Listen to this entertaining interview by Al Franken with Democratic candidate for Congress,
John Laesch. All eleven minutes are good. For those concerned about Constitutional issues, the real good stuff starts at about the 8:00 mark.
Now here's a guy running for Congress who is sharp, well-informed, and ethically grounded. Sounds like a guy you want to root for right? Well, it's even better than that. Mr. Laesch is also a regular participant here in dKos. And if that's still not good enough for you, his opponent is Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.
Picture the top Republican in the House of Representatives losing his seat in 2006, and smile. Well, it's not going to happen without some netroots support. Now that you've enjoyed your smile, it's time to get to work. Your first task is to find and click the Reccomend button. See you below the fold.
(Don't worry, there won't be any math.)
Disclaimer: All parenthetical remarks in this diary have been outsourced to a GOP speachwriting team.
The Math
I have heard our own Kos say during interviews that dKos is now at about 500,000 hits per day. That is, about a half-million different internet IDs sign on to dKos each day. So how does this translate?
Let's say only one Kossak in five reads this diary. Did you find that Reccomend button yet?
Say half of you reading this diary approve of the idea.
And let's say of those who agree, only 10% actually pull out their checkbook. These folks write a check for a meaasly $10 and drop it in the mail, now, today.
What of it? ( 500,000 / 5 / 2 / 10 ) x $10 = $50,000.
"$50,000 ... Big deal", you say? It is a big deal for Mr. Laesch, who currently has $60,000 in his campaign chest. Another $50,000 would double his warchest over the course of a weekend. Doubling his budget is not a small thing. It is a big thing. It is something that would draw notice.
Thus is the power of the netroots to reach out, and with a flick of a wrist send forth national ripples. And that's if only 1% of Kossacks respond. All for a lousy ten bucks. I'm unemployed, so I gotta watch the moolah, but I can afford a lousy ten bucks.
Whats your excuse?
But why stop with Mr Laesch? Barry Welsh of Indiana is running to unseat arch-Conservative Rep. Mike Pence. How safe is Mr. Pence's seat? Let's see what E.J. Dionne says:
"Obviously, he should be true to himself and his principles,'' [GOP Representative] Shays said of the president, "but if he is looking for issues, he should be looking for issues that are helpful to those of us who are targets.'' [Mr. Shays is considered vulnerable in 2006.]
On the other hand, many of the House's staunchest conservatives -- such as Mike Pence of Indiana and John Shadegg of Arizona -- want Bush to emphasize conservative themes, including deep domestic spending cuts. But a frustrated Shays notes that conservatives urging the president to appeal to his base represent solidly Republican districts.
"Pence's election isn't in jeopardy," he said. ``Shadegg's election isn't in jeopardy.''
But Mr. Welsh does not agree with Rep. Shays when it comes to his chances this November.
We are in the game. Down 38% to 30% with 32 percent undecided with Independents, and Pence's Primary vote percentage down from 66.42 in 2004 to 55.20 now, means we have our work cut out for the campaign, but we have six months to do it, and we will get it done, and it can be done.
Mr. Welsh and Mr. Laesch are both smart candidates, and obviously they are in touch with the netroots here via dKos. But they are also running against real GOP heavyweights. That means the national Democratic professionals are unlikely to fund their races. That's where you come in. You and your measly ten bucks.
How Does This Work? Part One
If you know of other candidates who you would like to see on this list, then post a comment. Title your comment "CANDIDATE FOR NETROOTS SUPPORT". Describe why you want to see their name added to the list. Include diarly links (if any), links to campaign materials, and a link to their contributions site. Then I will edit and update this diary.
How Does This Work? Part Two
1) Drop the mouse. Not sometime later. Right now.
2) Pick up a pen.
3) Write a check for a measly $10 or ???.
4) Make sure you clicked the Reccomend button.
Or if that's too much trouble, hold on to the mouse and pay online. See below for
THE LIST
1) John Laesch Democratic candidate for IL14. Opponent: Speaker of the House Rep. Dennis Hastert. Website Campaign Contributions
2) Barry Welch Democratic candidate for IN06. Opponent: Chairman of the Republican Study Commitee Rep. Mike Pence. Website Campaign Contributions
Don't Be Afraid to Tilt at Windmills
Consider this an experiment. There is no organization behind this effort. This is just one diarist reaching out to the dKos community with a challenge. I dare you to spend $10 and see how powerful you can be. No one notices when Hillary Clinton raises another $25,000 or $100,000. But when a John Laesch or a Barry Welsh raises that much money, on the power of a netroots whim, that will make news. If they can raise $300,000, then they become eligible for national fund from Rahm Emanuel.
It will, at the least, send ripples that will be noticed on a national scale. All by flicking your wrist. All for a lousy ten bucks. Drop the mouse. Pick up the pen. Now.
Thank you.