Ellen,

First of all - thank you for everything you and your group has already done.  Frankly, the alternative to having a fledgling group like Enlighten the Vote would be having no group at all.  Every movement has to start somewhere, and Wynne and I are both very glad to have you around.

Regarding fundraising - it's difficult!  I devote my career to it and no matter how much work you put into an operation, it takes two elements that are out of our control: time and luck.  Fortune is certainly not on our side.  With the economy still less-than-stellar and liberals feeling down, we too are having difficulty raising money.  That said, it's perseverance that is keeping our head above the water.  The last person to run against Randy Forbes had to fire her campaign staff and went into the red.  Thank goodness we're not there.

We have raised a bit of money from Atheists across the country, but not as much as either of us may prefer.  Any further financial support that Enlighten the Vote can provide is crucial.  If you can mail just one check of $1500 or $2000 in the next two weeks, that would make a huge dent in our budget and it would seriously show Randy Forbes that our community means business when that amount shows up on our public finance reports. 

I've been meaning to give you a general update on the campaign - things have really been heating up, especially on the front of religion.  Within days of each other the two major papers in the district (Richmond Times Dispatch and Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot) ran front-page article on the race.  The Times-Dispatch led with Wynne's lack of religion and then moved on to other topics, while the Pilot ran a 1700-word, weekend edition section entirely on the subject of religion (and the stark contrast between Wynne and Randy).

The "fallout" from this has been truly fascinating to observe and take part in.  First of all - the response was nearly unanimous that both papers did a disservice to voters by playing into the notion that a candidate's religious views are a serious policy issue.  We have not heard a single voice on either side say that those articles were justified.

Secondly - a lot of people have rushed to our defense for a variety of reasons: Christians saying it's not a big deal and that other issues matter more, Atheists commending Wynne for his courage, and both simply rallying behind the separation of Church and State against the theocrat Randy Forbes.

Within our own support base we have had only two instances of "dissent" due to the articles.  One was an 87-year-old African American minister and staunch Democrat in Chesapeake who was quoted in the paper as saying "I could not vote for a man who doesn't believe in some power higher than his".  Wynne phoned and then met with the Reverend.  By the end of the meeting he was totally on our side and said "we have to get this man elected!"

One of our local Democratic committees raised a slight fuss over the issue.  Apparently the group is comprised entirely of regular churchgoers and even some ministers.  We simply explained to them that "atheist" does not mean that Wynne is against religion, just that Wynne himself is not a believer in God, though he fully embraces human morality and ethics.  The committee understood the difference and is volunteering for us as I write this email.

For your reference, here are some of the articles and responses in the paper lately:

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/09/forbes-versus-legrow-god-only-one-trusts (the Hampton Roads article)

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/09/atheism-not-issue?cid=srch (a letter to the editor response)

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/09/pilots-bias-showing?cid=srch (another letter to the editor)

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/10/govern-dont-preach (a final letter from a former Forbes supporter)

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/10/govern-dont-preach (the Richmond article)

Going back to how you can help us.  Don't worry about more fundraising emails for now.  Maybe one at the last minute that would direct people to contribute to us would help.  For now - If you can get the word out to your membership by blast emails and phone calls to sign up for our campaign emails - that would be excellent.  That way we can keep in touch with them directly.  You cannot legally share your list with us, but you can encourage people to go to our main website and click "join our email list" - or you can give them this link directly.:

https://services.myngp.com/ngponlineservices/EmailSignup.aspx?X=Wg/L8xot3UM=

Again, whatever you have on-hand in the PAC account, if you can write us a $1500, $2000, or $2500 check, that would be a huge help (our mailing address is: PO Box 92, Emporia, VA 23847)

Any publicity you can give us across the country by recommending papers, bloggers, or other media to cover this story is a big help.  I for one was not surprised at all that those stories came out in the local papers - the media likes a juicy story, and we're giving them one!

The fact is that this district is not overwhelmingly Republican.  If it were, Obama would not have won here in 2008, which he did.  It is very Christian, yes, but as I explained - we've gotten far more positive responses than negative ones (I'm sure there are plenty of people upset by Wynne's lack of faith, but they were likely going to vote for Forbes anyways).  I believe that this, along with atheists running for local office, is a great start.

Thank you for your continued support.  I know you're putting a great deal of effort into this Ellen and I don't want to take it for granted.

-Antonio

PS - attached is a picture from our recent fundraiser.




--
Antonio M. Elias
Campaign Manager
LeGrow for Congress
www.legrowforuscongress.com
o.: 434.348.1077
c.: 571.274.9840