Good news and bad news for you

I have some good news. And I have some bad news.

The good news is that I was just appointed to the House Science and Technology Committee as well as the Veterans' Affairs Committee -- in addition to my previous appointment to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

As a new member of these important bodies in Congress, I am thrilled to be sinking my teeth into some of the most important issues facing our nation and our district. In these committees, I will be able to research renewable and new energy technology initiatives, explore the impact of our climate crisis, and make sure our veterans are treated with dignity and respect on their return home from serving our country. As you can see, I am taking advantage of every opportunity I can to represent you -- and the issues I ran on -- in Congress.

The bad news?

On January 4, the same day that I was sworn in to our historic new Congress, negative attack mailers from the National Republican Congressional Committee targeting me appeared in the mail boxes of voters across the 11th Congressional District.

Hard to believe?

Here's the mailer, front and back:

You can click on the images to see these mailers up close.

In a Letter to the Editor published in the Contra Costa Times, one voter wrote of the NRCC mailer that arrived in his Pleasanton mail box:

"They sure are not going to recapture the seat they lost by mailing this kind of garbage to constituents. I am not a partisan voter, but keep sending me this kind of junk, and the effect will likely be that I will vote for McNerney again when he is up for re-election."

The voter was repulsed both by the content -- which is baseless and ridiculous -- and the timing of the NRCC's attack. The NRCC claims that they are not responsible for the timing and have shifted blame to the United States Post Office.

I'm not sure who is at fault but I do know this: after I defeated one of the most prominent and entrenched House incumbents in America, Republicans in the bowels of Washington are already targeting me for defeat. This mailer is a sobering reminder that they are cranking up their smear machine to take this seat back. They don't even need a candidate to do it. 

As you know, I am not interested in the politics of personal destruction. I am interested in the politics of people power.

And, if we are going to realize that power, I need your help now.

Being elected to Congress and appointed to these important House committees is an incredible accomplishment for all of us. But, if we are going to realize our vision for this district and our country, it's going to take more than two years.

You are going to need to make a long-term commitment to America's future. Today.

You can make a long-term commitment now by making a single contribution or a recurring monthly contribution to my campaign for change. Just click here:

http://www.jerrymcnerney.org/commitment

Support me now so that we, together, can help our nation kick its addiction to oil and turn our district into the "Silicon Valley of renewable energy."

Support me now so that we, together, can push our elected leaders to realize the enormity of the climate crisis and what it will take for our country to change course and change the world.

Support me now so that we, together, can bring a responsible end to the tragic war in Iraq and take good care of our troops when they return home.

Please make a long-term commitment by making a single or recurring monthly contribution in whatever amount you can afford. Just click here:

http://www.jerrymcnerney.org/commitment

Will our victory in November be a footnote in American history? Or the beginning of a new era in the history of the world?

It's up to you.

No matter what you decide to do, please know that I am eternally grateful for the opportunity you have given me to serve you in the People's House and I will do everything I can to make you proud.

P.S. You made my service in Congress possible. Now it's up to you to make sure that the promise of people-powered politics transcends the politics of personal destruction. Please make a long-term commitment today:

http://www.jerrymcnerney.org/commitment

Comments

[Richard Linville]

Thanks for the good news; I got the bad news in my mailbox. Until you do something to end the outrage in Iraq and cut the ridiculously bloated War Department budget' hopefully by 90% there won’t be money for anything else.

[Mark Skinner]

At least they used a good photo of you in the mailer. Actually it's a great photo of you!

I want to thank you for taking on 'the war on global warming'. We need people in congress who can see past their own generation. Tomorrow is a very important day in our history and I'm so excitied my voice is being heard in government thru you. You have my fulliest support in '08 and it will take more than smear ads for you to lose support in the valley.

Fight the Good Fight!

Mark in Stockton

[Dr. Mark Borowsky]

11/10/06

Dear Jerry,

Now that the election is over, and that you have achieved what appeared to be the impossible, or at least the highly improbable, you and your team are to be congratulated on a tremendous campaign effort, the end result of which has gone a very long way towards restoring public faith in a governmental system, from which in the past six years, we have felt increasingly alienated and marginalized.

The victories of you and your fellow newly elected members of Congress have already had a tangible, positive effect on this administration, which you should not be shy about accepting partial credit for:

The pending elevation of Nancy Pelosi to the position of Speaker of the House.

Democratic control of both Senate and House committees, with the associated control of the powers of subpoena, and of course, impeachment. It is no coincidence that the president appears to have had the fear of God put into him, and all traces of his Texas swagger seem to have disappeared, along with the “political capital” that he claims to have earned after 2004.

The integrity of the Supreme Court appears to have been given a reprieve for the next 2 years.

The long overdue resignation of Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense.

The resignation of Ken Mehlman.

Putting the final nail into the coffin of the candidacy of John Bolton as Permanent Ambassador to the UN.

Of course, you, your team, supporters, and the electorate, can all claim credit for putting to an end, the eco-terrorism and unfettered corruption practiced during the tenure of Richard Pombo.

I am quite confident that more beneficial effects of the election of you and your Democratic colleagues are on the way. Further, I trust that in politics, just as in surgery/interventional radiology, it is the post operative care that is just as important as the actual operation, if not more so, to the ultimate success of the original procedure. Further, it is often more difficult. Having gotten to know you, I am confidant that you are up to the challenge of the next 2 years.
It was both extremely rewarding, as well as a genuine pleasure, to have contributed, along with so many others, in however small a way, to this wonderful, long overdue outcome, with so much at stake for the future of our country depending on the result.

Sincerely,

Mark

Mark Borowsky, M.D