Reasonable choices

Reasonable choices Doug Edwards dedwards@gmail.com 3/19/09 I'm adding Scott Murphy, who is running to fill the Congressional seat previously held by Kirsten Gillibrand, who was named to the Senate when Hillary Clinton went to State. I like Murphy's stands on transparency in government and accountability, positions he inherited from Gillibrand and intends to maintain. For the same reasons, I think Gillibrand is well worth supporting in her run to hold onto Hillary's Senate seat. <p> <p> -Doug</p></p> public true 99759.92 24 Scott Murphy false NY-20 scott murphy 4800.00 409809.52 2194 http://www.scottmurphy09.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/21699 2300.00 1 Kirsten Gillibrand false NY-Sen gillibrand 4800.00 25995.37 124 http://www.kirstengillibrand.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/21705 4700.00 2 Have supported her since her first run in 2006 and continue to be impressed by the energy and intelligence she brings to public office. I think she's a worthy successor to Hillary in New York's Senate seat. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee false senatorial 30400.00 173942.22 1658 http://www.dscc.org https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/8339 38584.48 4 Equality for All false equalityforall 100000.00 1219405.52 14480 https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/19788 5000.00 1 Mark Warner false VA-Sen mark warner 4800.00 1370432.13 6613 http://markwarner2008.com https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/18420 34.48 1 Tom Udall false NM-Sen udall 4800.00 430628.17 1770 http://www.udallforusall.com https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/18608 34.48 1 Mark Udall false CO-Sen udall 4800.00 167017.35 4039 http://www.markudall.org/home.asp https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/17975 4634.48 3 Jeanne Shaheen false NH-Sen jeanne shaheen 4800.00 346568.11 4363 http://jeanneshaheen.org/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/18422 34.48 1 Mark Begich false AK-Sen mark begich 4800.00 286420.34 10849 http://www.begich.com https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/19109 119.48 4 Jeff Merkley false OR-Sen merkley 4800.00 601262.18 9083 http://www.jeffmerkley.com https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/18219 34.48 1 Al Franken false MN-Sen franken 4800.00 512642.75 17067 http://www.alfranken.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/16471 34.48 1 Tom Allen false ME-Sen allen 4800.00 137090.54 3473 http://www.tomallen.org/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/18023 7434.48 4 I met with Tom Allen one on one and had a chance to talk with him at length. He is trying to step up from Congressman to Senator from Maine against well-entrenched Republican Susan Collins, who was recently endorsed by Joe Lieberman. Collins has been a consistent supporter of the war and as Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, was the person responsible for oversight of all the Halliburton contracts in Iraq. She never once called a meeting to review them, even though Lieberman himself issued a press release asking her to do so. Allen describes himself as a fairly traditional New England moderate with no positions likely to surprise his supporters. He's a Rhodes Scholar , Harvard educated lawyer and friend of Bill Clinton. I would have liked to have seen him be more aggressive on ethics reform, but he is more focused on Iraq and healthcare which are bigger issues in his district. This race is one of the top 3 that are likely to result in Democrats picking up a Senate seat. Given Lieberman's leanings, it's imperative that every one of these get full support or the balance could tip back to the Republicans, splitting Congress yet again. Kay Hagan false NC-Sen hagan 4800.00 2393166.73 18694 http://kayhagan.com https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/18560 734.48 2 Bruce Lunsford false KY-Sen bruce lunsford 4800.00 125862.82 3518 http://www.bruce2008.com https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/20008 59.48 2 Ronnie Musgrove false MS-Sen musgrove 4800.00 467378.40 5217 http://musgroveforsenate.net/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/18711 34.48 1 Jerry McNerney false CA-11 mcnerney 4800.00 41160.79 1172 http://www.jerrymcnerney.org/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12671 5134.48 3 Surprised everyone by defeating anti-environmentalist Richard Pombo in a very Republican district last cycle. McNerney is a wind energy engineer and the only congressman with a doctorate in math. He once gave a speech on the floor praising scientists for work that "involves defining the detailed structure of a geometric object called E8, the largest of the exceptional Lie groups used to study symmetry." McNerney is squeezed between Bay Area liberals who want him to be adamantly anti-war and his very Republican district that is not so radical on Iraq. Karl Rove knows how hard it will be for him to maintain his balance. That's why he made McNerney the number 3 target on his hit list for 2008, according to a leaked document. If you think having rational, logic-driven engineering types in Congress would improve our public policy, this is your guy. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/05/14/MNGGGPQDMM1.DTL Charlie Brown false CA-04 brown 4800.00 270052.16 11135 http://www.brown4congress.org https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/16314 1334.48 2 His opponent John Doolittle is being investigated by the FBI and was involved with Abramoff. Doolittle recently stepped down from his Appropriations Committee seat and is seen as very vulnerable. Brown, a career military man, former Republican and social moderate, almost defeated Doolittle last cycle and is trying again. He'll likely succeed, though it's possible Doolittle will be pressured to bow out and a more palatable Republican will run in his place. Brown is more conservative than I am, but he seems like a good man who is far better than his opponent. John Yarmuth false KY-03 yarmuth 4800.00 22173.52 1813 http://www.yarmuth2006.