40 days from today - on May 18 - we will see two HUGE primaries for U.S. Senate. Even though these races aren't in California, they impact Democrats across the country and, well, the entire country as a whole.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak will try to upset Republican-for-decades Arlen Specter.
In Arkansas, Democratic Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter will try to upset corporate lackey Blanche Lincoln.
These two races are tremendously important to defining who and what the Democratic Party is and what we will be fighting for.
If you can volunteer for these candidates (or encourage friends and family in Pennsylvania and Arkansas to do so), that would be amazing.
Of course, if you can help with a contribution to either or both via the Expand the Map! ActBlue page as soon as possible, it will make a big impact.
Polling shows that both Specter and Lincoln are at risk of - if not likely to - hand these Senate seats over to far-right-wing Republicans. (And, even if these two retain the seats, that's not much better on many key issues.)
Congressman Sestak and Lieutenant Governor Halter winning these primaries are critical to keeping these seats in truly Democratic hands. Your support can help make that happen! Please hop over to the Expand the Map! ActBlue page right away to make a contribution - an investment in the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party to pull out an old expression - and show your support.
Thanks SO much for any support you can provide. 40 Days.
As we await the historic vote on health care reform, it's important to remember that we're just ten days away from the end of the first fundraising quarter of 2010. The fundraising totals reported in this quarter will be pivotal to determining the tenor of many races for the rest of the year. If there is any time to contribute, now is the time!
Please head over to the Expand the Map! ActBlue page and contribute whatever you are able to these terrific Democratic candidates for Senate.
Democrat
Currently At
End-of-Quarter Goal
Distance to Goal
Kendrick Meek
$25
$300
$275
Bill Halter
$445
$750
$305
Joe Sestak
$1,320
$1,600
$280
Paul Hodes
$1,447
$1,700
$253
Robin Carnahan
$1,163
$1,400
$237
Remember, the contribution you can make isn't just a donation to a single candidate or political campaign. It's an investment against Republican obstruction (and conservaDem enabling) and an investment toward achieving that more perfect union.
Now that everyone is back from Netroots Nation and enjoying the success of the Standing Up For The Public Option effort to reward congresscritters who have promised to vote against health care reform that doesn't include a public plan, I'd like to take a moment of your time to talk about something really boring:
Infrastructure! I know, even the word conjures up images of long hearings in beige rooms to determine the proper rate of increase and carrying capacity in the local water and sewer assessments.
But infrastructure is critically important. And ActBlue is one of the most important pieces of infrastructure for the the netroots and grassroots. I've from time to time disclosed in comments that I work with ActBlue on a volunteer basis. I'm actually on ActBlue's Board of Directors, and I did the initial legal research to help ActBlue operate in California and Oregon state races.
I give a lot of my time to ActBlue because I think it's a critically important organization. And now the board members are also doing a bit of fundraising for ActBlue, and I'd like the Calitics audience to consider contributing a bit of their hard earned cash to Actblue.
A new initiative organized by Howie Klein, Jane Hamsher, fellow Calitician Dante Atkins and myself to verbally and financially reward Congressmembers who pledge to vote down any healthcare bill that does not include the public option is catching fire today. The objective is to use carrots as well as sticks to achieve progressive goals. As I said in the diary kicking off this intiative at DailyKos:
Human beings are psychologically predictable creatures, much like Pavlov's famous canine. We do respond well to punishment, but we respond just as well if not better to positive reinforcement. Do nothing but beat a dog with a stick, and the dog is likelier to be aggressive than lovingly loyal. Do nothing but scream at a child, and the child will eventually fail to respond to her abusive parent. Senators and Representatives, no matter how elevated, are still just people: the rules of psychological conditioning still apply. If all we can do is scream at people who don't do what we want, eventually no one will listen to us at all.
If you have the resources, please consider donations to our excellent California legislators. For those who can't chip in, DFA has a thank you action item to thank our healthcare heroes.
With an approach that uses more carrots and less sticks, hopefully we can encourage others in California and across the country to join these brave progressive leaders.
As many of you know, over the last five days, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, in partnership with a number of progressive organizations and blogs including Senate Guru, asked those in the netroots, "Should a Draft Sestak movement be created to take on Sen. Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary?"
