Greetings from Joanie Benoit

Greetings to all Truth and Hope members!

I am Joan Benoit, and I’m leading a group of people working with Eugene on the next Truth and Hope media project: Swing State Radio. The goal is to, as Howard Dean says, get George Bush a one-way ticket back to Crawford Texas.

Those of you who jumped on board with the first of our Dean ads may remember me from the Blog for America boards, begging for money the very first time, three days before the WA caucuses. We had ads produced and running within 36 hours of the original idea, thanks to your and Eugene’s willingness to jump in with both feet. We all learned a lot about each other with that effort, and we all learned that the grassroots CAN make a difference. Although Truth and Hope made Dean’s Vermont victory possible, I often wonder what would have happened if we had begun our efforts earlier.

Well, we will have no regrets come November, because we are gearing up NOW to take on George Bush.

Here are the details of the project to date.

Radio Ads in Swing States….
Why radio? It’s cost effective and surgical. Different stations appeal to different demographics, and the data telling us who listens to which stations, and when, are readily available. We can select a target and hit it efficiently. We can deliver different messages to different demographic groups in the same market.

Radio is cost-effective. In some markets you can buy 60 seconds of air time for under $200. Forward buys and full-schedule buys bring the costs down further.

Targeting Republicans…
Not all Republicans, but fiscal conservatives who are not overly swayed by religious issues. Why Republicans?

First, current ad efforts from the other anti-Bush 527s and PACs appear to be targeting swing voters, not Bush’s base. Targeting Republicans avoids duplication of efforts.

Secondly, this sub-group of Republicans is ripe for our message. News stories in the media have focused lately on Bush’s trouble with parts of his base. This is not surprising: Bush is a bad Republican.

Bush’s deficits, his wasteful and unnecessary nation-building experiment in Iraq, the threats to privacy posed by the Patriot Act and the costly Medicare Bill bait-and-switch are all among issues that are causing some long-time Republicans to balk.

With humorous, engaging ads.
Most of us are tired of the shrill, negative ads saturating the media. We believe that the best approach is to show respect for the values of these fiscal conservatives, and help them see that voting for Bush is not consistent with those values.

What we need
We need funds to produce the first ads. Once the ads are produced, we will ask you all to pass the word and we will approach maxed-out Kerry donors for funds.

We need to test the ads in the markets in which we will advertise. We cannot afford to air ads that are ineffective. We also need a professional website redesign. The ads will direct people to the site and we need to be sure we have plenty of content there that reinforces the message. Eugene and I have put pencil to paper and we think that $20,000 will accomplish all three goals.

We are soliciting support from groups that have voter attitude databases and we have a pollster helping us make the decision on where the ads can do the most good.

We have a team of accomplished advertising professionals working with us on strategy and copy. At this point, it is an all-volunteer effort.

We hope we can count on your support as we work to stop the damage George Bush and his cronies are doing to America and the world. It has never been more important to act.

Please help us out by clicking on the "General Fund Challenge" located to the right!

Thank you all!  ¶

Posted by: #sdf / 9:14 PM  PST

  New Update from Eugene Hedlund
Eugene just sent out an email update for those who may not have seen it yet:

It has been a while and I hope your energy has fared better through the past weeks than mine.  I did not anticipate such a drop off from when Gov. Dean endorsed Senator Kerry, but alas lethargy set in, as well as my taking the opportunity to catch up on business and personal issues which had been neglected, during our run.  I had the initial thought of quickly creating and airing anti-Bush media, but such a multitude hit the airwaves from various large and well established groups that it seemed a waste to throw more money into the same pot, without a new or different approach.  Admittedly at times I was content to accept it as a great and inspirational period in my life, and let it go at that returning to 'business as usual.'  Mistakes that were made along the way were clearer in hindsight, as the desire to leap into the fray took hold with state votes coming up so quickly that we jumped in to the races without the necessary infrastructure, support teams and elements being established.  Through these last few weeks however the emptiness or hole for lack of better term that has developed without the aspects of TruthandHope.Org in my daily life has also becomes apparent.  Day to day business with the profit motive just does not compare in fulfillment, albeit a necessary evil.  Because of this the desire to carry on in some sense was strong, but the different approach and official support were still necessary.  These aspects have come together. 

I have been in continual contact with Joani Benoit and we have developed an approach that is not being used at this time, and may not be feasible for most groups.  Most importantly, she and others have agreed to be on the Board of Directors for TruthandHope.Org, should this get off the ground.  I am tempted to introduce the board and tam members now, but the email would become overly long, and may as it is.  The target audience of the campaign we would like to create is one that you are probably aware exists, but the how of how to approach them effectively would not be ascertainable to most organizations.  That group being the multitude of disenchanted and disillusioned Republicans. 

I could post many op-ed links, statements of officials such as Senators McCain and Lugar along with others which demonstrate the growing rift within the GOP, however you probably know individuals who are upset with the Bush administration on various points, but are not keen on voting for Kerry, and over the next few months if left to their own devices will most likely vote to re-elect out of habit.  On the left dissent comes easier than the right.  We would like to embark on a campaign to create a safe place for discussion and open dialogue with disaffected Republicans, who do not feel the current administration is upholding their core beliefs.  Beliefs such as smaller government which are cast aside in favor of new ineffective programs such as the prescription drugs bill and Patriot Act.  Belief in supporting our military and learning lessons from the past such as Vietnam, which are ignored as this administration leapt to war without a clear exit strategy.  Beliefs in a government that upholds the separation of church and state.  The far right would make it seem as though all Republicans are religious ideologues through their control of policy, but the truth is that most Republicans are more moderate and either disagree with many social and environmental policies currently being pushed through, or at the very least support the belief that the federal government should not be making policy based on religious ideals, a founding principle of our country.  Keep in mind that many gun owning, freedom loving constitutionalists are considerably right wing in their ideology, and if they supported either major party it would be the GOP, however this administration is not upholding their beliefs in any sense either.

