By Jonathan Singer, Campaign Manager
This morning DownWithTyranny, a great national blog that is turning Netroots organizing into change on the ground, offers an extended profile of Mike and adds Mike to the combined FireDogLake, DownWithTyranny, and Crooks & Liars Blue America ActBlue page.
DWT offers a number of reasons why the Netroots should get behind Mike beginning with the national implications of Mike's race.
If you spend much time at DWT you know my greatest passion isn't about the 2008 presidential elections nor even about all Bush's criminality. It's about taking back the Congress from the rubber stamp enablers-- predominantly the Republican sell-outs that hold a majority of each house, but also defeating Democratic Party sell-outs like Joe Lieberman and Al Wynn too. But as we work towards retaking Congress between now and November, we must not lose sight of an even bigger picture: electing progressive Democratic majorities not just this year but also for many years to come.
Part of this broader effort is electing Democrats at the municipal and state legislative levels so that there are more than enough progressive candidates to sustain a robust majority in future Congresses (a point I will get to in a moment).
Another, perhaps even more important factor is controlling the redistricting process in key states across the country come 2010. But we cannot afford to wait until 2010 to start winning elections for governor, secretary of state and state legislature in the hope that everything will just come together that year and fair, if not favorable Democratic district lines will simply appear. Instead, we must fight to wrest control of state legislatures from the hands of the Republicans, particularly in chambers in which the GOP's majority is paper thin, and additionally work to protect Democratic majorities in chambers in which they are tenuous.
As DWT explains, a shift of just four seats in Oregon would put the state House in Democratic hands for the first time in 16 years and put Oregon a lot closer to both drawing fair lines in the 2010 redistricting process and passing progressive legislation that can improve the lives of its citizens.
One of the key races in the battle to retake the Oregon House is Mike's campaign, DWT writes.
In District 39, Mike Caudle is running against House Majority Leader Wayne Scott, who I'll get to in a minute. Take a look through Mike's bio and you'll see that he is a great example of the success of progressive institutions. A student with difficulties in high school, Mike enrolled in Clackamas Community College where he was really able to find himself. Mike took to his studies and immersed himself in the school community, eventually being elected student body president twice (the first student ever to hold the position twice). After succeeding at Clackamas, Mike moved on to Oregon State University where he also dedicated himself to service, volunteering in a number of organizations on campus and around the community, and eventually being elected student body president there, too. Mike has continued his service to his community by working as an advisor at Clackamas Community College, where he was also elected president of his union. He has additionally committed himself to a number of volunteer positions as well as working on Oregon City's budget committee.
Wayne Scott, on the other hand, has shown different priorities as Representative and House Majority Leader. Willamette Week, a pulitzer prize winning weekly in the area, reported last month that Scott helped pass legislation that would solely benefit a company with which he was closely connected. And not only are there questions about Scott's use of his office, Scott is also terrible on the issues, standing up for predatory payday lenders who frequently charge up to 521 percent annual interest and cutting state troopers -- not to mention underfunding schools, healthcare programs and social services in the state in general.
With a victory by Mike Caudle in November, we will not only help push the Oregon state house into Democratic control but also send a clear signal to legislative bigwigs around the country that Tom DeLay's tactics will fail on the state level just as they have on the federal level. And Mike has a real opportunity to win this fall. Although Bush won the district with about 54 percent of the vote in 2004, Democratic US Rep. Darlene Hooley and Democratic state Sen. Kurt Schrader consistently do well in the district, which has strong Democratic, though conservative roots.
But Mike can use the help of the Netroots right now so that he can win this fall. Mike is an avid blogger (check out his campaign blog and his Daily Kos diary), who has been reaching out to the Oregon blogosphere for help. His pollster is none other than Joel Wright, the numbers man cited by Jerome and Markos in Crashing the Gate as the model progressive pollster and who also conducted MyDD's survey in January.
Yet he also would greatly benefit from our help, too. ActBlue just activated fundraising for legislative candidates in Oregon, and Mike recently received his first contribution on the site. But let's bump that up by giving donations to him through Blue America's ACT BLUE Page, Your help today will make a huge difference in helping Mike win this fall and securing Oregon as a Blue state for many, many years to come-- and in helping insure a stronger Democratic bench into the future.
Both Mike and I are so excited to see the progressive blogosphere watching our race and spreading the word about our people-powered campaign. With your support over the next hundred days, we can bring change to Oregon and the country.
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Mike Caudle is the Democratic nominee for the Oregon House of Representatives from the 39th district, which encompasses Oregon City, Canby and surrounding Clackamas County. To learn more about Mike, visit mikecaudle.com, Mike's campaign blog, Mike's Facebook group or Mike's ActBlue page.