Presidential election

Canvassing effort for whichever Democrat wins the nomination. This is a chance for Democrats to connect with their neighborhood and start the process of winning in November.

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Once upon a time, Senator John McCain was viewed as being one of the more independent-minded Senators, perhaps a smarter and more reasonable alternative to the kind of stupidity and corruption of George Bush and most of the Republican Party (Tom DeLay, Randy Cunningham, Bob Ney, Jack Abramoff, Conrad Burns, etc.).

But perhaps we need to consider very closely just what McCain has been doing during Bush's Presidency.

Let's look at how McCain votes.

John McCain is anti-Veteran, ironically, receiving a D rating from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a zero rating from The Retired Enlisted Association and in 2005 and 2006 he received 25% or below from the Disabled American Veterans.

John McCain has been one of the most anti-choice Senators, receiving zero ratings from Planned Parenthood and NARAL.

John McCain has been anti-farmer, receiving 25% or lower from the National Farmers Union.

John McCain has been weak to terrible on protecting the civil rights of Americans, receiving from 0 to 33% from the American Civil Liberties Union.

John McCain consistently receives less than 25% from the NAACP and less than 20% from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

John McCain is consistently anti-labor, receiveing abyssmal to at best mediocre ratings from just about every union.

Act Blue has become the preferred grassroots fundraising platform, allowing donors to give as little as $5 and allowing fundraising with no overhead. Every dollar you donate through Act Blue goes right to the candidate or organization you want to support. With Act Blue ANYONE can fundraise easily and at no expense other than their time. I have used Act Blue to raise thousands of dollars for candidates and groups I supported. Since 2004, nearly $20 million have been raised for Democrats and progressive organizations through Act Blue.

Well, one thing interesting I see looking at the Act Blue front page is the fundraising going on from the grassroots for the Democratic candidates for President. Here are the top 5 presidential funds on Act Blue. I should note that many of them are linked to from multiple Act Blue pages.

1. John Edwards 7,717 $844,576.31

2. Bill Richardson Exploratory Fund 1,076 $284,891.57

3. Barack Obama 176 $16,885.56

4. Bill Richardson Draft Fund 117 $10,154.85

5. Al Gore Draft Fund 101 $2,585.87

Not at all surprising to me is the absense of Hillary from the top 5. She has ample support but not much from the grassroots and netroots. I think that is why so many of us hear little good about her yet she may yet be a frontrunner: we mostly are in touch with grassroots and netroots organizers and they, by and large, are not with Hillary. Her support comes from elsewhere: bigger donors, more mainstream Democratic interests, the big league fundraisers. Hillary is the most mainstream of the candidates, I guess. But some things do surprise me in this list. Looking at it, only two candidates are really ahead: Edwards and Richardson. These two candidates are by FAR outraising their opponents through this grassroots/netroots medium. Had you asked me to guess who was doing best I might have picked Gore and Obama, with Edwards maybe third. I didn't expect Richardson to be doing so well and this indicates I might be underestimating him. And Obama is underperforming where I expected him to be. Does he have less appeal among the grassroots/netroots than Edwards and Richardson? I think the Act Blue fundraising may be a good indication of this.

Ahhhh, yes indeed. It is that time of year again. We are gearing up for the Presidential election bullshit I mean campaigns. And in honor of that special time of forthrightness, I give you a few of my suggestions for possible candidates' campaign slogans. Now, some of these people may not run this time around, but like Rocky, they will surely rise up for that final bout at some point. And by "final", I mean, "God help us".

1. Sam Brownback: Vote for the Skidmark
2. Hillary Clinton: I'm In and I'm In to Win, Though the South Hates Me and I Hope You Forgot Whitewater and So What I Let You Down on the War and Obama Who?
3. Rudy Giuliani: Taking Care of the Terrorists Like I Took Care of Donna
4. John Edwards: Rockin'the House at Riverside and Beyond...Uh, Yo.
5. Al Gore: It's Gettin' Hot in Here So Take Off All Your Clothes for Global Warmin'!
6. John Kerry: Eat More Ketchup So I Have Something to Fall Back On
7. Jeb Bush: What's a Slogan?
8. Barack Obama: Only Slightly Overwhelmed in 2008
4. John McCain: First the Cong; Then the Dong!

Oh, I can't wait to see the commercials!