WASHINGTON (AP) -- The yard signs are printed and the candidate is wearing out the campaign trail, but Alabama Democrat Artur Davis says he's not running for governor -- legally at least.
That was the explanation from the campaign Thursday about whether Davis is living up to an ethics pledge to delay spending from his leftover congressional account until June 1, when Alabama candidates can begin fundraising.
Here's the correction from Davis' office, emphasis mine:
“Unfortunately, the Associated Press circulated an entirely inaccurate story regarding Congressman Davis’ adherence to the letter and spirit of Alabama campaign finance law,” campaign spokeswoman Anna Ruth Williams said. “The Associated Press mistakenly states that Congressman Davis vowed to cease spending money out of his campaign account. That claim is wrong, because Congressman Davis never made that promise. However, he did pledge to:
1.Cease accepting in-state campaign contributions after February 6, 2009. The campaign has not only refused to accept checks, but we have returned any in-state contributions accepted after that date.
2.Continue raising limited national funds. These funds are utilized to pay for campaign personnel and overhead costs.
3.Any funds received after February 6, 2009 will not be transferred to a gubernatorial account in June 2009.
Congressman Davis has upheld is promise to Alabamians, and has strictly adhered to the letter and spirited of Alabama law. The Associated Press just plain got it wrong.”
"They plain got it wrong." Shocking, I know. Davis didn't promise not to spend money from his existing campaign account, his promises had to do with raising money between early Feb. and June 1 and it's not even clear to me he was legally required to do that much. When you're holding someone's feet to the fire, it's advisable to compare what they are doing with what they promised to do, not with what you thought (or wished) they promised. Less potential for embarassment that way.
This is the most important Congressional race in Alabama for progressive Democrats. Who would have believed Alabama would have 3 competitive House races this year? Anyway, Segall has already made an impressive showing, raising over a million dollars to run against a 3 term incumbent. Somebody please tell me the last time a Democratic challenger raised that kind of money in Alabama.
Segall also has an impressive field organization -- an army of volunteers (way more effective than paid canvassers) and some very savvy folks running his turnout machine. He's been endorsed by Ron Sparks, Jim Folsom and Don Siegelman -- I understand Siegelman recorded a GOTV call for Segall and I'm told a call from Bill Clinton is also going to selected households in the third district -- as it is in at least one other competitive district in the state.
What can you do?
Sign up to call voters from home and remind them vote. Sign up online or call (334-265-7999), and they will email you a packet of calls to make. These calls are incredibly important, so please pitch in if you can!
They will need lots of volunteers driving to the polls, making calls and knocking on doors on Election Day, so please sign up to help!
After the polls close on Tuesday, Josh and his supporters will be watching the returns in downtown Montgomery at the Biscuits Stadium starting at 8PM. Join them in the Locomotive Loft on the second floor.
I'm told that yard sign theft is epidemic in the 3rd district. One young man was actually apprehended taking Segall signs but Josh declined to press charges. Mercy is probably the right call in this situation, although I confess being more than a little peeved with the young hooligans who have been taking the signs from my driveway.
Monday morning Ag Commissioner Ron Sparks endorsed Josh Segall and campaigned with him through the southern part of the district.
Sparks said he feels Segall is the best candidate to help struggling farmers and people who are trying to find a job with decent wages.
Sparks made the comments at a Montgomery produce stand as he and Segall kicked off a daylong tour of the 3rd District. They made campaign stops in Shorter, Phenix City, Auburn, LaFayette and Roanoke.
"This campaign is about people hurting and about making sure we don't let another job leave the state," Sparks said.
...
"People all over Alabama have lost their savings. These are the people we should help," Sparks said.
Segall has also criticized Rogers' vote on the bailout.
"I think we needed other proposals. It doesn't give anybody a job to bailout AIG," Segall said.
Why is this a big deal? Take a look at the two maps below. The first one shows AL-03, the district Segall is trying to wrest from Republican Mike Rogers. The second one shows Ron Sparks' vote percentage in 2006. Notice how well he did in Eastern Alabama? Remember, this was while Lucy Baxley was losing by 15 points at the top of the Democratic ticket so Sparks wasn't riding on coattails as he won re-election by a 59-41% margin.
