Win the War ... We Can!

Win The War -- We Can!
by Josh Levy, Charlottesville

Welcome to the campaign! www.win-the-war.com

Think of this grassroots effort as a franchise--AND YOU WON YOUR FRANCHISE. I can help each of you figure out the best way to build your own local "Win the War" campaign. It is through your own initiative that the campaign will advance -- the contacts you make with local party leaders and with pro-war groups, the radio programs you appear on, the newspaper columns you write, the letters and emails you send, and so on.

I will act as coordinator and facilitator so you can succeed. The website will serve as a clearing house of ideas and accomplishments. But it is your own actions that will lead us to success.

Remember that this is an independent group. Most of us at this point may tilt in one political direction, but our only goal is to regain strong majority support for victory in Iraq and against terrorism. This means we must reach out to the moderates and liberals who once supported the war. We seek consensus on winning the war, even though we may differ about the best methods of fighting it. Speak forcefully, but broadly and generously.

There are two projects to jump on immediately.

1) Notify your family and friends of the Win the War Campaign. Tell them to sign up at www.win-the-war.com and to spread the word to their own family and friends, and to repeat the effort. This is crucial to our expansion.

2) Go to the front page of www.win-the-war.com where a strong email can be copied, edited (if you choose), and sent to congressmen and local newspaper editors. I have included links. Ask your family and friends to join you in sending out these emails. You can multiply your influence by five or ten very quickly.

Some of you have agreed to be Captains. Please consider two projects: writing an op-ed, and visiting congressmen at their home offices once the session ends August 4th. August will be a crucial time to put pressure on congressmen. As soon as they return in September, you can bet they won't even wait for Gen. Petraeus to show up before they debate the war. Your visit will be most effective if you show up with a group of folks and if you invite the local media. If the media doesn't join you, write an article or op-ed about the visit for publication.

My hope is that we will replicate the success of MoveOn.org while remaining a collection of individually-led, local networks.

This is the first email. Our numbers are few right now, but they are increasing steadily every day. The website is sparse but it will improve fast (I just created it yesterday). We have hit the ground running. We must do all we can as August and September approach. Together we can stiffen the spines of our leaders!

You will hear from me once or twice a week minimum. Contact me any time. Thank you for joining.

Josh