5 Days: Last Chance!
October 28, 2004
5 Days, It's Now Up To You: Act!
Last 5 Days: Make Your $ Really Count with New Majority Tickets
Although there are many races in play, we've set up a series of regional "tickets," allowing you to support a slate of races in a specific part of the country. We've identified some of the top races in each region - although we're still keeping a few tricks up our sleeve up until the very end.
Each and every dollar donated to a "ticket" will be used exclusively to support our efforts for the candidates in that group.
We're past the point where we can wait for checks to clear. The financial support of the internet community can't be over-emphasized.
Please take a look at our Majority Tickets right now. We know it's been an exhausting couple of years, and so many of us have put more time and money into this election than in the rest of our lives combined. Thanks again for all that you've done during this cycle, and we humbly ask you to help us one more time.
Defend Texas
http://www.democraticaction.org/tix/texas.php
Ticket East
http://www.democraticaction.org/tix/east.php
Ticket West
http://www.democraticaction.org/tix/west.php
Ticket South
http://www.democraticaction.org/tix/south.php
Ticket Heartland
http://www.democraticaction.org/tix/heartland.php
Last Chance: Road Trip for a New Majority
Last week we described the vital importance of our presence on the ground in tight races, and we won't bore you with a full rehashing, but suffice it to say that in the South Dakota special election our volunteers knocked on 180,000 doors in a race decided by 2,981 votes. Now, allow us to update you on the status of three key road trips this weekend, and as you read through them consider whether you would be willing and able to hoof it for a weekend to put them over the top.
GA-12: Republican Max Burns in ruing the day he declared his support for a national sales tax designed to shift the tax burden from wealthy Americans to working Americans. The national sales tax idea is the most extreme extension of the Bush/DeLay agenda, which Newsweek's Wall Street Editor rightly described as an effort to "create a new class of landed aristocrats who could inherit billions tax-free, invest the money, watch it compound tax-free and hand it down tax-free to their heirs." A huge Washington Post headline blared, "Ads on National Sales Tax Draw GOP Ire," which gives a pretty good indication that we've hit a sore spot with our attack on the "Max Tax."
Sign up now: Departing from Washington, DC - Friday, October 29, 2004
KY-03: You can run down Republican Anne Northup's record and find rubberstamp support for just about any issue you can imagine. Outsourcing a good thing? Yup. Saddam connected to Al Qaeda? Of course! No Child Left Behind? No problem there whatsoever. Right on down the line. Democrat Tony Miller is a veteran, a board member of Louisville Urban League, and has 16 years experience as Jefferson County Circuit Court Clerk. This district is ripe for the picking, and all that stands between us and victory is that Northup has done well in keeping her constituents in the dark on her real positions. That's where you come in.
Sign up now: Depart from Maryville, TN; Washington, DC; Aurora, IL; Valparaiso, IN
Friday, October 29, 2004 / Saturday, October 30, 2004
NY-27: Allow us to share a specific frustration with you. As we work on the Hill, watching as Republicans use their ever-so-slim edge to cram through offensive policies, there is a constant pang of watching supposed GOP "moderates" - representing Democratic districts - cast deciding votes time after time with Tom DeLay. NY-27 is such a district. With Democrats holding an 80,000 voter registration advantage, this was among the most Democratic seats in the country held by a Republican until Jack Quinn's surprise retirement. Now the 27th is one of the best Democratic pick-up opportunities in the nation. Don't let Nancy Naples, another rubberstamp in moderate's clothing, slip into this seat - help us put a Democrat in this Democratic district.
Sign up now: Departing from Washington, DC; New York, Plattsburgh, and Geneseo, NY
Friday, October 29, 2004
Races to Watch: On the Cusp of Victory
Here are just a few of our candidates surging into November:
TX-32: Sneaky Pete become Streaky Pete... Pete Sessions, the Republican moralizer and anti-public nudity crusader (in the wake of the Janet Jackson fiasco), ran into his toughest opponent yet this week when it was revealed that a younger Pete Sessions was not only an early "streaking" enthusiast, but was quoted in local papers espousing the virtues of such "free spirit" behavior. For laughs, we threw together StreakyPete.com, where you can watch a hilarious "flash" animation of the entire affair.
PA-08: Ginny Walks... Reacting to what Stacey Kerr of the DCCC called "the most hateful piece of mail we have seen in this election cycle," Democrat Ginny Schrader walked out on a debate with her Republican opponent when he refused to apologize or denounce the piece. The mailing made a series of wild leaps from Schrader to "Fahrenheit 9/11" to Hezbollah, declaring that "The Hate America crowd has found their candidate." Schrader (commonly referred to simply as "Ginny") responded: "'Let me assure you, I don't hate America,' Schrader said in her opening remarks Monday. 'This mentions Hezbollah. Half my family is Jewish. This is totally unacceptable.'" Schrader has nearly completed a transformation from long-shot candidate to Cinderella surprise, and her opponent's extreme anti-choice positions are far out of the mainstream in the district. Once again, PA may be front and center in the Democratic surge.
