Blue Majority End-of-Quarter Fundraising Push

It's that time again: A week from today, all federal campaigns have to close the books on the fundraising quarter. This means that if you want your favorite candidates to be able to issue strong quarterly campaign finance reports, you've got to contribute by March 31st.

Now, I'll be honest - this is one of my least favorite parts of blogging, and it's certainly one of the less pleasant aspects of politics in general. But money still matters - a lot. If we want to expand our majorities in Congress - and especially if we want to see progressive change - we'll need a lot of cash to do so. Many big players - including labor unions, progressive organizations, and deep-pocketed donors - will look at these reports to decide which candidates to give to. It may not seem fair or even wise, but it's reality, and we've got to work the system as best we can.

So we're asking you to contribute to the Blue Majority candidates on ActBlue. These men and women are all strong progressives who are taking the fight to Republicans all over the country. Of course, they can't do it without our help, which is why it's the netroots' duty to get involved.

Right now, the Blue Majority page stands at about 5,500 total contributions (you can see the number right at the top). Our goal is to add a thousand more contributions by the end of the quarter so that we can hit 6,500 overall. The size of your contribution doesn't matter (though of course, we encourage you to give as generously as you are able to). We're looking for aggregate numbers of donors. As the Obama campaign in particular has shown, smart campaigns can get a lot of mileage out of small donors, especially those who give early on. (And it's still early.)

So please, stand up and be counted - make a donation to a worthy Democrat or three. And of course, if your favorite candidates are not on the Blue Majority page, we strongly encourage you to give to them at their own websites. Let's nail that 6,500 target!

•  Here are the names of those candidates ...

  Leslie Byrne (Va. - 11)
  Joe Garcia (Fla. - 25)
  Darcy Burner (Wa. - 8)
  Gary Trauner (Wyo.- 1)
  Dan Seals (Ill. - 10)
  Eric Massa (NY - 29)
  Dan Massei (NY -25)
  Charlie Brown (Calif. - 4)
  Bill Foster (Ill. - 14)
  Donna Edwards (Md. - 4)

  Plus Al Franken for the Minnesota Senate and Rick Noriega for the Texas Senate.

  I've already contributed to Edwards, Burner and Noriega. But I'll match the first $200 in whatever amounts for any of these 12 candidates. In other words, a total of $100 matching funds however it gets distributed. Just let me know here or by e-mail how much you're contributing.

  by Meteor Blades on Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 01:54:32 PM PDT

  •  You are another

    netroots hero.

    by mcjoan on Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 01:55:58 PM PDT

  •  A Must

    Al Franken's victory over his royal dumbass Norm Coleman is a must!

    by StuHunter on Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 01:56:44 PM PDT

  •  Contributions

    Meteor,
    I am guessing you have already had people respond with more than $100 in contributions, but if not, here are mine.

    I gave $10 each to Leslie Byrne, Darcy Burner, and Gary Trauner and I even gave a tip to ActBlue.  It's the first time I've ever contributed to non-presidential candidates (and Obama was the first contribution ever earlier this year).  Wish I could give more.  Thanks for all the help and let's get progressives all over the map.  Your post about matching contributions even got me to sign up here at Kos and then wait the 24 hours, so good job.

    by ProgressiveDL on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 07:10:18 PM PDT

•  $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

  Raising money for dems and a blue majority is a cinch. Obama and Clinton raised over $70 million in February as compared to McCain's laughable $11 million. The DCCC is way ahead and so is the DSCC..it's gonna be a real crappy year for Repugs and McBush!

  by StuHunter on Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 01:55:32 PM PDT

•  And when you are helping these kickass candidates

  don't forget to look for the brand-spanking-new ActBlue express feature.  After you complete your contribution, click on this button:

  

  to save your information for next time.  This will make future donations many times quicker, and also allows you to express to campaigns that you prefer online communications as opposed to paper mail.

  If you have any comments about the system, don't hesitate to contact me.  ActBlue Express was created partly because folks in the blogosphere asked for it!  I'll be hanging around here for a while, or you can always reach me at [e-mail]

  by KansasNate on Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 02:10:44 PM PDT

•  In honor of Debbie Wasserman Schultz

  I threw some cash to Joe Garcia.

  (and made a few phone calls today).

  by Skulnick on Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 02:14:28 PM PDT

  •  Great work! (n/t)

    by HellofaSandwich on Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 02:32:07 PM PDT

•  Mike Turner for Congress

  The primary race in Virginia's 10th congressional district has 2 candidates -- Judy Feder, who lost to Frank Wolf two years ago by 16 points, and Mike Turner. Visit my website at www.MikeTurnerforCongress.com to review my background and study my positions on the major issues. I think you will agree that I am the candidate who can unseat Republican Frank Wolf in 2008 and end his 14 terms in office. A donation to my campaign is appreciated.
  Thank you!

  by Mike Turner on Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 02:18:06 PM PDT

•  I know that this isn't an open thread but...

  I just got done reading this:

  http://buchanan.org/...

  and I want to scream and email MSNBC right now.

  The middle paragraphs have me outraged. I know that I should not be surprised he wrote that.

  by ElizabethAM on Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 02:44:03 PM PDT

•  Sometimes I wish we could coordinate

  the Blue Majority page with other donations. Charlie Brown in CA-04 is my main guy this year. We need to find a way link the Blue Majority or other ActBlue pages.

  One day...maybe

  by SallyCat on Mon Mar 24, 2008 at 02:48:54 PM PDT