You probably received a couple dozen emails today asking you to give money to Democratic candidates. The goal of these fundraising asks will invariably be to help Democrats win on November 2nd.
The truth is, however, that Democrats can’t win on November 2nd unless we also win on the first day the Senate is in session in January. Even if we keep control of both branches of Congress, it will prove a hollow victory unless we change Senate procedural rules on the day when only 51 votes are required to change them.
That’s why, when everyone else is asking you to give to candidates, our fundraising focus today is on our effort to reform Senate rules. Please, contribute $10 to Daily Kos on the Orange to Blue page, to help us continue our work on reforming the filibuster.
At this point, almost no matter what happens, Democrats are going to lose some seats in the Senate. Thus, unless the rules are changes, we will need more Republican votes to confirm nominees and pass legislation. Further, Jim DeMint will continue to put a holds (in other words, deny unanimous consent on the motion to proceed, thus forcing the three-day, 60-vote cloture process) on any legislation or nominee that isn’t cleared through his office. Next year, DeMint may well have a few tea party buddies in the Senate who decide to do exactly the same thing.
There is a two-fold solution to this problem. First, we keep the Senate by beating tea party candidates in November. Second, we reform Senate rules in January. That is the only possible path for Democrats to continue to govern, and it is exactly what we are working toward on the Orange to Blue page. It’s why we need you to contribute $10 to Daily Kos now.
Your donation will go to support David Waldman’s efforts. David is working with Progressive Congress to build a coalition of labor, civil rights, environmental, netroots and multi-issue progressive organizations that are coordinating on Capitol Hill to reform Senate rules. With the help of that coalition, and of the 21,000 members of the Daily Kos community who signed the petition to reform Senate rules, dozens of meetings have been conducted with the staff of returning Democratic Senators and of Democratic Senate candidates.
The takeaway from these meetings has been a big win: there isn’t a single returning Democratic Senator, or Democratic Senate candidate, who is flat-out opposed to changing Senate rules. There is a lot of uncertainty and differences of opinion on how the rules should be changed, but the desire for some sort of rules change appears universal. Also, while some Senators are wary of change, none are a straight "no" anymore. Even Ben Nelson isn’t a straight no!
We need your donation to help David continue his work building this coalition. He started drawing buzz about reforming Senate rules 18 months ago, right here on the pages of Daily Kos. He is the leading public voice on Senate procedure in the country, and is absolutely central to the campaign to reform Senate rules. Please, chip in $10 to Daily Kos to support David’s work now.
Progressive Congress has found a donor who will match the first $5,000 in donations you make to Daily Kos to support David’s work (which means until Daily Kos reaches $6,700 on the Orange to Blue page). Also, all of the candidates on the Orange to Blue page support Senate rules reform themselves, so contributing to them helps this effort.
Please, contribute $10 to Daily Kos to help reform Senate rules. It’s the only way we can get a real win in the 2010 elections.