An open letter to activists from NOW President Kim Gandy

November 3, 2004

We will never give up.

As NOW activists gathered at the White House carrying signs that said "Count Every Vote" and "Democracy NOW," we learned that John Kerry would be conceding the election.

Despite pleas for the Kerry campaign to wait for the counting of hundreds of thousands of provisional ballots in Ohio, and for the verification of Florida results that were dramatically contrary to exit polling, the promise of the 2004 election is no more.

But the strength we gained, the alliances we created, the friends we made, the voters we registered, the debates we provoked, the activists we energized, the new feminists we elected to Congress and state legislatures . . . no one can take those away.

Your phone calls to friends and strangers, door-knocking in your own neighborhood or on the other side of the country, marching on Washington, emailing friends and co-workers, writing to undecided voters, organizing actions and events, contributing to NOW/PAC efforts and to campaigns across the country . . . in all those ways and more, you brought us to the edge of victory.

The battle of the last year is over, but a new one is beginning.

• We must fight back against Bush's regressive policies on every issue. Now is not the time to be timid — we must not give in to an agenda that endangers our rights, our freedoms, our liberty, and our lives.
• We must demand our senators block every Supreme Court nominee, and every cabinet member who would deny our rights and liberties, and that they filibuster over and over and over, to prevent a Supreme Court majority that would turn women's rights and civil rights back to the 1950's.
• We must take our fight to the state legislatures, state by state, bill by bill, and enact legislation that will protect us and our families.
• We must continue to March for Women's Lives across the country — expanding our million marchers into millions of voices speaking up for women's rights in their communities.
• We must intensify our efforts to register, motivate and mobilize new voters, especially women, and recruit and train candidates who support women's rights, so that by 2006 there will be reinforcements for our friends in Congress who are standing up against the right wing's anti-woman agenda.

We must continue to build on the work we've done in the past year, and take the fight for our rights to every level of our government — as our foremothers did in seeking the right to vote. For 72 years they waged the battle for our rights, going from the states to the Congress and back again, challenging president after president, persevering until they won the victory that is the birthright of women today.

We can do no less for ourselves and those we love . . .

It's time. Celebrate our victories, throw off the frustration (yes, even the despair) and join us in the bold fight ahead.

For justice,

Kim Gandy
NOW President

"With women such as these consecrating their lives,
failure is impossible"
— Susan B. Anthony's final public words