Blue America was the first national group to endorse Ilya Sheyman and we were sad that the DCCC and other DC conservatives were able beat him in the primary last month. But we were as happy as can be that just to the southeast of his district, another outstanding movement progressive, Dr. David Gill, turned back those same forces and triumphed the same night that Ilya faltered. Hopefully Ilya will run again and win-- and be greeted on the steps of Congress by David Gill, who has run several times already. Sometimes, as we saw with Donna Edwards and Alan Grayson, it takes more than one try.

Illinois' newly redrawn 13th congressional district is very different from the one Dr. Gill has run in previously. It's a D+1 district that voted for Obama by 11 points. But his opponent, conservative Republican Tim Johnson, David told us, "is still voting like he’s in his old 60-40 Republican district. He’s now voted for the extreme Ryan plan to end Medicare twice. He refused last summer to vote to raise the debt ceiling, an action that was necessary because of his votes for Bush’s wars and tax cuts for the rich. He’s been in Congress for six terms and he’s a 40-year politician. He’s out of touch with the district."

David is a 20 year member of Physicians For a Single Health Payer Plan. "I became interested in running because of what I see on a daily basis in the health care industry as an ER doctor. We have a two-tiered system of access to healthcare in America and, frankly, the American health care system is failing a lot of people." But if health care was got him interested in running originally, he's as far from a one-issue candidate as you'll find.

"Health care is one symptom of many. There are many areas impacted by our corporate governance. Retirement security, jobs, healthcare, education and restoring the health of our planet are all areas where private interests are trumping the public good in Congress. People get to Washington, spend too much time around corporate lobbyists and suddenly forget that Social Security is in better financial health than the Federal budget that’s been decimated by Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest. They forget that Climate Change is the biggest crisis we are facing today, not the deficit. They forget that we have a jobs crisis to fix. They’ve forgotten that government should be working to solve problems for regular people."

David will be joining us here (in the comments section, below) for a live chat today at 1pm (CT), 11am on the West Coast. He's a fighter for all the values and all the principles Blue America stands for. Congress will be a far better place if he's elected. Please consider helping him replace Tim Johnson with a contribution to his campaign.

And David was an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq. He's also opposed to the continued occupation of Afghanistan. "I’ve come to the realization the past few years that our presence in Afghanistan has outlived its usefulness. It’s time to end our mission there and get our troops out of harm’s way as soon as possible."

He can win this race and bring a healthy dose of Prairie State populism to Washington. Although the corrupt Illinois Machine is still unreconciled to his victory over their candidate, last week a former area congressman and member of the Progressive Caucus, Phil Hare, gave him a ringing endorsement.

"I support David Gill because I know he will have the courage to stand up to Wall Street and fight for middle-class Illinoisans everyday. David will make sure millionaires pay their fair share and he'll be a strong voice for working men and women in the progressive tradition of my friend (and former boss) Lane Evans.

David Gill knows what it's like to roll up your sleeves and work hard. He comes from a working-class family. When his father died, David started working as a dishwasher at 13 to help support his family. David worked stocking shelves to pay his way through college at U of I. He mopped floors at a laundromat in the middle of the night to put himself through medical school.

I trust David to be a passionate voice for middle-class people. I know David will protect the rights of workers. And who better than an ER doctor like David Gill to block the Republicans’ attempts to end Medicare as we know it? The bottom line is this: Illinois families need David Gill in Congress."

David just defeated a DCCC and New Democrat-backed congressional challenger who outspent him 5-1. He ran a strictly grassroots, people-powered campaign and he won without compromising his progressive values. as you can see in the video above. "I was willing to stand up and fight back against the Republican War on Women and special interest-domination of Congress and the residents of IL-13 responded and were willing to put their trust in me."

Let's make sure the primary victory turns into a big win in November. Please consider giving what you can.

