BUILDING A BLUE AMERICA IN OREGON... MEET MIKE CAUDLE

If you spend much time at DWT you know my greatest passion isn't about the 2008 presidential elections nor even about all Bush's criminality. It's about taking back the Congress from the rubber stamp enablers-- predominantly the Republican sell-outs that hold a majority of each house, but also defeating Democratic Party sell-outs like Joe Lieberman and Al Wynn too. But as we work towards retaking Congress between now and November, we must not lose sight of an even bigger picture: electing progressive Democratic majorities not just this year but also for many years to come.

Part of this broader effort is electing Democrats at the municipal and state legislative levels so that there are more than enough progressive candidates to sustain a robust majority in future Congresses (a point I will get to in a moment).

Another, perhaps even more important factor is controlling the redistricting process in key states across the country come 2010. But we cannot afford to wait until 2010 to start winning elections for governor, secretary of state and state legislature in the hope that everything will just come together that year and fair, if not favorable Democratic district lines will simply appear. Instead, we must fight to wrest control of state legislatures from the hands of the Republicans, particularly in chambers in which the GOP's majority is paper thin, and additionally work to protect Democratic majorities in chambers in which they are tenuous.

Last week, the Associated Press noted that there are 16 state senates that could see a change in partisan control with a switch of three or fewer seats and that there are 12 state houses that could also see such a change with a switch of just five or less seats. A few weeks ago I highlighter the campaign Brian Keeler is running for a crucial State Senate seat in New York.

Another of these states is Oregon, a state that could see a divided senate with a GOP pick up of three seats but the first Democratic House in 16 years with a net gain of four or more seats for the Democrats. Why does Oregon matter? It is a state with deep progressive roots (think the Bottle Bill, the Oregon system, physician-assisted suicide, medicinal marijuana and voting by mail, to mention a few), a state that has given its electoral votes to every Democratic presidential candidate since Michael Dukakis. So why do we need to expend effort in Oregon this year?

The current makeup of Oregon's US House delegation is four Democrats and one Republican, which one might expect as a result of the state's progressive leanings. However, Democrats' hold on three of those four Hosue seats is not entirely secure, with George W. Bush winning the fifth district with 50 percent of the vote and Kerry narrowly carrying the third district with 49 percent of the vote and the first district with 55 percent of the vote (though Gore only won the district with 51 percent). Any of these three seats could fall prey to Republican advances before redistricting if the Democratic incumbent retires and the GOP fields a strong candidate. But if the Republicans are in control of the redistricting process in 2010, then it is not inconceivable that all three seats will go Republican, thus endangering the Democrats' chances of creating a lasting majority in the United States House.

So with securing a Democratic majority in the Oregon state house this fall in mind, let's turn to a district with an extremely important race that provides progressives a chance not only to elect an up-and-coming star and pick up a swing seat but also knock off the state's own wannabe Tom DeLay.

In District 39, Mike Caudle is running against House Majority Leader Wayne Scott, who I'll get to in a minute. Take a look through Mike's bio and you'll see that he is a great example of the success of progressive institutions. A student with difficulties in high school, Mike enrolled in Clackamas Community College where he was really able to find himself. Mike took to his studies and immersed himself in the school community, eventually being elected student body president twice (the first student ever to hold the position twice). After succeeding at Clackamas, Mike moved on to Oregon State University where he also dedicated himself to service, volunteering in a number of organizations on campus and around the community, and eventually being elected student body president there, too. Mike has continued his service to his community by working as an advisor at Clackamas Community College, where he was also elected president of his union. He has additionally committed himself to a number of volunteer positions as well as working on Oregon City's budget committee.

Wayne Scott, on the other hand, has shown different priorities as Representative and House Majority Leader. Willamette Week, a pulitzer prize winning weekly in the area, reported last month that Scott helped pass legislation that would solely benefit a company with which he was closely connected. And not only are there questions about Scott's use of his office, Scott is also terrible on the issues, standing up for predatory payday lenders who frequently charge up to 521 percent annual interest and cutting state troopers -- not to mention underfunding schools, healthcare programs and social services in the state in general.

With a victory by Mike Caudle in November, we will not only help push the Oregon state house into Democratic control but also send a clear signal to legislative bigwigs around the country that Tom DeLay's tactics will fail on the state level just as they have on the federal level. And Mike has a real opportunity to win this fall. Although Bush won the district with about 54 percent of the vote in 2004, Democratic US Rep. Darlene Hooley and Democratic state Sen. Kurt Schrader consistently do well in the district, which has strong Democratic, though conservative roots.

But Mike can use the help of the Netroots right now so that he can win this fall. Mike is an avid blogger (check out his campaign blog and his Daily Kos diary), who has been reaching out to the Oregon blogosphere for help. His pollster is none other than Joel Wright, the numbers man cited by Jerome and Markos in Crashing the Gate as the model progressive pollster and who also conducted MyDD's survey in January.

Yet he also would greatly benefit from our help, too. ActBlue just activated fundraising for legislative candidates in Oregon, and Mike recently received his first contribution on the site. But let's bump that up by giving donations to him through Blue America's ACT BLUE Page, Your help today will make a huge difference in helping Mike win this fall and securing Oregon as a Blue state for many, many years to come-- and in helping insure a stronger Democratic bench into the future.