Until ten minutes ago I had not heard of Shenna Bellows. (That means something, because I follow this stuff very closely.) Five minutes ago I became a contributor.
Update: For every "yes" vote in the poll below ("Have you contributed to Shenna Bellows?") I will contribute one more dollar to Shenna up to an amount to be determined. (Hey, I'm not a Koch brother, a McCutcheon or an Adelson (Gracias a Dios), and my Soros funds are late this month)
Further Update: OK -- it's up to 12 contributions -- up one since I started writing his update. Still below my limit, though, so keep it up!.
Via Steve M. at
No More Mr. Nice Blog I learned not only that Shenna Bellows is running against Susan Collins for the Senate in Maine,
and that "she sure as hell is from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party," She strongly supports:
Choice
Equal pay
Increased minimum wage
Marijuana Legalization
Reform of the NSA
Anti-Keystone Pipeline
In short, she has most of the same positions as Elizabeth Warren, except she is more outspoken on NSA issues.
I have no patience for "moderate" Republicans like Susan Collins, who are praised by the likes of Newsmax (OK to click link -- it's a Kos diary):
As for the allegation that she doesn’t “sound like” a Republican, it should be noted that Collins voted against Obamacare, voted in favor of the Bush-era tax cuts and their extension, supported the Iraq War Resolution authorizing President Bush to attack Iraq, and received a 0 percent rating from SANE (National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy), indicating a pro-military voting record.
On fiscal policy, she is a conservative, supporting the idea of a balanced budget constitutional amendment and enforcing existing spending caps in the future. - Newsmax, 4/23/13
Just this past week, Collins proposed a "compromise" on the minimum wage -- "Splitting the difference" between $7.25 and $10.10 (but only with Dem concessions like repealing the employer ACA mandate and tax cuts). Past compromises brokered by Collins resulted, e.g., in $1-2 billion cut from the 2009 Stimulus: How many jobs did that cost?
Bellows is an ideal candidate for an increasingly blue state like Maine, except that Collins is an entrenched incumbent -- a Beltway Heathers darling for being slightly less nuts than the current GOP. But she voted for McConnell and every other right wing majority leader and of course, against the ACA.
Dems should have learned a lesson from ditching Barbara Buono in NJ. Wendy Davis is a superstar and Alison Grimes is getting national support. Neither of them is Elizabeth Warren (nor could they be in their states). Shenna Bellows is.
But she needs money to become known and to educate Maine voters about Susan Collins phony moderate reputation.
And now that we are free (thanks to McCutcheon) from maxing out on multiple candidate contributions, all of you wealthy Kos people can contribute to Shenna, Wendy, Alison and many others!! (I kid -- but maybe there's some of you out there.)
So here's Shenna Bellows' Contribution Page.
Let's buck the odds and elect another Liz Warren to the Senate.
Update: Now that this has been rec'd, I've added a poll about contributions.