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And all that is standing between Speaker John Boehner and the impeachment of Barack Obama for his birth certificate or some other nonsense is YOU!
Since time is short I am making a commitment to write solely about elections from here on until Election day, and I am asking all of you to read, recommend and support articles that are election based, because we simply do not have the time or resources to waste. It is election season, boys and girls. It is time to kick @$$ (in a political way, with brains!)
Today I would like to ask you to support a REAL Democrat for congress . . .
Lance is a working class guy who is challenging a special interest owned Republican incumbent who has advocated for Drilling for Oil in the Great Lakes, the Bush tax cuts for the rich, and all of the failed policies of the Bush/Cheney Administration that we are still cleaning up today.
Unfortunately we just lost one of our top prospects for 2010 in AL-03. Here's the text of the email I just received from Josh. We will let you know if we find out any more information. Today is the deadline for Alabama Democratic Party Candidate qualifying. This is disappointing but we wish Josh success in his endeavors and hope to hear more from him soon.
Dear Friends,
After much thought and careful consideration, I have decided not to pursue the office of US Representative for Alabama's Third District. So many of you have been incredibly supportive of my run, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your advice, encouragement, and efforts. I am immeasurably proud and appreciative of what we have accomplished together.
For two years now, I have argued that America is a nation that needs consensus and cooperation in politics. We can rebuild trust in our government by investing in infrastructure to create a stronger economic foundation and establishing new rules for accountability and fiscal responsibility. Thousands of Alabamians agree that we must bring agricultural growth back to our state. I am more confident than ever before that these things are true, but for now, I will work to further these causes not in Washington, but as an active and engaged citizen of Alabama.
Again, I want to thank all of you for your involvement in an important cause and for your wonderful generosity. I will talk with as many of you as I can over the next few weeks.
Please, do get in touch with me any time. I wouldn't be where I am today without your support.
Happy New Year friends! I hope yours was as good as mine, I visited my Dad and Stepmom in Missouri. We had a grand time with many good meals (two at Imo's pizza). Imo's is a chain out there that I really dig. I don't know if it's just that California pizza is bad, or this stuff is just really good pie but either way it's something I always look forward to. We saw Invictus, it's excellent! And I picked up a couple shows for my TiVo that I've been hearing about but hadn't seen: The Dog Whisperer, Jersey Shore and 30 Rock.
When I got back my carrots, bok choy, broccoli and mesclun were sprouted as was my chia cat grass that I got for Christmas. My cat Lenny was happy to see me and I'm happy to get back to my regular routine. 1st stop, can you guys vote on this poll? (Please vote Alabama, I'll explain why below)
Bobby Bright - D 191k 489k
Martha Roby - R 91k 178.5 k
AL-03
Mike Rogers - R 170k 308.4k
Joshua Segall - D 130.8k 162.6k
AL 05
Mo Brooks R 64.9k 113.9k
Parker Griffith D 272.2k 618.6k
Les Phillip 67.8k 31.8k
AL-07
Earl Hilliard - D 32.6k 29.4k
James Perkins - D 10.9k less than 1k
Terri Sewell - D 104.8k 317k
Shelia Smoot - D 14.4k 39.7k
Analysis:
AL 02 and AL 05 - Blue Dogs Bobby Bright and Parker Griffith have strong advantages over their challengers.
AL 03 - Josh Segall had an extremely strong quarter and is in great position. He will enter the first of the year a lot stronger than when he started in 2008.
AL 07 - Not a lot of money raised at this point. Sewell has a strong COH advantage although rumors of a poll still has her in the single digits.
Dropped by a fundraiser for Josh Segall tonight - our endorsed candidate in AL-03. Josh nearly beat do-nothing Mike Rogers in 2008. Unfortunately, I had to leave early to get to another appointment and did not get to stay and record his speech.
However, I've seen Josh plenty and come away more impressed and motivated to help him each time. We asked for your help last week to help raise more money for Rob Miller who is the opponent for Joe "You Lie" Wilson. We raise $440 for someone who we had not heard of before Joe's outrageous outburst toward our President.
We have several great candidates and hope to add more, but I'm asking that we at least raise another $250 collectively for Josh between now and September 30th.
Click on the thermometer and donate $5, $10, or whatever you can afford
From those that read my diaries, you know that I have a love for calling out certain right-wing nut jobs, partisan hacks and do-nothings that unfortunately walk the Halls of our Congress. All of these need to be sent home for a variety of reasons.
