Round-The-Clock Gilda Reed Fundraiser Part One!

The People’s House, The House of Representatives. Emphasis on……Represent. Conceived as the most basic building block of our democracy, elegantly simple. The People living in an area choose someone, one of their neighbors, to go to Washington and sit in The Peoples House and represent their interests, their concerns and their identity within our national government. But all too often this most simple of mechanisms of democracy has been corrupted, and those who are chosen to Represent The People…. instead represent the moneyed and powerful interests who would use our democracy for far less noble ends.

Especially those darn Republicans!

So when there is a chance to elect one of those “better Democrats” that we all wish to see in the halls of The People’s House, it is incumbent on us to do so. When we can take a seat that has been held by those aforementioned Republicans, it is URGENT that we do so.

And today, and for the next 24 hours, you have a chance to help!

I give you Gilda Reed, Candidate for Louisiana’s First Congressional district.

This will be posted at Daily Kos in one hour, to kick off the Round-The-Clock  Fundraiser, please head over there then…and do what you can to help. As usual, you Dharmaniacs are ahead of the curve!

And since it is a special election (May 3rd)…. and since LA-01 is still suffering, under Bushcos neglect, from Katrina and Gilda has vowed to do all she can to remedy that…. and especially since we have a chance to take a Republican seat….there is no reason AT ALL not to focus all of the considerable power of Daily Kos and Docudharma to help put a Fellow Kossak into The People’s House. And that is what we will be doing for the next 24 hours!

This is just first the diary in a 24-hour fundraiser for Gilda Reed, Democratic Candidate for Katrina-Burdened LA-01.

To Gilda Reed, via ActBlue.

Is Gilda a good progressive candidate? I will let her tell you:

“I am running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District 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, bringing our troops home safely, and to work on environmental issues vital to the health and well being of all of our citizens.”

“I am a strong Louisiana Democrat and I embody hard-headed determination. Early on, I learned how to say what needs to be said, even when unpopular. 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.”

Is Gilda a good person to represent her district and to fight for progressive causes? Again, in her own words:

I have worked hard for the past year traveling through all 6 parishes contacting mayors, police chiefs and everyday citizens.  I have the determination, resiliency and intellectual capacity to leave no stone unturned as I search tirelessly for all possible solutions.  Representatives are not supposed to accept NO for an answer.  They are supposed to fight tooth and nail, beating on Capitol Hill doors, making a persistent clamor until urgent constituent needs are met.   For less urgent matters, a representative needs to be a skillful, unpretentious negotiator.

Does Gilda have the support of the Netroots? Well over the next 24 hours some great Netroots activists will be bringing diary after diary to the pages of Daily Kos and Docudharma in an effort to fill her warchest for the coming fight against her Republican rival. Here is what you can look forward to:

Next up:

chigh

“I Survived Katrina”

This is my first diary, lurker since 2004 and commenter beginning in 2005, I think. I am a Katrina survivor and live in LA 01. Never wrote my Katrina story as it never ends and the lack of justice just goes on and on, a new insult every single day. I will give a brief overview of my initial Katrina experience. My father died of Katrina related natural causes in LA 01. My sister was missing for a week in St. Bernard, rescuing people in the oil contaminated waters. At the time she worked for the Coast Guard and was actually rescued by the Royal Canadian Mounties. Maybe, one day congress people like Gilda can bring resolution to the very unsteady lives of the people of the Gulf Coast and I will have time to write a book. Until then, I just deal on a day to day basis.

3rd                 Nightprowlkitty

“She Will Not Abandon Us”

Livingston. Vitter. Jindal. When it comes to Louisiana’s First District, none of them stuck it out. There’s no stability to be had when an entire community of American citizens is used as a political stepping stone. Gilda Reed will not abandon anyone, ever. Imagine that.

Candidate for the people:

Reed has pledged to never run for a different office, saying that the lack of stability in the seat puts the district at a disadvantage in obtaining help at the national level.

Gilda Reed won’t jump ship. Gilda Reed won’t abandon her district while it is undergoing the most difficult recovery, as our federal government continues to plunder the communities in the Gulf Coast Region. If we want the hard work of recovery to continue, Gilda Reed is the right person, for the right job, at the right time.

4th                 Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse

Round-The-Clock Gilda Reed Fundraiser Part Four

My diary is about how Gilda’s life and Katrina have provided her with unique perspectives not shared by our typical rich or millionaire lawmakers and how these insights and experiences make her a “more and better Democrat” to address and resolve national issues across the board, including Katrina aftermath.

5th                 blueintheface

“The FDR of Louisiana”

The parallels between the United States just before the Great Depression and our current socio-economic conditions are frightening: high consumer and business debt, ill-regulated markets that permitted malfeasance by banks and investor, growing wealth inequality, and natural disasters all paved the way for a devastating collapse in our nation’s economy.