The other reason the Sparks endorsement is a big deal is that agriculture is such an important industry in the Third District. Segall recognizes that and regularly speaks to the need for improving infrastructure and increasing agricultural production in Alabama, touting local markets for homegrown Alabama produce. Ron Sparks' word carries a lot of weight in the farm community and I'm betting he can swing more than a few votes (maybe even some $$) to Josh Segall.
Lori Reed was headed back to work Monday when she ran into an Alabama congressman.
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, was leaving a Ledger-Enquirer editorial board meeting when he ran into Reed.
No one was injured in the accident about 4 p.m. on 12th Street in front of the newspaper.
...
Reed was headed west on 12th Street, going back to work at Synovus after a late lunch, when Rogers backed out of a slanted parking slot into the street.
Reckon Mike Rogers was calm, cool and collected after his sitdown with the Ledger-Enquirer's editorial board? You betcha! So much so that he got into his truck and backed into this woman's car.
This is one of the perks that come with being on the DCCC's Red to Blue list. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D, MD-05) is coming to Montgomery Thursday to host a fundraiser for Josh Segall at the new Renaissance Hotel. Thousand dollar plus donors will get a personal session with Rep. Hoyer at 6:00 pm and a reception for smaller donors will follow at 6:30.
Here Rep. Hoyer says McCain's selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as VP nominee is "worse than a Dan Quayle pick."
If you need more encouragement to support Josh Segall, I hear there's a new poll (not public) in AL-03 that shows the race even closer than the 9 point spread found by a recent CSRG poll. Incumbents aren't supposed to be dropping 3 weeks before the election -- this good news for Segall must be keeping Mike Rogers awake nights.
It's about time somebody in Alabama Republican circles acknowledged the obvious -- incumbent Congressman Mike Rogers might be defeated by Josh Segall. Who better to do the deed than Congressman Mike Rogers himself, speaking to the Anniston Star. Publisher H. Brandt Ayers reports:
We sat down with our congressman, Mike Rogers, the day after he voted for the unpopular but apparently necessary financial bailout bill. He seemed different, not particularly energized by the prospect of two more years in the House.
He was fatalistic, as if he were a helpless observer-victim of political earthquakes over which he had no control, whose direction and personal consequences were unknowable. 'I might be defeated,' he said flatly.
Fatalistic? An observer-victim? Well, I supose he might feel like a victim of circumstances beyond his control, except that he's been a full participant in the mess in Washington for the past 6 years -- voting with his party over and over at the expense of his district. Ayers continues:
Gone is the animation and promise of the freshman Mike Rogers. The newspaper was for him in that race. We had seen how quickly he became a leader in the state Legislature and thought he'd be an independent-minded leader in Congress who could win the respect of both sides of the aisle.
Sounds like the editorial board at the Star is disappointed with Rogers these days, as well they might be. He voted for CAFTA which decimated the textile industry in East Alabama, against health insurance for poor children (again and again) and against the new GI Bill -- more than once. He's become a party hack, and his party is bankrupt of useful ideas. But there's a promising alternative to Rogers this year:
In Rogers' district, his Democratic opponent, Josh Segall, is a Montgomery attorney a generation younger than Mike, very bright and a fireball of energy. He is single, a 24/7 campaigner who shows up everywhere, several times.
He has the endorsement of unions such as the Fraternal Order of Police and took advantage of Rogers' support of the financial bailout bill. 'Had the bill included actual help for homeowners, it would have passed,' said Segall, who went on to accuse Rogers of favoring deregulation that 'helped get us into this crisis '. Segall is a long shot but he could win, and what I gathered from our sit-down with Mike is that he doesn't care all that much.
Mike Rogers doesn't care all that much? Woo hoo! That's just the kind of representation the people of Alabama's Third District really need in these tough times -- a guy who doesn't care much. Maybe that lack of caring is the reason he's been one of the least effective Congressmen (402 out of 435) in Washington. East Alabama deserves better, and they can have better, by electing Josh Segall on November 4. Caring or not, Rogers still has a big cash advantage. Help even the odds with a contribution to Josh Segall. He'll be a Congressman who does care.
