Senator Maria Cantwell sent out a fundraising email today. Nothing extraordinary about that, even for a just-reelected Senator. Except that this message -- titled A Remarkable Man -- asked for contributions to the campaign of her stricken colleague Tim Johnson.
While extolling Johnson's accomplishments and the hair's-breadth margin of his 2002 race (Maria knows from razor-thin victories), as well as reminding us of the attacks on his former colleague Tom Daschle in 2004, Maria also takes a not-so-subtle swipe at another colleague in The World's Greatest Deliberative Body.
Follow me below the fold for more...
Maria's email starts like this:
Dear [N in Seattle],
In Washington D.C., simple courage is often in short supply. Too often politicians take the easy way out, refuse to stand for principle, or shy away from the tough fight. This is why I want to take a moment today to talk to you about a remarkable man who is displaying remarkable courage.
Last year, Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota underwent brain surgery. It was a sudden operation and a tricky one. But in typical fashion, through his surgery and now through his recovery, Tim demonstrated incredible bravery and strength at every turn. He is doing well, he is working hard to get back to the Senate and he is getting ready for his next campaign - but it's going to take time. That's where you come in.
Tim is up for re-election next year and while he gets ready, we need to show we have his back. Right now we hold a single seat majority in the Senate, and South Dakota is a top target of the national Republican Party. Tim is incredibly popular back home, but he needs to start this campaign from a position of strength and not play catch-up.
This Saturday is the first quarterly fundraising deadline of campaign 2008. For Tim, and for the Democratic majority, this is going to be critical milestone. We need to show that we are going to fight as hard in 2008 as we did in 2006 and that starts with Tim Johnson in South Dakota. I know that the next election seems like a long way away, but the campaign to hold our majority starts now.
As all Kossacks are surely aware, in mid-December an arteriovenous malformation burst in Senator Johnson's brain. The resulting cerebral hemorrhage nearly killed him; the rapid action of expert healthcare professionals saved his life. His course of recovery and rehabilitation has been positive, as evidenced by photos from a couple of weeks ago on his Senate website (here, here, here, and here), and he is expected to return to work in the Senate in the near future. If the somewhat similar case of ESPN's Peter Gammons is any guide, Senator Johnson might well make an essentially complete recovery. Gammons suffered a ruptured cerebral aneurysm in June 2006, and was back on the air just three months later.
Senator Cantwell continues by providing a handy link to her HoldTheSenate ActBlue contribution page for Tim Johnson. It's a link I strongly urge you to click on, and a contribution well worth making.
Almost as valuable as the opportunity to help out the estimable Senator Johnson, however, was the dig that Maria Cantwell -- hardly a darling of the progressive side of our party -- took at the junior Senator from Connecticut. Near the end of her message, she writes (emphasis added):
But we won't let up either. We have only a one seat margin in the Senate. One seat to defend the principles that we hold dear. One seat to change the course in Iraq. One seat to deliver energy independence. One seat to protect our environment for our children. One seat to make college education affordable for everyone. One seat to stand up for veterans, military and their families. One seat to put you first and the special interests last.
If we are going to keep that one seat majority next year, we need to help my friend Senator Tim Johnson today.
How many times does she have to say "one seat" to get the point across? There are, in fact, 49 Democrats and 49 Republicans in the Senate these days. Vermont's Bernie Sanders is an independent who's really to the left of the Democrats; he used to call himself a socialist when he was mayor of Burlington. He's an extremely reliable member of the Democratic caucus in the Senate, and his presence there is what gives the good guys their one seat edge.
Maria doesn't count on the other non-D/non-R member of the Senate as part of the Democratic majority. And rightly so. Joe Lieberman is, deservedly and pointedly, a man without a party.
To reiterate what Maria Cantwell says, I urge you to support Tim Johnson (D-SD) by clicking on her HoldTheSenate ActBlue page.
[Adapted from a Peacetree Farm blog post]