Keeping the House and Senate in the Right (as in correct!) Hands in November

Like clockwork, the mid-term elections see heavy losses for the president's party--whether the president is Republican or Democrat.

The Republicans have set their sights on seizing control of Congress: a repeat of the 1994 Republican Revolution.

This year, the stakes are extremely high: we still have active conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, we're just barely emerging from the deepest downturn since the great depression, and if we don't act now on global warming and energy independence, the planet may not give us another chance.

With a Republican takeover of the House and Senate, progressive solutions to these problems will likely be completely blocked--and with the specter of the filibuster, it's important that we not cede ANY seats to the Right this mid-term election.

But keeping Congress in Democratic hands this fall isn't just about pushing the President's agenda, it's about blocking the rise of a new type of Republican: reactionary, anti-immigrant, anti-government, border-line racist and violent.

That's why I got off my butt this year (at the urging of my wife) and volunteered to be a "neighborhood team leader" for Organizing for America. We're organizing the budding "Andersonville (Chicago) Neighborhood Team."

Our mission is to develop an active, connected grassroots base to organize around president Obama's agenda and knock on doors this November to get out the vote.

Why is this so important? Democrats, in terms of percentage of overall registered voters, enjoy a statistical advantage: there are more registered Democrats than Republicans.

Our problem is not registered voters, it's getting those voters to the polls. Registered Republicans tend to be more likely to actually go and vote: particularly in a mid-term election. So, if we get more registered Democrats out to vote in November, we win. It's all about how many calls we make, and how many doors we knock on.

This week's special elections and primaries give us a strong indication that this strategy will work in November.

As this NY Times analysis shows, it was heavy turnout among Democrats that handed Critz a decisive victory in the Pennsylvania special election to fill Murtha's seat. What's particularly significant about this race, is how conservative that blue-collar district is: in 2008 it was carried by McCain.

And how good is it for Democrats that they'll be running against right wing nut Rand Paul in Kentucky?