A little background: I've been living out of my truck since September, working for various progressive Democratic causes across the country. In September, I went to Jena. In the fall, I led a grassroots group to save mass transit funding in Charlotte, NC while working on the Democratic coordinated campaign for the local races in Charlotte. In November, I started working in Iowa for Joe Biden. And in January, I moved to Chapel Hill to work for Jim Neal. But I'm turning 23 today on the 23rd, and I'm ready to work for a Democratic Congress the best way I know how - with ActBlue!
What's kept me sane has been the generosity and energy of the volunteers on all of these campaigns. I met some of the nicest people (and best cooks) I've ever met in Iowa, while activists in Chapel Hill graciously opened their houses to me. I owe a lot of friends - some of them bloggers here at Daily Kos - a big thank you for their help (a few of them even thought enough of me to elect me as a Democratic Presidential Elector in NC-12 earlier this week).
Full Disclosure: I am the Political Director for the Jim Neal for Senate campaign
I bring very exciting news from the campaign trail: after some major technical and political hurdles were overcome, the debate for the Democratic nomination in North Carolina's Senate race will be broadcast LIVE at 7:00 PM EDT TONIGHT.
I'm not blogging much (I'm working on a serious campaign), but there is something that I have to say.
75 years ago today, some person - I assume he's one of those people forgotten by history - said the following:
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
In a year where we have seen Obama do what some (doubters, haters, skeptics) have called impossible, why can't some people just say "Yes we can?"
The eyes of the world are upon us. Here in Iowa, the thaw has begun. After long, dark days harsh cold, it's supposed to warm up for the caucuses today. The ice is receding. The new winds are taking hold in preparation for the magic of a January night under the stars. Our party is united for change, for hope, to fight, to lead on (or before) day one. We're united for peace through strength, for an America that rises like a sun as the snow melts. We're fired up and ready for Bush to go. We have plans - for Iraq, for Pakistan, for restoring our Constitution. The Fire Fighters are for us, as are the service workers, the middle class, the single parents, the teachers, the farmers. The archetypal Americans are for us because we are for them. The children from the Norman Rockwell paintings are weathered and as old as 2007, but they will be standing for Biden and Dodd and Edwards and Obama.
After a month of campaign work in Iowa, I took three days off for Christmas. Though I had been bounced around from three different supporter houses - and routinely slept in the coldest room in each of these houses - my stay in Iowa had been productive. Everybody had been amazingly nice. With the exception of one Chinese place, the food was good, and the snow was the sort I was used to (though I've lived in North Carolina since I was seven, I was born in the Midwest). This really is an experience every active Democrat should take part in.
However, I was shaken up over the next few days. I got caught in a blizzard on my way home, and after an hour and a half of steady driving, I hit a patch of ice and did four doughnuts on I-35 South near Lamoni, IA.
I urge you to read this diary which explains better than I can why John Laesch is a true courage candidate. It's that simple.
So, why another diary on this when I was up at 1 am shoveling snow and salting ice here in Iowa for the Biden campaign? I don't have the time to be doing this, but John's courage in the face of attacks against Planned Parenthood and his subsequent unfair rebuke by the DC machine inspired this addition. John deserves it, and he deserves your help. I've added John's Courage Candidate profile to the rest, below the fold ...
I've been in Iowa for a week, doing whatever it takes to win Iowa and the Democratic Nomination for Senator Joe Biden. It may seem strange to hear a fellow Kossack say that, but this isn't an apologetic diary, or a "My candidate is the only ..." diary. I believe in Joe.
I'm beyond pedantic enucleations of back-door bureaucratic negotiations. I'm way beyond Hillary bashing. I'm not even asking for money. Instead, I'm going to tell you a story that in some ways goes back to a young college student in his small town's only diner, and in other ways goes back to a young man growing up in Delaware. Hopefully, you will indulge me as I go back in to my past, our past, and Joe Biden's past with some of my recollections and a few quotes that help tell the story. To those enamored with brevity, I apologize for the commodious topics covered in this diary. I think it's a rewarding read, but it's not for the faint of heart. Perhaps it will tell you more about a great Democratic Senator and a little about ourselves. And so it begins ...
Chuck Norris, paragon of hyperbole, Texas Ranger, and apparent son of Jor-El, has endorsed Mike Huckabee ... and approved his messages.
