the next steps in our work together.

Sincerely,

John Kerry