We lost a long-time anti-war trench fighter to cancer .......

[Stinky The Clown]

We lost Eli Segal to cancer. In case you're too young to remember, he was an antiwar guy going all the way back to the Viet Nam era. He served in significant roles in many Democratic presidential campaign organizations, from Eugene McCarthy's .... to Clinton's (as chief of staff) .... and on to Wesley Clark's 2004 bid.

You wuz good people, Eli.

Please take a minute to read about him in this WaPo article. Some of you may focus on his (one time) ties to the defense industry and to corporations. But please look at the totality of this man's life and maybe allow it to serve as an object lesson. He was clearly, strongly, and steadfastly on our side, those connections notwithstanding.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/20/AR2006022001336.html

[senseandsensibility]

1. RIP

Thanks for fighting for peace, Mr. Segal.

[Adelante]

2. Thank you, Eli

Bless you and your family.

[snowbear]

3. Photo of Eli Segal with Wes and Gert Clark

From the Christian Science Monitor ~ January 29, 2004

~~~ :hug:

[senseandsensibility]

4. It's odd, but he looks almost like Clark's brother in that photo

Obviously two great, patriotic men.

[CarolNYC]

5. Thanks Husb,

This is very sad news.....That's a great article in The Post.

A Clark campaign worker has posted a very nice memory of Eli at CCN....

"But my memory of Eli Segal was not as some elusive Campaign Chair who
courted the political elite. It was of a man who, during the last
two weeks before the critical New Hampshire Primary, camped out in a
corner of an office at the Manchester headquarters, instead of the
hotel suite where most of the national staff set up a mini "Little
Rock" headquarters. Eli was a person who wanted to get things done
and that meant being in the trenches and making sure the campaign
troops were getting what they needed.
.......

My last memory of Eli is the most telling. It was the night before
the Primary, right after 9 pm when we shut down the final phone
banks. I then called some New Hampshire family and friends for one
final push. I talked to my 22 year old nephew who had drifted from
Kucinich to Dean, so I knew I had a tough sell—even with my nephew.
But my nephew was working (if $7,000 per year is considered working)
for Americorp.. So I turned the phone over to Eli, telling my nephew
that the founder of Americorps was Wes' campaign chair. Eli talked
with my nephew for 15 minutes or so about each other's experiences
with Americorp and how a Wes Clark Presidency would be critical for
such programs and the values it instills.

I never asked my nephew how he voted, even though both Eli and I
worked him pretty hard. But the point of my story is that the last
image I have of Eli is not of him making big money fundraising calls
or rubbing elbows with the power-elites. It was of him standing in
the dusty and cluttered Manchester office asking a voter to vote for
Wes Clark for President."

Full account is here:
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/4643#comment-77934

Damn cancer! Took my dad well before his time too. :cry:

[Jai4WKC08]

6. A real hero and great man

It's a damn shame to lose him so young.

[Tom Rinaldo]

7. This man was always in the right place, doing the right thing

From the WaPo:

"...While working for McCarthy, he became incensed at what he perceived as flaws in the nominating process. After the election, Mr. Segal was involved with commissions that began to de-emphasize the role played by party bosses and allowed the voters, through caucuses and primaries, to have a greater say in the nomination.

Other election work followed, notably on the 1972 presidential campaign of McGovern (D-S.D.). As deputy campaign chairman, he hired a young Bill Clinton to lead the campaign in Texas. The results were disastrous, but the friendship lasted.

When Mr. Segal's boss on the McGovern campaign, Sen. Gary Hart (D-Colo.), sought the presidency in 1984, he made Mr. Segal chief of staff. Hart lost the nomination to former vice president Walter Mondale."


And he worked with Mandela in South Africa also as a private citizen. I am so sorry that we have lost him so young.

[Tom Rinaldo]

8. One more vote would help make this thread a fitting DU tribute

This man spent his life working for ideals most of us embrace, but he never lost his grass roots touch traveling to South Africa to help, sleeping in the corner of his office to stay available if needed when a campaign reached crunch time. I would love to honor Eli Segal by having this tribute rise high on our Greatest Page.

[OzarkDem]

9. He was only 63 - we need to beat cancer

May he rest in peace, he and his family are in my prayers.

Yet Bush and the GOP congress have cut funding for cancer research.

Out of respect for Mr. Segal and thousands of others who will die from cancer today, call your Congresscritter and tell them to restore full funding for cancer research. Tell Congress to send Dr. Andy von Eschenbach some love in Mr. Segal's memory...

http://www.cancer.gov/aboutnci/2015

[sandnsea]

10. Statement from Kerry

Released yesterday.

“Eli Segal spent his life putting the values of service, compassion and community into action. His life’s work was the building of partnerships and organizations founded on the principles that make America strong. From his work founding and growing AmeriCorps into one of the most successful national service programs in the world, to his leadership at City Year, to his efforts designing the Welfare to Work Partnership, Eli Segal made life better for countless Americans. He strove to make the American Dream accessible to anyone willing to work hard and act responsibly, and he recognized the untapped vein that is Americans’ willingness to serve, if only given the opportunity. He understood that it takes a personal commitment to make our communities stronger, and he lived that commitment. His life sets an example for us all, and he will be sadly missed.”

[FrenchieCat]

11. Another good one dies young!

RIP! :cry:

[wicket]

12. LBN thread on his passing:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2121898&mesg_id=2121898

Very sad :(

[Tom Rinaldo]

13. Wes Clark's Statement:

"My wife, Gert, and I are deeply saddened by the death of our friend, Eli Segal.

Eli dedicated his life to building a better America and his vision and energy were an inspiration to me. We will always be grateful for the leadership Eli demonstrated on our campaign in 2004. He was the heart and soul of that campaign.

He gave us so much of himself and even though I'm sure it must have seemed a thankless task at times, I will always be grateful to him.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Eli's wife, Phyllis, and their family at this most difficult time. America has lost a patriot and visionary and I have lost a dear friend."


I understand that General Clark went to DC to attend Eli Segal's funeral.