I saw something on my screen tonight that made me do what you see on the cartoons sometimes, where a character will rub their eyes in a very exaggerated fashion because they thought their eyes were tricking them.
I had seen an update about the campaign which indicated that Bowen had received 1472 donations on ActBlue - an increase of nearly 500 donations from less than 24 hours earlier. So to get back from home from work and see such a flood of new individual donations so quickly, I had to double check.
But it's true -- looking right now, the number of contributions showing on Debra's ActBlue page is up to 1645 and counting. That's more than 750 contributions -- just in the last day.
But the numbers are correct: it turns out that Democracy for America members across the country have been taking action after receiving an email from Gov. Howard Dean today, who sent a message for the DFA to its nationwide membership:
People are already looking ahead to 2012 as the big election year -- but there are important races happening across the country right now.
One of them is in California, where Secretary of State Debra Bowen is running in a special election to replace retiring Democrat Jane Harman in Congress.
Now, I rarely endorse candidates in primaries, but Debra is a progressive leader and we need her in Congress.
Join me in supporting a real progressive for Congress -- Please contribute $10 to Debra Bowen's campaign right now.
The Tea Party Republican leadership in the House has launched the most radical right-wing assault on the middle class that I have ever seen. They're working to destroy healthcare reform, workers' rights, women's rights, Social Security -- not to mention the environment, student loans and much, much more.
Now more than ever we need progressive leaders like Debra in Congress to stand up for our shared progressive values and fight back against this right-wing attack.
Debra has a history of progressive leadership. As California's Secretary of State, she turned the state into a national leader for election integrity and protection. As a state legislator before that, she was one of the state's greatest advocates for government transparency and environmental protection. She has exactly the sort of experience and integrity we need in Congress.
Elect a real progressive in California -- Contribute $10 to Debra Bowen now.
The fight to take back the House from the far right and elect a progressive majority starts now -- it starts with electing Debra Bowen. Join me in supporting her today.
Thank you, Peter, for everything you do. Working together, we're unstoppable.
-Howard
Governor Howard Dean, M.D.
Founder, Democracy for America
How significant is this? Well, consider that the over $14,500 raised in the last 24 hours is the biggest one day total for Debra Bowen on ActBlue since the campaign began*, and that it comes from an appeal which asked for only $10! The average donation during this time period is less than $20 - far below the campaign's average ActBlue donation of $84 - and yet because so many people have stepped up to pitch in, it's the biggest day of the campaign on ActBlue so far.
I'm thrilled to see DFA members step up for Debra in such big numbers!
*Yes, I do keep track of ActBlue stats on a daily basis and revel in my geekdom.
_____________
Saturday's Cavassing Kickoff
I've previously written diaries about the campaign I dubbed "Let's Get Calling" to encourage folks to get involved with phonebanking virtually for Debra. That effort continues, but this weekend, I left my phone in my pocket and took to the hilly streets of Manhattan Beach to do canvassing in this election that's going to have absentee ballots mailed out in just two weeks!
I was prepared with my hat, sunscreen and sunglasses, and went solo covering targeted voters over a few square mile area. With my route planned out, I was able to cover the area pretty efficiently. The level of awareness of the campaign is low, and it showed pretty clearly with some voters. I live and breathe this kind of stuff, but for non-politics geeks, it was news that they were currently unrepresented in Congress and that they were going to be voting in just more than a month.
By the end of the effort, I'd knocked on 75 doors, had some meaningful conversations with voters, and was treated to some really amazing views of the ocean on the way. I was just one of a good number of Bowen volunteers who hit the streets on Saturday, and it felt great to do my part. I very much enjoyed my beer once I had dropped off my materials at the campaign office and returned home.
