Help Increase Our Democratic Majority

By: Bryan Scrafford
Published On: 5/1/2008 7:08:30 PM

Democrats in Virginia most definitely have a lot to be excited about this year. Not only is there a good chance we will send Mark Warner to the US Senate, but there is a good chance that we will elect some new Democrats to the House of Representatives and potentially even play a role in electing a Democratic president. Despite all the excitement currently taking place in our great Commonwealth, however, I believe that it is important for us to remember that there are several races througout the country that we need to pay attention to if we want to greatly expand our Democratic majority.

I have frequently said the US Senate race in Oregon provides us with an opportunity to do just that. The chances of this seat being filled with a progressive who is able to form solid coalitions in order to pass legislation in the best interests of our country only increase with a great candidate like Jeff Merkley. As grassroots and netroots activists have been rallying behind his candidacy and various progressive organizations such as the Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, and the Oregon AFL-CIO have endorsed his campaign, it is obvious that I am not alone in expressing this sentiment.
The grassroots campaign that Merkley has formed will provide the basis for a Democratic victory in November. Over the course of the last few years here in Virginia, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, and Jim Webb have all shown us how a grassroots effort can be a deciding factor in elections. Nevertheless, one cannot ignore the fact that Jeff's potential Republican opponent is an incumbent who has been building his campaign war chest to use in Fall while the Jeff has been focusing the majority of his time and energy on talking with voters before the Democratic primary on May 20.

As a result, I believe it's important for Democrats to stand behind Jeff and make a donation to his campaign in order to keep ads such as this one on the air. I am therefore joining several other bloggers who in an effort to raise $5,000 for Merkley today. With Jim Webb, Sen. Barack Obama, and several other candidates who have had grassroots support like Jeff's campaign does, we have seen how a series of donations even as small as $10 or $25 can go a long ways. With that in mind, please join in other Democrats who want to see our majority increased and follow this link to donate to Jeff Merkley's campaign.

Comments



I'm really baffled (Chris Guy - 5/2/2008 12:55:19 AM)
by how tough a time Merkley is having with Steve Novick. Novick is getting newspaper endorsements from every major Oregon paper and has been consistently leading Merkley in the polls. I thought Merkley v. Smith in the fall was a done deal when Merkley jumped in the race. I still think he'll probably win the primary, but it's gonna be close.


Yeah (Ron1 - 5/2/2008 1:07:22 AM)
Merkley is to me the obviously superior choice. I hate to be superficial, but, ummm, no really, really short dude with a freaking hook for a hand is going to unseat a seasoned pol like Gordon Smith. If Novick were the obviously superior candidate based on policy positions, then I'd support him regardless. But Merkley is at least as progressive as Novick, has a better temperament, has electoral experience and has a good reputation in 0regon -- so, to me, the electability concerns matter, greatly, if we're going to get rid of another Republican 'moderate'.

Merkley seems like a great guy, one of a large number of really great progressives running for the Senate (same with Tom Allen, Tom Udall, Al Franken, Scott Kleeb, Andrew Rice, Rick Noriega, and Larry LaRocco, not to mention popular centrist candidates like Mark Warner, Jeanne Shaheen, and Mark Udall). I really hope he wins this primary.  



They're about split on... (Bryan Scrafford - 5/2/2008 12:08:02 PM)
...the newspaper endorsements, though I do get your point. I think it's important to realize that the a majority of the progressive organizations that truly represent the values of the Democratic Party have endorsed Merkley. Furthermore, Merkley is the one who primarily has the backing of the grassroots activists.

All that being said, I think it is healthy for the Democratic Party to have a positive debate taking place over who will be the nominee. For the most part, these two have stayed above the nasty tactics that could actually harm the long run. To me that means that Merkley will simply be a stronger candidate in November.