The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
announced today that Don Cravins Jr. (LA-07) has been added to Emerging Races
because he is running a strong campaign that is generating excitement in his
district.
"In the short time that Don Cravins has been in the
race, he's put together a solid campaign and shown that he is committed to
making things easier for middle class families in Southwest
Louisiana," said DCCC Chairman Chris Van
Hollen.
Cravins is the 21st candidate named to the
DCCC's Emerging Races program. In each of these races, Democratic candidates
have generated excitement in their districts for their campaigns for change. As
these campaigns continue to develop and demonstrate increasing strength,
candidates will have an opportunity to qualify for the DCCC's Red to Blue
program.
In a little over 100 days, the coming elections will reshape the future of our democracy but only if we act now. Each of us has a personal responsibility to help advance Democratic campaigns that do justice to our exceptional candidates and to the unbelievably high stakes in this election.
If our candidates are successful, we will have leaders who will no longer trade in fear and failure...who will fight for real action on the climate crisis and achieve progress on health care and jobs.
If we want to deliver on the promise of these elections, we have to not only put Barack Obama in the White House but we must also win congressional victories that will strengthen our hand as we unite to drive change forward.
Our critical FEC deadline for July is just days away - Support the 100 Days of Action campaign now at www.dccc.org/100days1
The DCCC is working hand-in-hand with candidates and campaign managers in dozens of tough, hard-fought House races in every corner of the nation. The stakes are high.
* Nearly 30 GOP House members have decided to retire rather than try to defend their record of support for failures and incompetence of the Bush administration. Democrats running to convert those open seats are counting on you and the DCCC to pull them through to victory.
* In dozens of other districts, Democrats who won narrow victories in 2006 have been targeted for defeat by the GOP political machine. Those candidates need you and the DCCC to make sure they aren't overwhelmed by the "do anything, say anything" tactics of the Republican operatives.
* Republican groups and their "independent" supporters are planning to go after our candidates with over $300 million dollars in attack ads. But, with your help, the DCCC won't let a single Democratic candidate stand alone against unscrupulous attacks.
This critical FEC deadline is just days away - Support our 100 Days of Action campaign now at www.dccc.org/100days1
Don't let anyone weaken your resolve. Don't allow anybody to break your spirit.
Remember: There's a new world waiting at the other side of these elections.
Rhodes
Cook analyzes new voter registration data in the 29 states where party
affiliation is on record and finds that since 2004 the number of registered
Democrats has grown by nearly 700,000 while the total of registered Republicans
has fallen by nearly 1 million.
In addition, the "overall trend --
Democrats up, Republicans down -- is also mirrored in many of the states that
already have been identified as battlegrounds for 2008. And with only a
comparative handful of votes needed to swing key states such as Iowa and Nevada the Democrats' way, the latest
registration numbers can only fuel the party's considerable
optimism.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
announced today it was sponsoring Mobilize
for Change: A National Day of
Action on July 26, 2008 - marking 100 days until Election
Day. Mobilize for Change: A National Day of Action will boost House Democratic
campaigns' efforts to recruit additional volunteers to phone bank and canvass
congressional districts across the country. The House campaign that has the
most volunteers will win a fundraising email sent on their behalf to our 3
million person strong list.
"Mobilize for Change:
A National Day of Action
is an exciting way for campaigns to boost their volunteer base," said DCCC
Chairman Chris Van Hollen. "The DCCC
is committed to reaching voters across the country with our message of change
and has begun contacting voters earlier than ever before. By starting earlier,
Democrats are reaching voters that are not yet being fully bombarded by
political messages, which we know from our three special election wins is
critical to our success."
The scope and effectiveness of the DCCC's voter contact
program this cycle is unprecedented for House campaigns. The DCCC's 2008 voter
contact programs began in November 2007 and have already resulted in more than
two million voter contacts (door knocks and phone calls). The DCCC tested the
effectiveness and improved its enhanced voter contact programs with each of the
special elections Democrats won in IL-14, LA-06, and MS-01. The programs are on
track to do more than 13 million voter contacts for the cycle in more than 50
districts.
