Sen. John Ensign said Wednesday that the Republican National Committee (RNC) has transferred $2 million earmarked for the Senate runoff in Georgia to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which was $4 million in debt after Election Day.
If there is anyone out there who doubts that the gauntlet has been thrown down, doubt no more. I am on the ground here in Georgia, so I want to relay first hand what is happening here. The television ads and radio ads against Jim Martin are bombing the public airways. Despicable ads to which we have unfortunately grown too accustomed here in Georgia. Ads paid for by Rep. Sen. Committee, the RNC, the Chambliss campaign, and a host of outside groups who are frankly pouring gasoline on the everburning culture war embers. Attack ads that rely on fear. Ads that are attempting to paint our President-Elect, our Speaker of the House, and all things Democratic or progressive as just frankly dangerous. They even have the word "Liberal" prominently plastered on one 30 second spot with the scary music and scary font.
And then there is the very, very agressive absentee ballot campaign that the RNC is waging here in Georgia for the runoff. The RNC has sent a mail piece to all likely Republican voters in Georgia with a detachable postcard to the applicable Board of Elections that serves as an absentee ballot request. The RNC clearly wants this one and is making a big play to win the last election in 2008.
Should we or do I expect anything less from the RNC and those supporting Chambliss? Absolutely not.
But my question to you, this diary's readers, is what have you done for Jim Martin today? What will you do for Jim Martin tomorrow? What will you do for Jim Martin between now and the runoff on December 2.
Sure, you have read the diaries about Bill Clinton and Al Gore coming to Georgia. But what have you done? What are you going to do?
You need more information about what is happening here? Early voting just started. The numbers are predictably off to a
slower start. But the good news is that there is still time. The good news is that our field operation can and will make the difference. This election will be won by the team that gets its voters' votes in the box. The Republican party has ramped up its absentee ballot effort through the direct efforts of the RNC. Hopefully a lot of those postcard requests went in the trash. But that's what we are up against. We will win this election if we can remind our voters that we have one more election to go here in Georgia.
Your efforts are an integral part of this fight. MyBarackObama.com now has a phonebanking tool for Jim Martin available and operational. Please spread the word about this tool, as it will be the fastest way for people to get plugged back in to the phonebanking efforts. If you cannot get it to work or want to know how to get plugged in to other phonebanking efforts, please e-mail phonebankforbluegeorgia@yahoo.com.
And finally, please permit me a brief moment for a reminder/semi-rant. In the final analysis, where the rubber hits the road, this runoff election isn't about which side of the aisle this chair is going to be on in the Senate and what that person thinks about the inside baseball of Washington politics, party caucuses, or blogs that discuss politics. This election matters because there are people in Georgia that will go to bed tonight without health care coverage. Because there are people in Georgia that lost their jobs 6 months ago, lost their homes, and don't know when the economy is going to turn around for them. Because there are families here who won't get to see their loved ones this year because they are deployed abroad in a foreign land in a war that has cost us dearly in ways that are all too calculable and painfully all too incalculable at the same time.
And these folks are not just here in Georgia. They are from all across our great country. We owe them our best efforts. As fellow Americans who care about our country. As people who are empowered to make a difference.
Don't we?
UPDATE: Click here to Make Calls from Home.
Click here to donate.