In my experience, there are key moments to act when it comes to flipping seats from Repub to Dem. Right now we have just such a key moment.
Republican scandals have always been fruitful moments to aggressively flip a seat. Iowa Teabagger Republican Kent Sorenson recently had to resign from the State Senate because of corruption charges (and may still face felony charges). The special election to fill that seat has been set for November 19th...not far away! This is the exact moment we need to strike to win, contrasting the deep, deep Republican corruption with the cleaner (not always, but usually) Democratic Party. Add to that the dissatisfaction the nation currently has because of the Republican shutdown of effective government and we have a key moment to expand the slim Democratic majority in the Iowa Senate.
Iowa is kind of personal to me. Not because of my own life experience, but because that is where my father was born. My great-grandfather was born in Germany, settled in Iowa, and that is where my father was born and grew up. Similarly my great-grandmother was born in Germany, moved with HER father (the great patriarch Adam Wasem) to Iowa and that is where she met my great-grandfather. I still have relatives there--the Kunkel and Wasem families. Until the Bush economy finally took it down, the Kunkel Sporting Goods store founded by my grandfather still thrived in Davenport, Iowa. It finally died in the worst years of the Bush Recession.
But it goes even deeper than that. The Wasem branch of my family had been comfortable in Germany until the revolution of 1848. My great-great-grandfather, Adam Wasem, was Burgermeister of Bingen right where the Rhine bends to the east. Suddenly he and his whole extended family, including my great-grandmother, packed up for America. It took me years to figure out why. Turns out two of his sons chose the losing side in the revolution of 1848 and suddenly we had to leave. Bismark was targeting our family along with all the other 1848 rebels he didn't like.
My family seems to have been trouble makers for the establishment since at least 1848 and I am not about to stop that tradition. When those troublemaking brothers and their relatives fled in 1848 they settled in Iowa.
So Iowa has a personal resonance with me.
But it also is, despite its small size, kind of a major bell weather state for the whole nation. It has a strong progressive history as well as a strong conservative history. It is an ultimate swing state, but deep down it is progressive and if only the Democrats could articulate a strong progressive message face to face in Iowa, we could win big.
This special State Senate election is one key moment where we can strike, give our progressive message, and win.
See below for a plea from the Iowa Democratic Party regarding this special election.
From the Iowa Senate Majority Fund:
Yesterday, Governor Branstad set the date for the Special Election to fill the now-vacant Senate District 13 seat.
As you may have heard, former District 13 Senator, Republican Kent Sorenson resigned last week after a Special Investigator found he had violated Senate Ethics rules by taking tens of thousands of dollars in payments, routed to him through two consulting firms from the Michele Bachmann for President campaign and her political action committee, MichelePAC.
The investigator also determined that Sorenson, in addition to breaking Senate Ethics rules, may have also committed a felony by knowingly making false statements to the Ethics Committee during their investigation.
Sorenson was one of the most right-wing members of the Senate. But now we a chance to replace him with a much more progressive voice--one that will stand up and fight for everyday Iowans.
We don't have much time!
Election Day is November 19th. That's right--just six weeks to get organized and put together enough resources to wage a competitive campaign.
Please help us lay a strong foundation for this race by contributing $15, $25, $50, $100 or as much as you can afford today!
After our nominee is selected at an upcoming special convention, he or she must be able to hit the ground running. And that's where you come in. We need your help to set up a strong operation--starting right now!
We need to expand our Majority!
Democrats in the Iowa Senate are united. There is nothing else standing in the way of Republican rule in Iowa. Our narrow, 1-seat Majority stood up against everything from the elimination of collective bargaining rights to the repeal of marriage equality. We blocked their attempts to eliminate our state's successful preschool program and stopped them time after time as they tried to roll back the clock on women's reproductive rights.
We know that we can't allow the Tea Party extremists to set the agenda in our state. Because if they do, we all lose.
This is an opportunity!
Now, with Senator Sorenson's resignation, we have an opportunity not only to expand our Democratic Majority, but also to replace one of the most right-wing members of the State Senate with a progressive voice.
But we need your help!
Please help us elect a Democrat to Iowa Senate District 13! Contribute $15, $25, $50, $100 or as much as you can afford today!
Any contribution is appreciated. You can also mail a check to:
Iowa Senate Majority Fund
5661 Fleur Drive
Des Moines, IA 50321
I donated. I hope you join me. One small blow against the Republican reactionaries, but a blow that could resonate powerfully and could start to break their ability to keep America paralyzed.