Today our old friend, former Congresswoman Carol Shea Porter (D-NH), will be joining us here in the comments section for a live blogging session at at 2pm (ET). Carol's unlikely grassroots victory in 2006 over a Rahm Emanuel corporate Democrat in the primary and then over a conservative Republican incumbent in the general was a highpoint for progressive activists. Four years later, though, Carol was defeated by a Tea Party extremist in the mania that turned New Hampshire, a deep, deep shade of red. After just two years of right-wing extremism up close and personal, polls show that New Hampshire voters have come back to their senses and are ready for a course correction. Blue America is proud to endorse Carol again and we're asking everyone to consider contributing to her campaign.

When Carol ran for office and while Carol was in office, she did something that a lot of Democrats talk about, but that very few actually do. She refused all corporate PAC and DC lobbyist money, not something that endeared her to the Beltway Democratic Establishment. Carol prefers to leave that kind of unethical behavior the careerist crooks, who take cash from corporate special interests and then vote to destroy the environment, and against the interests of working families and the middle class. And, as long as we're talking about Frank Guinta, anyone who wants to get behind the fake mainstream conservative mask he wears for the media and for voters, might check out the extremist freak he exposed himself as when he filled out this questionaire for the Tea Party.

Her opponent, remember, cast the deciding vote on the Ryan Budget Wednesday, which passed out of committee 19-18, several Republicans joining all the Democrats on the committee to vote it down. Carol asked, rhetorically, what's wrong with the bill. And she answered-- for all of us:

To start with, Americans do not like the changes to Medicare in this budget. The budget pushes seniors into vouchers, or what Ryan euphemistically calls “premium support.” Seniors could use the vouchers to buy their own insurance with a private company, or they could stay in Medicare, but either way, when the amount of the voucher runs out, an individual’s wallet comes out, and it would be extremely expensive. The vouchers would not reflect the rising cost of health care, because while health care costs are expected to rise around 7% per year, Medicare spending would be kept at the CPI plus 0.5%. Also, if people are in a lot of different plans, Medicare would lose its ability to control costs and to negotiate better deals for seniors and other taxpayers, and that would push costs up as well.

...If you are trying to pay the bills, you might not appreciate the fact that the wealthy and corporations will get bigger breaks than they already receive. This budget cuts taxes by roughly $3 trillion dollars, but most of those tax cuts would go to higher income earners. All of the Bush tax cuts would become permanent cuts, and there would be just two brackets, 10% and 25%. The top corporate income tax would fall from 35% to 25%. (Remember, 2/3 of US corporations actually pay zero.) And to top off awful ideas with another awful idea, Republicans want to end U.S. taxes on any corporate money earned abroad, which could lead to a rush of jobs headed overseas.

So, if we cut taxes by $3 trillion dollars, and we have no new revenue, what happens? While Congressman Ryan and his followers are not saying exactly what they will cut for the most part, we can all figure out that the middle class and the poor will be out of luck if they cannot find members of Congress who will fight for them. Luckily, Democrats and some Republicans are going to defeat this budget.

They know that cutting money for education, from Head Start through college, is an assault on the poor and the middle class. It also would hurt business, because businesses require a labor pool of well-educated people in order to successfully compete. As Dr. Jill Biden says, the country that out-educates us will out-compete us. This budget would cut our research in science and technology at exactly the time when we need to step up our investments. Congressman Ryan has us spending 6% less on “general science, space, and basic technology.” Why? So we can give more tax breaks to oil companies? The world will not stand still, even if we do.

Transportation, nutrition programs, health care, research, environment… all these and more will have to be cut if the Paul Ryan plan becomes law. Thankfully, it won’t. But what are Representatives Ryan and Guinta thinking? In this time of high deficits, why would they cut taxes for the rich and US and multinational corporations? Why would they put forward a budget that would require massive cuts in the very areas that require our investment? The Budget Committee owes America an answer.

"I am so honored to have Blue America's endorsement again," Carol wrote us yesterday. "You and I share the same goals-- to create and sustain a robust middle class, and to make sure our progressive voices are heard in our state capitols and in Washington." Let's help her get back to Capitol Hill where she will continue to shake things up... for the 99%.

Maybe you heard that Rush Limbaugh's wife, Kathryn, is so embarrassed and so angry at him that she's threatening divorce if he doesn't stop demonizing, objectifying and insulting women. Well, the newest Blue America endorsee, North Carolina state Rep. Patsy Keever, is married to a normal man but she's at least as angry at Limbaugh and the Republican War Against Women as Kathryn is!

