The first round of voting for the DFA Grassroots All-Star ends tomorrow. John Laesch is in the top 10 (number 7, to be exact) but we need to be in the top three to move on to the next round. The DFA Grassroots All-Star will receive major donations and volunteers from the DFA.
You can vote by clicking here. (And, it is allowable to put one candidate in all three slots for your vote, hint hint. ;) )
Follow me below the fold for a little background on John, and an explanation of why this support is so crucial for us.
This race is for Illinois' 14th Congressional District. It is an open seat this year, formerly held by retired Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. This means that in the next year, we have not two, but four elections to fight. One primary for the regular election, one primary for the special election to fill the remainder of Hastert's term (both primaries to be held on super Tuesday), one special general election (to be held on March 8th), and one regular general election (to be held in November). Needless to say, the volunteers and fundraising that could come of this support from the DFA would be a HUGE boost to the campaign, and a critical piece of the puzzle to turning this district blue.
Yes, this district can turn blue. It has traditionally been considered a Republican stronghold, but no longer. Even the DCCC recognizes the potential for this district, as it has put the district on it's first slate of "Red to Blue" races. The DCCC has also pledged its support to the eventual winner of the primary race, whoever that may be. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see the DFA and the DCCC united behind a great progressive candidate like John?
For those who haven't seen John's diaries around, John is a Union Carpenter and former Naval Intelligence Analyst. He was stationed in the Middle East from 1996 to 1999. His country of interest was Iran. He has been against the Iraq war from the beginning and will use his vote to defund it when he is in Congress. He is against preemptive war against anyone, especially Iran.
John also unequivocally supports HR676, the Conyers/Kucinich bill for universal, single-payer healthcare and will become its next cosponsor once he is elected. He has pledged to refuse the Congressional health insurance for he and his wife until every American has healthcare. He is already among the 45+ million uninsured.
In short, John is a middle class American who will fight for the rest of us middle and working class Americans once he is elected.
Please, help John get this critical boost for his campaign. Click here to push John into the second round of voting for the DFA Grassroots All-Star. You can also click here to contribute to the campaign, and click here to see other ways in which you can take action for John.
Thanks for your time and efforts for this campaign. Together, we can ensure that there is one more Democrat in the House by March!
Kristen Lash
Blog Team Coordinator
John Laesch for US Congress
http://www.john08.com