Bill Section 147, a commenter at Daily Kos, has offered to match up to 20 individual $10 contributions to this campaign. If you’ve thought about giving a little and want it to count double, that’s too good of an offer to refuse.
Jon has a recap of what we’ve done this quarter and how we’re going to win this race. It’s up at New West Network, Daily Kos and MyDD. It’s a great piece worth checking out.
We highlighted real differences between Conrad Burns and the values of Montana voters:Go read the whole thing. What should we do next quarter?1. We stood up and demanded a real energy policy that addresses America’s energy needs while recognizing the need for conservation, renewable energy development, and the strengthening of our rural economies. (If you haven’t yet signed the petition demanding that George Bush and Congress get serious about energy, please do so here).
2. We stood up and said that it’s time for this foolish talk about privatizing Social Security to come to an end so we can deal with real issues facing America.
3. We declared, “You can’t rebuild America by tearing American workers down” and called on the White House to reverse their decision on Davis-Bacon.
4. We said that we’ve had enough of Washington’s pay-to-play, win-at-all-costs attitude.
5. And we stood up and said that Washington, D.C. needs real leadership to deal with the deficit today - so that our children aren’t left paying our debts.
And in the process of standing up for what’s right, more than 2,000 people like you have made financial contributions to our campaign.
by Bob Ream
[Editor’s Note: Former Montana Democratic Party Chair Bob Ream sent the following message to members of the campaign today. We’re proud to have the support of Bob, who is a great Democrat and a great Montanan.]
Since my retirement after eight years as Chair of the Montana Democratic Party, I??ve managed to stay quite busy ??? doing ???deferred maintenance??? at home and taking a much-needed vacation with my family.
Now it??s time for me to get back into politics and participate in a way that I haven??t been able to in years: by getting involved in a primary.
I spent 16 years in the Montana House and I am dedicated to helping Jon Tester win both the primary and the general election.
Jon Tester is my good friend and he is the only Democrat who can beat Conrad Burns. Tester is a farmer from north-central Montana who appeals to rural and urban Montana voters. Tester knows what it??s like to wake up at 4:30 a.m. and work out in the fields. The dirt on his cowboy boots is real. He??s a third-generation Montana farmer who will take Montanan??s needs and issues to Washington without the help of Jack Abramoff or other lobbyists.
But it will take all of us participating in some way to beat Conrad Burns and his special interest money. If you can afford to do so, please join me in making a financial contribution to the Tester campaign today. Tomorrow is the final day of the fundraising quarter. Even a small amount can go a long way:
http://www.testerforsenate.com/contribute/
Jon Tester is a team player. During the last election when Montana Democrats took control of the Senate, the Montana Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and the Party had no bigger ally than Jon Tester. Jon spent the year raising money, knocking on doors and mentoring our new candidates.
His hard work paid off: we picked up 6 Senate seats and 3 House seats. Because of his hard work and the respect of the other 26 Senate Democrats, Jon was elected President of the Senate. In that capacity he was highly successful at working across the aisle and working with the Governor??s office to get solid legislation passed.
Democrats like you and I and Jon Tester went through a lot together in this last decade. Together, we witnessed some of our party??s worst defeats. And, together, we rebuilt one of the strongest Democratic parties in the nation ??? making it truly a New Day in Montana.
Please join me in sending Jon Tester a contribution, so we can return Burns?? seat to the party of Mike Mansfield:
http://www.testerforsenate.com/contribute/
Thank you for working with me to elect Jon Tester to the U.S. Senate in 2006.
Bob Ream
Two days ago, in the same email I highlighted below, Jon brought a little attention to a new report titled “Beyond Delay: The 13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress.” The reason he raised this report is that Montana’s junior Senator — Conrad Burns — is featured along with 10 other Republicans and 2 Democrats as one of the 13.
That’s quite the prize.
The report focuses on still unanswered questions about the relationship between Conrad Burns’ office and notorious Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Yesterday, two men in Florida who have connections to Jack Abramoff were arrested on murder charges — charges brought in the death of the former owner of SunCruz casinos. The man was killed while trying to get his company back from Jack Abramoff.
SunCruz may sound familiar because two of Conrad Burns’ staffers — his Chief of Staff and his Appropriations staffer — took a vacation on SunCruz casinos before going to the Super Bowl on a trip paid for with Abramoff’s money.
All of this sounds like something we’re still not too proud to be part of.
Which is why Jon is speaking out again today to our email list (and in a diary posted at both MyDD and at the Daily Kos).
(Now former) House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was indicted today. There’s a stench running through most of Washington, but as Jon notes, it’s our responsibility to clean it up:
But let me tell you something. I’ve been a farmer my entire life, and I can tell you from experience that no matter how hard you try, you can’t convince a hog to shovel its own bull.He’s right. We get the government we work for. Right now, you might say that we’ve got the government we deserve. Let’s work harder and get the government we want.By the same token, we can’t expect those in Washington to clean up to corruption in Washington.
It’s going to take all of us standing up and saying, enough is enough. We deserve a government better than this.
Jon sent an email to members of the campaign yesterday highlighting a few problems with Senator Conrad Burns’ stance on what workers rebuilding the Gulf Coast should be paid.
The thing is, the Senator and the White House think it’s OK to hand out no-bid contracts without competition but tell those companies sure to profit from the reconstruction that they can pay their workers minimum wage.
Jon Tester is sending a different message though:
I support the prevailing wage standard ??? because I believe in a fair day??s pay for a fair day??s work. I don??t think you can rebuild America by tearing American workers down.
