You've probably heard the hubbub about Tom Geoghegan who's running for Congress to fill Rahm Emmanuel's old seat. He's been endorsed by progressives like Rick Perlstein, The Nation Magazine, David Sirota and Thomas Frank. So although I just moved back to Chicago 5 days ago, I went to check the campaign out and it's the real deal.
A true progressive, honest, prochoice and pro-gay marriage, and if elected he would push, knowledgeably and aggressively, for all the right, important things. . . . Sick of timorous, dithering Democrats? Tom could be the next Paul Wellstone.
- Katha Pollitt, The Nation
What'd I find? Dozens of volunteers had come through the office just today. There were two shifts of canvassers, volunteers doing data entry, and a constant rotation of volunteers on the phones. And, yes, I made 72 calls to voters myself.
He's already beating all the other candidates with $128,233 on Act Blue. Can we get him to $150K this weekend? I bet we can.
Contribute to Tom's Campaign Right Now.
I first saw the local passion for Tom's campaign at the Northside DFA meeting on Thursday. There are 13 candidates in this primary and Tom was one of only two to get a majority YES! votes from the Northside DFA membership. He didn't get the 70% needed for an endorsement, but everyone was committed to hitting the streets and making calls for him.
One of the greatest living progressives in America . . . The reason his writing is so good is because he’s so simultaneously brilliant, progressive and politically savvy - all skills that would make him a congressional powerhouse. - David Sirota
Make no mistake. Tom is for real. His staff is for real. And the volunteer and grassroots support in the district is for real.
Saturday at the Tom Geoghegan field office
There are only 24 days until the special primary election on March 3rd. It's a 13 person primary for Rahm's old seat and anything can happen. This race will come down to name recognition, shoe leather and GOTV. Literally, 25,000 votes may be enough to send Tom to office.
Wouldn't that be something? A real progressive in Rahm's old seat.
How's he progressive?
Universal single payer health care.
Increased social security payouts.
Marriage equality.
Oh and here's some straight talk on the bailout:
So here's my request. There are only 24 days left to elect the next Paul Wellstone to Congress.
- Contribute to Tom Geoghegan on ActBlue
- If you're in Chicago, volunteer for Tom's campaign
- At the very least, please rec this diary to spread the word about Tom