My personal list of those that we need to replace include such perennial losers like: Michele "Bat Crazy" Bachmann (MN-06), Patrick "McDoofus" McHenry (NC-10), Mike "Mr Irrelevant" Rogers (AL-03), Peter "He's Bad" King (NY-03) and Ralph "Why am I still here" Hall (TX-04)
My list in the past week, like I'm sure yours will now also include, has grown with the additions of Obama health care speech GOP Problem Children Joe "You lie" Wilson (SC-02), Louie "What Bill?" Gohmert (TX-01), Eric "I can beat you in Brickbreaker on the Blackberry" Cantor (VA-07) and John "Leaving on a Jet Plane" Shimkus(IL-19)
We knew Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers (Al-03) never won any greater thinker contests. But his latest bizarre comments at a Talladega, Alabama Kiwanis and Rotary club rise to the level of a Bachmannism
I could not be more proud to be your congressman. I know some people think we're a bunch of knuckle draggers who don't wear shoes and marry our sisters, but you are the backbone of this country. And that beats wearing a dress in San Francisco.
Remember earlier this year Rogers called Nancy Pelosi "Tom DeLay in a Skirt" - "crazy" and "mean as a Snake". So I'm guessing Rogers thinks this was an attempt at humor.
Two of our 2010 targets - Mike Rogers (AL-03 Lameduckville) and Michele Bachmann (MN-06 Crazyville) have made the National Republican Campaign Committee's (NRCC) version of the endagered species list.
The National Republican Congressional Committee on Thursday will name 15 more Members to its "Patriot" program to boost the party's most vulnerable incumbents in 2010, bringing its membership to 25.
The 15 new Members named to the program are: Mike Rogers (Ala.), Mary Bono Mack (Calif.), Bill Posey (Fla.), Tom Rooney (Fla.), Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.), Lynn Jenkins (Kan.), John Fleming (La.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Michele Bachmann (Minn.), Blaine Luetkemeyer (Mo.), Lee Terry (Neb.), Scott Garrett (N.J.), Dean Heller (Nev.), Charlie Dent (Pa.) and Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.).
We are also closely watching the CA_-45 Mary Bono Mack and considering adding her challenger Palm Springs mayor Steve Pougnet to our 2010 Progressive Electorate list.
This bodes well for Josh Segall who will certainly be high on the DCCC Red to Blue list (hopefully the first wave) and the eventual DFL nominee in MN-06.
"Congress is spending like drunken sailors and I agree. It's time for Congress to Sober up and stop borrowing and spending money we don't have."
The typical Republican answer that health care reform and coverage is important but not at the cost of 1.1 trillion. blah blah blah blah blah -
Also very hypocritical.
Compare that to this statement by Rogers during a House Armed Services committee meeting where he complained about cuts to Missile Defense Spending.
You can't have it both ways Mike.
By the way Missile Defense Agency Director Patrick O'Reilly says
that the planned $1.2 billion in cuts to his budget do not come at the expense of the country's protection against missile attack by rogue nations. He also has said that the current number of missiles in silos as part of the GMD program are adequate to the threat.
I just saw a video where Mike Rogers complains about government spending. Gee, I wish Mike Rogers of July 16th, 2009 could have a talk with Mike Rogers of January 12th, 2007 that voted against allowing the government to negotiate for lower prices as part of Medicare Part D. That's just a giveaway to pharmaceutical companies. Yes Mike, government billions given away by you.
The Veterans Administration, which is allowed to negotiate drug prices and establish a formulary, pays 58% less for drugs, on average, than Medicare Part D.
Or he could talk to the Mike Rogers that voted for $100 Billion in war appropriations funding for Iraq and Afghanistan on May 24th 2007 (These wars were given a long term CBO score of $2.4 Trillion, almost 2 and 1/2 times the cost of the healthcare reform that Mike is whining about). Not to mention he voted to extend the Bush tax cuts on 5/10/06 (estimated cost $1.8 Trillion).
Lets talk about some other government spending, like your paycheck. What are we getting for it? Six months in and Mike Rogers hasn't turned a new leaf to get anything done. Even his press releases can't make it sound like he's accomplished anything this term.
