Electoral Apocalypse? NOT IF WE CAN HELP IT! 15NOV14

THE New York Time's may be ready to write of the Democrats for the 2014 midterm elections but the Bold Progressives aren't! Congressional races that per predicted easy wins for the gop / tea-baggers across the country are closer than anyone predicted, and with 3 weeks to go the people we need to be elected have a very good chance of winning their races. Here is an update from the PCCC / Progressive Change Campaign Committee 
so do what you can to make the pundits eat their words on 5 NOV 14. REMEMBER TO VOTE ON 4 NOV 14!!!!!
There's a sobering line in today's New York Times about the midterm elections:

"The midterm elections have been maddeningly unpredictable, but now, with three weeks to go, Democrats may be preparing for an electoral apocalypse."

Luckily, bold progressives know that elections aren't just left up to fate. Progressives put South Dakota's Senate race in play when it was written off by the political insiders -- and now, everyone is talking about it.
We've done the due diligence and have identified 5 progressives in hot races where money NOW will allow them to make important decisions for the final 3 weeks.
Chip in $3 to the bold progressive candidates who need our support right now.
Or sign up to call voters from home at least once before Election Day.
We'll send other recommendations later this week, but here are the 5 candidates who most need our help right now:

Rick Weiland was just featured by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz, and Steve Kornacki. This bold progressive Senate campaign has quickly catapulted to the top of the national pack with the help of PCCC members. South Dakota has 3 Republicans on the general election ballot, dividing the vote and putting Rick in a perfect place to win. The longtime Republican front-runner is now in a major corruption scandal, while Rick's core message is reform -- promising to take back our government from big-money interests. Rick is former head of the South Dakota AARP, is endorsed by Elizabeth Warren, and told the Washington Post this week: "I think we need to get the cap off of Social Security...I want to open up Medicare to everyone, let them have the choice. Bringing in a lot of people will make the program stronger.” Latest polls have Rick down by only 4 points!

Senator Mark Udall says "I will strongly oppose efforts to cut and privatize Social Security and vote against any bill that balances the budget on the backs of our seniors by cutting Social Security benefits." Not enough politicians have given that promise, but Mark has, and that's why we endorse him. Mark is one of the strongest fighters in the Senate for privacy protections and holding the CIA accountable. He also supports Elizabeth Warren's plan to fix the student debt crisis, and he has her endorsement. Current polling shows Senator Udall trailing his opponent by 4 points.

Congressman Bruce Braley is founder of the Populist Caucus in Congress. Now, he's running for Senate. After being targeted by the Koch brothers, this race to fill retiring Sen. Tom Harkin's seat moved from a Democratic advantage to dead even -- or in some polls, we're losing. Tea Party Republican Joni Ernst wants to repeal the federal minimum wage and cut Social Security. Latest Quinnipiac poll shows Joni Ernst leading by 2 points.

Third-term Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter is in an incredibly tight race for re-election in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District, and is a top national Republican target. Carol has been a true partner -- joining the PCCC's push against cuts to Social Security, joining our push to expand benefits, and attending our trainings in DC and New Hampshire to help us mentor up-and-coming candidates and progressive staffers. She is one of the first candidates to be endorsed by Larry Lessig's Mayday Super PAC because of her longtime work on the issue of campaign finance reform. Current polling shows Carol trailing by 2 points.

Congressman Rick Nolan is a former three-term Minnesota Congressman who was re-districted in 1980, had an entire life in international business since then, and won a seat again in 2012 with the PCCC's help -- knocking off a Tea Party incumbent. His first bill in Congress was campaign finance reform, saying that he saw how Congress used to work and it's crazy that members of Congress spend hours each day calling donors. He's the first Representative of this rural Duluth district to ever support gun safety legislation. He stood with the PCCC and progressive allies against cuts to Social Security and in support of expanding benefits. Rick is bold! And he is a top target for national Republicans in 2014. PCCC is proud to be helping re-elect this progressive champion. The Cook report currently has this race listed as a toss-up.

Can you chip in $3 to these bold progressive candidates who need our support right now?
Or sign up to call voters from home at least once before Election Day.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Keith Rouda, PCCC organizer

Bill Clinton likens GOP effort to Jim Crow laws from POLITICO 6JUL11

IT is pathetic that these new "Jim Crow" laws restricting voting rights of Americans are ALL from gop / tea-bagger legislatures and governors. We can only hope they are overturned and neutralized in time for the 2012 elections. From Politico....

By DARREN SAMUELSOHN 

Former President Bill Clinton Wednesday compared GOP efforts to limit same-day voter registration and block some convicted felons from voting to Jim Crow laws and poll taxes.
In a speech to liberal youth activists Wednesday, the former president called out proposals in battleground states like Florida and Ohio that could limit the voter rolls.

“I can’t help thinking since we just celebrated the Fourth of July and we’re supposed to be a country dedicated to liberty that one of the most pervasive political movements going on outside Washington today is the disciplined, passionate, determined effort of Republican governors and legislators to keep most of you from voting next time,” Clinton said at Campus Progress’s annual conference in Washington.

“There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the Jim Crow burdens on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today,” Clinton added.
Clinton mentioned Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s move in March to overturn past state precedent — including under former GOP governors — that allows convicted felons to vote once they’ve served they’ve finished probation periods.
“Why should we disenfranchise people forever once they’ve paid their price?” Clinton said. “Because most of them in Florida were African Americans and Hispanics who tended to vote for Democrats. That’s why.”
He also cited the New Hampshire proposal — which is currently stymied by a veto from Democratic Gov. John Lynch – that would stop college students who are from other states from registering to vote where they go to school.
Other states with powerful new GOP majorities have also drawn fire for their recent proposals to change voting laws.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich is expected to sign a bill that eliminates several early voting options and also eliminates a week-long period when voters could register and cast ballots at the same time. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed a law in May requiring voters to show identification at the polls and to have lived in their ward 28 days before the election.
And Maine Gov. Paul LePage last month approved a bill that negates a 38-year old law allowing same-day registration.
“Why is all of this going on? This is not rocket science. They are trying to make the 2012 electorate look more like the 2010 electorate than the 2008 electorate,” Clinton said.
Chris Jankowski, president of the Republican State Leadership Committee, pushed back against Clinton’s charge that the GOP is out to keep people from making it to the voting booth.
“It’s just not fair to paint all these proposals with the same broad brush,” he said.
“The Republican legislative majorities and their governors around the country are standing up for the integrity of the election process,” he added. “We support everyone who is entitled to vote to vote. And to take issue with that, to be opposed to that principle means you’re actually supporting illegal voting.”
Jankowski also said that turnout is fair game in politics. “Each party is free to do everything they should and possibly can to turn out their voters,” he said.
Carolyn Fiddler, communications director for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, welcomed Clinton’s remarks on an issue her organization has been closely tracking. “It’s such a serious issue, and it’s exciting to know Clinton is speaking out on it,” she said.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/58419.html#ixzz1RcG3crWd