2008 is our Year!
With our Presidential Primary less than a month away, and record number of voters registering to vote and turning out in Iowa and New Hampshire, it is clear that the American people are willing to fight for control of this country. As Howard Dean said in 2004, "We want our country back!" The failed policies of the Bush administration and the one-note campaign strategy of fear mongering is not going to work this time. The people of this country, this state, and this county want a government that solves problems, addresses needs, and is not made up of people who are only in it for themselves and their friends. Please join us in fighting to get qualified people who share the American values of opportunity, fairness, and justice elected.
Dear Fellow Democrat,
As I sit here waiting for the results of the New Hampshire primary, I am excited about the possibilities in front of us for this election year. There has been an impressive surge in voter registrations, not only in Tennessee but across the United States. People understand that we will have a real opportunity to choose the next President. It is not a "done deal," with slick packaging and no substance. As Democrats, we have the strongest field of candidates in my lifetime and they're talking about real issues that people care about and which the government can do something about. Instead of wasting time talking about fear issues, our candidates are talking about solutions to real problems, like the adjustments that our economy will have to make as we deal with $100 and then $200 a barrel oil over the next twenty years. Like the impact of moving jobs overseas when we get back contaminated products that are no longer cheap because of the transportation costs. Like getting serious about health care for all Americans, so that we can join the other industrialized nations that invest in the health of their citizens. Like balancing the federal budget so we don't pass on to our children the kind of instability that the current financial markets are suffering under. Like getting serious about public education, recognizing that we're asking more from our schools than ever before, and it's not going to happen without everyone recognizing the importance of investing in our future generations. Like assisting small business and entrepreneurs who create 80% of the new jobs in our economy, rather than subsidizing the biggest corporations that have been steadily moving their jobs overseas.
2006 will be a busy year for Democrats. We're starting off this month with a number of events and there will be things happening all year long. We're already making phone calls to identify our fellow democrats and we're hosting a number of candidate forums before the February primary and we'll have more as we get our candidates for State Representative and US Senator. Keep checking the site for our calendar of events.
This is our year, but it won't be handed to us. Join in the work. We'll have fun and we'll win.
Dennis Gregg, Chair
Dear Fellow Democrat,
I want to welcome you again to our website and share some reflections with you over the past month and a half. On July 4th, I intended to write a new message but I was overwhelmed with sadness and anger. The Declaration of Independence was written by men who were willing to sacrifice their lives over a principle, the principle that government must be accountable to the people that it is set up to govern. This present administration in Washington has made a mockery of this principle, refusing to comply with requests from Congress for information, misleading the public about its spying on American citizens, its secret meetings with oil company executives, and its true intentions in Iraq. It's Attorney General lies to Congress to protect the Administration, hardly the role of the "people's lawyer" who has sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, not allegiance to the President. When less than 30% of the public support the President's policies, we no longer have a representative government.
Out of these difficulties, we have opportunity. While it is still legal to practice democracy, and we are allowed to publicly speak out about issues of importance, more and more U.S. citizens are doing so. Our Democratic leaders are moving forward with plans to address global warming (have the new record temperatures and drought brought any new folks around to accepting the overwhelming scientific evidence?). There has been leadership in reducing the U.S. dependence on foreign oil by enacting incentives for conservation, efficiency, and alternative energy. Health care has been extended to millions more low income children. Our Democratic Congress has held the line on spending, seeking to return the country to the fiscal discipline of the Clinton years. Congress is also heeding the call from the U.S. people to end our disastrous fantasy in Iraq. It is clear to all now, that as bad as Saddam Hussein was, he was no threat to the U.S. but we have now provided a training ground for guerrilla fighters that did not exist before. We have made far more enemies than friends, created a refugee problem of massive proportions, and destabilized the region. It will not be easy to find a way to move forward that will not make things worse, but the Democrats understand that you cannot solve a problem if you don't admit you have one. If only the Bush administration had recognized the gap between their desires and reality earlier, we would have more options.
