On November 17, 2007, just two months ago today, Rahm Emanual's "Our Common Values" PAC made a $2,500 contribution to Congressman Dan Lipinski's reelection campaign.

• AFTER Lipinski challenger Mark Pera's endorsement by Daily Kos, Open Left and Swing State Project
• AFTER Mark Pera's endorsement by Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, and Down with Tyranny
• AFTER Mark Pera's endorsement by DFA
• AFTER Mark Pera's endorsement by NARAL Pro-Choice America
• and AFTER Mark Pera's endorsement by my local DFA group, Northside DFA.

Which means when my DFA friends and I were out there freezing our toenails off knocking on doors trying to get rid of Lipinski and elect Mark Pera, when Kossacks and FDLers and the rest of the netroots were scrounging for couch change to try to get rid of Lipinski and elect Mark Pera, Rahm was writing a check to help Lipinski's re-election campaign.

[Note: Crossposted at www.blogforamica.com and www.prairiestateblue.com.]

Last Saturday I and three other members of my group, Northside Democracy for America, headed down to lovely Countryside, Illinois, for the campaign office grand opening of our NDFA endorsed candidate, Mark Pera.

I was pretty excited about the event because this was my first real chance to check out their operation and to get my feet wet in the district by hitting the streets and gathering some petition signatures.  Our group endorsed Mark partly out of disgust for the incumbent, Bush Dog Democrat Dan Lipinski, but also because of Mark's obvious willingness to throw himself into this race heart and soul.  But, as anyone who has been around campaigns for any length of time knows, heart and soul alone are not enough.  You also need to have organization, planning and resources. 

My quick impressions of the campaign? Read on ...

Crossposted from Prairie State Blue.
http://www.prairiestateblue.com/...

Unbelievable.

Lipinski, Kirk seek accord on Iraq

Bipartisan tack touts Study Group proposals

By Jim Tankersley | Washington Bureau

September 8, 2007

[...] Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Dan Lipinski, will join forces Monday to discuss the "path forward" in Iraq with a focus on the long-shelved recommendations of the Iraq Study Group [...] including political benchmarks for the Iraqi government and a goal, but no requirement, of U.S. troop withdrawals beginning next year. Lipinski is one of the bill's four original sponsors. [...]

http://www.chicagotr...

Cross posted from Prairie State Blue.

Yesterday John Edwards marched with the hotel workers who have been picketing the Congress Hotel since 2003.  I got an email about it while I was at the Yearly Kos convention at McCormick Place, and it seemed like too good of an event to miss, so I decided to duck out of the convention and go march with him.  An hour before the event I went over to the John Edwards booth, rounded up three other Edwards supporters, we grabbed a cab and headed over.

Here is my best photo from the event, which I took while marching in the picket line with John:

More photos, and more info, and a poll below the fold.

Going to Yearly Kos, or know someone who is?  If you will be there Wednesday night, I encourage you to attend our DFA Health Care for America Forum "What's the SiCKO Solution?"  

This event is being organized by several of our local DFA groups, and we have some rock star speakers: Jim Dean, Chair of DFA; Claudia Fegan from Physicians for a National Health Care Program; John Bouman, Advocacy Director of the Sargent Shriver Center on Poverty Law; and Joe Moore, progressive Chicago Alderman and living wage advocate. Plus lots of our local DFAers (the coolest people on earth, BTW!) who can't necessarily afford to go to YK will be there. And, a little birdie named Ilya told me Kos health care blogger nyceve might be there as well.

The forum will be at the Unite HERE union hall, 333 S. Ashland Ave, Chicago, starting at 8:00 pm (after the PFAW reception).  If you will have access to a car, there is plenty of free parking. If not, it is definitly cab-able from McCormick place, and you can take public transportation there as well.

More details below the fold ...

(Cross-posted from Prairie State Blue.)

I posted a comment in a previous diaryabout why I thought Dan Lipinski, an anti-choice, pro-war "Democrat" in Illinois' 3rd Congressional District, can't be beat in the upcoming Dem primaries.  My main argument was the fact that, because our primaries don't have runoff elections or instant runoff voting, it is too easy for the Chicago Machine to do exactly what they did last time -- put in a third candidate to split the anti-Lipinski voteso that Lipinski still ends up as the top vote getter, no matter how many people might like to see someone else in that seat.  However, there were a couple of things that I was not taking into account when I wrote that comment that could make this a little more do-able than I thought.  

Some hopefull speculations, a poll, and some facts about the district, below the fold ...

Tomorrow are the Chicago municipal elections.  And for the first time in decades, we have a chance for real change here in Chicago.  A two-year spate of indictments and convictions has severly weakend the corrupt patronage system of the Chicago machine, giving progressive organizations a chance to make Chicago the battle ground for important legistlation like last summer's historic big-box Living Wage ordinance.  