Ayers' column is as much about the failure of the so-called Republican Revolution as it is about the disappointment of Mike Rogers or the promise of Josh Segall. It isn't behind the subscription wall so so there's no reason not to click on over and read it all.
Josh Segall has a new TV ad (below) and it hits Rogers hard on his (bad) record in Washington.
Transcript of ad:
I'm Josh Segall and I approved this message.
Josh Segall supports tax cuts for small businesses and families, favors offshore drilling and is against Wall Street welfare.
Not Mike Rogers. He's desperately attacking Josh Segall to cover up his deciding vote on CAFTA, the bad trade deal that cost us 15,000 jobs and Rogers voted himself a pay raise. Twice.
Who's funding Rogers' attack ads? Washington insiders like big oil and big drug.
Millionnaire Mike Rogers. Washington changed him.
Do y'all remember 2002 when Joe Turnham ran out of money and couldn't afford any television air time for the last 14 days of the election? That funding shortfall let Mike Rogers steal this Congressional seat by a measly 3800 votes. Don't let this happen again. Sign up here to make phone calls, knock on doors or put up a yard sign. Give 'til it hurts so Segall can stay on the air with ads like this one, reminding voters what a sorry job Rogers has done. This race is going to be a nailbiter and every penny counts.
Speaking of money, where the heck is the DCCC on this race? They need to be helping Segall because AL-03 is absolutely winnable this year.
Mike Rogers (R, AL-03) voted YES on the Bailout Bill Monday. His challenger, Democrat Josh Segall, issued this statement yesterday:
Today, Mike Rogers wronged this district on two fronts. He supported a fiscally irresponsible bill and refused to fight to include real help for the people of East Alabama.
He voted for a $700 billion bailout that does more for Wall Street than it does for Main Street. The plan Rogers and others tried to force through the House today would have given a blank check to a Treasury Department that has clearly been making the rules up as it goes.
Had the bill included actual help for homeowners, it would have passed. But Mike Rogers, whose votes in favor of deregulation [1] and against homeowners [2] helped get us into this crisis, failed to do anything to ensure that the people of Alabama got as much out of this deal as Wall Street CEOs.
Mike Rogers, along with leadership in both parties, failed to justify his vote. He should have explained to the people of Alabama where the number $700 billion comes from, what they’re going to do with our money, and what kind of common sense legislation Congress plans to pass so that these problems don’t happen again. We should never again be in a crisis where our leaders are making the rules up as they go.
I would have voted against this flawed plan. Republicans realized how fiscally unsound this bill was and that Paulson hasn’t shown that he can use this money in a common sense way. It’s now Congress’s job to craft a response to this crisis that both recognizes the need for a sound financial system and provides relief for people with bad mortgages who were the victims of corporate greed.
Members of Congress who defeated the emergency package Monday have collected nearly $590,000 from the industries most affected, on average, but the bill's supporters received $883,000.
Rogers has recieved $832,678 in contributions from the financial sector over his career. Slightly below the average, but a heck of a lot of money from the folks who would have benefitted the most from the bailout legislation. Who owns Mike Rogers' vote?
Earlier this week Birmingham writer Dan Carsen did a very good piece titled Political ads target ignorant voters. I think it appeared in the Birmingham News, but it isn't online anywhere. Thanks to a sharp eyed reader for sending me a clipping. Carsen takes issue with Republican incumbent Mike Rogers' television ads against Josh Segall, one of which appears below.
... I just recently experienced what is among the most ridiculous series of TV ads I've ever seen. Not necessarily the most dishonest, or the most damaging, just the most ridiculous. It may also have been the most insulting ...
They came out of incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers' campaign like a comical comment from a toddler, though much less cute and much more cynical, a brain-by-passing virus spread by TV and the internet. Basically, the series seeks to paint Rogers' District 3 opponent, Joshua Segall, as liberal, liberal, liberal and liberal. Did I mention liberal? I may also have forgotten to mention "liberal values," and that Segall is reportedly -- yikes -- "one of them."
One of what? Is Rogers talking about liberals there, or dipping his toe into anti-semitic waters?
