Dear Fellow Democrats and Progressives,

If you are news junky like me you might have had some frustrating days of late. Sarah Palin and The tea baggers seem to be getting so much attention. The Democrats in the Capitol are being called cowards by many of those on the left and even many of those in our own party. Conservative talk show hosts continue to spread lies. They have been saying the Democrats are not sitting down with the GOP; there are no bipartisan efforts and no transparency. While we hear this from the other side there are at least 180 GOP amendments to the current health care bill.

In fact, President Obama has tried repeatedly to reach across the isle. This fact alone may have frustrated some of you. However, so much has been accomplished throughout the past year. One of the, on January 23, 2009, was an executive order ensuring safe, lawful, and humane treatment of individuals detained in armed conflicts and closes CIA secret prisons. Shortly after this, he signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. On February 17, 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed and kept us from falling into a deep depression. And the list goes on and one. However, we are still in Iraq, have really escalated the conflict in Afghanistan, and have not passed health care reform. You know, many of us really worked hard in the presidential election and maybe after electing so many Democrats, thought our work was over. However, once the legislators get to DC they are overwhelmed by lobbyists. Our work is not done! We got these people elected and we need to keep working so they hear 0ur voices as well. We must also work to keep Democrats in office.

Democracy of America is an example of this continued work in action. During the past week, a Senator from Colorado, Senator Bennet, started circulating a letter to his colleagues in Congress asking them to once again include a public option for health care through reconciliation. None of this work is done and we need to continue working for the future we want to see.

To counter the negative information about the Democratic Party, Maggie Brick, the ED of the DPW, has started a campaign regarding marketing the Democratic Party in the state. I spent Saturday afternoon in Madison at the DPW office with several other county leaders. We spent the afternoon work on a “brand” for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. A marketing agent, who is a Party member, is leading the discussion. We are trying to put together a “brand” much like the “Nike” mark that would make people thin positively about the DPW. If you have thoughts about what you like to see in a brand of the DPW, please let me know.

And, finally, I would like to invite you all to our next meeting on Thursday, March 11, at 7:00. We are having a wonderful speaker, Bill Chrisofferson. He is an expert on Gaylord Nelson and will speak on Nelson and Earth Day. Please join us for an exciting presentation.

We will hold a fundraiser at Champs in Lake Geneva on April 20.

Best Regards,
Kate Harrod
Chair, Democratic Party of Walworth County