UT-02: Unquotable? Oh my. Salt Lake Tribune Columnists Paul Rolly and JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells accuse Republican John Swallow of "hitting below the belt": "To use a popular Utah word, it's time to call 'bullcrap' on the one high-profile campaign in Utah that has grossly distorted the opponent's record. The culprits: Republican congressional candidate John Swallow and his political consultant, Peter Valcarce." Unfortunately for Swallow, that was the good news for the day, as the Tribune also endorsed Democrat Jim Matheson for re-election. Matheson is one of the GOP's ever-elusive targets, and he looks to be slipping the NRCC's shoddily concocted noose once again as well. Better luck in '06 fellas.
NC-11: Keever Choice Grows Clearer... Responding to complaints from Veterans about his record on Vets' issues, Republican Charles Taylor decried their protests as "political propaganda." He should not have been surprised when two veterans fired back: "The priorities of Mr. Taylor are reflected by his votes in Congress. In this era when America's involvement in the war against terror is creating a new generation of wartime veterans, and the VA is taking on the needs of Vietnam War, Korean War and World War II veterans, Mr. Taylor has not been forthright with our veterans and the voters of Western North Carolina. He has distorted his record, claiming to 'have always fought in Congress for our veterans.' However, his voting history, which is public record, proves different." Meanwhile, the analysts at CQ Politics Daily have shifted the race from longshot to "slight" Republican favorite, and there can be no question that Democrat and former teacher Patsy Keever has all the momentum going into the election.
KS-3: Another cycle down the tubes... Much like Utah's 2nd, Kansas' 3rd is a perennial target of the national Republicans, and in both districts Republicans have had recurring nightmares: nominate a wingnut blind party loyalist in the primaries, cede the center to the Democrat, desperately try to paint the Democrat as an "ultra-liberal," fail miserably and end up with egg on your face for distorting his record. And while Democrat Dennis Moore's 12-point edge can hardly compete with Matheson's 20-30 point edge in Utah, both are look pretty good going into November, and the nightmares are coming back for the NRCC.
TX-19: Stenholm's Stand... When Tom DeLay concocted his crooked redistricting scheme, he singled out the senior Texas Rep., Charlie Stenholm for extermination. Stenholm is indeed in one of the toughest races around, but he is making his race anything but a cakewalk, hammering his opponent and DeLay for their inability to rule ethically: "But Stenholm pointed out that DeLay's demand for the irregular redistricting is just another instance of the Republican leader's attempt to consolidate his power at any cost. The same mindset, Stenholm said in the Lubbock debate, has resulted in 'no energy bill, no budget ... , no increase in the debt ceiling.'" In a more comical turn, it seems the national Republicans have been phonebanking for his opponent, but in their angst to convey their heartfelt affinity for his values, forgot to figure out how to pronounce his name.
IL-08: Bean's Clean Sweep... The Daily Herald endorsed Democrat Melissa Bean for this Republican-leaning seat, making it pretty much a clean sweep of area endorsements. After noting his not necessarily admirable tendency to stick to his extreme conservative views no matter what, they go on: "Unfortunately, Crane has built another solid reputation in Congress that clearly is not admirable: That of a show horse, not a workhorse. After 35 years in office, he has accomplished little of significance." Bean is a candidate who has captured the Democratic spirit at its best, harnessing tremendous grassroots energy and catapulting herself into the spotlight with astounding national coverage.
News From the Blog
IL-08: The Anti-Crane Conspiracy
Republican Phil Crane shoots himself in the foot... again.
Stop that Canoodling!
Katherine Karris gets caught playing footsie on the House floor.
The Breeze
DCCC Chairman Matsui defies critics, predicts major gains.
Poor Guy
Tom DeLay is forced to go door-to-door for the first time in perhaps a decade.
Checks & Balances
George H.W. Bush has trouble interpreting the Constitution.
Speaker Soprano's Pathetic Return!
For the third time this year Hastert blackmails voters.
Bush Loves the Democratic Party
After three and 5/6 years Bush courts the Democratic vote.
Pelosi: Incompetence has a Cost
Statement from Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on the announcement that Bush will seek $70 billion for Iraq next year.
Corrupted Ralph
Bush-Cheney strategist Ralph Reed's long history of selling his morality.
