TOMORROW COULD BRING A NEW DAWN FOR OUR COUNTRY

Tomorrow-- Tuesday-- is the big day in Ohio, and a big day for America. Paul Hackett has a chance to derail the fascist steamroller that dominates the U.S. government through the extreme right's control of the Republican Party and the Republican Party's control of the White House, both houses of congress and the Supreme Court. But how can one contest in an obscure southwest Ohio deep red district impact the whole Bush agenda? Let me tell you.

This is a pretty black and white contest. The Republicans have fielded a clone-like hack, an extreme right-winger whose whole platform can be summed up as "I support the President. Period." When Bush appointed the former congressman from the district to a plum job where he can serve their corporate contributors' interests at the expense of working men and women, they figured that's all they needed. They didn't count on the fury the Republican Party in Ohio has generated by the blatant looting of the State Workmen's Compensation Fund and the ensuing well-coordinated cover-up by Governor Taft and Secretary of State Blackwell. Nor did they count on the mounting unease even in a district like this with Bush's unjust war against Iraq and with his incompetence in prosecuting it. Nor did they count on the growing anger everywhere in America at the arrogance of power becoming more and more blatant and symbolized by Karl Rove's treason and the unquenchable corruption and greed by GOP congressional leaders like DeLay, Pombo, Ney, Cunningham, Lewis, Hastings, Taylor, and dozens of others. And most of all they didn't count on the Democrats nominating Paul Hackett, a marine colonel just back from Iraq; just back from Falujah! Hackett is a straight-talking All-American heroic type with the kinds of values all real Americans believe in and admire. No one in the district remembers when a Democrat got over 30% of the vote in the 2nd. Tonight polls show Hackett at around 50%.

If the Far Right loses this one, fearful Republican congressmen will run from Bush as fast and as far as they can. The mainstream media will finally start to think twice about giving Bush and his catastrophic regime a pass on all their violations of laws and of the Constitution itself. It will signal the beginning of the end for the lamest lame duck. And it will augur well for progressives eager to take on the Far Right in the 2006 midterm elections. The Democrats' right-leaning DLC has no stake in this fight. Progressives are on their own, progressives and the new DNC chairman, Howard Dean.

While the Republicans play defense on the ground-- and spend hundreds of thousands of last minute RNC and big corporate donations on TV spots and a sneaky, vicious telephone "whispering" campaign trying to "swift boat" Paul Hackett-- progressive activists have collected an unbelievable number of small contributions from freedom-loving Americans to keep Hackett competitive with the Right-wingers. Their candidate's lies-- like denying that she ever knew or even HEARD OF!!! Tom Noe (a party chairman and Ohio kingmaker who stole millions from state funds on behalf of GOP politics)-- even though they worked together-- contrast with Hackett's positive, inspiring message.

Today the People For the American Way Voter’s alliance endorsed Hackett and they sent an alert to 13,000 people in surrounding areas asking for volunteers. They have about several hundred registered voters in Ohio's Second Congressional District who will be called or e-mailed tonight and asked to vote for Paul tomorrow. In an August special election, every vote counts. And every prayer.