CALLING ALL BLOGGERS: RUSSELL CAMPAIGN

The blogging community will play an important part in helping Lt. Col. Bill Russell defeat John Murtha. If you look on my other site (one that has the same postings as this one), you'll discover approximately 40 blogs listed as "4 Russell." All these blogs have printed material supportive of Russell; several of the bloggers have contributed to the campaign; a few are actively involved in their own fundraising efforts for the campaign; an important group of the bloggers (Douglas Gibbs, Eric Dondero, Jenn of the Jungle, and Snooper) have interviewed Bill and other people supporting him on BlogTalkRadio.

Traditionally, liberal, the "netroots" (or "nutroots," as some call them) have been better than we conservatives at online politics. That's changing -- as it must if we're to say competitive.

In 2004, Joe Trippi ran the successful Internet campaign for Howard Dean, and it was a tremendous success. In Trippi's book The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, he says that Dean's "Meetup" site had 600,000 participants. The Dean Campaign rasied more than $50 million, much of it coming from people online.

No Republican Campaign has come anywhere close to those numbers, although Ron Paul is setting some records of his own. In one day, Paul raised a total of $10 mllion from people contributing online.

To defeat John Murtha (who will spend $4 million-plus in this election cycle), Bill Russell needs to raise at least $500,000 -- preferably more. As usual, the Murtha campaign will throw money at his supporters in ways that are of questionable legality. In contrast, the Russell effort will be scrupulously legal and very efficient, with every dollar aimed at finding and getting votes.

In terms of contributions, Russell is doing well online, but needs to keep doing better. Correction, those of us campaigning online have to do better. We have to keep spreading the message that Murtha can be beaten -- and will be with the supportive of the conservative online community.

Yes, John Murtha will receive many millions of dollars from lobbyists and companies that he's essentially bought and paid for with federal dollars, a percentage of which are returned to him in the form of campaign contributions.

You can check out the malicious mess that is the Murtha Campaign by going to http://opensecrets.org and keying in the name "Murtha." You'll see that for the 2008 election, he'd already spent by last September 30, a total of almost $700,000. By the December 31 Federal Election Commission reporting date, Murtha will have spent more than a million dollars.

I assure you the contributions didn't come from lobbyists and companies committed to Good Government.

How can those of us committed to Russell overcome that avalanche of payoffs to "The Prince of Pork?" We can do it by outsmarting him in the campaign, which luckily won't be that hard. We can also do it by making the maximum use of an inexpensive medium -- the Internet. For example, this particular communication is not costing me anything, aside from the blood, sweat, and tears always involved with writing.

What do we need? At least 30,000 people online backing the Russell Campaign by advocating his candidacy (relax, we apparently have more than 1,000 already). Of the 30,000 as many as 2,000 should be bloggers. We also need 3,000-plus people to go the Russell web site and contribute money. A lot of contributions of $20, $50, and $100 will go a long way toward defeating Murtha.

Politics isn't brain surgery. It consists of the three M's: message, mobilization (of supporters), and money, which is necessary to get the message out and to mobilize thousands of people to win this race.

What can you do? Be one of those people that spreads the message; also, be a person who asks others to join you in volunteering to help Russell.

The third part is the most important. We conservatives need to start out-contributing the liberals.

Go the Russell web site and so what you can to make sure this outstanding candidate has the support he needs. Trust me: you'll feel good about it.

Your Christmas Gift to Russell

(Above) Portrait of an Angry Loudmouth

. . . and a lump of coal for John Murtha, who loves his office but not his country

I sent the letter below to Libertarian-Republican activist Eric Dondero and several hundred of my closest friends and political allies. I've appeared this year twice on Eric's BlogTalkRadio site, as well as on Douglas Gibbs's Political Pistachio, Jenn of the Jungle's "Screw Liberals," and Snooper's program. I recommend all of them, and they're listed on my blogroll. They're helping to transform politics in this country. Of great interest to me, they're all generating donations to the Russell Campaign.

In 2006, Diana Lynn Irey, a dear friend of mine and an heroic figure, ran against Murtha and received 7,000 contributions from all 50 states. In contrast, Murtha got 6,500, although his average contribution was much larger than Diana's. If William Russell can get an unprecedented 10,000 contributions -- many of them $50 or less -- he will send Murtha into an unplanned "early retirement." You can donate to William by going to his site here. Please do so right now.

Eric and Friends: I much enjoyed my appearance on your radio show last night. Jason, who spoke for the Romney campaign, and Norma Jean, who spoke for herself and libertarian views, were excellent. There aren't many radio shows that can produce that sort of dynamism and candor. Norma Jean raised issues in such a compelling way that she did something unusual: she made me re-think my stand on some key issues, especially the need to defer to people who exercise their freedom in unconventional ways.

I truly hope that everyone who follows you, your blog, and your radio show will unite behind the candidacy of Lt. Col. William Russell as he does everything in his power to defeat John Murtha in PA's 12th congressional district.

This may end up as the most important congressional race in the nation. If Murtha goes down, the shock waves would reverberate around the world. This will be a very hard race to win, but it is certainly not impossible. Even at this early stage, Lt. Col. Russell's campaign is shaping up as one of the most imaginative and effective ever waged.

This race can't be won if it restricts itself merely to the 12th District. It must be a national effort, one supported by conservatives and libertarians in all 50 stages. Russell will not be able to outspend Murtha, but he is outsmarting him -- and having a real influence on Murtha's previous position of total opposition to American efforts in Iraq and the Middle East.

When Murtha said, "The surge is working," what he really meant is that he is very concerned about Russell's candidacy.

I urge everyone who believes "Murtha MUST go" to visit Russell's web site. He needs thousands of volunteers around the nation, including those who will join "Bloggers 4 Russell," a rapidly growing group that will eventually include more than 500 bloggers.

