As most of you know, today is the close of a cycle. Your email boxes are full of the requests for money. Candidates at the federal and state level are ramping up their demand of money to come into their boxes.
Today, my mailbox was stuffed with requests. Requests for funds from candidates far afield in the country, in races I hadn't heard of. Supposed personal messages from "Nancy Pelosi's iPad" (which, FYI, is Apple kicking them endorsement money?) And so on.
Most of these headlines read with negatives:
"D O O M" read one.
"WE QUIT" read another
"This is an emergency" read yet another.
The doom and gloom rhetoric doesn't work for me. At all. Instead, I need to know something about races around my state, and what exactly a donation gets me. I don't want to hear "hey, give $20 to DCCC and it goes to.. god only knows where." So, I focus a lot on down ballot races.
I want to highlight four races and tell you what donating actually gets you.
Liz Dickinson - District 30 Kansas - I spoke earlier about Liz today. If you haven't read it, PLEASE read this diary, it will explain everything about why you should want to support Liz Dickinson: http://www.dailykos.com/...
Brian E Davis District 102 In 2012, Jan Pauls, then a Democrat, went on a rant against the role of gays, birth control, and other issues in the state. Her rant on these issues managed to get her a place on Aaron Sorkin's show "The Newsroom"
So, what does a donation here get you? Jan Pauls is now a Republican, having left the party over these issues. If she wins, it will be an (R) pickup, and another person to help with veto overrides. More than that, Reno County is a county that suffers very real poverty - and as a result, voter turnout is often difficult. Brian Davis is working on the turnout game, not just registering and following up with voters, but helping to make sure those same voters actually vote. $25 to his campaign gives him a few hours of canvass. $100 gets him a day. All of it helps assist with his mail campaign, important to let democrats know that Jan Pauls isn't with us any longer. This area has voted Democrat.. but her party flip may not be easy for most to have a lot of knowledge on.
http://davisforhouse.com/...
Von Peterson District 73 - McPherson county, a place that many Democrats need solid performance in, is dealing with a non-elected Republican. Selected in February to replace a Republican tapped by Brownback, Les Mason is one of those Republicans you'd love to beat. In a recent debate with Von Peterson, Mason thought he had the question that would trip Von up.. you see, Von makes monuments. Lee Mason asked about the creation, and his ability to turn away business.. like that from WBC (Phelps Clan) or how he decides. Without a blink of an eye, Von Peterson pointed out that there is a difference between commissioning a work and a blanket dismissal of an entire class - like gays and lesbians. Mason then went on to point out - without missing a beat that he'd vote for the "Freedom of Religion" bill (Turn Gays Away) apparently not grasping his hypocrisy.
Von Peterson is prepared to mount a real media campaign in McPherson - and that campaign will help everyone his district touches, from Paul Davis to Jim Sherow and Jean Schodorf. This is a good smart investment for western Kansas folks.
http://vonpeterson.com/...
Finally, and this one is new to my list, Teresa Briggs. Teresa Briggs has a real issue to face down in her district. You see, the battles over the ballot have significantly impacted early voting.. her district WILL LOSE ONE WEEK OF EARLY VOTING.
From: Tammy Vopat
Date: Tue, Sep 30, 2014 at 1:08 PM
Subject: Advance Voting Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2014
Re: Advance Voting
The Lyon County Election Office will delay Advance Voting one week.
Advance Voting dates: Wednesday, October 22nd through November 3rd at noon in the Lyon County Election Office, Lyon County Courthouse.
Due to circumstances beyond our control with pending litigation and coupled with the time constraints required in preparing ballots, the decision was made to postpone advance voting for one week.
This decision, though not easy to make, was necessary to ensure Lyon County voters are presented with a correct and accurate ballot.
Kansas Statutes require advance voting to start no later than the Tuesday before the election. The Election Officer may begin advance voting anytime up to twenty (20) days before the election.
If you have questions or concerns, please call the Lyon County Election Office at XXXX. I apologize for any inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Tammy Vopat
Lyon County Election Officer
That's right. Teresa Briggs not only has to battle to turn out the vote, she is going to have to deal with a different time period of advanced vote then elsewhere in the state. Her campaign not only has the difficult duty of trying to win for her, but to inform voters who would vote for other democrats - all across the ballot - that her county will have a different advanced voting time.
This creates real structural problems that only a local candidate can address, and rather than spend state party resources, a person on the ground who can help voters vote - like Teresa Briggs will be critical in helping to turn out an important county like Lyon:
To Donate: https://secure.actblue.com/...
Please note: Many Kansas Candidates use Paypal over ActBlue. The reason for this is that the way the requirements work in Kansas is not always easily handled with ActBlue, and Kansas requires a merchant account as well as bank setup on the other end that is a bit.. difficult for smaller candidates who aren't raisng real money campaigns. These roadblocks, set in place by the current Secretary of State, do not create 'clean elections', they just create confusion, and encourage big money elections only.
That said, if you have small money - and you want a big difference, consider investing in these. There is no DOOM, they don't know how to QUIT, and they won't email you. But you will likely get a nice, hand written card thanking you, and more than that - you'll know that the money you put in went straight to someone who is actually working the street to drive out democratic voters.
Think about that.