Those of you who've followed my work over a period of time know that I'm usually the one suggesting moderation and keeping everyone in the big tent, and, even in this most difficult year, I'm the one telling folks that sometimes you just have to hold your nose and vote for the candidate that sucks less.
And even though the last thing I'd ever want is a Speaker Boehner or a Leader McConnell (or even worse yet, DeMint), the fact remains that there are two Democratic Senators I would actually vote against, even if the candidate that sucks more does win...and those two are Arkansas' Blanche Lincoln and Nebraska's Ben Nelson.
One of those two is up for re-election this year, and thanks to a particularly ridiculous vote by Senator Lincoln, we found ourselves in a bit of an email exchange, which is what we'll be talking about today.
Greetings from Little Rock, where it's election day!
If Bill Halter defeats Blanche Lincoln today, it will send shockwaves through the Democratic establishment -- sending a signal that corporate Democrats like Lincoln, Nelson, Landrieu, and Lieberman (I) will be rejected by voters back home when they obstruct progressive change.
I talked about the race last night on MSNBC with Ed Schultz, video below.
This doesn't have to be a spectator sport. Yesterday, Halter's grassroots field team -- led for the last two months by PCCC staffers Michael Snook and Keauna Gregory -- made a whopping 60,000 volunteer phone calls. Wow! The good folks at Democracy for America and MoveOn have also been instrumental. Can you help today too?
Hi--I'm Forrest Brown, senior organizing fellow at the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. Along with other groups like DFA and MoveOn, we're pouring our energy into getting Bill Halter elected - but I wanted to take a minute and pass along Bill Halter's thanks to all of you.
Progressives nationwide have been instrumental in putting Bill Halter in position to win. Here at OpenLeft and across the netroots, you've helped donate more than $3.5 million for Bill, and helped us make calls to over 200,000 voters in Arkansas. At the PCCC, we've raised over $250,000 for Halter's field operation -- putting staffers on the ground and talking to thousands of voters on the phone.
Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D) is continuing to pull in significant amounts of campaign cash from national progressive groups. He sent an e-mail to supporters of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee on Monday to thank them for helping him raise $250,000 ahead of Tuesday's vote.
"Thousands of PCCC members gave $250,000 in small-dollar donations, which went to fund our grassroots field operation and TV ads," Halter wrote in the e-mail. "You also helped make over 200,000 phone calls to voters in the final days, allowing us take the lead in the polls."
Halter is up against Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) in the runoff for the Democratic Senate nod.
A spokesman for PCCC said the group "has had senior staffers on the ground for the past couple months, leading Halter's field operation."
The photo below captures the moment Halter wrote the note onboard his campaign bus, according to the PCCC spokesman.
We're less than 36 hours away from polls closing in Arkansas, and this is the critical period to get Halter supporters to the polls. We need your help one more time.
Just in case you are counting . . . there are 5 days left until the AR Primary Runoff. Bill Halter is doing great and you can help push him over the edge. Check out this momentum - Pollster.com puts Halter ahead 47.9% to Lincoln's 45.2%.
They recently released 2 new ads. One features DFA member, Pauline, and
Arkansan who is ready for change. Take a look, they are both worth
watching:
Pauline:
Signs:
There's a ton of great energy in the campaign. And, DFA staff and
Members are there on the ground to help out. You can help too -- every dollar,phone call, and face-to-face conversation makes a difference.
There are only six days left in the critical primary between corporate Democrat Blanche Lincoln and netroots challenger Bill Halter. Bill Halter has the momentum leading up to next Tuesday's vote. This race is a tremendous opportunity to deliver a knockout blow to corporate Democrats like Blanche Lincoln all across the country.
Yesterday, Bill Halter rolled out his closing ad from Arkansas retiree Pauline Wildman. Pauline depends upon social security for her livelihood. In the ad, she calls out Blanche's proposal to cut social security. True to her sellout ways, Blanche wants to cut taxes for millionaires, but isn't as concerned about preserving social security.
It's the final week before the runoff election between corporate Democrat Blanche Lincoln and netroots challenger Bill Halter - time for closing arguments. Bill Halter's campaign just came out with a powerful new ad that features the story of Arkansas resident Pauline Wildman fighting back against Blanche Lincoln's proposal to cut social security.