While some political prognosticators are holding out for the endorsement of equally mythic Jack Bauer (who has the power to play Jeff Buckley's Grace when a needle runs across his eyebrows), the Norris primary is over, and Chuck is set to elevate a second man from Hope, Arkansas to the White House. Furthermore, the writers strike puts into question the ability of Mr. Bauer to endorse, significantly inflating the importance of the Norris endorsement. The new power couple, "Chuckabee," is working out on their twin Total Gyms in preparation for an Iowa victory.
There's something you need to know about him. I know that over the years, we've dished a ton of dirt on candidates, but this is something you've never heard before. Sex scandals, dirty tricks, IRS problems, embezzlement? They've all been done. This is unique. This is something I've never seen from a congressional candidate before, and I dare say it will surprise you.
The sad truth of it is that I've seen Harry Taylorwork harder than any other congressional candidate I've ever seen ... and this was on a campaign that wasn't even his own. Very simply, it would be a shame if such a smart, hard-working, honest guy were stuck in Congress, unable to work on Democratic campaigns. He might just be too good for Congress.
From the Christian Science Monitor: Craig Franklin wrote a story published today that claims to dispel myths about Jena. He claims he can do this since, in his words:
I live in Jena. My wife has taught at Jena High School for many years. And most important, I am probably the only reporter who has covered these events from the very beginning.
To be fair, he makes one point that holds up:
Myth 3: Nooses Were a Hate Crime. Although many believe the three white students should have been prosecuted for a hate crime for hanging the nooses, the incident did not meet the legal criteria for a federal hate crime. It also did not meet the standard for Louisiana's hate-crime statute, and though widely condemned by all officials, there was no crime to charge the youths with.
But he doesn't tell the whole story ... more below the fold.
We like Biden because he has been tried privately and publicly, and came out of it all a stronger man. His wife and young child were killed in an auto accident. He faced death with a brain aneurism but survived it. Anyone who has been through what he has gains a perspective that will serve him well in the most trying of jobs.
Biden overcame severe stuttering as a child by memorizing and reciting the great Irish poets in front of a mirror. He continues to call them down at public appearances, Yeats and Heaney and Joyce, which holds a special charm for us and gives a glimpse into the man’s soul.
Biden has always impressed me as a man of letters and a man who has shown great courage in the face of death. More below the fold ...
I wrote the following Diary on Friday for BlueNC. After listening to comments at my home state blog, I've refined it a little for DailyKos.
Between election events and campaign catastrophes, I've been cogitating about elections past and future - and what we as a community could and should do to affect the greatest amount of real change.
I see us at a confluence of opportunities, a place to pick a path or direction. We proved something with races like the Kissell race, the Burner race, the Webb race, the Tester race, and more. We've demonstrated a hearty bit of influence this year - in spite of the individual end results - when it comes to Senate recruiting.
But how does influence work? Have we crashed the gates and gained credibility? Do we want to grow our influence? Maintain it? How important is relevance? Where do we want to be as a community? Is influence something worth maintaining in order to promote a healthy progressive agenda? Soon, the 2008 elections will be upon us in a major way, and we should start thinking about the kind of candidates we want to support.
Yesterday I wrote a diary about the standards that the netroots should consider before getting behind a candidate. It was a rough sketch that included grassroots organization, money, whether or not supporting the candidate could hurt our credibility, and a few other factors. Comments were mostly positive; one commenter thought I left out je ne sais quoi, but I'm quite sure that a real grassroots organization doesn't develop without it.
Nevertheless, I made a mistake; a sin of omission. In this current climate, we have to make sure that our candidates have courage. Courage fights for us. Courage stands up for the Constitution and working Americans. Courage wins.
These days, courage is more than standing up to the Bush Administration (that was courage four years ago). Courage isn't pandering, or presenting a plan. Courage has its own je ne sais quoi, and today I'm happy to endorse a few candidates who have impressed me by having the courage we desperately need in these dark times. I am open to your suggestions as well.
After twists and turns, flirtations and family considerations, drafts and dodgers, North Carolina's "telephone primary" is over. The waters have been tested, everyone's made up their mind, and we have our candidate for defeating Dole in 2008: Jim Neal.
