Ok, so I have to hand it to G.I. Jill

Apparently, G.I. Jill reads my blog and didn't like what she was reading. So she decided to reach out and give me a call. She was cordial and seemed like she genuinely wanted to do her best to connect with the community.

After our conversation, I came to the conclusion that at least part of her problems have stemmed from some inefficient behavior on the part of her staff. Having never run for office before, I can appreciate that Jill doesn't know what to expect. However, there are a few things that are required of every office.

Number one on that list is to return phone and email messages. Always. Her staff has not been doing that.

Also, it is important to take advantage of the help offered to you by members of certain large organizations that have the potential to boost a candidate's campaign. This includes contacting the people you're told to contact and returning endorsement questionnaires promptly.

Hopefully Jill has some conversation with her staff about acting in a professional manner.

Vote for Adina!!!

My good friend Barb's feline friend, Adina, is one of the finalists for the Red Eye's "Most Beautiful Cat" competition. Please go vote for Adina!!

http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-beautifulcat12,0,2606181.story

DCCC "Rapid Response" Txt Msg for State of the Union

I have been very impressed with the way the DCCC communicates and engages people over the internet since Chris Van Hollen has taken over. They are looking much more like Howard Dean style DNC than Rahm Emanuel style DCCC.

They have someone assigned to netroots outreach, Brandon English, who we correspond with regularly. He posts updates on our lists, emails us directly about district issues, and is all-around very accessible. He took it upon himself to list district-specific blogs on the DCCC website which has increased my hits.

So, overall, I am very impressed with these changes. I don't think I would have believed it if someone told me it would be like this a few years ago.

Another thing that the DCCC is doing right is to engage folks with technology in a fun way.

George W. Bush's very last state of the union address is tonight. You can sign up here to get "rapid response" text messages informing you every time GWB lies! This is so fun and unlike the DCCC of yesteryear, that's for sure.

UPDATE:

To prove my point that the DCCC is more engaged than they've ever been, I received this email from Brandon English a few hours after I posted this:

Hey Bridget,

Thanks for the pat on the back in your blog post today. It’s always great to know when your work is appreciated and positive feedback like this makes it easier for us to push the boundaries the next time we come up with a fun idea. Hope all is well and let me know if I can ever be of help to you or your readers.

Enjoy the speech!

Brandon

Barack does Letterman's Top 10

Pretty funny. VP Oprah, *shudder*.

G.I. Jill who?

David over at Rubber Stamp Roskam has it dead on about Jill Morgenthaler's "campaign". I've been called on three separate occasions to volunteer and I'd really like to know why I should. They have yet to catch me unoccupied or I would ask them what they think about that. Or why any self-respecting, halfway intelligent human being should try to elect someone she knows so little about.

I don't particularly care what G.I. Jill has said in private meetings about her stances on the issues. I don't trust anything from politicians until it's a matter of public record for which their feet can be held to the fire. I know that G.I. Jill doesn't care about promoting a living wage in this country because she's too worried about "small businesses going out of business". As someone who works in the labor movement, I can't say I was too thrilled with that idea.

Outsiders who swoop into my neighborhood expecting to represent me need to realize that having a "D" behind their names isn't enough. They need to reach out and connect with the community and actually build a base. Especially in DuPage, their base is all they have to depend upon. I am not Jill Morgenthaler's base, nor do I currently see any reason to join that club.

Saturday Elections

Haha, I was so thrilled to see Mr. 50-something-Orange-Ken-Doll win the GOP nomination in Michigan. Really, it doesn't get better than Mitt on that side.

Nevada and South Carolina are both on Saturday. For the first time ever, Nevada will be instituting the ass-backwards caucus system, while South Carolina will have a more democratic primary. I read some garbage on CNN.com about African-American voters spurned Barack in Michigan. I'm not really sure how they could possibly quantify that considering he wasn't on the ballot! Leave it to CNN to make wild assumptions.

Saturday should be interesting, at any rate.

I have a very apolitical friend coming to stay with me from out of town on Saturday (dammit). Someone whom I adore, but who bitches constantly about all the "politics crap". I'm thinking she is just going to have to deal with it for a few hours before we go paint the town red at a series of silly nightclubs.

Huck's the Puppet's Favorite

Huck-UH-BEE! Elmo and Rosita break it down on healthy living with Governor Mike Huckabee. At least I got my prediction for the GOP win in Iowa right.

My predictions for New Hampshire are that Huckabee and Obama take it again.

There are too many independents voting in the Democratic primary this year for McCain to pull through. The only ones left to vote for the GOP candidate are the die hard right wingers.

Those independents and some Republicans voting in the Dem primary are going to vote for Barack. He has a tremendous appeal across party lines, probably due to the fact that he sounds kind of reasonable when he talks. It makes people feel all warm and fuzzy or something.

I'm starting to get the impression that it won't be all over after New Hampshire. Maybe Illinois' vote will count after all.

Iowa Caucuses

I've been super busy for the past month and haven't had much time to update. I'll get on it soon enough.

For today, the day of the Iowa caucuses, I predict that John Edwards comes in first with Barack Obama a close second. On the GOP side, Huckabee will come in first with McCain a close second.

For what it's worth!