You probably don't usually pay close attention to elections in Arkansas. Neither do I.
But the primary fight there could be our best hope for saving the soul of the Democratic Party—and today is the last chance to help out.
Here's why:
When we elected President Obama in 2008, we knew that to win real change in Washington, we'd have to overcome the opposition of right-wing Republicans. But some of the biggest obstacles to progressive legislation have been conservative Democrats. After all, they tried to block health care reform and killed the public option.
Unfortunately, party leaders haven't lifted a finger to hold them accountable. And so long as corporate Democrats don't face any political consequences, they're going to keep obstructing President Obama's agenda. (And keep profiting from it by collecting big campaign contributions from corporate interests!)
That's why the primary fight happening in Arkansas right now is so important. It's about whether the Democratic Party represents corporate lobbyists or grassroots progressives like you and me.
Senator Blanche Lincoln is one of the absolute worst of these corporate Democrats, and if she loses to populist Bill Halter, all the rest of them will have to sit up and take notice—and we'll be in a much better position to win some major progressive victories in Congress.
But right now Halter is being outspent, as Sen. Lincoln's wealthy corporate allies pour huge sums of money into a vicious smear campaign. So if Sen. Lincoln wins, corporate Democrats will become even more fearless about doing the bidding of their deep-pocketed backers.
In just 24 hours, the Halter campaign has to make their final spending decisions before Election Day—how many ads they can afford to run, how many voters they can contact, and so on.
If you still care about everything we fought for together in 2008, now's the time to stand up. This is our last chance to affect the outcome in Arkansas—and the future of the Democratic Party.
Raising an additional $200,000 will take only 3 donations from [my home town is deleted by me] today. Can you chip in $5?
Together, we can make a huge difference in this campaign. Thanks for all you do.
–Adam, Matt, Michael, Jodeen, and the rest of the team
Submitted by J David Smithson, editor of Midknight Review and proud member of MoveOn ---- he he he
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