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This won't be easy - A note from Arkansas
A note from Arshad on the ground in Arkansas:
I'm here in Arkansas helping lead Bill Halter's Get-Out-The-Vote drive. So, I'm going to cut straight to the point.
Winning this won't be easy.
Blanche Lincoln has pulled out all the stops -- outspending by millions on T.V. -- and called in all her favors -- even convincing Bill Clinton to campaign down here and bash unions and progressives for supporting Bill Halter.
This won't be easy, but we will win this if you make calls to identified Bill Halter supporters in Arkansas and ask them to get out and vote right now.
Yes, I can make calls right now!
Yes, I can make calls tonight!
Yes, I can make calls tomorrow too!
These person-to-person phone calls are incredibly effective at motivating supporters to get out to vote.
Making the calls is rewarding. Instead of sitting around hoping we defeat Blanche Lincoln and hold corporate Democrats accountable for killing the public option and other important reforms, you can do something to make it happen. Trust me, it feels good. And don't worry, if you want some simple training before you make your calls, DFA National Field Organizer Matt Segal has got you covered. After you sign up, he'll train you on anything you'll need to know to get the job done.
Don't wait, sign up to call now.
After I asked for help on Friday, our community made 14,452 contacts together. That's no small number and DFA members came through delivering results when it counts. That's why I'm here in Arkansas running GOTV, I knew you'd be counting on me. And I know I can count on you now.
Early voting has started and Election Day is Tuesday. There is no time to lose.
This is our election to win.
-Arshad
Arshad Hasan, Executive Director
Democracy for America
Late night Watercooler
DFA's home for a free form, open-ended discussion of what matters most to committed progressive activists.
Another one to watch: Elaine Marshall Gets Key Endorsement in NC
We couldn't have said it better ourselves. The Independent Weekly, North Carolina's home for progressive news, culture and commentary just endorsed Elaine Marshall for Senate. DFA members knew she was the best candidate for the job from the beginning, but when the state's largest Progressive paper agrees with us, the choice for NC is clear.
Here are some of the highlights:
. . . If nominated, Marshall would have a better chance of winning the fall election against Republican Sen. Richard Burr. The second: If elected, Marshall would be the stronger senator.
. . .
The difference may be as simple as the fact that Marshall, in her bones and in her roots, is working-class. So she's not confused about what the rights of working men and women should be in a world economy dominated by giant corporations and banks. Nor is she in doubt about where the federal government should stand. It should stand, she believes, with the working class for their jobs, and against labor and trade policies that privilege capital at the expense of people and the environment—at home or abroad. No more outsourcing of America's future.
As a lawyer, a state senator and for the last 14 years as secretary of state, Marshall has been a consistent voice and vote for the interests of regular folks and equal rights for all. She was a forceful exponent of women's equality early in her career, and as a legislator she helped enact a series of laws improving women's health care in North Carolina. She has also stood for equal rights for gays and lesbians, and in this campaign came out early and strongly for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the anti-gay military policy, and of the federal DOMA, the discriminatory law misnamed the Defense of Marriage Act.
This runoff is not getting as much attention as the AR race, but is very important to put another real Progressive in the Senate. If you haven't given to Elaine Marshall yet, now is a good time. Give $5 today.
Five Days Left for Bill Halter to Win
Just in case you are counting . . . there are 5 days left until the AR Primary Runoff. Bill Halter is doing great and you can help push him over the edge. Check out this momentum - Pollster.com puts Halter ahead 47.9% to Lincoln's 45.2%.
Give him the boost that he needs by giving here. Or, sign up to volunteer here. You can volunteer from anywhere in the US.
They recently released 2 new ads. One features DFA member, Pauline, and Arkansan who is ready for change. Take a look, they are both worth watching:
Pauline:
Signs:
There's a ton of great energy in the campaign. And, DFA staff and Members are there on the ground to help out. You can help too -- every dollar, phone call, and face-to-face conversation makes a difference.
The Untold Story
Benjamin Sarlin at The Daily Beast gets it right when he points out:
Tuesday’s primaries may have been billed as a bipartisan rejection of party leaders. But the real winners were progressives, who exceeded expectations all over the country.
Forget the upstarts bucking the establishment. The real story line, largely overlooked in the mainstream media coverage of Tuesday night’s primaries, was the strong showing of progressives across the board.
Sarlin talks about the amount of support establishment candidates received:
Despite receiving backing from the White House, his state’s powerful Democratic governor, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, recent Democratic convert Arlen Specter went down to defeat on Tuesday.
