After a prolonged, self-imposed absence from DKos and the rest of the blogoshpere, I am writing my first post in nearly a year.
Its not that I didnt want to be here (I certainly never wrote a GBCW diary), but the job I had made me think it was not the best time to be posting my own opinions all over the internet. I've been out of that job for about a month now, and it seems like its time to start posting again.
And what was I doing that made me think I shouldn't be posting? For 6 months, I had the distinct honor of working as a field organizer in Des Moines, Iowa for Senator John Edwards.
Working in Iowa for Senator Edwards was a phenomenal experience. I met some incredible people, learned a ton, and accidentally memorized parts of the stump speech.
Being in Des Moines at state headquarters certainly made the experience more intense. On the one hand, there were the positive experiences I never would have otherwise had somehwere else in Iowa, like stepping away from my desk to get something from the printer and seeing Elizabeth Edwards just walk into the office to say hello. On the other hand, if I had been in another city, the food I took out of the microwave to heat up my own could not have possibly belonged to the Iowa Campaign Manager. Fun moment for me.
But this diary isnt about my stories from Iowa, though there are some excellent ones. This is not a diary about the 20 hour days, the friends I made, the visibility in the sleet and snow, or the elephant I nearly hit with my car (yes, an elephant).
This diary isnt a plea to Senator Edwards to endorse another candidate, though I definitely have a preference, and would like him to do so.
In fact, this diary isnt about presidential politics at all. This diary is a throwback to my very first diaries, when I worked ran the field campaign in Nebraska's second CD. I have moved back to Omaha, and I am again working on the congressional race. Lee Terry is still a terrible Congressman, and we still need to beat him.
Fortunately, we have found an excellent candidate for the job. His name is Richard Carter. He was a Captain in the United States Air Force and now, as a veteran of the USAF, still serves in the Air Force Reserve. While on active duty, he earned his Masters degree in Economics, and currently teaches economics at a local community college. He is smart, honest, and sincere. He told me one of the reasons he most wants to run is because being in Congress is a way to continue his service to his country, but as a Congressman he could help more people at time. It's pretty rare to see that kind of selflessness in anyone, let alone a politician.
On top of all that, electorally, this guy is a dream. A man who is youthful, who will work hard, who has instant credibility with the military community (huge in this district, which includes Offutt Air Force Base). An economist who is very pro-growth, yet understands the value of organized labor. A teacher who understands the disaster that is No Child Left Behind, and talks about parents and local school boards having the authority to help children learn, not learn to take tests.
With Richard's background and electability, I cannot imagine anyone that would be better choice for the people of this district.
But we cannot do this alone. I really hope that someone picks up on the fact that this race is the real deal, whether its the DKos community, somewhere else in the netroots, VoteVets, the DNC, the DCCC, anyone. Last time around Dems lost this race by 10 points at a 3-1 money disadvantage. This time we will have more help from the local party establishment, not to mention 4,000 more democrats, who joined our party at the caucuses this weekend. We also have a candidate who will be better able to speak to the large military community, and an electorate that overall, even in Nebraska, is more willing to vote for a Democratic candidate.
I hope you will help us by making a donation, or signing up to get involved. I love the idea of the 50-state strategy; anyone who has ever read a diary of mine knows that. But why not a 435-district strategy? Hitting republicans here in Nebraska is a huge step in that direction.
Richard posted his first diary on dailykos yesterday. Mike Nellis, who is also working on the campaign, posted a diary earlier today about the momentum we Nebraska Democrats are working with. We are going to be here frequently, and not just for money. We will have Richard liveblog at some point (at least once) and we are always monitoring the comments in old diaries to make sure we answer all of the questions. We will be posting our issue statements here as well, so look out for those over the next few days and weeks.
That's all I have for now, except to say that it's damn good to be back at DKos.