"Women all across North Carolina," Patsy told us, "are disgusted with the Republican treatment of women. My campaign launched a petition drive protesting the GOP's assault on women and collected over 850 petitions in a few days. I’m not just talking about Democratic women. Whether it’s the radical right-wing conservatives in Raleigh or in Washington, the women I’ve spoken to are ready to take action to confront this extremism. I faced this issue at the state level as well. GOP members in the State House proposed legislation curtailing women's choice. Well I fought against this bill and worked to uphold Governor Perdue's veto. I am angry, and needless to say, women across the state are angry too."

And Patrick McHenry has been no champion on women's issues-- not on any of them. He votes against women on social issues and on economic issues. Patrick McHenry, as everyone who has followed his career knows, has a serious problem with women. And after Patsy wins her primary against a conservative Democrat on May 8, she'll be up against McHenry-- and in a district newly redrawn to be somewhat friendlier to Democrats and Independents and less friendly to right-wing extremists. Obama's performance is 6% better under the new lines and, by party registration, there are now actually more Democrats in the district (39.3%) than Republicans (35.6%). But Patsy didn't jump into this race because of Limbaugh or the GOP War Against Women. Her issues have more to do with education-- she taught in the public schools for more than 25 years-- and with an economic equality agenda.

Now I want to take these principles to Washington D.C., where a good dose of common sense and cooperation are direly needed. While understanding the need to tighten our belts, I will protect Social Security and Medicare, defend the natural beauty of our region and stand against extremism that hurts families. Every time I take a vote, I will ask myself, “Will this make our community a better place... for us, for our children and for our grandchildren?”

When I asked her about tough issues like keeping conservatives' hands off Social Security, she didn't hesitate for one second. "I support raising the cap on taxable income and would consider means testing," she told me. "As you know, Social Security taxes are levied on earnings up to a maximum level. In 2012, the cap is set at $110,100 dollars. Thus higher-income individuals pay a smaller share of their income in Social Security taxes than middle-class employees. I would raise or even eliminate the cap to ensure the money is there to pay benefits in the future. One thing I will never stand for is privatization of any part of Social Security. We saw how volatile the financial markets can be. Social Security should be a guarantee, not a gamble."

And in a "pro-military" state like North Carolina, Patsy also has no hesitation about calling for a speedy end to the occupation of Afghanistan. Last week's shooting rampage near Kandahar shocked her as much as it did most Americans. "The massacre in Afghanistan shows that we need to be funding our troops’ mental health resources much more than we are now. As for troop withdrawal, the sooner the better. We have spent too much 'blood and treasure' in the Middle East, and it’s time to bring our troops home."

The straight talk and commonsense are refreshing, and not what voters in western North Carolina are used to hearing from their current congressman. Patsy will be joining us below in the comments section at 2pm (ET), 11am on the West Coast, for a live chat about her campaign and her issues. If you'd like to help this fiery grandmother, with a proven track record, replace Patrick McHenry-- who also has a record-- please consider a contribution at the Blue America ActBlue page.

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Credit: Dr. Lee Rogers

In the last few weeks Dr. Lee Rogers has been talking a lot with us about ending the occupation of Afghanistan, ending the use of bodyscanners by the TSA and about ending the occupation of American politics by the 1%. But what first drew our attention to his race was his approach, as a renowned surgeon and author, to health care reform.

The incumbent in this newly redrawn Los Angeles district, CA-25 (Santa Clarita, Porter Ranch, Simi Valley and the Antelope Valley), is Buck McKeon. McKeon, notorious as one of the Mormon financiers of the hateful, homophobic Prop 8 jihad, is now drowning in several scandals and under investigation by the House Ethics Committee. A devout and dedicated warmonger and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, McKeon may be one of the worst Members of Congress-- and one of the most strategic targets to defeat in November. But it wasn't McKeon that has caused Blue America to endorse Dr. Rogers. It was Dr. Rogers; let's call him Lee from now on.

