Dollars and sense in the U.S. Senate

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Tuesday September 18, 2012 · 12:11 PM PDT

2012/09/18 · 12:11

I would like to donate $250 to a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, but I'm having a difficult time picking one. There are so many great candidates to select from, and I want to select the candidate based on the following criteria.

First, the candidate must be in a close election. I don't want to donate to a Democratic candidate who is either a lock for reelection or has no chance of winning. I believe that narrows the field of potential recipients of my donation to the following: (1) Elizabeth Warren (MA); (2) Tammy Baldwin (WI); (3) Claire McCaskill (MO); (4) Chris Murphy (CT); (5) Richard Carmona (AZ); (6) Joe Donnelly (IN); (7) Jon Tester (MT); (8) Shelly Berkley (NV); (9) Heidi Heitkamp (ND); and (10) Tim Kaine (VA).

Second, I would like to donate to a candidate who needs the money. Essentially, I don't want to bother sending money to a Democrat who already has, either, (A) a significant cash advantage or (B) a significant amount of cash on hand. I think this eliminates Warren, Berkley, Kaine, and McCaskill, but I'm not sure about that.

Third, I would like my donation to have as great an impact as possible. I believe this favors a donation to a small, or relatively inexpensive, media market.

I would love to hear your analysis of which of the candidates listed above should be at the top of my list, given my criteria. Please stick to the Senate candidates (i.e., I already donated to Obama and I'm not interested in sending money to House races). Thanks!

Poll

22 votes Show Results

Who should I donate $250 to?

22 votes Vote Now!

Who should I donate $250 to?

Elizabeth Warren (MA)

2 votes

Tammy Baldwin (WI)

1 vote

Claire McCaskill (MO)

0 votes

Chris Murphy (CT)

1 vote

Richard Carmona (AZ)

5 votes

Joe Donnelly (IN)

2 votes

Jon Tester (MT)

1 vote

Shelly Berkley (NV)

0 votes

Heidi Heitkamp (ND)

6 votes

Tim Kaine (VA)

0 votes

$5 million

anthonyLA

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday October 16, 2010 · 9:50 PM PDT

2010/10/16 · 21:50

If you had $5 million to direct to the 2010 congressional campaign(s) of your choice, where would you direct it and why?

We should vote on this question, quickly raise $5,000,000 and direct the money accordingly.

Last week, Daily Kos got somewhere between 369,000 and 635,000 daily page views. With approximately half a million daily visitors, the majority of whom are extremely dedicated to Democratic causes, we could raise $5 million in 24 hours with an average contribution of $10. Or, 10% of us could pony up $100. More likely, some combination of those two.

With Politico reporting that outside corporate groups are flooding the GOP with cash this cycle, grass roots action is necessary to ensure our voices are heard.

Two questions:

Poll

57 votes Show Results

Could Daily Kos readers raise $5 million in 24 hours?

57 votes Vote Now!

Could Daily Kos readers raise $5 million in 24 hours?

Definitely

14 votes

Probably

10 votes

Not sure

9 votes

Unlikely

9 votes

No way

14 votes

Refuse to hate, help defeat Proposition 8!

anthonyLA

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday October 22, 2008 · 7:11 PM PDT

2008/10/22 · 19:11

Proposition 8 is about so much more than equal access to the civil institution of marriage. Proposition 8 is an unapologetic attempt by religious extremists to deny civil rights to a minority group incapable of independently defending itself against encroachments on its freedom. We need your help, right now, to make sure this hateful, discriminatory law fails miserably.

While polls taken as recently as two months ago showed that Prop 8 would probably fail, the latest CBS poll shows that Prop 8 is now likely to pass, with 47% of people intending to vote Yes and 42% intending to vote no. A more recent poll shows Prop 8 passing 52-43. This shift is most likely a result of the fact that the Yes campaign (funded primarily by the Mormon Church and the Knights of Columbus) has millions more than the No campaign (funded primarily by private individuals), and the Yes people have been flooding the airwaves with half-truths and flat out lies regarding the effects of the ballot measure.

anthonyLA

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday February 03, 2008 · 7:38 PM PST

2008/02/03 · 19:38

I recently decided that I will vote for Barack Obama on Super Tuesday in CA. I like both Obama and Hillary Clinton and will vote for either in the general election. However, I have been reflecting on March 2003 and my exasperation at that time at the amount of support for the war in Iraq among our political leaders and most Americans. Only one of these two candidates had the courage and wisdom to oppose the American invasion from the start, and now I feel honored to be able to vote for him to be the Democratic nominee for President.

