Well, I don't know who else to include in the tags, but this thread is about people who lost races--even if by landslides--who we think have real potential to do something awesome.
This week has been nothing short of amazing! Barack Obama will be our next President. More and better Democrats will be going to Congress. The electoral map has undergone a major blue shift.
So why has this whole experience been bittersweet at best for me? Well, all is not well in my own home state. So what can we celebrate and what must we fix? Let me share with you the story of this election from behind the scenes.
Nervous yet? I know I am. It's crazy enough having to follow the Presidential Election 24/7. But for me and my friends & family here in California, we have even more on our minds!
Americans appear ready to sweep a lot of Democrats into office on November 4. Not only does Barack Obama maintain a solid lead in the popular vote and electoral vote estimates, several Senate races that appeared safe Republican holds a few months ago are now considered tossups.
Polling is harder to come by in House races, but here too there is scattered evidence of a coming Democratic tsunami. Having already lost three special Congressional elections in red districts this year, House Republicans are now scrambling to defend many entrenched incumbents.
In this diary, I hope to convince you of three things:
1. Some Republicans who never saw it coming are going to be out of a job in two weeks.
On a related note,
2. Even the smartest experts cannot always predict which seats offer the best pickup opportunities.
For that reason,
3. Activists should put resources behind many under-funded challengers now, instead of going all in for a handful of Democratic candidates.
Barack Obama need not worry about our 55 electoral votes. House incumbents like Jerry McNerney (CA-11) and Loretta Sanchez (CA-47) that may be vulnerable in other election cycles need not worry this year. So why should we care about California now?
Hi, I'm mkpowers, long time reader, first time poster here at SSP. My pet issue is the insanity of my representative, Dana Rohrabacher, a certifiable whack-job who's been in power in this district for 20 years. His Democratic challenger, who unfortunately is going to lose, is Debbie Cook, the progressive mayor of Huntington Beach.
Unfortunately, my Congressman's insanity reached new lows with an article coming from the website of the OC Weekly:
Rohrabacher went in drag to solve already solved RFK assassination?
The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee and our allies at the Leadership Conference on Guaranteed Healthcare are debuting a new feature: The Healthcare Heroes Caucus, which will honor candidates who are running on a platform of supporting HR 676, John Conyers' bill for an expanded and improved Medicare for All.
We will highlight the stories of these healthcare heroes, and work to get them the attention and support they need. It's not always easy to run in the face of insurance companies and a sold-out political culture...but it is smart. Poll after poll shows the American people are open to an expanded and improved Medicare for All, and are desperate for the kind of solutions that will improve care while saving money.
Debbie Cook is our first Healthcare Hero candidate and she's a great one. She is a committed progressive running in CA-46, an Orange County California district that is ready to toss out libertarian radical Dana Rohrbacher and elect a real leader.
Sometimes, I still feel disappointed about this election. Sometimes, I keep asking myself "Where's Hillary?" Sometimes, I become frightened at the thought of Democrats losing. Sometimes, I still wish I could see Hillary back on the campaign trail again.
Sometimes, I wonder what the hell I'm doing now. But you know what? I just can't keep looking back. I can't let Hillary down now.
Ah, how I love me the right-wing blogs! Sometimes, I find it amusing to simply lurk over there and see the vile garbage spew out of their keyboards. But to my surprise, I found out today that some of my recent diaries have been featured on an infamous local right-wing blog.