Carsen also questions Rogers' repetitive use of the phrase "Alabama values." Y'all know this is a pet peeve of mine since it is typically vague, undefined and I figure it's secret code for something they don't want to say out loud. Carsen asks if Alabama values are different from, say, "Tennessee values?" We'll never know because clarifying the meaning of "Alabama values" would defeat the euphemistic purpose of the phrase. But I digress, Carsen's real focus is on the character of Mike Rogers' ads.
I have limited space, so I'm not sure I can adequately cover the stereotyping, the regional divisiveness, the simpleminded sloganeering or the labeling (also known as "name-calling") that comprise this series of ads. ...
After seeing one of the ads for the first time, I found myself asking, does this nonesense still actually work on anybody?
And that's the real question: are Alabama voters as ignorant as the creators of ads like this believe we are? Are we still voting based on religion or skin color or who we'd rather have a beer with? These ads and others like them are an insult to the intelligence and understanding of Alabama voters. Talk to us about the issues and records -- we're perfectly capable of understanding and making a decision based on concrete things. It's nice that the Alabama media is taking the time to point this out and I hope Mike Rogers' next ads will have more substance and less innuendo -- and be more faithful to the facts.
Note: Google "mike rogers lies about segall" and the ad above is the first thing that comes up.
The Alabama GOP has jumped the shark. They are grasping at the flimsiest imaginable straws in an attempt to protect incumbent Congressman Mike (No Influence) Rogers in AL-03. Sebastian Kitchen smacks them down for a ridiculous assertion that Josh Segall is supported by "gangsta rap moguls."
And how can Segall accept money from people who sell music from a man who sang about shooting a man in Reno just to watch him die? What kind of gangster music was Johnny Cash singing? I am certain no one in Alabama would listen to that filth.
Somebody at the Alabama Republican Party has forgotten that innuendo and exaggeration are effective ways to smear your opponent only as long as they are somewhat believable. Kitchens very effectively exposes the ALGOP's ludicrous attempted smear against Josh Segall. Oh yeah, who would listen to this filth?
Worse yet for the Alabama Republicans, Kitchens doesn't stop with the recording industry exaggeration. He branches out, calling Terry Everett and Jay Love for whining that people are contributing money to Bobby Bright's campaign. It's not like they never took a campaign contribution.
I am sure Everett never received contributions from people wanting anything from him. His largest contributors in 2007 and 2008, according to opensecrets.org, included Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, European Aeronautic Defence & Space, and the American Farm Bureau.
With all these entities having an interest in defense and agriculture, there could be no way those people might want him to vote a particular way in his position on the House committees for agriculture and defense.
I am sure Everett would say his vote was not for sale, so it seems odd for him to assume Bright is selling himself to Pelosi and company.
In 2007 and 2008 alone, not including the other 13 years Everett was in Congress, he received about $71,200 from defense-related companies. By his reasoning, those companies "expect something in return."
Love, while running for the Alabama Legislature, received a $10,000 contribution from the political action committee run by the Alabama Education Association, which he has bashed on a number of occasions for its liberal leanings. He also received money from the Alabama AFL-CIO PAC, Phillip Morris, and companies involved in alcohol, energy and health care.
So, did unions and tobacco, beer, health care, and gas companies expect something in return from Love? Did he sell his vote to those entities? I am sure his answer would be a resounding "no."
I think "it's OK if you're a Republican" just died in one little corner of the Alabama press. Hooray for Sebastian Kitchen of the Montgomery Advertiser.
Josh Segall is demanding that Mike Rogers remove a television ad that makes false claims about campaign contributions to Segall.
Montgomery, AL -- Josh Segall, candidate for Congress in Alabama’s third district, responded to incumbent Mike Rogers’s most recent TV ad, which makes several false statements about the source of Segall’s donations.
“Mike Rogers can’t run on his record of shipping jobs overseas and giving our tax dollars away to big oil companies.Instead, he’s making false statements about my campaign,” said Segall.“This ad should be removed immediately.”
Rogers’s ad wrongly quotes the Anniston Star, claiming that that “Nearly HALF of Segall’s cash comes from OUTSIDE Alabama.”According to online Federal Election Commission records, more than 70 percent of Segall’s money comes from people in Alabama.
