ACT BLUE

I love the very idea of ACT BLUE and how it can harness the power of thousands of progressives to counter-balance the bribes from Republican "special interests" so that our candidates have at least some chance to get their messages out. Take a look at the Down With Tyranny ACT BLUE Page. So far I've picked 17 candidates (+ Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriots Fund) to collect money for. (Three of the candidates are out of the running this year, Christine Cegelis, Ciro Rodriguez and David Lutrin, who mailed back all the money that was sent to him by every single contributor after he withdrew from the race.) Just since opening the site on January 24th, about 3 and a half months ago, DWT readers have contributed $15,531.11. That is so kickass!! (Those same candidates collected over $652,000 from ACT BLUE in general, which is phenomenal.)

I try to meet or personally interview every candidate I endorse. What I'm looking for are true progressives, not just garden-variety Big Tent Democrats. I mean I hope, for example, that whoever wins the Democratic primaries in CA-11 and FL-13 beat, respectively, Richard Pombo and whichever radical right maniac wins the GOP primary for the open seat vacated by, speaking of maniacs, Katherine Harris. BUT, I would never consider contributing my money-- or asking anyone else to contribute their money, to corporate-oriented conformist Democrats like Steve Filson or Christine Jennings. In both districts there are progressive, independent-minded grassroots candidates, Jerry McNerney in CA-11 and Jan Schneider in FL-13. These are the kinds of candidates who I want to see in the Congress, not just because they are "at least better than a Republican" or because they will vote for a crucial Democratic re-organization of the House, but because their presence in the Congress will make this a better country.

I've made mistakes in the past, contributing without thorough investigation to Democrats who turned out to be absolutely horrible, like Adam Schiff in Glendale, CA, just down the road a mile and, even worse, a U.S. Senator that almost made Joe Lieberman look like a real Democrat, Zell Miller. I don't plan on making that mistake again.

Chuck Pennacchio may not get the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat in Pennsylvania next Tuesday, but you never have to worry about me recommending someone like his opponent, Bob Casey, who will vote with Republicans on crucial issue after crucial issue, including Iraq, women's right to choice, judicial nominations, etc. As bad as Rick Santorum is-- and there is no one worse-- I would never even vote for Bob Casey, let alone contribute money to his campaign. And the aggressive support he gets from the Inside-the-Beltway Democratic Power Establishment, led by DSCC head Chuck Schumer, makes me suspicious and careful whenever I see them behind anyone in a primary.

So I do what I can do-- and have fun doing it, of course. My first little foray into the fun part was saying I'd match whatever anyone contributed to Ned Lamont on my ACT BLUE Page and that was awesome and I wound up adding $3,000 towards Ned's campaign to oust the execrable Lieberman from the Senate. Then I said I'd send a free CD to the first 50 people who sent in a donation to Francine Busby. And whenever a band asks me to do some consulting for them and offers to pay me, I always say I don't accept money from bands but that if they want to contribute to a good progressive on my ACT BLUE Page... Yesterday, however, was a new one on me.

I don't go to Las Vegas or horse tracks or anything like that. But I did at one time-- not like Bill Bennett, of course-- but in a recreational way. And my friends know I used to have a bit of luck at those things-- like not really knowing what I was doing but walking away from a day at the horse races with a couple of grand or taking possession of a slot machine determined to make me rich. And I learned how to play some kind of card game that my mother said my photographic memory would be good at and I won... a lot. So Saturday my friend Matt calls and says "Who do you like for the Derby?"

I wouldn't have even known the Kentucky Derby was happening except that while I was putting on my shoes and socks I saw a little story on CNN that caught my attention. It was about a horse trainer named Michael Matz who survived a plane crash-- which killed 112 people-- in an Iowa cornfield in 1989. Matz ran back into the burning wreckage and rescued 2 children-- and then ran back in and rescued another one. And he had a horse running in today's Derby, Barbaro.

So when Matt asked me, I said I didn't want to bet. He said just give him the winner's name and he'd bet $50 for me and give the winnings to my ACT BLUE Page. So I said, "Barbaro." He scoffed. I explained when I felt Metz was not just lucky but blessed. The odds were 4-1 and he bet on some other horse-- but not before putting down $50 on Barbaro for me. And today Matt stuck $200 into ACT BLUE for Marcy Winograd, Jerry McNerney, Chuck Pennacchio and Paul Hodes.

Anyway, anyone who has some ideas to make contributing more attractive to the readers, I'm all open to suggestions.


WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE: ACT BLUE SAYS "THANKS DWT READERS"

It's like 4AM and I'm getting ready for a morning swim. Obsessive that I am, I opened my e-mails first and I found a really nice note from Ben at ActBlue in Boston. He asked me to pass along Act Blue's "huge thanks" to the DWT contributors and mentioned that around 60% of the people who have donated to candidates have left a tip for ActBlue which, as he said, "makes a big difference in helping us get the word out about fundraising for Democratic candidates in the next six months. It'd be great if you could pass on our thanks to everyone who's leaving a tip."

Right now I'm reading David Sirota's book, HOSTILE TAKEOVER: HOW BIG MONEY AND CORRUPTION CONQUERED OUR GOVERNMENT AND HOW WE CAN TAKE IT BACK. The book is incredible. David is a brilliant and perseptive writer and he presents his solid evidence and persuasive arguments in a riveting style. I recommend it highly and I'll write more about it when I'm finished reading it and have had a chance to digest it. I'm mentioning it here today, however, because it is obvious to me that ActBlue is part of the "How We Take It Back," how we fight the big money and corruption that saddled us with George W. Bush and his rubber-stamp Congress (and a Democratic Party run by almost-Republicans-at-heart like Rahm Emanuel and Steny Hoyer). Please read the post I just put up today-- like at 4 in the morning as Jesse Colin Young used to sing-- about Jan Schneider and Jerry McNerney and think about the part you personally can play in taking back our country from the fascist scum. It's not too late... yet.