Hi, folks. This is Adam Green with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. Stephanie Taylor, one of my co-founders, just sent out this email to our members. She's on a plane, so I wanted to share it with the Kos community which was such a big part of the Bill Halter movement experience:
Hey everyone,
Last night was a really tough night. You've probably heard by now, but Bill Halter lost the Arkansas Senate primary to Blanche Lincoln in a squeaker.
The Democratic Party establishment and the White House teamed up with big corporations to protect one of the most corporate-owned senators in America -- and they barely won.
Today in news reports, the political insiders are gloating. They're proud that they beat thousands of people fighting for change.
But what the political establishment doesn't realize is that the progressive movement built power in this election.
Bill Halter started nearly 20 points down. He wasn't taken seriously by most insiders. But he gave Blanche Lincoln the scare of a lifetime with the help of a vibrant progressive movement -- thousands of people who committed time, talent, and small-dollar donations in the fight for change.
We formed the PCCC last year to create a new model for supporting progressive candidates. This race was an important building block:
- PCCC members donated over $250,000 to Halter's campaign. Unprecedented for a new organization.
- PCCC staffers Michael Snook and Keauna Gregory directed Halter's field program and invented new ways of working seamlessly with our partners like Democracy for America and MoveOn...practices we will bring to future races that we win.
- We mobilized 3,000 Arkansas PCCC members -- and our field program empowered volunteers across the progressive movement to make a whopping 400,000 calls to Arkansas voters.
And the Washington Post's Greg Sargent writes:
"Make no mistake: Progressive activists and labor...came within a hair of unseating a longtime incumbent who had the backing of the entire Dem establishment and the two most recent Dem presidents. No matter what you read about this, the Halter challenge was a show of force by the left. Period."
So thank you for being part of this movement. You have so much to be proud of, and this experience will help us to win big fights ahead.
That said, if you're frustrated and really want to do something today, here are 3 things you can do.
1) Write a note to Bill Halter, telling him how you feel. Click here. We'll deliver your note to him personally.
2) If you appreciate the progressive infrastructure we're building, tell your friends about us. Click to share on Facebook and Twitter. (You can also follow us on Twitter here.)
3) A lot of you took action against the voting irregularities in Garland County, where the number of polling locations were reduced from 42 to 2. Some legal action will likely be taken, but we don't think it will impact the race's outcome. But new facts will likely come out, so click here if you'd like to stay updated on the situation.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Stephanie Taylor, Adam Green, Aaron Swartz, Forrest Brown, Michael Snook, Keauna Gregory, and the entire PCCC team
Thanks for reading. Would love to hear your thoughts below...