With the Democratic nomination contest finally over, Democrats now have the opportunity to put the rancor of last many months behind them and unite to defeat the Republicans in November by taking the White House and adding to our leads in the House and Senate.

Among the most important issues that will arise for the next administration is the question of accountability for the villains that preceded it in the Executive Branch.  Yesterday on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Richard Clarke suggested a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission".  Some would go farther, others less far.

But few in American politics today have as much personal knowledge and experience with the Bush Administration's lies and its mafia-style intimidation as Ambassador Joe Wilson, whom clammyc and I will be interviewing today at 2pmPST/5pmEST.  And the topic we'll be covering?  Accountability for Bush and his cronies after that glorious day on which they leave office.

It’s been a ride I never expected to take but I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I may do it again in 2010, this time armed with a much better appreciation of what it takes to get a message to the voters.

The disappointment was with me late Tuesday night as we watched the results from the first polling places come in off the loading docks of the Orange County Board of Elections and display on the web.

I had visited maybe 15 polling places during the day to thank the poll workers and ask how things were going. At every polling place the workers said it was slow. One woman told me that it was the lowest turnout she’d seen in 15 years of working at the polls.

The relief at first from the constant worry over money and begging people for more led to excitement over the opportunities the run for Congress has created. It’s been up and down since.

Last night I spoke briefly at the local DFA meeting and I felt a twinge of sadness at not winning. I wanted to represent them and help get their message out to American. I now realize there are other ways I can do that.

But, it's not who you think.

First off, this one did hurt.  Kossack Ron Shepston (CanYouBeAngryAndStillDream) finished third in the CA-42 primary, finishing behind a virulent anti-immigrant Minuteman-type guy who for some reason filed as a Democrat, and eventual winner Ed Chau.

But in a turn of events even us bloggers weren't expecting, Kossack Marta Jorgensen (pcmedia) won her 3-way primary race in CA-24!  (She had originally announced her campaign on DailyKos back in March.)

All eyes are on South Dakota (pop. ~792,000) and Montana (pop. ~992,000) today.  That is probably inevitable.  We wonder whether Obama will have enough superdelegates to declare victory outright this evening, what he will say, whether what he says will upset Hillary, what she is going to do in New York -- and unless you are actually in those states or on the phone making calls or a Clinton confidante, there's really nothing you can do about it.

But a lot of you out there can do something in California, where we are also having a primary today.

For one thing, you can vote NO on Prop 98 and YES on Prop 99, to foil landlords' schemes to stick it to renters.

And, if you live in CA-42 (pop. ~639,000), you can vote for a longtime fellow Kossack, Ron Shepston in his contested primary for Congress.  Today is the day -- get out and vote!

The turnover on this website of late is so high that many of you are probably unfamiliar with Ron Shepston, who has for the past year used the Ron Shepston for Congress account.  Perhaps fewer of you remember when he was a frequent contributor here, starting in 2004, under the handle CanYouBeAngryAndStillDream.  Ron is a longtime Koster/Kossack, excellent on the issues that most of us care about, and tomorrow he will face his first electoral contest: a primary for CA-42.

I was working in Ron’s campaign from the start through the end of last year and still participate as an occasional volunteer, small donor, sometime writer/editor, and sometime advisor.  Ron’s "brain trust" includes many familiar names from this site: thereisnospoon, hekebolos, and dday among them.

Today, I don’t speak for the campaign, though I’m making calls tonight and tomorrow once I’ve posted.

I just want to tell you why I voted for Ron, and why – if you’re one of the (statistics would suggest) large number of people reading this who live in CA-42 – you should do so too.

Despite the unwillingness of our Democratic Congress (Rep. Wexler notwithstanding) to do their Constitutional duty to hold the criminals in the Bush Administration accountable for their actions, the major sacrifices made by and injuries done to Valerie Plame, Joe Wilson and their colleagues and associates will not soon be forgotten by those of us who care deeply about our country.  This nation owes them a debt of gratitude for their service and their willingness to tell the truth in spite of incredible hostility and pressure from a corrupt and utterly immoral White House and its cronies.

Those progressive patriots of you who live in the Southern California area will have the opportunity to meet Joe Wilson himself at a fundraiser in Beverly Hills tomorrow (Thursday) at 6:30pm for the equally courageous Netroots candidate Ron Shepston.  I'll be there as well, for what that's worth!

If you live in the Greater Los Angeles area -- especially in Orange County, western Riverside or San Bernardino Counties, or even San Diego County, you will want to know about this:

Ambassador Joe Wilson -- who went to Africa prior to the Iraq War to investigate rumors that Iraq was trying to acquire yellowcake uranium, bravely told the story publicly of what he did not find in Africa, and was rewarded with the Administration blowing his wife's deep cover as an agent monitoring Iranian nuclear weapons activity -- is coming to town.  He wants to meet with people like you.

This event is a fundraiser for the candidacy of longtime Koster Ron Sheptston (the once and future CanYouBeAngryAndStillDream, who is running for Congress against the ethically challenged Rep. Gary Miller (R-Housing Crisis.))  Tickets start at $35.  See a disclaimer and more information about the event after the fold.

We can talk about "unity" -- but the meaning of that word varies depending on the reader. I want to drive home the meaning for you, to tap into the energy and synergy that comes from people striving for a common goal. In the netroots, I'm sure a lot of people will assume that I mean unity of the Presidential candidates.