The ad also claims that donors in Hollywood finance Segall’s campaign, but the Segall campaign’s Federal Election Commission filings show no donors from Hollywood, California.
So less than 30% morphs into "nearly half" in Rogers' ad. These things are in a database and are relatively easy to check, but Rogers apparently neglected to do that basic fact-checking before approving the commercial. Not surprising, since Rogers also decided CAFTA would be good for the 3rd District before he voted in favor of it. Facts matter, Mike!
Lacking positive news about their own candidate, Mike Rogers' campaign is now emailing misleading information about Josh Segall's position on offshore drilling.The email says, “will Joshua Segall continue to stand with Washington liberals like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi against more domestic energy production?”
Apparently Rogers does not understand the Constitution well enough to know that Nancy Pelosi is only on the ballot in a single district in California. The two people on the ballot in AL-03 are 4th generation Alabamian Josh Segall and incumbent Mike Rogers -- who's failed to craft an energy plan for this country despite 6 years in Congress. Too busy rubberstamping for the Bush administration, I guess. Josh Segall, on the other hand, does have a coherent energy position. This is what he said:
“We need to drill more.There is already a lot of land the oil companies own for drilling that they’re not using, as well as great possibilities both offshore in the Gulf Coast and in Alaska.But we can’t drill our way out of this problem. We must support alternative fuel development, and we have enormous potential to develop those fuels right here in East Alabama.”
He needs to get onboard with NASCAR, Schwarzenegger and Obama and add conservation to that mix, but I like the way he points out that Big Oil already has a lot of land under lease that they aren't drilling on. What are they waiting on, you think? Maybe for the price to go even higher to make it more profitable for them?
I'm telling you, folks, if you think the likes of Exxon/Mobil are going to be drilling in the gulf to bring the price of oil DOWN you're in for a huge disappointment. They like the high price of oil -- now they just want to keep us addicted to it while they bleed us of every penny we have. The problem is not our addiction to foreign oil -- it's our addction to OIL PERIOD!
Here's a new video -- it's a mashup of Mike Rogers' recent television ad spliced in with what Rogers has really voted to do during his term in Congress. Pretty effective at highlighting Mike Rogers' problem of saying one thing but doing something else.
Transcript -- Italicized parts are from Mike Rogers' ad, which is playing on his campaign website.
This race is about change.
Changing from helping the special interests
To putting Alabama first
Rogers TV spot suggests
Mike Rogers: Increase Energy Production to lower gas prices
In reality Big Oil has given...
Over $85,000 to Rogers
(and counting...)
Mike Rogers: Invest in renewables
In reality Rogers voted to ...
Allow oil companies
To PRICE GOUGE
$4 gas
(and counting...)
Mike Rogers: Reduce wasteful spending and taxes
In reality Rogers gave
$28,000,000,000
in handouts to BIG OIL
Mike Rogers: Raised the minimum wage
He stood up to his own party and raised the minimum wage
In Reality, Rogers voted against raising the minimum wage
This is from a statement the Segall campaign issued when the ad first went on the air:
If Mike Rogers spent as much time on lowering prices at the pump as he does hiding his record we might be in better shape. I’m running for Congress to help take our country back from the special interests and Washington politicians who have created a big mess and hurting us here at home,” said Segall.
This kind of ties in with something I saw at Free Republic this afternoon. Of course, they're all fired up about the stunt where a few Republican members are speaking to themselves about the importance of "drilling more, drilling now." Seems that Mike Rogers actually sponsored a bill (red letter day) regarding drilling in Alaska. The Freepers loved it, although one noticed that the bill would have to be revised because according to the Mineral Leasing Act, the state of Alaska can't be limited to 50% of the proceeds without approval by the state government -- fat chance! Oops! Should have checked the law before he wrote that bill, and the other Republicans in the Alabama delegation should have checked before signing on. Another commenter tempered their enthusiasm for Rogers by noting:
Well, this Rogers was MIA on Friday and is MIA today. His phone answerer said there was nothing being recorded today. I pointed out that it wasn’t on the Congressional Record but the People are watching and recording what is happening.