When Digby, John and I first met him in person we were intrigued by his opposition to healthcare bill. He was one of the Democrats-- and a doctor no less-- who felt it should be better, much better. "The current version of health reform," he told us at our first meeting, "while an improvement in some areas, leaves much to be desired in the way of affordability and accessibility. We need caps on insurance rate hikes. We need protections for women's health. We need aggressive comprehensive coverage of preventative medicine for expensive avoidable diseases."

Later, he did a guest post for DWT on the societal problem of prescription drugs, urging the idea of replacing the failed "War on Drugs" with a more rational "War on Addiction." His own prescription sounds very much like a commonsense solution: "Drug addiction is seen as a legal problem and not a medical problem. Addicts have a disease that needs to be treated my health professionals, not corrections officers. Keeping addicts out of prison will save money that can be used for treatment programs. Without criminal histories, addicts can be employable and get back to a productive life. Plus, if we can treat the addiction and reduce the number of customers for drug dealers, we prevent money from going into criminal organizations."

A fellow podiatrist he knows-- albeit a Republican-- just defeated Mean Jean Schmidt in Ohio. That doctor and Lee agree on almost nothing politically but they do see the need for a single payer system, even if the Ohio doctor will never admit it to Republican audiences. Lee talks eloquently and realistically about it:

There are many fears of a single-payer system, from insurers, doctors, some patients, and certainly many Republicans. A single-payer system will drastically reduce the amount of profit going to big insurers, who are big campaign donors. But the single-payer system will increase the number of covered patients seeking care from doctors and hospitals which will be reimbursed. It will reduce the numerous insurance middlemen who impede the productivity of health providers and syphon off large profits that should be going into actual care. Patients will have seamless coverage. Employers will eliminate their second largest expense, health insurance. No system is perfect, but when one truly evaluates all the benefits of a single-payer healthcare, it is a desirable system where most come out winning.

That's not a polemic; that's a motivation for Lee getting into the race against an incumbent with more money from war contractors and armaments manufacturers than anyone else in the House. Lee knows it's a tough race but he's an energetic and idealistic young father-- he and his wife, Susan, just had his second daughter last week-- who is determined to try to make this country and this world a better place. He's joining us in the comments section (below) today at (11AM, PT) for a live blogging session. Please click on "comments" and come over and meet him. And if you'd like to help his grassroots campaign, please consider a contribution here at the Blue America ActBlue page.

When I first met Montana state Rep. Franke Wilmer, I walked away thinking how great it would be to have a woman in Congress who is so much like Barbara Ehrenreich. I've gotten to know her a lot better now-- and I'm more impressed than ever. Her legislative role models tend to run more in the direction of Jeannette Rankin, a Montanan who was also the first woman elected to Congress (from anywhere), and populist lion Pat Williams. Digby, John and I are very enthusiastic about welcoming Franke today as our newest Blue America endorsee. Please be sure to join us below in the comments section at 11am (PT), noon in Montana, to meet Franke for a live-blogging session. If she impresses you the way she has me, please consider contributing to her campaign at the Blue America ActBlue page here.

Let's talk about security-- the job we entrust our elected officials with first and foremost. Security is Franke's field. Aside from serving in the state legislature, she's a professor at Montana State University teaching courses on International Human Rights, International Law, International Relations Theory and the Politics of War and Peace and she's written three books and has traveled to 56 countries as either an invited guest lecturer or for her field research, including five trips to the former Yugoslavia beginning during the war there in 1995. Let's face it, there are so many ways the policies formulated in Congress are headed in the wrong direction on domestic and foreign policy.

But just as important as her academic accomplishments and record of public service are her life experiences. In her early 20s, Franke was a divorced single mother with no child support and few prospects. All she knew was waitressing, and she relied on that to support herself and her daughter while completing her college degree. It took her 16 years, often working two jobs and even 2 years working as a carpenter. “I know what it’s like not to be able to afford health insurance,” she told me last year when I first talked with her. “I know what it’s like to take a pocket full of tips to the energy company to pay my heating bill.”

Let’s look at two aspects of security Franke is highlighting in her congressional campaign-- Social Security and national security. If we don’t elect enough candidates with clear and intelligent voices, a strong base of knowledge and a willingness to look at the facts through the lens of progressive values, these two issues are at very high risk of misguided policies (privatization and more wars) with disastrous consequences. I asked Franke to discuss Social Security first.

