A few days ago my very special friend, Sara R, spoke to me about diaries to raise funds for progressive Congressional candidate, Darcy Burner, WA-01. Sara has designed and is making a truly phenomenal quilt to raise funds for this special candidate. The quilt will be won by someone supporting Darcy Burner during this election cycle.
The quilt will contain signatures of 190 of our own, a list which reads (to me) like a Who’s Who of our most wonderful Kossacks! These are people who believe in and support ventures in people-powered politics, who believe in and support the candidacies of BETTER Democrats, who believe in and support Daily Kos, our community. I am in awe of the names of those who have signed this great quilt.
As remarkable as the quilt is, for me the reason to support this fundraising initiative is to help elect Darcy Burner to Congress. The citizens of the great state of Washington need her voice speaking out on their behalf. I am a citizen of South Carolina, and I need her voice speaking on MY behalf, as well, even if she cannot represent me directly, even if I cannot vote for her directly.
Tonight I have chosen to write about Darcy and her position on Retirement Security. It is an issue of importance to me because retirement is inching ever closer, and attacks on retirement options from the Right are never ending. They want to use retirement funds to finance other government ventures, so they can artificially lower taxes to get re-elected. (They DO this already where they have the votes!) If those funds are not there when people retire, too bad. Whether it is social security or public service pensions or Medicare benefits, they want to raid those funds and gut those programs. Darcy Burner will stand against them, and so should we all.
If you click on “Retirement Security” on Darcy Burner’s On the Issues page, this is what you will find written on the subject:
Social Security and private pensions are promises made to working people for their retirement security. I will vigorously oppose any attempts to cut the Social Security or Medicare benefits that people have paid for, and I will fight against risky schemes that would destroy it, including privatization. I will also fight to ensure that employees get the pensions they have earned.
Darcy knows that Social Security is the foundation of American retirement. It is under near constant attack by Republicans.
Chris Bowers, among others, has written at length about the
Right’s hatred of Social Security, and of incidents like one in which collegiate Republicans were filmed in 2005, chanting:
hey-hey, ho-ho, Social Security has got to go!
(Videos of this may be found on YouTube. I am not linking to any of them because I just ate.)
They believed, of course, that it could easily be done on Bush’s watch, but they have not stopped their attacks, since, even though they don’t occupy the White House (mercifully).
We need high quality Democrats like Darcy Burner to stand against those elements in Congress and in our society-at-large.
I think about this a great deal. There are currently no Democrats serving in my deeply red state in statewide capacity. In 2012 I am supporting Democrats with reasonable prospects, and I am supporting Democrats here with no chance at all. But working to assist Sara R and Horace Boothroyd III and Meteor Blades and Joan McCarter, Angie in WA State, Chacounne, Lefty Coaster and Oke in this fundraising endeavor is a rare and precious opportunity. If you can contribute to Darcy’s campaign, please be as generous as you can! As many times as you can this month! You won’t find a better cause or a more worthy candidate between now and November 6. Don’t believe me? Check out her positions on the other issues at her website!
Finally, if you live in WA-01, please cast your vote for Darcy Burner! Most important!
More details below!
top of the quilt signed in Providence
The entire month of July will be a quilt fundraiser for Darcy Burner, candidate for Congress, WA-01. There will be a drawing for the quilt signed in Providence at NN12 the first week in August. Everyone can get one chance per day, each and every day in July by EITHER donating $10 or more to Darcy Burner's campaign through this Act Blue page OR by writing a 50-word-or-less essay on this topic: How can we bend the arc of history more towards justice for all?. If we deem your essay to be on topic, it will count for a chance. Send essays to winglionquilts AT gmail DOT com with "Darcy Burner" in the subject line. To recap, earn an equal chance once a day every day in July by either donating or sending a short essay (one or the other). That means everyone who began at the beginning can have as many as thirty-one equal chances in this drawing. The first week in August, I will find a neighborhood child to do the drawing and someone will become the new owner of the quilt.
Quilt stats: It will be about 66" square, sleeved for hanging. The fabric is cotton, the batting a fine wool. I am quilting it by hand and am more than a half done. It will be finished by the end of July.
