Better Democrats

by Open Left

119
Supporters 10,725
Raised $
Distributed among the recipients below  

In 2008, with large majorities emerging in both branches of Congress, progressive Democrats do not have to, and should not, work to just elect any and all Democrats in every district across the country. Instead, we need to focus our efforts on those candidates who will be strong progressive voices in Congress, whose victories will help define the 2008 elections as a progressive victory, and whose victories will help ensure a long-term Democratic majority for years, maybe decades, to come.

Starting with our first seven candidates, Better Democrats will endorse those candidates whose victory, in our best estimation, will have the largest progressive impact on Congress as a whole. While there is no single criteria for our first six candidates, there are several important factors we took into consideration. Endorsing The Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq helps. Being from a blue district that will be easier to defend helps. Also, being a woman and / or a minority helps, given that the vast majority of conservative in the Democratic Congress are white men. Even though it is a generalization and not a hard rule, electing more women and minority Democrats to Congress means electing more progressives. Further, Willingness to speak out against Democratic capitulation on issues like Iraq and FISA helps. Yet further, running a primary campaign against a conservative Democratic in Congress really helps. The candidates who most closely match these criteria will end up on the Better Democrats page.

So, support better Democrats today, and build not only a larger Democratic majority, but a more progressive one, too.


Spread the Word

Image of Darcy Burner

Darcy Burner

WA-08 (Map)

Darcy is a leader and an organizer. She got 60 candidates on board a Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, which she authored. She’s going to be one of our key leaders in Congress.

Raised on this page: 69 2,114
Raised across ActBlue: 11,564 429,771

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Image of Mark Begich

Mark Begich

AK-Sen (Map)

Begich comes from Alaska, and he is seriously aggressive about climate change because there are literally villages falling into the ocean. He’s aggressive and smart, and he comes from a libertarian state. He’s also going after an incredibly corrupt Republican, Ted Stevens, who is being helped by Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye and the whole lobbying community of Washington, DC.

Raised on this page: 6 162
Raised across ActBlue: 2,137 66,562

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Image of Tom Perriello

Tom Perriello

VA-05 (Map)

Tom started Avaaz.org, an international version of Moveon. He’s part of a new generation of leadership, and he’s aggressively taking on one of the craziest members of Congress, Virgil Goode. It’s a red district, but he’s unabashedly progressive from a religious perspective. He’s signed on to a Reponsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, and he’s done so because of his experience in Africa using non-military tools to bring down Charles Taylor in Liberia.

Raised on this page: 37 519
Raised across ActBlue: 1,423 306,442

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Image of Jeff Merkley

Jeff Merkley

OR-Sen (Map)

Merkley is the next Russ Feingold. He criticized Obama for the FISA decision, the only Democratic candidate to do so in the whole country. He’s criticized Democratic Senate leadership for not forcing Republicans to flibuster, and is the only Senate candidate to sign on to a Responsible Plan to End the war in Iraq. This guy will go to the mat for progressive principles, because he has already taken enormous risks in doing so as a Senate candidate.

Raised on this page: 59 2,706
Raised across ActBlue: 2,417 249,120

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Image of Eric Massa

Eric Massa

NY-29 (Map)

Eric’s a 20 year Navy vet who has signed on to a Responsible Plan to End the war in Iraq. What I love about Massa is how mad he is at things in Washington. Most of the vets we put into office in 2006 went south on key votes – funding, FISA, etc – but Massa has signed onto a plan to keep no residual troops in Iraq and single payer health care. That’s a seriously progressive stance, in a conservative upstate district in New York.

Raised on this page: 37 404
Raised across ActBlue: 7,151 450,668

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Image of Donna Edwards

Donna Edwards

MD-04 (Map)

What is there to say about Donna? She’s an incumbent, but she’s wielding power because of the money she’s able to raise from us. She’s sworn off corporate contributions, and is really beginning to turn the progressive caucus around.

Raised on this page: 27 243
Raised across ActBlue: 8,560 460,139

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Image of Sam Bennett

Sam Bennett

PA-15 (Map)

Sam’s wonderful, with a history as an organizer in Pennsylvania. She was just endorsed by EMILY’s List, and has put together a competent and effective campaign in a blue district held by a Republican. Not only will your money go far here, but she has signed on to a Responsible Plan to End the war in Iraq and is a staunch aggressive progressive that will work to reinvigorate our wing of the party in Congress.

Raised on this page: 39 1,023
Raised across ActBlue: 1,082 203,222

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Image of Dennis Shulman

Dennis Shulman

NJ-05 (Map)

Shulman is a blind rabbi who has signed on to a Responsible Plan to End the war in Iraq, gotten J Street’s endorsement to fight AIPAC and a right-wing policy in Israeli-American relations, and is generally a progressive stalwart. It’s a northern New Jersey district that could go to Democrats, and Shulman has gotten incredible press because he’s such a unique candidate.

Raised on this page: 7 188
Raised across ActBlue: 874 120,368

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Image of Debbie Cook

Debbie Cook

CA-46 (Map)

She’s probably the most focused candidate I’ve ever seen on Peak Oil and energy problems, and we need people like her, with vision, to work on changing our legislative priorities.

Raised on this page: 8 441
Raised across ActBlue: 1,251 91,763

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BlogPAC

This political action committee works to support state blogs, ass-kicking activists, and engage in campaigns to build progressive infrastructure. We beat back Fox News in its attempt to host a debate with the Nevada state Democratic Party, and has funded award winning ad campaigns done by state bloggers. When Lane Hudon was fired from his job after he leaked the Mark Foley IMs that brought us Congress, Blogpac stepped up to give him a grant. We support ass-kicking progressive activists like Lane.

Raised on this page: 23 232
Raised across ActBlue: 8,199 169,957

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Total: 00,000