The World Around You

I’m not sure if you can read the following e-mail to supporters any other way:

Dear Friends:

I want to invite you to come to my first Governor’s Listening Post in conjunction with the January meeting of the Rocket City Democrats in Huntsville. We will gather at the Jazz Factory on January 19, and begin the meeting at 6:00 p.m. The Jazz Factory is located at 109 Northside Square in Huntsville. Their phone number is 256-539-1919.

This will give us a chance to discuss the critical issues facing our state and our nation. If you are interested in participating in such a discussion with me and other Alabama citizens, I encourage you to attend the meeting.

Please take some time before the meeting to think about these important issues (and any others you would like to discuss):

School funding
Do we need an education lottery in Alabama?
If not, how will we better fund our schools?
What about tax reform? Constitutional reform?
How can we pay our teachers more?

The economy
How do we keep from losing Alabama jobs overseas?
What are the best ideas to replace those jobs we do lose?
How do we best foster the booming biotech, medical research and automotive sectors?
What can we do to even further improve the defense technology sector in Huntsville?

Children
How do we reenergize the state about pre-K care and education?
What more can we do to ensure every child has health care and health insurance?
Why isn’t the Alabama Reading Initiative available to every school?

Seniors
With changes in Social Security on the horizon, how do we protect Alabama seniors?
Was it the right to take away health benefits from future retirees?
What more can we do to keep our seniors safe in nursing homes and assisted living facilities?

Please contact Pam Miles at pmiles@hiwaay.net and let her know you are planning to attend. I will contact you soon about the next Listening Post and others to be scheduled in your area. I look forward to talking with you soon.

With best personal regards, I am …

Sincerely,
Don

There is no doubt that there will be a primary fight in the Governor’s race on both sides of the aisle and Siegelman is making clear he wants to be a part of that fight. First question I would love to hear someone ask, “How can we assure that the ethics of the current administration are carried over to future administrations?”

**Crossposted at Polstate.com

I agree with Judge Sue Bell Cobb that we have ceded territory on the faith issue too easily. However, I think she may have gone too far in saying that we can take the gay marriage issue off the table. You can’t throw away a core principal of the party just to win, namely civil rights for all. Recognized unions are a civil right. Sure you can take “gay marriage” off the table and you can even pass an amendment if you want to, but you’re still going to have to face the fact that sometime in the very near future we are going to be looking at some sort of civil union for same sex couples, call it whatever you want, but it will happen. There is no doubt that there are those in the party who support a state and federal constitutional amendment, and you can use that to illustrate the diversity of the party. There are room for people of faith in the Democratic Party.

Where I agree with the judge wholeheartedly is when she says the following,

Democrats, she said, also should “reject the failed policy and policy-makers of the past,” unite behind a candidate for governor “who can truly win the hearts of the people,” and combat “an undercurrent of racism” in the party.

Absolutlely! Racism is a serious issue within the Alabama Democratic Party and the Democrats need to ensure that they do not continue to turn to the same old party leaders to lead in the future or it will be to their detriment.