Here are the quilt signatories:
TexDem
Sara R
Kitsap River
Charles CurtisStanley
Chris Loesch
Phyllis DeGrave
Monsieur Georges
Velo Vixen
Hawkwife
Abraham J. Bonowitz
CA Berkley WV
Ramara
Barbara Banoff
Leslie Simmons
Jessica Wainfor
Immy Humes
The Fat Lady Sings
Marcy Miranda
Ann Porter
Carol Neil
Malaka Gharib
Susie Kameny
Sandy on Signal
Bill Lusk
Charlie Harris
Macaela Gardner
Flamingogirl
Paul Krugman
Martin Garcia
Lefty coaster
Samuel Skurkovich
Krista Brewer
Markos Moulitas
Hunter
Ken Schider
Sharon Saltzberg
Nancy St. Germain
Carl Farmer
Angelajean
Susan Gardner
Brian Loper
Betsy Cazden
Catherine Casas
Erika Martinez
Marcy Chong
Faith Gardner
Pamela Mackey
Shirley Koegel
Andy the Cat
Mimi Marziani
Sonrisa
Cheryl Krauss
Ann Savage
Paula Dove-Jennings
Megan Secatore
Jee Fedele
Dominique French
Dennis Travares
Mark Musho
Hayden
Erin Hofteig
Bill in Portland Maine
Common Sense Mainer
Canilo Viveiros
Sean Kitchen
SSMIr
Marta Turnbull
Navajo
Grace
Priscilla Cruz
Shayan Zdrisavi
Nomandates
Jodie Evans
Glitterscale
Nik Swiatek
Sam Schoeburg
Rachel Gordon
Jamie McGonnigal
Brillig
Mik
Laura Clawson
EK Hornbeck
Hannah Resseger
Alan Grayson
Arjun Jaikumar
Kari Fulton
Terilee Edwards-Hewitt
Alisa Roost
Linda Lee
Luan Tatum
Karen Bradbury
Kate Coyne McCoy
Elena Perez
Triciawyse
Steve Dondley
Katie DeCarlo
Diane Palmer
Eric Packer
Cheryl McLeod
Chacounne
Keesha G
Oke
Greyhawk
Meteor Blades
Rep. David Cicilline
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse
Charles Patenaude
Tool
Cynthia Kain
Mike Ertel
Emberlyn
Transactivist
Patrick St John
David Braun
Una Spenser
San Mateo DFA
Evan Leeson
Moody Loner
Erin souza
Jeana Brown
Sen. Jeff Merkley
Maria Luz Torre
Olive Niccoli
Nancy Peckenham
Matt Bors
Yasuragi
Benis Binion
LaToya Egwekwe
Peregrine kate
NW Terri D
David Gusick
Vicky Rateau
Marcia Robbins
Eric Thut
Molly D
CJ
Adam Skoog
Brandon Silverman
MsSpentyouth
Jay Lustgarten
Onomastic
Mommy Pooka
The momcat
Lilian Molina
Robyn Carmichael
Ed Tracey
Suzanne Turner
Erika Boulware
Amy Ziering
Joan Brooker
N in Seattle
Malik Rhasaan
Kafi Rouse
Poe
42
gizmo59
Regan McCarthy
4Freedom
Scottie Thomaston
Jo Lux
Arenosa
Megan Lickley
Polisigh
True Blue Majority
Kelly Lincoln
Eclectablog
The left neck chick
Tarryl Clark
Little Loner
Nancy Green
JoAnn Schwartz
Side pocket
Dev Tobin
Brian Swinehart
Andrew Hubbs
Don Rhodes
Belinda ridgewood
Winglion
Cedwyn
Winkk
Commonmass
Terri Foster
April Pederson
Loggersbrat
Katrina Gamble
Lightbulb
Jennifer Miller-Smith
Vec
Gina Fesmire
Clytemnestra
Click on the thermometer to donate!
It would be great to have a diary every day in July about this fundraiser and about different aspects of Darcy Burner's campaign -- lots of issues to choose from! I have set up a group for these diaries, -- so follow the group so as not to miss any! If you will be writing a diary, I will add you to the group.
Here is a quilt fundraiser diary schedule for July. Please let me know in the comments if you would like to post a diary. Thank you!
Friday, July 6 - BeninSC
Saturday, July 7 - Joan McCarter
Sunday, July 8
Monday, July 9 - Chacounne
Tuesday, July 10 - Lefty Coaster
Wednesday, July 11
Thursday, July 12 - Meteor Blades
Friday, July 13 - belinda ridgewood
Saturday, July 14
Sunday, July 15
Monday, July 16
Tuesday, July 17
Wednesday, July 18 - Oke
Thursday, July 19
Friday, July 20
Saturday, July 21
Sunday, July 22
Monday, July 23
Tuesday, July 24
Wednesday, July 25
Thursday, July 26
Friday, July 27
Saturday, July 28
Sunday, July 29
Monday, July 30
Tuesday, July 31
Bend the arc of history more toward justice for all! Contribute to Darcy Burner's campaign!