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Every time I see Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin on TV, I forget she's a politician. She doesn't come across as one. She comes across as a friend or a neighbor who you turn to for good advice, someone who respects all points of view and doesn't have a mean bone in her body. Is she too nice to be in the polarized Senate? Her House colleagues think she's just right. And I suspect China doesn't either. Last week she even introduced a bill with Wisconsin Republican freshman Reid Ribble to shield American manufacturers from unfair trade practices in low wage Asian countries. "American manufacturers deserve our full support in combating China's relentless pattern of international trade law violations," Baldwin said. "The simple fact is China cheats."

And Wisconsin senior Senator Herb Kohl, who is retiring and has endorsed Tammy as his replacement, telling voters in his state that Tammy has strong convictions, a strong personality and "a tremendous drive to achieve things... she's going to be a model senator, a standard of what we look for... the highest and best kind of public servant."

Tammy is best known in Congress as one of the most dedicated and persistent fighters for economic justice. This month she got a great deal of press coverage when she introduced the Buffett Rule in the House. But on a day to day basis, she was working behind the scenes pushing legislative solutions for real people with real problems, usually efforts that didn't get noticed by the public. One of her colleagues on the House Energy & Commerce Committee told me that during the debate over health care reform she would never let up on a provision to allow young adults to stay on their parents' health insurance policies until they turn 26. I asked her what made her come up with that and what kind of push back she got from the Republicans on the committee?

Health care has always been a very personal issue for me. I was raised by my grandparents-- my mother was too young to raise me when I was born-- and they were there to take care of me. As a young child, I came down with a serious illness. Something like spinal meningitis. Though I made a full recovery, I had to spend three months in the hospital and many more after that in recovery care. But my grandparents, who had always relied on their family health insurance-- a good plan for the time-- came to soon learn that granddaughters are not considered dependents. Wife, yes. Daughter, yes. But no coverage for me, they were forced to pay out of pocket. And then to top it off, I was a child with a pre-existing condition.

So, I’m proud to have worked to ensure that more young people have access to insurance and affordable care. This includes the amendment I offered in committee to expand coverage for young adults, and also the work we did to eliminate pre-existing conditions for children, and soon adults. It also means that I’m a target. Let me tell you: the health insurance giants aren’t too fond of you when you take stances like these.

And the three corporate lobbyists masquerading as Republican candidates, Neumann, Thompson and Fitzgerald, have an entirely different vision than Tammy's. It's dark and it's based on Ayn Rand's Law of the Jungle politics. Only the strong survive. When I asked Tammy if her progressive vision is something that will work outside of Madison, in places like Waukesha and Ozaukee counties, she didn't miss a beat.

I’ve fought for Wisconsin values and the middle class, and these just aren’t issues in Madison. I’ve had constituents in Beloit who’ve suffered as manufacturing jobs were shipped overseas to places like China.

I traveled much of the state over the summer during our state senate recalls and as I went from Ozaukee county to Eau Claire and all across Wisconsin people told me about the same struggles they were facing: making ends meet, finding work, and taking care of their children. So, this fight-- this campaign-- is about their struggle. I’m fighting so that they can have a little extra at the end of each month to save for their daughter’s college fund. And to make it easier for that the single dad in Appleton to find meaningful work so he can quit that second job and stay home with his son a few more hours each day. That’s something that resonates and people can relate to whether I’m in Dane County or Waukesha County.

If Tammy wins in November, she will be the first woman ever elected to the United States Senate from Wisconsin. And she'll be the first openly LGBT senator ever... from anywhere. Blue America has only found three candidates this cycle we're enthusiastic enough about to endorse for the Senate: Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Baldwin. What a team! Please consider contributing what you can at the Blue America ActBlue Senate page. And please join us for a live discussion with Tammy at 1pm today (CST) in the comments section below.

