First, thank you to everyone!
I never expected the overwhelmingly positive response I received from DailyKOS readers. It was a real experience reading the comments and dozens of letters of support and kind words.
It was so gratifying to know we are not in this fight alone. Seeing your responses has made me even more excited to see you at YearlyKOS next month.
In the mean time, and in response to some email we got from KOS readers, I wanted to give all of you an update on what TerriPAC has been doing.
Some of you may remember my first entry at electoral politics: my endorsement of Tim Kaine in Virginia. Now that's Governor Kaine in Virginia. He had the courage to speak up about keeping politicians out of our lives and I'm glad to see the voters of Virginia rewarded him with their trust.
Since then, TerriPAC and I have met with, interviewed and decided to support a few outstanding candidates. Understanding that "all politics is local," we started in Florida but beginning in June I will be helping candidates in Colorado and Nevada with more on the schedule for Pennsylvania and Texas.
To get you updated, here are some of the candidates I've endorsed (and TerriPAC has made financial donations to). I hope you can give them a look and, perhaps, support them too.
Jim Davis for Florida Governor - Jim Davis is a Congressman who not only voted against the illegal right-wing take over of my family decisions, he spoke out against it at the time and was one of the leaders in triggering the debate in the first place. Without his leadership, our Congress would have acted under cover of darkness, in secret, to overturn my family privacy and the lawful courts which protected them.
Congressman Davis is seeking to replace Florida Governor Jeb Bush who I am delighted to report is term-limited and can't seek re-election. Florida and our nation will be a far better place when Jeb Bush is replaced by Jim Davis.
Kathy Castor for Congress - Kathy Castor is a young, energetic and dynamic leader who is running for Congress in Florida's 11th district - an open seat in Tampa. She's already on the County Commission where she has been a real fighter and has been outspoken in her opposition the right-wing power grab that took place last year.
It's likely that this district will stay in Democratic hands but Castor's main primary opponent, state Senator Les Miller, voted with Governor Bush to allow the state politicians to make decisions for me and Terri. That was too much for me.
Phyllis Busansky for Congress- This is my Congressional district in Florida. My current Representative, Mike Bilirakis, voted with Tom Delay and the other right-wingers in Congress who tried to use Terri to score political points. Fortunately, Mike Bilirakis is retiring. But his son, Gus, who has also been an unapologetic supporter of the right-wing's efforts in my case, is running.
But I am supporting and voting for Phyllis Busansky. Phyllis is a former County Commissioner and nationally recognized policy expert on health care and welfare reform. She'd be a great addition to Congress and is committed to keeping conservatives out of our lives.
Peggy Lamm for Congress - In early June, I'll be travelling to Colorado to help Peggy Lamm in her quest to take Colorado's seventh (7th) district. Peggy is running for an open seat in Colorado - and in one of the most competitive races in the country - to replace Republican Rep. Beauprez who voted to allow the Congress into my personal life.
Peggy is a former legislator, Chair of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education and a leader on education and end-of-life issues. If you're in Colorado and would like information on joining me at Peggy's event, please shoot an email to Info@TerriPAC.com
As I've said many times, I didn't pick this fight with the right-wing, they picked it with me. But now that the fight is on, and as the calendar gets closer to Election Day, you'll be seeing more of me and TerriPAC in hard fought races around the country. I refuse to let voters forget about what can happen in a right-wing, un-challenged government.
Please take a moment and swing by the on-line homes of these campaigns and join me in helping out. They could all use your support.
I'd also love for you to check out our efforts to help these and other leaders at our TerriPAC site. And if you want to contribute, sign-up or keep updated you can do it all right there.
The TerriPAC site also has a link to the vote tally in the U.S. House so you can see how individual members of Congress voted on this important privacy issue. I hope you come by and pay us a visit.
Thank you again for your warm welcome, strong support and encouragement.
See you at YearlyKOS in Vegas!