The List: Emailing for Downticket Candidates

by: Matt Stoller

Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 18:19

Dear XYZ,

You can change politics in this country at every level -- up and down the ballot.

Our records show that you live in Florida's 18th district.

There's a candidate in Florida who's working to bring the change this country needs, and that candidate is Annette Taddeo. Get involved and help bring change now.

   Annette Taddeo for Congress:
   Visit the website
   http://www.votetaddeo.com/

Don't wait until Election Day to support Taddeo. Get involved today to make sure Florida has a strong representative to take our country in a new direction.

Thanks,

Obama for America

P.S. -- To get involved with Obama for America in your community, visit your state page

I don't know how extensive this is or who he's doing it for, but it shows that the decision has been made somewhere in the campaign that Obama can afford to spread out a little bit.  That's excellent news.  He could even go further.  Jane Hamsher put out the suggestion that Obama guarantee a DSCC loan so they can go after Chambliss, McConnell, and Wicker.  That would be incredibly useful for the long-term viability of his Presidency and the ability to begin to fix the country.

You can see the outlines of the post-election GOP strategy right now.  Even as conservatives brace for mass layoffs on K Street and on the Hill, one specialty is going to go way up in value: "There will also be a lot of business for Republican lobbyists who have the clout to rally GOP lawmakers against a given piece of legislation."

As one Republican aide said, "Guys will get paid a lot of money to defeat stuff."  Now, I'm not someone who thinks that 60 votes is that important, it's more about having between 58-62 along with a committed group of progressives willing to throw their bodies on the line to extract concessions.  But we are in striking distance of 60, and that would be sweet.

Obama could push it even further.