Read Larry Kalb's responses to the endorsement questionnaire. On July 21,Washington's 2nd Congressional District PDA chapter unanimously voted to endorse Larry Kalb, progressive Democratic candidate for U.S. House of Representatives. Larry is seeking to unseat the 5-term incumbent "New Democrat" Rick Larsen, who just voted to approve another $33 billion to continue an unwinnable "war" in Afghanistan, has waffled on healthcare reform, and opposes public financing of elections. Larry has served as chair of the Washington State Progressive Caucus, president of Health Care For All--Washington, advocating for single-payer "Medicare for All" health care, and was instrumental in passing the first resolution in Washington State against the Iraq "war." [more]

Read Doug Tudor's responses to the endorsement questionnaire On Thursday July 29, Progressive Democrats of America will consider Doug Tudor for national endorsement on their Inside the Democratic Party conference call. Tudor won the endorsement in 2008. Tudor, an ardent supporter of Medicare for All won the PDA-FL CD-12 Chapter endorsement on July 5, which made him eligible for the national endorsement. Doug Tudor is a retired U.S. Navy Master Chief Petty Officer, which is an E9, the Navy’s senior enlisted rank. He retired from active duty on February 29, 2008. In his final six years of service, Doug served as the Flag Writer, or personal administrative assistant, for three Commanders, U.S. Central Command--General Tommy Franks, USA; General John Abizaid, USA; and Admiral William Fallon, USN. With these officers, Doug deployed to the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan over 30 times. While in the service, Doug earned a B.S. in Government and an Executive Juris Doctorate. [more]

Published by WarIsaCrime.org. Well this is helpful. The best candidate for Congress I know of, Jonathan Tasini, is now running against an incumbent, Charlie Rangel, who is going to be put on trial in Congress for all sorts of alleged corruption. According to the Christian Science Monitor, "the allegations range from misuse of rent-controlled apartments in New York City and failure to disclose income from a villa in the Dominican Republic to reports that he exchanged official favors–a tax loophole for oil driller Nabors Industries Ltd.–in exchange for a $1 million gift to the Charles Rangel Center at City College of New York." The Associated Press reports that the detailed charges will be released next Thursday, and "sanctions can range from a damaging committee report to censure by the House and even expulsion, a punishment reserved for only the most egregious violations." [more]

Published by AlterNet. Since 2005, the Watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has highlighted the most egregious violators of the public trust in its annual Most Corrupt Members of Congress report. Now, CREW has begun a list of Crooked Candidates to shine the spotlight on some of the lousy politicians vying for federal office in 2010. Here's their collection of non-incumbent candidates so far: [more]

Published by The Racine Post. With just a few months to go before the election, John Heckenlively is still in limbo—part Congressional candidate, part also-ran. Fresh from a victory at the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board—which, after first rejecting his nomination papers, reversed itself Monday morning and credited Heckenlively with 59 more nominating signatures than required—the erstwhile Democratic candidate now faces a Republican Party challenge on Wednesday. This time, the question is whether some of those who signed Heckenlively's nominating petitions wrote in their correct community of residence—is it Somers or Kenosha, Mt. Pleasant or Racine, for example. The GOP complaint is here; along with Heckenlively's response. [more]

Read Segal's responses to the PDA endorsement questionnaire. Published by RIPDA.org. [July 19] the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats (RIPDA) announced their endorsement of David Segal for Congressional District 1, the seat being vacated by Patrick Kennedy. [more]

Published by SwingStateProject.com. The Year of the Woman candidate has arrived in New York for the 2010 cycle, with an unprecedented slate of 10 female hopefuls vying for legislative office on the Democratic side in a state known as politically progressive but lagging at the state level. With help from EMILY's List over the last few years, the state Senate Democrats now have 10 women competing in districts ranging from swing-county Suffolk in Long Island to more rural areas of upstate New York. [more]

Published by Creators.com. Mike Murphy, the successful and shrewd Republican media strategist, is a heretic within his own party. Sensitive to the near-universal reverence Republicans of all ages pay to the legacy and presidency of Ronald Reagan, Murphy bluntly warns his fellow GOPers that—given the profound, and continuing, demographic changes over the past three decades—Ronald Reagan would have a tough time beating Jimmy Carter today. [more]

Published by The Huffington Post. Perhaps it is quixotic to pursue a seat in Congress these days if you are a progressive. I think not. candidate Dr. David Gill has been chasing that dream in a gerrymandered Republican district for 8 years in President Obama's home state, and that dream is at long last within reach. Even without a primary challenger, Dr. Gill has no funding from the Democratic party or corporate interests--only the donations and hard work of his grassroots supporters. Indeed, the Gill campaign represents grassroots at its best, moving forward while the Dem party continues to support and finance feckless incumbents and tepid Republicrats. Hundreds of volunteers work on the campaign, with over three thousand additional supporters on Facebook. This volunteer army mans three campaign offices, including one in a railroad station. An inspiring bunch that makes us believe once again that real people can help put real progressives back in Congress. [more]

