Only 46 days until caucuses!

12/16/2007

Dear Friend,


We've all had the year 2008 circled for some time now. That's the year progressive Americans will elect a Democrat to the White House and increase our majorities in both houses of Congress. And on November 4, 2008, we'll have a chance to really change Washington by sending Al Franken to the Senate to stand up for Minnesota.

Before we leave 2007, though, read on for some news and notes from the campaign trail.

Have you joined our Caucus Team?

While we're still over ten months away from the election, you can cast your first vote to send Al to Washington at your local DFL Precinct Caucus on Tuesday, February 5th. It is absolutely essential that you attend your local Precinct Caucus and become a delegate so you can help Al win the DFL endorsement.

If you haven't done so already, please take a moment to sign up for our Caucus Team by clicking here.

When you sign up, we'll send your information to your local Precinct Captain (and if we don't have a Precinct Captain signed up in your neighborhood, we might ask you if you're interested in the job). You'll receive a caucus guide, notices about trainings and other TeamFranken meetings, and access to special updates and information about the campaign to share with your friends and neighbors.

Even if you've never caucused before, please sign up today. Caucusing is a fun way to meet fellow DFLers in your neighborhood, it's easy to do, and it's the most important thing you can do to help send Al to the Senate!

New on alfranken.com

If you haven't checked out our website recently, this would be a great time to do so for two reasons.

One, there's a lot of great new material. My favorite new additions are the videos from our Vets for Franken rally in St. Paul last month. Click here to see Al's speech outlining his veterans' affairs agenda. And make sure to check out the remarks by Sen. Bob Kerrey, Vets for Franken chair Jim Judson, congressional candidate Steve Sarvi, and (my favorite) Dr. Bob Meaders, founder of Operation Helmet.

Other neat stuff: you can trace the path Al's hybrid has taken as we've criss-crossed the state...download some Franken family recipes...and spend most of the rest of your workday playing with our interactive event map.

The second great reason to check out alfranken.com today is that we're working on a re-design for the New Year - and we want your input! If you have thoughts on how we can make our website an even better on-line hub for the campaign, drop us a line at and share your ideas with our Interactive team.

In case you missed it...

Since our last campaign update:

-- Al's been endorsed by AFSCME Council 5, the St. Paul Fire Fighters, the St. Paul Fire Chiefs, and Sen. Scott Dibble. (And we've got more exciting endorsements coming before Christmas!)

-- The campaign has gotten great press, ranging from the New York Times to the Rochester Post-Bulletin to the Aitkin Independent Age.

-- We launched our new Sustainer program, allowing you to make a lasting and valuable contribution with just a few dollars a month.


Volunteer corner

We're asking every supporter to commit to at least one volunteer shift sometime between now and December 21st.

We've got plenty of work to do - everything from phone banks to mailings to data entry to other tasks - and even if you can only spare an hour or two, we'll make good use of your time and energy.

The office is open every day from 9 am to 9 pm. And if you can't make it to St. Paul, we're starting a new program for supporters who live outside the metro area and want to make calls from home. If you can make calls from home, just let us know and we'll get you set up.

Either way, we need you. Can you take out your calendar right now and pick one time to help Al when he needs it most? If so, please contact Elizabeth at or 612-558-2309 and let her know when you'll be coming by.

In brief: Three things we need YOU to do TODAY!
1. Sign up for our Caucus Team and pledge to caucus for Al on Tuesday, February 5th!
2. Sign up for at least one volunteer shift before Christmas!
3. Make any contribution you can to make sure we end the quarter with a great fundraising number! (Or join our Sustainer program to make sure we have the resources to take on Norm Coleman all the way to the election!)

Oh, and a fourth thing...
4. From Al, Franni, and all of us here at TeamFranken, have a safe, warm, and happy holiday season!

As always, thanks for your support!

Andy Barr
TeamFranken