After a little more than 30 years in the political trenches...

[WCGreen]

Working for political change... And having been rebuked for more than I care to admit, I make this pledge today...

If the Dem's don't win the House and come close or win the Senate, I will retire from politics and just get on with my life...

I have no children, no real personal stake in the future and I am tired of fighting the so-called good fight...

Even back in the sixties and seventies when the wind of change blew hard, there was still a sense of optimism about that good would ultimately prevail...

Even after MLK was assassinated, the ringing words of we shall overcome resonated far after the man was laid to rest...

But since 1980, the vicious and naked power grab orchestrated by the corporate interests and implemented by their willing political wing, the GOP, had left this country a shell of it's former self...

I don't know if I can hang on for two more years... Hang on to fight another day...

I am tired, tapped out and growing more cynical with each passing day...

I still have hope that good will prevail... That one day government will once again be for the people and by the people... But that "Camelot" moment may not come in my lifetime...

I am no longer the boy charged by Arthur to run and tell the world of a place that was once called Camelot...

Today, on my 49th birthday, I pray for a democratic victory... Not for me, but for my country...

[bluestateguy]

1. You at least have to quietly vote on election day

If you want to retire from being an activist and an organizer, that's understandable, but we still need your vote on election day each year.

[WCGreen]

5. I already voted....

[Karenina]

25. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WCGreen!!!

:hug::party::hug:

[Breeze54]

2. I've been at this since 1972....

and I will continue to fight! It's for 'the common good'.

But we're killing them at the polls! ;)

Look here!

Election 2006 Latest Polls

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/latestpolls/

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[WCGreen]

4. I am disabled, have less than a third of my lung capacity left...

That is why I am retiring...

[Breeze54]

8. Sorry to hear that but you can still vote absentee!

We'll be doing the work and there are many young people joining the ranks!
You've been and are a great role model and I thank you for all your hard work! :yourock: :patriot:
:toast: :loveya: :grouphug:

[WCGreen]

11. I already did....

Thanks...

I'll still write and that but as for working campaigns, not so much any more..

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. This is so beautifully put.......

And I know full well how serious you are.......

You are more than entitled to make this promise.......

You have given much of your life working to effect the changes that we need to have better government!

I echo your birthday pledge!

K&R

[WCGreen]

6. Thank you Peggy....

[NMDemDist2]

7. GadZooks! it's Great Peggy's Ghost!!!

that grey ghost looks very good on you Peg!!

:yourock:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. Thanks..........I appreciate it! N/T

[morningglory]

9. Thank you for everything. I hope and pray it pays off this time. Oh, pleas

Oh, please. I am about to go insane.

[gully]

12. Well, I hope we win and I do hope you change your mind

for the sake of humanity/the planet.

Peace

[indepat]

13. Don't give up too soon for you are just entering the prime of life and,

even though Gore Vidal has indicated it will take two generations to repair the damage of the last six years, plan to be here for the celebration should Gore's two-generation estimate prove accurate.
:hi:

[cassiepriam]

14. Time to take a well earned break.

And I agree, the fate of this country belongs in
the hands of all Americans. Activists cannot do it all.

Time for others to step up to the plate and do their
part.

Thank you for all the good work you have done. Sit back and relax for a while!

[FogerRox]

15. WcGreen....

Born (1929) and raised in Detroit, Rep. Conyers was educated in city's public school system. After serving in the National Guard and the United States Army Corps of Engineers in the Korean War, he returned to Michigan where the earned both his Bachelor of Arts (1957) and Juris Doctor (1958) degrees at Wayne State University.

John Conyers was first elected to the House in 1964...



John Conyers was there with Martin...




Congressman Conyers was also a member of the Judiciary Committee in its 1974 hearings on the Watergate impeachment scandal and played a prominent role in the recent impeachment process, giving him the distinction as the only Judiciary Committee Member to have served on both panels.


Congressman Conyers is also one of the 13 founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and is considered the Dean of that group. The CBC was formed in 1969.

For more than three decades, Congressman Conyers has led efforts in Congress to reform the health care system. He is the founder and chairman of the Congressional Universal Health Care Task Force.

Civil rights icon Rosa Parks served on Conyers' staff between 1965 and 1988. Rosa, by the way Rosa fought the good fight untill the day she died. John Conyers son & Rosa Parks...



He appeared in Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 discussing the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, stating that members of Congress "don't read most of the bills".

Conyers frequently posts at Daily Kos and Democratic Underground. Since May 2005, he's been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post and his own blog.

On May 5, 2005, Conyers and 88 other members of Congress wrote an open letter to the White House inquiring about the Downing street memo, a leaked memorandum that revealed an apparent secret agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom to attack Iraq in 2002.

