Samara Barend, the 26 year old political phenom of Western New York, is running in an open seat in New York's 29th district.  I'm helping to put together a low cost fundraiser for her this Wednesday at Pioneer Bar in New York City from 7pm to 9pm.  I'm asking you here at MyDD to attend because this is one of those special strategically interesting races that we can win and will need to win to take the House.  

The event is on June 16 (this Wednesday), and is at the Pioneer Bar (at 218 Bowery) from 7pm to 9pm.  It's a winnable race (and one of the few open seats in the country) but she needs resources to take the district.  And if she gets it from the blogosphere, then this communications medium will continue to gain the legitimacy we as a community deserve.

Why It's a Really Good Thing to Support Congressional Candidate Samara Barend

What happens if Kerry wins?  

Great question.  Without control of Congress, even if he wins, President Kerry will be attacked just like Clinton was, and will be unable to solve the problems before the country.  As a thought experiment, just imagine how upsetting it will be to see Fox New Political Analyst Karl Rove talking about something like the 'perception' problems of the incoming Kerry administration and how the GOP Congress is investigating President Kerry.  We can stop this and recapture Congress this cycle, but we need to dedicate resources strategically because Congressional districts have been written so as to minimize the number of competitive and open seats.  

Samara Barend is a great candidate in one of these open seats in New York State.  A small amount of money will go a long way towards helping her campaign.  This Wednesday's $25 fundraising event for Samara Barend at Pioneer Bar in New York City is the way you can help.  If you don't live in New York, you can still give $25 and help us take back Congress:

http://www.samaraforcongress.com/contribute.shtml

Aside from large strategic considerations about Democrats and Republicans, the quality of a candidate matters because governing well is about energy, dedication, and character.  Samara is terrific on all three, and will proudly represent us in Congress for many years to come.  Also, the event is going to be really fun and have lots of good people there and cheap $3 beers.

The Details

WHAT: Fundraiser/gathering to support Samara Barend for U.S. Congress
WHEN: Wednesday, June 16, 7pm to 9pm
WHERE: Pioneer Bar (218 Bowery b/t Prince and Spring; 212-334-0484)
http://www.pioneerbar.com/location.html

PERKS: Free food!  Drink specials ($3 beers, $5 cocktails)!
TICKETS: Officially, $25 in advance or $30 at the door.  But if you can't afford that, no worries -- contribute whatever you can, I'll make sure you get in the door.  (If you want to give more than $30, of course, give more!)

HOW TO RSVP:
1) Make your contribution by credit card here:  
http://www.samaraforcongress.com/contribute.shtml

2) Send me an email matt@bopnews.com, so that I can make sure you're on the list.

It will be a good time, and you will be doing good.  And if you can't come, you can be there in spirit through the magic of the internet.  That is, you can give money anyway and I will keep you up to date on the campaign through my blog and various emails (here's one piece I wrote on Barend.)

Why This is the Most Bang for your Political Buck

Why this race and not some other cause?  Well, because she needs the money ($25 will make a difference), she can win this, and winning races like these is central to dealing with the national tragedy our politics has become.

It is really important to take Congress, and winning this race is key to taking it back for the Democrats.  If we don't control Congress and Kerry wins, the Republicans will do everything they can to make a Kerry administration a failure, and they will succeed at doing so because Kerry will be unable to pass any legislation and will be subjected to an endless stream of nonsense investigations.  We have serious problems - fixable problems to be sure - but the Republicans are dedicated to not fixing them, even if Kerry wins.

It was supposed to be really hard to take Congress, because the Republicans gerrymandered congressional districts so that incumbents basically get a free pass at reelection.  But here's the thing.  The Republicans have been so bad at governing that there is a genuine groundswell of disgust - the approval of the Republicans in Congress is 35%, much lower than Bush's, compared to 54% approval for Democrats.  These are the types of numbers that show there really is the possibility of winning big in 2004, winning enough to actually govern the country and reverse the monstrous course we're on.  But it's seats like Barend's - seats that are contestable and don't require that much money but not sure shots - that we must pick up if we are to win big.  

So please come, and invite your friends.  I've met her, and she also happens to be really cool.  If you come, you'll know someone in Congress.