In the last couple days, there have been several posts across the blogosphere citing what various candidates running for Congress have said on FISA and retroactive immunity for the telecoms.  But so far, it's been all over the map.  I'll try to corral all their statements into this diary, so you can see who the "good guys" are.

First, let's start off with the current House and Senate members who voted against this bill.  They do deserve credit, as it's their jobs on the line.

Follow me below the fold to see the dozens of Democratic challengers who are standing up for the Constitution, and are against this FISA bill and retroactive immunity.

A new Washington Blade article covers the latest incarnation of the discriminatory Federal Marriage Amendment, which would enshrine discrimination into the U.S. Constitution. U.S. Rep. Paul Broun (R, GA-10) managed to get 29 co-sponsors for the bill, and we here in NJ were disappointed, if not at all surprised, to see that Rep. Scott Garrett (R, NJ-5) signed on, making him one of only two Northeastern co-sponsors.

When I first decided to run for the Congressional seat in New Jersey's Fifth District, I did it because I knew that I wanted to be a voice for the families of North Jersey who have not had a voice in Washington the past five years.

Tuesday night, I met with leaders of the Ramapough Mountain Indians, whose land was used as a dumping ground for industrial waste for nearly two decades, and are now left to deal with the after-effects of an industry which has since pulled its jobs, and the wealth that came with it, out of the community.

Some of the excruciating details of their plight can be found at this invaluable website, http://toxiclegacy.com/ .  

One of the best indicators that this is shaping up to be a special election year for Democrats is the high number of relatively credible candidates running around the country...including in some districts we’ve abandoned for years, districts with entrenched Republican incumbents or districts which vote preposterously Republican at the federal level.

It seems as if everyone who has kicked around the idea of running for Congress has decided this is the year, that getting in now is their best chance at winning election for the foreseeable future.

Districts which most people never dreamed would be competitive this fall have drawn surprisingly credible Democratic candidates. Some of these, like Debbie Cook or Donald Betts, happen to be unusually high-profile. Others have shown shocking fundraising prowess, like Linda Ketner or Michael Skelly.

So here is a partial list of long-shot campaigns run by credible candidates. These are the kind of races that won't be listed as top-tier pickup opportunities, and most of them will be under the radar for the bulk of the election cycle, but may have some sleeper potential.

At the very least, it's certainly possible that the Republicans are going to have to defend their incumbents from dark-horse campaigns in these formerly safe, untouchable territories...which has the effect of drawing Republican money away from other, less solidly Republican districts where Democrats have an even better shot at winning.

It is not likely that many of these districts will wind up being competitive; in fact, a few of the candidates below will undoubtedly wind up losing by significant margins. Still, these candidates have done well enough so far that they're worthy of attention; in fact, some of them have already been added to the DCCC's race map, indicating that their strengths have not gone unnoticed by the powers that be.

So here are a few dark horses who are showing the ability to cause trouble for Republicans in some of the reddest of turf.

Special thanks to James L. at Swing State Project for putting together his fantastic table of fundraising numbers.

Race tracker wiki: AL-03 AZ-03 TX-07 VA-05 SC-01 SC-02 KS-04 CA-46 NJ-05 IL-13

As many of you know, New Jersey has one of the most right wing republicans in Congress, Scott Garrett.  He was one of 11 congressmen to vote against rebuilding New Orleans.  He is generally out of touch with New Jersey.  Fortunately, the people of NJ-05 have gradually realized this and he has won by progressively smaller margins in each election.

Even better, we have the pleasure of voting for a truly moral man in Dennis Shulman this year.  Even better, Congressional Quarterly has just upgraded the race from Safe Republican to Republican favored.  This could be the year where we can finally get rid of Garrett.

More below the fold

I recently caught wind of the following:

Following a week in which the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) lobbed several attacks on Congressman Scott Garrett's (R-Wantage) skewed priorities, Congressman Steve Rothman (NJ-9) joined the General Wesley K. Clark, Teamsters Joint Council No. 73, New York Governor David Paterson, and numerous New Jersey political figures in endorsing Dennis Shulman's campaign to unseat Garrett in New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District.

"After meeting with Dennis and hearing about him from people throughout Northern New Jersey, I am convinced that he will make an excellent Member of Congress.  I am committed to working with Dennis in 2008 so that, together, we can help solve the problems of New Jersey and the nation in 2009," said Congressman Steve Rothman.

Did you catch that? Rep. Steve Rothman of New Jersey's 9th congressional district just the other day endorsed Rabbi Dennis Shulman, who is taking on Republican Scott Garrett in New Jersey's 5th CD. That is to say, an incumbent Dem endorsed a challenger running against a member of his own state's delegation.

But what does DCCC Executive Director Brian Wolff have to say about endorsements like that?

Brian Wolff, executive director of the DCCC, says the bloggers are making "much ado about nothing," noting that it's "customary" for members to remain neutral in races involving GOP members of their respective congressional delegations.

Quick, someone call up Steve Rothman! He's violating a long-practiced custom! How dare he! Does Chris Van Hollen know about this breach?

Seriously, folks, I think we know this "custom" is bullshit. Debbie Wasserman Schultz herself recognized this back in 2005, when she unhesitatingly supported challenger Ron Klein against fellow Floridian Clay Shaw:

"It's not good for my relationship with Clay Shaw, but Democrats can't afford to leave a seat like that uncontested," she said.

Scott Garrett is a total recidivist crumb-bum, and the people of NJ-05 deserve better. Rabbi Shulman knows this, and that's why he's running to replace him. And Rep. Rothman knows this, too, which is why he's backing Rabbi Shulman. Surely the good folks in South Florida deserve no less from Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Race tracker wiki: NJ-05

Sure, she's wasting campaign money.  And Democratic opportunities to attack John McCain.  And attempting to create divisions in the Party.

