Message From Elizabeth Edwards

Note: the link to the One America committee appears at this site under the "Get In The Game" category. Please go there to make a contribution - thanks.

Dear Friend,

While Democrats ready for the important Roberts confirmation process in Washington, there is still important work to be done to win state legislative seats for Democrats and to support those state candidates who are the future of the Democratic Party -- so we won't always be in this position in Washington. John has been on the road this past week fighting to Raise the States, so he asked me to update you on his progress and to stress again the importance of this fight.

Both of us have been so deeply touched by your enthusiasm and by the help you have given John and the Raise the States initiative, and I'm proud to report that you're already making a difference.

Since John last wrote to you, he has traveled to Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin to raise money for Democratic candidates for state legislatures. The stakes are high -- big victories would tip the scales in Missouri and Wisconsin, and wins in Oklahoma would strengthen our delicate majority there.

But we are up against a juggernaut - the special interests, corporate money and national donors that converge wherever there is a chance to pick up a seat for the GOP. In nearly every state, candidates tell John it's almost impossible to compete with this Republican fundraising machine. Our candidates don't have to match these special interests dollar for dollar; they just have to be able to get their message - our message - heard above those Republican megaphones.

If you can help John help them, we can go a long way toward leveling the playing field - and winning majorities in the legislatures of several closely divided states. Let's show our candidates that we are behind them and that, like them, we're sick and tired of watching Republican money dictate our nation's course.

We've seen enough by now to know that help will not come from Washington. Whether it's the Republicans' Social Security plan (which plans to worsen rather than improve Social Security solvency), their capitulation to credit card companies and other special interests in the new bankruptcy law, or their refusal to raise the minimum wage - they protect the interests of their wealthy friends and contributors while denying working Americans the opportunities and the dignity they deserve.

That's why we must take this battle directly to state legislatures - the grassroots of our nation's government - by working to elect more Democratic candidates! And that's why we have to succeed. Decent working people everywhere depend on us.

There's so much we can do at the state level. We can raise the minimum wage for millions of hard working Americans who've seen their buying power dwindle as the pay of corporate executives - whose companies depend on those workers -- goes up and up and up. We can begin to address the fact that 45 million Americans still don't have health insurance which means that some Americans cannot take their children to the doctor even though we live in the wealthiest nation in the world. We can create real education reform that helps our children compete for 21st century jobs because our economy and our country depend on it. And, by increasing our presence and our power at the state level, we can take the first steps toward getting our party back on top.

Thus far, John's fundraising events have been very successful, and we can feel the momentum building - but we need your help if we want to take it further. As Democrats, it's our responsibility to make our candidates viable; we should never have to watch promising Democrats lose because they didn't have the money they needed. John has worked with these candidates, and they have pledged to fight for all working Americans - so now it's our turn to fight for them. Support John as he travels the country raising money for their campaigns.

Thanks to your help, John has already raised over $1 million for our candidates - enough to make a real impact in several state campaigns. And we know John will keep on fighting as long as he is able, as long as you are right there with him.

It would mean so much to both of us if we can count on your help.

This is a battle for the values we hold most dear - the dignity of hard working Americans, the power of grassroots initiatives, the resurgence of the Democratic Party, the dream of One America - and it means so much to both us to know that we have your support.

Thank you for all you've done, and all that you continue to do.
- Elizabeth