I have been pushing two special elections, one in Ohio and one in Virginia. Both were in traditionally DEEP red districts. The very fact that we seemed to have a shot at EITHER of them was a big surprise.

What happened in the end was the Republicans held their own. They performed pretty much as expected in both districts easily winning both. But what did happen was the strength of the Democratic challenge forced them to fight harder than they ever had to for these two districts. They had to fight harder than ever to stay where they were.

In and of itself this would be meaningless. But as part of a broader strategy (an extension of Howard Dean's contest every district philosophy) the Democrats did something pretty smart. The DCCC has far more money these days than the NRCC. This is unusual. Generally the NRCC does far better at fundraising. But people are so fed up with Bush that the Republicans are having a really hard time fundraising while the Dems are doing great.

There are two special Congressional elections coming up Dec. 11th. Both are seats that once were considered perfectly safe Republican, but suddenly are competitive. I'm telling you, there are fewer and fewer "safe Republican" Congressional disticts. I already brought up the race for VA-1 along with ways you can help. In that race, Philip Forgit, an Iraq War vet is running as a Democrat and needs our help. That race is a good one for those who recognize the slow but certain trend turning Virginia Blue. This trend started in 2005 and has progressed year by year. This trend, coupled with Bush's abyssmal approval ratings and a deepening Iraq quagmire, is what has made VA-1 no longer safe for Republicans.

That said, VA-1 remains a long shot. NOT impossible, but a long shot. Never forget that we WON many long shots in 2006 and we could wake up Dec. 12th with VA-1 flipped to blue. But the race that is more winnable is OH-5 where Robin Weirauch is running for an unexpected open seat. To quote from Daliy Kos:

There are two special Congressional elections on December 11th, 2007. Both are Republican districts that suddenly look like possible Dem pickups. Neither will be easy, but they are panicking the Republicans to such a degree that they are having to sink money they don't even have into these races. Yep...the Republican party are going into debt to defend these two previously safe Republican seats. That means that fighting them here will make it easier for Dems to pick up seats in 2008. OH-5 is getting lots of attention on Daily Kos, and if I get some info on how you can volunteer some time, believe me I will let you know...probably ad nauseum. The other race, VA-1, is getting less attention. This is partly because it is more of a long shot (like many of the 2006 pick ups!) and partly because the Dem candidate (as is typical of Virginia) is more conservative. But to me, it is an opportunity not to be missed. Forcing the Republicans to go deeper and deeper into debt even before 2008 hits us is just too sweet. So, for those who want to help, I present to you the VA-1 Special election in 2007.

I have voted Republican. Once, I think. Just once. I have voted Green. Once...maybe twice.

The vast majority of the time I vote, donate, agitate and work for the Democratic Party with varying degrees of pride, enthusiasm and, occasionally, holding my nose.

The Democratic Party Machine in Brooklyn, led by Vito Lopez, pretty much makes you hold your nose because there is always a stench of sleaze around them. There are debates as to whether they are an improvement over the previous incarnation of the Brooklyn Machine, the one whose former head is now deservedly in jail. Well, if you have to debate whether they are better than someone who is jailed for corruption, you know you are in trouble.

Been thinking about the Brooklyn Surrogate race and many people have been talking to me about it. I know to non-insiders this seems like a minor thing, but in reality the Surrogate Judge, and all judges, are important elected positions and the fact that the machine's lock on appointing judges has majorly slipped is a very big deal.

My post-primary piece might have been a bit overly pessimistic, though I think fairly accurate. But the reform clubs are celebrating and for good reason. I put down the reform clubs a bit in my last piece, but honestly they did help swing the race for Diana Johnson and did hand Vito Lopez a solid defeat.

And it really was a solid defeat. Diana Johnson won with almost 60% of the vote. That means Vito Lopez and his machine lost about as decisively as you really ever expect in a judicial election. There was a time when Surrogate Judge was the machine's to give away like a plum. It was one of the bigger plums the machine could give.

Too many people don't vote in primary elections. Then they complain if the Democrats aren't representing them. The time to focus on which Democrats represent you is during a primary, for goodness sake. Particularly in a place where there are few seriously contested general elections. And some elections go almost completely under the radar despite their importance. People complain about the judicial system, then they don't bother to vote in judicial elections.

Well, WE choose our judges and WE choose our Democratic candidates. If we vote. Today, TUESDAY SEPT. 18th is a PRIMARY ELECTION in NYC. I want to highlight some endorsements for the judicial elections today since. The expected voter turnout is abyssmal. Realize this: in such a low voter turnout election, every single vote counts. If you live in Brooklyn and are a Democrat, vote Tuesday or shut up about not liking the judicial system.

There is a primary election this Tuesday, Sept 18th. Voter turnout is expected to be low. You know what that means? It means YOUR VOTE COUNTS. Far more than usual. And many of the races that actually are competitive are ones for judgeships...which can be among the most important positions we vote for. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!

There are contested primary races in every borough except (I think) Staten Island. You can find a brief rundown on what is at stake on Tuesday at the DFNYC website. But I only know about my local Brooklyn races. Here are the races I know of that are at least somewhat competitive, and so are really quite critical that people vote. YES...YOUR VOTE COUNTS! If people know of others, please mention them in the comments.

Awhile back I wrote about Marty Markowitz decline from popular Brooklyn Clown to a vindictive, rampaging creep. Markowitz was shocked, SHOCKED I TELL YOU, at the vehement opposition to his becoming Bruce Ratner's Rat. He blamed extremists who don't understand him for the opposition (myself probably included).

Now he has another group of "extremists" who just "don't understand" the clown. Brooklyn's Gay and Lesbian community is outraged at Marty Markowitz's endorsement of the unqualified, homophobic Noach "Call Me Noah" Dear for judge.

From The Brooklyn Papers:

A Civil Court race pitting firebrand former Councilman Noach Dear against a lesser-known judge has been thrust into the spotlight by gay and lesbian activists because of Borough President Markowitz’s endorsement of Dear, who was rated as unqualified for the bench by the City Bar Association...

Tonight was the endorsement meeting of the Independent Neighborhood Democrats for this year's judicial races.

Okay, let's cut to the chase: IND endorsed the exact same slate of candidates as CBID.

Diana Johnson for Surrogate Court

Kathy Levine for 6th District (see below)

and for the four countywide seats:
Debra Silver
Carolyn Wade
Robin Sheares
Fred Arriaga

Now for the jucier stuff that I am learning everyone likes to read.

The big event tonight turned out not to be the endorsements, but a withdrawal. Devin Cohen, who I have plugged publicly and who was backed by Jo Anne Simon, Alan Fleishman, Eric Adams, and Joan Millman, chose tonight at the club he used to serve as president to withdraw from the 6th Civil Court race.

I heard Devin speak at CBID last week (missed part of his speech, but caught part) and he did very well. He is a great speaker as well as being one of the few completely trustworthy people in Brooklyn politics. Devin seemed ready to hit a groove of campaiging as he spoke to CBID, and if he didn't get their endorsement it was no surprise since Kathy Levine was a past President of CBID.

So my goal of sitting out the 2007 elections in NYC is now out the window. I have had many conversations about the Brooklyn judicial elections and, in preparation for the CBID and IND endorsement meetings coming up this week and next week, I want to take two stands. I am tentatively supporting Diana Johnson for the second surrogate seat in Brooklyn and I am supporting Devin Cohen for 6th Civil Court.