. . .
Like Specter, Lincoln had the support of the establishment; the DSCC and White House backed her in the primaries and President Clinton cut ads for her.
Which leads to a tremendous imbalance of money in both of these races.
Candidate Receipts:
SPECTER, ARLEN $ 7,516,099
SESTAK, JOSEPH A JR $ 6,110,778
LINCOLN, BLANCHE L $ 7,159,516
HALTER, WILLIAM A $ 2,639,471
In both races the incumbents outspent the challengers, and in the case of Bill Halter, who faces a runoff in a few weeks, he was out spent by more than 2 to 1. In spite of all that money, however, Halter did much better than expected. In the end, volunteer power made a bigger difference. In AR, for example, in the 48 hours before the election 392 volunteers from DFA, MoveOn, and PCCC contacted more than 50,000 voters on behalf of Bill Halter. Now according to Arkansas: Election Line:
- In the Democratic run-off election for the U.S. Senate, the Arkansas Election Line rates the race "Leans Halter."
Clearly, establishment candidates who choose to ignore the grassroots do so at thier own peril. Sarlin:
ABC's Rick Klein described Specter's loss as a sign Democratic leaders "have not only lost touch with their grass-roots, they’ve watched them turn into thickets that can entangle even the most experienced tenders of electoral gardens."
DFA is unique in that our endorsed candidates are chosen by our members. DFA members made it clear who they wanted to support and then enthusiastically went out there and supported them. Volunteers should take pride in the fact that your personal investment and skills went a long way against big odds this Primary season. It was really progressive people power that won out in last few days.
"Big Night for Progressives"
Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to get out the vote for the primaries last night. You guys rock. Arshad reported one highlight from AR: 392 volunteers called voters yesterday resulting in tens of thousands of voters who were contacted in Arkansas.
Thanks also to everyone who participated in our call from around the country. We know that we had 144 locations calling in from 28 states, 84 of which were house parties. If you joined us on the call, please give us your feedback here: http://www.democracyforamerica.com/50statefeedback
Here are some key highlights from the coverage last of the races:
Activists seize control of politics - Politico, By John F. Harris & Jim Vandehei
For any politician with the usual instincts for self-protection, the lessons of Tuesday’s primaries could not be more clear: This could happen to you.
. . .
Levana Layendecker, communications director of Democracy for America, a group founded by former presidential candidate and DNC Chairman Howard Dean, suggested there is unrest on the left that is similar to, if milder than, what’s happening on the right.
“Since 2008, a lot of people got their hopes up for some major change,” she said. “Obviously there was a huge appetite for that in the country based on the election results. I think that this election is about the people who feel that either that change isn’t happening fast enough or that that change isn’t happening the way they hoped it would."
Howard Dean Tells TPMDC: 'Big Night' For Progressives - TPMDC, Christina Bellantoni
Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said in an interview that Tuesday's elections look like a "pretty big sweep" for progressives. "They are having a big night," he said.
"My belief is that progressive Dems are a lot more appealing to mainstream voters than tea party advocates," Dean told me in an interview just after Rep. Joe Sestak was declared the winner over Sen. Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary.
"This is a big night for people who really want Washington to be a change agent," Dean said, adding the results show a "backlash" against both parties in official Washington. Dean, also former governor of Vermont and a 2004 presidential candidate, said he views Jack Conway as the progressive choice in Kentucky and said Lt. Gov. Bill Halter's forcing of a runoff in Arkansas proves that candidates on the left can prevail.
At the same time, Dean thinks Sestak is a Democrat in the mold of Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) -- a centrist who was elected in 2006 in part thanks to online progressives supporting and funding his candidacy until it attracted national attention. "New progressives are the old centrists. Conway and Sestak will be pretty damn appealing to the middle of the road," Dean said. "Joe is a bit of an iconoclast and that's what you want in a race like this. Joe is a centrist with conviction politics."
Tonight the political operatives on the Obama team got a big lesson in an old political adage that they had, perhaps, found quaint: You gotta dance with the one what brung ya.
Progressives tonight are basking in victories deemed impossible months, even just weeks, ago, with outright victories in two primaries for U.S. Senate, and a possible victory in a third. All required them to take on the political power of the president they helped to elect. You can’t blame them for gloating.
. . .
