Election Watch 2006
“Politics ought to be the part-time profession of every citizen who would protect the rights and privileges of free people and who would preserve what is good and fruitful in our national heritage.”
-- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1954
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Election Watch 2006, CUNA’s newly revamped email newsletter on the 2006 elections. Modeled after email updates CUNA’s Political Affairs Department put together in the closing weeks of the 2004 elections, our aim is to provide credit union leaders, professionals and volunteers with a useful resource on the political scene leading up to this November’s midterm elections.
In each issue, we will offer a mixture of insightful analysis on key races, hot-button issues, and political developments, as well as some useful information on how credit unions and their members can get involved in politics. You can start today by checking out our companion website, www.cuna.org/2006Elections, where you’ll find all the tools you’ll need to start a political activism program at your credit union, including:
- Sample Get Out the Vote (GOTV) posters to download and statement stuffers available for ordering;
- A comprehensive calendar of primary and general election dates by state, complete with registration and early vote deadlines;
- A link to our http://creditunions.helpingamericansvote.org website where you can register to vote or request an early ballot in your state, and;
- A list of links to helpful political resources online as well as some fun political trivia websites.
We also plan to highlight those credit union people who are going the extra mile in getting politically involved. Each issue will include a “CU Political Involvement Spotlight” featuring individuals or credit unions that understand one way to live out the credo of “People Helping People” is to get involved in democracy. This issue features Dallas Bergl, CEO of Bayer FCU in Elkhart, Indiana.
Above all, we want Election Watch 2006 to be about you, the reader, and as interactive as possible. So forward this issue to others, and encourage them to sign up for a free email subscription at www.cuna.org/2006Elections. Nominate someone you know for the CU Political Involvement Spotlight. Participate in each issue’s QuickPulse Poll – the results will be posted online, and this edition will actually help us design the topics of future issues.
Last but certainly not least, get involved in the democratic process, both personally and through your credit union. The future of both the credit union movement and our democratic system of government depends on it!
