Blue Catablog

We want to help, but have limited funds – which campaigns would benefit most from smaller, last-minute contributions? Focusing on House races, where contributions will have a greater impact at this point, I am looking for races that: 1) Are potentially competitive, maybe surprises at this late point in the campaign season; 2) Are not getting the support they need from the national party; 3) Are the districts in media markets where a little more money will mean the candidates will be better able to get their message out;

The 8 races I have come up with:

1) Victoria Wulsin (OH-2): One would think that after Mean Jean Schmidt’s misguided tirade against Jack Murtha last Fall, this seat would have been a DCCC target, but when Paul Hackett didn’t run for this seat, the national party lost its interest. While this race shares the media market with the Cranley-Chabot race (OH-1), and the DCCC has supported Cranley from the beginning, they have not done much for Dr. Wulsin. She has a great ad that she is trying to air as much as possible and polls show her within striking distance. The leaked RNC memo that Chris Bowers posted early this week has the GOP believing this race is a toss-up.

2) Larry Grant (ID-1): All Larry has to do is to show the statements of Republican elected officials about his opponent, Bill Sali, to make this race competitive in a very Red state. But as a bonus, Larry has a great resume and is running a well-balanced, thoughtful campaign. Republicans for Grant has become an essential part of the campaign. The last poll I saw had Grant ahead but over 60% undecided, but the GOP must be nervous as they are pouring hundreds of thousands into a seat that should normally be a sure-thing.

3) Eric Massa (NY-29): Eric wiped the floor with Randy Kuhl in a series of debates over the past 3 weeks. His integrity, energy and engaging personality shine through when you meet Eric, and his experience in the Navy and with Wesley Clark in Europe for NATO is well-suited for these times. This district used to be represented by the moderate Republican Amo Houghton until he retired two years ago, but Randy Kuhl is no moderate. If he gets the support, Eric should be able to ride the NY Democratic wave into office.

4) Tessa Hafen (NV-3): Going up against incumbent Jon Porter is no easy task, but Tessa Hafen has made a race of it. The latest poll has Hafen down just 2 points, 43-41, and Charlie Cook now rates the seat a toss-up. This former Harry Reid aide is running a smart campaign, and despite the fact that Porter has called her a “carpet-bagger,” Tessa is a 3rd generation Nevadan. The district is large, including Reno and Carson City. But many of the media markets in this wide swath are small and cheap, meaning every contribution to her will have an impact.

5) Lois Herr (PA-16): This one is way off the map in that it isn’t even on Charlie Cook’s list of competitive seats as most of the attention in Pennsylvania has gone to the Philly-area seats in a very expensive media market. But, incumbent Joe Pitts is a terrible campaigner, and Lois Herr, having already run in 2004, has name recognition. She also wiped the floor with Pitts in their debates. Plus there is the fact that this is one of the cheapest media markets on the East Coast, with one major television station and an ad on Oprah costing just a couple hundred bucks. This is definitely a case of where a little money will go a long way.

6) Ellen Simon (AZ-01): Representative Rick Renzi has just made news this week with reports of legal investigations into some of his land deals. But what may not be as well known is that Ellen Simon has been running a competitive campaign even before Renzi’s questionable dealings became news. The Majority Watch poll had her up 50%-46% earlier this month. This is also a district similar to the NV-1 seat in that it is large and generally cheap in terms of media buys. Helping Ellen drive her campaign home would definitely be a wise investment at this point.

7) Tim Walz (MN-1): This Army National Guard veteran and High School coach and teacher just got the endorsement of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune over incumbent Gil Gutknecht, who the paper had endorsed two years ago. In a seat that also was thought to be safe GOP. Tim has accomplished all this by raising under $1 million, so you know that his campaign uses its funds wisely.

8) Peter Goldmark (WA-5): With Larry Grant’s surprise race bordering this district’s eastern border, and Darcy Burner’s insurgent campaign on its western border, there appear to be effects on this district. Peter, a molecular biologist who has specialized in agricultural research, has seen his fortunes rise, resulting in RNC expenditures for Freshman incumbent Cathy McMorris. This is a huge district taking up Spokane and most of Western Washington. Peter was down just 8 points, 45% to 38% in a poll early in October. Again, a cheap district to play in for a smart, thoughtful candidate.

So those are my suggestions as to where your money would go furthest in the last 2 weeks of campaign season.

What are your thoughts? Do you ahev any suggestions?

Back in 2003 Natalie Maines, the lead singer for the Dixie Chicks made an off the cuff remark during a London concert on the eve of the Iraq War -- “Just so you know, we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.” That remark was then picked up by web sites and then the news media and led to a national press frenzy, boycotts of their music on country radio stations, protests, and in one instance a death threat.

Now Barbara Kopple, famed documentary film maker, has used behind the scenes footage from the Chicks tour in 2003 and from film she took while the chicks were working on their latest album in 2005 and 2006. The Center for American Progress held a screening of the film, Shut Up and Sing, Wednesday night in Washington and the film is more powerful as you see these musicians grow from thinking the issue at hand is merely a PR problem, to defiant patriots uncompromising in their views.

The film goes back and forth between the events of 2003 and the 2005 recording sessions for their recent release. When you first see the Chicks learning about the outrage by certain right-wing groups and country stations, they react as though they just need to put out the proper publicity statement, but as the outcry continues and country radio stations stop playing their songs, the Chicks become more strident and defiant, determining that they would rather stand by their principles than compromise just to sell more CDs and concert tickets.

The star of the film is obviously Maines, who is the one who made the controversial remarks. The other two Chicks, sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, are supportive of Natalie and believe in her rights, but it is Maines who, at every turn, wants to make sure that they do what they believe in, and not sell-out in any way. As the film moves along you see her develop into a real patriot – believing her rights to say and believe what she wants is part of being an American.

There are many parts of the film that are amusing, but the rivalry with Toby Keith (Some uber-Republican country singer that I don’t know since it isn’t my genre of music) is extremely amusing. Keith wrote some song attacking the Chicks and had a video during his concerts that compared Natalie with Saddam. Natalie laughs it off, using his own tactics against him. At one point she dons a T-Shirt with “F.U.T.K” on it, and while fans start mimicking her shirt, protesters wear “F.U.D.C” shirts – to which Natalie remarks, “I wanna tell em nice shirts, but what do you have against Dick Cheney?”

Maines’ principled intelligence and determination to stick to her beliefs is what shines through most in the film. By the end you see how the three musicians feel more free than they did before, deciding that now they can write what they want and say what they want as nothing worse can happen to them. By viewing their recent recording sessions we see how they are using what they have learned in their music and in their attitudes. As one panelist, “Mudcat” Saunders said after the film, we see real patriots being formed in this movie.
I am not a country music fan, but the music in the film, both in performance and on the soundtrack is moving and wonderful to listen to. I am definitely going to pick up their latest album.

Release dates according to the Director are: Oct 27th for NY and LA, Nov. 17th for major cities, and a roll out for smaller cities after that. Not only do I recommend the film, but it is one of those rare films that when you leave the theater, you feel proud to be an American for the right reasons.