The winner of the Mobilize for Change: A National Day of Action contest will be announced
next week.
In today's Baltimore Sun, DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen outlines the opportunities and challenges we face in this historic election year:
"We obviously have a big challenge to defend 30 new
members while still going on offense. But the big story is that we are on
offense," he added. "We are confident that we will beat history - we will win
seats - but I don't want to put a
number on it."
One reason for his confidence is that Mr. Van Hollen and
his House colleagues have benefited from a spate or Republican retirements. The
GOP will be defending a whopping 29 open seats this November. Plus, the returns
from three special elections thus far this year - including one in the seat
formerly held by Ms. Pelosi's
predecessor, Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert - are encouraging. The Democrats
won all three.
[..]
"You've
seen a total reversal in the fortunes of the DCCC and the Republicans," said Mr.
Van Hollen, referring to the National Republican Congressional Committee, his
partisan counterpart headed by Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole. "A big part of that is a
result of new emphasis on grass-roots fundraising."
An escalating number of voters registering as Democrats is providing evidence that the 2008 election could produce a wave of support for Barack Obama - and trigger a decades-long shift of party allegiance that could affect elections for a generation.
The numbers are ominous for Republicans: Through May,Democratic voter registration in Broward County was up 6.7 percent. Republican registrations grew just 3 percent while independents rose 2.8 percent.
Democrats have posted even greater gains statewide, up 106,508 voters from January through May, compared with 16,686 for the Republicans.
"It's a huge swing," says Marian Johnson, political director for the Florida Chamber of Commerce. "I looked at that and said, 'Wow.'"
Democrats said Friday it's proof of what they have been seeing for months.
"Who would want to join a failed party? And that's what the Republican Party is today, a failed party," said U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D- Delray Beach, co-chairman of Obama's Florida campaign.
DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen delivered the Democratic Radio Address this morning.
Listen:
Transcript:
Good
morning. I'm Congressman Chris Van
Hollen from Maryland.
Whether
you're listening today while behind the wheel or in your home, there's no doubt
you're feeling pain every time you pull up to the pump. As you know all too
well, gas prices - which were less than a dollar fifty when President Bush took
office - are now more than four dollars a gallon.
This is no
accident. In the first days of his presidency, President Bush put Vice President
Cheney in charge of a secret Energy Task Force. They invited the top oil company
executives into the White House and told them to bring along their wish lists.
It's really
no surprise what happened next. With two oil men in the White House, gas prices
have nearly tripled, and oil company profits are up over 300
percent.
We're all
paying the price for these decisions - not only at the pump, but when we buy
groceries or when we drive or fly for business or to visit our families. And our
already-struggling economy is getting pummeled.
Americans
are fed up every time they go to fill up - and they're right to demand action.
But instead of a serious response, President Bush and his allies simply repeat
the same old line - more drilling.
Now let me
be clear: Democrats support more drilling. In fact, what the President hasn't
told you is that the oil companies are already sitting on 68 million acres of
federal lands with the potential to nearly double U.S. oil
production. That is why in the coming days congressional Democrats will vote on
‘Use It or Lose It' legislation requiring the Big Oil companies to develop these
resources - or lose their leases to someone else who
will.
But we know
that drilling by itself will not solve the problem of high gas prices. We cannot
drill our way to energy independence.
In fact,
the Bush Administration's own Energy Department concedes that drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge won't put a drop of new gas on the market for at
least 10 years - and it will only wind up saving American consumers about two
cents a gallon 20 years from now.
When
Americans are getting sticker shock every time they pull into the gas station,
we don't have 20 years to wait. We need action. Real action. Fortunately, there
is something we can do right now.
Earlier
this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
called on President Bush to immediately tap part of the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve in order to bring down runaway gas prices. This Reserve is the supply of
oil our country has put away for a rainy day. It has never been more full than
it is now. There are over 700 million gallons of oil there available for our
use.
And when it
comes to the harm that gas prices are having on our families and our economy,
America's rainy day is
now.