Published by Associated Press. Hundreds of unionized nurses wearing scrubs held a raucous rally Thursday outside the Silicon Valley home of GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman to protest her proposals for the state, which they say will hurt working people. Dozens of police officers descended on the leafy streets surrounding Whitman's two-story colonial home in Atherton. An estimated 1,100 protesters chanted "We're going to beat back the Whitman attack" as an airplane paid for by the nurses union circled overhead, trailing a banner that read, "Nurses say no to Whitman." The colorful display was part of an escalating feud between Whitman and California Nurses Association, the 85,000-member union that has trailed the former eBay CEO at her campaign events with an actress dressed as "Queen Meg." The union says Whitman, a billionaire who has never before run for public office, is trying to buy the governor's race by spending tens of millions of dollars from her personal fortune. [more]

Published by The Huffington Post. The Republicans have a set of dirty little (actually not so little) secrets they don't what you to know—and certainly don't want you to think about when you go to the polls in November. And the fact is that some of those secrets could provide Democrats with silver bullets this fall. But first let's recall the context. [more]

West side native and nationally known progressive leader vows to keep Assembly seat green Yesterday, July 13, at the Government Accountability Board in downtown Madison, Ben Manski submitted nearly 400 signatures placing his name in nomination to represent the 77th District of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Manski will be available for interviews immediately following. “I have known Spencer Black for most of my life, he was my representative when I was growing up--when I was at Randall Elementary, Van Hise Middle, Madison West High, and UW-Madison--and throughout those years, even the early ones, I have always been an advocate for ecology and democracy,” said Manski. [more]

Published by AfterDowningStreet.org. Proud to be a part of PDA's national push to elect more Progressives to Congress Congressional District 17 candidate Marleine Bastien proudly accepted the endorsement of Progressive Democrats of America, a grassroots organization devoted to strengthening the voice of progressive ideals. She is one of only four congressional candidates nationally to have received an endorsement from PDA. [more]

Published by KenoshaNews.com. Photo: Democrat Paulette Garin of Kenosha, here leading a 2009 health care town hall meeting at UAW Local 72 headquarters, has announced she will not challenge U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Jaynesville, this fall. (Kenosha News file photo). Paulette Garin of Kenosha announced Sunday she won’t be running for the U.S. Congressional seat currently occupied by Paul Ryan, R-Janesville. [more]

Published by The New York Times. Photo: Meg Whitman answering questions after a rally in Anaheim in June. At first blush, the 19 pages of financial disclosures that Meg Whitman filed earlier this year for her run for governor of California are a humdrum blur of ordinary, if sizable, investments—until one for more than $1 million in an “entertainment/production” company called “Tools Down! Productions.” Ms. Whitman, a billionaire and former chief executive of eBay, made the investment in late 2008, according to her campaign, taking a stake in a fledgling movie production firm started by none other than Mike Murphy, a very prominent and much-sought-after Republican strategist. [more]

Published by WarIsaCrime.org. Well this is helpful. The best candidate for Congress I know of, Jonathan Tasini, is now running against an incumbent, Charlie Rangel, who is going to be put on trial in Congress for all sorts of alleged corruption. According to the Christian Science Monitor, "the allegations range from misuse of rent-controlled apartments in New York City and failure to disclose income from a villa in the Dominican Republic to reports that he exchanged official favors–a tax loophole for oil driller Nabors Industries Ltd.–in exchange for a $1 million gift to the Charles Rangel Center at City College of New York." The Associated Press reports that the detailed charges will be released next Thursday, and "sanctions can range from a damaging committee report to censure by the House and even expulsion, a punishment reserved for only the most egregious violations." [more]

Published by WarIsaCrime.org. Well this is helpful. The best candidate for Congress I know of, Jonathan Tasini, is now running against an incumbent, Charlie Rangel, who is going to be put on trial in Congress for all sorts of alleged corruption. According to the Christian Science Monitor, "the allegations range from misuse of rent-controlled apartments in New York City and failure to disclose income from a villa in the Dominican Republic to reports that he exchanged official favors–a tax loophole for oil driller Nabors Industries Ltd.–in exchange for a $1 million gift to the Charles Rangel Center at City College of New York." The Associated Press reports that the detailed charges will be released next Thursday, and "sanctions can range from a damaging committee report to censure by the House and even expulsion, a punishment reserved for only the most egregious violations." [more]

Published by TalkingPointsMemo.com. For years, pundits and politicians on the left have been calling themselves "progressives" to avoid the apparent stigma of the word "liberal." But a USA Today/Gallup poll released today indicates that a majority of Americans still aren't sure what "progressive" really means. According to the poll, 54% percent of adults are unsure if the word "progressive" describes their political views. Fifty-seven percent of self-identified liberals, 65% of moderates, and 45% of conservatives just don't know if the word aptly characterizes their political outlook. [more]

Published by The Washington Post. Wall Street donations to the two Democratic congressional campaign committees are down 65 percent from two years ago, The Post reports. Party insiders say “the overwhelming factor is the rising anger among financial executives who think they have not been treated well based on their support of Democrats over the past four years.” The National Journal writes that Wall Streeters are “sick of being used as political punching bags.” And Post columnist Steven Pearlstein suggests that “bad blood” between big business and the Obama administration is “not a good thing.” [more]

Published by The Nation. No Senate seat should ever be filled by gubernatorial appointment. To do so gives one man or woman the authority to place a stamp on the affairs of the nation that ought only be affixed by the voters. Unfortunately, most states allow for the appointment of senators--sometimes until a special election, sometimes for the remainder of a term. [more]