Trillin
http://www.mnleftyliberal.blogspot.com

With the  Supreme Court fight the kickoff (and strong efforts in the New Jersey and Virginia governors' races, we can begin to nationalize the election by pressing home the message that niether the Court nor the Congress exist to act as rubber stamps for a secret, insider adminstration that encourages corruption and endangers our security.  Remember, the Republicans came from much further behind in 1994 to win a majority.

On the positive side, we need to frame a Democratic majority as one that will be reponsible, open and accountable.  Democratic policies will be made for consumers instead of oil companies; for patients instead of the pharmaceutical industry; and for real security instead of political gain.

Of course this will take work.

Experienced e-activists, campaign volunteers and fundraisers need to start attending or creating  meetings where they can teach new activists and each other skills necessary to win. Above all, we must always give activists something  rewarding and measurable to do including:

1. Fundraising in as many creative ways as possible.

2. Informing the committed and persuadables of developments as quickly as possible through as many media as possible.

3. Registering new voters.

4. Recruiting/training new volunteers to help with  items 1-3.

Time to activate.

It is very easy to run against the status quo, especially when things have been so badly bungled in so many areas.

We do need to tie together our programs for improvement, a platform for cautious but positive change.  Real health care reform, real national security, energy independence, a focus on deficit reduction, and cleanup the mess in Iraq.

The other guys are going to bring up border control and anti-immigrant issues as next year's gay marriage.  We need to be ready for that and not let them control the agenda.  They say immigration reform, we say deficit reduction.  They say English only, we say health care cost containment.  They say crack down on day laborers, we say stem cell research saves lives.

They say national security, we say don't leak the names of CIA operatives to carry out personal vendettas.  And don't lie to the American people about knowing who leaked. And don't lie about intelligence and WMDs in the first place.  Especially when Americans are having their lives disrupted and getting wounded and killed as a consequence.

Our Senate candidates should have plenty to run on and run against.  Conrad Burns, Mike DeWine, Rick Santorum, look out.  You are all part of that cancer that's eating away at our democracy.

And Democratic Party chair Paul Berendt is already blasting McGavick for being a corporate executive who made millions last year on the backs of the average worker whose rates are going up.

Yeah, Stenberg was AG here for about 8 or 12 years but he won a weak primary and it is a red state so once you're in you stay. Stenberg is your basic idiot. True, he lost to Nelson by only 12K votes but people are tired of this clown. He lost 4 previous races before he was ever elected to anything. IN the GOP Thone administration he was shifted from one job to another because he was so incompetent.

As for Kramer, he is an unknown blimp, not telegenic and no imagination. He was a state GOP party chairman and still nobody knows him.

It will be Nelson vs. Stenberg and though it probably won't be a landslide, Ben is enough of a Republican in Democratic clothes to satisfy even most Republicans. Ben wins, period.