You might remember hearing about the PAC headquartered in an empty dirt lot in El Paso, Texas, that ran a direct mail piece against me in the AZ-03 Democratic primary a few weeks ago. I won the race Aug. 28 despite someone's attempts -- we haven't seen the financial disclosures yet -- to throw it to my conservative challenger. That means I'm now facing a woman named Gabriela Saucedo Mercer in the general election.
To cut to the chase, Gabriela Saucedo Mercer has said "Middle Easterners" are only here to kill us, that I'm an America-hating Marxist, that teaching Mexican American history is part of a violent plot to overthrow the government, and that she's a proud Tea Party member. Gov. Jan Brewer and Rep. Trent Franks have endorsed her, and Gov. Brewer is still planning to hold a fundraiser for her on Sept. 12. I'm here to ask you to join with me in sending a message to the whole state, and the whole country, that this ends here and now.
The American people are done with candidates who say one thing to friendly Tea Party audiences and another thing when they think the public is listening. It's time to tell the truth about every word someone's said, no matter the venue or the audience. If Gov. Brewer wants to pretend Mrs. Mercer's hate speech isn't an issue, it's time to make it so big an issue that she can't ignore it. Her own infamous "beheadings in the desert" was bad enough. Now she's endorsed a woman who says my "allegiance is not to the United States" and that I "hate the American way." If you have the time and the patience, you can learn more about her thoughts on American politics here and here.
Instead of rolling our eyes, I'm asking the millions of people who read Daily Kos to roll up our sleeves. I don't like to ask for money -- I run people-powered campaigns that keep costs low and respect your hard-earned donations instead of relying on big-ticket lobbyists. But over the past week, I've become convinced that the best way, and maybe the only way, to make it clear what's happening in Arizona is to go on the air. We need to explain what Gabriela Saucedo Mercer says when she thinks no one else is paying attention, and we need to ask why Gov. Brewer and the rest of the Republican establishment have no problem with it.
That's why I'm asking for your support. If you can, chip in $25 to help me put up the most important TV spot of my career. We're at http://www.standwithraul.com.
There are a lot of races that need money, that need attention and that need volunteers. Please don't stop supporting any of the other candidates you have your heart or your eye set on. We need to get back the House majority. This is a different front in the same fight, and I think it will have a big ripple effect. If Gabriela Saucedo Mercer and Gov. Brewer don't get away with it this time, there won't be a next time. We'll be talking about "the Mercer effect" and the fundraiser they had to cancel. That's my goal, and I hope it's worth a bit of your time and support.