So I got this bug up my butt today about the fact that Dems in the South are not very well supported, and how there needs to be a major rebuilding of the party down here. So I started over at ActBlue and came up with this. I decided that I am not going to take it any more. I am going to make myself have an active role in rebuilding the South for the Dems.
This means several things. First, my main focus from now on is going to be on creating this "Southern Strategy." It also means that until I get this thing up and off the ground, I am going to be doing a lot of cross-posting between here, BlueNC, and my
Live Jounal site. Over the next few week I will be focusing almost entirely on the races here in the South, posting on those, particularly the ones that I am the most familiar with. I will also be shamelessly pushing my
ActBlue page in the effort to try and get these people money. After the election (in 49 days!) I will be focusing on how to develop a strategy for a real, substantive take over of the South, consolidating both the ideas of other and my own, in addition to focusing on the issues that have the greatest impact here in the South.
So for those who did not follow my links to my new Act Blue page, here it is again. What I have done here is simple. I have picked (or will pick) US Congressional candidates from every Southern state that is running against a Republican incumbent. To do this, I scrolled through the ActBlue directory and looked at the sites of multiple people for each state (with the exception of FL and NC, where I let my personal prejudice for the districts in question sway me). I gave minorities and woman the upper hand, although, unfortunately there do not seem to be many running this cycle here in the South. I then clicked on the websites, took a look around, and if I felt comfortable with my choices, I picked them. What gave me comfort was often Labor endorsements, stances on Healthcare, the War in Iraq, and trade issues. The candidates were not picked on chance to win, how much money they already had, etc. It was a simplistic formula that I hope that in two years can be improved, but the basic point is to get Dems elected to Congress, and eventually to make sure that those that go are true Progressive Democrats.
So let me personally ask you to go here and donate some money to these candidates. Pick one or two that you like and give them some money, or better yet give a little to all of them. Please pass this info on to you friends, neighbors, and families. Let your faith community know about it. Pass it around your political circles. Let me know. And here on the Kos, rec me up so that I can get this info up to the greater community. I know that this is a shameless plug, but I figure it is for a good cause.
'till later y'all
CM