I’ve created the initial ActBlue donation pages. The first is with specific candidates (more can and should be added- this list is oddly all male and white). For now we have Conway, McAdams, Sestak, Feingold, Blumenthal, and Scott Harper. I put up a very ambitious goal of 50k:
***
I also had a request for the DSCC and the DCCC, for those who wish to donate but don’t feel like playing kingmaker. Couldn’t find anything for the DSCC, but the DCCC link is here:
Any suggestions, let me know. We’re trying to only help those specific candidates who have a chance and who really could use the help.
MattR
Pomeroy in ND? I seem to remember seeing that he needed some $$, but I could definitely be wrong. And I don’t have the time to google right now.
PS. F the DSCC and DCCC.
Allison W.
hmmm. hmmm.
Bobby Thomson
FWIW, Blumenthal doesn’t need the help. Connecticut is not in play. For that to change, there would have to be a truly game changing event, in which case a few thousand dollars won’t make a difference.
McAdams is a great call, though. I think Alaska media buys are dirt cheap and this is one race where they could really make a difference.
KDP
Donation for the making of kings is done. It’s what I can afford now, but I’ll try to put up a bit more later! I’ll throw some to the DCCC too.
shortstop
I’m no fan of Alexi Giannoulias — voting for him will be one of the least joyful acts of my political life — but I believe his cash on hand is outstripped by Kirk’s by two or three to one.
Feingold, on the other hand, has a large cash advantage over Johnson, right? Not suggested you skip Feingold in favor of Giannoulias; just wondering what you’re using to make “could really use the help” decisions.
Sue
Feingold’s opponent is outspending him about 3 – 1 lately, so he could probably use a few bucks. http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/102032923.html
What, nothing for Blanche?
And I agree with MattR, not a cent to either of the CCs.
Zam
Well I know a couple more diverse candidates that could use some money, but that is a Wisconsin thing rather than national.
shortstop
@Bobby Thomson:
This.
Zam
@Sue: I am getting fucking sick of seeing all the republican shit here in Wisconsin. Can’t watch anything anymore without seeing some shitty ad. Ron Kind is the only dem ad I have seen in a while.
Zam
@shortstop: Feingold has a fundraising advantage, not an actual monetary advantage. I believe Johnson has been spending a bunch of his own money.
Martin
Sorry, dumping all my money in Cali this year. House, senate, and governor.
If prop 19 passes, I told my son he could turn our little urban garden into a weed palace to earn money for college. I’ll give y’all a good rate.
Libby
Could you all please consider helping Billy Kennedy beat crazy Virginia Foxx in NC5? He’s a terrific populist candidate, a good man and he’s not taking corporate donations. He presently has about 70K to Foxx’s warchest of about a million. If he could buy some TV time, it would really help his name recognition.
I’m convinced he’s the perfect candidate who really could win with some netroots support. At least please check out his website and consider it. I’d note that Down with Tyranny is behind him already.
shortstop
@Zam: Okay, thanks.
Sue
@Zam: Snort- every time I see the Johnson Family ad I want to smack the son. I know it’s mean, I can’t help it – the kid looks like he gets his lunch money stolen, by his sisters.
Martin
@Sue: Blanche is a lost cause. 30 points back. Even Meg Whitman couldn’t bail her out.
I also agree on leaving out Blumenthal.
TooManyJens
@shortstop:
I hear you — and I’ve signed up to canvass for him. But what the hell, I did it for Kerry, which wasn’t exactly a joyful experience either.
…actually, I take that back. Kerry was far from an inspiring candidate, but working with a bunch of enthusiastic and engaged young people on the campaign was quite joyful.
Sue
@Martin: And she deserves to be (a lost cause). Clinton will not be able to pull her out of this one, and bashing the unions won’t help this time.
slag
Patty Murray in WA and Barbara Boxer in CA. Pretty please? We can give to them so the DSCC can give more to other contenders.
mai naem
richard daley’s not going to run for mayor of chicago again. I guess Rahm “nekid man shoving his finger on your body”Emmanuel is not gonna be around in DC much longer.
geg6
@slag:
This.
Very glad to see Sestak in there, John. Thanks, neighbor.
Bob Loblaw
@TooManyJens:
I wasn’t clear on why Schakowsky or Madigan weren’t players. I guess neither has any plans for 2016. I mean, leaving the Gov. and Senate races alone isn’t exactly a ringing vote of confidence in the party’s chances this November. Nor a good sign as to the willingness of any politician to touch the state’s financial problems.
geg6
@mai naem:
I seriously hope that is what he does. I am not a firebagger who thinks Raaaaaaaahm! is the devil, but I really don’t think he’s very good at what everyone else (in the Village, anyway) thinks he’s very good at. From all I have seen of the guy over the last 20 years, he pretty much sucks at national politics. Mayoring, OTOH, might be just up his alley.
To have him out of Washington can only be a good thing for us all and the Preznit most especially.
Martin
@slag: Yeah, I think BeBox might need the financial help this time around. I hate these fucking CEO Republicans.
jhh
John—Thanks for listing these. It looks to me like Blumenthal has a clear lead now, but the others could prob. use help. I have also contributed to Tarryl Clark who is running against Michelle Batshit-crazy. Don’t know the odds there, but anything to slow old Batshit down is a good idea.
