This Is Personal
06/30/2007
SUPPORT TIM JOHNSON
The GOP will try to throw everything at Tim Johnson in the next election. Please do what you can to help this courageous public servant.
Hello DFLers,
I know you receive too many emails from politicians asking for money, especially this time of year. But I wish like hell there was a way to convey that this really is different. This week, Tom Daschle encouraged you to help our friend Senator Tim Johnson on his road back to the Senate (in case you missed it, I'm including his message below).
Well, this is personal as well as political.
Look, I've been as inspired by Tim Johnson's courage over the last months as I've been impressed by anyone I've ever met in politics. I've served alongside heroes - and Tim Johnson's commitment to return to the Senate is nothing less than an act of incredible fortitude.
But as hard as Tim is working to return to the life he chose in public service, this is also about our ability to work for the progressive ideals we all hold in common. Every day in the Senate, I know there's no room for error with the slim majority our party holds. I can't wait to get Tim Johnson back to join the fight. We need him here, we need him reelected, and we need to deliver for the American people.
Reason enough to dig deeper? Please help Tim Johnson by contributing to his reelection.
South Dakota is always a down to the wire competitive state for Senate races, so the Republican Party is watching things closely. We need to break the deadlock on the Senate, pick up seats across the country and hold on to what we have. South Dakota is one of the places the GOP is looking to for hope, and Tim Johnson needs our help right now to make it clear they should go try and sell their broken policies elsewhere, South Dakota is standing by a hero.
So please, do what you can to help.
Thank you. And, just to let you know, I'll be writing you next week with an update on the efforts to chart a new course in Iraq. There's been a lot of news this week, and I'll be talking to Harry Reid in the days ahead, laying the final groundwork for our next push. I'll keep you updated.
Thanks,
- John Kerry
PS: And here's the message from Senator Daschle:
One vote. I know what a difference one vote can make.
One vote. In 2001, one courageous vote from a man of conviction, Sen. Jim Jeffords, gave Democrats control of the Senate and made me Majority Leader.
One vote. John Kerry and I saw too often when Vice President Dick Cheney took that drive down from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue to be the deciding vote in the Senate in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy and against our environment.
One vote makes all the difference in the Senate. One vote with courage makes a majority on the issues that motivate you, me, and John Kerry.
And today the most critical vote is in the hands of our most courageous colleague, a man working every day to return to vote on issues of conscience and conviction, our friend Tim Johnson.
One vote. Just last week, John Kerry and other Democrats were fighting to roll back tax breaks for big oil companies and replace them with incentives for alternative energy and conservation. The GOP mounted a filibuster; the Democrats moved to break it. What stood in the way of defeating that filibuster? The vote to win that fight once and for all rests in the hands of an extraordinarily courageous man who is fighting hard and will be back soon. We will embrace America's energy future - grown right here at home - and stand up to the big special interests when Tim Johnson returns to the Senate chamber to serve the state and country he loves.
In a Senate divided as closely as it is now, every vote counts more than ever. That difficult day last December, a lesser man might have decided to leave public life behind. Not Tim Johnson. He's made of sterner stuff than that. He's a fighter. Tim has made strong progress on getting back to the Senate, and as he gets closer to that milestone, the Republicans are circling, preparing for a slugfest in the next election.
Show the Republicans that we stand by Tim Johnson with all we have.
John Kerry and I have both worked with Tim for many years. We know his courage, his compassion, and his tireless work for the United States. We know that as the father of a young man who volunteered for service in our military, issues of war and peace are personal to Tim Johnson - it's sons and daughters, American lives, not slogans and soundbites, that Tim cares about on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. That's why he's so determined to return to the Senate.
Don't assume for a minute that the Republicans will give Tim Johnson a free ride. John and I know their playbook backwards and forwards. The Republicans at the NRSC believe they'll be able to overwhelm this race with money from their deep-pocketed donors and take back the Senate.
We can't let them do that. Please donate today to Tim Johnson's reelection.
There's no one I care about more in the United States Senate. No one with greater character and integrity. We can't afford to give less than everything we have for Tim Johnson who is giving every ounce of energy for us and for our country on his personal journey back.
So please, give today and show the Republicans that we stand together united behind Tim Johnson.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
- Tom Daschle