LIADA Newsletter November 2003

CO-PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

At the end of June, 2003 I attended my first national ADA convention. Obviously, one of the hot topics of discussion was the result of the 2002 presidential and local elections. It has become clear that the number of Democrats and Republican Party members is balanced. Thus it becomes more important to sharply define ADA’s policies so that we support those candidates whose positions reflect ours.

However, at the current time, most of the presidential Democrat party candidates have focused on only one issue, Iraq. And most of those candidates voted for the war in Congress to "show other nations" that there was solid support for the President when he asked the UN for a resolution of war against Iraq.

The war in Iraq is not the issue that concerns most Americans at this time. The issue is economics. However, those two issues are intertwined and the importance of that must be a focus of LIADA, especial in local elections.

Reassessment of property values in Nassau County has apparently not helped balance the county’s budget. The economic situation in Suffolk County is also bad. Anti Democratic Party commercials, focusing on the economic situation are already airing on television. Democratic party candidates need our support.

I urge all of our members to contact their local candidates’ campaign headquarter to volunteer time to ring doorbells, make telephone calls and\or hand out literature at train stations and shopping centers.

Workshops are the heart of the national convention. I attended several workshops and discussion groups concerning economic issues. One of the most difficult issues was whether we must have deficit spending at this time because of the war in Iraq. Although most of the speakers believed that balancing the federal budget is necessary, one speak harkened back to the time of FDR and recommended that right now the best economic and fiscal policies include deficit spending.

Fair wages for the working class and tax cuts for the middle class were the general theme of most speakers.

The most important message of the national convention and our own LIADA is to get and help the local candidates of your choice.

Judith H.  Maxwell,
Co-President LIADA