Presidents
have tapped this Reserve before. President Bush's father did it in the early
1990s. President Clinton did it. Even this President Bush did it after Hurricane
Katrina.
We've
tapped the Reserve for reasons of instability in the Middle
East or high energy prices here at home. And we're facing both these
challenges today - in addition to rampant speculation in our energy
markets.
If we
responsibly used just some of this American stockpile of oil, we could give
drivers quick and real relief at the pump.
But so far
President Bush has resisted our call. If he gave the go-ahead, new supplies
would make it onto the market in just 13 days. But the only answer we're getting
from him is, ‘No.'
Tapping
America's rainy day oil supply isn't
a long-term solution. We need to put in place a real energy policy - one that
frees us from dependence on foreign oil, uses American ingenuity and innovation
to power our country with new clean technologies, and creates hundreds of
thousands of new jobs while reducing climate
change.
But
Americans who are hurting now can't just wait for the long term. The pain is not
‘mental' and Americans are not ‘whiners' as Senator McCain's top economic
advisor Phil Gramm would have us believe. The pain is real, and we need
immediate relief.
A couple of
months ago, I saw something that made me shudder. President Bush traveled to
Saudi
Arabia to plead with their king to pump more
oil. And the Saudi king turned him down cold.
I don't
believe we should have an America that goes begging to other
countries. We have our own oil stockpile set aside for a time of need. The
President should free our oil now.
The Big Oil
companies and the energy speculators may not like the lower prices that would
result from using part of our rainy day supply, but I'm pretty sure you won't
mind.
This is
Chris Van Hollen from Maryland. Thanks for
listening.
"Our initial media buy is the first act of a many act
play. As we have been all cycle, the DCCC is focused, prepared, and organized.
Watch what we do over the next four months and our aggressive strategy to expand
the playing field and strengthen the Democratic Majority will become
clear."
DCCC Executive Director Brian Wolff sent along the following update to DCCC supporters:
Dear Friend,
There's just four months left before Election Day and thanks to you, Democratic candidates across the country have put their campaigns for change into high gear.
In district-after-district, voters are realizing the incredible stakes this year: more House Republicans eager to help John McCain continue the catastrophic Bush-Cheney status quo or Barack Obama and more change-minded Democrats ready to deliver a profound New Direction.
We are excited to give you, our most dedicated grassroots supporters, the next edition of @Stake, an update on our candidates and a collection of the latest breaking news of what's at stake in this big-change election.
House Democrats hire a President Bush impersonator in a new radio advertising campaign that seeks to link 13 incumbent Republicans to rising gas prices as the country heads into the Fourth of July holiday. [CNN Politicker, June 30, 2008]
Meet Our Candidates:
NY-13: Mike McMahon
We have a historic opportunity to turn New York City's last Republican Congressional seat Democratic and with a top tier recruit in Mike McMahon.
"Democratic City Councilman Michael McMahon plans to file what could be a record 11,000 petition signatures for his congressional bid this year, nearly eight times the number of signatures he needs to get on the fall ballot." [Staten Island Advance, July 8, 2008]
FL-25: Joe Garcia
In 2000, Joe Garcia became the Executive Director of the Cuban American National Foundation and a national figure for the cause of freedom in Cuba. He is challenging out-of-step Republican Mario Diaz-Balart.
"This election shows signs of being something of a reckoning for the Diaz-Balart brothers...'' [Miami Herald, 7/8/08]
NM-01: Martin Heinrich
As an Albuquerque City Councilman, Martin Heinrich won an increase in the minimum wage. Heinrich also has a strong record of working to protect New Mexico's environment and promoting energy efficiency.
"A new poll released by the Democrat seeking to succeed Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M) suggests the race will be one of the most competitive in the country. The poll shows Albuquerque city councilor Martin Heinrich holding a narrow 47 to 44 percent lead..." [Politico; July 9, 2008]
AZ-01: Ann Kirkpatrick
In the Arizona House of Representatives, Anne Kirkpatrick has been a strong advocate for fiscal responsibility, long-term economic growth in rural Arizona, and investments in education.
