http://www.democrats.com/view2.cfm?id=5434

04-Jan-02

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle isn't afraid of the Republican attack machine and we shouldn't be either! Daschle gave a major speech today setting out a sensible agenda for economic recovery. [Read the full speech or our summary.] He asked Bush and the GOP to focus stimulus where it is needed – consumer spending, job growth and measures to improve health and retirement security. He had hardly finished talking before Bush mouthpiece Karen Hughes torched the olive branch Daschle offered, demanding instead that the Democrats capitulate to the Administration's archconservative economic agenda of tax breaks for the wealthy. In December the Democrats successfully blocked the Bush Administration's cynical ploy to reward their friends with money from the public treasury, an "economic stimulus package" that would have no effect on the economy. Take action - send a letter to the media that Daschle speaks for millions of Americans, including you!

Democrats.com Activist Alert!

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle isn't afraid of the Republican attack machine and you shouldn't be either! Daschle gave a major address today in which he set out a sensible and moderate agenda for economic recovery. [You should either read the speech or, if you are in a hurry, we've put up a summary for you.] He asked Bush and his party to join him in an approach that would focus stimulus where it is needed – consumer spending, job growth and measures to improve health and retirement security. He had hardly finished talking before Bush mouthpiece Karen Hughes appeared before the cameras to torch the olive branch the Democratic Majority Leader has offered, demanding instead that the Democrats capitulate to the Administration's archconservative economic agenda of tax breaks for the wealthy.

You may not have heard this on TV, but in December the Democrats successfully killed the Bush Administration's cynical ploy to reward their friends with money from the public treasury via an "economic stimulus package" that would have had little if any effect on the economy. Now the time has come for Democrats to offer an alternative and for us to show the news media that Daschle speaks for millions of Americans -- including you!

We have to be prepared for the onslaught of conservative commentators trashing Daschle for daring to make the obvious observation that the Bush Administration's economic medicine – huge and irresponsible tax cuts at the expense of all other forms of economic intervention – have accelerated the budget deficits and made the recession far worse than it needs to be.

Democrats.com urges everyone to write a letter to the editor of your local paper in support of Senator Daschle's plan. Here is a draft of a letter you can use to help you get started with your own letter:

To the Editor,

Finally, a sensible approach to getting the nation's economy moving again! Democratic Senator Tom Daschle seems to be one of the very few politicians in Washington to have learned from experience how to steer the nation out of a recession. In the early 1980s we followed the Republican approach – massive, irresponsible tax cuts along with a huge increase in spending that created a decade of budget deficits. In the early 1990s, however, the Democrats put in place a sound approach to economic recovery – investments in job training, education, and new approaches to health care and retirement security. The result was record budget surpluses and the longest peacetime prosperity we've ever known.

Which approach do we need now? Daschle's plan to encourage job creation and the investment in new technologies to improve productivity, along with his moderate approach to strengthening health and retirement security, strike me as obviously superior to the tired old Republican methods that have failed in the past. Raiding the public treasury to give tax cuts to profitable corporations does absolutely nothing to support consumer spending, which is the foundation upon which our prosperity has been built.

I urge Daschle and the Democrats to stand firm for reasonable approach to economic recovery – no matter how much Bush and his party whine about having to compromise.

Sincerely,

[you!]

If you get your letter published in your local newspaper be sure to send us a copy to itsnotover@democrats.com!

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