America needs your help.
The House of Representatives is full of conservatives who vote almost 100% with George W. Bush. Mine is one of those guys - Joe Knollenberg. He's a buddy of Tom DeLay who has his own ethics issues. He's never seen a pork-laden Republican bill he didn't love.
My congressional district is getting "bluer". Many people - including his primary opponent - believe Knollenberg is out of touch with his district.
We can defeat him, but we need your help today.
How? Just a click of your mouse, two minutes of your time, and not a dime out of your pocket.
Democracy for America (formerly Dean for America) is sponsoring the "Grassroots All Stars", an online contest to select one Congressional candidate for endorsement. The DFAs endorsement is huge - it will infuse the winning candidate's campaign with tens of thousands of dollars and national exposure.
The contest has been narrowed down to five finalists.
I'm hoping you all will strongly consider casting a vote today for Nancy Skinner. She is a committed progressive who, with your help, may have a good chance of replacing this conservative Republican. She is exactly the type of person we need in Washington D.C.
I've been really impressed with Nancy Skinner since I first heard her on Detroit's Air America station. It was refreshing to hear a local voice discussing the issues that matter to me: the importance of protecting our environment, concern about our rising national debt and dependency on foreign investment, outsourcing, the growing healthcare crisis, an exit strategy for Iraq (she supports Murtha's plan), and a commitment to revitalizing American cities like Detroit.
I was elated when I heard she was running against Joe Knollenberg, the ethically-challenged Republican Congressman (read about his recent lobbyist-paid trip to Hawaii here: http://www.freep.com/...). Joe is a good old buddy - and recipient of money from - Tom DeLay. While Knollenberg has had a stronghold on this traditionally conservative area north of the Motor City, his support has been slipping dramatically. Knollenberg has been increasingly out-of-touch with his district - voting to support the war, adamantly saying that he does not support debate over warrantless wiretapping, working to modify House ethics rules so that he and his pals don't get in trouble, all the while rubber-stamping nearly everything DeLay and Bush want. Although my little area of the world has turned much more "blue" in the past few years, Joe continues to tow the line for his conservative pals.
I've since had the opportunity to meet Nancy Skinner on a couple of occasions, and I must admit it is encouraging to see that a nice, genuine, caring progressive is willing to take on Knollenberg. He has a lot of old-money supporters around here, and I can bet he won't go down without a fight. He is facing a challenging primary (his opponent has highlighted his ethics and the fact that he's "too conservative"), but we still expect he'll make it through to the general election.
Nancy has impressed me as a person who is determined to help push the house in a more progressive direction. She is smart, articulate, has thought out the issues carefully, and is genuinely a kind person. She's exactly the type of person I'd like to see representing our district. Exactly the type of person progressives should want in our Congress.
I believe she has the ability to beat Knollenberg, but only with a lot of help. This is where you can help her campaign.
Please vote for Nancy Skinner in the DFA contest today (voting closes at 5:00 p.m. ET). You don't have to be from Michigan. It's a national contest.
I truly believe that with the DFAs help, this is one seat that can move from a staunch rubber-stamping conservative to a successful progressive this fall.
Learn more about Nancy Skinner and her stand on the issues that matter most to us here: http://www.skinnerforcongress.com
Learn more about Joe Knollenberg's record here: http://www.ocdp.org/...
Vote for the DFA finalist here! http://tools.democracyforamerica.com/...