The big news this past week out of MA-09 is that progressive challenger Mac D'Alessandro will make the Democratic primary ballot against anti-choice, anti-health care reform ConservaDem incumbent Stephen Lynch. He submitted 5,000 signatures to city and town clerks offices by the May 4 deadline. As long as at least 2,000 are certified valid (should be no problem with 5,000 submitted), Mac submits the 2,000+ certified valid signatures to the Secretary of State by June 1 and he'll give voters a choice against ConservaDem Lynch.
Mac took to YouTube to thank his grassroots supporters for their help making the signature drive a big success:
Progressive Democrats across the country have reason to be active in this race. There were 34 House Democrats who ultimately opposed health care reform; and Lynch's vote was among the most perplexing:
Then there are the real head scratchers. Reps. Michael Arcuri (D-NY) and Stephen Lynch (D-MA) famously abandoned the reform push late in the game, after having voted for the House bill. Lynch, in particular, went on a very public crusade of opposition to the bill from the left, and cast his vote despite pleas from President Obama and AFL-CIO head Richard Trumka that he vote with the party.
Of the 34 anti-health care reform Dems, some are running for other office (Senate or Gov), some are retiring, but most are running for re-election. Best I can tell though, few if any have serious primary challengers. MA-09 will provide progressive Democrats nationally with an opportunity to send a message to a ConservaDem who abandoned one of the Democratic Party's central pillars - expanding access to health care and moving toward truly making quality health care a right instead of a privilege.
That appears to be why Mac's campaign has found itself on MoveOn.org's radar screen as a viable primary challenger worthy of progressive support:
In the wake of Rep. Stephen Lynch's vote against health care reform, many progressives have expressed frustration with him-and now he's facing a serious primary challenge.
Mac D'Alessandro is the New England Political Director for the progressive Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and he's pledging to "be on the side of consumers and workers, and not on the side of health insurance companies and big banks."
So get in the game! Now that Mac has demonstrated grassroots strength through the impressively successful signature drive, he has to raise money - and ConservaDem Stephen Lynch starts off with a $1.3 million campaign war chest. So, please, please, please head over to Mac's ActBlue page and contribute as generously as you can!
Mac D'Alessandro of Milton, Massachusetts, has spent his career fighting on behalf of working families. For the past nine years, Mac has worked for the Service Employees International Union, most recently as New England Political Director. Prior to working for the SEIU, Mac worked for Greater Boston Legal Services, directing legislative efforts to help families combat poverty. Mac earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Human Ecology and Environmental Policy from Rutgers University and his Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School. Mac, 40, is married to Jennie Mulqueen, an early childhood arts educator, and is the proud father of five-year-old Sophie and three-year-old Atticus.
SEIU's New England regional political director Mac D'Alessandro has taken the primary plunge against incumbent Stephen Lynch. (Lynch, for you Progressive Punch score followers, gets a lousy 2 rating, coming from Massachusetts, and has a lifetime progressive score on "Crucial Votes" of 81.87, which drops to 71.95 when focusing on 2009-2010.)
Greetings, Blue Mass Group! My name is Mac D'Alessandro. I'm the New England Political Director for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU); and, as of this week, I am a candidate for United States Congress from Massachusetts' 9th district. I am a progressive Democrat, and I'm running for Congress because I believe that the working families in our communities deserve a Congressman who will fight for them and who will actually be a leader on key issues that matter to them - from reforming our health care system (and building on the recently-passed reforms) to holding Wall Street accountable to investing in job creation for our communities to protecting our civil rights and ensuring equal protection under the law.
I have spent my career fighting for working families. I've been with the SEIU for nine years. Prior to that, I worked for Greater Boston Legal Services, directing legislative efforts to help families combat poverty. I live in Milton with my wife Jennie, our children Sophie and Atticus, and our cat Nile. Like most families throughout the district and across Massachusetts, my wife and I sit at our kitchen table on a regular basis, going over our bills and the family budget, paying for today while trying to save for tomorrow. We see too often that the well-being of Fortune 500 companies are put in front of the good fortune of working families like ours. That is why I'm running. The 9th district deserves more than just another representative; the district deserves someone who will champion our Democratic ideals in the U.S. House of Representatives as we fight to balance the playing field for working families like ours.
There were 34 House Democrats who opposed health care reform. Lynch was the only one from Massachusetts. And, of those from the 34 who are running for re-election, I still don't see a lot of primary challenges. Supporting Mac D'Alessandro's campaign can send a message nationally to Democrats wavering on other issues (like Wall Street reform). Mac very much represents what it means to be a "Better Democrat." Please spread the word, join the Facebook group, and contribute any amount you can.
