Gilda Reed LIVE on BlogTalkRadio TODAY at 1PM Eastern

The other night, I posted a diary about a series of interviews  that thereisnospoon and I will be doing on our BlogTalkRadio show with various Democratic Congressional candidates.

Not only do I think this is a great opportunity to hear these candidates in their own words talking about their district, their campaign and the issues they hold dear, but also to keep some focus on Congress, because without more progressives in Congress who are willing to stand up and fight for the ideals that we discuss here daily, it really won’t matter if Clinton, Obama, Romney or McCain is in the White House because a progressive agenda would not even begin to be seriously discussed, nor would a right wing agenda be able to be thwarted.

I am pleased and honored to have the opportunity to interview some of the Democratic candidates for Congress, and our first one in this series will be with Gilda Reed, who is running in Louisiana’s 1st District.  The interview will be TODAY (Saturday, February 2, at 1PM Eastern/10AM Pacific.  

The link to the show can be found here , and Gilda’s ActBlue page is here as well.

The call in number is 718-508-9410 if anyone wants to call in (I think she will be taking calls).  There will also be a live chat room that you can send us instant messages or questions as well.  You can find that by going to BlogTalkRadio’s home page and scrolling to the bottom where it says Live Chat With and click on “ePluribus Radio”.

Some of the topics we hope to discuss are:

• Recent endorsement by The Ponchatoula Times and what it means to finally have a competitive Democrat running – thoughts on the race given prior republicans have gotten at least 78% of the vote over the past 4 elections;
• Her view of the district and why she is running (contrast to David Vitter when he held that seat?)
• Biggest issues for her, concerns of people in the district;
• How does her PhD and experience help  in this campaign?
• Discussion on public education and NCLB;
• Discussion about the district and Katrina;
• Other items/events/endorsements, etc. that she may want to discuss.

Here is a little bit of background on Gilda from her website (in her own words):

I am running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District. I am running to make a powerful difference in the quality of life for the working middle class and the poor, to put an end to the War in Iraq and bring our troops home safely, and to work on environmental issues which are vital to the health and well being of all of our citizens.

I am a strong Louisiana Democrat who, out of necessity, has learned how to say what needs to be said, even when unpopular. My qualifications are extensive and I invite you to review my biography in detail.  However, and more importantly, I want you to know that I embody hard-headed determination.  I have raised seven children (a Navy Commander, a bank Vice-President, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, a Political Science graduate, an assistant manager with college degree, and an employed artist) and now have 11 grandchildren; I have managed a polio disability, while earning my Ph.D., and I teach more classes per semester than any of my university colleagues. I know that I can sucessfully represent both you and your families in Washington and look forward to receiving your vote of confidence.

We all need to get involved and put our District and our Nation back on the right track, for the benefit of our families and fellow citizens. We cannot afford to be complacent.

Also, we will have the following candidate interviews over the next couple of weeks (the times may change):

John Laesch (IL-14) – Monday Feb. 4 at 3PM Eastern

Dennis Shulman (NJ-5) – Thursday February 7 at 4PM Eastern

Charlie Brown (CA-4) – Tuesday February 12 at 8PM Eastern

I hope you can listen live and if not, we will be posting the interview at Heading Left, which is BlogTalkRadio’s official website for progressive internet radio and podcasts.