"The top fundraiser among the candidates, Ann Kirkpatrick, has campaigned and held state office before and is accumulating a long list endorsements." [Arizona Daily Sun, 6/08/08]
Stay tuned for future editions of @ Stake for the latest news and headlines from the campaign trail. Thank you again for driving our people-powered movement to change the direction of our country.
Republican Rerun Mike
Sodrel
Big Oil Special
Interests
Lobbying Group Arctic
Power
&
Appearances by Several B-List GOP Congressional Candidates
Republican Rerun Mike Sodrel and
several B-List congressional candidates announced recently they are embarking on
a mysterious big-oil backed "fact-finding mission" to the Arctic National
Wildlife Reserve (ANWR). This elaborate political stunt is being organized by
Arctic Power, a lobbying group with deep ties to oil and gas special interests
who have contributed over $70,000 to the ex-Congressman's political campaigns.
"The lengths Re-run Mike Sodrel
and these B-list candidates will go to advocate Big Oil's agenda knows no
bounds. Sodrel is even allowing lobbyists with close ties to oil companies to
chaperone him on a ‘fact-finding' crusade to ANWR - making this trip about as
serious as a professional wrestling match," said Doug
Thornell, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee. "Unfortunately, like Vice President Dick Cheney, Sodrel would rather
have his energy policy spoon fed to him by Big Oil special interests who have
been bankrolling his campaigns instead of standing up for consumers at the
pump."
In advance of the voyage, the DCCC has
prepared 5 questions for Sodrel to answer:
1) Where does Arctic Power receive all of their
funding from and do you intend to meet with opponents of ANWR
drilling?
2) What is the full itinerary and cost for the
Alaska trip and are you
using your personal or campaign funds to pay for
it?
3) Do you support the "Use It or Lose It"
legislation?
4) How much will drilling in ANWR reduce the price of
a gallon of gas in 2008? How about 2010? How about
2012?
5) How is your approach to reducing gas prices
different from President Bush's?
Background
Arctic
Power Lobbying Congress Since 1992. According to the Anchorage
Daily News, "Arctic Power has been working Congress since 1992, and has
spent most of its money lobbying to open ANWR. The coastal plain of the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge remains closed to oil exploration." [Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), Editorial,
4/23/08]
Exxon
Mobil Said Lobbying for ANWR was Done Through Arctic Power. According
to the Washington Post, "A spokesman for Exxon Mobil Corp., the
world's largest publicly traded oil
company, said its lobbying on the refuge is done through a group called Arctic
Power, of which the company is a member. Arctic Power says it has arranged for
native Alaskans who support drilling to meet with more than 100 lawmakers on the
issue." [Washington Post,
10/27/05]
Former
Representative Mike Sodrel receives strong financial support from the Oil and
Gas Industry. Sodrel has received $71,412 from the oil and gas
industry contributors. [OpenSecrets.org]
A
2004 study by the government's Energy
Information Administration (EIA) found that drilling in ANWR would trim the
price of gas by 3.5 cents a gallon by 2027. [Time, 6/18/08]
Mike
Sodrel's colleagues on this trip are often referred to as less than serious
candidates:
"The list of freshmen who appear to have
scared off serious opponents includes Reps. Zack Space (D-Ohio), Brad Ellsworth
(D-Ind.) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), all of whom represent heavily Republican
districts. That could mean a pass in what history suggests is often the toughest
re-election race for a House member: the first." [Chicago Tribune, 3-14-08]
"In the House, Republicans have largely
failed to recruit credible candidates for the swing-district seat of retiring
Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) or to challenge several Democratic freshmen who took
GOP seats in 2006. They include Zack Space of Ohio, Joe Courtney of Connecticut, Chris Carney and Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania, John Hall
of New York, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heath Shuler of North Carolina."
