I went down to St. Louis' Barnes-Jewish Hospital today to see a press conference with Barack Obama. He made the rounds with a young nurse early this morning as part of a commitment to spend time on the campaign trail with Americans all over the country as they go about their daily routine, and afterwards held a brief press conference where he contrasted his health care plan with John McCain's.
At 1pm et or 10 am pt, Iowa state legislator and candidate for Congress Ed Fallon will be joining us at EENR for a live blog. Get your questions ready and let's get the conversation going!
One of the first candidates the bloggers of EENR decided to endorse was state legislator Ed Fallon running for Congress in Iowa's 3rd c.d. It wasn't a difficult choice. Ed Fallon is a progressive's progressive. In his 14 years as a legislator in Iowa's House, he never accepted PAC/lobbyist money. Fallon had his values in place long before it was the progressive thing to do to refuse lobbyist/PAC money. Here's a statement from Fallon about why he's running for Congress:
Our country needs and wants change. I’m ready to take on the corporate interests who have corrupted our federal government. I’m ready to give working families and the poor a voice in national politics. I’m ready to do what I can to see that environmental issues are taken seriously inside the beltway. I’m ready to apply what I’ve learned during 23 years of public service in Iowa and be a part of the solution in Washington.
Just a reminder - our blograiser for Deb Lavender is tonight! Please join us in helping a great candidate take back another seat in the Missouri House. Every person who contributes tonight means less time for her on the phones to donors and more time knocking doors and attending town hall meetings.
Date: Wednesday, May 21st
Place: The Royale at 3132 S. Kingshighway in St. Louis
Time: 7:00pm until ???
We'll be at the Royale from 7pm to whenever, and some goodies will be provided. If you know someone who can't make it in person, please ask them to consider a $10.01 contribution at Deb's ActBlue page: http://www.actblue.com/...
Early on Sunday morning, two unmarked vans headed east out of a Target parking lot in St. Louis, bound for Western Kentucky with 12 passengers. No, we weren't being abducted, nor were we on some top-secret surveillance mission. We were a motley group of volunteers trying to seal the deal for Senator Obama by spending the only rain-free Sunday in recent memory canvassing in Paducah, KY. I had made several of these trips to Iowa on behalf of John Edwards in the summer, fall, and winter (diaried here, here, and here), but this would be my first, and hopefully last, trip out of the state for Obama.
The story, along with a few pics, is below the fold.
OK. I'm sick of stories like this one and this one, in which Claire McCaskill is characterized as a double crosser, someone who supports Obama for president even though Hillary Clinton helped her in her Senate race.
I don't know what it is with our luck. Two weeks ago, TomP and I got caught in an ice storm when we canvassed in Iowa. On Saturday, it was the snow. It started snowing Friday night, it snowed all morning, and it snowed all day in Burlington. Join me below the jump for our little adventure. Bring your mittens, a scarf, and a thermos of hot chocolate!
On Saturday, I went canvassing in Iowa, where a two year old boy offered me cookies on his front porch, a 75 year old retiree treated me to a discussion of the caucus system, and a 100 year old woman gave me a hug. TomP (yes, that TomP) and I decided to spend our Saturday away from the internets by helping out the Edwards campaign in the closest Iowa field office, which happens to be in Burlington, just a short 4 hour drive away. TomP and another dedicated local supporter pulled up at my house a little before 7am, and several CDs, a couple of pit stops, and a lot of coffee and conversation later, we arrived in Burlington.
At Show Me Progress, we've been running a series where every few weeks, we ask the same question to each of the candidates in next year's hotly contested Democratic primary.
In the order received, the answers to this week's question: "What will you do as Attorney General to defend workers' rights?"
If you like any single answer, or if you like more than one, please show some support to the candidate(s) with some cash. Representative Margaret Donnelly's ActBlue page is here, and Representative Jeff Harris' Actblue page is here. Senator Chris Koster doesn't have an Actblue page (yet - I hope), but we'll add the link if he obtains one.
Crossposted from Show Me Progress. I know we have a few Missourians here at Daily Kos, so if you are from the Show Me State, consider responding over at our site. Even if you're not from Missouri, I'd love to hear your comments.
Before I give you the answers to this week's question, I want to tip my hat to Representatives Jeff Harris and Margaret Donnelly, not only because they are participating in this forum, but because they have agreed to return all contributions over the reinstated fundraising limits. (From what I understand, Chris Koster has also now agreed to return all excess contributions, so he gets a tip of the hat, too.)
And without further adieu, in the order received, the answers to this week's question: "What job that you've held in the past has best prepared you for the job of Attorney General? Why?"
Major commitment out of the Edwards camp tonight, as he becomes the first primary candidate in history to respond to a sitting president's announcement on national television.
