Believe it or not, there's an actual race going on in Massachusetts. The MA-05 congressional seat is vacant, Marty Meehan having resigned to take over UMass-Lowell, and there's a special election on October 16 to fill it. The contenders are Democrat Niki Tsongas, Republican Jim Ogonowski, and some other folks.
At the moment, anyway, the race doesn't appear to be a gimme for the Dems. The most recent poll has Tsongas up by 10, but actually trailing among independents. MA-05 is an unpredictable district that has sent Republicans to Congress in the past.
You know what to do.
This is an important race -- among other things, a win for the GOP would be a big shot in the arm heading into 2008. We Bay Staters hope you'll give us a hand in electing Niki Tsongas to Congress.
Niki has engaged with the local netroots, and she'll be posting frequently on my home blog, Blue Mass. Group. Here are some excerpts from today's post.
On October 16, 2007, the eyes of America will be on us as we choose the new member of Congress from the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts. I believe we must send an unwavering message to America and to the White House: it is time to change the direction of our country, and it is long past time to change direction on Iraq.
No longer can we afford to accept the failed policies of the Bush Administration—failures abroad and failures that impact us here at home.
No longer can we accept a policy of neglect that leaves 47 million American uninsured, including 9 million children, and tens of millions more facing high health care costs.
No longer can we accept a policy of denial on global warming that threatens the safety of future generations....
And the most immediate change we need is a real commitment to end the war. What was confirmed last week was that our failure is not a military one but a political one. President Bush and too many members of Congress are at the center of that failure. Last spring, Congress failed to pass Jim McGovern's bill which would have mandated the safe and orderly withdrawal of our forces over a nine-month period. I strongly supported the McGovern bill then and continue to do so today.
When our leadership fails us, we must use our most precious resource—our vote—to set our country back on course.
In the Fifth Congressional District, voters have a clear and important choice. My Republican opponent claims he will be an "independent" voice, but he attended the National Republican Congressional Committee's training session in May where Karl Rove was prominently featured.
George Bush and my Republican opponent, Jim Ogonowski, both believe the Iraq war is heading in the right direction. According to their plan, 140,000 of our troops will remain in Iraq after the drawdown—a higher number than existed before the surge—and a signal that under their watch, our troops will be mired in Iraq for many years to come. I fundamentally disagree and believe it’s time for a change.