I quote from Howard Dean's article entitled "Dems Will Win House and Senate in 2006," which was published today in
The Hill:
"This is a solid beginning, but there is more we must do. Cutting the fundraising advantage the other party enjoys from 3-1 to 2-1 is good but not good enough."
Efforts hitherto made by us and others have been "good," but, as Dean emphasizes, they are inadequate.
Follow me to the extended body.
I write this diary, as I am genuinely concerned about the potential scandal involving
soft money in the Pennsylvania 2006 Senate race. If undisclosed doners will pour millions into races, we will have to contribute to races and not just complain about this or that politician who happened to vote for this or that bill. I have posted at least
one diary exhorting readers to donate to certain campaigns, and I even asked readers to indicate their donation plans in a poll. Everyone writes that they are either unable or unwilling to donate. Some claim they will do so next year, while others simply refuse. This is fine, I guess, but I find it all terribly sanctimonious. Complain all you wish, but until you donate to a few campaigns, I refuse to listen to anyone condemn this or that politician or this or that unsavory practice in the House or in the Senate. In other words, I am exhorting all of you to donate TODAY, not tomorrow, not in October 2006, not next month, not after the holidays, not in April, not after the primary, but TODAY. And if you do have reservations about donating before a primary, then there are few campaigns you can support knowing the money will be spent on a general election campaign.
I am a poor graduate student who lives on his stipend. But I have somehow made funds available for campaigns. I list my donations below:
Maria Cantwell - 2006 Senate race in Washington - 3 donations: $25 for 2006; $25 to help retire her 2000 debt; $40 for 2006.
Claire McCaskill - 2006 Senate race in Missouri - 1 donation of $50
DSCC - One donation of $50
I also volunteered for Paul Hackett, canvassing a middle class neighborhood in Cincinnati and operating a phone bank for eight hours. This involved purchasing a ticket from Chicago to Cincinnati, and I also rented my own hotel room, as I have a difficult time interacting with other human beings, especially those who are overzealous or just plain vacuous.
So, what have you done? Why not list it here? And if you have not done anything thus far for any campaign, visit one of the websites I embed below and contribute. Then you can return to the comments section and alert everyone of your contribution. Here are some websites for candidates who will not face any real primary challengers:
Maria Cantwell Senate 2006 Washington State
Claire McCaskill Senate 2006 Missouri
Harold Ford, Jr. Senate 2006 Tennessee
Francine Busby for Congress Special Election California-50
Jim Pederson Senate 2006 Arizona
Angie Paccione for Congress 2006 Colorado-04
Diane Farrell for Congress 2006 Connecticut-04
Gary Trauner for Congress 2006 Wyoming-AL
Monica Lindeen for Congress 2006 Montana-AL
Brad Ellsworth for Congress 2006 Indiana-08
Jack Carter 2006 Senate Nevada
Heath Shuler for Congress 2006 North Carolina-11
Contributing to these campaigns will make general DCCC and DSCC funds available for other candidates. But these are the candidates I believe need the money most at this time. Please donate, and please indicate all past and present actions in the comments sections.
I look forward to reading your responses.