WDRC/Liberty Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club East Bay
The WDRC is a group of East Bay progressives working to renew and invigorate the Democratic Party.

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"The Top Ten Reasons We Need To Get
Insurance Companies Out of Health Care"

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WDRC Progressive Vision

The Caring Economy:
An Addendum to the Vision Statement

Jon Fromer

Jon Fromer of the Freedom Song Network

Jon's music has been at the heart of movements for peace and social change in the San Francisco Bay Area for decades


Barak Obama

Denver in Oakland
Obama Crowd
Obama Acceptance Speech Watch Party

Will this be the biggest political moment of this generation?

You are invited to watch as the eyes of the world center in on Senator Barack Obama delivering his acceptance speech from INVESCO Field in Denver! Join WDRC on our regular meeting night for this moment in our history, broadcast on a giant screen, and be a part of the excitement of ending our long national nightmare. Celebrate with like-minded activists to watch the official beginning of the general election and the hope of a new day in America. (Read the Open Letter to Senator Obama for details on what progressives want from his campaign and presidency.)

We will begin the evening with a renowned WDRC Dinner Pot Luck (please bring food to share) at 6PM. If the convention moves up the air time of Obama’s speech, we’ll start earlier, so check here for updates that afternoon, or just show up early—we’ll be there by 5:30.

We will have wine and beer and plenty of dessert to partake in. We hope you'll join us for this exciting evening of fun & HOPE.

PLEASE NOTE: Regular WDRC meeting agenda (nominations for club endorsements of local propositions and races) will occur before or after Obama’s speech depending on what time that occurs.

Thursday, August 28th
Humanist Hall -
390 27th Street

(between Telegraph and Broadway)
Oakland, CA
Event Flyer

RSVP at MyBarackObama.com

This is a free event but donations encouraged & appreciated

How Do We Seize the Obama Moment?
By Robert L. Borosage, Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation

Obama will be the president we want him to be if we mobilize support on the progressive issues and ward off the influence of entrenched interests. Read more »


Voter Registration

WDRC members and other volunteers continue to do a tremendous job registering voters. In the weeks between the February primary and the May 19th deadline to register for the June primary, a truly amazing group of energetic people registered about 150 voters, 118 of them Democrats! Among the 118, were convicted felons, aka ex-felons, who have completed parole, most of whom thought they had permanently lost the right to vote. The success of the Voting Rights for All (VRA) outreach has been especially rewarding.

Aside from a pat on the back, what do 118 Democratic registrations mean for our Club? Well, exactly $465 from the California Democratic Party (CDP). Why? Because the Club "registered" over 1,000 forms with the CDP in order to receive the $3.50 CDP bonus for each Democrat registered and an additional 50 cents if the form includes a phone number, email address, or the voter applies for permanent absentee status. As more WDRCs participate in the intensive drive to maximize voter registration before the October 20th deadline, the Club will have more funds for our electoral work.How to volunteer? Email Bobbie Steinhart for details, dates, forms, contact information for experienced VR partners, and more. Contact Bobbie to talk about strategies to connect with professional or fraternal organizations, churches, social service agencies, recovery programs, etc. We specifically need more volunteers to canvas at Alameda County courthouses. Feel free to independently canvas wherever people gather and where you have time to spend an occasional hour to register voters. Club supporters canvas at flea markets, homeless shelters, shopping malls, BART stations, the Black Cowboys Rodeo, high schools, farmers' markets, and other public venues.

REMEMBER to get voter registration forms from Bobbie, as these are the only numbered forms for which the CDP will pay the bonus.

 

News Links

TruthDig
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Our Future
The Raw Story
The Nation
Politico
Carpet Bagger Report


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Daily Kos
Open Left
Calitics
CA Progress Report
Kid Oakland
Drinking Liberally
MyDD
Down With Tyranny


Progressive
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& Institutes

The Nation
Rockridge
Commonweal

Progressives Take Back Congress
(Sun, Sept 7)

Progressive Democrats of the East Bay presents:
Progressives Take Back Congress

Sunday, September 7 from 3:00pm – 5:00pm
Albatross Pub
1822 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley
Map & Directions
Tickets: $25

Download flyer

With featured guests:

Bill Durston
Emergency Physician
Democrat for Congress – CD3
challenging Republican Dan Lungren

Norman Solomon
Author, Activist
Co-Chair of PDA Healthcare Not Warfare campaign

Music by JB III

This event is co-sponsored by:
Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club
East Bay Young Democrats
Hayward Demos Democratic Club
Progressive Democrats of San Francisco

Conservative Spin

When given a choice about how government should address the numerous economic difficulties facing today's consumer, Americans overwhelminglyby 84% to 13% prefer that the government focus on improving overall economic conditions and the jobs situation in the United States as opposed to taking steps to distribute wealth more evenly among Americans. ... [F]ree-market advocates can take considerable solace in Americans' overwhelming belief that the government should not focus on redistributing income and wealth, but on improving the overall economy.

MORE PRO VS CON
Campaign for America's Future

Progressive Response

Conservatives often focus on the wrong questions, and this poll, which plays into the caricature of "tax-and-spend" liberalism and the specter of government taking money from hard-working people and giving it to people who are less deserving, is a prime example. Ask people about the direction that progressives actually embrace as opposed to the stereotype presented by conservatives, and they will side with progressives. For example, a February 2008 Associated Press/Ipsos poll found that 70 percent of respondents thought that "increasing spending on domestic programs like health care, education, and housing" would help fix the country's economic problems. A January 2008 Fortune Magazine poll found that 67 percent would support "increasing government spending on things like public-works projects to help create jobs." Bush administration economic policies, if anything, have fostered a redistribution of wealth upward, creating an unprecedented economic gap between the very wealthy and the rest of the country. Progressives believe this is wrong, and most of the country agrees.

Summer reading:

Prosecution of George BushPerscription for Peace What Happened Your Government Failed YouLegacy Slavery By Another Name

Calendar

Join WDRC!
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Stand Firm With Debra Bowen

PEACE

Million Doors for Peace

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Cost of the War in Iraq

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Casualties in Iraq

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Iraq War Timeline, Lie by Lie


Responsible Plan


Stop War on Iran


Sign the Petition


The Human Cost
MIT Website
The Mortality Study
(PDF - 25 pgs)


The Nation Magazine
March 31, 2008 issue
The Wages of Peace

War & The Working Class

Cost of War

It's the War Economy, Stupid


American Casualties in Iraq and Afganistan

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Winter Soldier
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AGAINST WAR