JOIN THE MASS VICTORY '06 CAMPAIGN TEAM TODAY IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!

http://www.massvictory06.org/

Until now, our Party geared up only a few months before an election and then dismantled operations immediately after the polls closed. Consequently, it’s been 20 years since we last elected a Democratic Governor. It's simple: if Democrats are going to take back the Governor’s seat in Massachusetts, we can't just show up for the last quarter of the match and expect to win.

The Massachusetts Democratic Party has been hard at work this summer on the 2156 Strategy—the plan to have a local Democrat like you working the campaign in your neighborhood and in each of the 2156 precincts across Massachusetts. We’re moving fast to build a permanent infrastructure across our state.

By getting involved in the Victory '06 Campaign--the largest Democratic grassroots campaign ever in Massachusetts and the first truly grassroots campaign since Michael Dukakis won the Corner Office three times in the 70’s and 80’s--you will:

Make your voice heard! As you meet people in your precinct, you’ll talk to them about their concerns and beliefs. This not only starts an on-going relationship, but also the Mass Victory ’06 Campaign tracks this information to help with messaging and to tailor our campaign to individual voters.

Make a difference! Every new vote you lock up for Democrats is another step toward a better future for all of us in Massachusetts and across the country!

Make friends and have fun! You’ll meet a lot of people and whether they’re voters or active in the campaign with you, you’ll build relationships with others in your neighborhood that will last a lifetime.

All politics is local. Nothing is more important to a successful campaign than voter-to-voter contact and no person is more persuasive with voters than neighbors like you! You know your neighborhood better than anyone because you live there and voters will value your opinion more when they find out you live nearby. You, your neighbors, and others like you throughout Massachusetts will win this important election by building the real relationships with voters that are needed to persuade them, get them involved, and turn out their vote on Election Day.

The 50 State Strategy
DNC Chairman Howard Dean is committed to having a a local leader working in every precinct across the country, and Mass Democratic Party Chairman Phil Johnston has set an ambitious Massachusetts timeline for this goal: We will have a local captain in every precinct by the end of this year. You'll build relationships with voters and volunteers in your area and lead a local team to identify supporters, persuade swing voters, and get out the vote—resulting in tens of thousands of volunteers state-wide on Election Day and before!

That's why we need you. In the last governor's race we came within 50 votes per precinct, so the need to identify, persuade, and turn out every last voter in your precinct on Election Day is critical.

The Massachusetts Democratic Party will provide trainings, materials and guidance, but we need you to help make this campaign a success! Join the Victory '06 Campaign by signing up as a:

Precinct Captain The key to victory! You’ll build relationships with voters and activate volunteers there. You’ll do voter-registration, persuasion, Get-Out-The-Vote, and other projects within the Mass Victory '06 Campaign.

Block Captain You’ll help the precinct captain build relationships with voters on your block or in your neighborhood. You'll be trained to help the precinct do voter-registration, persuasion, GOTV, and other projects within the Victory '06 Campaign.

Action Squad Member You cannot participate as a Precinct Captain or Block Captain, but will help out when you can for various Victory '06 activities.
This is very important for our Party and for Massachusetts. Make sure that after Election Day you can look back on the campaign with no regrets, great memories and a sense of accomplishment. Make sure that you can say that you put in the hard work needed to win back the Corner Office! We look forward to your help with this historic effort!

Join the Mass Victory ’06 Campaign now by visiting www.MassVictory06.org and clicking the link to sign up!

Thanks for all you have done and will do!

Fourth Annual Young Professionals Event

Fellow Democrats,
I wanted to bring your attention to the Party's fourth annual Young Professionals event to be held on Thursday, September 8th. The event will be held at the Bell in Hand, 45 Union St. between 6 and 8 PM. It is a great opportunity to meet and socialize with other young Democrats. The cost of the event is $50. if you would like more information please email me at David.Howard@massdems.org and I hope to see you there!

More on potential candidates

So now we have Kerry Healey hiring a battery of Washington consultants -- gearing up in advance of Romney's autumn announcement. No surprise there. I guess the only question for the GOP is whether Charlie Baker has enough time to raise money and get a campaign off the ground. It will be very tough against the $46 million candidate. And we all know how much the Republicans detest a primary.

Regarding Congressman Capuano, I believe he has said on many different occasions that he is not going to run for governor. He has done nothing to indicate otherwise and seems to be very busy talking about national issues -- much like our current governor! I thyink he'd make a terrific candidate, but I think he's going to sit this one out.

Just curious about potential Lt. Gov. candidates -- I'm thinking someone like Sen. Scott Brown -- so he and Kerry Healey can be another 'Barbie and Ken' duo much like Mitt and Muffy Healey.

On-going on Republican candidates

Interesting thoughts on who might run for governor on the Republican side. I tend to agree with everyone that Mitt is out the door -- but not before his term is up. We have him caught too many times in print saying he would never be one of the governors (Republican) who leave mid-stream. Kerry Healey is determined to run for the top job, we know, and her access to Mitt-type of the money is a compelling argument for the Republican Party to support her. But . . . is she their strongest candidate? They must surely be polling now to see who their best candidate would be -- and I wouldn't be shocked to see Kerry Healey near the bottom of the pile. Remember, she's the state house insider now. Charlie Baker is an unknown and I'm not sure how the electorate would view a chief executive of an HMO -- not sure that's the most popular choice they could make. Can a selectman from Swampscott make the leap to governor? A long shot at best. Andy Card -- now that would be interesting, but once again, the Republicans would be forced to import a guy who hasn't really been involved in this state for many years --all because they won't take a chance on a woman. What about renegade Christy Mihos, the man who blew the whistle on the Big Dig? He's got lots of money, he attractive and he's a moderate.

Republicans Versus Romney

I thought Saturday's Globe story on the "Republican Wing of the Republican Party" was hilarious. It detailed the Massachusetts conservative group's "strained relations with Governor Mitt Romney," saying the governor "is too opportunistic to be trusted." It looks like the Governor can't catch a break from his own Party.

By the way, who thinks Mitt is going to take another run at governor? If not, who do you think will be running on the Republican side in '06? Share your thoughts.

Jane Lane

Globe reports on you!

Congratulations to all of our precinct captains and volunteers across Massachusetts--people are really starting to notice you! Below is an article that appeared in this weekend's Globe talking about our unprecedented, ambitious campaign to elect Democrats in '06 that is already in full swing now! To join the campaign, please visit http://www.massdems.org/involved/vol06.cfm

The following appeared in the Boston Globe and on Boston.com:
Headline: Romney's clout in the Legislature dissolving quickly
Date: July 30, 2005

"Democrats, preparing for the 2006 race for governor, plan to finalize a contract with an opposition research company in the coming days, according to Johnston, who would not name the company. In addition, state Democrats hope to receive about $200,000 from the Democratic National Committee in coming months to fund field-organizing efforts, part of a plan to establish a presence in each of the state's 2,156 voting precincts for the first time since the 1982 election of Governor Michael S. Dukakis .
Johnston said the Democrats also intend to assemble ''truth squads" composed of Democratic lawmakers, women's groups, and abortion rights organizations to shadow Romney on his out-of-state forays, especially focusing on his abortion views, Johnston said."