Strong Democratic leadership brought us out of the Great Depression. Politicians like Franklin Delano Roosevelt took on the fat cats and corporations and ushered in an era marked by progressive government programs and greater industry regulation. One local paper in Louisiana called Gilda Reed, “the FDR of Louisiana”.

6th                YatPundit

Meet Steve Scalise

A profile of Steve Scalise (R-Metairie), the leading Republican

contender in the LA-01 race.  Included are some of YatPundit’s personal

observations on the people of Jefferson Parish and why Gilda needs our

support.

7th                 Chicagoa                    

“Gilda Reed LA-01 — Labor Champion”

“Chicagoa’s diary is a call to the Edwards faithful to recognize one of their own. Openly and enthusiastically supporting the right to organize, the working class, and strict political ethics, Gilda Reed shows us she is a true John Edwards Democrat. As a former Edwards partisan he breaks down why Gilda Reed inspires him to escape the presidential primary insanity and fight for progressive candidates we can all support”

8th                 kath25

“A Scholar and a Congresswoman”

kath25 will discuss why she thinks it’s so wonderful that a professor is running for Congress, as well as why it is important that our elected legislative body include individuals from all walks of life.

9th                 DailyKingFish

Mrs. Reed epitomizes what it means to be a Democrat

The Daily Kingfish, a local Louisiana community blog, will be endorsing Gilda Reed in the LA-01 Democratic Primary.  While it’s fantastic that there are two Democrats running for the right to represent us in the general election in LA-01, Mrs. Reed epitomizes what it means to be a Democrat – while raising her children with her husband, and going to school to get her own degrees, she never stopped doing unto others – serving on her Church Parish School Board and teaching classes of her own at UNO while she was seeking her Ph.D.

10th               possum

“Gilda Reed for Congress”

This is an unabashed plea for your support of Gilda Reed in the

race for the US House of Representatives in LA-01. Gilda is the sort of

person we need in Congress these days. She is a lifelong Democrat,

Progressive, and people oriented. This is an opportunity for one and all

to support a very fine candidate.

Daily Kos is all about electing

Democrats according to the FAQ. Our purpose for

coming together on a daily basis is to focus on putting Democrats into

political office. That cause takes money as any candidate can tell you.

Please visit Gilda’s website

or ActBlue

page and put something in the coffers. Many of you have contributed

already. I thank you and I am sure Gilda and her other supporters thank

you, too. If you have not yet donated to Gilda please consider dropping

any amount, $5, $10, $25, $50 or more into the campaign war chest.

11th               nolalily  

“Who is Gilda Reed?”

The person introducing me to Gilda Reed, Democratic candidate for Louisiana District 01, was gesturing to the young woman with the dark hair who had just arrived with a group of people.  My first thought was, “I thought she was older and a blond.”  I turned to say “hello” to her but she indicated another person.  I looked to where she had pointed and there stood a middle aged man.  Now I thought my mind was playing tricks on me.  I was really confused.  Isn’t Gilda a woman?  Not wanting to appear dumbstruck, I put out my hand and said, “Gilda”?  He smiled and stepped aside to let the person behind him step through the little circle that had formed.

I recognized her instantly.  A diminutive blond, who will always look several years younger than either you or I at the same age, fresh and calm, reached out to shake my hand.  She looked me straight in the eye but there was nothing aggressive about it.  In fact, she seemed more interested in observing me.  Gilda Reed is a born psychologist.

If this woman was going to perform surgery on me, I’d trust her immediately!

                             

12th               gabriella

“New Orleanians – Mere Cattle!”

Unbeknownst to Gilda Reed, a decision made back in 1965 led to her decision to enter the political fray, to pursue with strong-willed determination the need to represent the People of LA-01! Hurricane Betsy had just slammed into the Gulf Coast. Reacting to the devastation wrought by “Billion-Dollar Betsy”, Congress past the Flood Control Act of 1965 which placed the responsibility of the safe-keeping of New Orleans solely with the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps was the designer and architect of a flood protection system for a major city, but, instead, provided protection at a level no greater than intended for cows! You read that right! Cows!!

And finally to cap things off, and to thank you for your generosity in the fight to rebuild Louisiana and put a responsible, accountable, Progressive Representative in The People’s House…

13th              Gilda Reed

Our very own Kossack, Gilda Reed!

Gilda Reed 24-Hour Online Fundraiser

Help us support Kossack Candidate Gilda Reed for Congress in Louisiana’s 1st District! She’s running in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Bobby Jindal. We’ll be posting diaries about Gilda for the next 24 hours to raise support and bring attention to her candidacy. Please join us and learn more about this great Democratic candidate!

Donate to Gilda securely via ActBlue.

So DIG DEEP folks! This IS what we are here to do!

And settle in for a 24 hour ride that could change the face of Louisiana politics….from the Netroots up!