Ron Reagan Jr subtly expressed the concerns of many in his fathers eulogy when he stated: "Dad was also a deeply, unabashedly religious man. But he never made the fatal mistake of so many politicians, wearing his faith on his sleeve to gain political advantage. True, after he was shot and nearly killed early in his presidency, he came to believe that God had spared him in order that he might do good. But he accepted that as a responsibility, not a mandate. And there is a profound difference."

Joani and I are both former Republicans.  My conversion was far more recent, but the point is that we can create media and speak the language that will not come across as lecturing or demonizing.  When such things are approached from the wrong angle defenses rise and the desired effect is not achieved, but rather the opposite.  The conservative community does not promote individualism, but rather a strict loyalty.  However these are individuals with genuine concerns.  These people need to understand there are choices other than rubber stamping an administration that does not govern as they would wish, a party that has gone to extremes, while it's majority are moderate.  They need to know that there are many others just like them with the same concerns. 

My passion is to push for a country where the GOP is more moderate, and the Democratic party more progressive.  In a country of 300 million we should never again be faced with a choice between a candidate that fails to inspire, and one who is stripping the country of liberties and it can be said that if re-elected would take us on a road to ruin, thus the opposition party is galvanized behind whomever their nominee may be.  In this election which is of such great import a few percentage points shaved from Bush's totals could have profound effect, especially considering that Nader will be shaving some from Kerry's.  In a long term sense, I submit that not only is every Republican we can get to vote for Kerry effectively 2 votes, or each that abstains, votes Nader, a write in or 'none of the above' is still a vote for Kerry in a sense as it is detracted from Bush's expected totals, but that if we can encourage GOP voters to show an open mind and vote the other party for the good of the country, or at least not vote to re-elect it becomes easier the next time to convince them to vote with us again with good results, and ultimately I believe that is best for the country to both promote a movement of moderates within the GOP and also to promote free thinking.  I believe that it is short sighted to expect that one party is always right, the other always wrong or that one should expect to agree point for point with their parties elected officials, and always vote based on (R) or (D).  I believe that human beings are more complex than this, and we are all better off the more citizens that can be encouraged to conscientiously weigh each candidate, rather than simply rubber stamping elephants and donkeys.

We are also working in support of a group called 'Comadres for Political Progress' which will reach out to the Latina community, and is based here in Southern California.  By co-branding we enjoy mutual benefits, as we have common cause.  This group intends to reach out to Latina communities in swing states, and leverage the advantage we have in California, as it is not 'in play' with the Latina community by sending supporters to states such as Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada to galvanize support for progressives and the Democratic Party.  This campaign is being created by TruthandHope.Org board members with backgrounds as activists within the Latina and other minority communities, and is headed by Irma Flores.  We will follow with more information about this project as it develops.

So, there is the approach, now the nuts and bolts:  Behind the scenes we have been meeting or conversing with various groups for support, and although the interest has been high the process is slow.  I have been remiss in requesting funds, but it is clear that if we had the developmental aspects finished, coupled with our past media and track record the support would come through quicker.  We have a target goal of $20,000.  These funds are to pay the necessary attorney/accountant's fees which have never subsided.  Additionally, these funds will allow us to hire and retain professional web designers to create the sites needed to support these campaigns, and finally to create the initial media spots.  We have scripted media for our target audience ready for production, and have an expectation of support from a large national organization with polling data to most effectively target our desired audience & demographic.

There are future plans to expand our groups base not only through the web, but also direct mail campaigns utilizing the donor lists from both contributors to Democratic candidates whose ideals we share, but also those who supported more moderate Republicans candidates, for example John McCain supporters in 2000, who make up a large block of the disaffected Republicans.  Your help now will allow us to create the foundation needed to solicit this support, as well as that from other groups and fundraisers.  Part of the reorganization of TruthandHope.Org is the reintroduction of the 'non-federal' account, or what is typically know as a 527 (non-PAC) which does allow for unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations or labor groups, thus allowing us to with this foundation of new web sites and completed media solicit the monies needed and available for the creation of this campaign for change.

If you can help us out please do so by clicking on the 'general fund challenge' on the right column.  I also look forward to hearing your feedback and ideas!

Thank you again for the wonderful support and encouragement in the past,

Eugene Hedlund
Founder
TruthandHope.Org

PS - We do still have a number of the DVD's with our previous radio and the Vermont television spot available.

  ¶

Posted by: #sdf / 12:56 AM  PST

  By Way of Self-Promotion

I am posting a series of thought-pieces in the Daily Kos diary section (and then reposted on my mostly dormant blog begemot) on topics that I consider to be "taboo" in American political discourse. That is, these are things that are policies or issues that do not receive the attention they deserve because they are either politically difficult or have been shoved outside the parameters of debate. My intention in the series is to revisit them and to consider how they might be brought back into the discourse.

You can read the introduction to this series here.

And the first entry on the elimination of agricultural subsidies here.

I would love to hear reactions, thoughts, etc., either in the comments here or at dKos.

-- Stuart

  ¶

Posted by: #sdf / 12:39 PM  PST