The results are in and they are overwhelming. 85% of Pennsylvanian respondents and 86% of respondents nationally want Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak to challenge Arlen Specter in the 2010 Democratic Senate primary. The poll has even gotten the attention of Congressman Sestak, as the PCCC points out:
"I am honored that so many of you took the time to vote in the recent grassroots Straw Poll. Let me tell you, I and many others were paying attention. If I decide to run it will be in large measure because of the grassroots energy of so many people like you. Until I and my family make that decision, please accept my thanks and my best wishes as you continue be active participants in our people-powered democracy. Thank you so very much!"
Due to such an overwhelming response, a Draft Sestak Fund has been created on ActBlue. To contribute and further encourage Congressman Sestak to enter the race, click on the image below:
If you need any additional motivation to contribute to this effort to draft a real Democrat to oppose Specter in the primary, consider Specter's actions since announcing his Party switch:
1) Specter opposed the Obama budget.
2) Specter opposed the "cramdown" mortgage/bankruptcy reform, siding with banks over families.
3) Specter reiterated his opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act.
4) Specter reiterated his opposition to President Obama's nomination of Dawn Johnsen to the Office of Legal Counsel.
5) Specter announced his support for Republican Norm Coleman over Democratic Senator-elect Al Franken in Minnesota's Senate race.
6) Specter promoted a website that appeared to raise money for cancer research but, in actuality, simply raised money for his campaign.
7) Specter denied reports that he told President Obama that he would be a "loyal Democrat" despite multiple reporters sticking to their story.
The netroots have displayed overwhelming support for Congressman Sestak to take on recently-Republican Arlen Specter. Help the effort by contributing to the Draft Sestak Fund.
As a San Franciscan, I am thrilled that ActBlue has now entered the municipal races in San Francisco, along with Cleveland, Boston, and Cook County, IL. I've always been an ActBlue evangelizer, and everywhere I go in San Francisco I am asked how local candidates can work with ActBlue. And up until this point, I've always had to say, sorry, but no.
But, with today's announcement of a new pilot program, all that changes. I will personally be notifying several friends that are running for Board of Supervisors and other races in the City. Hopefully, this pilot will eventually be expanded across the state and nation.
If you are a local candidate in San Francisco, you can sign up your campaign at the ActBlue Setup Site. And since this is for San Francisco, if you are thinking of signing up, there is a good chance that I know you. Give me a shout if I can help.
If you haven't used ActBlue before, you will be pleasantly suprised at the power of the toolset. It allows you to not only simplify reporting, but also to empower your supporters to help raise money for the campaign. ActBlue has enabled netroots and grassroots activists to collectively donate over $50 million between 2004 and June 2008. The numbers have only climbed since.
With the constant pressure to nurture new leaders under our ridiculously short term limits law, it is critical to build a strong bench through local elections. This pilot is an exceptional opportunity to do just that.
"I believe candidates with strong, sound stances deserve our support, and this is a race where your dollars can make the difference. Please make a contribution to this critical cause."
Sound familiar? If you have any experience with our fundraising pages you will have seen this (and perhaps fallen asleep to it) a few too many times. It is the default text for ActBlue's fundraising pages. ActBlue's customizable fundraising pages allow progressive activists to raise money for the best Democratic candidates out there easily and effectively, and the fifty state blog network has taken advantage of this feature to support state and national candidates with customized, targeted pages. But while the original blurb did help Democrats use our pages, we're in year 5 of ActBlue, and this is definitely year 3-4 material. We'll be working with thousands of new fundraisers this cycle, and we want to make sure they have the best language. And, well, this isn't it.
So, we need ideas.
We know you're best equipped to know what language will appeal to your friends and neighbors, so we wanted to give all of you an opportunity to create the next fundraising page blurb. If we pick yours, it will show up automatically on almost every fundraising page created on ActBlue. To show our appreciation, we'll send the winner and two runners-up an ActBlue Ice Cream Scoop! (No, we're not kidding. And trust us, it's a high quality scoop - The Original Zeroll.)
Okay, here are the guidelines:
The blurb must be fewer than 50 words.
It has to be fairly generic (no specific issues or names), but still get across the basic reason for the fundraising page. This is something our current text does fairly well, if you are looking for an example.
