Thank you, Tom! I’m thrilled that Mary Bono is on this list, and thanks FDL for the link to Sherry Greenburg’s post at CA Majority Report.

If the media playing field is leveled, Bono is out in 2008. We still fall behind in registration, but voter registration and precinct organizing is our main agenda for 2007 at Democrats of the Desert.

AND Howie Klein graciously agreed to talk netroots to our club here in the Palm Springs area on May 16th. The CA-45 is definitely in play.

Last cycle MoveOn picked some races that everybody else ignored. A bunch of those places went Democratic. I think CA-45 is one of those with a strong candidate. Palm Spring is a cheap media market and the district is about 50-50 Dem-GOP in a presidential election year. This one is up for grabs in my book. In this case the targeting was legislative–Bono had said some things we thought made her a potential flip-flopper. Sure enough, she said some critical things when the ads landed.

1,496 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND..

Citizen Matazzi:

I repeat my question above…has anyone at “Move On” discussed the idea of gettin’ to Richardson about announcin’ for the senate. This would begin ta clear the field for a consolidated anti-Clinton movement and seal up New Mexico for a Democratic pick-up. I think if Richardson announced ol’ demon Dominici would get his butt outta the race in a hurry.

KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION…DON’T TAKE ANY SHIT FROM ANY OF ‘EM!!

Last I checked he is running for president. Not my place to speak for folks as to whether he should switch. I’ll say we could sure use somebody with Richardson’s position on Iraq in the Senate. (every single troop out by end of 2007)

I also think Domenici could be beaten easier than people think.

http://www.alternet.org/stories/49935/?page=2

Bob Schacht @
141

selise @
124

Tom Matzzie @ 102

Hey folks, I have to run to a few meetings but I’ll keep checking back and responding to comments.

tom,

i have to go soon too, but will check back later in case you get a chance to respond.

there’s something i hope you can clear up for me… it’s about the push poll moveon did just before the house vote on H.R.1591… i was so upset about that (and how it might have been used to whip anti-war representatives), that i, with great sadness and after many years, cancelled my moveon membership.

here’s a bit of background – link.

while there’s several things i didn’t like about it, in the final analysis it was the push-poll that went to far for me. i don’t think it was necessarily intentional… but whatever the intention, i really need to know that in the future moveon will be much more careful in designing polls to measure (and not influence) members views (including letting us know what you intend to do with the results).

if you can reassure me on this point, then i can go sign up with moveon again (which i would like to be able to do – if i can feel ok about it).

i was a little unsure about bringing this issue up here (i don’t want to distract from the topic at hand – which is why i waited until the end)… but, after talking with my moveon district person this weekend (at a local city council campaign planning event) i thought it was worth it to ask. i don’t know if there are other people interested in this issue… if you think not, and would like to respond off-line, my email is at speakeasy dot net.

thanks being here today and thanks for considering my concern.

Just in case Tom comes back, I’m interested in his response to this, too. I was upset by this tactic, which seemed manipulative.

Bob in HI

Let me nominate Adam Putnam R-FL, for the list. This guy is trying to take over the DeLay wing of the R’s, and needs to be defeated.

There are 2 GOP reps who are so obnoxious I think it might be just fine to leave them in Congress. One is Adam Putnam and the other is Patrick McHenry. They kinda remind me of the really annoying kid who wanted to be on Student Council in High School more than anything else.

How about putting Lamar Alexander on that list. I haven’t seen him do a darn thing since he’s been my senator except rubber stamp and………

I think Lamar Alexander is looking for the country club bar in the Senate. He might as well be a potted plant he has been so quiet.

Tom Matzzie @ 102

Hey folks, I have to run to a few meetings but I’ll keep checking back and responding to comments.

tom,

i have to go soon too, but will check back later in case you get a chance to respond.

there’s something i hope you can clear up for me… it’s about the push poll moveon did just before the house vote on H.R.1591… i was so upset about that (and how it might have been used to whip anti-war representatives), that i, with great sadness and after many years, cancelled my moveon membership.

here’s a bit of background – link.

while there’s several things i didn’t like about it, in the final analysis it was the push-poll that went to far for me. i don’t think it was necessarily intentional… but whatever the intention, i really need to know that in the future moveon will be much more careful in designing polls to measure (and not influence) members views (including letting us know what you intend to do with the results).

if you can reassure me on this point, then i can go sign up with moveon again (which i would like to be able to do – if i can feel ok about it).

i was a little unsure about bringing this issue up here (i don’t want to distract from the topic at hand – which is why i waited until the end)… but, after talking with my moveon district person this weekend (at a local city council campaign planning event) i thought it was worth it to ask. i don’t know if there are other people interested in this issue… if you think not, and would like to respond off-line, my email is at speakeasy dot net.

thanks being here today and thanks for considering my concern.

I hear your concerns. I think the best way to respond would be to encourage you to read a Q&A with Wes Boyd and Joan Blades our founders on Alternet.
http://www.alternet.org/stories/49935/

Tom Matzzie @
85

Solai @ 80

Bill Maher once suggested that we follow Great Britain and ban TV ads. This would dramatically decrease the amount of money needed for a campaign. Thoughts?

I hadn’t thought about it much before. What are your thoughts? I will say that the first thing we need is public financing of elections. Period.

That’s one of the great things about MoveOn, Tom. You guys are very responsive to what your membership thinks and never allow yourselves to get isolated in some hermetically sealed beltway petri dish. You really are a model for how other interest groups should function — but don’t.

Thanks Jane. It is a constant process and for those of us on staff almost a vocation to be facilitators for members.

Any chance that Elizabeth Dole, my NC MIA Senator, or her accomplice Richard Burr will be put on your list of targets?

ooh, pick me! pick me!

your Senator is toast! her own party has blamed her for November – she wont be back, one way or another

I think that Elizabeth Dole is very weak as a candidate and very vulnerable. North Carolina has changed a lot and has a strong populist streak that can swing things either way.

Thx to FDL for having moveon and Tom on today. As a resident of the state of Louisiana, I am awash in a sea of red theocracy. I am very concerned about the ability to keep Senator Mary Landreiu in our next election cycle. Our state is now 7 of 9 R in Congress and Vitter is our other US Senator (Bush sycophant). Any suggestions?

In the timeless words of Mother Jones, “Don’t Mourn, Organize.”

In both cases she made particularly outlandish claims about her position that were at odds with how she actually voted. She continually tries to bolster her moderate reputation (one popular in this area) while still providing strong partisan GOP cover whenever required.

[ All of this is documented in more detail at West Virginia Blue - http://www.wvablue.com/ ].

A final reason why WV-02 is a good investment this cycle: it looks increasingly likely we’ll have a strong challenger (State Sen. John Unger).