An email I just sent Howard Dean:

Al Gore is changing the debate! As more and more people are exposed to Gore’s message either directly or indirectly, I have noticed in both personal conversations and in the press that more and more people are recognizing the reality of global warming and environmental issues in general are becoming more of a concern to the general public. The protests of global warming nay-sayers are becoming increasingly shrill and impotent and are largely being ignored. Personally, Gore’s comments comparing these protests to previous Tobacco Industries efforts is the most powerful argument - this is a comparison that Americans remember and understand.

If those of us seeking a return to Democracy build on the groundwork that Al Gore has laid, environmental issues can become one of the most important issues in both the 2006 mid-terms and the 2008 elections, if not THE most important issue. According to this Berkeley paper http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~es196/pr... , all of the White Euro-American mainline pastors studied interpreted Genesis 1:28 as instructing Christians to be “stewards of the Earth”, and 40% of White Euro-American Fundamentalist pastors agreed (along with all African-American participants).

It’s obvious that Republicans are using anti-abortion and gay marriage rhetoric to court Fundamentalists, but their efforts have been purposely ineffectual because they don’t want to lose these as campaign issues - and blaming “activist judges“, even though the Supreme Court is stacked with a Conservative majority. Fundamentalists are beginning to realize this and are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the Republican Party. If we can continue to change the debate to environmental issues, we can SPLIT the Fundamentalist vote! We can turn a significant portion of the Republican base to vote Democratic!

Further, as Gore and Tom Brokaw have both stated in interviews on Dave Letterman, there are several major corporations that have already started to move in environmentally friendly directions. If Democrats support legislation and prosecution that severely fines the largest polluters (which could be a large revenue stream to help counter the deficit) and offers incentives to environmentally friendly corporations, think of the potential campaign contributions we could gain from these major corporations who are already acting!

We should also focus on other main issues such as the Iraq Quagmire and Homeland Security - especially since there are increasingly more reports that we are not safer here at home. Also the increasing deficit, Republican corruption, etc. However, by adding the environmental debate and building on Al Gore’s work Democrats can win a landslide in 2006 and 2008!