A little personal history here: I first ran for Congress in the Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts in 1972, with my headquarters in Lowell. I'd won a hard-fought, crowded Democratic primary, and the pundits thought that was the tough part. They didn't know the district, and they didn't know the focus Richard Nixon would put on defeating me because I was such a prominent opponent of his disastrous war policy. The Republicans swept in with a smear campaign that probably would've made young Karl Rove's heart go pitter patter - Richard Nixon himself stayed up all night waiting to hear the outcome of my race. I lost -- and I learned an important lesson.

Flash forward thirty five years later to Lowell - today. Today, Niki Tsongas is running against a Republican in that old congressional district, a Republican who, once again, has the support of the national smear and fear machine of the Republican Party and a President desperate to defeat any and all opponents of his war policy. They're trotting out the tried and true tactics of distract, divide, and distort, trying to muddy the waters on Iraq and smearing the integrity of Niki Tsongas. But Niki is standing up to them and calling with a clear voice for an end to the Bush policies of the last seven years. She'll be a strong ally of ours in the fight to get a new course in Iraq, while her opponent will side with Bush. No wonder the national Republicans are getting in on the act.

You can contribute to the ActBlue page I set up for her here. And, if you are in Massachusetts or close by in Southern New Hampshire and want to get involved with her campaign, they could really use the volunteers. You can go to her site to sign up to help.

Patrick Ruffini, Bush-Cheney 04 Internet Director, has begun to try to rally the "right roots," as they like to call themselves, to the cause of Niki's opponent. They want to create a moment for Republicans like you have created for Democrats a number of times: a surprise showing (even a surprisingly close loss) that can energize the national Republicans and give that party some small spark of hope. Don't let them - instead, please help Niki remind them that they are on the wrong side of history. Remember what I learned in Lowell - no race is in the bag till the votes are counted, and we can't give the right and their favorite mouthpieces any room to find vindication anywhere, especially not in Massachusetts.