One way to make a difference

shando · Post by **shando** » October 4th, 2006, 9:44 pm

Hey folks. Many of you know I'm a super-die hard political junkie. I'm also a super die-hard Democrat. It was one of the darkest political days that I can remember back in '94 when the Republicans took the Congress.

This year, especially with all the Foley stuff hitting the fan along with all the other issues voters are disconteted with (oh say the goddamn meatgrinder of a war in Iraq), the Dems have a decent shot of taking back the House and maybe even the Senate. We need to pick up 15 seats in the House and 7 in the Senate to pull it off. Obviously, we live in a pretty Republican state and Hutchinson won't lose her Senate seat.

But I've created a fundraising page of 21 (15 house, 6 Senate) races currently held by Republicans that are within reach (the New York Times has these races as toss-ups).

I know a lot of you don't have a lot of money, but if you're so inclined, go throw a little extra change to these people. Every little bit will help in the last 4 weeks of these races.

Thanks for listening.

That page again:

http://www.actblue.com/page/shando

arthursimone · Post by **arthursimone** » October 4th, 2006, 11:28 pm

I have no money to give, but if I did it would be to Sherrod Brown or John Tester.

If I didn't know who to give to? I'd cross-reference these races with ones targeted by the environmental League of Conservation Voters or the pro-choice Emily's List.

I'm sick of GOP Congress. Scoundrels.

York99 · Post by **York99** » October 4th, 2006, 11:47 pm

To paraphrase the brave Bill Hicks:

Do I pick the puppet on the left or the puppet on the right? Oh shit, both puppets are being held by the same guy!

This message has been brought to you by PessimismCo.

shando · Post by **shando** » October 18th, 2006, 6:59 pm

We're three weeks away bump.

Also, if you're down with progessive causes and stuff, please think about doing this:

Call for Change:

Basically, it allows people to log onto www.callforchange.org from their home computers and then phone target voters in the 30+ top House and Senate races around the nation. Our goal is to make 5 million phone calls to inconsistent voters who lean Democratic - we recently passed 1.5 million.

Our members chipped in millions to allow MoveOn to buy the most up-to-date lists, acquire consumer data, and use micro-targeting to ensure that every call is maximized. We used the Busby and Lamont campaigns to test our program and make it a good user experience. After Busby, a Yale study compared our phone program to others and found that it boosted turnout the most.

Part of the reason we designed the program the way we did was to make it work for parents and others who've want to chip in but only have 20 or 30 minutes free to volunteer at the end of a long work day - not just the super-activists. Also, folks in areas without competitive races or who live in rural areas far from campaign offices no longer have to be excluded from GOTV.

shando · Post by **shando** » October 18th, 2006, 7:04 pm

And for the "swapping which bunch of yahoos runs Congress won't make any difference" people among us, let me forward this, from the the Washington Post:

In the House, the Democrats have made clear that there's a first tier of legislation they mean to bring to a vote almost immediately after the new Congress convenes. It includes raising the minimum wage, repealing the Medicare legislation that forbids the government from negotiating with drug companies for lower prices, replenishing student loan programs, funding stem cell research and implementing those recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission that have thus far languished.

All these measures command massive popular support. The reason they've not been enacted is that House Republicans have passed rules making it impossible for the Democrats to offer amendments to any significant legislation, thereby sparing themselves the indignity of having to choose, say, between the interests of their financial backers in the drug industry and their constituents.

Mo Daviau · Post by **Mo Daviau** » October 18th, 2006, 9:35 pm

Hey Shannon! On your list, who would be your top 5? I'd like to give $10 to each.

Brian Boyko · Post by **Brian Boyko** » October 18th, 2006, 10:29 pm

If I donated money to the Democratic party, would this make me attractive to members of the opposite sex?

Jastroch · Post by **Jastroch** » October 18th, 2006, 10:43 pm

York99 wrote:To paraphrase the brave Bill Hicks:

Do I pick the puppet on the left or the puppet on the right? Oh shit, both puppets are being held by the same guy!

This message has been brought to you by PessimismCo.

Sure.

But boy howdy do I regret voting Green in 2000. Woooooo. I was in Louisiana, but STILL.

shando · Post by **shando** » October 19th, 2006, 12:34 pm

Mo Daviau wrote:Hey Shannon! On your list, who would be your top 5? I'd like to give $10 to each.

Here would be my top 5, based on where your money would be the most helpful:

Ford in Tennessee (more conservative than some Dems, but he would be the first African American senator from the Old Confederacy since Reconstruction, and would help put Dems in charge of the body for confirming the next Supreme Court justice, which, let's hope doesn't happen on Bush's watch)
McCaskill in Missouri
Joseph Sestak Jr in PA 7 (running against slimy, FBI investigatee Weldon)
Chris Carney in in PA 10 (running against slimy, mistress-choking Sherwood)
Darcy Burner in WA 08

That's my take on where your dollars might be helpful. Thanks for doing this, Mo!

Mo Daviau · Post by **Mo Daviau** » October 19th, 2006, 1:15 pm

Just trying to help! Thanks for doing the research.

acrouch · Post by **acrouch** » October 20th, 2006, 5:56 pm

shando wrote:Call for Change:

Basically, it allows people to log onto www.callforchange.org from their home computers and then phone target voters in the 30+ top House and Senate races around the nation. Our goal is to make 5 million phone calls to inconsistent voters who lean Democratic - we recently passed 1.5 million.

Our members chipped in millions to allow MoveOn to buy the most up-to-date lists, acquire consumer data, and use micro-targeting to ensure that every call is maximized. We used the Busby and Lamont campaigns to test our program and make it a good user experience. After Busby, a Yale study compared our phone program to others and found that it boosted turnout the most.

Part of the reason we designed the program the way we did was to make it work for parents and others who've want to chip in but only have 20 or 30 minutes free to volunteer at the end of a long work day - not just the super-activists. Also, folks in areas without competitive races or who live in rural areas far from campaign offices no longer have to be excluded from GOTV.

I've been doing this, and it's surprisingly painless. If you feel bad about not donating money or getting active in this election, this is a great way to help do some pretty key work. Get out the vote, bitches.

shando · Post by **shando** » October 28th, 2006, 11:08 am

More cool stuff to do.