40 days from today - on May 18 - we will see two HUGE primaries for U.S. Senate. Even if you're not from either of these two states, these races impact Democrats across the country and, well, the entire country as a whole.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak will try to upset Republican-for-decades Arlen Specter.
In Arkansas, Democratic Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter will try to upset corporate lackey Blanche Lincoln.
These two races are tremendously important to defining who and what the Democratic Party is and what we will be fighting for.
If you can volunteer for these candidates (or encourage friends and family in Pennsylvania and Arkansas to do so), that would be amazing.
Of course, if you can help with a contribution to either or both via the Expand the Map! ActBlue page as soon as possible, it will make a big impact.
Polling shows that both Specter and Lincoln are at risk of - if not likely to - hand these Senate seats over to far-right-wing Republicans. (And, even if these two retain the seats, that's not much better on many key issues.)
Congressman Sestak and Lieutenant Governor Halter winning these primaries are critical to keeping these seats in truly Democratic hands. Your support can help make that happen! Please hop over to the Expand the Map! ActBlue page right away to make a contribution - an investment in the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party to pull out an old expression - and show your support.
Thanks SO much for any support you can provide. 40 Days.
As we await the historic vote on health care reform, it's important to remember that we're just ten days away from the end of the first fundraising quarter of 2010. The fundraising totals reported in this quarter will be pivotal to determining the tenor of many races for the rest of the year. If there is any time to contribute, now is the time!
Please head over to the Expand the Map! ActBlue page and contribute whatever you are able to these terrific Democratic candidates for Senate.
Democrat
Currently At
End-of-Quarter Goal
Distance to Goal
Kendrick Meek
$25
$300
$275
Bill Halter
$445
$750
$305
Joe Sestak
$1,320
$1,600
$280
Paul Hodes
$1,447
$1,700
$253
Robin Carnahan
$1,163
$1,400
$237
Remember, the contribution you can make isn't just a donation to a single candidate or political campaign. It's an investment against Republican obstruction (and conservaDem enabling) and an investment toward achieving that more perfect union.
Recent polling from Public Policy Polling and Research 2000 suggests that Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek is in terrific position to win Florida's 2010 U.S. Senate race. With Republican Marco Rubio well ahead of primary challenger Charlie Crist in the polls, but far behind on fundraising, Rubio will likely emerge victorious from the primary, but out of campaign funds and politically badly bruised, as well as positioned to the extreme right ideologically. Congressman Meek, on the other hand, is steadily campaigning and fundraising and will be well-positioned for the general election.
As such, Senate Guru has added Congressman Meek's campaign to its Expand the Map! ActBlue fundraising page, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars for Democratic candidates for Senate in the 2008 and current 2010 cycles.
To kick off the addition of Congressman Meek, we're looking to start off with just $100 raised to get the ball rolling. Just five $20 contributions would be a great start! Can you chip in $20?
Back in college, I did a lot of organizing around the 2004 Presidential election. In particular, I organized large out-of-state canvass trips to Pennsylvania and Ohio for America Coming Together. The logistical barriers were enormous in terms of cars, class schedules, and so forth, but none as large as money.
At the University of Rochester, like many colleges, everything revolved around "Flex" money, which was money you or your parents/guardians put on your ID card. Flex purchased you anything from textbooks to food to concert tickets on campus. It was frequently the only kind of currency any student had. We set up tables to sell anti-Bush merchandise to raise money for our trips, and the first question out of students' mouths were whether we accepted Flex or not. If not, the population to which we could sell literally plummeted.
Because political travel out of state wasn't a U of R-sanctioned activity, we could not raise money for our trips via Flex. Students did not have checkbooks, many did not have credit cards. Many had parents willing to donate online, but we had no place to accept such a donation. Sending checks in the mail took time. I'm not even sure if PayPal was around then, but it was unheard of. Fundraising was an enormous barrier.
I'm writing about all of this because ActBlue, partnering with TravelForChange.org (the organization that helped Obama volunteers travel to swing states last year), has a new tool that allows you to create a personal fundraising page to cover your travel expenses to Maine. This may seem simple, but I actually consider it an amazing leap forward. Much of the population willing to travel are young people, particularly college students willing to miss a week of class, and more spontaneous (no children, fewer hard commitments, etc.) In my organizing experience, young people have the most willingness to go, but the fewest resources in terms of finances to support travel. This helps break down that barrier. And it's not just for young people. You can set up a page and blast it around to friends, family, etc, utilizing Facebook and other means we didn't have five years ago. TFC.org cuts you a check, and that's that. No questions asked. Spend it on gas, food, interstate tolls, any other travel expenses. You can also do a joint page with friends if you want to carpool.
