Here in the First District of Kentucky we have an awesome candidate to unseat Exxon Ed Whitfield. Whitfield is a McConnell clone who can’t wait to vote his stock options, and rubber-stamp every failed policy of McConnell and Bush. He doesn’t own a home in our district, and is essentially a carpet-bagger.
Heather wants to earn your support in her run against Exxon Ed Whitfield. The defeat of Whitfield would be a huge blow to the McConnell machine here in Kentucky. That is not the only good thing about supporting this race however.
Heather is an awesome grassroots Democrat that supports the ideals of our party. She will have the strength and courage to stand up with something our party seems to be lacking in Congress, a backbone!! She will fight for Democratic ideals and won’t run from them.
But why not meet Heather, and listen to what she has to say in her own words? Here is the first installment of her video diary:
Please help us in this race. I know Heather personally and have seen her dedication to her family, our country, our party, and the people of the First District of Kentucky first hand. As the fiasco with Andrew Horne has shown us all, we simply can’t depend on our national party to fight for Kentucky. We can win this seat with help, and we are already in the General election against Ed Whitfield this fall.
Please go to Heather’s site and sign up for email updates to watch this race. While there, read up on Heather and the issues she cares about:
While there, please consider supporting fellow grassroots Democrats in Kentucky that are determined to fight against Mitch McConnell and his well-oiled, well-funded machine. We are a mouse fighting a gorilla and need your support!!! You will not be disappointed in your investment in this race. We will put it to work immediately to fight the McConnell machine. We are grassroots Democrats just like yourself. Please, invest in us here:
We can and will win this race with the help of grassroots Democrats everywhere!!!
I will be keeping you updated on the newest installments of her video diary, as well as keeping you up on the hypocrisy of Ed Whitfield in the coming days. Please, join our campaign of grassroots Democrats fighting against established Repug money!!
We all remember the chaos of Hurricane Katrina. We all remember watching our fellow citizens that desperately needed a competent response to this disaster as they were left behind. This was a huge disaster, but the fact of the matter is that it could have been handled better. The fact of the matter is that it was a disgrace that it wasn’t.
Just look at this quote from Wikipedia:
Within the United States and as delineated in the National Response Plan, disaster response and planning is first and foremost a local government responsibility. When local government exhausts its resources, it then requests specific additional resources from the county level. The request process proceeds similarly from the county to the state to the federal government as additional resource needs are identified. Many of the problems that arose developed from inadequate planning and back-up communications systems at various levels.
This way of doing things in regards to disasters was proven a complete and total failure. What if we are hit again soon with a disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina? Have our leaders done anything to change a fundamentally flawed system that leaves our citizens such as the ones in New Orleans behind? Are they even trying?
One candidate in Kentucky’s First District is speaking on this. Heather Ryan, Democratic candidate for Congress is calling for a National Emergency Plan:
National Preparedness: Where would you go if there was a national, state or local emergency? What would you do if severe weather hit your area? What if you lived in a mobile home or had no transportation to get to higher ground? These are serious issues that the Republican party has had 7 years to think about and plan around since the War on Terror began.
When Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast, thousands of low income people were without a plan and were abandoned by the Bush administration. When tornadoes hit Kentucky and the south on February 5th, 2008 my family and I found ourselves in the same situation. A low income family, living in a mobile home park with nowhere to go. The people who died in those storms were largely like us, they knew they were in danger but they had no plan. WE NEED A NATIONAL EMERGENCY PLAN!
Every life in our nation is precious and deserves protection against the elements and terrorist threats; not just the lives of the Republican Party’s rich donors deserve to have shelter in times of crisis. As your congressional representative, I will immediately begin work on a national emergency plan. Unlike the Republicans, who want you to be afraid, I do not believe that Fear Mongering is a plan, instead it is a tool for their re-election campaigns. I will be part of the solution – not the problem!
Mrs. Ryan is exactly right on this issue. We need more people in Congress that are in touch with the problems that face Americans on Main St., not just Wall St. We need to elect leaders like Heather to the Congress who will make sure that we develop a national emergency plan that doesn’t leave citizens and states behind when tragedy strikes.
Heather Ryan is an awesome, grassroots Democrat that is already running in the fall against Exxon Ed Whitfield in Kentucky’s First. An investment in her is an investment in increasing our Congressional majority for the next President. Won’t you make an investment in grassroots Democrats who want to fight for our party? Please, help us by going here and investing in fighting Democrats:
We are already facing over a million dollars of special interest money in one of the poorest Congressional Districts in America. Won’t you chip in to help grassroots Democrats pull an upset in Kentucky?
