Time to shine a little spotlight on a Fighting Dem who's got an uphill battle ahead of him - Dennis Spivack. He's running against 7 term incumbent Mike Castle, a very popular former governor (2 terms) who is also the president of the Main Street Republican Partnership, the nearly-toothless coalition of GOP moderates.
Every ounce of conventional wisdom suggests that Castle's seat is as safe as can be - so what's to stop him from passing his campaign cash on to fellow so-called moderates like Curt Weldon and Jim Gerlach? This is why we need to show Spivack a little love, so he can force Castle to spend his cash locally to defend his seat. More below the flip, but here's a tidbit - Spivack opposed the recent bankruptcy bill, calling it a "tragedy".
So who is Dennis Spivack?
1. He served with Naval intelligence in Vietnam.
2. He campaigned for RFK and John Kerry.
3. He's a Wilmington, DE native.
4. He's a successful lawyer.
5. He's a philanthropist.
6. He quit politics for almost two decades to support his wife through a successful 17-year bout with breast cancer. Today she is in remission and appears with him at campiagn events.
7. He's served on the board of the Jewish Federation of Delaware.
Spivack on the issues:
Iraq War: "This ill-advised conflict has achieved little and has fanned the flames of anti-American sentiment around the world."
"Honest, bold and responsible steps are needed now to bring our courageous troops home safely without further fanning the flames of global anti-Americanism."
Bankruptcy Bill: "My opponent, Castle, voted for this bill to be passed. It's not a bill about individuals and families abusing a system. It's a bill about the silent "abuse" by the Bush administration of decent American families who experience hard times - mostly through loss of a job or a medical emergency - and file for bankruptcy as a last resort."
National Deficit: "The crushing debt this Administration has created is crippling us as a nation. We need to urgently address the deficit, without turning our backs on those most in need."
PATRIOT Act: "We want to feel safe again-without the threat of our own government eavesdropping on us under the guise of homeland security."
NCLB: "The underfunded and ineffective 'No Child Left Behind' initiative has failed to deliver real benefits. We need to listen to the first responders in education - our teachers."
"The cost of an under-educated population is enormous. Just one extra year of high school can pour literally billions of dollars into our economy for programs that deliver proper health care. But we cannot afford to pay lip service to this as Mike Castle has. No one has been fooled by the "No Child Left Behind" initiative. It came without the necessary funding, and is now just an empty statement."
Health Care: "It's a national disgrace that over 45 million Americans are without decent health care. Health care dollars must be diverted away from wasteful bureaucracy and back to the bedside."
"I believe this administration, with its support of corporate greed, has neglected to look after millions of decent citizens who work hard and pay their dues, yet are sidelined by the pain of health and welfare policies that have failed them. This is an issue close to my heart and one I intend to address in Congress."
Mike Castle: "When our current congressman claims to be "moderate" and even "independent", let's just remember that he voted WITH the radical right-wing no less than four times out of five this year. Castle and moderation do not exist in the same sentence. He is a solid rubber stamper of the Bush administration's agenda."
"We can no longer afford to be represented in Congress by a rubber-stamper and enabler for Bush-DeLay-Cheney policies,"
The Common Good: "Mike Castle voted in favor of cutting $50 billion from medicaid, food stamps, student loans, and other programs for the less well-off. The Republicans called it "the deficit-reduction bill." I call it wicked. We cannot turn our backs on those who need us most."
Note: Democratic Delaware senators Biden and Carper voted for the bankruptcy bill, so Spivack's progressive stance in a state controlled by banks, DuPont, and AstraZeneca is a breath of fresh air.
Now, here's why Spivack's going to need a lot of help:
1. Carper and Biden love posing for bipartisan photo-ops with Castle (I call these 3 The Spineless Center). The odds of them helping raise money for Spivack is slim to none.
2. Castle's re-election margins vary from 66%-72%.
3. Castle had $1.2 million in his campaign treasury in March.
4. Spivack's pretty much an unknown.
5. Delaware's big corporations will be supporting Castle.
6. Having DLC Carper on the ballot is not going to turn out the base - he'll cruise to victory.
7. As president of the Main Street Republican Partnership, Castle has excellent fundraising connections.
8. Castle sponsored legislation overturning the ban on federally funded stem-cell creation, thereby burnishing his "moderate" credentials.
The odds of unseating Castle may be slim. His response? "He has never confronted anybody like me."
Source for some of these quotes: The Delaware Grapevine
The rest I got from his campaign website.
Check out his brand-new campaign blog. His blogroll includes the DailyKos!
So how about chipping in on ActBlue?