LCDP General Party Meeting
Monday, January 15th, Ho-Chunk Nation 3 Rivers House, 724 Main St., La Crosse
Speaker: Thomas Harris on MLK Jr.
 

Coulee Progressives State of the Union
Friday, January 26th, 5:00 P.M.
Concordia Ballroom, 1129 La Crosse St., La Crosse

LCDP General Party Meeting
Monday, February 26th, 7:00 P.M.
Speaker: Dr. Jack Norman, Insitute for Wisconsin's Future on the falling corporate tax burden in Wisconsin

As we mark what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 78th birthday this coming Monday, it is important to remember his legacy in a broader sense than the mainstream media prefers to remember each year. That portrayal seems to begin and end with August 28, 1963, -- the date of the historic "I have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

But while that speech is justly remembered, another that Dr. King gave exactly one year before his death on April 4, 1967, is just as powerful and just as timely today on issues such as the distribution of wealth, war and peace, and simple courage as it was nearly 40 years ago.

"A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth," he noted. He went on: "Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism."

Regarding war: "We can no longer afford to worship the god of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation ...[h]istory is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self- defeating path of hate."

He concluded by saying, "If we do not act we shall surely be dragged down the long dark and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight."

These words help us remember that Dr. King's legacy transcends his time and place. His message was a call for courage against not only Jim Crow and institutionalized segregation, but also unnecessary war, sectionalism, and economic injustice.

George Bush and today's Republican party pursue policies that are far removed from Dr. King's ideals. As Democrats it is important to remember that although we disagree with each other from time to time on various issues,we are nontheless the only political party that can make his vision for America a reality.

Dr. King has now been gone for almost 39 years, just as long as he lived. His murder deprived our nation of a voice that by all rights should still have been strong today.

As we enter a new year, Dr. King's words should inspire us to act with courage not only in what we do politically, but in each of our daily lives.

THANK YOUS

Many thanks go out to Chris Kahlow for the use of the Cavalier Lounge for the LCDP Holiday Party in December. Thanks also to Vicki Burke, Barb Clark and Kris Troyanek for their help in set up and cleanup.

I would like to thank all the local Democrats who attended Governor Doyle's inauguration celebration at the La Crosse Center.

I am looking forward to what should be a fun as busy year as we lay the groundwork for a successful 2008. I hope to see many of you at our general party meetings and events throughout the year.

Thank you.

Please renew your memberships for 2007. Our goal is to push party membership over 400 people. Please check our website at laxdems.com, which will have a membership form next week or send an email if you cannot come to our future party meetings.

Again, a reminder about the new membership rates, effective October 1, 2006, as established by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin: Students, Senior Citizens: $10.00 General: $25.00 Pairs (two memberships): $35.00 Activist (up to three): $45.00 Family(includes all family members: $75.00 Supporter: $120.00 Friend: $240.00 Patron: $600.00 Investor: $1200.00 Benefactor $2400.00 At this point, half of the above membership dues go to the State party, with the exception of the Family membership, where $45.00 of $75.00 goes to the local party. Those who join at the higher levels of membership ($120.00 and above) should remember that only $50.00 of those memberships will stay with the local party.

If your intention is to become a new member or renew your membership with the Democratic Party and you want more of your contribution to go to the Local County Party, I encourage you to join at the single $25 or $75 Family membership level and make additional contributions to the county party directly.

To illustrate, when you join at the Democratic Party at the Friends $240 level, the State Party receives $190 and the local County Party receives $50 At the $120 Supporting Membership level the State Party receives $70 and the Local County Party receives only $50

The 3rd Congressional District Democratic Convention will take place on April 21, 2007, at the Best Western Trail Lodge Hotel and Suites in Eau Claire. The time and agenda will be forthcoming.

The 2007 Democratic Party of Wisconsin State Convention will be held on June 29th and 30th in at the Hilton City Center Hotel in Milwaukee.

Please remember that to be a delegate to the state convention you must be on the delegate list to the 3rd CD convention. Please contact Fabio Burgos if you wish to be put on the delegate list.

