It is Tuesday morning on the east coast. Soon, it will be Tuesday in the entire country. Over the next day or two, all congressional campaigns will be making their final advertising purchases, if they have not done so already. So, not only will today be the final day of fundraising for candidates on Open Left, tonight is also the final night of Use It Or Lose It, 2008.
Today is probably the last useful day that a Democratic member of the House can send money to either the DCCC or directly to the campaign of Democratic challengers. So, tonight, leave a message at their campaign office asking them to do just that. Here is a list of good Democrats to call or email:
First, be polite, and thank the Democratic member of Congress for his or her work on behalf of Democrats so far in the campaign.
Second, stay positive, mention how we have dozens of great pickup opportunities, and how excited you are about that. It might help to mention a pickup opportunity in your state, which you can find here.
Third, be encouraging, not scolding, and say how great it would be if the member could chip in a bit more, and / or pay off outstanding DCCC dues.
Remember, this is the last day of the best campaign for House Democrats that we are going to see for quite a while. So, make a call, send an email, employ a carrier pigeon, whatever. Just contact a member of Congress near you on one of those two lists, and leave a message asking them to chip in a little more. Let's leave everything on the field / court / road in this election.
Did you spend all day canvassing, and are you itching to do more activism even now? Were you occupied during the day, and wish you cold have done more? Was the weather bad, or were you too tired, so you decided to stay in? Well, whatever you did today, I have a rare, late night action alert for you. It's called Use It Or Lose It, Evening Edition.
The time has come. Use Or Lose It 2008 is ready. Now, it is up to you.
Last week, because House Democrats have as many or more pickups opportunities than we did two years ago, the DCCC took out a $15,000,000 loan to help stretch the playing field. However, 54 House Democrats who are cruising to re-election are $6,537,635 behind on their dues, and have not made up for this lack of fundraising elsewhere. You can see a list of these Democrats here:
We have less than one week before final media buys are made, and so we need to push these Democrats to make up their dues now. Call or email one or two members of Congress near you who appear on this spreadsheet, and ask them to pay their DCCC dues in full.
Be polite. Be encouraging. But also, be urgent. Mention how little time there is left. Mention how many great pickups chances we have, but for which we need more money. If it helps, check out my most recent House Forecast before you call or email to mention some specific examples. Whatever you say during your phone call or email, most importantly, be yourself.
Call or email a member of Congress who is behind on his or her dues now. If they agree to give more funds, leave a comment or send me an email, and I will taken them off the list. If your local member of Congress isn't on the list, if no one from your state is on the list, or if you simply want to see other people you can call, then check out this spreadsheet produced by volunteers on Open Left. It is not a list of Democratic members of Congress behind on their dues, but who simply have extra cash and token Republican opposition. If you call someone from that list, thank them for how much they have raised so far, but ask them if they can give a little more.
Let's do this. I will be calling my local Rep, Chaka Fattah, shortly. Make a call or send an email to a member of Congress near you. Here are the two spreadsheets again:
