[Vision2020] An Open Letter to Barack Obama

[Tom Hansen]

>From "The Nation" at:

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080818/open_letter

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Dear Senator Obama, 

We write to congratulate you on the tremendous achievements of your 
campaign for the presidency of the United States. 

Your candidacy has inspired a wave of political enthusiasm like nothing 
seen in this country for decades. In your speeches, you have sketched out 
a vision of a better future--in which the United States sheds its warlike 
stance around the globe and focuses on diplomacy abroad and greater 
equality and freedom for its citizens at home--that has thrilled voters 
across the political spectrum. Hundreds of thousands of young people have 
entered the political process for the first time, African-American voters 
have rallied behind you, and many of those alienated from politics-as-
usual have been re-engaged. 

You stand today at the head of a movement that believes deeply in the 
change you have claimed as the mantle of your campaign. The millions who 
attend your rallies, donate to your campaign and visit your website are a 
powerful testament to this new movement's energy and passion. 

This movement is vital for two reasons: First, it will help assure your 
victory against John McCain in November. The long night of greed and 
military adventurism under the Bush Administration, which a McCain 
administration would continue, cannot be brought to an end a day too soon. 
An enthusiastic corps of volunteers and organizers will ensure that voters 
turn out to close the book on the Bush era on election day. Second, having 
helped bring you the White House, the support of this movement will make 
possible the changes that have been the platform of your campaign. Only a 
grassroots base as broad and as energized as the one that is behind you 
can counteract the forces of money and established power that are a dead 
weight on those seeking real change in American politics. 

We urge you, then, to listen to the voices of the people who can lift you 
to the presidency and beyond. 

Since your historic victory in the primary, there have been troubling 
signs that you are moving away from the core commitments shared by many 
who have supported your campaign, toward a more cautious and centrist 
stance--including, most notably, your vote for the FISA legislation 
granting telecom companies immunity from prosecution for illegal 
wiretapping, which angered and dismayed so many of your supporters. 

We recognize that compromise is necessary in any democracy. We understand 
that the pressures brought to bear on those seeking the highest office are 
intense. But retreating from the stands that have been the signature of 
your campaign will weaken the movement whose vigorous backing you need in 
order to win and then deliver the change you have promised. 

Here are key positions you have embraced that we believe are essential to 
sustaining this movement: 

§ Withdrawal from Iraq on a fixed timetable. 

§ A response to the current economic crisis that reduces the gap between 
the rich and the rest of us through a more progressive financial and 
welfare system; public investment to create jobs and repair the country's 
collapsing infrastructure; fair trade policies; restoration of the freedom 
to organize unions; and meaningful government enforcement of labor laws 
and regulation of industry. 

§ Universal healthcare. 

§ An environmental policy that transforms the economy by shifting billions 
of dollars from the consumption of fossil fuels to alternative energy 
sources, creating millions of green jobs. 

§ An end to the regime of torture, abuse of civil liberties and unchecked 
executive power that has flourished in the Bush era. 

§ A commitment to the rights of women, including the right to choose 
abortion and improved access to abortion and reproductive health services. 

§ A commitment to improving conditions in urban communities and ending 
racial inequality, including disparities in education through reform of 
the No Child Left Behind Act and other measures. 

§ An immigration system that treats humanely those attempting to enter the 
country and provides a path to citizenship for those already here. 

§ Reform of the drug laws that incarcerate hundreds of thousands who need 
help, not jail. 

§ Reform of the political process that reduces the influence of money and 
corporate lobbyists and amplifies the voices of ordinary people. 

These are the changes we can believe in. In other areas--such as the use 
of residual forces and mercenary troops in Iraq, the escalation of the US 
military presence in Afghanistan, the resolution of the Israel-Palestine 
conflict, and the death penalty--your stated positions have consistently 
varied from the positions held by many of us, the "friends on the left" 
you addressed in recent remarks. If you win in November, we will work to 
support your stands when we agree with you and to challenge them when we 
don't. We look forward to an ongoing and constructive dialogue with you 
when you are elected President. 

Stand firm on the principles you have so compellingly articulated, and you 
may succeed in bringing this country the change you've encouraged us to 
believe is possible. 

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college 
students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."

- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)


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