Use It Or Lose It, Last Call

by: Chris Bowers

Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 00:30

It is Tuesday morning on the east coast. Soon, it will be Tuesday in the entire country. Over the next day or two, all congressional campaigns will be making their final advertising purchases, if they have not done so already. So, not only will today be the final day of fundraising for candidates on Open Left, tonight is also the final night of Use It Or Lose It, 2008.

Today is probably the last useful day that a Democratic member of the House can send money to either the DCCC or directly to the campaign of Democratic challengers. So, tonight, leave a message at their campaign office asking them to do just that. Here is a list of good Democrats to call or email:

Democrats behind on their dues
Democrats facing token opposition

As I explained back on Saturday, it's better to leave a message than to call during the day. And here are some tips for making your calls or emails:

First, be polite, and thank the Democratic member of Congress for his or her work on behalf of Democrats so far in the campaign.
Second, stay positive, mention how we have dozens of great pickup opportunities, and how excited you are about that. It might help to mention a pickup opportunity in your state, which you can find here.
Third, be encouraging, not scolding, and say how great it would be if the member could chip in a bit more, and / or pay off outstanding DCCC dues.

Remember, this is the last day of the best campaign for House Democrats that we are going to see for quite a while. So, make a call, send an email, employ a carrier pigeon, whatever. Just contact a member of Congress near you on one of those two lists, and leave a message asking them to chip in a little more. Let's leave everything on the field / court / road in this election.

Chris Bowers :: Use It Or Lose It, Last Call

Tags: Use it 2008, activism, House 2008, Fundraising, (All Tags)

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Use It Or Lose It, Last Call | 8 comments

To give is to receive (4.00 / 2)

Great post. As a foreigner, I can't contribute to any election campaign, and I understand why not. However, if someone were to start a little fund for those brave call center workers in Indiana -- have they lost their jobs -- who refused to peddle McCain's filth, I would be happy to contribute. Maybe there'd be other "aliens" out there who would do the same.

by: PeterinNZ @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 23:46:24 PM CDT

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They haven't lost their jobs, yet. (4.00 / 1)

But I would chip in some dough to make up for one day of lost wages.

by: zelt @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 00:02:11 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Just called. (4.00 / 2)

I just called and left a message to Bart Stupak, a fellow Michigander representing the 1st. He's one of the dudes with a pretty high amount due, so I felt obligated to call.

Hopefully we'll get some results. :)

by: BradODonnell @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 23:53:42 PM CDT

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Didn't find him in the list of candidates needing help (0.00 / 0)

so I thought I would mention him here. Nels Ackerson is up against Steve Buyer in IN-4. I doubt Ackerson will rate as a top progressive congressmen, but he's bound to be better than Buyer. Buyer's stuffed so full of PAC money it makes me ill and the guy apparently doesn't like to show up for House votes. A poll in September showed it a 2 point race. Ackerson must have raised some money, because he has advertised pretty heavily on the radio and I have seen him more and more on TV.

by: zelt @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 00:13:06 AM CDT

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I hope that after the election is over ... (0.00 / 0)

...you give hell to those Democrats who refused to dig into their hoard/stash.

by: Meteor Blades @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 02:26:09 AM CDT

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Just called my 3 (0.00 / 0)

Left messages for Brian Baird, Adam Smith and Norm Dicks asking them to chip in for Darcy. BTW, your campaign phone number for Baird answers with "Hi, this is Cindy, I'm not home right now"... doesn't sound like an office number, you might want to check it.

by: On Puget Sound @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 04:39:15 AM CDT

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What about McDermott? (0.00 / 0)

Here in Wa-7 it's a foregone conclusion that Jim will go back to Congress. I also though I saw him owing $50k in an earlier iteration of the spreadsheet?

Did he cough up the cash? He's still with no/token opposition - do you know how much COH he has?

by: Liberal Scientist @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 08:56:45 AM CDT

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McNulty (NY-21) owes $240K, is retiring... (0.00 / 0)

... what do I tell him?

IIRC, one reason for the 1994 catastrophe was a lot of incumbents took the last Brinks truck leaving DC: it was the last cycle in which candidates could keep their campaign funds.

So what happens to the war chests of retiring Congressmembers?

There is no such thing as a free market.

by: Albanius @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 17:45:42 PM CDT

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Use It Or Lose It, Last Call | 8 comments