Arlen Specter was something of a pet for President Obama, having provided the president with a coveted 60th vote in the Senate when the veteran Republican switched parties last year in order to avoid being vanquished in a GOP primary. Tonight Specter met that fate at the hands of a Democrat, Rep. Joe Sestak, a former admiral. Backed by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Democracy for America and other netroots progressive groups, Sestak, according to what the Philadelphia Inquirer called “unofficial returns,” received about 54 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Specter.
BREAKING: Sestak Beats Specter!
Tonight's Email from Charles:
The subject line says it all.
And you did it.
We're shaking up the U.S. Senate.
Taking it back from Corporate Democrats to elect Real Democrats who aren't afraid to stand up. Democracy for America members put Joe Sestak over the top and sent Arlen Specter packing in the Democratic primary election in Pennsylvania tonight.
Two months ago, no one thought it was possible -- no one that is -- but you.
Tonight, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we get back to work.
CONTRIBUTE NOW TO FUEL THE FIGHT
Thank you for everything you do.
-Charles
Charles Chamberlain, Political Director
Democracy for America
Playing to win
It's working. Politics Daily: Poll Watch is reporting:
"The two latest polls on the primary battle between Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Joe Sestak for the Democratic senate nomination has them statistically tied, with just two points separating them."
And, TIME declared today:
"Blanche Lincoln is finding that the middle of the road can be a dangerous place."
This is truly a testament to grassroots work going on in the states. I know it's not surprising, but when we get out there and talk to voters about what matters to them in their daily lives - like ending Wall Street corruption -- people get excited. Kudos to all the volunteers who are getting out there today. Just this last weekend the coalition of DFA, MoveOn, and PCCC volunteers made more than 3,000 calls to voters in AR resulting in more than 200 new volunteers.
Voters simply don't care about DC partisan parlour games and it shows in the polls. Voters do care about corporate lobbyists are dominating the real game in Washington. That's why as soon as the polls close tomorrow, DFA is rolling out the game plan to win real victories on the issues that we care about like ending Wall Street corruption, stopping Big Oil domination, and reigning in Insurance Company greed. Join us on our 50 state action plan call tomorrow night, May 18th at 8:00 PM to hear about the plan.
We know it's going to be a nail biter, so Jim Dean and Arshad Hasan will be giving live updates from the ground in PA and AR. Meanwhile, we will be setting up the plan to win progressive change in Congress in 2010 and beyond.
In 2006 and 2008, the 50 State Strategy elected scores of Democrats, and it will elect scores of progressives this fall. Democrats in Washington are still playing defense, but DFA is playing offense. On the conference call, you'll hear from Governor Howard Dean and DFA Field Director Matt Blizek about our strategy to elect progressives and keep growing our community with the 50 State Action Plan. After the call, we'll meet back here -- at OpenLeft -- for live blogging as the results from PA, KY, and AR come in.
SIGN UP HERE FOR THE CALL ON TUESDAY, MAY 18 @ 8:30PM EST.
I can't wait to work with you on the winning team for progressives.
Do you have what it takes?
I'm planning a little summer trip to Las Vegas. Nothing too big -- just me and 2,000 of my closest friends.
Okay, I'm actually talking about the Netroots Nation
convention, the biggest gathering of progressive activists and leaders
in the country.
Netroots Nation 2010 will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada from July 22 to
25. It will include panels led by national and international experts,
prominent political, issue and policy-oriented speakers, a progressive
film screening series, and the most concentrated gathering of
progressive activists and leaders to date. Previous guest speakers have
included Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and a surprise appearance by Al
Gore; who knows what surprises are in store this year.
Here's the thing -- I want you to join me. So, here's two ways to make that happen.
The easiest way is to just buy yourself a ticket now. DFA members get a special discount that will save you $50 off the all-access pass. (Turns out they really like the work that we do.)
CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKET NOW
Want to go, but can't afford the trip? I've got you covered. DFA has a scholarship program which pays for your ticket and your hotel room.
It's a pretty good deal and a great reward for the leaders and activists who've earned it. It's also an important way to send progressive activists who have proven their skills, but may not have the resources to get there on their own.
We can't send everyone, but we will send the best among the applicants. If you or someone you know should get a scholarship, either because they've earned it, need it, or both -- now is the time to apply.
APPLY RIGHT NOW
It's a fun competition and a good way to show off who you are and what you've done to move America forward. Here's how the Scholarship Competition works:
First, you have to apply.