Wake up and smell the oil rigs, guys! Mike Rogers is Missing In Action so often that even the right wingers are starting to complain.
Democratic candidate Josh Segall has issued a statement on Cheney's country club fundraising stop in Birmingham this morning. From the campaign's press release:
Vice President Dick Cheney is visiting Alabama to thank Mike Rogers for giving his big oil pals $28.2 billion in taxpayer-funded giveaways.In response, Josh Segall, candidate for Congress in Alabama’s 3rd district, had this to say:
“I hope Cheney and Rogers explain why Rogers took over $85,000 from oil companies like Exxon and then voted to give them $28.2 billion in taxpayer-funded giveaways. I’ll work with Republicans and Democrats to develop alternative fuels in East Alabama.”
Below is a brief summary of Rogers’s votes in support of big oil:
2008: Rogers Voted for $13.6 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas companies.
[House Vote 84, HR 5351, 2/27/08, Passed 236-182 D 219-8 R 17-174; CQ Today, 2/26/08]
2006:Rogers Opposed Removing Tax Breaks For Big Oil Companies For The Tax Reconciliation Bill.
[Vote 109, HR 4297, 4/27/06, Failed 190-232, R 4-223; D 185-9]
2005:Rogers Voted For The Bush Energy Bill that gave $14.6 billion to the Oil Companies.
2005:Rogers voted against prosecuting oil companies engaged in gouging gas prices
[House Vote 500, HR 3402, 9/28/05, Rejected 195-226 D 194-0 R 0-226]
2003:Rogers Voted Against Mandating Reduced Gas Consumption.
[Vote 132, HR 6, 4/10/03, Failed 162-268, R 29-197; D 132-71]
2003:Rogers Voted Against Anti-Fraud Provisions For Electricity And Gas Markets.
[Vote 133, HR 6, 4/10/03, Failed 193-237, R 22-204; D 170-33]
2003:Rogers Voted For Royalty Relief For Oil And Gas Companies.
[Vote 142, HR 6, 4/11/03, Failed 171-251, R 9-214; D 161-37]
Click on the thermometer graphic at the left to make a secure contribution to Segall's bid to unseat Rogers -- Alabama doesn't need any more Bush/Cheney rubberstamp "representation."
Josh Segall is a great young progressive (see his positions on issues below the fold) Democrat running for Congress in Alabama's third district. He's young, smart, enthusiastic and hard working, convinced that his district can and should be more prosperous than it's been under incumbent Mike Rogers. The district is a favorable one for a Democrat too, with a partisan voting index of only R+3 and a high proportion of young voters and black voters. Segall has outraised Rogers in the first and second quarters of this year and the incumbent is worried enough to have already started running television ads attacking him -- so Josh is making inroads. The problem is, he's not just running against Mike Rogers anymore -- the Republicans have brought in their big gun, Dick Cheney himself, to raise money for Rogers and other Alabama Republicans. Josh Segall needs grassroots help to cancel out the big donations Cheney will rake in at the Shoal Creek Country Club from the have-mores -- people George W. Bush likes to call "my base."
Editor's note: I plan to cross post a version of this at other sites around the blogosphere later this evening, so please don't hesitate to make constructive comments. It isn't quite as complete as I'd like, but I have to run now and value your feedback.
Tell me a bit about what you've seen and learned from touring your district since the campaign began. What's surprised you?
Well, really our problems in this district are basic infrastructure problems. We don't have a hospital in Macon County. You're not going to have people move to that county because after 5 p.m. on a Saturday there is nowhere, not privately or publicly, you can go to get some medical treatment. Randolph County has no local television channels--no ABC, CBS, NBC. Not from Atlanta, Birmingham, Columbus or Montgomery. If a tornado comes through, they hear about it 30 minutes after it's gone.
