"This decision enables right-wing special interests to unleash a torrent of spending in campaigns. Progressives must level the playing field against attack ads through our advantage in grassroots organizing and direct voter contact."
Click the "Read More" link below to see the full press release.
Change you can count on: Five key Districts
Chris Cillizza
The Washington Post
"Joan Fitzgerald, former president of the Colorado state Senate and unsuccessful candidate for Congress in 2008, has taken over America Votes.
The liberal organization, which was formed during the 2004 presidential election, is designed to help coordinate grass-roots efforts by progressive interest groups. Fitzgerald is the fourth president, taking over from former congressman Martin Frost (D-Tex.), who guided it during the 2008 election. Executive Director Greg Speed praised Fitzgerald's "unique understanding among elected leaders of the vital role of America Votes' impact." In the last election, America Votes spent nearly $12 million on its coordination efforts in 14 states."
Former state
Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald is the new president of America
Votes, a national progressive group that she says is "perfect" for the
skill set she spent 25 years building.
She started Oct. 15 and already has traveled to various states.
America Votes, which was founded in 2003, is a coalition of liberal
grassroots, get-out-the-vote groups.
"Truly, the nicest part about this is with the kind of expertise
I've gained, you say, 'Well I've learned a lot. What can I do with it?'
" Fitz-Gerald said. "This job is the perfect answer.
"And 2010 is a really important year. It has a lot to do with
redistricting, and, as you know, I have some experience with that," she
said, with a laugh.
Greg Giroux
The Democratic Governors Association in a fundraising e-mail Tuesday highlighted Florida, Alaska, Georgia and Minnesota as 2010 takeover opportunities. "We know we can take back the governor's mansion in every one of these states. But these are historically Republican seats, and in this crucial election, we won't win them without a fight," DGA National Political Director Ray Glendening wrote in the fundraising pitch.
Few members of Michigan’s progressive community can say definitively that they have gone to fisticuffs in defense of a candidate. Though many may have nurtured the desire (and perhaps let a Twitter update suffer their wrath instead), Ray Plowden may be the only one yet to have thrown punches for Jack Kennedy.
“The first fight I got into at school was with a guy in the same grade, and he was for Nixon and I was for Kennedy,” Plowden remembers. “We argued about it on the playground; he pushed me or I pushed him, I don’t know who it was, but we started tussling over Nixon and Kennedy.”
Sam Roberts
The longstanding gap between blacks and whites in voter participation evaporated in the presidential election last year, according to an analysis released Thursday. Black, Hispanic and Asian voters made up nearly a quarter of the electorate, setting a record.
The study attributed the findings to several factors beyond the obvious one: Barack Obama’s candidacy. For instance, the number of eligible Hispanic voters has soared by more than 21 percent since 2004, a reflection of population gains and growing numbers of Hispanics who are citizens. Their share of eligible voters increased to 9.5 percent, from 8.2 percent four years earlier. In 2008, for the first time, the share of white non-Hispanic eligible voters fell below 75 percent.
Ben Smith
An environmental group is increasing the pressure to pass a sweeping environmental measure by taking out ads in the home districts of Republicans who oppose the bill. The League of Conservation Voters will advertise in the Michigan district of Republican Rep. Mike Rogers starting Friday, officials at the group said. It will be the second in a series of ads accusing members who oppose the legislation of lacking faith in America. The previous ad attacked Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).
Steven Greenhouse
Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, who plans to introduce a bill on Tuesday that would make it easier to form unions, said in an interview, “We have enough votes to pass the bill in the Senate.” The bill, known as the Employee Free Choice Act, would make it far easier for Americans to form unions by giving workers the right to unionize as soon as a majority of employees in a workplace sign cards saying they want a union.
Jeremy P Jacobs
Coming off its campaign in support of the president's economic stimulus package last month, Americans United for Change announced "the biggest grassroots campaign in history" dedicated to working to pass President Barack Obama's budget.
On a conference call Friday, representatives of AFSCME, SEIU, USAction, Americans United for Change, the League of Conservation Voters, the National Women's Law Center, Environment America and ACORN praised Obama's $3.55 trillion budget and pledged an all out effort to get it through Congress by Easter recess.
You can now find America Votes - and many of our coalition partners - on Facebook. Become a fan today to check out past America Votes photographs, keep up on America Votes coalition news, receive Facebook updates and connect with other fans of the America Votes coalition.
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