ALRIGHT... LET'S BRING HOME MICHIGAN'S 11TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT FOR A REAL PROGRESSIVE-- TONY TRUPIANO

In terms of quality of candidates we've interviewed and blogged with for the Blue America series, it doesn't get any better than Tony Trupiano. Please take a look at his session over at Firedoglake. John Amato introduced Jane and I to Tony and we're as floored by his dedication and commitment to core progressive values and principles as John is. Since that late September chat the Blue America ActBlue page has raised nearly $5,000 for Tony's campaign. Not bad for a rag tag grassroots outfit, huh? But is it enough to win him the seat? It isn't. Rahm Emanuel and the DCCC should be helping with that. They're not. Let's really help Tony win this seat.

A couple days ago one of the most impressive TV ad makers in America, Lars Sandvik , sent us an ad he had put together for Jim Webb. Only Webb isn't using it. I asked him if he could adapt it to one of the Blue America progressives. He said "yes" and, like everyone who works on Blue America, Lars has done everything pro bono and made sure everyone else involved would too. So which campaign would most benefit? John, Jane and I don't have any fancy Beltway consultants-- thank God-- but we have something way better: Markos. We got Markos to go over all the races with us and figure out which race would be most likely to benefit from this particular ad and where our limited budget would actually do enough... not just enough to send a message, but enough to swing a few points and win an election. In the end the four of us all came to the same conclusion: Tony Trupiano.

Tony's opponent is a posterboy for the whole concept of being a rubber stamp. He is one of the least independent-minded congressman in Washington, even to the point of being a bit of a laughing stock. A complete mama's boy, he became hysterical at the one debate he had with Tony and wound up making an idiot out of himself and then refusing any further debates. Since he actually gerrymandered the district for himself as a state legislator, he feels quite certain he's got this baby in the bag. He must be reading MyDD because he just gave away 80% of his campaign warchest-- all those legalized bribes for so many favors to so many corporations-- to the RNCC.

We can win this race. Tony's doing very well on a shoestring budget. Some real air time the last week of the campaign could put him over the edge of victory. And we're not just talking about a generic "Democrat" here. We're talking about someone who will fight, and fight hard, for the basic tenets of a progressive America. If Tony gets into Congress he will immediately become one of the most important and articulate champions of working men and women. And I can tell you one thing-- Tony Trupiano will never vote to sabotage habeus corpus and Tony Trupiano will not agree to throw any minorities under the bus for his own career advancement.

Look at the Blue America ActBlue page. You've raised nearly half a million dollars and every $5 and $10 and $20 donation was pure grassroots. This is probably the last time we'll come asking for help in this cycle. If you have anything left you can spare, please consider going to the Blue America PAC and donating for television time buys for Tony now. We have to pull the trigger on Monday. So whatever we can raise between now and then, we put on the air.