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12743 4634.48 2 A Yale grad and former newspaper publisher, Yarmuth was a progressive political columnist before becoming Kentucky's first Jewish congressman. He won by 51% to 48% and was praised by his opponent for his campaign in her concession speech. You may have seen him debating with Stephen Colbert, who picked the topic "Kittens should be shredded in woodchippers" and made Yarmuth take the affirmative position. Yarmuth has voted with his party 98% of the time and voted against appropriations for Iraq without benchmarks. His other positions are harder to ascertain, though he seems to be pretty liberal for his district. Given how close the race was last cycle, it's likely there will be a strong effort to recapture the seat by the Republicans. Mike Arcuri false NY-24 arcuri 4800.00 17872.79 407 http://www.ArcuriForCongress.com https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12821 34.48 1 A former District Attorney and NYPIRG attorney, Arcuri is a Blue Dog Democrat, meaning he's fiscally conservative, but socially moderate. He has voted with the Democratic leadership 98% of the time since his election, including opposition to troop funding without benchmarks. With Kirsten Gillibrand he is pushing hard for ethics reform as a freshman, which is an uphill battle on both sides of the aisle. Arcuri is high on the list of candidates the DCCC would like to protect and the Republicans would like to eject. He seems to have the charisma and likeability the party needs more of and may not have much trouble winning reelection, though it's too early to tell. Christopher Murphy false CT-05 christopher murphy 4800.00 12451.55 146 http://www.murphyforcongress.org/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12705 4634.48 2 Another of the strong Freshman advocates for ethics reform, Chris Murphy actually won a decisive victory in his 2006 run despite a barrage of negative ads from the RNC that led to the contest being characterized as "the nastiest campaign in state history." Since his election, Murphy has voted with the Dems 97.6% of the time, including opposition to troop funding without benchmarks, though he missed a vote on lobbying reform that was overwhelmingly supported by both Republicans and Democrats. The NY Times gave him this endorsement when he ran in 2006: "Mr. Murphy, a lawyer, is impressive. He has spent eight years in the Connecticut House and Senate. He pushed for the state to adopt a system of campaign finance reform when he first entered the House, long before this was considered an important issue. He helped pass legislation that made it easier for the uninsured to obtain health insurance. He wants to work on the same issue in Congress. Mr. Murphy believes the war in Iraq has forced America into a false choice between war and civil liberties and has made us more vulnerable to terrorism. He advocates a timetable for withdrawal. Ms. Johnson has supported the war and has voted to continue the current open-ended commitment. We've supported Ms. Johnson in the past, but are disenchanted with her support of her leadership's radical agenda. Mr. Murphy would be a strong candidate in any race, and even against a seasoned incumbent, is impressive. He would make a superb addition to Congress. We strongly endorse his candidacy." Tim Walz false MN-01 walz 4800.00 17462.40 703 http://www.timwalz.org/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12771 34.48 1 Walz served 24 years in the National Guard before returning to a teaching high school geography. He decided to run for office when 2 of his students were removed from a Bush rally because one of them had a Kerry sticker on his wallet. Since his election in 2006, Walz has voted with his party 96.6% of the time, though he voted for Iraq funding without benchmarks, a not unusual position for a veteran to take. In his first week, he sponsored the minimum wage increase, voted for stem cell research and for negotiation of pharmaceutical prices. The DCCC has Walz high on their list of seats to protect and already 3 Republicans have stepped forward to challenge him. You can read more here: http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/05/09/cq_2693.html Harry Mitchell false AZ-05 mitchell 4800.00 7408.56 411 http://www.harrymitchellforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12661 34.48 1 Fairly conservative by my standards, but a moderate for Arizona, Mitchell was hand picked by DCCC chair Rahm Emanuel to run for the traditionally Republican seat. A former mayor of Tempe and a state senator, Mitchell has a lot of experience with public service, while his opponent was characterized by the Arizona Republic as a "bombastic" and "obnoxious" "bully." It was an extremely tight race in which the Republican refused to concede. Mitchell's seat will likely be targeted again this cycle and early money will help him build momentum to keep it. Mitchell has voted with the Dems 93% of the time, and though he did support the last version of the Iraq funding bill without benchmarks he claims on his website that Congressional oversight in Iraq is critical. I'm hopeful he'll back that up more strongly in the future. Patrick Murphy false PA-08 murphy 4800.00 43723.49 998 http://www.murphy06.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12840 2334.48 2 Paul Hodes false NH-02 hodes 4800.00 6645.05 162 http://www.hodesforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12791 34.48 1 Darcy Burner false WA-08 burner 4800.00 760588.59 21568 http://www.darcyburner.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/17762 2434.48 3 Larry Kissell false NC-08 kissell 4800.00 307677.53 4782 http://www.larrykissell.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/16138 2334.48 2 Dan Maffei false NY-25 maffei 4800.00 121762.07 5758 http://www.maffeiforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/17953 2334.48 2 John Hall false NY-19 hall 4800.00 34632.49 768 http://www.johnhallforcongress.com https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12817 2334.48 2 Niki Tsongas false MA-05 tsongas 4800.00 442573.16 1723 http://www.nikitsongas.com https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/17775 2334.48 2 Mary Jo Kilroy false OH-15 mary jo kilroy 4800.00 90916.43 732 http://www.kilroyforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/17758 2334.48 2 Peter Welch false VT-01 welch 4800.00 3060.03 22 http://www.welchforcongress.com/ https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12874 2334.48 2