If you can make it apply to pages for candidates and/or committees, all the better. If not, at least make it appeal to people looking to donate to candidates.
We are Democrats, and our pages are for Democrats. If your message would appeal to Democrats, that would probably earn points.
Humor is a big plus, but only that universal humor that works for everyone.
Effective fundraising is personal. Think about what kind of language would help you be a better fundraiser, and think about why your friends and family might feel compelled to give.
ActBlue is active in all 50 states, helping Democrats raise money for their chosen candidate from the comfort of their living rooms and offices. We believe that your voice should be heard everywhere from your state capitol to the Senate floor, and we're working to make sure it is. Please support our work with a $15 recurring contribution today!
In response to the recent Gaza War, a fundraising page was set up on ActBlue.com in order to contribute to elected officials who have been supportive of the peoples of Israel and Palestine. The page is called "A Dream of Peace: Justice and Equality for The People of Israel and Palestine", and can be found here.
The mission of the page states "All of the people of the Holy Land need to live in peace and security. We need to support and elect candidates that are willing to stand up for the rights of the citizens of Israel and Palestine. These candidates support measures to stop violence, increase economic and humanitarian aid, actively engage in negotiation, and promote co-existence among these two Peoples."
((I'm told that Act Blue is back up and running, so you can donate now. And we're almost to our goal! $180 left! Who will put us over the top?) - promoted by Robert in Monterey)
Thanks to everyone who has supported our five candidates in the Calitics Match thus far. We're past halfway to our goal, and Debbie Cook has well surpassed our $500 match (way to go!).
Today is crunch time. It's the final day before the end of the third quarter, which is the reporting deadline for federal candidates. This is the best opportunity to make your donations the most meaningful; the quarterly fundraising announcements are key to gauge support, and money put into field and messaging now will pay bigger dividends in the future than a quick cash infusion at the last minute. Please support these candidates and Calitics will match you dollar for dollar.
The Yacht Party Republicans still think you're stupid. They believe they can hide behind the gated communities they've created through gerrymandering, and that Sarah Palin's presence at the top of the ticket will lift their hopes. No, really:
A statewide poll this week underscored the effect Palin has had on the Republican base. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, GOP satisfaction with their presidential choice has doubled since Palin joined the ticket. Unfortunately for McCain, that has not translated into gains against Democrat Barack Obama in California, which has gone to the Democratic presidential candidate in the last four presidential elections.
Still, state Republicans were rejoicing at the possibilities. Thomas G. Del Beccaro, the state party vice chairman, said new volunteers were streaming in faster than at any time since the 2003 recall election. Republicans, he said, were hopeful that a resulting increase in voters would help the party in legislative and congressional races where they might not have been as competitive otherwise.
This is bravado. The wingnut base wasn't going to stay away from a Presidential election. It's the growing decline-to-state base, along with increased Democratic registration statewide, that has the potential to sink the Yacht Party just as Sarah Palin's favorable ratings have sank as voters face the terrifying prospect of her in a position of power. This is the real shift in the electorate:
Since the two parties largely settled on presidential nominees in April, voter rolls have increased by roughly 19,500 - or 2 percent - in Placer, El Dorado, Sacramento and Yolo counties, according to new figures from the California secretary of state's office. Democrats accounted for 10,500 of those new voters. Just 2,400 were Republicans. Most of the others declined to state an allegiance.
The regional numbers mirror a statewide trend. California's Democratic voter rolls have increased by 181,118 since April while the number of Republicans grew by 6,823. Republicans saw a net loss of registered voters in 25 counties, including a loss of more than 15,000 in conservative Orange County. Similar trends are playing out nationally, in several battleground states.
You can see the data for yourself. Particularly in this financial crisis, Californians are ready for a new direction away from failed conservative policies.
All that stands between our five candidates and victory in November is making sure they have the resources to compete. We can help provide that today. Please visit the Calitics Match Act Blue page and give what you can. We'll double your donation to make it that much more meaningful.
Because they say Charity begins at home and all politics are local, I have volunteered to serve as the Internet Outreach Co-ordinator for California 3rd Congressional District's Democratic Candidate - Dr. Bill Durston - for the rest of this electoral cycle.
