Frank Sinatra Contest-- The Best Is Yet To Come… For South Dakota

Today Blue America is launching an effort on behalf of prairie populist Rick Weiland who's running for the open blue Senate seat in South Dakota. With two Republicans running against the GOP Establishment pick in the general election, this should be a great opportunity to elect a dedicated tribune of working families in what the DC pundits see as a tough race. One Republican is an ex-U.S. Seantor, Larry Pressler, and the other is a Tea Party extremist, Gordon Howie (no relation) who switched his registration so he could run as an independent.

This week, Rick released his first television ad. You can you watch it above and on the special Frank Sinatra contest page we set up. So I want to ask DWT readers and my Facebook friends to consider chipping in to get the ad seen-- and you can do that on the same page you watch the ad on.

There are basically two big media markets in South Dakota. One covers the Democratic-leaning half the state (East River)-- Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, Watertown, Brookings, Huron, Mitchell and Yankton-- and the other covers the more conservative half of the state (West River)-- Rapid City, Spearfish, Sturgis, Custer, Wall, Lead, Deadwood and Hot Springs.

This is a sample of what a typical contribution can buy in the eastern part of the state:

• $28- All In With Chris Hayes
• $35- Southern Charm
• $125- Good Morning America
• $165- Face The Nation
• $225- Wheel of Fortune
• $400- 48 Hours

And this is what we can get in the western part of the state:

• $34- The Rachel Maddow Show
• $50- Inside Edition
• $75- Big Bang Theory
• $120- The Today Show
• $150- 60 Minutes
• $300- The Blacklist

So what's all this got to do with Frank Sinatra? Well, as many of you know, I was the president of the record label Sinatra started, Reprise Records. Sinatra started it as a haven for artists who didn't want to be pushed around by corporate dictators-- and I like to think I successfully continued his artistic freedom ideal.

This is also an ethos that epitomizes Rick Weiland's "Take It Back" campaign. When I was still at the company, I was awarded an RIAA-certified plaque when Sinatra's greatest hits album, The Very Good Years, went double platinum… two million records sold in the U.S. I've given this gorgeous, historical collector's item to Blue America to award to one randomly selected donor to this Rick Weiland effort. The "contest" ends next Monday, April 28, at noon. It doesn't matter how much you give, just that you do give on this page.

And, for the Sinatra fans, some of the songs that are on The Very Good Years: Cole Porter's "I Get A Kick Out of You," "Luck Be A Lady," "Fly Me To The Moon," "Love and Mariiage," "Send In The Clowns," "The Lady Is A Tramp," "Strangers In The Night," "I've Got You Under My Skin," and the song I'm calling the perfect theme for Rick's campaign for South Dakota, "The Best Is Yet To Come." Also of note: some of the musicians who played on this record-- Nelson Riddle, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Quincy Jones...