This is the third in the series of Grassroots Reports we are providing over the final few weeks of the campaign to let the blogosphere know what 21st Century Democrats is doing in several key battleground states. This week we're focusing on Maine which has suddenly become a targeted state in the Presidential race and has seen a tightening in the Senate and Congressional contests. After 21st Century Democrats helped force John McCain from Michigan, he redirected some of his staff to Maine in the hopes of winning a single electoral vote there.
On Friday, the anti-war group Vote Vets put out an ad in Maine that harshly criticized Republican Sen. Susan Collins' support of the war. The spot, which had $200,000 behind it and was narrated by a veteran, hit the Senator for being complicit in the wasting of federal dollars and lives in Iraq.
"Sen. Susan Collins just stood by and let all of this happen, and still is," says Iraq War veteran Alex Cornell du Houx. "I gave 100 percent in Iraq. I can't afford to give Iraq any more. Call Susan Collins and tell her we want our money back."...
"As the target of weeks of relentless false and negative attacks aired on TV and radio by allies of Senator Collins, Tom Allen knows that distortions such as these ads have no place in this race," said Carol Andrews, Allen's communications director. "Congressman Allen is the candidate in this race who three months ago set a standard for positive communications pleas from third parties. He asked Senator Collins to join him in that effort. That request was refused."
I didn't like Tom Allen when he went after bloggers in 2005. He's part of that wanker class. I hope he defeats Susan Collins and would vote for him if given the opportunity, but I can see why Maine voters wouldn't want to put him in the Senate.
In the last couple days, there have been several posts across the blogosphere citing what various candidates running for Congress have said on FISA and retroactive immunity for the telecoms. But so far, it's been all over the map. I'll try to corral all their statements into this diary, so you can see who the "good guys" are.
First, let's start off with the current House and Senate members who voted against this bill. They do deserve credit, as it's their jobs on the line.
Follow me below the fold to see the dozens of Democratic challengers who are standing up for the Constitution, and are against this FISA bill and retroactive immunity.
Iraq legislation is moving through Congess, as I blogged earlier. Here's Jay Inslee, on the floor.
"I came across, a few weeks ago, some work that some citizens had done to provide an exit strategy from Iraq. This plan is called a Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq. ... Here is a plan that has considerable parallels to the amendment we will be allowed to offer to finally have some responsible plan to end the war in Iraq. A meaningful timetable, a statement about permanent bases, meaningful requirements for not overburdening our military. It's time, simply, for Congress to act."
He's discussing amendment 2, which passed with 227 yes votes, and includes a variety of provisions that are in the Responsible Plan, including cracking down on contractor fraud, anti-torture provisions, and more diplomatic initiatives.
The Senate is going to pass Iraq funding shortly, with restrictions according to The Hill's Manu Raju.
This is the kind of brutal local press against Susan Collins that is extremely difficult to beat back. It's a local news story on how, as Chair of the Senate Government Reform Committee, she did no investigating of Halliburton or Iraq contractors.
VoteVets broke the story that the VA is failing to diagnose veterans with PTSD in order to save money.
Obama reacts to the California Supreme Court decision:
Barack Obama has always believed that same-sex couples should enjoy equal rights under the law, and he will continue to fight for civil unions as President. He respects the decision of the California Supreme Court, and continues to believe that states should make their own decisions when it comes to the issue of marriage.
So states should make their own decisions, but also, he'll fight for civil unions? Ok. Marriage equality will probably happen during his term, it's just going to require work and organizing.
More interest in Josh Segall, House candidate in Alabama.
Now the Ron Paul revolution, as his supporters call it, is experiencing a second wind. Paul took 16 percent of the vote in Pennsylvania, his best primary showing yet, and has surpassed 1 million votes in the GOP contest. Ron Paul Republicans have started roiling local party organizations, taking control of state conventions and running for public office, all without much coordination from their leader.
One of the Ron Paul Republicans who actually has the congressman's endorsement is B.J. Lawson, a fellow Duke Medical School alumni running for the House of Representatives from North Carolina's 4th Congressional District. Lawson won his May 6 congressional primary with more than 70 percent of the vote, despite his opposition to the Iraq war and criticism of the Bush administration's free-spending ways.
Of course, there's this little problem.
Paul had to retract his endorsement of a Ron Paul Republican who was improperly vetted and turned out to be a white supremacist.
Max Blumenthal went to MS-01 and checked out the attack ads against Travis Childers. Here's what he found.
I've been crossing a lot of items of my "To Do" list lately:
Graduate college - check.
Pay down student loans - check.
Buy my first home - well, that will have to wait a while, but at least Tom Allen has a plan to make it easier.
