On To November

(Political cartoon by Jen Sorensen and published 6/6/2012 at Daily Kos. Click on image to enlarge and then return. Please.)

OK, I've got nothing further to say about Tuesday's recall election in Wisconsin (at least for the time being), and I'm ready to return to November's general election. We've seen the lengths that the Masters Of The Universe are willing to go to keep progressives out of office. It's now time to fight back (there are, after all, 99 times more of us), and I have a few suggestions.

The first suggestion, and it's a big one, is that we should not be sending money to the DNC or any of its subcommittees. They are only going to send it to the favored few who hew to the party line of protecting the wealthy. Instead, I recommend we send whatever money we have after paying the bills to candidates who will represent us. If we don't have money, and many of us don't at this point, we should consider volunteering to assist in their campaigns.

I've got three candidates who come to mind for such support. There are undoubtedly others, and I would appreciate your listing them in the comments section. I'll follow up in a future post.

The first is Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic candidate for the Senate from Massachusetts. Jen Sorensen has done a mighty job of showing why she should represent the Bay State (and I would urge you to click on the link and to read her comments appended to the cartoon). She's a noob, having never run for elective office before, but it's clear she scares the shorts off The Powers That Be. She has been the target of unremitting attacks from her opponent (incumbent Scott Brown) and from the mainstream media since announcing her candidacy. The latest is a really sad and tattered complaint that she got her job as a college professor because she claimed to have Native American heritage. I guess she would've been given a pass if she claimed to have been related to Strom Thurmond.

At any rate, here's a little about Ms. Warren from her web site:

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Elizabeth served as Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Her independent and tireless efforts to protect taxpayers, to hold Wall Street accountable, and to ensure tough oversight of both the Bush and Obama Administrations won praise from both sides of the aisle. The Boston Globe named Elizabeth Bostonian of the Year in 2009 for her oversight efforts.

She is widely credited for the original thinking, political courage, and relentless persistence that led to the creation of a new consumer financial protection agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She led the establishment of the agency, building the structure and organization to hold accountable even trillion-dollar financial institutions and to protect consumers from financial tricks and traps often hidden in mortgages, credit cards and other financial products.

If you've a mind to contribute money or time, here's the place.

Next up is Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. Ms. Baldwin is currently a member of Congress from Wisconsin and is running to replace Sen. Herb Kohl, who announced his retirement. She has the backing of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, as well she should, given her record in the House.

From her bio:

In 1998, Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District shattered the state’s glass ceiling and elected Tammy Baldwin as the state’s first female member of Congress and the nation’s first openly gay challenger sent to Congress.

Shortly after she was first elected to Congress, at a time when both parties were supporting de-regulation of the financial industry, Tammy stood up for Wisconsin taxpayers. She voted against letting Wall Street and the big banks write their own rules — one of only a handful of members of Congress who voted no on repealing the Glass-Steagall Act.

Since then, she has stood with other women in Congress on issues crucial to the health and well-being of all women.

Here's where to go for contributions to Tammy Baldwin.

Finally (for today) is Kirsten Gillibrand, the junior senator from New York. She filled Hillary Clinton's spot by appointment and then by special election. She is running for a full term in November.

From her bio:

Kirsten was first sworn in to the U.S. Senate in January 2009 and was elected in November 2010 with more than 63 percent of the vote to fill Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's seat. In 2012, Kirsten will run once again, this time for a six year term to serve as New York’s US Senator.

Even in the face of steep challenges, Kirsten hit the ground running – leading efforts to bring more transparency and accountability to Washington and helping pass landmark legislation to repeal the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military, and provide health care and compensation to the 9/11 first responders and community survivors that are sick with diseases caused by the toxins at Ground Zero.

Ms. Gillibrand also has been leading the battles on women's issues, including reproductive freedom and equal pay. To assist her in her re-election campaign, go here.

There. That's a start.

Again, if you have some other candidates worthy of our attention, dollars, and hours, let me know in the comments section.

It's time to fight back.