Coleen Rowley Suggests Homeland Security Alert System For U.S. Infrastructure

08/26/2007

Article Leads Launch of New Website for Democratic Candidates and Activists


Cynthia Pooler
Founder, Democrat Unity
August 26, 2007


Former FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley, recognized as a 9-11 whistleblower and Time Magazine “Person of the Year” in 2002, has come up with a novel idea in the wake of the Interstate 35 bridge collapse over the Mississippi River. In the lead article at a new website for Democratic candidates and activists, Rowley suggests using the Homeland Security alert system to alert drivers regarding bridge conditions. Rowley ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District in 2006.

“Red Alert – Bridge Ahead” is the lead article launching http://www.DemocratUnity.com, where Rowley suggests, “How about using our color alert system to post new signs on these 73,000 bridges? It's true it might be a tough call as to whether ‘structurally deficient’ rates a yellow or orange code or whether all those bridges lacking ‘structural redundancy’ (which essentially means that when one part of the bridge breaks, it all breaks, something no longer condoned in modern bridge construction) should be considered for the red alert.”

Rowley recollected her own frequent use of the I-35 bridge, with her last crossing just 24 hours before its collapse, then noted that, “About the only thing that was quickly put into place after 9-11 was Tom Ridge's color coded alerts: green, yellow, orange and red. They were supposed to make us more vigilant, they cost little to announce and we've gotten used to them.” She concluded, “…if we can get the bridge alerts going, people will at least become more vigilant as to where their tax dollars are going and not going…” Rowley’s article is also posted as a blog on http://www.HuffingtonPost.com.

“No Longer Balkanized,” by Allison Baker, who blogs at philosopheforum.blogspot.com, details the passion and work of Democrat Unity’s founder, Cynthia Pooler of Albany, New York, since 2004 in helping new challengers for Congress become more viable candidates, creating mechanisms and idea sharing to help them with their run for office. Pooler constantly searches for candidates who may need that kind of assistance and invites them to join a candidates-only Yahoo group where they can offer suggestions and critiques on what works well for them or major daily issues they may need to address.

Battling lymphoma, Pooler hopes she can inspire others who face equally challenging constraints to remain active and continue to work for change, overcoming their difficulties or limitations. Some days, Pooler does better and some days she is forced to rest more often. “The work we’re doing to help new candidates literally gives me a reason to get up every morning,” Pooler said.

Baker explained her use of the term “Balkanized” in noting that, “All of the candidates are Democratic challengers in incumbent Republican districts. What they share is their uphill battle. Until the online group organized, most felt they were alone in their struggle. Their districts were like the kingdoms and republics of the Balkans before the First World War, subject to the whims of greater powers outside their territory. With the help of [Cynthia Pooler,] an activist from upstate New York, all that changed in May 2004.”

Pooler hopes to launch a magazine from the website later this year, with each edition of the future Democrat Unity Magazine giving Democratic activists and candidates new resources and ideas which can help more of them win in their campaigns for the U.S. Congress. “I think we could have won a larger majority in the 2006 elections and my hope is that this is one of several tools we can offer to new challengers and their supporters to make that happen in 2008,” Pooler said, adding that other aspects of the Democrat Unity website will be forthcoming in the next several months, including forums specific to campaign issues as well as candidate-based forums for individual campaigns’ supporters.

Pooler sees the Internet as a revolutionary tool to change the dynamics of politics. “Democrat Unity is the evolution of November Victory, the discussion group we created earlier,” she said. “DemocratUnity.com will give candidates the tools for a successful campaign and, as we progress, the magazine will offer a different perspective from writers and thinkers from all over the country. Online forums will give candidates and activists nationwide the opportunity to network with one another – something that MoveOn, PDA and DFA do not provide,” Pooler added, noting that, “the forums will also provide a kind of ‘Chamber of Commerce,’ where members can advertise their occupation. I believe networking is the key which DemocratUnity.com will provide,” Pooler said.

Along with the web site and email groups Pooler has created, she and Dr. Tim Bagwell, PhD., a 2004 Congressional candidate (IL-19) who will be the Managing Editor of the magazine, also support “farm team” efforts to encourage activists to work together to find and support new candidates, much like a “farm team” will bring new blood into a Major League Baseball franchise. Pooler explained that, “Farm teams must be developed to identify and groom candidates for offices at all levels.”

A second article by Coleen Rowley, “No Time for Pettifoggery,” is the text of her 2007 commencement speech at her alma mater, the University of Iowa School of Law, which she delivered on May 12th when U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was unable to give that commencement address as he prepared for congressional hearings regarding his role in the firings of eight federal attorneys.

In that speech, Rowley encouraged new law school graduates to “…put the critical thinking skills and respect for the rule of law that you have acquired here into immediate use to help guide our country out of the morass and flummery it finds itself in, to help re-establish itself as the great constitutional democracy and leader in the world that our founding fathers envisioned.” Rowley cited the term “pettifoggery” in quoting a book which examined the overstatement of enemy casulties by the U.S. government during the Vietnam war, explaining to the Iowa law school graduates that, “A pettifogger is, if you don't know, a lawyer whose methods are petty, underhanded or disreputable.”

Rowley’s articles are accompanied by in-depth commentary from a volunteer in her 2006 congressional campaign. “The Day the Coleen Rowley Campaign Faced the Advertising on the Wall,” by novelist Georgianne Nienaber, author of “Gorilla Dreams: The Legacy of Dian Fossey,” and “Horse Sense,” recaptures one of the final days of Rowley’s campaign, during a press conference where she responded to attack mailings and advertising by the incumbent, Rep. John Kline. Nienaber also discusses the lack of meaningful support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for Democratic challengers in heavily Republican congressional districts and the difference such support might had made in responding to attack advertisements and mailings designed by a Karl Rove protégé.