Wisconsin has a storied tradition of Democratic primaries, often playing a key role in choosing who will be the nominees at the top of the ticket. Just in 2004, it was John Edwards' very strong statewide performance, even beating John Kerry in some Congressional districts, that solidified his place as the consensus pick to be the vice presidential nominee. In 2008, it is likely that Wisconsin could have a similar role - except this time, we'll work to make John the nominee for president.
John Edwards is a Democrat's Democrat. His vision for
One America reads and feels like a
reclamation of what the Democratic Party stands for. No more
triangulation, no more mushy politics of splitting the difference with the conservative right, no more piecemeal incrementalism. The times call for something different. They call for boldness, transformational change, and a little bit more of the backbone we here in Wisconsin appreciate.
From now until the Iowa caucuses and the Wisconsin primary, on January 14th and February 19th, respectively, we need to get organized, get activated, and build our campaign for transformational change in America. Tomorrow begins today, as the campaign says; and
it begins with each of us. We can't wait until 2008 for the kinds of changes we need to see - and we can't let one election let us rest on our laurels for four years. We need to actualize John's vision for One America and we can do that through
One Corps, the grassroots citizens' arm of the campaign, working through community service and political activism.
But the most important thing is that people get active, and that they get active locally. So, we have
One Corps chapters throughout the state in which to get involved. They exist from my hometown of
Neenah all the way up to
Superior to
Milwaukee's East Side to my favorite river town of
La Crosse and everywhere in between (with more coming down the pipe), including our
flagship chapter of Madison - the largest and currently most active.
Our challenge right now is to get everyone who supports John Edwards and wants to help elect him president active within One Corps. Between now and Labor Day, the unofficial start of the real campaign season, we need to build our network of supporters, activists, and leaders. Can we count you
in that bunch? We certainly hope we can count on you to get active locally and work with the campaign to build One America and to elect John Edwards as our next president!
