Over $64,000 $67,000 has been raised on Act Bluesince this morning for a list 57 congresspeople who signed a letter to Speaker Pelosi and 18 that took the FDL Pledge to vote against any health care reform bill that didn't include, at the minimum, a robust public option.
Right now this "Progressive Block" is what is keeping the public option on the table -- if they cave it is all over. (BTW I am completely stealing this analysis from Open Left.) Why? Obama needs to pass health care legislation and to do that someone needs to blink. In the past the progressives have been the blinkers so it makes sense to pressure them now. But we desperately, desperately need these folks to keep their eyes wide open.
In an effort to show my appreciation for their resolve I went to Act Blue and threw in a cool $10 each to the only three Illinois congresspeople on the list:
- Luis Gutierrez (IL-04) - Phil Hare (IL-17) - Jesse Jackson Jr. (IL-02)
So ... where are the rest of our Illinois Dems? Jan? Mike? Danny? Your buddies are looking pretty lonely there.
Maybe it would help if they knew that there was a crisp 10-spot in it for each one of them if they are willing to add their names to that list (which I think they can do via the FDL Pledge). If you too want to reward those who are standing strong you can do so here:
In a meeting open to the public, except for the deliberation of the committeemen, the Democratic committeemen of the 10th district of the Cook Co. Board choose Bridget Gainer as the successor to Mike Quigley.
The committeemen cast their weighted vote according to the scheme listed in Sandra's earlier e-mail here.
David Sirota would probably like to think his column, Measuring Electoral Success, adds to our understanding of how to advance the progressive agenda but it seems to serve basically as an apology for outside support of Tom Geoghegan's candidacy in the IL-05 special election.
Sirota writes:
There is a value in backing long shots, even if those long shots lose. In Geoghegan's case, many progressives supported someone who has been an important voice on so many issues, and who has had the courage to fight the good fight.
Did you hear one about Illinois politics? You know, that funny joke about how people get jobs because of clout, or nepotisim, or because they are in the "$25,000 club", instead of, you know, qualifications? Or ability to do the job? Or, for elected officials, as a response to the priorities of those they will represent?
On April 11th a group of Democratic Ward Committeemen will choose a successor for Mike Quigley should he win his election for Congress on April 7th and resign as 10th District Cook County Commissioner. His record as a reformer is well documented. But he was not only a Cook County reformer, he was a progressive leader who stood up against the powers that be while others remained silent. He is leaving some very, very big shoes to fill.
Two groups that I am involved with, Northside DFA and IVI-IPO, are working together to ask the potential shoe-fillers a few questions about their positions and priorities for Cook County. For instance:
Do you support removing the cap on the number of abortions performed at Stroger Hospital?
Should County Board approval be required prior to the creation of TIF districts in Cook County?
What should be done by the County Board to foster affordable housing, including subsidized housing?
Do you support the sale or transfer of forest preserve land to private interests?
Do you favor extending the Civil Service System to replace patronage in County employment?
In addition, we are co-hosting a public forum for these potential candidates on Saturday, April 4th at 1:00 p.m. at Truman College, 1445 W Wilson Avenue, Chicago.
Dealing with multiple obligations and volunteered tasks, haven't had the time to write here as much as I'd like. I posted my counter-predictions to Russ Stewart on Gapers Block, which Sandra saw. I feel pretty good about that analysis in hindsight, spot-on on winning %, ## the minor candidates would pull, the race being Fritchey v. Quigley, and how Quigley could win. I also believe that my belief about higher turnout than expected was validated; some here predicted low 30s, the Quigley camp's estimate was highest at 35,000-45,000, but in reality Democratic turnout was almost 55,000.
Wanted to share some insights from the Quigley camp (one of the cool things about a 12-person race, the victory parties have high ratio of good conversations).
While Tom Geoghegan held a special place in our hearts, we are pleased and excited by our next most favorite candidate, Mike Quigley's primary and expected general election win. We will be sorry to see Mike leave his yeoman work at the Cook County board, but we look forward to eventually replacing him with a new reformist progressive. Best wishes and good luck, Mike.
I owe Quigley this. I haven't found the time to post here much anymore, or pound the pavement. I like the G-man's positions quite a bit, but Quigley has always been there for us. He has always made the time for our meetings, no matter the size. And he has been fighting the good fight, one of the first ones to do so, in a place that didn't get the press you'd want to prepare a run for higher office back then. Besides, actually serving leaves you with some unpopular votes for your opponents to make an issue of later, as we've seen play out.
Somebody has to be first. In this race, Mike Quigley was first because I've worked with Tom Bowen before, interviewing his candidate in the IL-14 special election. It was among the first things we talked about after I learned that he would be taking over the Quigley campaign.
I visited the northside on Sunday. As I arrived, the Quigley headquarters was buzzing, with almost everyone on the phone. Tom was excited, asking me if I'd gotten his email about their new website, More Transit, outlining Quigley's proposal for more public transit funding to be included in the stimulus package. Since I hadn't, he got out his laptop to show me.
(Edit: Split into main and extended parts. - promoted by wegerje)
Cook County Commissioner and congressional candidate Mike Quigley called on congress today to fully support mass transit in the final version of the Economic Stimulus package.
Join us in this effort. Go to www.moretransit.com watch our video and sign the petition to fund mass transit.
Together we can make a difference, help the environment and create American Jobs.
Sara Feigenholtz
John Fritchey
Justin Oberman
Charles Wheelan
Victor Forys
Pete Dagher
Jan Donatelli
Frank Annunzio
Carlos Monteagudo
Paul Bryar
Roger Thompson
Tom Geoghegan
Cary Capparelli
Mike Quigley
Patrick O'Connor
This started out as a comment on the post about the "machine's" recent choice of Todd Stroger as the Dem nominee for Cook County Board President.
In that post a commenter was lamenting the fact that Forrest Claypool didn't win the primary. Though I voted for Claypool, I never got a chance to vote for for my preferred candidate, Mike Quigley. Not only did I like Quigley better on the issues, but he would have gotten the support of labor, which Claypool had no chance at. Would that have given him the edge to beat Stroger in the primary election? Who can know. What I do know is that I talked to many people who agreed that they preferred Quigley on the issues, but that they were supporting Claypool because he was almost as good and had raised more money. There would be little argument, I think, that it was was Claypool's money advantage that caused Quigley to drop out of the primary -- and the fact that if one of them didn't drop out there would be no chance of beating Stroger.
I tried to go to the IL Board of Elections to look up their financial reports, but their search engine seems to be down. However, it is my understanding that Claypool gained his money advantage due to large donations from a handful of donors (remember at the non-federal level in Illinois there is no limit to the size of the contribution) who gave money to his campaign very early on. I also remember that his final quarter fundraising was not that strong, meaning that his big donors were tapped out early and he did not attract significant numbers of new donors. In other words, big money decided who the opposition candidate would be, corruption and cronyism choose the nominee.
And I am not saying that Claypool would not have been an excellent Cook County Board President, I am saying that he was not choosen by the voters.
