Happy Thanksgiving

Throughout the week we had seen giant beams of light moving through the night sky over El Paso and Ciudad Juárez.

Dear Jason,

Throughout the week we had seen giant beams of light moving through the night sky over El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. Saturday night after Ulysses' basketball game at the Delta center, we drove down to Bowie High School, where the lights on the El Paso side of the border originated, to learn more. 

The lights it turned out were part of an installation known as "Border Tuner" or "Sintonizador Fronterizo." Participants here and at a location in Juárez were able to control the beams of light — and when a beam of light from El Paso intersected with a beam of light from Juárez, the participants on both sides of the border could suddenly hear each other and speak to each other. 

At one point on Saturday night a DJ in El Paso was transmitting music on his beam of light and a woman in Juárez was singing along on hers. All of us could listen as their beams were joined.

A little later Amy and Ulysses and I stepped up to the mic and introduced ourselves to whoever might be listening on the other side. 

"Hola, me llamo Beto. Como se llama usted?"

"Catalina" came the response from the other side of the river.

"Y cuantos años tiene, Catalina?"

"Diez." 

"Yo tengo cuarenta y siete," I told her. 

I then shared my kids' ages and asked her what sports she played: 

"Tengo hijos de trece, once y nueve años. Cuales deportes juega, Catalina?"

"Taekwondo," she answered.

I encouraged Ulysses to speak. He stepped up to the mic and told her he played basketball, "yo juego baloncesto."

We then watched and listened as others spoke to people across the river through these beams of light. A family who followed us turned the dial that moved the light beam so that it connected with a different light beam from Juárez. A new conversation began, with a different family, about food and music.

There were tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border who participated, able to talk and listen to each other regardless of the political or national divisions or the physical distances. Sometimes profound conversations about history and art, sometimes playful conversations between young people who were getting to know one another (a young woman in Juárez asked a young man in El Paso, "eres guapo?"), sometimes collaborative music compositions, sometimes families talking about sports and their favorite kinds of foods (Catalina told us hers were tacos).

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, the artist who conceived the project, told me that he wasn't so much building bridges between Juárez and El Paso as he was illuminating the connections that already exist — connections of family, of history, of culture, of language, of people.

Border Tuner was beautiful and it helped us to remember or see in a different way how special the U.S.-Mexico border is. Not a place to be afraid of, not something to lock down or wall-off. It's a place to celebrate and share with one another. At its best it's an example of how people can be good to each other... a timely example given the divisions in our country and the willingness of some to try to make us believe our differences are dangerous.

It reminded me to be grateful for where I live and for the people of this binational community. And how important it is to tell our story, lest it be told for us or against us.

Amy and I are going to spend Thanksgiving in El Paso with family who will be coming in from all over. We're hoping to get in some great hikes in the Franklins, maybe see a couple of movies. Eat a lot of great food.

We hope that you and yours have a safe, restful and fulfilling Thanksgiving. I am grateful for you and for everyone I've had the chance to work with this year, for everyone who has volunteered for or supported our work, for everyone doing all that they can for this great country at its moment of truth.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Beto

 

Paid for by Beto for America

This email was sent to jambrose01.munchkinlegs@blogger.com. This campaign is powered by grassroots supporters like you. But if you'd like to receive fewer emails, you can do so here. If you need to remove yourself from our email list, click here to unsubscribe. To contribute via check, please address to Beto for America campaign, P.O. Box 3628 El Paso, TX 79923.

Eliz

I've been on the ground with Eliz, knocking on doors in her district. I've seen the positive response this former educator gets from Democrats, Independents and even Republicans when she talks about improving public education, confronting climate change and investing in healthcare.

Hi Jason,

I'm writing about an important race here in Texas. 

With our help, Eliz Markowitz can win a special runoff election and increase our chances of producing a Democratic majority in the Texas state house.

This has huge implications for 2020. 

This election will be an initial test of our ability to win other races across the state, including for Congress and U.S. Senate. And — it will give us an indication of our ability to deliver Texas' 38 electoral votes to the Democratic nominee for president.