"This is not a left vs. right debate. Voters care about who is going to fight for them in Washington against special interest lobbyists." - Charles Chamberlain, Political Director DFA
Here is what we found: Democrats in Arkansas want someone who will stand up for them, not stand with corporate lobbyists in DC. And, Bill Halter is ahead in the run-off 48-46.
Finally results from the Arkansas primary are still not in but as of this morning the two top Democrats are nearly tied and, because neither reached 50 percent, face a June 8 runoff election. That's just 3 weeks away.
As of now, Blanche Lincoln has 44.4 percent and Bill Halter 42.6 percent. But all the momentum is with Halter.
Research 2000 has been polling this race all spring for Daily Kos. The last 4 polls look like this for Halter:
March 25: 31 percent
April 15: 33 percent
April 29: 35 percent
May 13: 37 percent.
In the same polls, Blanche Lincoln was always within 1.5 points of 44.5 which is almost exactly the percent she tallied last night. She's not likely to do any better in June for several reasons. Turnout for special elections is usually quite low which will favor the candidate with more excited voters. Halter's momentum shows he is overcoming lower name ID. Lincoln's favorable/unfavorable numbers are terrible. And finally, polling versus the Republican nominee shows Halter stronger than Lincoln which may also move Democrats to Halter.
It will be an uphill fight in the general but 1) Lincoln had no chance in the general anyway and 2) the Democratic Senate caucus is more progressive without her (and Specter) in it. The conservaDems in that group will be increasingly isolated and have less ability to sway the group. And 3) Halter's primary momentum could help carry him to an upset in November.
(Posted last night, but got buried with British and financial news. We're now at 11 days...and counting... - promoted by AdamGreen)
There are just 12 days left until the Lieberman-Lamont race of 2010 -- Lt. Gov. Bill Halter vs. Sen. Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas. Bill Halter released this countdown video today:
The polls are tight. The stakes are high. Do you want to help put a big win on the board for progressives?
The PCCC has raised over $100,000 for Halter's field program and we have local folks on the ground helping to run it. In a primary like this, GOTV will win or lose the election. Chip in here.
State and federal law outlines, protects, and facilitates the voting rights of citizens. Under ideal circumstances, these laws make voting equally accessible to all eligible Americans without unnecessary barriers or hurdles. Unfortunately, the right to vote is too often misconstrued by the very officials charged with helping to protect and facilitate that right, leaving voters at best confused, and at worst disenfranchised.
The Arkansas Progress Team began organizing three months ago to bring new leadership, ideas, and membership to the Arkansas Young Democrats by focusing on progressive offline and online grassroots organizing. Their three main goals are to increase membership (check this one already), increase fund raising, and increase awareness on the issues important to Young Democrats. On Saturday, April 18th, over 200 Young Democrats turned out to vote at the State Capitol Building and delivered the Arkansas Progress Team a victory.
Left to Right: Eric Bell (Sec/Treas), Jonathan Spinks (Committeeman), and Chris Burks (President)
For awhile it was looking like in the great state of Arkansas, which the last time I checked is still a democracy, 5 incumbent memberS of congress (4 in the house and 1 in the Senate) were going to run unopposed. Up step the Greens, who are giving Arkansas voters an actual choice on their ballots come November.
So far they have nominated three candidates to challenge the five (formerly) unopposed Congressmen: Rebekah Kennedy is running against Senator Mark Pryor(D), Abel Tomlinson is running against Rep. John Boozman (R), and Joshua Drake is running against Rep. Mike Ross (D).
Arkansas Greens, who achieved full ballot access statewide in October, plan to nominate two more folks to run against the other two thus far unopposed Congresscritters, Marion Berry & Vic Snyder.
Republicans operate from the top down. Their institutions push the message of their leadership, and the gears of loyalty and conformity grind away lesser concerns such as competence.
Service in that machine is defined by what you will sacrifice to concentrate further the power of the powerful. It is the 'us vs. them' of an ever shrinking circle of 'us', and it leaves the basic needs of our communities unfulfilled.
Democrats change all that. Democrats are the force that works from the ground upwards. We are the working members of the community who band together and build healthy neighborhoods. We are the party with the rolled up sleeves and boots laced up for action.
Democrats Work is already growing in five states, and the need is so great that our expansion is limited only by our ability to get out the word.