A lot of the oxygen in the room is being sucked up by the Presidential campaign right now. I know there has been a lot of passion for that race, and understandably so. However, there are many more elections this year that Democrats need to be focused on. In both chambers of Congress, we have threadbare majorities. Even if we win the White House in the Fall, we still face gridlock without an expansion of our Congressional Majorities in the Congress.
Just imagine too, as depressing as it is that John McCain lucks up and wins in the fall. We will need a Congress that can hold him, and the irresponsible Republican Congressional delegation in check. Either way you look at it, no matter who wins the White House, we simply MUST expand our majorities in the Congress.
What good will it do Obama or Clinton if they are elected and we still have spineless Democrats in the House and Senate who won’t fight for us or them, and team up with the Repugs to defeat Progressive change? What happens if the Republicans are allowed the numbers to mount a filibuster in the Senate against our new agenda? In two words, NOTHING GOOD!!
We simply MUST expand our majorities in both houses of Congress. Not doing so spells a certain disaster for our party, and our President if we manage to elect a Democrat. We need Democrats all over this country elected who not only talk about change, but fight for it.
So what can we do? With hundreds of millions of dollars flying around the Presidential race, we simply must invest some of that money in our Congressional candidates around the country that seek to expand our majority. Furthermore, we need to invest in those candidates who believe in the ideals of our party and have the backbone to fight for them.
With that in mind, I would like to tell you about Heather Ryan, an awesome Democrat that is running in Kentucky’s First Congressional District to defeat one of the worst Congressman in the land, Exxon Ed Whitfield. Whitfield is a Mitch McConnell clone that doesn’t even own a house in our district. His basis for holding our Congressional seat is his parent’s house in Hopkinsville, and an empty lot in Madisonville. He is highly invested in oil stocks, and other big business stocks and votes in the interest of his bottom line, not the voters of Kentucky’s First District. Hence, we have nick-named him Exxon Eddie!!
This time around, we plan on sending Exxon Eddie back to Florida, or wherever it is that he really lives. We are determined to not only send him packing, but to elect a “Fighting Democrat” with a backbone who will stand for the voters of our district and for the principles our party was founded on.
Enter Heather Ryan. A mother, Navy veteran of the Gulf War, and proud Democrat. Here she is, in her own words telling why she is in this race:
I was propelled into this race when I became the victim of
a corrupt politician.
It was after my experience that I realized that the Republican Representation Kentucky has in Washington, D.C. is part of the “Culture of Corruption” from which our communities are currently reeling.
Ed Whitfield, KY-01’s current representative, is no exception. He consistently votes for his own financial interests, has only introduced one piece of legislation in 13 years as Representative
(a ban on eating horse meat) and opposed SCHIP legislation which would have increased health care benefits for poor children!
I refuse to allow a powerful few to bully me and the First Congressional District. We need someone who is not afraid to stand up for the rights of their constituents – not another puppet of the rich and power hungry.
I will be a TRUE Representative for the people of Kentucky’s First District! Not a No-Show like “Exxon Eddie Whitfield”
As you can see, like many citizens of Western Kentucky, Mrs. Ryan is sick and fed up with the arrogance and elitism offered up by McConnell and Whitfield. She wants to fight against more than eating horse meat, (yuck), she wants to fight for Kentuckians. While I am sure that horses in Kentucky are breathing easier, the citizens aren’t.
Heather Ryan is determined to fight for our new President, and a Democratic agenda in the Congress. Lets look at a couple of her priorities on her website which is still under construction:
It is an absolute travesty that 50 million Americans struggle without health care in the wealthiest nation in the world. What’s worse is when our representative votes against improvements in access to health services for children and the poor. Unfortunately, these are
both realities that we’ve experienced under the current leadership. I propose that health care for every American is more important than tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.
It is time we had a representative who thinks about more than just how much money he can make when he helps pass legislation that benefits drug and insurance companies. As the leaders of the free world, it is an embarrassment that we are the only industrialized nation that does not offer health care for our citizens.
It sounds like Mrs. Ryan is right on par with what we need for our citizens to recieve healthcare. Former Edwards supporters, I think this shows that she supports the healthcare initiative that would help create One America. Won’t you help us in this venture?
Another telling statement can be found on Heather’s site that shows she will fight the Corporate control of our government also:
The Budget Reconciliation Bill, signed by President Bush and passed by Congress, cut future spending for Medicare, Medicaid, Student Loans and even free and reduced lunches for poor children; all while giving a $2.3 Billion tax break to Oil Companies and affording a $5.7 billion slush fund to Pharmaceutical Companies (both of which Representative Ed Whitfield has personal financial investments and large campaign contributions). Corporate welfare for profitable companies who donate heavily to Congressmen is corrupt and scandalous. I will
work diligently against the culture of corruption which permeates the political system.
