Author: Populista

There is still a lot more work to do if we want to get Barack Obama elected. But if we want to truly change this country we need to do more then that. We need to build strong Democratic majority in the House and Senate committed to passing Obama’s agenda of change. In short we need an Obamajority.

So I e-mailed a few people who had helped out with the Obamathon and came up with the idea for a fundraising drive like the Obamathon but for congressional candidates who will help build a Obamajority. Using the amazing ActBlue we have set up a fundraising page to build The New Obamajority. To start out it features three great candidates. Rick Noriega, Darcy Burner and Patrick Murphy. More will be added as time goes on (suggestions are welcome at obamathon (AT) gmail (DOT) com) but for now let me introduce you to those three great candidates who will help build an Obamajority.    

Rick Noriega

First off, Rick Noriega. Rick is running for Senate in Texas to take back LBJ’s old seat from Bush rubber stamp John Cornyn.

Rick is a Lt. Colonel in the Texas Army National Guard and has served in Afghanistan, he has been a accomplished state representative since 1998 and he managed the evacuee shelter operation in Houston. He was “drafted” into the Senate race by Texas activists and is now running a strong campaign against John Cornyn who is one of the worst Senators in the nation. But why should this race matter to Obama supporters?

Many presidents have been swept into office with a progressive agenda of reform but then faced the Senate. We don’t want Barack to have the same experience. The Republican minority has set a record in filibusters and has been able to over and over block progress on key issues. If we want Obama to be able to succeed in changing the country we will need more Democrats in the Senate. There are some races like Virgina that are likely going to be pickups but were we can help the most is in states like Texas that are at the verge of at least turning purple but are under the national radar. Money and energy at this point will help give Rick the resources needed to run a grassroots, people-powered campaign so he can defeat John Cornyn and help build an Obamajority. Donate today via the New Obamajority page and together we can do it. And if your wondering who Rick prefers in the presidential race read this quote from a newspaper:

   “I’m for whoever wins,” he replies diplomatically, before twirling into the second half of his answer: “I’m for who’s going to come back to Texas and help us fight (to) win Texas.”

   …

   Noriega falls back to Alamo imagery. “I’m drawing a line in the sand. My focus is which one of you (Obama or Clinton) is committed to help us win Texas back.

   “At the end of the day,” Noriega said, “I want to know who’s going to be in the foxhole with us.”

We know Barack Obama will be in that foxhole with him, and will execute the 50-state strategy to turn Texas blue and elect Rick Noriega to the Senate seat once held by Lyndon Baines Johnson. Donate today and make it a reality!

Darcy Burner:

Next up is Darcy Burner. She is running for Congress in Washington’s 8th congressional district against Rep. Dave Reichert. Bush and Reichert are such great pals that Bush decided to fly across the country to do a big fundraiser for him. In response we in the netroots raised almost 100,000 dollars for Darcy Burner in less then a week. She is a great candidate and stands a great shot to win and send a message of change to congress.

Darcy is a software engineer who got fed up of Reichert and his pal Bush and ran a underdog, grassroots campaign in 2006 and nearly won. She has learned from that campaign and is running again and stands a great shot of winning.

She won’t just be another vote in Congress. She will be a leader. As a congressional candidate she worked with other candidates, security experts, military leaders and others to develop the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq. That is the kind of leadership she will bring to congress.

If we want to enact Obama’s agenda we need more leaders. So help send one to congress. Donate to Darcy!

Patrick Murphy:

And finally Patrick Murphy. He is the first and only Iraq War veteran to serve in Congress and has helped lead the fight to bring our troops home from Iraq and ensure they receive the care and benefits they receive when they come back. With Barack Obama as President we can finish that job.

In 2006 by running a people-powered campaign similar to the one Obama is now running Patrick upset Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick. But the Republicans have recruited a top-tier candidate and this will be a tough race.

Back in August 2007, Murphy stepped to the plate to endorse Barack Obama, and spent a great deal of time in Iowa and New Hampshire on the stump for Barack Obama. Patrick has stood with us and now let’s return the favor and help return him to congress. Donate to Murphy for an Obamajority.

There you go. Three great candidates who will help build an Obamajority to help Barack Obama achieve real change. Supporting Barack isn’t enough because he won’t be able to do anything if he doesn’t have an Obamajority. So let’s build one. Donate today. Spread the word. Have a idea for another canidate? Post it in the comments or e-mail obamathon (AT) gmail (DOT) com.

Democracy for America’s 2008 Grassroots All-Stars vote is underway and we have a chance to use the voting to push for a endorsement of progressive Democrats running in tough primaries. Specifically Ed Fallon.

