From the Million Phone March:
Dear Friends and Activists
Over the weekend you generated a tsunami of phone calls supporting a filibuster of Alito. Today at 4:30 PM EST is the cloture vote on the Alito filibuster, and with your dedication we will generate two tsunamis.
We will win because we will hit them where they are weakest, their fear of not getting reelected. In your calls today we will arm you below with specifics about candidate registration deadlines for primary challenges so THEY know WE know where their election hopes live.
The bottom line is ANY senator who betrays the will of the people must be removed from the general election before they have a chance to lose yet another seat because of their cowardice, and be replaced with a stronger candidate who WILL fight for the people and win. Regardless of how this turns out, we will immediately and aggressively move in that direction.
Very simply, in your calls today ask for a commitment that they will either vote against cloture OR abstain (either is acceptable). If not tell them you will encourage a challenger to run in their own state and support them any way you can. Use the details below (like cutoff date for primary candidate filing) to let them know how very serious you are.
Tell them what state you are actually calling from if they ask. Please concentrate on your own senators and the ones listed below as the key ones to sway. All the toll free numbers to the Washington offices we have are 888-355-3588, 888-818-6641, 800-426-8073, 877-851-6427, 866-340-9279 and 866-340-9281.
The master list of all direct dial phone and fax numbers for all senators state by state including all district offices is here:
And if you’re sending your Senator an email, you could do worse than sending them a copy of this diary, Good morning Senator, welcome to a new dawn by Duke1676.
More after the break . . .
UP FOR ELECTION IN 2006
Daniel Akaka [HI], already has two primary challengers, one of whom, Ed Case, is a former elected state representative and is polling well.
Joe Lieberman [CT], already has a primary challenge looming from Ned Lamont who has set up an exploratory site, and until 5/16 to make the decision to jump in. The last thing Joe needs is lots of more encouragement for Lamont.
Bill Nelson [FL], currently has NO primary challenger, with until 5/12 to find one.
Ben Nelson [NE], currently has NO primary challenger, but if there is a concerned citizen in Nebraska who wants to run they have until 3/1 to register as a candidate.
Jeff Bingaman [NM], currently has NO primary challenger but still two weeks remain until the deadline for filing of 2/14.
Carper [DE], currently has NO primary challenger and all the way until 7/28 to enter the primary against him.
Kohl [WI], currently has NO primary challenger. We have heard he plans on skipping the vote, which is the same thing as an abstain. The filing deadline in Wisconsin is 7/11.
Cantwell [WA], is being already challenged by a strong progressive candidate, Mark Wilson.
Byrd [WV], has no serious primary challenger we can confirm and the 1/28 deadline has just expired. Perhaps you can appeal to his professed love of the Constitution which Alito would gut.
Robert Menendez [NJ], was just appointed but has to run himself this year. If he drops the ball there are challengers waiting in the wings and until 4/10 to decide.
Lincoln Chafee [RI] is a Republican who professes to be pro-choice and not feeling very secure right now about her 2006 prospects. Perhaps he is a possibility for abstention on cloture.
Olympia Snowe [ME] is a another Republican who professes to be pro-choice who must face the electorate in 2006. She should also be encouraged to abstain on cloture.
OTHER POSSIBLE SWING SENATORS
Blanche Lambert Lincoln [AR], up for reelection in 2010
Mark Pryor [AR], up for reelection in 2008
Tom Harkin [IA], up for reelection in 2008
Evan Bayh [IN], up for reelection in 2010
Mary Landrieu [LA], up for reelection in 2008
Susan Collins [ME], up for reelection in 2008
Carl Levin [MI], up for reelection in 2008
Max Baucus [MT], up for reelection in 2008
Frank Lautenberg [NJ], up for reelection in 2008
Tim Johnson [SD], up for reelection in 2008
Patty Murray [WA], up for reelection in 2010Just tell them that failure to support this filibuster will be a deal breaker as Alito starts to cast the votes that his reactionary supporters absolutely know he will.
If you can’t get through any other way, or even if you can, also submit these two action pages too:
Let us be able to look back and say we did everything we could have done to win this victory in spite of the corrupt media pundits who are working overtime to tell us what we cannot do. We are proving them wrong day by day. At the very worst we will establish once and for all who we can never trust with the public office ever again.
Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this message to everyone else you know.
If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at this LINK.
Have you made your phone calls today?