Teams of Democrats partner with other local organizations and do highly visible and valuable work in neighborhoods. We plant trees, paint graffiti, clean parks and work food banks.
We recruit volunteers, keep them visible and active for the stretches between elections, and we get the word out to the community that Democrats are tending to the real needs in the cities and the open spaces. We provide a spotlight for the great elected officials who are willing to pitch in to actually do what their constituents elected them to do, and we bring people into service who may never have thought of themselves as belonging to a party but who are happy to show up wherever people are trying to make a real world impact.
Read on to hear about how you can do the right thing for your neighborhood at the grassroots level, while also building the electoral power that can effect global policy.
Once again, just like Iowa and New Hampshire, not much movement at the top, except for Richardson moving up. Oddly enough, even though he is still ahead of Richardson in Nevada, Edwards is cutting back on staff in the state, while Richardson is expanding. This shows that no matter what the national numbers say, he really is a tier above the rest of the field. In the first three states, the campaign is clearly a four-way race between Clinton, Edwards, Obama and Richardson. Also, Romney leads on the Republican side, but to my knowledge they have yet to move up the Nevada caucus to early state status.
Progressive Dem Reverses Retirement Plans
Turns out IL-04 won't be an open seat after all, as Luis Gutierrez has reversed his retirement announcement. My bet, an this is purely conjecture, is that this reversal is some combination of really liking being in the majority, not being too thrilled with his potential replacements, and not finding his retirement possibilities very exciting. No matter the cause, it is fun to see Republican retirements starting to flow-Pryce in OH-15, Hastert in IL-14, and Pickering MS-03 this week alone-while Democrats are moving in the opposite direction. Guitierrez is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
A History Lesson on Drafts
I have to agree with Jonathan Singer when it comes to the perplexing Politico article this morning on Fred Thompson supposedly being "the closest thing to a successful draft of a presidential candidate in more than a half-century." Huh? I was not part of the Draft Clark movement, but I saw it in full-force online back in 2003. Matt, and at least a dozen other people I know, worked on that movement. Further, when Clark dropped out of the race the day after the February 10th primaries, I watched an interview with him the next morning where he specifically stated that he was "obligated" to run because of the draft movement behind him. I'm going out on a limb here and stating that is a little closer to an actual draft movement than Fred Thompson's "campaign."
Giuliani Spent 3% of Average Worker Time At Ground Zero
It turns out Rudy Giuliani only spent 29 hours at ground zero, compared to a median of 962 hours for rescue, recovery and debris removal workers. But hey, whose counting? 29 is about the same as 962, right? I think his campaign might start to need some sort of justification besides 9/11.
National, California Connection In Clinton Polls?
Here is another possible, simpler explanation for Clinton's improvement in national polls: she is opening up a huge lead in California. Recent Survey USA and Field Poll surveys confirm this, showing Clinton hovering around 50% in the Golden State, although a recent ARG poll shows no significant increase. With something crazy like one in every eight national Democrats in California, half of Clinton's 4% national increase could have come entirely from California. I don't know what she is doing out there, but it seems to be working.
Primary Calendar Super Brat Strikes Again
New Hampshire Secretary of State, and primary season super-brat, Bill Gardner is now threatening to screw Iowa too, and hold the New Hampshire caucus on January 8th. This would force Iowa to either hold their cause within just a couple days of New Hampshire, hold it after New Hampshire, or hold it in December. I'm starting to think that every single problem with the calendar rests with Gardner. It would be really funny if Iowa and New Hampshire end up at each others throats. If their alliance breaks down, and Gardner puts New Hampshire on the 8th, then I bet Michigan goes on the 12th, and all hell breaks loose. Two privileged brats who can't figure out how to divide up the spoils because one of them, New Hampshire, is brattier than the other. Hysterical.
John Edwards was the only presidential candidate to come to the YDA Conference in Dallas, Texas last week. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton each sent a representative to speak on their behalf. It says a lot that Edwards showed up to an organization that needs attention. It shows that he is committed to helping young people in the Democratic party. We are the ones who will get out your vote, candidates. As one of the presenters said, "you guys aren't the future of the Democratic Party, you're the present."
(I'm second on the right of John in the front row.) originals
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Republicans operate from the top down. Their institutions push the message of their leadership, and the gears of loyalty and conformity grind away lesser concerns such as competence.