There is no congressional race anywhere in the country more important than Rob Zerban's challenge to Wall Street's favorite politician, Paul Ryan. They look at Ryan and they see the perfect sieve for their entire one-percent anti-democratic agenda. And they see a future senator and president. With virtually no help from the DCCC-- which at least isn't protecting Ryan the way they have in past elections-- Rob is taking on the Republican superman who just reported the single largest House war chest in the country-- over $4 million. Rob has something else: the tumult of Wisconsin politics and the realization among workers and ordinary families there that this is for real; we are fighting for our lives and our children's lives. Please join us below in the comments section to meet Rob for yourself and ask him whatever you'd like to know about his campaign.

We've been following Ryan's ride in Congress for longer than most, and, of course, what we all wanted to know from Rob was why this year would be different from all the past years, when Ryan trounced his opponents.

I often get asked, “how are you going to beat Paul Ryan?” Ryan has incumbency, money, I am told a boyishly pretty face, and of course, he is a party boss. Previous challengers have not performed well. People ask, “what will be different.”

A big shift has taken place in the way people feel about Paul Ryan. Social Security and Medicare are “the third rail” of politics meaning you get shocked if you touch them. This happened to Ryan. While Ryan has gotten 60% support in the past, he is now polling easily in the 40s after our message is heard. Independents prefer me by a 3 to 1 margin. Ryan will move even lower because national Democrats, including President Obama, have taken a strong stand to protect retirement security and our social safety net. The more Democrats focus their fire on Ryan, the more people in the district become aware of his radical agenda. It also doesn’t help that Ryan has presided over one of the most unpopular Congresses in history with 91% disapproval.

The reason Ryan has been able to win is because he hasn’t had a strong Democratic challenger. The First District of Wisconsin was, and is, a seat Democrats can win. This district was previously represented by Democrats including Les Aspin, Clinton’s Defense Secretary, and Peter Barca who is a leading legislator now in state government. The district also supported Obama in 2008 with 52% of the vote. Ryan had opponents before that raised less than $20,000. There is nothing wrong with good people running for office, but against someone like Ryan, it takes a much larger effort than anyone can do on their own. It will take progressives across this country to come together to defeat Ryan. I believe we could have won this election in 2008 against Ryan if we had tried. I am here to make sure we don’t waste that opportunity again.

Another reason we can win is that we are running a strong campaign. Our campaign has focused on drawing these contrasts and being accessible to the people. We have had great success so far. Already in my campaign in 2011, we have outraised all previous challengers to Paul Ryan combined. We have over 7,000 supporters across the country and have earned great endorsements including that of the AFL- CIO, SEIU, and Senator Russ Feingold. I am focused on drawing clear contrasts, explaining my values, and showing voters how my plans will make their lives better.

The votes are here in Wisconsin, and I think with the recalls and our efforts to take out Ryan, we will have the energy to turn out the votes. My challenge is funding our grassroots volunteers and making sure that I take every opportunity to show contrast my ideas with Paul Ryan’s.

I don’t need unlimited money to beat Ryan. I need enough money to run my campaign. There is a big difference and I think we are on track to getting there. So far, we have raised over $500,000 from over 7,000 people. This is an incredible grassroots effort but we have a ways to go so we must grow.

I will beat Ryan because I understand what voters are looking for- experience and the right priorities. My focus is on drawing clear contrasts along both those lines. I grew up with a humble background and worked to build two companies and employ 45 people. Paul Ryan was born with many privileges and has spent a career in politics. I think people are looking for Representatives with real world experience in this economy, particularly business experience, and I have that and Ryan does not.

My focus is not just on personal qualities, but on values and priorities. Paul Ryan’s ideas are to benefit the ultrawealthy at everyone else’s expense. Ryan wants and to slash our social safety net, including seniors programs, the environment, women’s health, education, infrastructure, and economic recovery efforts-- all to give more tax breaks to the rich! My focus is on rebuilding the middle class by making critical investments into worker retraining, education, green energy, and research. I will pay for this by eliminating tax loopholes and the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and by cutting war spending. I am on the side of 99% of Americans, and Paul Ryan is only a 1% warrior. He is a man with a lot of money and no friends.