I'm tired of this do-nothing Congressman, lets get Josh Segall in there. Donate to Joshua Segall for Congress, no donation is too small (even $5 sends a message)
Josh Segall's 2010 camapaign aims to keep up the same energy we saw in 2008. Just got an email from the Segall campaign this morning announcing the hire of their first campaign staffer.
We've made our first hire of the campaign and I'm very excited to tell you about it. Chad Horrell spent the last year working for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as the Southern Field Director. Chad oversaw the national party's field programs for every targeted race in the South, from Virginia to Florida to Texas. He worked with the country's strongest candidates, many of whom went to Congress, and orchestrated some of the largest efforts their districts had ever seen to have conversations with voters at their doorstep.
This is exactly what we intend to do in this campaign, with YOUR HELP. We are 6 days away from the end of our first fundraising quarter. Please make a secure contribution by going to https://secure.actblue.com/con...
Grassroots word-of-mouth campaigning is the key to knowing your constituency, building energy and enthusiasm for our cause, as well as fostering the trust to create change. Hiring Chad is an important first step. It says a lot about our success in the last election and the tremendous opportunity we have in this one.
You'll be getting some email from Chad over the course of the election. I hope you won't hesitate to share your ideas and guidance with him.
The end of our fundraising quarter is now 6 days away. Please make a secure contribution by going to https://secure.actblue.com/con...
Thank you for your support.
Warm Regards,
Josh
I also got another message this evening about how you can go to the website and sign up to immediately help the team. While this information is not earth shattering news, I believe it is important to point out the type of strength that Segall plans on showing in 2010. This should be one of the top targeted races in the country this cycle and this move indicates that Segall should be taken very seriously.
I'm not sure of the proper protocol for writing such a diary here. So if for some reason it's considered out of line, penalize me and not Corn Syrup Awareness (hereinafter referred to as CSA) . But I would prefer for you to charge it to my head and not my heart.
CSA and I connected in 2008 through our mutual support for Congressional Candidate Josh Segall (AL-03). I believe that there is a lot that separates CSA from other activists. CSA has done a lot for me in my growth as a blogger and someone who I trusted enough to add as an admin at The Progressive Electorate . He's a tireless activist on many causes and someone who has a lot to offer the participants at Netroots Nation 2009.
You've very likely heard of Army Reserve Specialist Charles Graner . He's in jail for his role of torturing prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
You've probably not heard of his former Direct Supervisor - Captain Christopher Brinson. (pictured here quite possibly celebrating his carried out orders)
We know Mike Rogers is an Iraq War cheerleader. He supported President Bush's mistaken war every chance he got. But does he support torture? He voted No on limiting harsh interrogation techniques torture to the army field manual. He signed the statement that
"First, the United States does not torture, and the intelligence community conducts itself in accordance with the law, including the treaty obligations of the United States. The Committee has been briefed on the interrogation techniques currently being used by the Intelligence Community, and has conducted intensive oversight of both the underlying policy and its application."
There are a lot of weasel words in there like does and currently.
We know Rogers supports someone who ordered torture; Christopher Brinson, his campaign and congressional chief of staff. A man who's name may be coming up more often in the news, as his underling Charles Graner Jr, attempts to negotiate his ten year sentence.
"Prison guards jailed for abusing inmates at the Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq are planning to appeal against their convictions on the ground that recently released CIA torture memos prove that they were scapegoats for the Bush Administration."
Mike Rogers is already posturing for the 2010 election. One minute he's criticizing Nancy Pelosi and the next he's criticizing former Republican leader Tom DeLay.
Now he's voting with Pelosi and the three Democratic Alabama Congressmen in rejecting
an amendment to the 2010 budget resolution, H.Con.Res. 85, that would have set government spending at 20.7 percent of gross domestic product, made the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent and suspended the capital gains tax through 2010.
Well some Republicans aren't too happy with Rogers.
Here's the link, dead because there have been virus/spyware issues with a handful of rightwing blogs since the tea parties and I'm just not going to take a chance. I clicked so you don't have to:
Like Mooncat, I wonder if Rogers will get challenged within his own party. I doubt it would be anything other than a symbolic attempt from the far right.
Rogers really doesn't stand for anything but politically posturing. Seems like he's become adept at waking up in the morning and sticking out his finger to see which way the wind is blowing. Then he decides what rhetoric is good for that particular day.
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