Though Donald Trump won House District 28 by ten points in 2016, Eliz came in first place in the election earlier this month against a number of well-funded Republicans. 

But she is now in a runoff against a Republican who's loaned his campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars. Eliz is at serious risk of being outspent. And we are at risk at losing this great opportunity for Texas and the country.

Can you make a $10 donation right now to Eliz's campaign? Flipping House District 28 from red to blue could not be more important.

Contribute $10

I've been on the ground with Eliz, knocking on doors in her district. I've seen the positive response this former educator gets from Democrats, Independents and even Republicans when she talks about improving public education, confronting climate change and investing in healthcare.

You and I have seen firsthand what's possible when Texans come together to build a true grassroots campaign. We know that if enough of us step up to the plate and support her, Eliz can win District 28 and help us take back Texas and the country.

Thank you for making a donation today. It means a lot.

Beto

 

Paid for by Beto for America

This email was sent to jambrose01.munchkinlegs@blogger.com. This campaign is powered by grassroots supporters like you. But if you'd like to receive fewer emails, you can do so here. If you need to remove yourself from our email list, click here to unsubscribe. To contribute via check, please address to Beto for America campaign, P.O. Box 3628 El Paso, TX 79923.

Rodney Reed

I'm reaching out in the interests of justice for a man who is about to be wrongly executed. On November 20th, the state of Texas plans to execute Rodney Reed despite overwhelming evidence that points to his innocence.

Hi Jason,

It's been over a week since I left the campaign trail and it's been so good being home with family and hearing all of your support. I'm grateful to have so many of you at my back. So today, I'm asking you to join me in helping someone else. 

I'm reaching out in the interests of justice for a man who is about to be wrongly executed. On November 20th, the state of Texas plans to execute Rodney Reed despite overwhelming evidence that points to his innocence.

Governor Greg Abbott has the power to stop the execution. He's done it before, he can absolutely do it again. So our job is to make sure that we cause an outcry so loud, so united that Abbott has no choice but to listen to our demands and cancel the execution. 

Here are the 2 best ways you can help save this man's life and put pressure on Governor Abbott:

• Sign the petition. Add your name to the petition and join millions of other people in urgently demanding Governor Abbott to stop the execution. 
• Make phone calls. With only 8 days left, we need to ramp up the pressure and show the urgency of our demands.

• Dial this Number: (512) 967-0567
• With this number, you'll be connected to Governor Abbott's office and other influential people with the power to stop or delay Reed's execution. Before you're connected, you'll be provided some pointers on what to say during the call. If you get sent to voicemail, please leave a message and try calling again whenever you can. 

Rodney Reed has been on death row since 1998, alleging him responsible for the murder and rape of Stacey Stites.

Since his arrest, Reed has faced mountains of unfair challenges –– not uncommon in our broken incarceration system –– in proving his innocence. He was repeatedly denied DNA testing that could support his case, critical pieces of evidence were withheld from his trial, and in the end an all-white jury convicted Reed. Despite his flawed trial and evidence from a new witness claiming that Stites' ex-fiancé admitted in prison that he's responsible for the murder of Stites, Reed remained on death row. 

When you look at the facts Jason, it becomes painfully clear that going forward with executing Rodney Reed would be absolutely wrong. 

It's our duty to stand up to this unfair, racist incarceration system and fight for every single human's right to find justice. 

Please take a couple of minutes out of your day to sign the petition or call Governor Abbott's office before time runs out. 

Thanks for your help,

Beto

 

Paid for by Beto for America

This email was sent to jambrose01.munchkinlegs@blogger.com. This campaign is powered by grassroots supporters like you. But if you'd like to receive fewer emails, you can do so here. If you need to remove yourself from our email list, click here to unsubscribe. To contribute via check, please address to Beto for America campaign, P.O. Box 3628 El Paso, TX 79923.

Some news, and a thank you

Jason,

Our campaign has been about seeing clearly, speaking honestly and acting decisively in the best interests of America.

Though it is difficult to accept, it is clear to me now that this campaign does not have the means to move forward successfully. My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee. Acknowledging this now is in the best interests of those in the campaign; it is in the best interests of this party as we seek to unify around a nominee; and it is in the best interests of the country. 