Blue America officially endorsed Rob and added him to our Blue America page. And not just because Ryan is so execrable. Rob is a self-taught progressive with his head screwed on right, who wants to do the right thing for working families and who has the right instincts to be a fine congressman. Help us shock the GOP, Wall Street, K Street and the DCCC on election day.

Today we're kicking off a new day for our Blue America chats. Same time as always-- 11am (PT) but on Tuesdays from now on. And what better way than to start with a populist icon whose grassroots congressional just paid off with gigantic dividends a few days ago. Cecil Bothwell will be joining us below in the comments section at 2pm (ET). Last week, his classic grassroots organizing and door-to-door activist campaign astounded the political establishment with polling results that showed him likely to knock off entrenched conservative incumbent, Blue Dog Heath Shuler in the upcoming May 8th primary. Shuler saw the same results and beat a hasty retreat to, suddenly, "spend more time with my family." He actually said that. The 11th CD will never be the same.

Cecil is the Asheville City Council Member who "everyone" said was "too radical" to be elected. But when the at-large primary came around he wasn't just elected-- he got more votes than anyone else in the race. He seemed buoyed when we talked with him after Shuler-- who just months ago tried to rally reactionary Democrats against Nancy Pelosi in a race for House Democratic leader-- hoisted the white flag. "We were confident that we were going to win the primary, based on informal polling across the District. We learned from recipients that someone hired a firm in Raleigh to poll voters here, so my bet is that he was seeing the same results. Now it appears that he has tapped another Blue Dog, his Legislative Director Hayden Rogers, to step into the race. So game on!" Rogers isn't well known in the district but he is on K Street and Inside-the-Beltway. The DCCC would love to talk him into running. Cecil feels confident he could beat him just as he always predicted he would beat his boss.

Cecil is a decidedly progressive Democrat-- a movement progressive-- who has staked out populist positions in favor of federal job creation, single-payer health care and protection of the social safety net, as well as strong support for education. A participant in October's Rebuild the American Dream conference, he endorses "Jobs, Not Cuts!" as a battle cry for middle- and working-class citizens who have been hammered by the Bush recession. Coming from a career in sustainable building and environmental journalism, with more than 20 years spent in a photovoltaic-powered home, he knows the coming green economy from the inside out, and he was one of the thousands of activists who surrounded the White House in November to protest the KeystoneXL pipeline. Although North Carolina is a right-to-work state, he is a member of the National Writer's Union (AFL-CIO) and is unafraid to tell his constituents that unions are essential to introduce democracy into the work place. He is a strong advocate for fair trade instead of our current badly concocted free trade rules, and believes we need to get tough with China over its currency manipulation. Because he believes that black markets always create systemic problems in society he demands immigration reform that facilitates work-permits and a clear path to citizenship, and opposes the catastrophic failure known as the "war on drugs." He has endorsed the Move to Amend and believes that we need to adopt public financing for all elections ASAP.

"We can do better," he tells voters. "And you deserve better. I aim to represent the real people of this District, and I won't take a penny from corporations or corporate PACs." Blue America could hardly hope for a better candidate to back, anywhere. Please consider contributing to a people-to-people campaign that is already paying dividends for progressives in North Carolina. You can do that here at the Blue America ActBlue page.

Help us fix what's wrong with our country by helping Darcy fix Congress. 

Back in 2006, when Blue America was just a young PAC, one congressional candidate seemed to emerge from out of our own ranks, so conversant with the way the new technology had merged with progressive politics that she was, in many ways, the first Netroots candidate. It was Darcy Burner of Washington state, a brilliant former Microsoft executive who famously declared that she knew she had to step into the arena when she realized that she needed to leave a better world for her young son. 

We endorsed her enthusiastically in both of her heartbreakingly close losses in 2006 and 2008 and followed her subsequent work in Washington DC with the Progressive Caucus Foundation with interest.While there she learned the inside workings of the congress, built relationships and alliances with other progressives and deepened her policy knowledge to truly impressive heights. Yet throughout it all, Darcy has closely maintained her connections to the Netroots and commitment to the Progressive Movement we've been trying to build from the beginning. She was one of those rare people with the integrity and backbone to be in Washington without being of Washington

Still, we couldn't be more thrilled that she is back home in the Pacific Northwest and ready to give it another go --- we are proud to endorse her for the congressional seat in the new WA-01 district.

