Darcy Burner, Democratic challenger to Dave Reichert in the 8th, has taken up the "offer" issued by V.P. Dick to Reichert, "I'll campaign for your opponent if it’ll help."

Darcy's Press Release

From Darcy's letter to Dick:

Dear Mr. Vice President:

During your recent trip to Washington State to support White House endorsed candidates, you were quoted by both Seattle newspapers as telling 8th District Representative Dave Reichert that you would “campaign for your opponent if it’ll help.”

As Reichert’s Democratic opponent, I would like to take you up on your kind and thoughtful offer and I cordially invite you to come and spend a day campaigning with me in the 8th District. The district reaches from Microsoft’s Redmond Campus to Mount Rainier National Park and offers a microcosm of America. Here are some of the events I would like to plan for your visit to the 8th.

Take these generic polls with a huge grain of salt, but it certainly runs counter to the "incompetent dems cant find ass from hole in ground" storyline.

March 15, 2006
Democratic Congressional Lead Among Registered Voters Largest Since '82 Midterm--Lead by 55% to 39% on generic ballot
The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds the Democratic Party leading the Republican Party 55% to 39% among registered voters in the generic congressional ballot. Gallup asks this question to get a sense of how people will vote in this year's elections for the U.S. House of Representatives.

This is the largest lead Democrats have held over Republicans in the 2006 campaign thus far, and the largest lead Democrats have enjoyed among registered voters in a midterm election since 1982. In the 1992 presidential campaign, Democrats led Republicans by 20 percentage points following the Democratic national convention that year. Once likely voter turnout models are applied -- something usually done later in the campaign -- the Democrats' advantage on the generic ballot is reduced given higher turnout rates among Republicans than Democrats. Still, a lead of this size would suggest a solid Democratic advantage among likely voters and the likelihood of Democratic seat gains.

Seeing as how we have a donkey in our name, I thought we should at least comment on the new Democratic Party website.

THe response seems positive but it doesn't look like folks are noticing yet.

Also, check out the Democracy Bonds program. An interesting fundraising/revenue source idea.

I'm gonna try something new. It's called Happy Hour. Your turn to discuss... and please discuss.

Sometimes it'll be an open thread (ala Daily Kos) and sometimes I'll lead the discussion.

This Edition: The Democratic Primary Schedule

CHICAGO — Democrats, looking to reverse their fortunes after two consecutive White House defeats, met yesterday to hear competing proposals to revamp the election calendar used to choose a presidential nominee every four years.

The three major proposals would focus on regional primaries. Two of those proposals would allow Iowa and New Hampshire to retain their leadoff roles in the candidate selection process.

A third plan, offered by Michigan Democrats, would create a rotating series of six regional primaries. A different region would launch each presidential nominating season.

Full Article here.

As new DNC lead Howard Dean and former Pentagon advisor Richard Perle squared off in Portland on Friday a protestor leapt up to scream at Perle just as he began his comments. "Liar! Liar!" the protestor screamed while being drug from the scene.

Now, we at BetterDonkey.org are very deeply concerned about activities such as these- we consider them very serious, especially when they happen so close to home. We're worried because if the protestor threw a shoe, they might have had a cold foot. Or maybe they need another shoe. While that great soul was being drug off to the dark hole where voices in opposition to Bush administration officials are kept, again they might have had only one shoe. Legal and possibly spiritual purgatory would suck with inadequate footwear.

Now, it was mild in Portland this weekend, but we at BetterDonkey.org are still quite concerned. If the kind "soul" who hurled that nuclear nike, that parabolic puma, that anarchic adidas is indeed sans one shoe these winter months BetterDonkey.org volunteers will mail one extra shoe for the appropriate foot that went without.(Match not guaranteed.)

And if in fact the genuine shoe is somehow recovered, we will also volunteer all the proceeds from our recent party (plus one of my kidneys, perhaps) for recovery, shipping, bronzing of the shoe, display case, and public exhibition of said furtive flying footwear for as long as we possible can. Thank-you.

In the first of what I hope will be a many part series that we could all take part in, I want to talk about one of the more scary but effective elements of the conservative attack plan, building their grassroots strength and unity.

CPAC 2005: The Conservative Political Action Conference.

CPAC, http://www.cpac.org/ is a big crazy conservative love-fest in downtown DC where the republican frat boy sweat dogs and their liberal bashing hate mavens get together for a week of sex, booze, Ann Coulter, Dick Cheney, and family values.

Aside from getting inundated with talking points on how we liberals are trying to rape and pillage America, or at least open the door to terrorists who want to do so, CPAC also serves two key functions:

1. It connects grassroots activists with their political gods. Like Kiss fans at a reunion show, they get a chance to scrawl I LOVE CHENEY across their tits and flash the VP. They get to recharge their batteries and go a hoootin’ and a hollerin’.

Howard Dean was officially elected chair of the Democratic National Committee today. This mean that Dean will now be playing a lead role in helping to shape the direction of the Democratic Party.

Full text of his acceptance speech and video highlights are available.

Below is an outline of his plan for the Democratic Party.

1. Show up! Democrats should never concede a single state, a single district, or a single voter to the Republicans. We must be active and compete in all 50 states and work with the state parties to build a true national party.

2. The success of the national party depends directly on the success of the state parties — we must better integrate our operations by:

• Having the DNC pay the salary of each state party executive director to help ensure that the state parties have adequate funds.

Zephyr Teachout (former Director of Internet Organizing for Howard Dean's campaign and a consultant to America Coming Together) has written an excellent article about political participation, why we feel disconnected from our government, and what the DNC and the ACLU must do about it if they wish to remain relevant.

The article is addressed to these national organizations, but a large part of her prescription is exactly what Better Donkey is trying to.
(See all this time that you thought we were just drinking beer, we were really being quite productive.)

What does Teachout say must be done? Build involvement in local community organizations.
Why?

• Local involvement in community organizations - be they explicitly political or not - correlates with much greater sense of power over political life.
• Joining a local group, 20-50 strong, that provides some support and confidence in political acts, local or federal, vastly amplifies one's sense of power.

In a lot of ways we are like a big group of totally listless 20 somethings. We know we want stuff, but we dont know what. We cant get ourleft and right brain to agree on what we care about and who we want to be with.

Well, if November 2004 taught me anything, its that we need to get ourselves together on an agenda. I'm not talking about policy, i'm talking about values.

I want this forum to be an opportunity for folks to suggest values that progressives can believe in and talk about. We should be able to describe these in one-word code: like Protection, Fairness, Sustainability, etc...

So, i'll start, by positing a value, then whoever wants can jump in and tell me what they think that value means, and whether they think we can get behind it as a progressive community. eventually, it would be wonderful to create our own Contract With America and trot it around to all the groups and blogs out there. My suggestion is that we call it:

The Progressive Constitution

Value: Fairness.