Though Mayor Daley seems poised for an easy re-election, groups like SEIU and the Chicago Federation of Labor have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of workers into electing a slate of indepenent, progressive Chicago aldermen, and I believe that tomorrow we will see a political shake up that will change the face of Chicago politics.  Democracy for America has also been getting involved.  Our two active Chicago-based groups have endorsed candidates and have been out canvassing for months.  Then on February 16th national DFA endorsed Aldermanic candidates in nine races (there are 50 aldermanic seats up for election). Those candidates are:

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Choose to Make a Difference

No matter how worthy your cause or how exceptional your candidate, the success or failure of any campaign rests on the individual decisions of hundreds, even thousands, of people. Decisions to either get involved or not get involved. To accept a leadership role, or to let it pass you by. To make that extra phone call, to knock on that last door, to contribute that extra dollar, or not to.

I am inviting all IL Dems to write a letter to the DPI.

At the rally DFAers, including me, will be hand-delivering letters from ordinary Democrats (like you!) to Tim Mapes, Chief of Staff to Michael Madigan, Chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois (DPI).  This is your chance express your positive vision of what the DPI could and should be, and put it directly into the hands of the people who run one of the largest state Dem organizations in the country.

The U.S. Senate is about the same at 14%.  And because there are three states  -- California, Maine and Washington -- that have two female senators, that means there are 39 states with no women in the Senate. There are 24 states with no women in the House, and 18 states with no women at all representing them at the federal level, either in the House or Senate!  This means that when the congressional delegations from Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah or Vermont sit down for a friendly chat about the issues of the day, there are no women at the table.

And a bunch of the major issues right now disproportionately affect women:

(more on the flip ...)

"Ohhhh, woe is me!!!! The DCCC won't support my candidaaaaaaaaaate!!!! Why are they so meeeeeeean???!!!"

Well, I say screw that.  If you are a Christine Cegelis fan - listen up! You are about to hear about the GCCC Challenge: Grassroots for Christine Cegelis for Congress - $20.06 for 2006.

We have the power!!!

(I think someone else said that once ... )

$108,402.43.

For a 30 year GOP "institution" like Henry Hyde in a contested race, that is pretty pathetic! And considering that in the 3rd quarter of 2000 (the last time he faced a serious challenge) he raised $734,525 .... and the fact that of that $108,402.43 from Q3 over half of it ($55,469.91) came from "unitemized individual donations," meaning for all we know it came out of his piggy bank ...

What is going on here???

To quote Mr. Gregg, "So much for the oath of Congressman Hyde to obey and protect the Constitution.

Today is the last day before the third quarter filing deadline, so if you have any extra, and would like to help Christine Cegelis rid the U.S. House of Representatives of Mr. Hyde, dig down among those ATM receipts, the "buy 10 somethings and get one free" cards, and those old lottery tickets and give what you can spare. And add $.04 for the year we will finally take back the House, Senate and White House!

www.cegelisforcongress.com

The complete text of the editorial is below.

http://www.cegelisforcongress.com.

Because I am a true believer in this campaign, I am currently organizing a Chicago Boat Cruise Fundraiser to benefit Cegelis for Congress.  So, if you have an extra $100, and you live in the area, and would like to donate in a way that is a little more fulfilling than clicking "contribute" on a web site, come to my event!!!

Christine will be there, so it will be a great opportunity to meet the candidate and bend her ear on all your issues [you know, ex-girlfriend, death of your pet dog, nasty rash, issues! ;-)].  We will be cruising Lake Michigan on a 66' charter boat called the Gold Coast Lady.  The fun all happens on Tuesday, September 28th, one week from today.  Boarding begins at 6:00 p.m., we leave the dock at 6:30 p.m., and get back at 8:00 p.m.  For all the details, read on ...

The bad news is that it seems it will not be an open forum.  It is being sponsored by the local Kiwanis club, in conjunction with the Lions and Rotary club, and will apparently only be open to members.  So we are encouraging supporters to write to local media and to Mr. Hyde asking for a series of open forums, so that all the voters of the 6th district who would like to hear from the two candidates will have the opportunity.

You can read more about it on the Cegelis web blog.  And, by the way, I have recently taken over as "editor" of the Cegelis blog.  I have promised to post at least one thing every day, so if you are interested you should check back for updates ... and of course for all my witty, pithy comments! And while you are there, make a comment ... please!?!

The link is:

http://www.cegelisforcongress.com/blog/

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Films: Craving More Moore?
Newsweek
July 19, 2004 issue

Don't feel like waiting in line for Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11"? Not to fear, there's no shortage of left-wing documentaries. Moore lovers (and haters) should keep their eyes on filmmaker Robert Greenwald--he's involved in three of the coming attractions. Our bet: this spurt of liberal flicks will galvanize conservatives to take their case to the theaters, too.

Outfoxed
Howard Dean will introduce Greenwald's film, which accuses Fox News--despite polling numbers showing otherwise--of a right-wing bias.
[...]

- Elise Soukup
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5411788/site/newsweek/
------------------------

I would be very curious to see what polling numbers Ms. Soukup is referring too, and I plan to write to her and ask her at letters@newsweek.com.  If anyone has a better e-mail address, please comment it!