Do you ever wish you had procrastinated just a little bit, because you learn something after the fact that would have made your work better? That happened to me today, before I read about State Senator Ken Cuccinelli's (VA-R+) Complete Disregard for Women I sent out an e-mail talking about his desire to take away the rights of women (apparently, the very women he would like to completely "throw away") and the need to support Janet Oleszek the Democratic nominee in that race.
Next Generation Democrats sent an e-mail today to our members (see e-mail below the speed bump) and we have gotten a fantastic response, everyone is fired up about Janet defeating Cuccinelli.
In fact, we sent out an e-mail to our national list (this being the first time many of these folks have heard of either Janet or Ken), and raised over $750 for the Janet Oleszek for Senate campaign (in the past 9 hours), with only $150 coming from Virginia!
People are naturally rallying around Janet Oleszek's unapologetic progressive stances, and at the same time are really put off by Cuccinelli's extremism.
Click Here Today to Contribute $37, $50, $100 or the most that you feel comfortable giving.
So, now I want to ask you, my fellow Kossacks to step up and join our fellow progressives from Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Louisiana, Washington DC and of course Virginia in supporting Janet Oleszek's campaign for the Virginia State Senate.
I just want to highlight a few quick bullet points from the e-mail.
- Janet has been endorsed by EMILY's List and Virginia NOW.
- Cuccinelli received a ZERO Rating from BOTH Planned Parenthood and NARAL.
Click Here Today to Contribute $37, $50, $100 or the most that you feel comfortable giving.
Even if you are only able to contribute a small amount, it really adds up when joined with contributions of like minded progressives from around the country that understand what happens here in the 37th affects us all through redistricting (2007 is the last State Senate election before the 2010 census redistricting, and this is a pivotal seat in taking back the senate and ensuring a fair and representative process both for Richmond and for the delegation that Virginia sends to Washington).
-Nate de la Piedra
Executive Director, Next Generation Democrats
Nate[at]ngdpac[dot]org
PS: If you want to get updates from NGD in the future or learn about what other local progressive candidates we're working with, sign up for our e-mail list (we send updates about every two weeks and sometimes less, so you won't get daily spam, no worries.)
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Text of Today's E-mail:
Dear Nataniel,
As Progressive Democrats, we tend to focus more on the role of government in society and less on specific or wedge issues then our opponents on the extreme right. Yet, every so often there is a specific issue or campaign that must be addressed and must be able to count on our full support, and this is one of those times.
The 2007 race in Virginia's 37th State Senate District could affect the Commonwealth for generations to come and even has national implications. The Democratic nominee Janet Oleszek is running against the most conservative member of the General Assembly and just to make things more exciting, control of the State Senate most likely rests with the victor of this seat.
Janet Oleszek is a Pro-Choice Progressive Democrat and proud of it! Janet received early endorsements from both EMILY's List and Virginia NOW. Her opponent State Senator Ken Cuccinelli, on the other hand is not. In fact Ken Cuccinelli has repeatedly introduced bills that would ban all abortions and even most forms of birth control! He consistently receives a rating of ZERO from both Planned Parenthood and NARAL.
Click Here Today to Contribute $37, $50, $100 or the most that you feel comfortable giving.
The rule of thumb in politics is don't mention your opponent by name, but I am breaking that rule because we all need to be aware of the fundamentalism and extremism that will continue to be in power should we fail to take action.
Janet Oleszek has a history of success but is going against a well groomed protégé of Grover Norquist and his extremist buddies. Janet Oleszek has been a statewide leader of the PTA and is currently serving as an At-Large Member of the Fairfax County School Board. Janet won her school board race with the highest vote total any Democrat has ever received. Perhaps even more impressively, Janet became the first female State Senate candidate ever to have $100,000 or more on hand at the end of the first quarter of the year. Yet, all this success may not be enough against an extremist with national allies. Let us stand behind Janet and provide her the resources that she needs to ensure a victory for the good guys this November.
Janet's victory would not only remove THE most conservative member of the State Senate, but would also provide one of the three seats needed to rest control of the State Senate from the Republican Party. Keeping in mind that this is the last State Senate election before redistricting in 2010, it is crucial that we take back control of at least one chamber of the State Legislature to ensure fair and proportional representation in both the Virginia General Assembly and in the Congressional Delegation that Virginia sends to Washington.
Click Here Today to Contribute $37, $50, $100 or the most that you feel comfortable giving.
I hope that you will join me today in supporting Janet Oleszek so that together, we can defeat an extreme anti-choice legislature, and take back the Virginia State Senate.
Sincerely,
Nate de la Piedra,
Executive Director of Next Generation Democrats
not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee