Legally, Act Blue can't operate on a state level in Colorado as current law prohibits an intermediary transfer of funds. So, I created what's known in Colorado as a Small Donor Committee. In the works for almost a year, finally the i's are all dotted; the t's are all crossed. The SquareState Small Donor Committee is here.
We've done pontificating, pointed out the failed policies of the extreme right wing, mobilized voters, coordinated grassroots action, and even fundraised for federal races. It's time to help those local candidates we want to see in office in our somewhat square state. Let's show (current CO-GOP chair)Dick Wadhams that this isn't the same state the last time he was here. All the progress made in the last few years, we're just getting started.
Before I get into the main part of my post, I want to tell you all how much we appreciate the generous contributions the netroots community is sending our way. It means a lot to me to see people all across the country embracing our campaign's message - "It's time for a change."
Together we raised nearly $7,000 from more than 140 contributors during the last 14 hours and we're back in the Top Five on Act Blue.
Markos and so many other bloggers out there have done us a great service with their writing and the response from the readers has been tremendous. Thank you!
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On Sunday, my cousin, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo and her neighbors, Vega and Steven Gerber, graciously hosted a fund-raiser for my campaign for Congress at their home in Atherton, California.
First, I should tell you that my cousin, Anna, a Democratic Congresswoman from California, and our respective families share a very close bond.
During the Armenian Genocide, both Anna's grandmother and my own grandmother, Esther, escaped their homeland together to America. Their journey lasted three long years.
For Anna and I to stand together - a sitting Congresswoman and a candidate for Congress - was truly an honor. I don't think our grandmothers ever imagined that something like that could happen. I think it is true testament to their courage, the tenacity of immigrants, and their pursuit of the American Dream.
To introduce Anna to our friends and meet with hers was a great joy for me and my wife, Leslie. My cousin paid me the ultimate compliment when she called me a true patriot for having the courage to run for Congress.
Anna and I both believe strongly that, no matter your district, this race is your race.
Why?
Because every time your representative stands up in Congress to make the right vote on issues like stem cell research, choice, the Iraq war, FISA, privacy - you name it - Congressman Dan Lipinski stands up and votes with the Bush Administration and cancels out your voice.
Throughout his tenure, when the Democratic side of the U.S. House votes blue, there's a red blip in that sea of blue. That red blip is Congressman Dan Lipinski voting the wrong way.
I wasn't around the blogs during last years primary mess but I'm still learning to hate the national blogs. Matt Stoller, Chris Bowers, and the other members of Open Left have decided to launch a campaign against the following Democratic members of the House of Representatives that they've dubbed the "Bush Dogs", a play on the Blue Dogs.(…)
As you can see the list includes two Ohio Rep.'s, Zack Space and Charlie Wilson.
Now it's one thing for people who know the district to complain, it's another for someone that knows absolutely nothing to start meddling around. Sure Space and Wilson haven't always voted the way we've wanted but have they looked at their districts?
Christ but I am pissed. We're half a year from the caucuses and out-of-staters from our own movement butt in and tell us who to support? How could this have possibly passed any sane netivist's radar? How is this one iota different than the DSCC fucking with last year's primary?
Chris Bowers invited me into his BlogAds group, and I have always thought well of him. I never dreamed that he or one of his groups would barge into Minnesota and screw with our process. Never.(…)
No more. I just decided to endorse Mike Ciresi. And if Chris Bowers' Blue Majority/Act Blue wants to butt into any other primary races between qualified progressives anywhere else in the country, I'll be endorsing the other candidate in those races as well even though I feel strongly that outsiders shouldn't butt into primaries unless one or more of the candidates really bite.
Considering the comments to the later post in particular, these are not the only two bloggers upset with an out of state activist like me "meddling" in elections and with Democratic members of the US House elsewhere in the country. Even apart from me, these are complaints that I see pop up in many elections concerning many groups. Since I see these complaints often, and since I do not think they are very well founded, I would like to take some time to address all of these issues raised here as clearly and concisely as I can:
Late in the evening of October 23, 2004, I coined the term Blogosphere Day. At the time, I was directing the online campaign in PA-08 for Ginny Schrader (D-Blogosphere) and was trying to do anything possible to hype her campaign. Little did I know what would become of a two minute entry on dkosopedia.
To be perfectly honest, I'd forgotten about it until it showed up in the National Journal just as Tim Tagaris and I were plotting on when to kick of the online fundraising for Paul Hackett. The rest, as they say, is history.
Today is Blogosphere Day, and we have chosen to celebrate Act Blue. Apart from channeling over $16,000,000 to Democratic candidates in 2006, about five times as much in direct contributions to Democratic candidates in than any other PAC, one of the things I most like about Act Blue is how it started small. Act Blue was not an operation that lined up several large progressive donors before its launch, but rather simply a great idea that a few enterprising, grassroots progressive activists decided to undertake on their own. As a result of their efforts, now anyone can raise money for whatever Democratic candidates they like, now the blogosphere can quantify its direct fundraising contributions to Democratic candidates, and now Democrats have been able to help eliminate their long-standing financial deficit against Republicans.
Act Blue is very much the sort of innovative, but underfunded, idea BlogPac is looking to fund in our ongoing Progressive Entrepreneur Contest. For those of you who missed the original announcement of the project, here is a reminder of the prizes, rules, and how to enter:
You can see the rules for this contest, including how to submit an entry, by clicking here. The five winning projects will receive up to $5,000 directly from BlogPac, a featured post here on Open Left, and a fundraising letter to our email list. The winning entries will be decided by our panel of judges, which include representatives from some of the most influential, enterprising organizations in our movement: Gina Cooper of Yearly Kos, Susan G of Dailykos, Adam Green of MoveOn.org, Jane Hamsher of Fire Dog Lake, Justin Krebs of Living Liberally, Ben Rahn of Act Blue and, of course, Matt Stoller and Chris Bowers of BlogPac. Given the panel of judges, even submitting an entry to the contest guarantees that your idea will be reviewed by a wide variety of progressive, “open left” leaders who can help it take flight!
Almost any project is open to consideration in this contest. It can be national, regional or local. It can focus on media, culture, social networking, direct action, research, elections, messaging and much more. It can work to expand the audience of progressive radio, book more progressives appear as commentators on cable news networks, or find ways for progressive bloggers to have access to health care. It can produce strategy guides for grassroots activists run for party office, train a new generation of activists in civil disobedience tactics, or help produce a progressive documentary. The only requirements to be considered for the contest are as follows:
The project on progressive infrastructure, not public policy. This contest is not trying to pass or propose specific legislation, but instead to build upon the architecture of the progressive movement.
The project cannot have received more than $25,000 in donations / revenue in the past calendar year.
Sending a description of your project, how it will help progressive infrastructure, how much money it needs, and how it will use that money to blogpacinfrastructure@yahoo.com.
Already, we have received more than two-dozen submissions for the contest. Keep them coming! There are a lot of good ideas out there in the progressive blogosphere, and we want to help those grassroots innovations get the support they need to really blossom. The deadline for submissions is 10 pm eastern on Tuesday, July 24th. That means you still have five days to enter, but it is best not to put these things off to the last minute.
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