"It just seems to me it is improper. It reduces confidence in government and also particularly the Party. I think the Party is going to have a tough time with all this publicity raising money from the smaller donors."
-Bob Stern, President, Center for Governmental Studies on KCRW last night talking about the California Democratic Party wasting $450,000 on Senator Don Perata's criminal defense fund. CDP flack Roger Salazar refused to go on at the same time as Stern and Rick Jacobs to debate the scandal.
Which brings me back to last night's ill-timed fundraiser with Speaker Karen Bass. The actblue page to RSVP for the account said the money was going to support the California State Democratic Committee - Federal Account. Great idea, Madame Speaker Bass helping Madame Speaker Nancy Pelosi pick up more seats and be able to overcome the Blue Dog Caucus siding with the GOP to obstruct Pelosi's leadership.
With California unable to count on DCCC ad money against any of the very vulnerable Republican Representatives, it is clear California Democrats need to plan to win on our own. Which is why yesterday's LA Times editorial on the CDP wasting money on Don Perata is so counterproductive. We need the resources to win on our own and we need small dollar donors to get there. Yet the actions of the CDP discourage small dollar donations. The results are clear, including last night, the CDP has only raised $6,630 ALL CYCLE in federal money on actblue. To put in perspective, San Diego County Democrats have raised more than 20 times that much federal money on actblue -- from more than 30 times as many small dollar contributions.
It could be another landslide year, but it probably will be yet another year when Democratic Congressional challengers don't get the support they could and should count on from the CDP. In fact, when taking into account outstanding debt, the CDP Federal Account had less than $300,000 as of the end of May. And Democratic state senate challengers have already seen $450,000 wasted on not helping elect Hannah-Beth Jackson and Lois Wolk. We can trust in the CDP if the goal is to seize defeat from the jaws of victory (which it might be, Perata already called uncle on two state senate races so far this year). Or we can reform and begin fighting to beat Republicans instead of coddle the Democratic Party establishment. The first step is accountability. Again, Senator Don Perata needs to give back the $450,000 and Art Torres should step down as CDP Chair for wasting $4,450,000 not electing Democrats this fall.
Every political insider in the state woke up this morning, opened the Sacramento Bee and read:
Perata aid angers some Dems $250,000 to help with his legal bills should go to 2008 races, they say. The California Democratic Party's decision to spend another $250,000 on Senate leader Don Perata's legal bills has angered some party activists, who say the money would be better spent electing Democrats this year.
The Oakland Democrat has racked up nearly $2 million in fees fending off an ongoing FBI corruption investigation in the last four years. With the latest donation, made July 1, the party has now given a total of $450,000 to help cover Perata's legal bills.
"The California Democratic Party is in business to defeat Republicans and elect Democrats," said Rick Jacobs, co-founder of the Courage Campaign, a left-leaning online activist group. "It's not really to keep corrupt politicians out of jail."
Steve Cummings, vice president of the Democratic Club of Ventura County, said that while he had not personally formed an opinion, "People are going to be livid."
Democratic activists who want to take advantage of what could be another tidal wave year should be livid to see the CDP waste money like this. Wasting money on an impotent lame duck who should have passed the batton to Darrell Steinberg long ago instead of electing Democrats is plain stupid. There is no excuse. Art Torres should resign in shame. With this latest scandal, on top of the $4,000,000 he wasted on Fabian Nunez, it is abundantly clear that Torres has no intention of doing his job.
Tomorrow, Speaker Karen Bass is hosting a small dollar fundraiser for the CDP. How can Speaker Bass honestly ask Democratic activists to go to Actblue and make a two figure donation when the CDP is writing six and seven figure checks that have nothing to do with electing Democrats? Chair Torres is embarrassing Speaker Bass with this crap and putting her in an awful position thanks to legal crisis created by the clear appearance of impropriety by Senator Don Perata.
At the heart of the crisis rolling the CDP is money. While DNC Chair Howard Dean and Democratic Party presidential nominee Barack Obama have crossed the bridge to the 21st century and inspired small dollar donors to build people-powered political operations, the CDP is actually going backwards and Chair Torres is running things worse than when he was first anointed by then President Bill Clinton a decade ago. Chair Torres is either unable or unwilling to lead the CDP in this direction. As such, he has no business being Chair and should resign immediately.