We need people like Darcy in the congress more than ever because, as she says:

We can’t fix what’s broken with our country if we don’t fix Congress. Our Congress is full of crooks who trade on insider knowledge, of people who have sold their souls to the very people who have broken our country. Even the good ones, the members who want the right things, too often give up too easily on important fights, or can’t figure out how to fix the deep structural problems that undermine us.

We need people there who are tenacious and who won’t give up when things get hard.

Indeed we do. And Darcy is nothing if not tenacious.

It's not going to be a cakewalk. She's facing a primary with several dismal Dems, one of whom may very well get tacit backing from the Party. (Darcy wasn't afraid to speak her mind when she was in Washington. They know she will not be compliant.) And once she gets through that gauntlet, she will be facing a probable GOP opponent who will be very well financed.(Aren't they all?)

She's got great name recognition, even though this is a new district, and is she very popular in the populated Democratic part of it. We understand that the progressives are rallying around her in the more Republican rural area. So she's got an excellent chance.

But she's going to need our help. Big business isn't going to support a real progressive. Super-PAC gambling billionaires aren't going to support a real progressive. The Party is terrified of Big Business and Super PAC billionaires so it isn't going to support a real progressive. That's going to be our job.

Please read the archived comments back at the original post when we welcomed Darcy back for her first chat of the election season. She took questions for an hour, and they are amazing.

And please donate what you can to her campaign here. If you want to begin the real hard work of hope and change, this is the place to start.

Today, January 21, is the two-year anniversary of the absolute worst and most dangerous Supreme Court decision of our lifetimes, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. We decided it would be the perfect time to reiterate Blue America's enthusiastic support and endorsement of Orlando Democrat Alan Grayson and to invite him here to Crooks and Liars for a question-and-answer session.

Two years ago there were only two Members of Congress at the Supreme Court when the narrow 5-4 decision striking down the provisions of the McCain–Feingold Act that prohibited all corporations' and unions' unrestricted election spending on advertising was read out: Alan and Mitch McConnell. I can imagine McConnell squealing with delight. Grayson had quite a different reaction. He warned later that evening on Countdown that "if we do nothing, you can kiss this country goodbye." (See video above.) I don't think he actually meant the physical country itself-- just democracy, so loathed by the plutocratic elites, and all the benefits democracy brings with it.

Alan had gotten over 100,000 people to sign a petition to the Justices at SaveDemocracy.net, and he personally delivered the signatures to the Supreme Court. This was a new experience for the Supreme Court.

"Seeing it coming," he told me when discussing the ruling, "and assuming the worst, I had introduced four anti-Citizens United bills the week before, and introduced four more afterward. We called this our Save Democracy Platform. The core of three of these bills made it into the DISCLOSE Act." These were the bills Alan introduced:

The Business Should Mind Its Own Business Act (H.R. 4431): Implements a 500% excise tax on corporate contributions to political committees, and on corporate expenditures on political advocacy campaigns.

The Public Company Responsibility Act (H.R. 4435): Prevents companies making political contributions and expenditures from trading their stock on national exchanges.

The End Political Kickbacks Act (H.R. 4434): Prevents for-profit corporations that receive government money from making political contributions, and limits the amount that employees of those companies can contribute.

The Corporate Propaganda Sunshine Act (H.R. 4432): Requires publicly traded companies to disclose in SEC filings money used for the purpose of influencing public opinion, rather than for promoting their products and services.

The Ending Corporate Collusion Act (H.R. 4433): Applies antitrust law to industry PACs.

The End the Hijacking of Shareholder Funds Act (H.R. 4487): This bill requires the approval of a majority of a public company's shareholders for any expenditure by that company to influence public opinion on matters not related to the company's products or services.

Blue America was urging Alan to run again even as the votes were being counted in 2010. And we are determined that this year he's going to be back in Congress-- and this time in a solid Democratic district (the new 27th based in Orlando). Please help us raise him the money he needs to beat back the Kochs and the Roves and the corporate special interests.

He recorded this for us last night: