Yeah, I like the Wilson Pickett song, but I certainly don't want to see it applied to our actions now, especially today or tomorrow.
Tomorrow is March 31, the end not only of the month, but also of the quarter for FEC reporting. And if you have been thinking about making a contribution to a House or Senate candidate, the hour is getting short, hence my title.
In the heat of the battle for the presidential nominee, efforts to draw attention to our worthy Congressional candidates often go somewhat unnoticed, as perhaps happened with my diary yesterday on Tom Perriello, a very good candidate in the 5th CD of Virginia. There have been front-page stories about some of our candidates. I'd like to use this diary to mention a few more.
Some of these candidates still face primaries. And some have had some attention here. For example, Leslie Byrne is in a four-way contest for the seat left open by the forthcoming retiremen of Tom Davis, VA-011 (all my links will be to candidates webpages), and one of those opponents is the chair of the Fairfax County Board. There is a reason Leslie is supported by many netroots types and is on the Blue Majority list: she has a long record of fighting for progresive causes and for labor, and as a result not only are most Virginia bloggers supporting, so are most local unions. And tomorrow she will have a major fundraiser with Sen. Jim Webb, who is grateful for the early support she gave him n his own late entry into the primary context in 2006.
And Scott Kleeb, who had this recommended diary yesterday, is certainly a familiar face her, having had dailykos support in his House race last cycle, and many of us urging him to enter the Senate contest. He faces a self-funding man who is a recent Republican, and - like more than a few of our candidates last cycle - somehow that opponent seems to have been recruited by powers in DC even though he is not particularly progressive nor committed to Democratic causes. Scott needs our help.
Another progressive candidate with primary opposition is Jared Polis, who has blogged here, including about his trip to Iraq. This district is solidly Democratic, so the primary is the entire battle, and Jared is he best chance for a progressive voice - remember that he is one of the original sponsors of Darcy Burner's plan for Iraq (to which Leslie Byrne has also affixed her name).
Some of the candidates we might consider are those who ran and came close last time, in many cases without the strong support of the DCCC, such as Eric Massa in NY, Charlie Brown in CA, and Darcy Burner in WA. Eric, who also is a regular blogger here, helped organize the fighting Dems effort last year that at least got Pat Murphy of Pennsylvania elected (and Pat will probably have a rematch with the man he defeated, so he too is worthy of our assistance in Pennsylvania, as is former Admiral Joe Sestak - we don't want to give up seats we picked up last time).
And of course Darcy Burner in Washington State has already taken a leadership role, as we have seen, with A Responsible Plan to End the War to which now more than 20 Democrats have made their commitment.
I cannot list all the worthy candidates, incumbents,repeat challengers, or first time candidates. I will encourage you to make your case in the comments.
But let me add a few more that I favor. And in several cases I am doing something unusual: endorsing in a primary in which I cannot vote. These are cases where I know the candidate and feel strongly that s/he is the best choice. I have already mentioned Leslie Byrne and Jared Polis. In Virginia, let me add the name of Judy Feder, running again against Frnak Wolf in the 10th. Judy is an expert on Health Care, served as the Dean of Georgetown's Public Policy Institute, after a long career in government and related institutions, including the Brookings Instituion and as staff director of the Pepper Commission which attempted to address comprehensive health care reform.
Also in Virginia, I remind you again about Tom Perriello in the 5th CD, who gives us a real chance to defeat the noxious Virgil Goode (and I did give you a link above the fold to the diary I wrote about him). I'd also like to call to your attention Glenn Nye, running in the 2nd District against Thelma Drake. Glenn has extensive experience working on development issues overseas and as a diplomat.
Outside of Virginia, I am especially fond of Larry Kissell in NC, perhaps because like me he is a social studies teachers. And yes, he lost narrowly the last time without help from the DCCC. This is a guy we need, to join former teachers like Tim Walz of MN and Harry Mitchell of AZ (sorry, don't have links). And still facing a primary is Erie City Councilman Kyle Foust, who also has had a career in education. And while talking about people concerned with and knowledgeable about education, we aboslutely need to help Rick Noriega get to the US Senate from Texas.
And let's not forget several of our own dailykos members: Gilda Reed, facing a special election in Louisiana, Jerry Northington (Possum) in Delaware, Barry Welsh in ID, Ron Shepston in CA, and Donna Edwards in MD, who may also face a special election for the seat that will be open when Al Wynn steps down in June. I am sure they would all appreciate our support as well.
There are many other worthy candidates. I don't know them all, and of course most of us are limited in what we can give. But even $5.00, or in my case $20.08, can make a difference, especially if enough of us do it.
So let me end as I began: Please don't "Wait Til the Midnite Hour"
Peace.