Another thing that we talk about a lot that I've learned from going around and meeting people is about Alabama's drought problems. In fact, this past summer was the worst drought in 100 years. And it's a strange problem for Alabama to have when more water flows through Alabama than almost any other state. Seventeen percent of the county's surface water flows through Alabama. And one of the things I'm surprised about, the federal government funds irrigation programs and in states all over the country, most notably California. For a while, most of the winter vegetables in this country were grown in the desert in California by using water coming from three states away. Alabama has enough water that we could protect ourselves against the drought, and can protect our drinking supply. And we could actually do more farming. We have over 3,000,000 acres of row crop farming statewide, and agriculture is our state's leading industry, although less so in the 3rd District. But I found that Rogers did less for agriculture and less to protect farmers that I thought he would.
Focus on local problems and local politics is a recurring theme from Segall. There's also a good discussion of the "Obama effect" in down ticket races this year and the Republican tactic of trying to associate all Democrats with Obama. Segall says "If the worst thing Republicans can say about me is that I'm on the same ticket as Obama, we'll win."
Donate to Segall's campaign here or on the left sidebar -- it's easy and secure through ActBlue!
“Mike Rogers is bought and bossed by Big Oil and his biggest donors.Our fundraising success is a clear sign that the people of the 3rd District are tired of Rogers’ Washington politics that have gotten our gas and grocery costs out of control and sent our jobs overseas. People now work 1-2 hours a day just pay for their gas to get work, their dollar at the grocery store gets them less than ever, and they continue to wait for their sons and daughters to return home from Iraq,” said Segall.
Mike Rogers’ record clearly shows he’s voting in lock step with the failed Bush/Cheney agenda and only fighting for special interests like Big Oil while we continue to hand-over-fist for gas and groceries.Rogers caved to his party when he voted to give away $28.8 billion of our tax dollars to Big Oil companies making record profits, he folded under his parties leadership when they told him to vote for CAFTA, and he gave in to Bush and Cheney when he voted against last year’s Farm Bill.
Segall continued, “I’m running for Congress to help take our country back from the special interests and Washington politicians who have created a big mess across the country.I’ll work with Republicans and Democrats to invest in infrastructure and irrigation to bring new businesses and good jobs back to East Alabama so people don’t have to leave to find work.”
In addition to raising money, Segall has begun holding Town Hall Meetings across the district to hear straight from the people what he can do to help when he gets to Congress.
Awhile back I reported that Josh Segall's campaign needed to raise an additional $50K before June 30 to stay in the running for the DCCC's Red to Blue program. Well, they did that and then some. This is from Campaign Manager Don Weigel:
While our finance team is still collecting and counting all the checks I can tell you we raised more money than last quarter, we added 332 new donors to our program, we have now raised at total of $121,785 from 495 online donors (getting us on the top ten online fundraisers for ActBlue) and we raised $75,000 in the last week of the quarter,
$75,000 in one week! To put that in perspective, incumbent Mike Rogers raised just a tad over $104,000 the entire first quarter of 2008. Of course, the ineffective Rogers (403rd our of 435, dead last in the Alabama delegation) doesn't inspire enthusiasm in voters the way Segall does. Take a look at this new video, East Alabama Roots.
Did you notice that Segall came out in favor of the New GI Bill for the 21st Century? Mike Rogers voted against that bill before finally voting for it -- only after it was added to a supplemental funding bill for the war. Rogers also voted against mandatory troop rest periods between deployments to Iraq. That's the kind of "support lip service for the troops" that earned Rogers a grade of "C" from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America accordng to ProjectVoteSmart.
Blog. Seriously, I'd like to see someone to sift through Mike Rogers' voting record and refresh everyone's memory as to the ways he has not served the 3rd District well. It's fertile ground.
House Editor David Wasserman of the Cook Politial Report (subscription) has released a new batch of race rating changes, including an upgrade for Alabama's 3rd District.
The poor national climate for the GOP and the DCCC's unprecedented financial edge makes even very difficult districts for Democrats worth keeping tabs on. ...
AL-03 Mike Rogers Solid Republican to Likely Republican
Democrat Josh Segall has been raising money on a par with the incumbent Rogers and this upgrade should excite his supporters even more. It might even be the boost he needs to make it onto the DCCC's Red to Blue list.
I'm telling you, Segall is a solid progressive candidate running in a district with favorable demographics. And a weak incumbent. In a terrible climate for Republicans and incumbents. This one is doable.
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Josh Segall
Democrat 
