Here is your chance to do something about the blockage in the Senate. Read this email that I received from MoveOn.

Dear MoveOn member,

Mitch McConnell is the biggest obstructionist in the U.S. government—a human roadblock stopping any progress in Washington.

McConnell’s the reason the terrible idea to cut folks’ Social Security won’t go away. And when, just last week, his backroom deals killed reform to make the Senate more productive, he bragged about it. McConnell’s a prime example of what can happen when a politician puts his donors and his party before the well-being of his constituents and his country.

But get this: Mitch McConnell, the most powerful Republican in the Senate, is vulnerable right now. For the first time in 28 years, he could actually lose his next election. He’s the most unpopular senator in the country.¹ And in a recent poll, only 17% of Kentucky voters said they plan to vote for him next year!² If we buckle down right now and commit to this race, we can put McConnell out of office in just two short years.

That’s why, before this election is fully engaged and the airwaves are flooded with Super PAC cash, we’re launching a Ditch Mitch campaign to go after McConnell early. We need to lock in McConnell’s unpopularity among Kentucky voters starting now and signal to other progressives that this race is winnable. It’s the same strategy Obama used to beat Romney.

Then, when McConnell finishes his primary race, weakened and demoralized, he’ll be looking at 70,000 MoveOn members in Kentucky ready to take him on—backed by the strength of 7 million more across the country.

If we can raise $300,000 in the next 24 hours, we can roll out our early offensive to take McConnell’s Senate seat.

Can you chip in $10 to help voters Ditch Mitch?

To make this a reality, we need to begin building an infrastructure and campaign team now, because McConnell’s starting with $7 million in the bank, and he’s already spent the past week attacking MoveOn to fire up his base.³

But MoveOn members are up to the fight, because we know that getting rid of McConnell means an immediate opportunity for more progressive wins, and the biggest setback Senate Republicans have faced in a decade.

Here’s a glimpse of what we’ve got in store:

• We’ll help individual MoveOn members across Kentucky launch and run a network of independent, super-local, creative mini-campaigns that can do serious damage to McConnell’s reputation in their communities.
• We’ll crowdsource ad ideas from our 7 million members and bring back the same team who produced some of the best political ads of 2012.
• Every time he’s in Kentucky, we’ll be following McConnell at speaking events and fundraisers.
• The entire time McConnell is fighting off his primary challenger, we’ll be using methods we honed in this past election to systematically speak with every Democrat and progressive in Kentucky—and there are 500,000 more Democrats than Republicans.

There’s a lot more we can do to end McConnell’s Senate run. But it has to start right here, with $300,000 to kick-start this two-year campaign. Can you contribute today?

Yes, I can chip in $10 to Ditch Mitch!

Thanks for all you do.

–Ilya, Steven, Stefanie, Wes, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. “Poll: The most unpopular senator,” Politico, December 11, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=286782&id=61837-7776955-w3psqOx&t=7

2. “Mitch McConnell support weak in poll,” Politico, January 28, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=286780&id=61837-7776955-w3psqOx&t=8

3. “Mitch McConnell starts with big war chest,” Politico, January 31, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=286787&id=61837-7776955-w3psqOx&t=9

Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 7 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

The New York Times is a convenient source of this story Birth Control Rule Altered to Allay Religious Objections.

The Obama administration on Friday proposed yet another compromise to address strenuous objections from religious organizations about a policy requiring health insurance plans to provide free contraceptives, but the change did not end the political furor or legal fight over the issue.

Some of us have been wondering for a long time why Obama even tries to compromise.  He sets a very bad precedent.

At what point should you be allowed to shirk your responsibility that 90% of the society believes you should fulfill?  When the Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”, is it OK to write laws specifically relieving some members of religious institutions from their responsibilities?

If you have a religious objection to something, shouldn’t you reimburse the government to compensate them for exempting you from your responsibilities to society.

War conscientious objectors either served in non-combat roles or alternative service or were sent to jail or fled to Canada.

Yes, I know.  These are all weak arguments.  There is no settling this disagreement by logic.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has the story Senate Republicans will oppose Cordray again for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and 42 other GOP senators sent a letter Friday to Obama saying the consumer office has little accountability to Congress and wields too much regulatory authority. They said they will oppose any nominee, regardless of his or her party affiliation.

Well, it didn’t take long for the Republicans to prove that Harry Reid was a fool for going bipartisan with the Republicans over filibuster reform.  We may have to suffer through another two years of this foolishness before we get another chance to fix the filibuster.  Anybody want to place any bets as to whether Lucy  (The Republicans) will pull the football away again as Charlie Brown (Harry Reid) approaches to kick it?

Has Harry Reid never heard the fable You knew I was a rattlesnake when you picked me up.

    A young girl was trudging along a mountain path, trying to reach her grandmother’s house. It was bitter cold, and the wind cut like a knife. When she was within sight of her destination, she heard a rustle at her feet.

Looking down, she saw a snake. Before she could move, the snake spoke to her. He said, “I am about to die. It is too cold for me up here, and I am freezing. There is no food in these mountains, and I am starving. Please put me under your coat and take me with you.”

“No,” replied the girl. “I know your kind. You are a rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you will bite me, and your bite is poisonous.”

“No, no,” said the snake. “If you help me, you will be my best friend. I will treat you differently.”

The little girl sat down on a rock for a moment to rest and think things over. She looked at the beautiful markings on the snake and had to admit that it was the most beautiful snake she had ever seen.

Suddenly, she said, “I believe you. I will save you. All living things deserve to be treated with kindness.”

The little girl reached over, put the snake gently under her coat and proceeded toward her grandmother’s house.

Within a moment, she felt a sharp pain in her side. The snake had bitten her.

“How could you do this to me?” she cried. “You promised that you would not bite me, and I trusted you!”

“You knew what I was when you picked me up,” hissed the snake as he slithered away.