George McGovern is no right-wing puppet; in fact I consider him a founding father of the 'crash the gate' movement. Maine Congressman Tom Allen has tried to ride the coattails of the re-emergence of Progressive Politics during his Senate run, but has really not done the job. He's been beat up relentlessly on TV in Maine for his support of the EFCA, and has done a horrible job explaining his position. Now George McGovern is in the Wall Street Journal with an opinion piece that is spreading rapidly through Democratic circles in Maine. He basically dissects the EFCA bill and shows why Tom Allen's support of the measure is becoming a significant campaign liability.
My Party Should Respect Secret Union Ballots By GEORGE MCGOVERN
As a congressman, senator and one-time Democratic nominee for the presidency, I've participated in my share of vigorous public debates over issues of great consequence. And the public has been free to accept or reject the decisions I made when they walked into a ballot booth, drew the curtain and cast their vote. I didn't always win, but I always respected the process.
All of us who work in organizing know how precious our grassroots volunteers are. Often we get discouraged by events on the national level, or just plain exhausted from the level of campaign activity this year. But all it takes to bring us back up again is hearing a good vol making a connection with a voter on the phone, or laughing as a canvass team reports in on their adventures (this Saturday's story to top was the guy in just pajama bottoms...well, it could have been worse).
In the interest of celebrating our volunteers- and encouraging others to step up- I came up with a concept for a logo especially for this campaign season. This project called for some custom artwork, and fortunately I knew just the designer to tap for it: Sam Reynolds, Maine Democratic Party Youth Intern (Special Ops/Graphics Division). Sam is 16, and conveniently he is also my son. I think he is quite talented, but I may be biased, so I'll let his work speak for itself. The design and more below the fold...
Congressman Allen wants to hear what changes YOU want to see in this country, and he's going to buy you dinner to boot! He will be appearing throughout the state in a series of Community Suppers in August, and the first set begins next week in Sanford/Springvale, Bath, Saco and Windham. Please call or email the organizer in charge of each supper if you want to attend, want to help out, or -- most importantly -- want to come in to our offices and help invite the whole community!
The Supreme Court ruled today that Democrat-Turned-Indie Herb Hoffman did not obtain the legal amount of signatures to have his name placed on the November Ballot.
From the Great State of OREGON (home of the Other Portland):
Is this Bill in Portland Maine that I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee...
But wait! NO! It’s not Bill in Portland! It’s Naismith's Very Special 50-State Diary, #25 in a series between now and the election, celebrating the halfway point and drawing attention to itself by looking at the GREAT STATE OF MAINE! State, Federal, Innies, Outies and the whole dang clambake!
Focus on Maine starts in There’s Moreville...[Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Not satisfied with simply lying that the Employee Free Choice Act takes away workers rights to a secret vote (it does not, as I have noted here: Employees have the right to request a secret-ballot vote if their employer recognizes a union based on union authorization cards. Under the NLRB's ruling in Dana Corp., 351 N.L.R.B. No. 28 (2007), employees can file a petition for decertification with the NLRB to obtain a secret-ballot election, provided that the petition for decertification is filed within 45 days after the employees are publicly notified of the "recognition" of the union.), an anti-union group from away, Employee Freedom.org, has begun running a radio spot here in Maine that compares labor unions to the Mafia.
Given what happened yesterday, I feel it's important I repost my earlier diary on who are the GOOD Democratic challengers when it comes to FISA. I'll try to corral all their statements into this diary, so you can see who the "good guys" are.
First, let's start off with the current House and Senate members who voted against this bill. (For the Senate, I'm only including those who voted against cloture yesterday for the bill.) They do deserve credit, as it's their jobs on the line.
Follow me below the fold to see the dozens of Democratic challengers who are standing up for the Constitution, and are against this FISA bill and retroactive immunity.
The netroots / blogosphere has picked its favorites, be they Rick Noriega or Darcy Burner or Scott Kleeb. (All three of whom are great candidates.)
