Give Now to Madrid Campaign & Help Take Back the House

Patricia Madrid with Joe Wilson (L) and John Edwards (R).

SPECIAL NOTE: The Madrid Campaign has confirmed that Patricia will be the special guest at our DFA-Democracy for New Mexico Meetup on Thursday, April 6, 2006, at 7:00 PM, at the Social Hall of the First Unitarian Church at Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. Please RSVP if you plan to attend.

As you may know, March 31 is a very important day for the Madrid campaign. It's the end of the first quarter, when financial reports must be submitted that show how campaigns are doing with fundraising.

The Madrid campaign is in an all out push to get as many contributions as possible by that critical deadline. You are urged to give today, even if it's a few bucks. Let's show the Republicans that Patricia Madrid has the support of ordinary people. Many modest donations add up quickly, as we saw in the Dean campaign for president.

While Heather Wilson has been raking in thousands from Washington lobbyists and special interests, 72% of Madrid's contributions have come from New Mexicans committed to electing a representative that will fight for people -- not powerful Washington interests. During the final quarter of 2005, the Wilson campaign raised nearly $600,000 -- 45% of her total contributions -- from "political action committees" funded by lobbyists, politicians and other special interests. Check it out.

A recent New York Times article includes analysis of the Madrid-Wilson race that should keep Wilson campaign advisers up nights. More and more people, including moderate Republicans and Independents, are turning against Bush's conduct of the war in Iraq, and many of them are deciding to vote for Democratic candidates for Congress to support a change in direction for the nation.

The Madrid-Wilson race has been deemed one of the key contests in the 2006 mid-term election. This week's Time Magazine includes commentary on this key race, and many other political analysts are stressing its importance to Dems in their quest to take back the U.S. House.

What if the Democrats recapture the U.S. House in November? Think about the sweet consequences! Here's a small slice of who'll be leading when Democrats win back the House:

• Nancy Pelosi: a progressive, becomes Speaker of the House of Representatives
• John Murtha: a veteran and anti-war champion, would become chair of the House subcommittee on defense appropriations. He would be in charge of the budget for the war in Iraq
• John Conyers: who forced a national debate on the Downing Street Memos, would be chairman of the House Judiciary Committee
• Henry Waxman: who would be chairman of the Government Reform committee, has a bulls-eye on war profiteers like Halliburton
• Barney Frank: who has led efforts to rein in out-of-control CEO pay, would be in charge of the Financial Services Committee
• David Obey: who led opposition to the Republican budget, would be chair of the House Appropriations committee protecting Medicaid, food stamps, veteran's benefits, student loans and more
• Charles Rangel: who predicted the Medicare debacle, would be chair of the House Ways and Means committee protecting Social Security
• George Miller: a big advocate for working people, would be chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and could bring a vote to raise the minimum wage.

Six of these eight are either members or founders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. And if we gain control of the House, we gain control of issuing subpoenas, launching investigations and more.

Madrid has already gained the support of progressive organizations like Emily's List and Senator Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriots. We can win this seat IF we all work hard on this race, starting NOW. You know what to do!