When I hear the name "Art Torres" I have a sour taste in my mouth. My first thought is how far the $4,450,000 he has wasted could have gone to register and organize Democrats. Think how far that could have gone towards actually helping Charlie Brown this cycle, or Debbie Cook or Russ Warner or any of the great challengers who should be receiving strong support from the Party. If we lose Proposition 8 and California codifies discrimination into the state constitution, I'm going to think how far that money could have gone towards registering and turning out Democrats. Think how many organizers could be hired and trained with such a large sum.
The California Democratic Party is lost and the first step to set a new course is to admit that the CDP is FUBAR with Art Torres at the helm. Chair Torres needs to step down, preferably before he shames Speaker Bass at tomorrow night's small dollar fundraiser. For as long as he stays, it makes no sense for small donors to contribute and every Democrat on the ballot this fall in a tight race is at an extreme disadvantage. It is time for reform, for progress. It is time to start winning.
[UPDATE by Dave] - Might as well add this here - the FISA Amendments Act passed today, and Sen. Feinstein voted for cloture, for the final bill, and against stripping out immunity. Art Torres told us all that last year, she "led the fight" to stop telecom immunity in the United States Senate. Draw your own conslusions.
It had to happen. The Reps have opened an internet fund-raising site. The scary part is that Keith A. Davis of Huckaby Davis Lisker (who previously worked for Bush-Cheney '04) is the Treasurer. I am cross posting from my DailyKos diary.
I want to take the time to cross-post this week's entry here as two California groups made the list. I'll try to do that each week in any state with a community blog if they have candidates on that week's list as a service to the larger blogging community. It should not be construed as an endorsement by me or ActBlue in any way. That said, read on!
A new blog series that I'm starting up at the ActBlue Blog is a weekly activity report (to be posted each Monday). In it, we'll look to feature the most active campaigns and fundraising pages at ActBlue for the prior week. It's a scaled down version of our Monthly or Quarterly activity reports but if something neat or creative sticks out we'll try to highlight it.
Total Contributions last week: $226,262.30 Total Donors: 1794 Avg. Contribution size: $128.33
Here are the Top 5 Recipients on ActBlue last week by number of donors.
Name
District
Raised
Donors
John Edwards
President
$36,870.80
520
Rick Noriega
TX-Sen
$12,332.61
154
Steven L. Beshear
KY-Gov
$2,433.02
106
Democracy for America
Organization
$1,722.70
88
Tom Allen
ME-Sen
$2,601.03
84
Here are the Top 5 Candidate Recipients on ActBlue last week by total amount raised.
Name
District
Raised
John Edwards
President
$36,870.80
Rick Noriega
TX-Sen
$12,332.61
Gary Trauner
WY-AL
$11,200.00
Jamie Eldridge
MA-05
$10,004.61
Russ Warner
CA-26
$9,196.60
Here are the Top 5 ActBlue Fundraising Pages last week by number of donors.
(California leads the way on ActBlue, due in large part to the SD-03 race. Mark Leno is tops, followed by Joe Alioto Veronese. - promoted by juls)
I'm cross-posting this from the ActBlue blog due to California's status in leading the way! -KT
Over the past week we've looked at a number of statistics from ActBlue.com, everything from some raw numbers, top candidates, and top fundraising pages. To finish out our series we're going to take a look at one of the most important areas of ActBlue- state level fundraising.
It's true that federal activity made up the majority of 2nd Quarter fundraising at ActBlue- 90% in fact. That's no surprise as federal races have always made up the bulk of ActBlue activity and tend to get started sooner than state legislative races.
That said, state level fundraising at ActBlue has huge potential for 2008 and is already showing enormous growth. In the 2nd Quarter, $323,638 was raised for state candidates in 15 states. (To note- in Q2 2005, just under $100,000 was raised across ActBlue for all candidates federal and non-federal.)
The charts below break out the numbers by state and detail the cluster of activity in Virginia (which has 2007 elections) and California.
Today ActBlue marks its 3rd Anniversary. Seriously, 3 years? I know- time flies.
