Well, we’ve seen some race-baiting and outright lies by Republican Party operatives in ads over the last two days. I guess they thought that since Don is a Democrat, he would shrivel up into the fetal position, and whine. Think again. It’s not 2004, but 2008. Democrats today stand up and fight what we all know is right:
Help keep this ad on the air right up until Election Day (May 3rd) by donating here.
“I want to thank all the Democratic voters who came out and voted in the 5th district yesterday. I congratulate Bill Cahir and Rick Vilello for the positive campaigns they ran. As candidates, we ran campaigns that showed respect to each other and to the voters in the 5th district.
I also want to congratulate the winner of the Republican primary Glenn Thompson. Mr. Thompson stayed on course with his message throughout his campaign and I look forward to our competition in the November general election.
Finally, I want to thank everyone who helped with our campaign. There are so many people throughout the 17 counties of the 5th district who were involved in the campaign. What started in January with 12 candidates is now down to 2. There is much work to be done over the next several months. After meeting with people in the 5th district for the last 4 months I am convinced that our campaign’s message is strong and we will prevail in November.”
Mark B. McCracken
Still – Your Candidate for Congress
Rasmussen (likely voters, 4/22, 3/19 in parens):
Al Franken (D): 43 (46)
Norm Coleman (R-inc): 50 (48)
(MoE: ±4.5%)
Coleman reaches the 50% mark for the first time in Rasmussen’s polling this year. Still, this isn’t a bad place for Franken to start the campaign season with, even if Coleman has the edge for now.
This Friday, George W. Bush is coming to Henry Kissinger’s house in Kent, Connecticut for an exclusive, $1000 a head ($10,000 for a snapshot with the President!) fundraiser for Republican Challenger David Cappiello (running against Democratic Freshman Representative Chris Murphy) in Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District. Bush ally and war cheerleader and health care bamboozler Chris Shays (R-CT04) (who is facing a strong challenge from Jim Himes) is a co-chair of the event.
In response, Connecticut Progressive bloggers are joining together to raise money for Chris Murphy and Jim Himes. While we may not have the deep pockets necessary to compete with a $1000 a head fundraiser, we do have the people-power to send the message that a President Bush fundraiser will activate our base and add money to the coffers of our candidates! Click here to donate! $100, $50, $25, or even $5 will help send the message that President Bush is a liability in 2008.
While President Bush’s visit will give the failing Cappiello campaign some additional money, and provide Chris Shays with a chance to spend a little time with his buddy, we just can’t let this happen unanswered. That’s why we’re joining together in an effort to raise 250 additional contributions for Jim and for Chris (Murphy) over the weekend.
There are more of us than there are of them. Help us prove it, and send the message that Republican congressional candidates and congressman can’t profit by toeing the Bush line.
Click here to donate to Jim Himes and Chris Murphy, and to say no thanks to President Bush!
In addition to our sortable table-based calendar, we’ve now created a public Google calendar of key dates for the 2008 election – filing deadlines, primaries, run-offs, special elections, reporting deadlines, and the like. We’re parking it permanently at this URL. It’ll also be available in the “Resources” section of the right-hand sidebar.
If you use Google Calendar and want to automatically add these listings directly to your personal calendar, click here. (If that link doesn’t work, let us know.)
Here’s what our Google calendar looks like:
The interface is very intuitive. The only tip I’ll offer is that if you just want to see a straight list of upcoming events, click on the “Agenda” tab in the top right corner. If you see any mistakes, or if anything’s missing, please let us know in comments. All feedback is welcome.
The DCCC’s latest expenditures in Louisiana:
$257,000 on producing an airing an ad against Woody Jenkins.
$2,280 on field organizing for Don Cazayoux.
$16,600 on direct mail against Woody Jenkins. Total spent to date: $649,046
The GOP’s latest expenditures in Louisiana:
$130,000 from the NRCC on ads against Don Cazayoux
$94,000 by anti-union businessman Leonard Grisby on producing and airing an ad against Cazayoux
$94,000 from the Club For Growth PAC on an ad against Cazayoux Total spent to date: NRCC: $250,104 | Freedom’s Watch: $502,000 | Grisby: $159,000 | Club For Growth: $94,000
The NRCC and its allies have dumped a whole lotta scrilla in this race against Don Cazayoux, pushing the narrative that he’s a taxaholic. Suspiciously, several of these ads are awfully similar in style and language, despite being produced by different groups. For instance, just the other day, Freedom’s Watch and the NRCC both put up ads slamming Cazayoux for supporting Barack Obama’s health care plan.
