The Responsible Plan In Action

One day into our campaign to get our congressional challengers to sign on to the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, we've already had one victory. Samm Simpson has endorsed the plan. Knowing Samm, I figured this was an issue that was important to her and that she'd be eager to sign on. We should reward Samm for singing on, so go here and contribute what you can. Hey, I'm a poor adjunct professor/blogger and I was able to muster a few bucks. It's the least you can do. And it's important.

Those of us active in the Netroots and blogging (as well as the more traditional grassroots) need to make sure that we reward candidates who engage in responsible, progressive behavior. Endorsing the Responsible Plan is a great step in that direction. Florida now has seven challengers signed on to this plan (still the top state), and you should consider dropping them a few bucks if you can. It'll show them you appreciate their efforts and encourage others to do the same.

Which is why I'm posting this message. First, though, info for our other candidates who are on board:

Larry Byrnes

Alan Grayson

Joe Garcia

Faye Armitage

Timothy Cunha (website under construction, send contribution inquiries to timcunhaforcongress@gmail.com)

Clint Curtis

Now, on to the way we can increase this list. Here's what I envision...

Three times a week, I'm going to ask you to contact the challengers who aren't on board yet and remind you to reward those have already signed on. So, were talking about nothing more than three phone calls or e-mails a week (as a minimum). We can all do that, right? If not, you really shouldn't call yourself an activist. This is some of the easiest activism you can get involved in.

But it's still important. If everyone who comes across this message makes those three calls or sends three e-mails a week, then these candidates will get hundreds, if not thousands, of messages letting them know that the Responsible Plan is the right thing to do. If you've never worked on a campaign before, hundreds or thousands of messages repeating the same message definitely have an impact. Ask around.

So, here's how I'll do it. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, I'll put up the full list of who has and who hasn't endorsed the plan. Then I'll highlight one particular person from each list. I'll be asking you to call the person who hasn't endorsed it and ask them to do so (or send them an e-mail). And I'll be asking you to give a few dollars to the person who has endorsed it. That's it. So drop by the site three times a week and make a few phone calls and send a few e-mails and, most importantly, spare a few bucks. It's also fine for you to call/e-mail more than one candidate, particularly if the person is someone who represents you directly or someone you know personally. Tim Cunha and Samm Simpson endorsed the pledge because FPC members asked them, they looked at the plan and thought it was a good idea. It can be that simple. It can also be a bit harder, that's why we're asking for your help. We need to let the candidates know that Floridians have had enough of this war and enough of congressional inability to end the war.

Finally, there are a few of the challengers who we have very weak or nonexistent contact information for. If you have this info, please pass it on to us. Thanks. Here's the list of current challengers (who have filed, let me know if anyone is missing), who haven't endorsed the plan. You know what to do (The information below is all from public sources, if it isn't meant to be public, let me know and I'll take it down and replace it with the right info):

FL-1

James Bryan, 850-652-3350

Robert Peterman, 850-432-2213

FL-4

Jay McGovern ?

FL-5

Carol Castagnero, 863-687-8414, jscala00@yahoo.com

David Werder ?

FL-7

Clyde Malloy, 386-671-7433, rob@malloyforcongress.com or field@malloyforcongress.com

FL-8

Alexander Fry, 407-579-7800, afry@fryforcongress.com

Corbett Kroehler, 407-855-8574, TeamCorbett@CorbettForCongress.com or press@corbettforcongress.com

Michael Smith, 407-574-9296, vote@mikesmithforcongress.com

Quoc Van, 407-453-4380, vanforcongress@gmail.com

Charlie Stuart, 407-999-9899, Manager@CharlieStuartforCongress.com

FL-9

Bill Mitchell, 813-223-1959, mitchlaw@askmitch.net

FL-13

Christine Jennings, 941-366-8121, info@christinejennings2008.com

Michael LaFevers, 941-753-6781

Frank McAndrews, 732-995-4670

FL-14

Jason King, 239-633-8388

FL-15

Stephen Blythe, sblythe@cfl.rr.com

FL-18

Annette Taddeo, 305-661-6499, Web form: http://www.annette2008.com/index.php?submenu=Contact&src=forms&id=Contact%20Us

FL-21

Richard Allbritton, allrh@comcast.net

Raul Martinez, 305-823-8686, info@raul2008.com or raulmartinezjr@mac.com

FL-22

Paul Renneisen, 954-812-2674, info@Renneisen2008.com

FL-23

Ray Sanchez, 561-996-6722, support@raytorressanchez.com

FL-24

Garv Bhola, 407-459-1590, floridadistrict24@gmail.com

Ronald Bobay, 321-383-7955

Suzanne Kosmas, 386-427-0439, info@kosmasforcongress.com