That is part of it. Click on the picture to sign our pledge for unity.

(Misha, me & Dave in front of Democratic Party Of Orange County banner. We will be adding LA and San Bernardino Counties)

But we want to go further than that. We want to take this beyond gimmicks. We want to take this beyond cliche'. As my friend Dallasdoc says "Think movement".

This campaign has never been about me. It's been about all of us coming together to change the face of American politics to make the changes we know need to be made.

(So I do these every month for Calitics, but it occurs to me that I've never cross-posted it here.  So, um, here.)

Getting this one in under the wire.  On the last day of April, with just over a month to go until the June primaries, and six months to go until Election Day, there's a lot going on all over the state in the Congressional races.  Of the 19 seats in California currently held by Republicans, 17 will be contested in the fall, and some strongly so.  And we now have a full 34 Democrats with the election of Jackie Speier early in the month, and only one of them is a serious challenge.  We also have the first quarter of 2008 fundraising numbers, which will raise some eyebrows.  You can track these races yourself with the 2008 Race Tracker wiki.

A note: I'm mainly getting my numbers on cash-on-hand competitiveness from the Swing State Project.  Fundraising information comes from the FEC.

Here we go...

One of our own. With a kick-ass logo, and a wonderful voice.
Go, Rec. Donate. Ask him questions, lend your support however you can.

Update: Ron's diary has slid off the list, with 19 comments.
What a shame!
How many candidates ask for money, and break down their projected expenses for you to see?

Honestly, I can't do this without you.

From the beginning, this campaign has been about the netroots taking the next step to becoming the mainstream. You've been fantastic, but we need more if we are to win the primary. If we implement the plan below we will win and set the stage to win in November. We need to make a lot of noise and talk to a lot of people. Not enough people know about us and even fewer understand why we are doing this.

Without the money, there is no campaign - so I'm not going to beat around the bush.  We need money; we need it now. We need your help.  If you believe in candidates emerging from the netroots, like I know you do, then please contribute.

Click on this button to go to ActBlue.


Jump below for a story and some details on how your money will be spent.

I met Darcy Burner for the second time last night.

It was pretty exciting, meeting a future president.  If you have to ask why I would say that, why, then, you haven't had the pleasure of meeting Darcy Burner.  

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to post a quick campaign update for everybody. I'm working hard everyday from 7:00am to 11:00pm and its paying dividends. I have recently been endorsed by Ambassador Joe Wilson and he will be campaigning for me here in the coming weeks. We will be moving into our new office as of April 1st. We are getting great exposure online and volunteers are signing up in droves to help me get out and talk to voters for the June 3rd Primary.  I have to admit, this is a really exciting time.

As some of you may already know, today is the end of the financial filing quarter and we have raised thousands and thousands of dollars from hundreds of individuals.  I have been very encouraged by the number of individual contributors doing what they can to help bring about the change we all want and need.

Yeah, I like the Wilson Pickett song, but I certainly don't want to see it applied to our actions now, especially today or tomorrow.

Tomorrow is March 31, the end not only of the month, but also of the quarter for FEC reporting.  And if you have been thinking about making a contribution to a House or Senate candidate, the hour is getting short, hence my title.

In the heat of the battle for the presidential nominee, efforts to draw attention to our worthy Congressional candidates often go somewhat unnoticed, as perhaps happened with my diary yesterday on Tom Perriello, a very good candidate in the 5th CD of Virginia.  There have been front-page stories about some of our candidates.  I'd like to use this diary to mention a few more.

CA-42: Proud To Support The Responsible Plan To End The War

Yes please.  Rec that diary.  This is what we are about folks.  Electing better Democrats.  I know it's more fun to rehash the news, get outraged by Tony the American Mutts latest troll comment, and laugh at the foibles of x- candidate, but lets give Ron Shepston some love.

(Dday here.  I have just begun working as Ron Shepston's netroots coordinator.  Ron has written this post to discuss his support for the Responsible Plan.  He's in a contested primary and needs your help to continue the leadership he's shown in supporting this plan all the way to Congress.  Please consider making a donation to his campaign today.)

I was working in Brisbane, Australia on 9/11. I’d long past gotten over jet lag but something woke me in the middle of the night. When I turned on the TV to CNN International and saw the graphic “America Under Attack” my first thought was that it was simply more media over-the-top hype. As I watched, I saw that was not the case and my anger grew at whoever it was who attacked us. I’d never felt so much anger in my life and I doubt that ever will again. I called friends and family to “be” with them, but I knew that I couldn’t, not only because of the distance, but because all air travel was suspended.

Last week, I called on Rep. Gary Miller to reimburse the taxpayers $1.28 million for an earmark that he placed in the 2005 Highway bill.  You can read the release here.

We got some great folks to pick it up and write about it in the netroots.

The liberal O.C. posted thisstory.

Down with tyranny had this to say.

The good folks at Calitics put it on the front page.

Thanks for posting and we are working to get more folks to pick it up.  If you can, please contribute now to keep the momentum going.

Yesterday I wrote a diary about the importance of wrapping up the presidential nomination in order to pay more attention to all-important House and Senate races.  One of the races I mentioned was the one in CA-42, where our own fellow Kossack and all-around great guy Ron Shepston is working to defeat the über-corrupt Gary Miller.  Full disclosure: I have served and still serve as an unpaid advisor and strategist for the campaign.