[Washington
Post, 3/16/08]
"In the race for South Dakota's lone House seat, only one Republican filed to run
against Democratic Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin,: Businessman Chris Lien is
not considered a serious threat for Herseth Sandlin, whose popularity and strong
name identification make her a near sure bet for a third full term. CQ Politics
rates the race as Safe Democrat." [CQ, 3/26/08]
This week, Senator John McCain called Social Security 'an absolute disgrace.' Social Security is a safety net that more than 42
million seniors and Americans with disabilities earned by working hard. With the
cost of gas and groceries skyrocketing and the DOW plunging, do Republicans in Congress agree with Senator McCain that Social Security is 'an absolute
disgrace?'
DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen released
the following statement last night in response to Senator McCain's comments:
"Senator John McCain's disgraceful comments illustrate
just how out of touch he is with the values and priorities of the American
people. Social Security is a guaranteed safety net for more than 42 million
seniors and disabled Americans who can't afford to gamble their retirement on
the Social Security privatization schemes being pushed by President Bush,
Senator McCain, and House Republicans. Americans need to look no further than
the stock market's 200 point drop today to be reminded the Republicans' Social
Security privatization scheme is the wrong direction. Not long ago, Senator
McCain admitted he did not know much about the economy. Now he has demonstrated
he knows little about the system that has protected American seniors since the
days of President Franklin Roosevelt. Democrats will continue fighting against any and all
Republican efforts to privatize Social Security."
Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent the following message to DCCC supporters:
Dear Friend,
Let there be no doubt how united for change Democrats are this year. Thanks to you, we shattered our second quarter fundraising goal by raising an astounding $5 million in matching grassroots donations.
On behalf of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, I can't thank you enough for generously contributing to our United for Change campaign. You proved once again that the Republicans' special interests are no match for the combined strength of tens of thousands of grassroots Democrats who are committed to fighting for change.
Next month, I will have the honor of serving as Chair of our history-making Democratic National Convention in Denver, where we will officially make Senator Barack Obama our nominee for President. I'm pleased to announce that Stacy Fredricksen from Menlo Park, CA and Scott Sands from Seattle, WA have won our 100 Days Till Denver Convention Contest and will join us for our convention.
Your support is going to work right away. Thanks to you, we were able to run radio ads against some of the President's strongest Republican allies in Congress. Our ads, which ran during the July 4th district work period, featured a George Bush impersonator, "thanking" Republicans in the "Grand Oil Party" for helping to protect the status quo of high gas prices and record profits for Big Oil companies.
With your continued support, we will celebrate Barack Obama's victory in November and a larger Democratic Majority in Congress next year to create the profound and lasting change that our country needs.
House
Editor David Wasserman releases the latest batch of race rating changes. While
it's not likely that a majority of the races moved from "Solid" to "Likely"
Republican will become competitive by November, the poor national climate for
the GOP and the DCCC's unprecedented financial edge makes even very difficult
districts for Democrats worth keeping tabs on. And be sure to look for
district-by-district updates in this month's competitive race
rundowns.
AL-03
Mike Rogers Solid Republican to Likely Republican
CA-46 Dana
Rohrabacher Solid Republican to Likely Republican
FL-08 Ric Keller
Likely Republican to Lean Republican
FL-09 Gus Bilirakis Solid
Republican to Likely Republican
FL-18 Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Solid
Republican to Likely Republican
FL-21 Lincoln Diaz-Balart Likely Republican to
Lean Republican
ID-01 Bill Sali Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
IN-03 Mark Souder Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
IA-04 Tom Latham Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
KY-02 OPEN (Lewis) Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
MN-02 John Kline Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
NE-02 Lee Terry Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
NV-02 Dean Heller Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
NJ-05 Scott Garrett Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
NY-13 OPEN (Fossella) Toss Up to Lean Democratic
NY-25
OPEN (Walsh) Toss Up to Lean Democratic
NC-10 Patrick McHenry Solid
Republican to Likely Republican
OH-07 OPEN (Hobson) Solid Republican to
Likely Republican
PA-03 Phil English Likely Republican to Lean
Republican
PA-05 OPEN (Peterson) Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
PA-11 Paul Kanjorksi Likely Democratic to Lean
Democratic
PA-15 Charlie Dent Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
TX-07 John Culberson Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
TX-10 Michael McCaul Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
VA-05 Virgil Goode Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
VA-10 Frank Wolf Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
WV-02 Shelley Moore Capito Likely Republican to Lean
Republican
WY-AL OPEN (Cubin) Solid Republican to Likely
Republican
Paul Begala sent the following message to DCCC supporters.