I decided to run for President because I believed that I could help bring a divided country together in common cause to confront the greatest set of challenges we've ever faced. I also knew that the most fundamental of them is fear — the fear that Donald Trump wants us to feel about one another; the very real fear that too many in this country live under; and the fear we sometimes feel when it comes to doing the right thing, especially when it runs counter to what is politically convenient or popular.

I knew, and I still know, that we can reject and overcome these fears and choose to instead be defined by our ambitions and our ability to achieve them. 

I knew that we would have to be unafraid in how we ran the campaign. We'd have to run with nothing to lose. And I knew that our success would depend not on PACs or corporations but upon the grassroots volunteers and supporters from everywhere, especially from those places that had been overlooked or taken for granted.

We should be proud of what we fought for and what we were able to achieve.

Together we were able to help change what is possible when it comes to the policies that we care about and the country we want to serve. We released the first comprehensive plan to confront climate change of any of the presidential candidates; we took the boldest approach to gun safety in American history; we confronted institutional, systemic racism and called out Donald Trump for his white supremacy and the violence that he's encouraged against communities that don't look like, pray like or love like the majority in this country; and we were one of the first to reject all PAC money, corporate contributions, special interest donations and lobbyist help. 

We proposed an economic program that focused on both equality and equity and would give every American the certainty that one job would be enough; and a healthcare plan that would guarantee that every one of us is well enough to live to our full potential.

We knew the only way our country would live up to its promise is if everyone could stand up to be counted. We released the most ambitious voter registration and voting rights plan, one that would bring 55 million new voters into our democracy, and remove barriers for those who've been silenced because of their race, ethnicity or the fact that they live with a disability.

We spoke with pride about El Paso and communities of immigrants. We elevated the plight and the promise of refugees and asylum seekers. And we proposed nothing short of rewriting this country's immigration laws in our own image, to forever free from fear more than 11 million of our fellow Americans who should be able to contribute even more to our shared success.

And at this moment of truth for our country, we laid bare the cost and consequence of Donald Trump: the rise in hate crimes, the terror attack in El Paso, the perversion of the Constitution, the diminished standing of the United States around the world. But we also made clear the common responsibility to confront him, to hold him accountable and ensure that he does not serve another term in office. Committing ourselves to this task not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans first before we are anything else. 

I am grateful to each one of you, and to all the people who made up the heart and soul of this campaign. You were among the hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans who made a donation, signed up to volunteer or spread the word about this campaign and our opportunity to help decide the election of our lifetime.

You have been with me from the beginning, through it all. I know that you did it not for me personally, not for the Democratic Party, but for our country at this defining moment. Though today we are suspending this campaign, let us each continue our commitment to the country in whatever capacity we can. 

Let us continue to fearlessly champion the issues and causes that brought us together. Whether it is ending the epidemic of gun violence or dismantling structural racism or successfully confronting climate change before it is too late, we will continue to organize and mobilize and act in the best interests of America.

We will work to ensure that the Democratic nominee is successful in defeating Donald Trump in 2020. I can tell you firsthand from having the chance to know the candidates, we will be well served by any one of them, and I'm going to be proud to support whoever that nominee is. 

And proud to call them President in January 2021, because they will win.

We must support them in the race against Donald Trump and support them in their administration afterwards, do all that we can to help them heal a wounded country and bring us together in meeting the greatest set of challenges we have ever known.

I'm confident I will see you down the road, and I look forward to that day. 

Thank you for making this campaign possible, and for continuing to believe that we can turn this moment of great peril into a moment of great promise for America and the world. 

With you always, and forever grateful.

Beto

 

Paid for by Beto for America

This email was sent to jambrose01.munchkinlegs@blogger.com. This campaign is powered by grassroots supporters like you. But if you'd like to receive fewer emails, you can do so here. If you need to remove yourself from our email list, click here to unsubscribe. To contribute via check, please address to Beto for America campaign, P.O. Box 3628 El Paso, TX 79923.