The DCCC is hitting back with a second legal complaint against the apparent coordination. In the diaries, Ryan has more.
Special election: 5/3.
In his 35 years, Andrew Rice has accomplished a lot.
He represents a diverse Oklahoma City district in the state senate, where he has established himself as a consensus-builder and a strong advocate for children and families. As a freshman senator, he has already built an impressive legislative record that includes cosponsoring and helping pass the “All Kids Act” – legislation similar to SCHIP – and forming a bipartisan coalition to create the Hunger Task Force, in order to find solutions to Oklahoma’s hunger crisis.
Before his election to the state senate, he received a master’s degree in theology, worked with the Texas Freedom Network, founded the Progressive Alliance Foundation, and performed other humanitarian work abroad. After his brother, David, was killed on 9/11 in the World Trade Center, Andrew became heavily involved in the push for the creation of the 9/11 Commission and worked with victims’ family groups in opposing the Iraq War, citing it as a distraction from the fight to destroy the terrorist networks that killed his brother.
Not bad for someone turning 35 today.
(more below)
By contrast, Rice’s U.S. Senate opponent, Jim Inhofe, has been in politics for 40 years and has best served the special interests that back him.
His voting record has earned him the label of a “hard-core conservative” in an analysis by ontheissues.org, which also states that Inhofe, among other things, “Opposes” federal efforts to expand health care access, and “Strongly Opposes” finding alternatives to coal and oil for our energy needs.
His campaign contributors are described in his own words (from a 2006 Senate floor speech):
“I am reminded of a question the media often asks me about how much I have received in campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry. My unapologetic answer is ‘Not Enough'[.]”
Meanwhile, Andrew Rice keeps working toward our future. But Andrew sees more that he can do in his lifetime of service. He’s running for U.S. Senate to continue his life’s work of fighting for everyday people, of listening to their hopes and concerns, and taking action to address the issues that affect them most.
Will you wish Andrew a happy birthday by buying a piece of his campaign? It seems fitting to ask that you send him $35 today. Give him the gift that keeps on giving, and the gift that gives back to all of us – because if Andrew Rice is elected to the U.S. Senate, we’ll all be better off.
Best,
Karina Henderson
Rice for US Senate
andrewforoklahoma.com
http://actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18228
The following states still have upcoming filing deadlines:
| State | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Florida | 5/2/2008 |
| Georgia | 5/2/2008 |
| Michigan | 5/13/2008 |
| Nevada | 5/16/2008 |
| Connecticut | 5/24/2008 |
| Colorado | 5/29/2008 |
| Wyoming | 5/30/2008 |
| Alaska | 6/2/2008 |
| Massachusetts | 6/3/2008 |
| Arizona | 6/4/2008 |
| Oklahoma | 6/4/2008 |
| Washington | 6/6/2008 |
| Kansas | 6/10/2008 |
| New Hampshire | 6/13/2008 |
| Rhode Island | 6/25/2008 |
| Wisconsin | 7/8/2008 |
| Louisiana | 7/11/2008 |
| Minnesota | 7/15/2008 |
| New York | 7/17/2008 |
| Vermont | 7/21/2008 |
| Hawaii | 7/22/2008 |
| Delaware | 7/25/2008 |
The thing is, at least on the federal level, there aren’t too many interesting seats left to fill. Also, it’s getting awfully late. Last cycle, almost every plausibly competitive challenger had filed by now. One of the few who did not, Dave Mejias in NY-03 on Long Island, gave Peter King his toughest re-election fight ever, but was hampered by his late start. Mejias didn’t get in until late May, but that was only because another candidate, David Denenberg, himself entered late and then dropped out just two days after announcing.
Disappointingly, NY-03 appears to be without a candidate deep into the season once more. I’d hate to give King a free ride. In any event, are there any other unfilled races in the states on this list that you think we might have any kind of shot at?
Hat Tip to The Stakeholder AND cross-posted at Daily Kingfish.
The DCCC has filed a second complaint against the NRCC and Freedoms Watch for:
They’ve even made a video outlining their case: