Well, doesn't this just give you a global warm and fuzzy feeling (subscription required):

Moderate House Democrats -- even freshmen with little obvious influence -- have seen a surge of campaign contributions from the energy industry, whose giving patterns have long favored Republicans.

Data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics show the overall industry and individual energy companies giving a larger percentage now to Democrats than they have in a decade. Though powerful committee chairman are seeing a major share of those new industry dollars, a large portion is also flowing to rank-and-file lawmakers who have agreed with the industry on some key issues.

...[T]here is no denying the importance of moderate Democrats. They have already left their marks on pivotal debates, forcing party leaders to scale back legislative proposals on the renewable electricity standard, fuel economy and oil leasing.

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Last year, Blue Dog PAC -- which distributes money to group members and other moderate candidates -- received $96,000 from electric utilities, oil-and-gas companies and energy industry groups, according to Federal Election Commission figures.

The energy companies love them some Bush Dogs, and now they're trying to buy the frosh too. Yeah, that's exactly what we need as emissions near the point of no return: More co-opted, corporate Democrats sabotaging progressive legislation. Oh, if only there were some way to send a message to the Bush Dogs, give them a good scare, maybe even replace some of them. If only...

From Blue to Bluer seeks to first identify, and then help elect, progressive, grassroots candidates who are running in competitive Democratic primaries in blue districts around the country. The primaries can either be for open seats or against incumbents who are either too conservative for their districts, or who are simply corrupt, or both. The goal is to find a handful of proudly progressive primary candidates for local and state legislative races, and then provide them with the national support they need to help put them over the top. Through this program, we can show Democrats across the country that that a fifty-state strategy means blue districts too, and that all Democrats, no matter how local, can be held accountable for not representing their districts or for selling out progressive ideals.

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The first step in this campaign is finding the right candidates to support, and that's where you come in. If you have a suggestion for a local or state-level candidate for us to support, please fill out the form below and email it to natasha[dot]the[at]gmail.com:

From Blue To Bluer Submission Form

Please send your emails as word documents with the subject line “From Blue To Bluer.”

If you know of anyone who would make a great progressive candidate in a blue Bush Dog district, please do send their name in. Replacing Bush Dogs with progressives (or scaring Bush Dogs into acting more progressive) is every bit as important as replacing Republicans with Democrats. Maybe even more so, as these unreliable Democrats make the whole party look stupid and weak, and they feed the vote-chilling argument that Democrats and Republicans are all the same, which makes it harder to elect Democrats of any kind.

But what makes someone a great progressive candidate, aside from just being progressive? How do you spot the next Donna Edwards or Darcy Burner? Oh, if only there were a community of smart, passionate progressives who could answer that question. If only...

(h/t The Cunctator)