Causing Progress

Two candidates for the US House of Representatives need your support:

In the 1st District in New Mexico, which includes Albuquerque, the state’s Attorney General, Patricia Madrid, campaigns against a long-term Christian-Republican incumbent. The incumbent has collected the fourth highest cash total from Tom DeLay’s ARMPAC campaign money-laundering operation. Because Madrid has a high profile in the state and this district went for Kerry in 2004, Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball considers this election a toss-up.

In the Arizona 8th district, including Tucson, State Senator Gabrielle Giffords is running for the Democratic Congressional nomination. Robert Reich mentioned her in his blog, so I made a campaign contribution. Sabato also rates this as a toss-up. Attacks by rightist Christian-Republicans on the remaining “moderates” in the party may sufficiently damage the party organization that it might not conduct a strong campaign in November. (As an indicator of the corruption in the Christian-Republican party, the right-wing candidate recently fired his campaign manager when reporters discovered the campaign manager’s conviction for sexually abusing teenage girls.)

The national Christian-Republican machine will pour money and negative attacks into both of these campaigns. Madrid’s district includes many Hispanic voters, so the attacks may not focus on anti-immigrant race-baiting. Arizona’s 8th district includes about 1/3 of Arizona’s border with Mexico. The rightists’ candidate, a former golf pro, already uses immigration/race as his wedge issue.

So, before you log off, please take a few minutes to contribute to Giffords and Madrid.

A few years ago MoveOn.org published 50 Ways to Love Your Country. 50 Ways consisted of brief first-person accounts by progressive activists about how each became an activist. Each ‘way’ also included a few, brief MoveOn Tips of guidance. Recently, the less high-profile Earth*Works Action Network released 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Fight the Right. This is the latest in their 50 Simple Things book series. Between Ways and Things, I recommend 50 Simple Things. What it lacks in inspirational witness, it makes up for with some Background, several Things You Can Do, and lists of Resources for each ‘thing.’

Despite the title, the book does not simply focus on opposition to the rightist movement. It provides ideas about positive activities for progressives and liberals to address political, social and economic issues.

The suggested Things You Can Do are grouped under three headings; Simple Steps, It Takes an Effort, and For the Committed. These headings give the reader some sense of the level of commitment, in time and resources, that may be necessary to successfully complete an activity.

Each of the fifty activities usually begins with a fact or quotation, a Background section, some general information, Simple Things You Can Do, and a Resources section. If your attention wanders at the description of familiar ‘things-to-do,’ the authors provide red-meat quotations from some of the nastiest rightists; James Dobson, Ann Coulter, and Tom DeLay.

Thus instructed and inspired, I got involved in ‘thing-to-do’ #32, Volunteer for a campaign. So, Saturday I spent two hours waving a laser wand across call sheets to digitize the results of campaign phone banking earlier in the week

For ten bucks 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Fight the Right provides motivation and activities worthy of your time and energy. Buy it today…and do something new tomorrow.

Santa Fe Planning Commission: Group booed after hearing delayed

This article and the comments on it from the Santa Fe New Mexican sound all too familiar to those of us engaged at the local level on issues related to the environment (particularly related to our pertroleum-dependent economy and communities) and economic or social diversity.

The American Dream of a detached house with a multi-car garage and surrrounded by heavily-watered lawns didn’t make much sense fifty years ago, and makes even less sense today with oil at $75 per barrel. But, those who still believe in preserving their slice of the Dream still fight for an unsustainable lifestyle. Although some may trivialize these folks as having a NIMBY or drawbridge mentality, we should look closely at their very fundamental conservative ideology and activism.

• A deep denial of the unsustainability of the suburban lifestyle and of the environmental damage it causes.
• A clear rejection of economic diversity within a city, even if only in the limited form of “affordable housing.”
• A dismissive Fox News or AM radio talk-show style of political dialogue.

Too often progressives appear to focus on international and national issues, forgetting the struggles on our blocks, in our neighborhoods, and in our ciities.

To learn more about land use issues and their impact on the environment, check out the Sierra Club’s Challenge to Sprawl Campaign. To get an integrated persepctive on inclusionary zoing from the perspective of both non-profit and for-profit home builders, you might be interested in On Common Ground-Joint Principles on Inclusionary Housing Policies.

…and then attend the next meeting of your local Planning Commission.

Tarrant deposits another $450,000 into campaign account - Boston.com

Bernie Sanders, a truly progressive Congressman from Vermont, reported that he had raised $2.9 million for his US Senate campaign. The likely nominee from the Christian-Republican Party doesn’t raise money for his campaign, he simply writes a check.

The latest contribution, made on Friday, raised the total Tarrant has given his campaign from his own money to $3 million. Just a week earlier Tarrant had also put $450,000 into his campaign.

I urge you to contribute to the Bernie Sanders for Senate 2006 campaign.

Went over to Kepler’s bookstore in Menlo Park (CA) this evening to see Jerome Armstrong (MyDD) and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga (Daily Kos) talk about their book; Crashing the Gate — Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics.

Turnout seemed very good. The San Mateo County Democracy for America group did a good job co-sponsoring the event and recruiting a crowd. I was near the front, so I couldn’t count noses. Somewhere around 75 to 100 people showed up.

Armstrong and Zuniga spoke very briefly before taking questions. Because I only bought their book tonight (Support your local bookstore!), I have to assume it’s consistent with their comments tonight:

• They appear to support the movement of grassroots Democrats to wrest control of the national Democratic Party from the campaign consultants operating inside the Beltway.

• Armstrong supports Warner for President. Kos supports Angelidies in the Democratic primary for California govenor.

I made a comment (asking a question) along the lines of “Too often we pay attention to international and national issues and forget politics and government at the state, county, and local level.” Armstrong pointed out that they were national bloggers, who focus on the Federal level. However, he also said that he expected that as the blogosphere develops that state and local blogs would become more important. Kos said that local elections provide a training ground to develop strong Democratic candidates with experience running campaigns and raising the money necessary to fund Congressional campaigns.

I plan to read their book in the next few days, so I may have more comments.

In the meantime, I hope you have a chance to attend one of their book tour stops.

In the context of the immigration debate, Robert Kuttner made the following comment in American Prospect Online, in a post titled The Tchotchke Economy: