Just contributed to Busby (CA-50) campaign - please read!

Francine Busby is running for Congress in California's 50th congressional district (San Diego plus, former district of corrupt jailbird Duke Cunningham). She was the overwhemling victor in an election in May and now faces a Republican in a June 6 run-off election (she didn't get 50% in May). A recent poll has her leading by 7 points - this in a district where many DU'ers said she had no chance. Crooks & Liars posted the poll results from The National Journal:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/05/17.html#a8325

You can bet the attack ads will be ramping up any day now as the Republicans get desperate.

If Busby can take the election on June 6th, the pundits will be talking for days about it being a bellwether. And forget the pundits - it really will be a bellwether!

Please contribute to her campaign. I don't work for them, I'm not paid by them, I don't even live in her district. I'm just an interested voter from California. If we take this election early in a Republican district, it would be BIG.

You can contribute here:
http://www.busbyforcongress.com/contribute.php

:hi: I recommended your post. We can win this district. I know Francine as she is also a member of my Dem. club. The negative ads are already here. The Rep. National Committee is despicable.

From an article in CQ Politics:

The NRCC mailer, sent out at the end of last week, has a cover illustration that appears to compare Busby — a former college instructor and school board trustee — to teenage drunk drivers. The montage shows the faces of two teenage boys next to an overturned car that has a glass of beer superimposed on it.

The allusion, as it turns out, is meant to be symbolic. “Teenagers can be irresponsible . . . even dangerous,” reads the top of the flyer. “Politicians are even more dangerous. And sadly, Francine Busby is so irresponsible she is dangerous.”

http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/05/ca_50_negative_ads_darken_tone.html

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A message to all: Francine Busby needs money to help fight these ads! Please send something her way if you can. I don't want to be sitting around after the election wishing we had done something while she was getting Swift Boated.

Good Luck!

Dear XXXXXXXXX,

It's time for an accountability moment for Clay Shaw and Dave Reichert. They're a couple of Republican congressmen with absurdly bad environmental voting records and connections to big oil that would make Dick Cheney blush, and their Democratic opponents are closing in on them every day. If we give these pro-environment Democrats the immediate help they need, we can win two of the most environmentally critical elections in the country.

Support strong pro-environment Democratic candidates right now.

Clay Shaw (Florida) and Dave Reichert (Washington) are from opposite ends of the country. But, they're as close as they could be when it comes to cozying up to polluters and giant oil companies. In fact, they share identical 28% scores on the non-partisan League of Conservation Voters environmental scorecard. That means they vote against the environment 7 out of every 10 chances they get.

They've voted to open up the Arctic Refuge to drilling, gut funding of environmental protections for clean water and environmental conservation, and sell off our public lands to the big mining companies.

The contrast couldn't be more compelling. Their Democratic opponents are strong environmentalists. Ron Klein, running to unseat Clay Shaw, has been a leader in the Florida State Senate opposing the Bush administration's efforts to open up Florida's coastline to oil drilling. And Darcy Burner, opposing Dave Reichert in Washington, is running because she's fed up with the Bush Republicans paying only lip service to alternative energy and conservation while they give away billions of dollars in tax subsidies to giant oil companies that are already raking in record profits.

Here's how you can help. Make sure the voters in Florida and Washington state reject the 28% voting records of anti-environment Republicans by donating $28 each to the fast-moving campaigns of Ron Klein and Darcy Burner.

Support strong pro-environment Democratic candidates right now.

And, while you're at it, please consider sending another $28 to Francine Busby. She's a committed pro-environment Democrat running in a very tight race in California. Her opponent, Brian Bilbray - a former GOP congressman turned energy company lobbyist - is running on the dubious proposition that what Congress needs right now is more Republican advocates for Big Oil.

Francine Busby is running against Bilbray in the seat vacated by the GOP's Randy "Duke" Cunningham who has admitted to a long string of corrupt acts. Sending someone as clean and green as Francine Busby to replace Cunningham would truly be a breath of fresh air. The special election to fill this seat is only 3 weeks away, so please act today.

Support strong pro-environment Democratic candidates right now.

Every day I become more hopeful that, thanks to you, our hard-driving efforts to deliver unprecedented levels of grassroots support to key Democratic candidates can turn the tide in 2006.

I'm tired of being forced to spend so much of our time just trying to stop bad things from happening in Washington.

If we can take back Congress in November, we can stop anti-environment Republicans from threatening the Arctic Refuge, selling off our national forests, weakening environmental standards, and we can finally do right by our national security by putting America on a path to genuine energy independence.

You and I both know that the best way to protect our environment is to throw ourselves heart and soul into winning these elections.

Think we can't do it? Think again. I believe in this cause with all my heart and gut. I know it's not easy, but I remember when you couldn't even mention environmental issues without a snicker. But then in the 1970's people got tired of seeing the Cuyahoga River catch on fire from all the chemicals. So one day millions of Americans marched. Politicians had no choice but to take notice. Twelve Congressmen were dubbed the Dirty Dozen, and soon after seven were kicked out of office. The floodgates were opened. We got the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act. We created the EPA. The quality of life improved because concerned citizens made their issues matter in elections.

We need to do this all over again.

If possible, I urge you to send $28 to each of the three pro-environment candidates we're focusing on this week. If you can't afford that, I urge you to pick one or two candidates to support. But, whatever you do, don't let pass this opportunity to build strong momentum in must-win races across the nation that will determine who controls Congress for the next two years.

Thanks so much for all of the hard work you're putting into this campaign.

Sincerely,

John Kerry

P.S. In addition to providing direct candidate assistance, I hope you'll add a special donation to Keeping America's Promise in support of our broader efforts to help shape the outcome of this November's elections.


Paid for by Friends of John Kerry, Inc.
Authorized by Darcy Burner for Congress
Authorized by Klein for Congress
Authorized by Francine Busby for Congress

I'd love to see that seat turn blue!

I don't have much money right now, but I can find some I'll contribute. If only we could get someone viable in Duncan Hunter's district so we can take rice pilaf off the menu! :evilgrin:

I sure wish I could shift that decimal point to the right, but I am operating under a stringent austerity program at the present.

Local Democrats are asking for an investigation Wednesday, after concerns were raised about 50th District candidate Brian Bilbray's primary residence.

The San Diego County Democratic Party says Bilbray committed perjury and voter fraud by declaring three different properties as his primary residence.

The group claims that just days after the Cunningham scandal broke, Bilbray registered to vote in the 50th District using his mother's Carlsbad address, although legal papers listed his Virginia residence as his primary address.

"When you piece it together, Brian Bilbray has basically given false information in at least two places since he claimed three residences," San Diego Democratic Party Chair Jess Durfee said. "One of them has to be his primary residence, which according to California election law, is where he should be registered to vote."

http://www.kfmb.com/stories/story.50557.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2633446&mesg_id=2633446

Even the neighbors of the California address say they never see Bilbray at this house except for an occasional visit to his mother. He's actually from Alexandria VA