I just finished my second panel at Netroots Nation here in Austin, where I was joined by fellow veterans who are running for office this fall. It's been thrilling to meet with Texas voters, grassroots activists, and online organizers who I haven't seen since last year's exciting convention in Chicago. Last night, General Wesley Clark and DNC Chairman Howard Dean gave great speeches and fired up the troops to take our country back. Soon afterwards, over 1000 people celebrated with us at our Netroots Nation Party a few blocks away - it was a great night!
Like last year, I've met hundreds of activists from across the country who are concerned about the direction our country has taken under George W. Bush and John Cornyn's failed leadership. So I'm not sure what John Cornyn was talking about yesterday when his campaign sent out a fundraising email attacking our community, saying that "Rick Noriega and his far left-wing blogger cronies are out of touch with Texas values."
Like the families of Texas, the people at Netroots Nation who I've met are frustrated that their voices aren't being heard in Washington. They're organizing with fellow activists, making phone calls, and bringing people together in a growing movement to change Texas this fall. If Cornyn has a problem with Americans exercising their right to a democracy, I think it's time for him to go.
The fact that his campaign is attacking the netroots community shows that Cornyn is scared - and he should be. It was the power and strength of the netroots that helped launch my campaign last summer and has attracted national attention to our race. Multiple independent polls have shown Cornyn to be polling at below 50%, a shockingly low number for an incumbent Senator. Cornyn knows that voters feel he is out of touch with our great state's values. He knows that his Senate seat isn't safe this fall. So to distract from the important issues of our day - the war in Iraq, rising gas prices, and a broken health care system - Cornyn is using scare tactics in fundraising messages to attack the netroots community.
We can't let elected officials like Cornyn continue to drive our country into the ditch. I know that, with your help, we can beat the odds and defeat Cornyn in the fall. It's been exciting to meet face to face with people who are working so hard to help us spread our message across Texas. But I also want to take some time to continue this dialogue with those of you who couldn't make it to Austin this week. I hope y'all join me in the comments!
Update [2008-07-18 12:58 CT by Rick Noriega]: Thank you everyone for joining me in this conversation. Let's keep working together to put our country back on track this November. Thanks again!
Rick Noriega
www.ricknoriega.com