In this diary, I wanted to spread the love a bit to a few candidates that don't get mentioned much, or at all. Please help me in this task.
Oftentimes moderate Democrats running in Republican districts, who don't and can't hew to the hard left like we might like, lose out in the online popularity contests. But at the end of the day, their one vote will count for just as much, and will each be replacing the vote of a bad GOP legislator.
In this diary I detail 5 house candidates and 5 senate candidates that are worthy of your donations - even $5 - via ActBlue at this link. Even better, sign up for a recurring contribution - it helps ensure the candidates a steady financial situation.
On the heels of Mike Lux putting the race between Rep. Tom Allen and Susan Collins as the 4th most important this cycle and with Collins holding only a 7 point lead in a recent poll (with Collins less than 50% for the first time), the DSCC has released this viral ad:
Knocking down the myth that Susan Collins is a moderate will be the hardest thing about this campaign, especially since the media in Maine seems intent on continuing to promote it. Ads like this help, and I urge you to help circulate it to those you konw with connections to the Pine Tree State. Thanks.
In the last couple days, there have been several posts across the blogosphere citing what various candidates running for Congress have said on FISA and retroactive immunity for the telecoms. But so far, it's been all over the map. I'll try to corral all their statements into this diary, so you can see who the "good guys" are.
First, let's start off with the current House and Senate members who voted against this bill. They do deserve credit, as it's their jobs on the line.
Follow me below the fold to see the dozens of Democratic challengers who are standing up for the Constitution, and are against this FISA bill and retroactive immunity.
We all know that Senator Susan Collins is no friend of progressive politics. With Holy Joe at her side, however, she is trying to create the appearance of being a moderate. So much for that image (which we all know is an illusion). The Maine Senator said today, at a hearing of the Senate's committee on homeland security and government affairs, that she is opposed to a proposal to ban large institutional investors from investing in commodities, a proposal floated by her own BFF Sen. Joe Lieberman. Give that she is in a tight race with Tom Allen, with recent poll numbers showing Collins vulnerable, tacking to the right of Joe Lieberman can only help unseat her...
In light of recent reports in the New York Times and the BBC Jonathan Kaplan has this in today's Portland Press Herald reporting on Rep. Tom Allen's renwed criticism of Susan Collins' work as chair of the Senate committee tasked with overseeing all Federal contracts:
Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, on Friday used the recent reports to renew his accusation that Republican Sen. Susan Collins did not conduct sufficient oversight of private contractors providing services to U.S. troops in Iraq when she chaired the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee from 2003 through 2006.
"Sen. Collins should have been doing investigations, holding hearings and calling contractors on the carpet," Allen said in a phone interview that his campaign initiated. "These horror stories would be very much minimized if she had done her job."
Allen has been quietly, steadily closing the gap in polling numbers between himself and Collins for months now, and finally finds himself within striking distance of Maine's junior Senator.
Allen has managed to seal 72% of the Democratic vote, an increase over previous Rasmussen polls, but Collins still takes 24% of the Dem vote and the lion's share of the indie vote. She has, however, only 81% support from Maine Republicans. If Allen can hold her to that and shore up indie and Dem support, he has a shot to win. I'd consider this race "likely Republican" at this juncture.
The lead Republican incumbent Collins has held over Democrat Tom Allen continues to degrade. According to Rasmussen, in April, the lead was 16. In May, it was 10. Now the June poll has the lead down to 7. At present the poll is:
Collins 49
Allen 42
On a gorgeous early summer morning, about 75 Mid Coast Dem's were joined by by their compatriots seeking office to officially open the Knox County Democratic Headquarters, located in Rockland.
Headlining the event was Rep. Tom Allen, and Chellie Pingree, winner of a six-way race seeking the 1st District seat vacated as Allen seeks to replace Susan Collins in the U.S. Senate.
