Arkansas Senator Faces Democratic Challenger

State Sen Corn Speaks Out

Only one day after declaring he will challenge conservative Democrat Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas's Democratic Senate primary, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter is raking in an incredible amount of money from outside groups supportive of his candidacy.

On Monday, executives with AFL-CIO voted to not only endorse Halter but also to commit $3 million in an independent expenditure campaign to help him unseat Lincoln, according to an official with the union group.. The deluge of campaign funds is a reflection of just how dissatisfied the progressive base and labor community is with Lincoln, who has played the role of policy spoiler on issues such as health care to the Employee Free Choice Act.

Halter is a blank political slate to many Democratic officials in D.C., despite having served in the Clinton administration and the Arkansas executive branch. But he has one thing going for him: he's not Lincoln.

Halter also has received roughly $620,000 from MoveOn.org, which initially set a fundraising goal of half-a-million dollars, only to up the number to a full million as the money flowed in.

Additionally, he has raised more than $129,000 from more than 5,000 supporters through the online fundraising site ActBlue, with groups including Accountability Now and mega-bloggers like Markos Moulitsas of the Daily Kos pledging to drive even more support his way.

 This is a reflection of just how dissatisfied the progressive base and labor community is with Lincoln, who has played the role of policy spoiler on issues such as health care to the Employee Free Choice Act.

"The failure of Republican legislative leadership to provide less than $2.5 million needed to restore full funding to senior citizen meal programs statewide for the rest of the fiscal year is the main reason I voted against emergency clause legislation today that was designed to solve the state’s budget crisis.

Today, I and all other Senate Democrats have made our positions crystal clear. Senior meal programs should receive every penny of the money they need to feed every hungry senior citizen for the remainder of the 2010 budget year. Senior meal programs need to be fully funded in 2011. It is a sin and a moral crime not to help our senior citizens. I will not sit idly by while the leadership of this state condemns thousands of elderly Oklahomans to an unnecessary fate.

I have pleaded with the leadership to do what is right. It is clear by their actions to date that they have turned their backs on some of the most vulnerable and needy people in our communities. I urge the leadership to re-open budget talks, to include everyone in the process, and to come back with legislation that solves all of our most critical problems.

There is plenty of money in the state’s Rainy Day fund to save our seniors. At least 51 nutrition centers have closed because of state funding cuts and at least 161 have drastically reduced services. A total of nearly 800,000 fewer meals will be served from November of last year through June 2010 – unless the senior meals program money is restored. This tragedy can be stopped. We have the money to fund these critical programs. We must do what is right.”

I Pledge Unity Event

Changes At the Tulsa County Democratic Party HQ

Tulsa County Democrats 'lingled' Saturday at the Garden Deva Studios, celebrating Barack Obama’s first year in office.  

Garden Deva Lisa Regan, along with a number of local artists presented their works for purchase,  with net proceeds going to the Tulsa County Democratic Party.

Local musician, Jared Tyler, provided music for the guests and the I Pledge video with Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, ran during the event.  Guests were asked to make similar pledges and recorded by Tulsa filmmaker, Sterlin Harjo.

The clips of local pledges will be compiled and released in the coming months. Look for the clips from former Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor, State Representative Jeannie McDaniel, Councilor Maria Barnes and my favorite one (I got a sneak preview) from our county party Chair, Jack Boyte.

We recently upgraded to a fiber optic Internet connection in our headquarters which gives us the capability to make 30,000 outbound phone calls per month over the Internet for half the cost of a standard wire phone line.  

Aditionally, we now have access to a virtual phone banking system, that we can pre-load with our targeted universe of Democrats. Once our callers log on, they are automatically assigned people to call by the system and controls running in the background prevent recipients from getting duplicate phone calls, regardless of the caller or day or time.

The objective is to generate a massive voter ID effort followed by a equally ambitious GOTV (Get Out The Vote) project.

More later