On a local level, we are confronted with a situation that no one is happy with but must be faced - funding for our public schools. Americans have a long history, starting before we were a nation of resenting the paying of taxes for any purpose, but as time has gone on, most Americans have come to realize that we don't get anything for nothing. We've come to a general agreement about services that we understand that the government can provide more efficiently and effectively than any other entity. Things like police, fire, roads, and schools are necessary for the kind of community and nation that we want for ourselves. In Cumberland County, we have been fortunate in receiving a higher percentage of state funding for our schools than most of the other counties in the state. This allowed us to keep our local property taxes near the bottom in the state. Unfortunately for us, but perhaps fairly for other Tennesseans, the state decided not to continue this and is supplying over $3 million dollars less this year than last. For a school system our size, that's a lot of money and it cannot be made up by simply "tightening the belt." The number of students in our schools continues to increase, the number of teachers required by state law continues to increase, and the need for new schools to accommodate these students increases as well as the utilities and maintenance needed to keep schools safe and adequate for learning. Many would argue that we should just increase class size, but that is no longer allowed. When the state and federal governments give you money, (even if it's not all you would like), they also give you rules to follow. Don't follow the rules and you get no money. We need to applaud the fiscal oversight that the School Board, the Director of Schools and the County Commission all are displaying is looking for ways to reduce costs, and there may be some "extras" that can be eliminated. In the end, though, it looks like there will need to be a property tax increase, and we owe it to our community's children, even if we have no children of our own in school, to support that investment in our community.
Remember, democracy only works when it is practiced. Get involved.
Sincerely,
Dennis Gregg, Chair
Dear Fellow Democrat,
I want to welcome you to our website and tell you how much your participation in our county party can mean. Democracy is just a word unless we exercise our rights to express our views and insist that our elected officials listen. Democracy requires that we take on the issues that concern us and we sit down and discuss our views with each other. We must show respect for each other, not engage in name-calling and labeling because that blocks listening and understanding. We have real problems and concerns that we face at the local, state, and federal levels. We need all the ideas on the table, and we need to allow everyone to participate in the discussion, even those who have different views. We can't be sure that the majority view is being adopted if we don't discuss an issue enough to find solutions that the majority can actually support. If we allow a minority to make decisions for the rest of us, we've given up the most fundamental right we have, the right to determine our own future.
A good example of this is the situation in Iraq. Support for the invasion was based on scaring the American public with information that we now know was false. Millions of people around the world demonstrated against the war before it began because they suspected that the reasons given were not accurate. Now we find ourselves in a situation where over 75% of both the citizens of the U.S. and Iraq want the U.S. troops to leave. The Democratic leadership said to President Bush, "Tell us your plans and your timeline to end this." His response was "No timelines and no end." Why can't we talk about this? If we're in Iraq because of the oil and we don't intend to leave ever because of the oil, let's talk about that. We're adults. We're strong enough to handle the truth. We understand what losing access to cheap (or not so cheap) Middle Eastern oil could mean to our country. But let's talk about it. Let's weigh the issues. Let's consider the alternatives. Let's consider all the alternatives, not just those that the oil companies want us to consider, or the private defense contractors. We all love our cars and the freedom of mobility that they give us. But how much are we willing to pay in terms of the national debt and the deaths of many of our soldiers and the permanent disabilities of others? When we honor our veterans on Veterans Day and Memorial Day and ignore their needs every other day of the year, we say they served to guarantee our freedom. Do we really mean the freedom to drive our cars as much as we want?
I'm not suggesting that I know the best way to proceed. What I am saying is that we've lost democracy in the U.S. because our government does not represent the American people. There is no policy in Iraq that the majority supports and majority rule is the foundation of democracy. I could extend this discussion to health care or public education, or public safety and prisons, but I won't at this point. I believe that the only way we can restore democracy to America is to practice it. The Democratic Party, though imperfect, supports fundamental beliefs about equality under the law and the rights of the many to be raised up against the claims of the powerful. I invite you to become involved with the Democratic Party as we organize for change in how our government makes decisions. Individuals are made to feel powerless, but people working together is more powerful than any special interest.
Get involved. You will make a difference and together we will make things better for the majority.
Sincerely,
Dennis Gregg, Chair