2004 Congress

LA-04 race

Aarlene — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 14:22:26 -0400

3 challengers vs. Jim McCrery (R) incumbent

Artis Cash (D) Shreveport
Patti Cox (D) Shreveport
Chester Kelley (R) Shreveport

Won’t you make a red district blue?

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 18:44:21 -0400

Ned Lamont’s win in the Connecticut senatorial primary was a great victory for Internet activists. Let’s enjoy it for a moment, and then get right back to work. We have many more victories to arrange over the next 2-1/2 months, so let’s use the energy generated by Tuesday night’s good news to do more. To win more. To take back the Congress and to take back our country from the right wingers who have stolen it.

One candidate who needs our help is Tony Trupiano, running for Congress in Michigan’s 11th District. Tony is a true blue progressive, and is exactly the kind of candidate we of the netroots want to put in office. And he can win—BUT ONLY IF WE WILL HELP! Tony has shared with me the results of his recent internal polling, and here are some of the highlights:

[Tony’s opponent] McCotter’s re-elect number was just below 47%. Any incumbent under 50% is considered in trouble…

The District is divided 50-50 with Democrat and Republican ids. This was unexpected and a great number as usually the district has at least a 5% Republican tilt…

Bush’s approval ratings are dismal, with almost 40% of respondents giving him a “one” or “two” on a scale of 1-10 (with one being the lowest)…

This poll proves that this is a winnable race, as we’ve known from the beginning. It is the only winnable race in Michigan…

Tony was a radio talk show host for years, and helped many progressives promote their books, their websites, and their candidacies. Now it’s time for us to return the favor.

We can’t help every Congressional candidate, but it certainly makes sense to help those who are likely to turn a red district blue. So let’s get cracking!

If you can contribute, go to one of the links below. If you have a media platform, interview Tony. Put him on the air. Write about him. He’s a good man, and could be the next big success of the Internet.

Contribute at Tony’s website or at ActBlue. Do it today. Right now. This minute.

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

Update #1: Save Our American Ports (SOAP) – SCRUB THE DEAL!

Chip — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 16:39:24 -0500

We've been duped. Again. Just like kids who plunk down their quarters to bet on the bean as the carnival barker spins the nutshells around, we've been duped by the Bush administration's support for corporatism over common sense and the national security, a Congress more responsive to form than to function, and a media unable or unwilling to focus on the facts that matter. After a flurry of controversy lighting up the congressional switchboards over the sale of American port operations to DP World, a company owned by the monarchy United Arab Emirates, ABC now reports that a Miami-based company's lawsuit is causing a brief delay in the turnover of port operations. Of course, in his characteristic media misinformation style, presidential advisor Karl Rove said ...there is no requirement" that Dubai Ports take over the U.S. operations immediately after the March 2, adding "What is important is that members of Congress have the time to get fully briefed on this....We intend to work closely with them in order to give them a comfort level on this," Rove told the "Tony Snow Show." So, you see, the issue was never our national security dependent on the ports sale, but rather to reframe the issue for members of Congress. And reframe they did. Senate bill S. 2333 introduced by Senator Schumer (D-NY) with 20 bi-partisan co-sponsors that would have required Mr. Bush to place a stay on DP World’s takeover of P&O ports was quietly and interminably shuffled off to Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Though 75% of Americans surveyed think this deal poses a threat to national security, the administration is tone deaf to their concerns. Instead, it misrepresents legitimate national security concerns as xenophobia. A Congressional Research Service report notes the UAE has a "relatively open economy and borders, particularly in the emirate of Dubai, have caused problems in proliferation, terrorism, and human trafficking...In connection with recent revelations of illicit sales of nuclear technology to Iran, Libya, and North Korea by Pakistan’s nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan, Dubai was named as a key transfer point for shipments of nuclear components sold by Khan. Two Dubai-based companies were apparently involved in trans-shipping such components: SMB Computers and Gulf Technical Industries." The administration's own most current State Department Human Rights Practices report states "trafficking in women and girls used as prostitutes and domestic servants, men used as servants, laborers, and unskilled workers, and very young boys used as camel jockeys, continued to be serious problems" in the UAE. It appears nothing will stop this deal – which, in itself, is an interesting notion to explore, given that the administration's agenda is not our national security. But for now, the statement by Rep. King (R-NY) that he was told by officials of the Homeland Security and Treasury departments that there was no real investigation into national security aspects should sound alarm bells and ACTION to stop the transfer of the port operations so the legally required security assessments can be done beforehand.

Bill Introduced in House to Bring Our Troops Home from Iraq

Chip — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 13:58:07 -0500

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA-1), a Vietnam combat veteran, introduced a bill Tuesday, Feb. 28th that would return our military from Iraq upon the completion of the Iraqi constitutional amendment process. The bill, H.Con.Res. 348 titled "Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to accomplishing the mission in Iraq" states: “Resolved in the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), that it is the sense of the Congress that— 1) the United States should not maintain a permanent military presence or military bases in Iraq; 2) the United States should not attempt to control the flow of Iraqi oil; and 3) United States Armed Forces should be re-deployed from Iraq as soon as practicable after the completion of Iraq’s constitution making process or September 30, 2006, whichever comes first.” After returning from his second trip to Iraq in January, Rep. Thompson crafted his legislation to send a clear message to the Iraqi insurgency and the Iraqi people about the US intensions. Rep. Thompson also visited Iraq before the US invasion and voted against the resolution giving Mr. Bush the authority to invade Iraq. “Today, the Iraqi insurgency is being fueled by the notion that we have become an occupying force in Iraq. We need to send a clear message that we have no intention on staying in Iraq indefinitely,” Thompson remarked. “Congress needs to tell the Iraqi people and the Arab world that we will not build permanent military bases in Iraq and that we will not attempt to control the flow of their oil.”