Marc
Mary Jo Kilroy, Ohio 15th, House. Repeat of a very close election in 2008 (same opponent); closely matched district. She’s been a good rep, and not one of the fence-sitting blue dogs. And Ohio, while leaning GOP this cycle overall, is far from a lost cause.
Clayton
Elaine Marshall in NC-sen has a good shot, but she’s not really gotten anything from the DSCC. Burr really isn’t liked all that well, I’m pretty sure hasn’t been above 50 in a while, but has a pretty large financial advantage.
dmsilev
@mai naem: I dunno. I know that Rahm has said that he wants to be Mayor once Richard II of the House of Daley steps down, but he’s been a Washington type for years now; does he really have any sort of political base here?
dms
Zam
@TooManyJens: Kerry’s bid was the first time I could vote, it was also the first time I ever volunteer for anything political. Now I do so on a regular basis. It was a very exciting time in my life.
cat48
Hopefully, today’s new Gallup Generic Weekly Poll is right. It has the Dems & Repubs tied at 47 as to voting preference. Much better than last wks that had Repubs 10pts ahead. Maybe donations will do some good if we are even or the repubs are just a few pts. ahead as 2 other polls showed this morning.
acallidryas
I don’t know how much of a chance he has anymore, but I’d love to see some support for Tom Periello, VA-5. He got elected by the thinnest of margins in the wave in 2008 and replaced Virgil Goode, a truly vile human being who taught me the term “anchor babies” when he went on a rant about illegal immigrants destroying America way back in 2005, before it was even cool. For kicking Goode out of his seat, Periello will always have a special place in my heart.
Despite being in a leaning-red district in central Virginia, Periello has taken progressive stands. He voted for health care reform, and then went on a push to sell it in his district, instead of hoping no one noticed. Overall, he’s just been a strong, progressive voice in a district where most people would expect to see a Republican, or, at best, a Blue Dog. He’s started trailing in the polls, but he’s definitely worthy of support.
Martin
@cat48: Normally I’m not one to panic about generic polls, or polls this far out, but that 10 point gap was starting to worry me. Obama is steadily recovering in the polls, and if he can keep doing what he did yesterday, I think he’ll be net positive within a month, and I think that’ll help carry the generic ballot a bit.
Also, the old GOS folks are starting to fight back over there. It’s nice to see good old-fashioned GOTV activity again. Frankly, GOS is at its best when they focus directly on specific races and mobilizing voters. This 10,000 foot stuff is just infuriating.
TooManyJens
@Zam: It seems like I always forget how much I like volunteering on campaigns, and have to rediscover it every time.
fordpowers
How about patty murray and denny heck here in wa??
both have horrible/awful fashion sense – but I think that means they’re smart??
gogol's wife
@shortstop:
Are you sure about that? This is what I read on Colin McEnroe’s blog:
“Where the hell is Blumenthal’s money? One of the many reasons he was assumed, for more than a decade, to be the state’s most formidable candidate-in-waiting was the belief that he could raise money almost effortlessly. But his end of June FEC filing was unimpressive, putting him closer to Stanley Blumenthal than to Linda McMahon. Maybe a lot more money has arrived since then. Maybe.
It’s tough to win when you’re outspent 5:1. How about 10:1? 15:1?
The race isn’t just about mone,y but you can’t cede the field of TV commercials to your rival. He has to get to $10 million just to enjoy a tremendous but survivable disadvantage. McMahon will spend more than $50 million if the race is close and she thinks it’ll help.”
The consequences of McMahon winning are so dire!
Flugelhorn
Woo hoo! Nothing draws a crowd like people burning money!
Munira
@slag: I agree – Murray and Boxer. They’re both in tight races and could use the help.
Mnemosyne
@Flugelhorn:
Don’t you have some research to do on getting health insurance for your employees? Or are you still more interested in whining about how meeeaaaannnnn Obama is to you than in doing the work necessary to get health insurance for the people who work for you?
Bob Loblaw
@cat48:
I think last week’s Gallup was the outlier. There isn’t much difference between the Republican lead of two weeks ago (47-44) and where we are now. And that better jives with other tighter general polling results. It’s been pretty tight between the parties for over a year now. Neither one is particularly popular.
There isn’t much difference in preference among registered voting screens. There’s a hell of a lot of Republican momentum in likely voter screens. That makes the prescription rather obvious. And yet, at the moment, bleaker than some of the alternatives.
HippiePuncher
@acallidryas: Not just healthcare, also clean energy. Went on a big tour to some biofuel and biomass production sites in the 5th to trumpet the future of American energy. 21 town halls last August, I think 18 more this year; guy’s a workhorse, and a phenomenal human being to boot.
Anya
Tom Perriello of Virginia is a great investment. He stands for all the right things (not sure about the gun thing but I can overlook that).
Also, I agree with everyone that Blumenthal is not in danger so we should spend the money somewhere else.
phoebes-in-santa fe
Just a suggestion to go from all male and all white, take a look at Illinois-10, Mark Kirk’s old seat.
