You might expect Progressives to get a cold reception in rural Southeastern Kentucky. But the opposite is true. Wherever I go, whoever I talk to, our message is being well received.
The problem becomes that these folks in Southeastern Kentucky don't have money to contribute to political campaigns. Take a drive through the mountains of the 5th Congressional District, and you'll see what I mean: poverty is a very real and serious problem in our district.
Hal Rogers, our "Conservative" Republican Congressman, has locally been dubbed the King of Pork. Despite the millions upon millions of pork barrel projects he funnels into the district (some which benefit campaign contributors), our district remains at rock bottom in terms of economic opportunities, education, and health of our people.
Yet, year after year, the people of the 5th Congressional District (which is Democratic by majority) continue to re-elect Rogers to Congress. This is because people in Southeast Kentucky don't vote the way people around the country do. The general mind set is that they'd rather vote for someone that they hate and know than someone they don't know at all.
We're working on changing that. We've got a good, honest, and intellegent Democrat running for Congress here by the name of Jim Holbert. An emergency helicopter pilot by profession, he previously served over 20 years as an officer in the Army and Coast Guard.
Jim is a Progressive Democrat who advocates ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, ending free trade agreements which give away our jobs to other countries, creating an energy policy that benefits America and not OPEC, enforcing our illegal immigration laws, and enacting nation-wide single payer health care. You can read about these and other issues here.
We're lucky to have Jim Holbert running down here, because he is exactly what we need in a Congressman. I've known Jim for many years now, ever since I worked on his campaign in 2008 when he ran as an Independent. I cannot think of another person more qualified to be our United States Congressman. And that's the truth.
So we need your help to get this good man elected. As I have said in previous diaries, the 5th District needs to turn blue this November. But not just for the sake of turning blue, but to send someone to Washington who will take decisive action to tackle the issues of our time.
We're looking to raise $5,000 by the end of the month. I know this will be difficult, and I know we might not reach our goal. But this election is far too important for us not to put forth our best effort to make it happen.
Please make a contribution of as much as you can. You don't have to contribute $1,000 (although we'd certainly accept it...haha). We're looking for individual donations of $5, $10, $25 or more. Your contributions enable us to get on television, radio, and in the newspapers to spread the Progressive message. The Southeastern Kentucky media market is very cheap, so your contributions will go a long way.
It is critical that we have the finances needed to take on Rogers this November. General Election season in Kentucky starts up in the first week in August, so please help us come out swinging by making a contribution right now.
Thank you in advance for your support and generosity. On behalf of the dozens of campaign volunteers that are working hard for us every day, we truly appreciate your help!