Most of all, at this early stage, he needs financial support. People who've never contributed to a campaign before are giving $20, $50, and even $100 or more. Personally, I've given more than $400 and will contribute more, even though I'm not exactly in the category of "affluent." Murtha collects huge bag-fulls of cash from lobbyists and various companies that benefit from his shameful "earmarks."

To counteract that situation, Russell needs many small contributions ($200 or less) from perhaps 10,000 people who love this country and are deeply disturbed by the antics of Murtha.I appeal to everyone to put this appeal on their blogs or to send it to their e-mail lists. Unity and enthusiasm are keys to winning against Murtha.

Lt. Col. Russell, who was born on a military base, has devoted an entire lifetime to supporting and protecting the U.S. Now, it's our turn to support him. Many people have volunteered to solicit financial support for the Russell Campaign. I hope you'll join them.

John Murtha has said that being a congressman is all about "making deals." On the other hand, William Russell believe that being a congressman is all about making this a better -- freer, more secure, more prosperous -- country.

To win, Russell needs to add just ONE PERCENT to the votes George Bush received in the district in 2004. That's certainly not an impossible task. Please visit http://williamrussellforcongress.com/ -- and do so today.

Steve Maloney
Ambridge, PA

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Our choice is Gen. David Petraeus — the man who helped bring democracy to the Middle East.

POLITICAL ACTIVISTS DOING "THE WAVE"

SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS COLUMN FOR THE "SARAH PALIN WAVE."

If you're a sports fan, you know about -- and probably have participated -- in something called "The Wave." It's a sports phenomenon that has significant political implications.

The Wave occurs when people throughout the stadium – section by section -- stand up and raise their arms. The effect is to make tens of thousands of people behave in a way that resembles the rise and fall of an ocean wave.

It sounds like an exercise in silliness, but increasingly researchers studying human behavior and leaders have studied The Wave. They believe that it exemplifies a situation where the actions of the few – the people who start The Wave – end up influencing the behavior of the many – nearly everyone else.

To perceptive researchers, that sounds suspiciously like something similar to management and leadership. In fact, The Wave is a metaphor for those things.

Leadership -- in society, business, and politics -- means getting people to act spontaneously to influence others. It also means having them work in concert to achieve an end.

The Wave occurs because people want to do something that helps the home team win. In politics, “the home team” is a candidate who wants to win and needs popular support to do so.

The Wave occurs when a few people start a movement. Quickly, people throughout the stadium being reacting in the same way – and influencing the actions of others near them. Soon, the people throughout a stadium are moving in unison.

Recently, I’ve written about a number of “wave-makers” who are assisting in the Russell Campaign. One of them is Pennsylvanian Melanie, a highly social and insightful restaurant worker.

There's also Cindy in New Mexico, who posts on the extremely popular site named ThePinkFlamingo. She's a professional writer who has a huge following and is directing many people to Russell's web site.

Another one is "Samantha West," a businesswoman who lives in Texas and is vigorously raising funds for Russell. Also, there’s “Jenn of the Jungle,” a Californian with a popular show on BlogTalkRadio and someone who recently interviewed William Russell. Douglas Gibbs of Political Pistachio radio has strongly supported Russell and had him on his show. As you've probably noticed, I'm a Pennsylvanian trying to "Make Waves for Russell."

Another extremely important figure in the Russell camp is Brad Marston from Massachusetts. He’s devoting most of his current energy to supporting John McCain’s effort to win the Republican presidential nomination – but he’s also a solid supporter of Russell.

The following is an e-mail Brad recently sent to "1,000 of his closest (political) friends":

"Political muscle is built by talking to one person at a time. That is why I am reaching out to you today. This e-mail is going out to over 1000 people because I talked to 10 people who in turn, talked to ten more people. Help us make it 10,000 people simply by forwarding it on to your friends, family and contacts."

"So, 'What have you done today to make you feel proud?' It is a line from one of my favorite songs, 'Proud.' Another lyric is 'We need a change...Do it today...I can feel my spirit rising!' I think that says it perfectly. We do need a change."

"To make it happen, we need you to JOIN US ! We need you to DONATE , whether it be time, talent money or some combination thereof! Let's all end each day knowing 'I did something for the future of this nation I love so much. I did what I could to elect John McCain and I am proud of that.' If you can do that, I would be both proud and grateful. And so will the hundreds, perhaps thousands more who join us."

Sincerely,
M. Brad Marston
National Chair
McCainVictory08

Brad started small – like “The Wave” – but has quickly built a strong base of support for his candidates. His e-mail above has gone to 1,000 people. He’s asking each of the recipients to contact at least ten friends and political allies. In fact, I’m doing just that in this column.

Do you want to change the political outlook? If so, you need to emulate people like Brad, Melanie, Samantha, Cindy, Jenn, Douglas, and others. Someone like Brad is potentially influencing the votes – and contributions – of tens of thousands of people.

And that translates into real political clout!

Note: If you'd like to join Bloggers 4 Russell, please either leave a comment or send me an e-mail at: TalkTop65@aol.com. Thanks!

THE SARAH PALIN WAVE!

Hey Palin fans,

This showed up on Instapundit this morning:

"THE SARAH PALIN JUGGERNAUT is gathering steam!"

The link will lead you to yesterday's endorsement of our movement by Charleston (WV) Daily Mail columnist Don Surber, which is big news in itself.

Instapundit is one of the biggest conservative blogs on the entire net (probably THE biggest); and if they call you a juggernaut, you're a juggernaut.

-- Adam Brickley,Founder, "Draft Sarah Palin for Vice President"palinforvp.blogspot.com