I am honored to receive the endorsement of the Guyanese-American Workers United. Our support is spreading to many communities throughout our state, as people join our movement to end an illegal and immoral war.

I am reprinting this message below from one the true progressive peace leaders and one of our supporters, Medea Benjamin. It speaks for itself. It shows, unfortunately, how some "progressives," when seduced by access to power, resort to the very Republican tactics we deplore. It's worth reading her entire report.

Peace Activists at Hillary Clinton’s Speech Try to Take Back “Take Back America”
By Medea Benjamin

The Take Back America conference, an annual event held in Washington DC this year from June 12-14, is supposed to be a venue for prominent progressives to gather and debate the major issues of our day. Their aim is to “provide the nation with new vision, new ideas and new energy.” But choosing New York Senator and probable presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as a keynote speaker and then stifling dissent against her pro-war position hardly seems the stuff of a new vision for America.

The peace group CODEPINK is widely known for bringing its anti-war message to the halls of power, including inside the Republican National Convention and at President Bush’s Inauguration. But it has also targeted Democrats such as Hillary Clinton who support the war. “We have a campaign called Birddog Hillary,” says CODEPINK’s New York coordinator Nancy Kricorian. “We follow her around the entire state asking her to listen to the voices of her constituents and stop her support of Bush’s ‘stay the course’ policy in Iraq. So far, she hasn’t been listening.”

Fearing that CODEPINK would openly confront Clinton on her pro-war policy, the organizers of Take Back America entered into negotiations with CODEPINK a few days before the conference. “We had lengthy discussions where they pleaded with us not to protest during her keynote breakfast address,” explained Gael Murphy, one of the cofounders of CODEPINK. “Instead, we were told that we could distribute flyers explaining Hillary’s pro-war position to the crowd inside and outside the hotel, and we would be called on to ask her the first question after the speech. We agreed.”

We know many of you are coming to the site thanks to our presence in the streets throughout the state during this petition drive. It's been thrilling to meet so many people in the past week.

So, we'd like to ask you to make a donation to our campaign. It will help advance our campaign as we continue to petition over the next few weeks.

And find out where you can sign our petition over the next few days.

If you're coming to our campaign site for the first time because of the widespread coverage of our petitioning kick-off campaign, we'd like to ask you to make a financial contribution.

The enthusiasm on our first day of petitioning was incredible. Yesterday, one voter took the subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan's Union Square just to sign the petition--and, then, she got on the train and went back home to Brooklyn. Hundreds of people stopped to sign the petition, excited that there would be a choice for them in the Democratic primary.

The enthusiasm is there--but we need our supporters to dig deep to keep our campaign rolling along. We can't compete with the incumbent's $25 million bankroll (soon to grow thanks to a fundraiser that Rupert Murdoch will be holding for her). But, we'll do more with each dollar because we don't use high-priced consultants, pollsters and spin-doctors.

So, please make a contribution! Thanks for all you do for our campaign for peace.

I'm proud to add Howard Zinn, the fabulous historian and social activist, to our list of endorsers!

Here is what Howard sent along to express his support:

"It is welcome news that Jonathan Tasini is challenging Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic candidate in the coming Senatorial election. He is the right person to expose her shameful support of the immoral and illegal war in Iraq, her vote for The Patriot Act and its violation of constitutional rights, and her failure to distance herself decisively from the worst administration in the nation's history. As an activist in the labor movement, as an opponent of corporate power, as a person deeply committed to a healthy environment, Jonathan Tasini represents the best interests of the citizens of the state of New York, and will make an ideal member of the U.S.