But of all the many reasons that Hillary Clinton should graciously concede the Democratic nomination to the clear winner of the contest, none has been more overlooked than the impact on downballot races.

No, I'm not talking about Obama's major coattails, though that is certainly important.  I'm talking about the oxygen that this continued farce of a campaign is taking away from the deserving and overlooked women and men running for Senate and Congress.

It is only a matter of time  before he bursts forth onto the national scene and captures the hearts and minds of thinking people everywhere in this country.

Here is my (obscenely biased but very reasonable) prediction.

Come November (and likely well before) he will be a national phenomenon: Russert will interview him on Sunday morn; Olbermann will speak of him while delivering a special comment; the gray lady will profile him; NPR will consider all things related to him; the right will be disarmed by him; and the left will celebrate him.

Truly, he's a progressive's wet dream.

Cross the fold with me and I'll continue with my shameless love fest.

I live in New Jersey's 5th District, home of one of the worst Congressional members, Scott Garrett.  As I said in a diary a couple of weeks ago:

I live in New Jersey?s 5th district - my Congressman is Scott Garrett.  He is one of the most odious members of Congress.  When you see bills that pass the House with a vote of 390-35, he is one of the 35.  Consistently.  He has around an 85% voting record with George W. Bush.  On the other 15%, his position is more extreme than Bush.

There is at least one, really two progressives running in my district on the Democratic side.  Scott Garrett will never vote with Clinton, Obama or Edwards on anything that I want to see passed.  But the Democratic candidates in my district will.  As will many other progressive Democratic candidates - some of whom are members of the progressive blogosphere.  

Dennis Shulman, the inspiring blind doctor and rabbi who is seeking to unseat Republican incumbent Scott Garrett in NJ-5, has just secured the endorsement of Paul Aronsohn, who ran and lost to Garrett on the Democratic ticket two years ago.

With this crucial endorsement, in addition to raising nearly $200,000 in 2007, Shulman has established his bona fides  and is increasingly looking like the Democratic candidate to beat in this district that finally has a real chance to swing blue.

In other NJ-5 news, Steve Goldstein, the Garden State Equality chair and another supporter of  Shulman, found just the rights words to capture the uniqueness and potential of Shulman's campaign when he commented:

Rabbi Dennis Shulman, Demarast, New Jersey, is running for Congress in the NJ Fifth Congressional District.

http://shulmanforcongress.wordpress....

One cannot but notice that he is a rabbi. He is also a blind rabbi.

But not really so blind.

These are the words of the great rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.

And it is these words, and this man, that have inspired rabbi Dennis Shulman (D) to challenge conservative extremist Scott Garrett (R) in NJ-5 this 2008.

Like his spiritual forefather, Shulman has concluded that he can no longer speak about God and remain silent on Iraq, as well as many of the other pressing and important issues of our times.

To learn more about Dr. Shulman, who is also a practicing psychologist, check out this recent New York Sun profile: Shulman Aims To Be First Blind Rabbi in Congress

NJ-5 Democractic challenger Dennis Shulman is calling on the citizens of New Jersey to vote for a bipartisan proposal to invest $450 million to fund stem cell research over the next 10 years.

“As a psychologist and rabbi, I encounter people struggling with Alzheimers and so many other potentially curable debilitating diseases,” said Dr. Shulman. “Out of touch politicians like Scott Garrettare blocking research that could lead to cures for my patients and congregants.  For me, this issue is personal.”

Dennis Shulman, the progressive blind rabbi and psychologist looking to unseat Scott Garrett (R) in NJ-5 this 2008, will join Howie Klein for an open conversation at FDL this Saturday, November 3, at 2:00 PM Eastern.

Listen and join in the conversation to learn more about this extraordinary man and his truly unorthodox campaign.

In response to Garrett's shameful vote to not override President Bush’s SCHIP veto, NJ-5's Democratic challenger Dennis Shulman has called on the ideologue to get his priorities straight

Shulman Calls on Garrett to Denounce Coulter's Hateful Remarks
Statement from Rabbi Dennis Shulman

DEMAREST, NEW JERSEY, October 12, 2007 –

Today I call on Scott Garrett to denounce in no uncertain terms the slurs hurled at the Jewish community by right wing Republican pundit Ann Coulter. Scott Garrett should demand that his ally Ms. Coulter apologize for the hurtful comments she made.

Words have consequences, and this kind of bigoted rhetoric has all too often led to violence throughout history.

We as a society need to distinguish between vigorous political discourse and offensive conduct.  While both forms of speech are protected by the First Amendment, political speech should be treasured even when one disagrees vehemently.  But we need leaders who stand up against hateful language that divides us.

As a religious leader, I condemn all religious bigotry, be it anti-Catholic language emanating from Bob Jones University, anti-Mormon language directed unfairly at Mitt Romney, or Ann Coulter's attacks on the Jewish community.

Here is Dennis Shulman's story about living as a blind man in a sighted world.

It's a moving and honest account of his struggle to not only live with but transcend his disability.

And it's about how and why his disability is leading him to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2009.

To learn more about Dennis, check out Shulman for Congress.

Dennis Shulman, New Jersey's 5th district Congressional Democratic primary candidate, lambasted incumbent Republican Scott Garrett over his decision to stand (not surprisingly) with George W. Bush and vote against the recent SCHIP leglislation.

"We certainly can do better than this," says Shulman. "For God's sake, we're talking about sick children, and this is America. It is time for Scott Garrett to reconsider his opposition to this critical legislation and spend some time defending children's health, instead of his record of failed policies."

Once again, Garret has shown his true (and extreme) colors. It's time to retire this ideologue from the People's House.