Dear Friend,
Apparently, it didn't take long for the "Grand Oil Party" to come unglued. After I called their fat-cat funders a bunch of dirtbags in my email to you on Sunday, they started squealing like a pig stuck under a gate.
House Republicans are crying so hard over my "dirtbag" comment, you'd think they just found out they were forced to spend the Fourth of July quail-hunting with Dick Cheney.
So I want to take a minute to do something I don't do often enough: apologize. I am very sorry for calling those fat-cat plutocrat Republicans "dirtbags." Doing so was grossly unfair. To bags of dirt. After all, dirt is good. Things grow from the dirt. I myself raise tomatoes and corn and pumpkins, jalapenos and cucumbers and lettuce - all from the good earth.
No, it was too kind, too generous to call them dirtbags. Probably better to call them oilbags or toxic-waste-bags or chemical-pollutant-bags. So I'm sorry.
Still, even though I used such a comparatively flattering term, the Republican whine machine was in full whimper. Yesterday, before their alligator tears even dried from crying about me calling them out, they mobilized their favorite shadowy attack squad, the Karl Rove-backed Freedom's Watch.
They are launching vicious attack ads against 16 Democrats starting today. We can't thank you enough for generously standing with us before and we wouldn't ask if it weren't so critical we fight back - but we need your help again.
Of course the Republican hypocrites are launching their attacks today. Between my comment about their 'dirtbag' funders and my good friends at the DCCC hiring a 'W' impersonator to record radio ads that exposed their friends' support for Big Oil in Congress, we've clearly gotten under their skin. As we say back home in Texas, "a hit dog barks."
They don't know how to handle a Democratic Party that is ready, willing, and able to hit back when the right-wing slime machine kicks into gear. This is exactly how we're going to win this year - but we need your help to keep it up.
The days of Democrats quietly enduring Republican smears are over - as are the days of Republicans living by a double standard. The Bush Republicans questioned the courage of a war hero like former Senator Max Cleland. They besmirched the war heroism of John Kerry. They spend years smearing Bill Clinton, savaging Hillary Rodham Clinton, and viciously attacking Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid. Now they're attacking Barack and Michelle Obama. But the second I call their fat-cat funders "dirtbags," they turn into a bunch of blubbering cry babies.
This year, let's dry the crybabies' tears and celebrate Independence Day by giving Barack Obama the bigger, stronger Democratic Majority he'll need to declare our independence once and for all from the failed Bush-Cheney-Grand Oil Party policies for America.
Amid the heated
debate over whether to open more U .S. territory for energy exploration, a handful
of congressional Republicans continue to repeat a "fact" that was disproven weeks ago -- that
China is drilling for oil
just off the coast of Florida.
Not surprisingly, these Republicans have taken their cue on this urban legend from none other than Dick Cheney:
The idea that such drilling was occurring
gained big media attention when Vice President Cheney said in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce that "oil is being drilled right now 60 miles off the coast of
Florida. But
we're not doing it, the Chinese are,
in cooperation with the Cuban government. Even the communists have figured out
that a good answer to high prices is more supply."
Cheney cited as a
source a June 5 column by George F. Will, and several other
Republicans had repeated the charge by the time Cheney said it. But Will has
since corrected his original assertion,
saying: "While Cuba has
partnered with Chinese companies to drill in the Florida Straits, no Chinese
company has been involved in Cuba's
oil exploration that close to the United States." Cheney's office has
also acknowledged it wasn't true.
But the idea that
communist China and
Cuba have teamed up to drill
oil just off Florida while the U.S.
sits out the game has proven to be just too juicy not to repeat.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
announced today that Don Cravins Jr. (LA-07) has been added to Emerging Races
because he is running a strong campaign that is generating excitement in his
district.
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