Most of this is ripped from my friend el ganador’s post over at Kos, I freely admit that – we share a passion on this issue. (btw, I’d appreciate it if you’d recommend both diaries!) In fact, I’m just going to paraphrase most of what he says, because we agree to such a degree.
Dean tells us to show up and have a progressive in every race. That means that all politics is local, and this race is a perfect example of it.
I want you to help support my friend Dan as he runs for City Council in Newcastle, WA (outside Redmond and Seattle). Why? Well, firstly because he’s a damn good candidate, one of several rookies we’ve recruited in Washington. But also because his opponent is the Executive Director of the Discovery Institute…
http://vote.danhub.com/
Dan is Dan Hubbell, a wonderful guy who’s active in his community, a good dad, and one of those types who will actually ride his bike to work (switzer shudders at the thought). For the last four years he’s served on the Planning Commission of this new city (only recently established), and as chair of the Commission for the last two. I’ve drilled him on it, and he gets the balance between property rights and environmental protections, and I LOVE his ideas on investment and public safety. (see his website, I’m not good at making the case for others) He’s also a Democrat, although it’s a non-partisan race, and he’s been endorsed by local Democratic organizations – they don’t just hand out endorsements; he had to prove himself.
His opponent is Steve Buri. (http://www.stevenburi.com/) Steve is the Executive Director and a VP of the Discovery Institute, which as we all now has been busily promoting Intelligent Design over science in schools. He’s worked for Slade Gorton and other righties, who are now funding his campaign (and he’s taking in way more money than this race warrants, which means they’re socking it away for bigger races later). Dan assures me he’s a nice enough guy, but it’s obvious to the casual observer that Buri was pushed into this race (his first as a candidate) to cut his chops, get a local seat and get groomed for higher office. We need to crush this guy’s political ambitions now, before it’s too late.
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THIS RACE’S IMPORTANCE. This is how the right has come to power, by identifying people they want, winning seats for them on city councils and school boards, grooming them and weeding out the bad ones, then bit by bit moving them up to today’s Congress (which contains 140 self-identified evangelicals and graduates of this process, including Tom Delay). If Buri wins this seat, we’re going to see him running for Senate in 15 years – and you don’t want the ID peddlers running Senate.
So here’s the request from switzer and my friend el ganador, taken directly from his Kos diary:
Alas, there are no WA-PDC compliant ways of accepting online donations for down-ticket races like this (we need you ActBlue!) You can snail mail a contribution to Dan, if you wish by check or money order:
Elect Dan Hubbell
9137 122nd PL SE
Newcastle, WA 98056
IMPORTANT: If you do send a contribution (thanks!) please also include your employer and your job title – this information is MANDATORY under Washington State Public Disclosure Commission reporting rules. Contributions not including this information will be returned, which is a postage and time hit for Dan’s campaign.
And just in case: there is a $300 contribution limit – but Unknown Greater Intelligence bless you for wanting to contribute more!
Seriously, these local races are mucho importante, and we need every dollar we can raise to counter Slade Gorton’s money. It isn’t a Senate race (yet), so even $10 would be huge (although the full $300 would be ever so much huger). Thanks, and sorry for the unusual pleading tone today.