In May, 2005, Conyers released What Went Wrong In Ohio: The Conyers Report On The 2004 Presidential Election, which discusses the voting irregularities in the state of Ohio during the 2004 Presidential Election.

From Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Conyers

& http://www.house.gov/conyers/news_biography.htm

For well over 50 years John Conyers has unflinching fought the good fight. After more than 50 years John Conyers is going strong & shows no signs of quitting, no sign of being tired.

How could I, at 48 even consider being tired?

[WCGreen]

16. My main problem is my health....

I have a dehabilitating lung disease that restricts what I can do...

I was full time with a candidate for Ohio Supreme Court this year and it really took a toll on me...

I will still write and give what ever money I can, but to be activily involved really wouldn't be fair to the campaigns as I can not really tell from day to day what I will be able to do...

[FogerRox]

17. I see, you are still fighting then. Give 'em hell ..

[OneBlueSky]

18. I think I'll be joining you, my friend . . .

I turned 60 this year . . . I was there when we marched for civil rights, I was there when we marched against the Vietnam War, I was there on staff of one of the most liberal Members of Congress (one of two to vote against a flag burning bill in 1965), I was there helping Pete Seeger launch the Clearwater project, and I've been there year after year after year, in campaigns and in the voting booth (lot of good THAT did) . . .

but if they steal another one, I will place the blame squarely where it belongs -- on the Democratic Party, for not fighting voter fraud tooth-and-nail for the past six years . . . and I will gracefully retire to my woodshop and, on days I can still bend over, my garden . . . hell, I may do that even if the Dems DO win . . .

I'm tired . . . I'm frustrated . . . I'm disgusted . . . I too have serious health issues and no family . . . much as I love this country and want to see it return to at least the appearance of a democracy, I just don't have much left to contribute . . . taking care of myself and enjoying life are fast becoming my priorities, and political action will have to be left to the younger generations . . . this will probably be my last campaign . . .

we seniors did our part, and it's time we focus on taking care of ourselves . . . to quote old friend Pete Seeger:

And when these fingers
Can strum no longer,
Pass your guitar
To young ones stronger.

[WCGreen]

21. I hear ya loud and clear....

[SoCalDemGrrl]

19. So you're conceding -you've let the bastards have their way -well I say

HELL NO!! I'll fight the GOP and the coporate interests

until the day I die. NEVER SAY NEVER!!! For the sake

of our country, we cannot be defeatists no matter what.

[OzarkDem]

24. We're not conceding

but our party has been, as well as most of the voters who thought it was no longer "cool" to vote for Democrats because they were duped by the news media and right wing talking heads. These are the same people who were duped on health insurance reform who now have no health insurance or jobs with frozen wages and rising premiums.

Americans have been conceding for a long time and at some point, if they don't get it, you have to let failure keep teaching them.

[SoCalDemGrrl]

20. Just read your comment about health & can understand you not

being as active, but we Dems have got to keep fighting the good fight however we can.

I guess I jumped the gun on your original post, but I have been seeing and hearing so many

Dems who are ready to throw in the towel if things don't go well this election and

it's downright depressing.

[tomreedtoon]

22. I feel the same sense of desperation.

But my reason is different. It's not that there's evil in the world, currently represented by Republicans. There'll always be evil out there. Anyone seeking to "purify" the world, once and for all, is a child and a fool. What seemed like a silly comic book phrase to some, "a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American Way" is actually a reality in life.

For me, the problem is that there are no national figures who believe the same way. I'm not looking for saints, just candidates with some beliefs and a willingness to fight for them. And they're not there.

I look at the Big Three Democratic Presidential candidates. None of them are fit to shine John Kennedy's shoes or stock his freezer with ice cream. The "unknown" ones like Clark, Kucinich and even Dean are better, but the public doesn't know them and they're not anxious to be known. (Given what happened to similar politicians who flew private planes, I can understand their reluctance.)

I'll fight for the good cause, I'll vote Democratic, and if I see a candidate who truly has a pair of testicles OR ovaries, I'll lend support. But yes, I understand your weariness.

[OzarkDem]

23. I agree

Voters (even Dem ones) are just now beginning to awaken. For many, it took 3 stolen elections (including the last midterm) to finally wake up. Now that voters have gotten the message, too many of our Dem leaders still don't understand the situation we're in and are far too timid to fight the way they need to.

My life will be ok if we lose this election. My family can survive ok. I've spent too many years working for change and putting my own family and myself second to keep wasting time on this. Each year that Dems lose I become a little less involved and this year may be my last.

[Kukesa]

26. Happy Belated Birthday.

And peace to you, my friend.