Ed is a progressive Democrat running against Bush Dog Leonard Boswell. Ed ran for governor in 2006 and won the district in the primary. We have done great work for Mark Pera and Donna Edwards campaigns against Bush Dogs. Now with a extra netroots boost Fallon can beat another Bush Dog!

First lets take a look at Boswell from the great Bush Dog profile that David Kowalski did at OpenLeft.

Boswell has had a terrible voting record on important legislation.  He was among the minority of House Democrats to authorize the use of military force in Iraq (AUMF).  Boswell also voted for the PATRIOT Act, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, a draconian immigration bill that never made it through the Senate, and No Child Left Behind.

It is important to understand that Leonard Boswell is no coward.  He believes in this stuff.  Boswell served 20 years in the military rising from a draftee in 1956 to a Lt. Colonel when he retired in 1976.  Boswell served as an assault helicopter pilot for two tours of duty in Vietnam earning 2 Bronze Stars and 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses.  He ran an ad attacking his 2006 opponent Jeff Lamberti under “national security” for being soft on immigration and soft on crime.

Now who is Ed Fallon?

I attended Marlboro College in Vermont for two years, after which I traveled the world for six years. In the mid 1980s, I attended Drake University, where I received a degree in religious studies.

From 1986 to 1992, I worked in the peace movement.

From 1993 to 2006 I served in the Iowa Legislature, representing residents of downtown Des Moines, the surrounding neighborhoods and the City’s northeast side. My focus as a lawmaker was to champion the needs of constituency groups treated unfairly by government or neglected by the majority of policy makers.

In 1998 I helped found 1000 Friends of Iowa, a land-use and anti-urban sprawl group. I served as executive director for 5 years.

In 2006, I ran for governor in a four-way Democratic primary, receiving 26% of the vote — far more than the 5-10% pundits predicted.

In 2007, with my partner, Lynn Heuss, I co-founded I’M for Iowa: an Independence Movement for Iowa, which addresses many of the same issues raised in my gubernatorial campaign. For the last year, Lynn and I also worked as consultants with John Edwards’ campaign for president.

I am an accomplished musician on many instruments and I speak French and Spanish. I was raised Catholic and consider myself staunchly ecumenical. I lived in the inner-city of Des Moines for 20 years and now reside in the historic Sherman Hill neighborhood. I am an avid gardener and for many years grew much of my family’s food on land reclaimed from a clay parking lot. I also established a community garden in the inner-city and I maintain strong connections to my father’s farm in Ireland, where I organized the planting of 25,000 oak trees in 1999.

My passion for justice inspires me and my life is committed to working for progressive reform, both within and outside the political process.

And why is he running?

While Leonard Boswell is an honorable man who has served with dignity, I feel his positions on many key issues are wrong.

Boswell accepts donations from PACs and lobbyists. Of the $600,167 he raised between February and September 2007, 73% came from PACs. During my 14 years as a state representative and when I ran for governor, I refused donations from PACs and lobbyists and won’t accept them in my congressional campaign either.

In 2003, he voted for the Iraq War and has continued to support additional funding with no timetable to bring the troops home. I opposed Bush’s war from the start and believe we need a more diplomatic approach to foreign policy, not just in Iraq but throughout the Middle East.

In 2005, Boswell voted to provide $14 billion in tax breaks and incentives for oil and gas companies. He also supports greater use of coal. I have been a leader in the fight against government handouts to big business. I support a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants and have helped lead efforts in Iowa to fight global warming.

Boswell voted for No Child Left Behind. I have always spoken against this unfunded, ineffective mandate, and believe NCLB should be repealed, or at a minimum severely overhauled.

Boswell supported the Patriot Act, and in August 2007, voted for a bill to increase unwarranted surveillance on the American people. Iowa’s other Democratic Congressmen, Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack, voted against it. I have a long track record of fighting for civil rights and personal liberties.

In November 2007, Boswell joined Congressmen Steve King and Tom Latham – both Republicans – to vote for a NAFTA-like trade agreement with Peru. I am a vocal opponent of NAFTA and other so-called “free” trade agreements and believe in fair trade that protects American jobs, our environment, and workers’ safety.

Boswell is fairly conservative and old, therefore he has had some tight races. But although Fallon is slightly to the left of the district he is young and energetic and so claims that he “couldn’t win” are over the top. Fallon will kick off his official campaign tomorrow and the primary is June 3rd. If Iowa progressives can rally around him and if he gets a extra boost from the national people-powered movement then he has a real shot at winning. Both Donna Edwards and Mark Pera have never been elected to anything but they are both running real credible campaigns and have a great shot at victory. Ed on the other hand already has represented parts of the district and has run a state-wide campaign that won this district. He already has a base of support and is known, however Boswell will have a lot of money from his insider friends and so we will need to fight back. Getting DFA to support him is a great first step.

Vote Ed Fallon for All-Star