DavidNYC over at
Swing State Project reminds us that today is really the last day to make our donations count, since money received now will help determine critical decisions about how and where campaign s can allocate their money over the next 11 days.
So, if that's motivated you to give, but aren't sure on whom to bestow your hard-earned cash, I have a great idea:
Give to those candidates who not only know we exist, who not only do not treat us like a 24 hour ATM, but who actually listen to us.
Just such an example is NH-02 "Blue Hampshire" Congressional candidate Paul Hodes.
(Follow me over the fold to find out why.)
Paul and his campaign have had a fluid and knowledgeable relationship with Kossacks and other bloggers almost from the beginning. Though none of us in the emerging NH blogosphere (besides my
Yankee Doodler, there's Laura's
Blue Granite and Keener's
NH-02 Progressive) get paid by team Hodes, it's clear that Paul & Co. are listening to us. Exhibit A:
Last July, I posted a diary here highlighting Charlie Bass' shameless party-line hypocrisy concerning war: BREAKING: Bass (R-NH) Demands Accountability on War from POTUS!
By leaving out the name of the war and the president, and making a joke on the frequent "BREAKING" found in diary titles, I hoped to lure in some readers to some of Bass' unbelieveable statements concerning the Kosovo war (particularly astounding given the complete free pass he's given Bush so far on Iraq):
"At this time, I do not believe the President has a clear strategy for victory."
and
"Absent some control by Congress, I am certain that this war will escalate to a point when costs and measures will grow out of control."
At the time I was fortunate to see that my diary ended up on the rec list for most of the day (few things outrage us like baldfaced Clinton-era Republican hypocrisy, don't you think), and even more happy to find that someone from the Hodes Campaign thanked me for it in a comment.
Well, imagine my surprise when I sat down to watch the Tuesday's one and only debate between Hodes and Bass. Hodes read Bass' Kosovo statements back to him in front of everyone, and asked him to explain why he was so tough on that quick and successful war, while never criticizing the President on a 3 1/2 year debacle costing thousands of lives and billions of dollars. And then a press release followed highlighting the exchange.
One diary, you say? Well, there's also the fact that Paul, both in the debate and wherever he speaks, is relentless in his criticism of Bass over the "BloggerGate" scandal (the one where Bass' #2 guy was concern trolling our blogs from House.gov computers).
And then there's the fact that he mentioned Bass' personal wealth ranking during the debate, a topic not mentioned in the press before. I wonder where he heard about that?
And he doesn't just read from the Kossack community; he reaches out to us as well, in personal and eloquent diaries such as this, and this, and this one entitled Thank You to the Netroots.
If you've read this far, and believe Paul hodes is someone we ought to help, then consider this: Paul has taken on one of the most difficult tasks: challenging a rubberstamp who survives by proclaiming his (false) independence from the rooftops. Over the past few months, Paul has managed not only to match Bass in fundraising, but even to lead him in the most recent poll. This has caused alarm bells among the GOP, and now they are bringing in oodles of outside NRCC cash that normally would never see its way to this neck of Northern New England.
In short, Paul needs our help to fight the coming onslaught of outside sleaze.
I often hear on this site that we should "reward good behavior." Well, I think we should really reward great behavior, and there's no more crucial time than tonight.
DONATE: ActBlue Blue Hampshire
VOLUNTEER: Hodes for Congress
MUST SEE VIDEO #1: Paul Hodes in Hanover
MUST SEE VIDEO #2: Charlie Bass Unplugged