That brings me to the topic of the diary. Tonight Maria Shriver endorsed Barack Obama in a heartfelt speech before a roaring crowd at Pauly Pavilion, UCLA. Toward the end of her speech, Maria urged the crowd to do whatever they could to effectuate change, and to help elect Obama. With the polls looking extremely close in CA, Maria urged Obama supporters to talk to "5 undecided voters." And so I did...

Poll

63 votes Show Results

Significance of Maria's endorsement?

63 votes Vote Now!

Significance of Maria's endorsement?

Will help sway some female voters

17 votes

Will help sway some independent voters

7 votes

Will not have much influence on the outcome of the election

8 votes

Will deliver CA for Obama

28 votes

And the Republican Nominee is . . .

anthonyLA

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday January 19, 2008 · 8:12 PM PST

2008/01/19 · 20:12

Anyone's guess.

Fear not. Some people are hysterically declaring that John McCain is now the Republican party's "inevitable" nominee based upon his victory, by a margin of a whopping 3%, in tonight's South Carolina primary. Irrespective of the panic, the Republican party remains fractured as ever and there are few reliable signs that Republican voters will coalesce around a single candidate before the party's convention.

More, under the fold.

Poll

109 votes Show Results

The Republican nominee in 2008 . . .

109 votes Vote Now!

The Republican nominee in 2008 . . .

Is anyone's guess

26 votes

Mitt Romney

22 votes

Mike Huckabee

7 votes

Grandpa Fred

0 votes

Rudy Giuliani

1 vote

It's going to be John McCain, it's inevitable.

52 votes

The vile Obama email hits Orange County

anthonyLA

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday January 10, 2008 · 10:31 PM PST

2008/01/10 · 22:31

My dad forwarded the Obama email to me this afternoon. You know, the email that makes wild claims about Obama's background (claiming his mother was ATHEIST--god forbid), his religion (MUSLIM! allegedly), his lack of patriotism (he supposedly refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance!) and his wicked intentions should he win the presidency.

Of course, my dad knew that the email was bull, he'd heard me talk about it and sent it to me after receiving it from one of the leaders of an organization to which he belongs "Families of Italian Lineage" (or, FIL), in Orange County, CA. As I read down the email string, I realized that the leader sent it to the organization's secretary with the following instruction "Please send this to all FIL members. Thank you." Creepy, to say the least.

I decided to reply to the FIL leader, and to the people who had passed it along down the email string. My response, under the fold:

anthonyLA

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday December 21, 2007 · 10:01 PM PST

2007/12/21 · 22:01

In 2004, I voted for Al Sharpton in the California Democratic primary. At that point, it was a foregone conclusion that John Kerry would be the party's nominee but nothing excited me about him. This may not sound like much, but when Sharpton faced a question in the debates about gay rights, he said something similar to "I don't care who you sleep with, I don't care about what you do in your bedroom, now let's stop messing around and get to the issues that matter to those two men or women when they go about their daily lives!"

He was not sidestepping the question. To the contrary, his remark (which I am sure I butchered) was meant to convey the notion that gay marriage was simply a wedge issue used by the Republicans to distract the voters from the majority of issues that the Democrats dominate. I liked Sharpton's direct approach, his ability to rise above the noise, and I answered his call to "provide me with delegates at the convention" so that the other Democrats HAD to listen to his views.

But I digress . . .

anthonyLA

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday July 24, 2007 · 11:07 PM PDT

2007/07/24 · 23:07

It has been contended that the issue of gay marriage cost the Democrats the presidential election in 2004. I've personally witnessed sentiment on this very liberal website that, accordingly, the Democrats should downplay this issue in 2008, out of fear of the electoral repurcussions.