Here's Shai Sachs (of MyDD fame) and Ben Gonzalez, both of whom came up to volunteer. Ben explains how he used TFC/ActBlue to raise money to support his travel here from Southern California.
Talking with campaign staff here, the biggest need we have for the remainder of the campaign is volunteers. The polls are still tight. We're two weeks out today. If you're up for coming to Maine, but need a little financial help, get in touch with either myself (adambink at gmail dot com) or fill out the form here to get started.
The last day of the third fundraising quarter of 2009 (whoa, time really flies!) is this Wednesday, September 30. Our Democratic candidates for Senate need to make as big a fundraising splash as possible in the third quarter to help refute the growing conventional wisdom among the traditional media pundits that 2010 could be a Republican year.
Please, please, please consider making a contribution today to our Democratic candidates for Senate via the Expand the Map! ActBlue page. I've set some lofty, pie-in-the-sky goals that, if we were able to meet them, I'd be wonderfully surprised and gratified and blown away by your generosity.
Democrat
Currently At
Goal
Distance to Goal
Robin Carnahan
$681
$1,000
$319
Paul Hodes
$780
$1,000
$220
Joe Sestak
$758
$1,000
$242
Charlie Melancon
$193
$400
$207
Please click on over to the Expand the Map! ActBlue page and make a contribution to help stop ongoing Republican obstruction in the Senate. Every contribution makes a real impact whether it's $100 or $25 or $10 or, well, any amount. Want to rebel against multiples of five and contribute $63 or $39 or $27, knock yourself out!
Remember, the fundraising quarter ends this Wednesday, so please contribute today if you can. Thank you SO much!
ACORN continues to face virulent attacks from Glenn Beck and Company, but, unfortunately, diarists have not been asking the netroots to pony up financial support, despite the fact that raising large amounts of small donor dollars is one of the netroots greatest strengths.
Follow me below and I will make my case for a large scale netroots fundraiser.
Stand For Marriage Maine, the right-wingers trying to repeal same-sex marriage equality in Maine, just sent out this awesome mailer:
For many of us, this week marks the start of the new school year. So in honor of back-to-school season, let's try a little pop quiz. Which of the following does not belong in the same group as the others:
(A)History
(B)Mathematics
(C)English
(D)Homosexual Marriage
If you guessed ''D'' - you're right! Mainers firmly believe homosexual instruction has no place in the classroom. Maine's public schools should focus on reading and writing, not mandatory gay sex education.
There's only one problem: an irresponsible piece of legislation known as LD1020. If allowed to take effect this law would throw to the trash heap our decades-old interest in promoting traditional marriage. It would legalize homosexual, genderless marriage. And if marriage is redefined to be genderless, then same-sex marriage must be taught as being the same as traditional marriage. This has profound consequences for your child's classroom education.
Gay sex education?! They teach that now?! Where can I sign up?
Jokes aside, the haters will lie and smear their way into victory during this campaign. Conflating marriage equality into "mandatory gay sex education" is insulting and a horrific exaggeration, but that's what they do. These are real families with real children being raised just like other kids. Nowhere in the legislation are there any kind of required classes. The right-wing has always used fear as a weapon, and it's fear of instilling values here.
Our side needs to counter it with the truth. This new ad launching after Labor Day is the way to do it. Sam Putnam, the teenager with two moms in this new ad from the No On 1 campaign, does not look like he has gay sex horns growing out of his head.
Maine residents will start to vote in mid-October. That's just six weeks away. The race to define this thing is on, and as I've heard from all my Maine contacts, it needs to be "live and let live." That message is up for grabs. With mail like this, the right-wingers are pushing their own version of that. We have to push ours.
Last night, No On 1 was added as the very first race on the Orange to Blue page from DailyKos. Jesse Connolly, the campaign manager of the No On 1 campaign, posted at DailyKos today about the campaign, thanking the netroots, including us, for helping raise the money to put ads like this on the air. Please rec and comment. Let's tip our hat back to him from OpenLeft and define this fight for Maine residents first, before the other side does.
Like you say, it is easier to get the progressive Dems because they are our ideological cohorts. I want to rephrase this in another way, which is that we start every piece of legislation with John Tanner with him being in a "culture of caution" type of mentality, and we have to flip him. With a Keith Ellison, we start from a position that he will likely tend to agree with the position we would like him to take, and need to ask him to withstand pressure.
My question is what kinds of pressure are needed to get members to "stand firm" "hold on" against pressure from the leadership, corporate interests, etc. It seems to require re-learning pressure tactics, with some exceptions like a call to a House office would be phrased likely the same way.