After telling NBC News that the President's new plan to increase troops in Iraq is "more of a political decision than a military one," it now appears that the new GOP talking point is to blame the military. Yesterday, Republican Senator Lindsay Graham said that "we never had enough troops" and that the Generals were to blame. Putting more troops in harms way must be justified for military reasons, not simply to deflect from the Bush Administration's same failed stay the course strategy that military experts and the American people have already rejected.

"President Bush's latest call for a troop increase is more of the same failed stay the course strategy that the American people and military experts have already rejected as the wrong strategy at the wrong time," said Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton. "Finger pointing at our Generals is not a strategy, nor is calling for a substantial troop increase when it was tried before and failed. Democrats remain committed to working with Republicans for a new direction in Iraq that does not put additional troops in the middle of this civil war and makes it clear to the Iraqi people that they must take responsibility for their country's future."

White House Admits That New Plan "More Of A Political Decision Than A Military One." "One administration official admitted to us today that this surge option is more of a political decision than a military one because the American people have run out of patience and President Bush is running out of time to achieve some kind of success in Iraq." [NBC News, 1/3/07]

The New GOP Talking Point: Blame The Generals On NBC: Senator Lindsay Graham Says Generals, Not Administration, Were Wrong About Troop Levels. Lindsay Graham said, "If you come up with a new policy, do you let the same people who implemented the old policy come up with the new idea? I don't think so . We never had enough to troops to begin with. For two years I've asked these generals, do we have enough troop, 'we're fine,' is the army ok, 'the army is fine.' A month or two ago we found out the army is broken.Now's the time to start over. If we don't start over and do what we should have done in the beginning, have enough people to win this war, have the Powell doctrine implemented, will pay a heavy price." [NBC News, 1/7/07]

On Fox News: Fred Barnes Says Generals Responsible For Failed Iraq Policy, Not Bush. Fred Barnes said, in an appearance on Fox News Sunday, "The President is not doing what the commanders on the ground have urged, mainly because their policies have failed. When your commanders aren't winning, you bring in new commanders." [Fox, 1/7/07]

Columnist David Brooks Says Generals Misled Bush, Wrong About Troop Levels. David Brooks wrote in the New York Times that Bush's strategy was driven by military commanders, whom he was now abandoning because they've been proven wrong. Brooks wrote, "Gen. George Casey and Gen. John Abizaid wanted to put the burden of nation-building on the victims and initiators of this maelstrom. U.S. war strategy for the past three years has been to lighten the American footprint in Iraq and compel Iraqis to undertake the policing tasks we ourselves couldn't accomplish. For over three years, President Bush sided with the light-footprint school. He did so for personal reasons, not military ones. Casey and Abizaid are impressive men, and Bush deferred to their judgment." [New York Times, 1/7/07]

(from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

By KATHERINE M. SKIBA
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Washington - Nancy Pelosi made history Thursday, becoming the first woman to serve as speaker of the House of Representatives as the 110th Congress opened with Democrats newly in charge.

As the San Francisco lawmaker accepted the gavel, there was hooting, hollering and thunderous clapping in the chamber of the 435-member House.

Pelosi, who has served since 1987, called it a historic moment for Congress and for the women of America.

"Today we have we have broken the marble ceiling," she said. "For our daughters and our granddaughters now, the sky is the limit. Anything is possible for them."

'Cause for celebration'

Republicans acknowledged the day's significance. Minority leader John Boehner of Ohio said it was his "high privilege" to hand the gavel to a woman for the first time.

"Today marks an occasion I think the Founding Fathers would view approvingly," he said. "My fellow Americans: whether you're a Republican, a Democrat or an independent, this is a cause for celebration."

Pelosi thanked her husband, Paul, and five children for "the confidence they gave me to go from the kitchen to the Congress."

Also on hand was her celebrity-studded cheering section: singers Tony Bennett and Carole King and actor Richard Gere, seated in the gallery.

Both Pelosi and Boehner said they wanted to work across party lines. Pelosi said she was accepting the gavel "in the spirit of partnership, not partisanship." Boehner said the speaker's gavel, like everything else in the chamber, "really belongs to the people."

"This is the people's House. This is the people's Congress," he said.