Back in 2004, our founders Matt DeBergalis and Benjamin Rahn thought they could build something that would change Democratic fundraising- making it, well, more democratic. The two of them, living off of savings and limited investment, set out to build a platform that would end up changing our Party. Working out of their homes, they built the first generation of ActBlue.
This innovative, secure, and groundbreaking way to give money to Democrats was launched in June of 2004 before the end of the fundraising quarter. The earliest adopters, the blogosphere, helped push $250,000 into federal campaigns that summer. Printing $1 million in checks out of Matt's living room by the end of 2004 was an accomplishment for the start-up. ActBlue caught the eye of Democratic campaigns, organizations, and establishment investors and it was time to grow.
And grow ActBlue did. You can see it for yourself in the numbers.
Total Raised for Democrats through ActBlue: $24,167,741
# of months until ActBlue outgrows its 600 sq foot office: 1 (that's over $40,000/sq.ft. of productivity!)
There a lot of talk about investing in lasting infrastructure for the Democratic Party. ActBlue returns over $20 in aid for Democratic candidates for every $1 in investment. We have more ideas under the hood than you can shake a stick at, limited not by our creativity, but by time and investment.
ActBlue is an investment in our Party. ActBlue is an investment in a Democratic future.
So, in honor of our 3rd Anniversary, will you invest in ActBlue?
I have exciting news about our Calitics end-of-the-quarter fundraiser. As you all know, we're starting a tradition of holding a bar event every three months at the end of the quarter to raise money at our ActBlue page for progressive California candidates. There's an event in San Francisco and an event in Santa Monica. And boy, have we snagged a great co-host: the talk of the blogosphere, fresh off her powerful and brilliant speech at the Take Back America Conference, Santa Monica's own... Digby!
OK, everyone reading this knows we need better collaboration. Here are a couple quick steps:
The Grassroots county committees need to get on ActBlue. This is an easy way for local parties to raise solid money online. San Diego and San Fernando Valley are already leading the way. Then, come here and tell us how it is working so other counties can learn.
The netroots need to explain the netroots to the establishment. I highly recommend this video. In conjunction, help local Central Committees get on Actblue and help the politicians come here.
The elected officials need to come around for a conversation.
I want more discussion on unity, please offer ideas in the comments, but I think these three concepts are a good place to start.
This one might be bigger than winning the Democracy for America Grassroots All-Stars competition. Matt Stoller just announced that Charlie Brown and Donna Edwards are the first two additions to the Daily Kos/MyDD/Swing State Project Act Blue page for the 2008 cycle called Blue Majority. The same page brought $101,504 into Rep. Jerry McNerney's coffers last cycle. Note that Jerry also won the DfA Grassroots All-Star competition last year on his second attempt to unseat a corrupt Republican in Northern California. Hopefully we will have the same ending with this race in the 4th CD.
Charlie has put a lot of time into cultivating his netroots support and he is getting some great returns. This is the plum cherry of all the ActBlue pages. We have a great relationship with Charlie and his team here at Calitics and this should be the hub of information that will turn into stories over at Daily Kos, thus driving his fundraising.
I would expect an announcement post profiling Charlie Brown over at Daily Kos some time today or tomorrow, as is tradition. This is fantastic news.
From the comments a note from Charlie and the campaign:
Charlie asked me to pass along our thanks to everyone at Calitics for your support, your very kind words, and all 128 of those posts!!!
You all are living proof that change starts with everyone getting involved, and staying involved, every day...that's certainly what has brought us this far, and it is what will carry us over the top in the next election.
(This is a great way to use the great technological tools we have to make county parties and grassroots groups more efficient. I'll be getting more into this subject in an upcoming post. - promoted by dday)
Since 2004, ActBlue has helped Democrats raise over $22 million in online contributions. We are a Political Action Committee, not a business, so our motivation is getting Democrats elected instead of padding profit margins. We know how much of a hassle accepting credit card donations on the Internet can be, and we want to help.
One of the areas that ActBlue can help in is with your local County Democratic Party. Click here to see those already set up for California and check the comments for more info.
If your local county party or committee is in one of the 22 states where ActBlue is already active (minus some clean-elections states like Arizona), you can have all the ActBlue fundraising tools utilized by top tier House and Senate campaigns at the disposal of your county party. Several county parties are already using those tools to achieve success!