Equal rights to marriage in our society are so much more important than that! Watching last nights debates solidified my position that it doesn't really matter to me whether Edwards, Obama, or Clinton get the nomination. They all represent my views, for the most part, and would make excellent presidents. I just wish one of these leaders would be true to their "progressive" characters, and stand behind the last minority to be denied the right to marry.

Why gay marriage matters...

Poll

84 votes Show Results

Should the three major Democratic candidates support gay marriage?

84 votes Vote Now!

Should the three major Democratic candidates support gay marriage?

Yes

62 votes

16 votes

Other (please explain)

5 votes

CNN Poll--Humorous? Offensive? You be the judge!

anthonyLA

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday May 13, 2007 · 9:46 AM PDT

2007/05/13 · 09:46

Okay so I just checked out cnn.com (morning ritual) and scrolled down to the "Quick Poll"

In honor of Mother's day, the poll asks:

"With Mom taking the day off for Mother's Day, how will the chores get done?" I am not kidding!

The options are:

We'll do them Sunday, and

She can do them Monday

Link to the poll:

http://www.cnn.com

I seriously laughed out loud when I saw this, not because I think it's particularly funny itself, but I was totally surprised to see this on CNN's site. Is it just me or this the 1950s roaring its ugly head? Interestingly, "She can do them Monday is currently in the lead with 58% of the vote!

Poll

187 votes Show Results

What do you think of CNN.com's Mother's day poll?

187 votes Vote Now!

What do you think of CNN.com's Mother's day poll?

Funny

36 votes

Offensive

60 votes

A little of both

52 votes

Whatever...

35 votes

I'm gay, nice to meet you.

anthonyLA

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday February 24, 2007 · 10:21 PM PST

2007/02/24 · 22:21

Coming out.

I recently came out to a bunch of my friends, none were terribly surprised and all have been extremely supportive. I'm really fortunate to know so many educated, progressive, and caring people. This has been a much easier, more freeing, and cleansing (really) experience than I ever expected.

The next group on my agenda is my family, which is going to be a little bit more complicated but not bad either, my parents and siblings are pretty cool people.

But where do I go from there? How does a gay person get along in society, at work, in the community, etc. without having to let every new person they meet aware of their sexuality. Not that I want to hide who I am anymore, not at all. I've just been trained to not wear it on my sleeve like so many people do, that I'm not sure how to communicate who I am to others without an overt, obvious statement.

anthonyLA

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 15, 2006 · 9:51 PM PST

2006/11/15 · 21:51

Over 58 million Americans in 33 states voted in the Senatorial elections in 2006. Depending on how you count Bernie Sanders and Joe Leiberman's voters, the Democrats won either 55.7% or 56.3% and Republicans either won 44.3% or 43.7%.

If you put Sanders and Leiberman's voters in the Democratic column, our candidates won 32.7 million of the 58.1 million cast and the Republican candidates won 25.4 million.

If you count them separately, Independents took less than 1 million votes, Dems took 31.99 million votes and Repubs took 25.4 million.

Either way, talk about your mandates. Read More

Need car buying advice

anthonyLA

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday September 19, 2006 · 8:04 PM PDT

2006/09/19 · 20:04

I'm planning on buying a car in the next few days and need some advice. I'm 90% sold on a 2006 Volvo S60, but not completely. The 2006 is $2,000+ cheaper than a similar 2007, and they are both new. The car is at the high end of my price range but I test drove it today and like it a lot.

The dealer (Culver City) is offering the the car at $28,000, which is a good deal when I price it on Volvo's website. It's an automatic, has leather and a sunroof, 5 cylander turbo engine, 208 horsepower. I got a very good vibe from the salesmen. Should I check out another dealer and compare prices before I buy it? Is there a website that lets you compare prices? This is my first car purchase, any advice is appreciated.

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Dollars and sense in the U.S. Senate

$5 million

Refuse to hate, help defeat Proposition 8!

Want to Help make Change? Heed Maria's call!

And the Republican Nominee is . . .

The vile Obama email hits Orange County

Who do I vote for in 2008??

Why Gay Marriage Still Matters

CNN Poll--Humorous? Offensive? You be the judge!

I'm gay, nice to meet you.

Dems won Senate by 7 million votes

Need car buying advice