Finally, after much hard work and some hosting issues, the Draft Halter for U.S. Senate site is up and running. It's a simple site, but it provides us with several important tools:
First, it provides those who may be unaware of the candidates or the situation in Arkansas with background information on both Lt. Gov Halter and Senator Blanche Lincoln, laying out the case for how Lincoln has betrayed poor, working, and middle class Arkansas of all walks of life while Bill Halter has delivered time and time again and stood up for Democratic values every step of the way.
Second, you can e-mail Halter's Lt. Gov reelection campaign and let them know that Halter needs to switch gears to the Senate race.
Third, and most importantly, you can click the banner and follow the instructions to make a pledge, either volunteer time or money (preferably both). Now let me be clear, no actual money is handled here, you just pledge whatever amount you are comfortable with and the draft Halter effort passes it along to the Halter campaign to show them that there is support and money for this race. Remember, Arkansas is a small state and a little money can go a long way. So if you can pledge just ten or twenty dollars (more is fine of course!) and some time to work the campaign phone banking or going door to door, we can make a real difference here and boot one of the worst Democrats in the Senate.
Remember, Blanche Lincoln attacked the public option and threatened to filibuster while countless people lined up for the free clinic in Little Rock desperate for care. She plans to oppose cap and trade while the planet warms and disaster looms. She was fine bailing out wall street, shelling out money for Bush's tax cuts, throwing money away in Iraq, and wants to eliminate the estate tax...but when it comes to health care reform and other important priorities that would help her constituents, then she decides she's a fiscal conservative.
Meanwhile Bill Halter has fought successfully for greater access to higher education, going against the state establishment as he did. He intervened on behalf of the Association of Free Clinics to secure a place for the clinic in Little Rock while Blanche Lincoln drug her feet. And he stood up and campaigned for Barack Obama and for the civil rights of LGBT Arkansans when no one else would. Bill Halter is not unelectable either. In 2006, he beat Lincoln's 2004 opponent (and potential '10 opponent) by a larger margin than she did!
So let's put our backs into this. Not only do we now have the draft site and our disposal, we have the Draft Halter facebook group which has been the creative genesis of this effort bringing a lot of progressive Arkansans together for this effort, and you can follow the draft effort on twitter.
Finally, let me say that progressives in Arkansas owe a big thanks to the folks at dailykos and Progressive PST. Without all the help we've received on this, we wouldn't be as close as we are now.
So let's get to it! Let's draft Halter and take down Blanche Lincoln with a REAL Democrat!