For example, I just saw PCCC's ad on TV last night trashing Snowe, Nelson etc. for taking insurance industry money. What would our ad asking Ellison and Woolsey to maintain their position refusing to vote for a bill without a public option look like? I can see a number of possibilities, including a more generic ad on why the public option is important. But I think the tactics may be different.
I want to think a little bit about the pressure tactics we've used for our own side so far. The successful campaign to raise over $400,000 to thank Progressive Block members was, I think, the first major effort to help support the Progressive Block. It used a carrot rather than a stick. My thought experiment is what would happen if we took the carrot approach to the airwaves. I only see the ads aired on local TV, but so far, they range from ads from organizations like PCCC trashing Ben Nelson to AHIP and other front groups vaguely asking for Congress to slow down/find a bipartisan solution, to conservative groups threatening death panels and cuts to Medicare with images of worried seniors. But the ads are united in one fact- they are universally negative.
What if, as a change of pace, we aired a positive ad. Seabrook has a good start in a reply to my comment. What if we showed a smiling Earl Blumenauer, lauded his commitment to a strong public option that will reduce costs and cover the uninsured, etc., and asked constituents to call and thank him? The theory behind pressuring members to change their position is to incite anger and angry phone calls to the member to get them to flip. Is there any less use behind doing the opposite? Is money raised to give to campaign accounts on ActBlue better used to go on TV and thank Democrats who are most likely to betray the public option? It would obviously cost more than what's been put into most members' accounts, but perhaps it would be more effective to get them to stand firm.
And I believe that constituents eventually get turned off by relentless stream of negative ads, muting the TV, changing the channel. A positive ad might grab attention and make them look at the public option a different way. It could carry over to, say, pressure on Ron Wyden. Perhaps constituents would start asking him why he isn't supporting it like Blumenauer is, if they can be convinced that it's a good thing.
I don't know the answer, but I thought I would put it out there for some thoughts.
Last cycle, I started an ActBlue page specifically for Democratic Senate candidates working to pick up seats held by Republicans. I named it the Expand the Map! ActBlue page because the goal was to expand the map of competitive Senate seats. The effort was a big success, achieving over 300 contributions and $40,000 for the Democratic Senate candidates included on the page.
Today, I kicked off the 2010 edition of the Expand the Map! ActBlue page with three Democratic candidates for Senate: Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, New Hampshire Congressman Paul Hodes, and Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak.
In New Hampshire and Missouri, we have the strongest candidates available, candidates who will also make terrific Democratic Senators. In both races, however, fundraising will always be a top priority. Missouri Republican Roy Blunt will be able to tap his lobbyist buddies and corrupt cronies for cash ad nauseum. No doubt the NRSC will also make holding New Hampshire a top priority; and the D.C. GOP establishment has already begun fawning over Palin-esque quitter Kelly Ayotte. Carnahan and Hodes need our support! A few years back, all four of New Hampshire's and Missouri's combined Senate seats were held by Republicans. Wouldn't it feel great to have flipped all four?
In Pennsylvania, y'all know the deal. Arlen Specter was a Republican Senator for decades. Even though he changed his Party affiliation, he's still not a Democrat as far as I'm concerned. Joe Sestak is a real Democrat, and he - not Specter - should win the Democratic primary. But Specter has a significant edge when it comes to campaign cash; and, Ed Rendell will do all he can to shut off Sestak's fundraising. Let Specter, Rendell, etc. know that they can't shut down the netroots by supporting Sestak!
Please, please, please help kick off the 2010 cycle's Expand the Map! effort by sending these highly deserving Democrats a few bucks. $100 makes a huge difference, $20 makes a huge difference, $10 makes a huge difference! Hop over to the Expand the Map! ActBlue page and make your voice heard.
This is not just a contribution to these Democrats' campaigns. This is a contribution toward slowing and eventually stopping Republican obstruction in the U.S. Senate. Thank you SO much!
Collin Peterson is getting a lot of credit, both on Open Left and elsewhere, for holding up the Waxman-Markey climate change bill. However, it needs to be pointed out that Peterson is only able to do this through anti-climate change solidarity from every single Democrat on the Agriculture Committee. All 28 Democrats on that committee are refusing to pass pre-weakened climate change legislation unless the legislation gets even weaker.
Further, it needs to be pointed out that 13 of the 28 Democrats on the Agriculture Committee were first elected to Congress in 2008 or later, 3 were first elected to Congress in 2006, and 3 more were first elected to Congress in 2004. Still further, many of these are the same Democratic candidates who received the lion's share of Democratic Party Committee spending, and who also received the most progressive, small donor money from Act Blue.