Then over the next couple of months, progressives nationwide will have a chance to voice their support for you and help you earn your scholarship. In fact, the top three activists with the most member support in each of the three rounds will automatically win a scholarship. The rest of the winners will be chosen by the selection committee comprised of the Executive Director of DFA (that's me), the Executive Director of Netroots Nation, former DFA Netroots Nation Scholars, and several prominent bloggers.
JOIN ME IN VEGAS -- APPLY FOR A DFA NETROOTS NATION SCHOLARSHIP NOW
It's like I said, Netroots Nation is the biggest gathering of online activists in the country, so it draws some of the biggest names in the Democratic Party and the progressive movement. Whether you want to meet Howard Dean or Jane Hamsher, Chris Bowers or Al Franken, or everyone in between -- this is one event you don't want to miss.
A hail-Mary pass from across the country
By Matt Blizek
In an effort to convey the urgency, popularity, and momentum surrounding healthcare reform that includes a public option, DFA members from across the country put their heads together and took action when the majority of progressives had already hung up their hats on the fight for real reform.
A few nights ago, DFA members in San Francisco, in collaboration with local group San Francisco for Democracy—a constant powerhouse within the DFA and progressive communities—threw maybe the last Hail Mary pass of this healthcare debate and submitted a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging the House to include a public option in their version of bill H-232. Tim Durning, SF4D’s president, also emailed the group’s plea to DFA members all over the nation.
The day before, local Democracy for America coalition group DC for Democracy visited 58 offices, including the Speaker's, to press for supporting the public option in the reconciliation bill. After speaking with numerous legislative assistants, DC4D member Kesh Ladduwahetty conceded that their activism was a token gesture, given that the group appeared to be alone in its final hour effort to lobby for the public option.
Democracy for America members may have been alone in action, but they linked together from across the country to make our voices heard and stand up for the majority of Americans.
After Kesh got home from a tiring day on the Hill, she did what all progressive activists do: checked her email. From thousands of miles away, Kesh caught San Francisco for Democracy’s pass for the public option. She returned to Capitol Hill with San Francisco for Democracy’s letter to Speaker Pelosi the very next day, delivering the same message, once again, from coast to coast.
What does this tell me? That when you want something done, when you want real action to be seen through, all the way to the end, you call a DFA member. We’ll fight hard, work to the end, and we’ll never retreat from our values just because the White House and Capitol Hill have raised the white flag.
Join us in action. I know there are many, many Kesh’s and Tim’s out there who are just waiting to seize the power that only the progressive community truly embodies.
For anyone who’d like to read SF4D’s letter, I’ve posted it, in full, below:
Dear Speaker Pelosi:
On behalf of the members of San Francisco for Democracy, I am writing to encourage you to include some version of the "public option" in the House Reconciliation bill on health care which will be sent to the Senate. Given that a version of the public option was previously included in the House version of the Health Care Reform bill and is supported by a majority of the American people, a public option seems suitable for the reconciliation process.
We know that you have recently stated that you will not include a public option in the House reconciliation bill because there are not sufficient votes in the Senate to pass it. However, more than 50 Senators have already stated they support the public option, and 41 of these have signed a letter stating they would vote for the public option if it were presented to them in the reconciliation process.
We understand and appreciate that some of our elected representatives are reluctant to vote for a public option due to fear of being demonized by the radical right wing attack machine. However, these attacks will happen regardless of what votes our elected representatives take.
Our understanding is that if the House were to include a public option in the Reconciliation bill, the worst that could happen is that it would be rejected by the Senate, thereby requiring a second vote on the bill without a public option. We believe it's worth that risk in order to go on record in support of the public option which, in the long run, is the most fiscally conservative option to keep health care costs down in future years.
Sincerely,
Tim Durning, President
San Francisco for Democracy
Defending the public option
Beyond Chron's Paul Hogarth talks about backroom deals and the death of the public option. He makes a good point about the efforts of grassroots orgs that kept the debate going despite the tone in DC:
At this point, it became crystal clear to me this President would not push the change we can believe in – that progressives would have to just do it themselves.
Which is why I’ve felt the work that the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Howard Dean’s Democracy for America has been so important. Democrats claim we “don’t have the votes” for passing a public option, so the netroots had to prove them wrong – by organizing a “whip count” at www.whipcongress.com: get 51 Senators on record supporting a public option through reconciliation. It was the only pro-active thing to do.
And these efforts – with no active support from the Democratic Party leadership – helped everyday activists get involved in a meaningful way.
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