First,
MoveOn.org joins the campaign Fantastic!
We are making some waves here. It may be the weekend, but that does not mean it is time to stop calling Democratic campaigns in uncontested or token contested districts. This close to an election, on weekends most campaign offices will be open. Even if they are not open, it would be good to fill up their voicemail with messages from constituents asking safe Democratic Representative to give 30% of their cash on hand directly to Democratic challengers and / or to the DCCC. So,
continue to make calls to safe Democratic Representatives in your state. Better yet, show up a local campaign office to canvass, and tell the campaign in person before going to knock on some doors.
Use It Or Lose It
There is another angle people can start pursuing in their calls, especially in states such as Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Maryland where open Senate seats could easily appear within the next few years. In many cases, Democrats Representatives are saving up their warchests in order to run for Senate or other higher office. However, as one person from Massachusetts put it to me over email:
A good message for callers to convey to the Massachusetts delegation is that the activist community is going to remember who was there for the party when the next Senate vacancy comes.
Half of them are hoarding campaign funds waiting for Kerry or Kennedy to retire. They need to understand that a little investment now will buy them a lot of netroots goodwill.
In fact, Barney Frank, one of the Democrats on the list,
says almost exactly the same thing in an article from the Boston Globe today:
But Representative Barney Frank, a Newton Democrat who has already paid more than the required $300,000 in "dues" to the DCCC, said other members of the House delegation may be holding their cash so they can run to replace Kerry if the senator vacates his seat in 2008.
"I wish other members of the delegation would give more," Frank said. "I know people are holding back for the Senate race that might happen, but I think this is more important."
You will note on the
Use It Or Lose It page I have removed Barney Frank's office number from the list. This is because he has pledged more than 30% of his remaining cash on hand to Democratic challengers and / or the DCCC within recent days. We need more Democrats like Barney Frank, who are willing to go above and beyond their required dues in order to take advantage of this situation.
Representative John Lewis has also come through, and so his phone number has been taken off the list.
Keep making calls. This is having an impact. We need to transfer this money into the unusually large number of Republican-held districts where we are competitive. This will help us win in November. You can report back you calling experiences in the comments, and you can also go to
MoveOn.org's report back page.
