Some of you may recall that Francine Busby ran against Brian Bilbray in 2006. The results were not so bad. In a heavily Republican district, she came in second, of course. It was an off year, but she managed to garner 43.5% of the vote.
Last year, however, the 50th went for Obama by 51.3%, and it's a whole new ballgame. The 50th is ripe for picking, if we will put in the work.
This is another off-year election, which means it's all about getting out YOUR vote. Not about voter registration, not about getting everybody out to vote. No, it's about getting out your voters, the ones who, by hard work on the phones and by means of shoe leather, you have identified as folks who share your values, your world-view, and your passion for making your District a better place, as well as supporting efforts in Congress to make this country live up to its ideals.
To say that Francine Busby is an excellent candidate is an understatement. She is intelligent, passionate about education-- a key element of the Obama Administrations plan to enhance job development-- and knows her district well. She understands the challenge of this moment, and she has deliberated on undertaking the task of defeating Brian Bilbray with eyes wide open.
To understand why we must do everything we can to defeat Bilbray and elect Francine Busby, you have to know about CA-50. It is a district rich in potential especially suited to this moment. It has the entreprenurial talent and people with the type of rich educational background we need to get something exciting and serious started in Southern California-- some real 21st century job creation potential.
But not with the likes of Brian Bilbray in office. His major "theme" is "be afraid, be very afraid" of "illegal immigrants." In fact, his position is so far to the right that it makes Lou Dobbs look a bit progressive.
His resume includes having been a registered Washington lobbyist for the "Federation for American Immigration Reform"-- a rather thinly disguised hate group-- so thinly disguised that the Southern Poverty Law Center put FAIR on its official list of hate groups in December of 2007.
Bilbray was a real stand-up guy during the last Congress, too, voting with Bush's positions 93% of the time.
I know the folks here on dKos sometimes have some spare time, and even a little bit of spare change. I would urge you to check out Francine's website and make a donation of time and/or treasure.
We need Francine Busby in Congress. And now is the time to get to work on her campaign.