Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .
Good news!
Thanks to the help of Declan McCullagh, uber-pundit of the wired world of cyberpolitics, we got our AOL problem fixed yesterday.
Declan publicized our AOL difficulty to a big audience, resulting in tons of feedback that will help us do better with our email system. We also now have our very own AOL-provided problem-solver! Thank you Declan McCullagh and AOL. All of this means that . . .
Thousands of AOL subscribers are receiving the Downsizer-Dispatch again for the first time in nearly a month. Welcome back all of you! Here’s what you missed (plus there’s good news for the rest of you too) . . .
While our AOL subscribers were gone we nevertheless managed to . . .
* Win key victories in the House and Senate, defeating legislation that would have regulated Downsize DC
* Set a new record for messages to Congress — 45,072 — while recruiting a record number of new Downsizers for the month of January — 656!
We also took our first small step toward our Operation Everywhere advertising plans. You can see our first ad at Reason.com. We hope to make another ad purchase in a few days. The Reason ad will be seen 4 million to 6 million times over the coming month, and potential new supporters are now clicking over to our site every few minutes.
We also launched a major new campaign about the Iraq occupation. This is now a Transpartisan issue. Most Americans want us out of Iraq, and our research convinces us that there are more compelling reasons to go than to stay. Unfortunately, Congress and the White House are playing political games with this issue rather than doing what the situation requires, and what the American people want.
We are convinced that Congress and the White House are experimenting with American lives and money. We are also convinced that they are making a settlement of the Iraq civil war less likely, rather than more likely. We will explain why in future Dispatches.
Fortunately, there is now a bill pending in Congress, HR 413, that we think takes the right approach. HR 413 would deauthorize the occupation of Iraq. And there’s good news . . .
Since we began this campaign HR 413 has gained its 7th co-sponsor, Representative Jose Serrano of New York!
Let’s keep up the pressure for more members of Congress of to cosponsor HR 413.
Our AOL subscribers can read our initial argument for HR 413 here, and our research suggesting that the situation in Iraq is impervious to increased troop levels here.
Non-AOL subscribers who haven’t yet sent a message in support of ending the Iraq occupation, we need your support to move this issue to the forefront of the public debate. You can send your message here.
Finally, we’ve really suffered from not having any financial support from AOL subscribers for nearly a month. We need to push hard to make our budget goals for January. Please start a monthly credit card pledge or make a one-time donation here.
Upward and onward. Thank you for being a DC Downsizer.
Perry Willis
Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.