I’m a guy who has lived, worked and raised a family in the real world. I understand the issues—very serious issues—which confront our state and our republic. I can not do this alone folks. I’m not running out of personal ambition or political aspiration. I’m running because I believe that government can, not in all but many instances, lead the nation in making positive change which touch all of us. Liddy Dole is no leader, and she doesn’t and hasn’t lived in the real world* for the 40-odd years of her adult life spent inside the Beltway.
I’m a fighter. I am committed and will survive the mudslinging which comes in an election year when the GOP is vulnerable, scared, without substance and rudderless. I ain’t afraid of the briar patch, and I am running this race to win.
I'm still a Biden Guy, but I will admit that I've been really impressed with the campaign ideas coming out of Senator Chris Dodd's camp. Sure, I thought parts of the website were a little hokey - the "Dodd Squad" and the "Dodd Pod" get a nod - but many of us have seen the talk clocks; an Internet presence second only to that of Edwards; great use of ustream.tv; the first bare-bones, text-only "personal" e-mails; YouTube as a tool for pushing bills through Congress; and more. In the words of Marc Ambinder:
his campaign itself is near flawless; his argument is pitch-perfect and attuned to his audience ... he's the first out of the box with attractive policy ideas, like a carbon tax. And, especially for a campaign run largely by veterans of Washington, he's used emerging technologies more fruitfully than just about everyone else.
Dodd was definitely surging as my second choice due to his voting record, innovations, and subtle jabs, but his latest idea makes him a second-place lock ...
I can't sum up the events in Jena much better than MissLaura did, even though I was there. I'm still processing everything, and I'm overwhelmed by the experience - I'm a young man, and I can't remember my generation experiencing a civil rights flashpoint such as this (I was in fifth grade when OJ was acquitted, and in light of recent events, that's something I'd rather stay away from).
But I digress. Here are the photos I took while I marched in Jena. They tell an interesting story ... and I'll start with this one:
This is about one seventh of the crowd at the High School at about 11:00 AM CDT. This isn't counting the groups that were marching to the high school, marching from the high school, still on the buses, at the La Salle Parish Courthouse, at the BBQ on East Oak Street, or stuck somewhere else in town. I believe that the estimates of "over 10,000" or "about 20,000" are low. In so many ways, this was bigger than those numbers.
MN-Sen, Q2: Al's $1.9 million vs. Norm's $1.5 million. The Franken campaign can speak for itself:
The Al Franken for Senate campaign announced today that it expected to report having raised over $1.9 million in the second quarter of 2007 when it files its quarterly report with the FEC on July 15.
The money was raised from nearly 28,000 donors. So far in 2007, over 36,000 donors have contributed a grand total of over $3.2 million. The campaign is particularly pleased to note that over 95% of contributions in the second quarter were $100 or less.
In addition, Al's average donation was $65.10 ... while Coleman's stats aren't quite as people-powered (according to Al, Norm has raised "$650,000 since 2002 from pharmaceutical companies"). Furthermore, Al has done this while traveling all over the great state of Minnesota, from St. Paul to Duluth to Bemidji, where he picked up a few sweet endorsements.
No, I'm not advocating treason or anything of the sort, in spite of what President Bush did yesterday. But I am advocating a free speech exercise to shut down the White House for a Day. It's (almost) as simple as 10 numbers:
202-456-1414
That's the White House Switchboard Number. But don't say you're leaving a comment. Ask for one of these people - that's the National Journal White House staff list.
Say something specific to their office. Ask Tony Snow if he can answer questions now. Ask for Dick Cheney, and say you're supporting H.RES. 333. Say you don't support a pardon in addition to commuting the sentence. I'm almost willing to say that you should give the Leahy treatment, but since you're going to be talking to a staffer, I won't endorse that course of action.
The eyes of the world are upon us. Here in Iowa, the thaw has begun. After long, dark days harsh cold, it's supposed to warm up for the caucuses today. The ice is receding. The new winds are taking hold in preparation for the magic of a January night under the stars. Our party is united for change, for hope, to fight, to lead on (or before) day one. We're united for peace through strength, for an America that rises like a sun as the snow melts. We're fired up and ready for Bush to go. We have plans - for Iraq, for Pakistan, for restoring our Constitution. The Fire Fighters are for us, as are the service workers, the middle class, the single parents, the teachers, the farmers. The archetypal Americans are for us because we are for them. The children from the Norman Rockwell paintings are weathered and as old as 2007, but they will be standing for Biden and Dodd and Edwards and Obama.