Heather is dedicated to Government Reform which doesn’t allow Congressmen such as Exxon Eddie to rake in millions of dollars from special interests and then shamelessly vote for them over the interests of the citizens of the First District of Kentucky. She shares our outrage at a system that is tilted toward the rich and powerful and away from us.
In case you might have missed it, here is Heather’s announcement to run for the Congressional seat in Kentucky’s First District:
So, how can you help? Well, first you can go to our site and check out Heather Ryan and her stances. The site is still under construction, but Heather wanted to get her views on some important issues up as soon as possible. Second, got to her site and scroll to the bottom and sign up to recieve updates on our campaign here:
Finally, unfortunately money is the one thing that no campaign can get started or survive without. Kentucky is one of the poorest states in the union, and the First is one of the poorest Congressional Districts. Unfortunately, the people who really need Heather Ryan and support her have very little money to give. They are scratching and clawing in the second America John Edwards talked so eloquently about in this election. We need the help of national Democrats!!
Now keep in mind that Heather is the only Democrat to file by the deadline for this race, and will not face a primary. By supporting her you are not only helping fellow grassroots Democrats in Kentucky’s First, but you are supporting a “Fighting Democrat” with a backbone that WILL BE running to unseat a sitting Republican in the fall. You are not only supporting Heather, you are supporting the expansion of our Democratic majorities for whatever President takes over next year!! Please go here and make an investment in our party, and our Congress here:
No amount is too small, and anything you send will be put to work immediately towards the expansion of our Congressional Majority. I know it is easy to get caught up in the Presidential, many of you remember me as an ardent Edwards supporter and blogger, but we can’t afford to ignore our great Congressional and Senate candidates who are seeking to infuse this party with something it desperately needs, A BACKBONE!!! Heather Ryan is such a Democrat and we desperately need your help!!! Please show us some love!!!
Our PAC, Blue Catapult, is holding its first fundraiser next Tuesday in Washington, DC. We support Democratic congressional candidates who are challenging incumbent Republicans or Republican-held open seats. The idea is that incumbents should do well on their own in raising money, but if we want to expand the Democrats’ majority in Congress, then we need to help emerging Democratic challengers in their campaigns.
So we need some help right now in identifying good Democratic challengers, and we are hoping that you can provide some nominations. Here are our criteria:
1) The Democratic congressional candidate must be running for a seat currently occupied by a Republican, whether the incumbent is running for reelection or not.
2) The candidate must have a clear path to the nomination. No primary challenge.
3) The candidate must have a decent campaign operation. Our support is for candidates who, with some more support and attention, could become a competitive seat.
4) The campaign should not be a top target of the DCCC. We want to help emerging candidates, not ones who are already assured of good support.
If you know of any good candidates, please post them in comments. We will choose 5 candidates, and at our event next Tuesday the attendees will vote and the top two will be the recipients of our first contributions.
So, in the comments below, please nominate potential candidates for us to support with some explanation as to why they are good investments. If you want more info about us, please visit www.bluecatapult.com We will of course post our decisions and results as they are determined.
One of things that I love doing on my all too infrequent trips to Washington, DC; along with networking, kicking Rethugs to the curb whenever possible, is being able to pick up “Roll Call” and “The Hill” for free. One of the articles in the 1/4/06 edition of “Roll Call” was an article from Rep. Tom Cole, the new head of the RCCC. One of the things that he said was that the RCCC had a debt of around $16 million and that was more than they had realized previously (SNARK WARNING) couldn’t have happened to a nicer group of gals and guys. He also talks about 60 congressional districts that president bush carried twice that are currently help by Democrats. I won’t bother you with 39 of them, because they are held by long term, incumbent dedmocrats with large voting percentages. But there are 21 districts; held by Democrats, who won with under 55%. The list is as follows:
TX 22nd Nick Lampson 52%
PA 10th Christopher Carney 53%
IA 9th Baron Hill 50%
KS 2nd Nancy Boyda 51%
LA 3rd Charlie Melancon 55%
NC 11th Heath Schuler 54%
IL 8th Melissa Bean 51%
IN 2nd Joe Donnelly 54%
GA 8th Jim Marshall 51%
WI 8th Steve Kagen 51%
AZ 5th Harry Mitchell 51%
CA 11th Jerry McNerney 53%
FL 16th Tim Mahoney 49%
NY 19th John Hall 51%
PA 4TH Jason Altmire 52%
AZ 8th Gabrielle Giffords 54%
NY 24th Michael Acuri 54%
MN 1st Tim Walz 53%
NH 1st Carol Shea-Porter 52%
IA 3rd Lenoard Boswell 52%
OR 5th Darlene Hooley 54%
These are prime cases of defense first along with the districts that Kerry took in 2004 that have elected rethugs.