While I realize that a lot of Kossacks' donation efforts understandably may be focused on either Haiti relief or Martha Coakley's Senate race, it's never too late to look ahead to Congressional races later this year.
With bona-fide progressive Democratic candidate Doug Tudor, we have an amazing opportunity to not only defeat a well-backed Blue Dog candidate in Florida's primaries this year, but also to take a Republican Congressional seat long held by one of the wingnuttiest of wingnuts.
More at the jump.
A 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy who served as the administrative aide for General Tommy Franks, General John Abizaid, and Admiral William Fallon, Doug Tudor has traveled to the combat zones of Afghanistan and Iraq more than 30 times. He has an acute understanding of the dire situations in both of those countries, and has a smart foreign-policy standpoint regarding these military conflicts, as described in his Issues page:
Doug’s basic philosophy is that America is great because of the many common factors that bind we Americans together. In a nutshell, we truly are all in this together and we must take care of each other. Our federal government must proactively take measures that increase those bonds and play a positive role in people’s everyday lives.
National Security: No single issue should be of more concern to our national legislators than the security of our country. Doug will vote for measures that refocus our troops on destroying terrorist networks and havens. He believes we need to act immediately to redeploy our troops from Iraq in a measured and successful manner. He will also champion our diplomatic corps’ ability to interact with foreign governments to ensure that warfare is always America’s last choice.
Military Readiness: Doug will tirelessly advocate on behalf of America’s Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen to ensure that they always have a clearly defined mission, and the necessary equipment and materials, family support, and medical care to achieve that mission – before, during, and after deployment.
In addition, in contrast to pro-insurance-industry Blue Dog candidate Lori Edwards, Tudor's pro-labor stance has not gone unnoticed. He has earned the unanimous endorsement of Teamsters Local 79--read more per Howie Klein:
Teamsters Local Endorses Democrat Doug Tudor While DCCC Pushes Reactionary Blue Dog
I don't recall if the figure was 90% or 95% or 99% but when I spoke to one of the top dogs over at the DCCC last month, he assured me-- using one of those numbers--that the DCCC no longer pushes reactionary candidates over progressives in seriously contested races for open seats. This week they announced their list of 26 races to watch in 2010 (plus 9 "emerging races," where their candidates haven't raised enough money yet to make it onto the real list). Among the 26 they acknowledge 4 primaries, Kirk's open seat in IL-10, LA-02 (Cao), MN-06 (Bachmann), and PA-06 (Gerlach). They even acknowledge a primary between Dr. Maureen Hackett and Jim Meffert in the race against wingnut Erik Paulsen (MN-03), one of their "emerging" races.
None of these races pits a Blue Dog against a progressive. The one race on their list that does--a primary between progressive Doug Tudor and the only non-incumbent endorsed by the Blue Dogs so far this year, Lori Edwards--to replace retiring Republican Adam "Howdy Doody Nimrod" Putnam, they come down on the side of the arch-reactionary Edwards. Rahm Emanuel may have moved on but his sleazy tactics and hackish allies remain behind stinking up the place.
(snip)
This race has a simple dynamic. A progressive Democrat with grassroots support is being pushed out by reactionary Blue Dogs--Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Lynn Woolsey hasn't shown up to campaign for Edwards yet but who knows what will happen after she finishes making her mischief in CA-36 for Jane Harman?--because Blue Dog members of Congress are shoveling money into the race while progressive members sit on their hands. Then they whine and rend their clothes when no one takes them seriously. Please donate to Doug's campaign at the Blue America Bad Dogs page.
You can learn more about Doug Tudor's campaign at his Team Tudor Web site, and also donate via ActBlue to his campaign. I've met with Doug Tudor on several occasions and can tell you honestly that he is the real deal, and incorruptible by the corporate interests that are currently plaguing Washington, DC. We need a progressive like Doug Tudor in Washington!
UPDATE: Doug Tudor made a comment here in this diary! Thanks for taking on this race, and we'll have your back. :)