In other words, the climate change bill is being held up by Democratic newbies in the House who received enormous amounts of donations from progressive activists. Here is a chart showing just how much money we are talking about: $18,508,225.
Agriculture Committee Democrats, Frosh and Sophomores
If there was ever a doubt that committed activists could shake things up and make a difference, let the recent grassroots PA-Sen Straw Poll stand as an example in your mind.
The problem: Political insiders were dominating the contours of the PA-Sen primary, trying to clear the field for Arlen Specter. The grassroots had no meaningful voice.
The solution: A Straw Poll supported by tons of national and state progressive actors -- where thousands of activists could weigh in on whether the most talked-about potential challenger was good enough to be drafted.
The theory of change: By creating one place where the public, political insiders, and the media could look to see the grassroots discontent with Specter and the level of support for Joe Sestak, progressives could alter the environment in which potential challengers made their decision about whether to run -- and alter the media dialogue to make the idea of a primary challenge less far-fetched.
Below are over 35 media stories and blog posts about the Straw Poll's launch and the final results -- personally, I'm most thrilled with all the local media coverage.
And John Morgan of The Pennsylvania Progressive (a Straw Poll partner) got some video of Sestak talking about our collective impact. Thanks to all who partnered and voted and believed that we could alter the political terrain together.
The grassroots Straw Poll has ended, and over 7,500 votes were cast!
The results: 85% in Pennsylvania and 86% nationally said YES -- draft Rep. Joe Sestak to run against Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary.
Joe Sestak just sent over this statement thanking all who voted!
"I am honored that so many of you took the time to vote in the recent grassroots Straw Poll. Let me tell you, I and many others were paying attention. If I decide to run it will be in large measure because of the grassroots energy of so many people like you. Until I and my family make that decision, please accept my thanks and my best wishes as you continue be active participants in our people-powered democracy. Thank you so very much!"
The goal of this Straw Poll -- sponsored by the PCCC in partnership with OpenLeft, Daily Kos, Digby, CrooksandLiars, the Pennsylvania Progressive, Keystone Progress, and many others -- was to allow the grassroots to have a meaningful voice in a process previously dominated by party insiders.
Not only does there appear to be grassroots energy for a primary -- but Sestak seems to be someone many folks could rally around.
Sestak obviously is paying attention to the voting results, and a big grassroots draft fund would also likely influence his decision even more.
If he runs, he automatically gets all draft donations, giving him a boost. If he doesn't, funds in that account go to ActBlue -- a vital piece of progressive infrastructure that has revolutionized people-power campaigning by making online contributions to Democrats easy. (Thanks, ActBlue!)
"I believe candidates with strong, sound stances deserve our support, and this is a race where your dollars can make the difference. Please make a contribution to this critical cause."
Sound familiar? If you have any experience with our fundraising pages you will have seen this (and perhaps fallen asleep to it) a few too many times. It is the default text for ActBlue's fundraising pages. As you've seen here on Open Left's Better Democrats page, ActBlue's customizable fundraising pages allow progressive activists to raise money for the best Democratic candidates out there easily and effectively. But while the original blurb did help Democrats use our pages, we're in year 5 of ActBlue, and this is definitely year 3-4 material. We'll be working with thousands of new fundraisers this cycle, and we want to make sure they have the best language. And, well, this isn't it.
So, we need ideas.
We know you're best equipped to know what language will appeal to your friends and neighbors, so we wanted to give all of you an opportunity to create the next fundraising page blurb. If we pick yours, it will show up automatically on almost every fundraising page created on ActBlue. To show our appreciation, we'll send the winner and two runners-up an ActBlue Ice Cream Scoop! (No, we're not kidding. And trust us, it's a high quality scoop - The Original Zeroll.)
Okay, here are the guidelines:
The blurb must be fewer than 50 words.
It has to be fairly generic (no specific issues or names), but still get across the basic reason for the fundraising page. This is something our current text does fairly well, if you are looking for an example.
If you can make it apply to pages for candidates and/or committees, all the better. If not, at least make it appeal to people looking to donate to candidates.
We are Democrats, and our pages are for Democrats. If your message would appeal to Democrats, that would probably earn points.
Humor is a big plus, but only that universal humor that works for everyone.
Effective fundraising is personal. Think about what kind of language would help you be a better fundraiser, and think about why your friends and family might feel compelled to give.
ActBlue is active in all 50 states, helping Democrats raise money for their chosen candidate from the comfort of their living rooms and offices. We believe that your voice should be heard everywhere from your state capitol to the Senate floor, and we're working to make sure it is. Please support our work with a $15 recurring contribution today!
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