Even before the sub-prime mortgage crisis caused lenders to tighten their belt, people faced incredible obstacles when attempting to buy their first home. Housing prices skyrocketed out of reach, then crashed and credit became hard to obtain; heating oil for those of us in cold climates has become unaffordable, especially for people who are already struggling with the costs of health care or college debt, and add on top of that the high cost of homeowners insurance. And then there are the numerous upfront costs associated with buying your first home, like coming up with the money for down payments and closing costs so you can qualify for a mortgage.
Like many people, my fiancé and I decided we'd have to put our dream of homeownership off for a while longer. But we are excited that Congressman and U.S. Senate Candidate Tom Allen has introduced H.R. 5643 the First Time Homebuyers' Tax Credit Act. The bill establishes a one-time tax credit for first time homebuyers of up to $3,000 for individuals and $6,000 for married couples, which can be put toward a down payment or to help pay closing costs. If passed, this legislation will make it a little easier for millions of American families, like mine, to make their dreams a reality.
Congressman Tom Allen does a great job of explaining how this tax credit can help you and your family in a video available after the jump. I hope you will watch and enjoy.
(Mike Nutter, Director of Internet Communications, Tom Allen for U.S. Senate)
Trends in Maine continue to strengthen for Democrats and weaken for Republicans in an environment that isn't rosy for GOP around the nation. Recent national research conducted by Democracy Corps and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner shows 70% of respondents saying our nation is on the wrong track. In Maine, we're seeing much the same in recent internal polling with dissatisfaction reaching 69%.
This bodes well for Maine Democrats and for Tom Allen in his challenge to Susan Collins in 2008.
Just last week Maine Democrats won three of five special elections in the State House, boosting the number of seats held by Democrats to 90 of 151, two of which are held by independents. Democrats haven't held 90 seats in more than a decade.
Recent polls reflect Tom Allen's steep climb over the next year, but they also illustrate Susan Collins' vulnerability. Not only are national and state wrong track numbers bad news, abut her job approval and favorability ratings - now in the mid to high 50s, -- have fallen by double digits over the past couple of years and are lower now than Lincoln Chafee's were the day he was defeated by Sheldon Whitehouse.
Tom Allen has the time and the fundraising strength to win. Third quarter fundraising results of almost $670,000 pushed Tom Allen's cash on hand to $2,112,801.40, compared to Susan Collins' $3.1 million. Fundraising is on track to meet budget and totals put Tom Allen ahead of most other challengers across the nation. One only need to look at Senators Whitehouse, Tester and Webb from the 2006 cycle to see three victors who many months from election day faced double digit deficits against entrenched incumbents. And much like the Whitehouse-Chafee race, this match will never be about likeability - both Allen and Collins have plenty of that. It's about the issues: Iraq, health care, a middle class squeezed by Bush-Cheney economic policies.
Unlike past elections in Maine, the wrong track is largely driven by Iraq. A recent Survey USA poll showed that 25% of respondents chose Iraq as the top issue facing Maine. Of those voters, Tom Allen leads Susan Collins by 9%. Remember, Tom Allen is one of 133 Members of Congress who voted against the war and the candidate with a consistent voice to get us out of Iraq. Susan Collins voted for the war and has consistently agreed with the Bush-Cheney policies down the line. Collins is on very thin ice, and there are powerful forces at play that are aligned against her.
Mike Nutter
Director of Internet Communications
Tom Allen for Senate
I'd like to start out by highlighting that this is not a post about Presidential politics. There's so much of that going on, I thought we might need a break.
I am here to ask for your help, on behalf of five outstanding Democratic challengers running for the US House and Senate. Helping our challengers face their challenge should be a goal for all Democrats, regardless of whom we support for president.
Hopefully, if one of the front-pagers agree with the concept and candidates, they might promote it?
One of the best parts of the Lieberman-Lamont primary was when Lieberman or his surrogates would publicly lash out at bloggers and decry our vitriole. The reaction of the majority of primary voters ran from 'what is a blogger' to 'what is Lieberman talking about' to 'Lieberman isn't talking to me'. While reporters read blogs somewhat obsessively, most voters did not know what blogs were or particularly care. To insiders, Lieberman campaign was responding to bloggers in the conversation about politics, but to voters, Lieberman was responding to ghosts in his own mind. He looked clumsy and weird, kind of like Democrats complaining about Rush Limbaugh in the 1990s to people who never listened to Limbaugh.
Responding to blogs the way that Collins is doing is hilarious, because most voters are going to look at her and say 'why does she want us to stay in Iraq, and why is she arguing with ghosts on the internet instead of getting us out of Iraq?' That's what this is about.
STATE BLOGS