Dan Seals – a black guy – is doing a great job in his third try for the seat. The district – along Chicago northern suburbs – has been trending blue for a few elections now, but Kirk has always managed to hang on to his seat because he’s convinced the voters – falsely – that he was a “moderate Republican”. “Moderate”, my fat ass.
Anyway, look to put Dan Seals on your ActBlue page.
General Stuck
@cat48: Polls on mid terms before labor day is like reading Drudge’s Crystal Balls.
D-Chance.
Since this is evidently a very slow news day… is anyone getting creeped out by Sully’s Window View contests? In today’s results, he not only reveals the address and building name of the location, but also the floor plans and the names of individual occupants of said building. We’re all Big Brother now, and we’re onto you with millions of sets of eyes.
suzanne
I just got home from Harry Mitchell’s campaign headquarters. He’s in a tough spot, and the Coke brothers are funding some nasty attacks. Ann Kirkpatrick is in a tough fight, too. Help turn Arizona blue!
If you’re looking to help a gubernatorial candidate, Terry Goddard (running against Jan Brewer) could also use the help.
Munira
@slag: I agree – Murray and Boxer both need the support. And then the list won’t be so male.
SteveinSC
I can just imagine it now. The voter goes into the polls and says, “Let’s see, should I follow the polls and vote back in the gang of thieves and montebanks who fucked me raw for 8+ years and left this flaming pile? Should I throw out the Keystone Kops who are trying to fix this mess?” IQ test for the American public. I predict low teens to maybe 40.
Would you like to prove you are smarter than Joe “You Lie” Wilson? Easy. Donate at Rob Miller’s SC-02 Website, I know I did.
And by the way, fuck Rahm Emanuel AND Jake Tapper.
RalphW
@jhh: Polling is thin on Clark v. Batshit/Bachmann. But it’s something like 8 points for the nutjob at the moment. I’ve donated to Clark once, pre-primary, may again as I look at budget.
RalphW
Woohoo, looks like the ActBlue widget updated and my measly 12 cents were added! OK, maybe more than 12 cents…but I’m no Koch.
WaterGirl
@shortstop: Adding my support to the request for Alexi Giannoulias. I am starting to get nervous, and a republican senator replacing Obama in Illinois wouldn’t do any of us any good!
Linda Featheringill
@cat48:
What? Tied? I thought we were all supposed to commit suicide together because it was all too hopeless for words. And I have spent the day running all over town trying to find a fentanyl patch with pin pricks on the back [adhesive] side. You have no idea how difficult it is to find those things.
:-)
Awktalk
$50k? Wow, that is ambitious. Wouldn’t it make more sense to start realistically and then once you hit, say $10k, to bump it up?
Glad to see Feingold on the list.
Ben
@phoebes-in-santa fe:
I was going to bring this up. I’ve been working to get Dan elected since March of 2006 and this is looking like the year he’s going to finally get elected. He has the advantage in the polls, but the money race between him and his Republican opponent (who enjoyed Tea Party backing in the primary but has attempted to backtrack to the center for the general) is tight. He could use a few extra dollars, especially considering how expensive the Chicago media market is. No offense to Scott Harper, but this is the House race to invest in in Illinois.
For more info on Dan click here: http://www.dansealsforcongress.com/
shortstop
I think that had more to do with 1) the toxic miasma surrounding Blago and 2) the extreme, super-deluxe fuckedupness of Illinois’s current finances than with any generic dread of the party’s chances in November. Schakowsky also knows she probably can’t survive a statewide race due to downstaters being convinced she’s one of those urban Jooish communists, and her husband’s jail time wouldn’t be helpful, either. I will be very surprised if Madigan doesn’t run for guv down the line. It didn’t surprise me that she didn’t this time.
@gogol’s wife: Maybe–I just looked and Blumenthal’s polling about 10 points ahead. I’d thought it was more.
Salmonloaf
I would like to add Beth Krom (CA-48) into the mix. She’s has a shot at taking this from John Campbell, and money is the key to this race. For more info go to her website: http://www.bethkrom.com
Augie
Tom Periello – he is as liberal as a human being can possibly be in that district. Well worth our time and investment.
JAHILL10
@Linda Featheringill: Resist the mindf**k! Having once been a member of the MSM, I hate to attribute the level of bought-and-sold to rightwing interests level of conspiracy required for national polling agencies to be in on it too, but by god it seems sometimes the narrative drives the polling and not the other way around.
Nick at 538 has exposed too many of these supposedly respectable polling agencies as downright frauds I am starting to distrust their numbers as much as Republican numbers.
mclaren
Given your problems with a certain company, boy, I really hope these donations aren’t going into an account controlled by the Worst Company In the World.
water balloon
I’ll say it again. Tim Bishop is a very reliable liberal vote in a 50/50 district that doesn’t seem to be on any national list of endangered democrats but from what I see living here, he’s in a tough race against a guy (Altschuler) who will have more money than him. The only poll I’ve seen was from Firedoglake during the health care debate and it showed basically a tie.