Unnoticed by the chattering classes, the playing field for the 2008 battle over the State Senate is taking shape. The DSCC already has field teams on the ground in Long Island, softening up various incumbents; now, Jimmy Dahroug, running for Senate in the Third District, just released some truly remarkable fundraising numbers.
Dahroug:
I'm writing today to thank you for your support, enthusiasm, and kind words in the early months of our campaign. Also, I wanted to share some great news.
With your help, we've collected over $40,000 in receipts for our first filing! We did this in less than 8 weeks! Imagine what we can do by January.
This is a truly remarkable feat, but we haven't done it alone. The outpouring of support we've received - both financial and otherwise - sends a strong message that the people of Suffolk County are ready for a change.
When I first said that I was taking on a 30-year incumbent, there were plenty of folks who said it simply couldn't be done. They said there was no way that the son of a bus driver from Long Island could compete with the wealthy elite who've dominated New York politics for so long.
The cut'n'paste lamestream media coverage of the Spitzer-Bruno fight is obscuring one central political truth in New York today: the future of the reform effort in New York hinges on whether the Democrats can take the State Senate. The hunger for reform among our citizenry is clear; that's what got Eliot elected by the margin he had. Now, the old truism about the role of the State Senate - "where good legislation goes to die" - is being proved true again, every day, in spades.
The fight for the Senate, in short, is not one option of many that Democrats can pick and choose from. This is a must-win battle; and if the stakes are high for us, they're higher for the other side. Once the Senate falls, there will be no more significant republican presence in this state. Jimmy Dahroug - described by Finance Director Daniel Kadin, chucklingly, as a "fundraising machine" - will be a key player in that effort.
