I've just started volunteering for the campaign of Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner who is running to replace retiring Republican Senator George Voinovich. She is a true fighting progressive who cleaned up the mess left by former Republican SoS Ken Blackwell and restored election integrity.
I'm convinced that Brunner will courageously challenge the conventional wisdom of Washington and stand up for progressive values, just like her mentor, Senator Sherrod Brown. Electing her will be a victory for courage, and the campaign is hoping to shower her campaign with money today at the Victory for Courage site.
Please contribute at ActBlue.
Brunner's primary opponent, Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, is liberal but goes along much too easily with the (conservative) Democratic establishment. His insider image will not be as effective in defeating the Republican candidate: former lobbyist, Congressman, and Bush trade representative Rob Portman.
For more about Jennifer's progressive positions compared to Lee Fisher, here is a great argument for Brunner put together by Jeff Coryell, former editor of the OhioDailyBlog, who is now working for Brunner. And here is another good comparison put together by SenateGuru last August. An excerpt:
Progressive Champion: If elected, I will become the first woman Senator from Ohio and will join only 17 women Senators, advancing the causes of gender equality and women's rights.
During this Senate campaign, I have taken strong public stands on progressive issues. One of our first major policy initiatives was to call for full marriage equality. I am a vocal supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act, and have called on the President and Democratic members of Congress to retain a strong public option in federal health care reform. I have stood up for consumers by calling for upholding credit card rate caps and have endorsed federal legislation to reform student loans. For these unflinchingly progressive positions, I have earned the endorsement of 21st Century Democrats and the 75,000 member-strong United Food and Commercial Workers in Ohio.
Jennifer Brunner blogposts:
Corporate Campaigning: Jennifer Brunner: Mad about Citizens United? Yeah, it’s Bad, but We Can Do Something, February 26, 2010
Foreclosures: Jennifer Brunner: Ending the Flood of Foreclosures: Reform Financial Regulation, February 15, 2010
Challenging the Banking Industry: Jennifer Brunner: The Party's Over, February 8, 2010
Jobs: Jennifer Brunner: Let's Recycle Unspent Bailout Money for Infrastructure Jobs, December 3, 2009
Afghanistan: Jennifer Brunner: Time To Bring Home The Troops, November 29, 2009
Death Penalty: Jennifer Brunner: Time for a Moratorium to Rethink Executions, September 24, 2009
Empowerment: Jennifer Brunner: The Politics of Empowerment, August 12, 2009
Healthcare Reform: Jennifer Brunner: No More Delays: Pass a Health Care Plan With a Public Option, July 22, 2009
Gay Marriage: Jennifer Brunner: What's there to "Get" about Marriage Equality?, June 10, 2009
Fighting for what‘s right: Jennifer Brunner: On Being Fearless..., November 15, 2006
FireDogLake Interview: Please Welcome Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Candidate for US Senate, September 6, 2009
Also
Also, check out these diaries from today:
anastasia: Why I Support Jennifer Brunner for U.S. Senate, Ohio
pistolSO: Oh-Sen:Why I'm donating $25 to Jennifer Brunner Today
romreich: College Students: Brunner = Obama
dwhite105: OH-Sen Jennifer Brunner or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Money-Bomb