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I have one of the best jobs in the world. As chief of staff at EMILY's List, I get constant updates from campaigns to elect progressive, pro-choice Democratic women. With so much happening in this historic election year, Ellen Malcolm asked me to let you know about news you may have missed and angles that the mainstream media isn't covering.
Just last week, progressive challenger Donna Edwards beat 15-year incumbent Rep. Al Wynn with a decisive 60 percent of the vote in Maryland's fourth congressional district. Edwards's victory signals that real change is taking hold of the country -- voters are serious about change and electing progressive Democrats up and down the ticket.
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Outrage of the Week
I thought I had been around long enough that nothing in politics could shock me. Then, I saw MSNBC's David Shuster saying Chelsea Clinton was being "pimped out" to campaign for her mother. A few days later, the Weekly Standard compared Hillary Clinton to Lady Macbeth. We can't end media bias tomorrow, but we can work hard to make sure that all of our progressive, pro-choice Democratic women candidates have the resources they need to get past the media filter and speak directly to the voters.
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Cleaning House ... and Senate
Would you believe that a whopping 31 House Republicans have retired or resigned -- a number that crashes through the historic high of 24 in 1960? With these open seats and the record Democratic voter turnout in the presidential primaries, we're seeing incredible opportunities to strengthen our majority in the House and pick off vulnerable GOP incumbents. Things aren't much better for them on the Senate side, where Republicans have to defend 23 seats while Democrats have only 12 to defend.
New Hampshire
Speaking of vulnerable Republicans ... Since we last wrote to you, all of Jeanne Shaheen's Democratic opponents dropped out and endorsed her, clearing the way for her to challenge Sen. John Sununu without a primary. Defeating Sununu would be a double victory -- we can strengthen our Democratic majority in the Senate by winning another Republican seat and right the wrongs of the 2002 campaign, when Sununu's camp jammed Democratic phone banks on election day. Shaheen has the people, but Sununu -- for the moment -- has the money. He has nearly $3.5 million in the bank -- twice as much as Shaheen, who needs to raise $10 million to knock off this loyal Bush supporter.
Arizona
With many Republicans deciding in recent weeks not to jump in this race, it's become clearer who Arizona's Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01) will face in the general election -- Sydney Hay, an anti-choice, right-wing extremist straight out of central casting. Her civil rights record? Hay once condemned the late Barry Goldwater because he supported designating Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday as a state holiday, observing that the GOP senator was "worse than a liberal." Her environmental record? Hay works as the president of a mining association, lobbying for some of the country's largest corporate polluters. ‘Nuff said. This open seat is shaping up to be one of the premier take back opportunities for Democrats.
Florida
Top Democratic recruit Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24) out-raised her Republican opponent two to one in the last quarter of 2007. That's quite a feat for the former state representative, considering how incumbent Tom Feeney has been raising his money. At one point, Feeney offered lobbyists "Season Passes" -- charging $5,000 for unlimited access to him, or a one-time fee of $500 to have drinks at his apartment. Even by the standards we've come to expect, that's pretty outrageous. Apparently, Feeney hasn't cleaned up his act much since getting involved in the Jack Abramoff scandal in 2003, where he was one of three congressmen who flew with Abramoff to Scotland for a little time on the links.
California
EMILY's List was saddened by the passing of Rep. Tom Lantos (CA-12), the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, and a man who used his experience to fight human rights abuses around the globe. Rep. Lantos will be missed by the people of his district, his colleagues in Congress, and those who are committed to ending injustice wherever it exists.
With the passing of Rep. Lantos, the Governor has set a special election to fill his seat on April 8. This contest is coming up fast, and things look promising for former state Senator Jackie Speier, a long-time progressive legislator and staunch pro-choice activist. Speier has an incredible story -- in 1978, she accompanied Rep. Leo Ryan to investigate the People's Temple in Jonestown, Guyana. After the Congressman was assassinated, Speier was shot five times and left for dead on the tarmac for 22 hours. Speier went on to become a trailblazer in California politics -- she spent 18 years in the California Assembly and Senate, getting more than 300 pieces of legislation signed into law on health care, child support and other issues important to families.
Don't Be Fooled
Remember when George Bush campaigned as a compassionate conservative? Well, we know how that turned out. Now, we're facing John McCain, who has spent years crafting the image of a moderate maverick willing to break with his party on key issues -- leading many women voters to believe that he disagrees with his party on choice.
Nothing could be further from the truth. McCain voted against family planning, protecting women from clinic violence, teen-pregnancy prevention programs, and efforts to make sure abstinence-only education was medically accurate. He's committed to overturning Roe v. Wade and pledged that he would be "a loyal and unswerving friend of the right to life movement" if elected president. 100,000 EMILY's List members are going to make sure that doesn't happen. Stay tuned …
Thanks for all you are doing in this historic election year. If I haven't covered a race you are interested in or you have a question, please get in touch with us. We'd love to hear from you.
Britt Cocanour
Chief of Staff
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