Dear Friends,

Our campaign succeeded, despite the fact that we did not receive the most votes in the 2004 U.S. Representative for the 4th Congressional District of Indiana election.

• We won, because we confronted the issues that face the 4th District and America.

• We won, because we strove to bring accountability to the 4th District.

• We won, because we had a movement that involved door-to-door campaigning in every county in the district.

• We won, because we discussed how to restore credibility to America on international affairs.

• We won, because we asked questions.

• We won, because we advocated minority rights in a district where racial minorities are underrepresented.

• We won, because we discussed the real issues such as access to affordable health care, worker safety, the federal deficit, and civil rights.

• We won, because we defended an informed approach to issues such as the environment, global warming, health care advances, and defense against weapons of mass destruction against fear mongering, obscurantism, and the abuse of science.

• We won, because we were willing to put our positions before the public in every available forum without fear.

• We won, because the young and the old, the student and the worker, the professional and the retiree, and the traditional family member, the untraditional family member, and the unattached were energized by the campaign.

• We won, because we ran a principled campaign.

• We won, because we did not try to buy the election with corporate PAC money.

• We won, because we showed the people of the 4th District that there was a Congressional candidate who truly cared about them and their concerns.

• We won, because we endeavored to work together with other candidates as a team.

• Finally, we won, because we had the participation of the most wonderful group of volunteers a political campaign could have.

The results of the 2004 election provide an opportunity for political renovation. While I have no immediate plans for my own future in electoral politics, I would like to welcome you all to a new group called Progressive Indiana. If you are willing to work together with me, we can again influence the direction of the Fourth District and the Democratic Party Indiana. For more information about this group, please watch for a follow-up email shortly. I will have ideas that I wish to share with you from time to time.

What is essential is that we stay together to try to promote the changes we wish to see and to protect the rights that we cherish.

Cheers,
David Sanders