I'm not going to beat around the Bush here (hee hee); I'm totally psyched over this. After almost 7 years of Twig (you know, that part of a Bush that doesn't amount to much), John Edwards is standing up and telling it like it is.
Crossposted from Show Me Progress. I know we have a few Missourians here at Daily Kos, so if you are from the Show Me State, consider responding over at our site. Even if you're not from Missouri, I'd love to hear your comments.
On Monday, we introduced a new feature here at Show Me Progress, a question and answer series with the Democratic candidates for Missouri Attorney General. The deadline has passed, and the answers are in. I want to thank the candidates for responding politely and in a timely fashion.
The question was, "What would be the first issue you would tackle as Attorney General? Why and how?"
The answers, in the order received, are below the fold.
Live in Missouri? Used to live in Missouri? Never lived in Missouri, but are for some reason fascinated by Missouri politics? Well, come on down to Show Me Progress, Missouri's new Soapblox-based progressive community blog. (We've actually been up and running for a couple of weeks now, working out the glitches.)
Like our cousin, Fired Up Missouri, we'll hammer the state GOP, but we will also provide a platform for progressives around Missouri to talk about issues, candidates, electeds, and what's going on in your neck of the woods. So join us this week as we follow the special session and hear directly from the Democratic candidates for Attorney General.
The sweat is pouring into my eyes, a blister is shooting pain up my right heel, and the sun is doing its work with a slow burn on the back of my neck, forehead, and nose, but right now, I don't mind. Every person I talk to, every pamphlet or DVD I drop off, gets us one step closer to the ultimate goal of getting John Edwards into the White House. I pause in the shade to take a swallow of water, but I can't pause too long - my partner is a competitive speed walker, and I've got to keep up. We have the assignment of reaching every person in 80 different households, and we're halfway there.
Early Saturday morning, I rode up with a carful of Edwards supporters to the town of Burlington in southeast Iowa, the closest field office to St. Louis. The Edwards campaign, not taking their lead in the polls for granted, conducted a statewide canvass that day. As Jennifer O'Malley, the Iowa campaign director, and David Bonior, the national campaign manager, explained to us on a conference call, they feel really good about where they are in Iowa, but they want to keep it that way, and face-to-face contact remains the best way to get your message across to people.
Welcome to another edition of the Edwards Evening News Roundup! Today is the 4th of July, and I'll be your guest host for the evening. We'll talking about John and Elizabeth's Independence Day announcement, continue with Senator Edwards' recent appearance at the ACORN Presidential Forum, and bring it home with a recent Silicon Valley fundraiser.
Hi there, and welcome to another edition of the Edwards Evening News! I'm clarkent, sitting in for ladylib this evening.
Our main stories this evening is the aftermath of yesterday events, the announcement of a "compromise" Iraq supplemental bill and John Edwards' speech at the Council of Foreign Relations. On the Today Show, John Edwards discussed the supplemental bill, his plan for Iraq and the politics of Iraq in the current US presidential campaign:
Predictably, the back and forth started between John Edwards and leading Republicans over his evisceration of the Bush Administration "War on Terror" sloganeering. Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and the Bush White House all missed Edwards' point, and Edwards was quick to respond:
Welcome to the Edwards Evening News Roundup on this lovely Sunday, May the 20th! I'm your host, clarkent. We'll begin this edition of EENR with a local endorsement, one that, to me, is as local as it gets. After months of indecision, my wife has finally announced that she will support John Edwards in his run for the White House! In her announcement, she explained to me that as a feminist, it was difficult to go against Hillary, and she was also impressed by many of the other fine candidates. In the end, however, John Edwards won her over becaue he's pushing hard on the issues that she cares most about. This video of Edwards speaking at the Women Employed Luncheon in Chicago, IL really helped:
Good evening! This is clarkent, standing in for TomP tonight. It's been lovely here in St. Louis, and I hope it's been enjoyable where you're at, too. This is my first EENR, so hopefully I can live up to the high standards of the other EENRers. Join me below the fold for the news of the day!
Last night, Congressman Russ Carnahan welcomed a group of 120 trainees to Camp Russ Carnahan, a weekend seminar aimed at equipping local Democrats with campaign skills. He gave us a welcome speech about the life of a candidate, moved on to highlighting the recent successes of Democrats in Congress, and finished up with a Q&A session.
In response to a question as to whether Chairman Dean was too much of a lightning rod, and whether his comments were embarassing the party, Carnahan gave a surprisingly positive response, considering that he's a DLC Democrat. In fact, Carnahan's answer exemplified a messaging fundamental: When you respond to what opponents are saying about you, turn it around quickly to what want to you say about your team.
(more Carnahan's comments and history below the fold)
OK. I'm sick of stories like 
Major commitment out of the Edwards camp tonight, as he becomes the first primary candidate in history to respond to a sitting president's announcement on national television.
