Close Race in Ohio: The Republican Party is Scared and Going into Debt
There are two special Congressional elections coming up Dec. 11th. Both are seats that once were considered perfectly safe Republican, but suddenly are competitive. I'm telling you, there are fewer and fewer "safe Republican" Congressional disticts. I already brought up the race for VA-1 along with ways you can help. In that race, Philip Forgit, an Iraq War vet is running as a Democrat and needs our help. That race is a good one for those who recognize the slow but certain trend turning Virginia Blue. This trend started in 2005 and has progressed year by year. This trend, coupled with Bush's abyssmal approval ratings and a deepening Iraq quagmire, is what has made VA-1 no longer safe for Republicans.
That said, VA-1 remains a long shot. NOT impossible, but a long shot. Never forget that we WON many long shots in 2006 and we could wake up Dec. 12th with VA-1 flipped to blue. But the race that is more winnable is OH-5 where Robin Weirauch is running for an unexpected open seat. To quote from Daliy Kos:
By now you probably know that there is a special election in OH-05 in less than a week. This is not a race anyone expected a Democrat to be competitive in, but the NRCC is clearly running scared - they've dumped more than 10% of their money in, using it to fearmonger on immigration.
Progressive, economic populist, Blue Majority candidate Robin Weirauch has a shot here. The DCCC is helping her with an ad buy. The AFL-CIO, the SEIU, and EMILY's List have her back. House Democratic leadership has contributed heavily to her campaign. Wes Clark is raising money for her. Ted Strickland, Sherrod Brown, and Tim Ryan are campaigning for her.
And tomorrow is the last day your contribution can help. After tomorrow, there won't be time for contributions to be put into GOTV efforts or advertising. If you're going to give, do it now. Help push Robin Weirauch over the top.
If you can, PLEASE DONATE! Now. The DCCC put a good sum of money into it, over $100,000. This scared the Republicans so much that they have actually gone into debt countering it with a huge ad-buy of nearly $300,000. This means we are draining their resources for 2008 already. Let me repeat, the Democrats have MORE MONEY than the Republicans right now and we are forcing them to go into debt to defend a previously safe seat. This is phenomenal. And we have a shot of winning.
Even more important than money, you can give your time. If you in Ohio, PLEASE join the phonebanking and canvassing efforts. To do so, email here:
For canvassing and phonebanking in Ohio, email WeirauchGOTV@ohiodems.org.
If you live outside Ohio, you can still help with phonebanking. This kind of virtual phonebanking really helped a lot for close races all over the country. You can be part of history by phonebanking for a really good candidate in OH-5. If you can help, please email here: phonebank4robin@gmail.com
Wherever you live, you can make a difference. To quote Jim Dean, head of Democarcy for America, it's time for us to take ownership of the political process. This race and these virtual phonebanks are the way to do it. And we can bankrupt the Republicans in the process!
The past is prologue
What do Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1), John Yarmuth (KY-3) and Gerald McNerney (CA-11) have in common? They were all Democrats who challenged incumbent Republicans in supposedly safe red districts -- and won.
Of course, that was in the middle of a blue tsunami, and perhaps the Republicans were caught with their pants down (pun intended). But the fact that the RNCC feels obligated to spend a fortune in a single race for a supposedly safe seat reminds me of Craig Johnson's victory in the state Senate special election last February.
I can't honestly recommend sending money to the DCCC (Chris van Hollen may be the theoretical head of the DCCC, but Rahm Emanuel is still calling the shots, and he's still a wuss), but you can donate directly to the campaigns:
Philip Forgit in Virginia
Robin Weirauch in Ohio
Yep
I actually don't donate to DCCC these days...or DSCC. But I do donate to candidates and MoveOn.org, etc. But what else do those races you mention have in common? All were the focus of intense phonebanking by grassroots progressives from all over the nation. That is part of how we won. So if you can't donate, please contact the campaigns or the email addresses I give to help phone bank. YOU can PERSONALLY make the Republicans spend even more money. So far they have spent nearly $400,000 they don't even have on these two races. Your phonebanking can force them to spend more.