The day after the narrow defeat of Paul Hackett has been quite rough. But, it shows us that we can really convince red voters to vote for democrats. Imagine all of the red districts in 2004 that went 60-40 or 70-30 to Republicans. Imagine if those districts had better competition from democratic challengers that were adequetly funded. We might be sitting here with a different president, and a lot more representation in Congress, if we pulling votes in every district.
Some of you might have missed an important diary this morning in the lag (I know I could hardly get a page to load).
My name is David Gill, and I ran for Congress in 2004 because of the tragedies that I witness on a daily basis at my workplace. As an Emergency Room physician in rural Illinois, I see men, women, and children suffer the consequences of having a health care system which primarily serves the needs of the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries.
More below the fold...
My 2004 campaign had many successes. Despite running in a "Red" district (IL-15) that had long been written off by the so-called "experts," I mounted a significant challenge with only $100,000 and a novice, though passionate, grassroots campaign staff. By reaching out to people of all political persuasions and emphasizing the Common Sense nature of Universal Health Care, I overcame my initial lack of name recognition to receive the third highest vote total of the 19 Illinois Congressional challengers. With the experience gained from the 2004 campaign, we have an excellent chance to pull off an upset in 2006.
Yes the campaign staff was passionate and underexperienced. But the passion was there. They even managed to get students out of bed early to volunteer quite often
I should let everyone know that I have seen this candidate speak, and have even talked with him. the thing I found amazing about his campaign was the way he truly connected, and resonated with voters in my town. His signs and stickers were bright yellow, and quite noticeable even from far off. But the best part is that many of those stickers and signs are still visible today, 8 months after the election. Imagine what he could have done with a few television spots (I can't remember seeing any).
I'm going to start the ball rolling with a 25.01 donation to his campaign via ActBlue. Let's show Doc that Kossacks care about healthcare.
I have posted the link to the original diary, and the ActBlue site for his donations. Pass the links around if you have a chance.
HELP TAKE BACK THE HOUSE IN 2006!
Donate to Dr. Gill via ActBlue