Last week, when the Atlanta Journal Constitution published an article indicating that Chairman Howard Dean wasn't getting enough support pushing for a strong ethics and reform message, Frontier PAC decided to send a message to the Democratic Leadership: Support Reform Now!

http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/Reform_Now/

By signing the petition, you'll be joining Frontier PAC in saying that electing an ethical Congress not controlled by the GOP's Culture of Corruption is more important than protecting the coziest members of our own caucus.

It is time to show the Democratic leadership in Washington what it really means to be a Reform Democrat:

http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/Reform_Now/

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that "Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is trying to get voters to hold the Republican Party responsible for the 'culture of corruption' he sees in Washington, but Dean is getting virtually no help from fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives."

Frontier PAC believes that grassroots Democrats everywhere would rather fight the Culture of Corruption head-on than lose out to the fears of cozy old-guard politicians.  We can take back Congress if we give voters a slate of honest reformers.  Help prove us right!

If we're going to take back Congress in 2006, we need to get started right away. Frontier PAC wants to get out ahead of pack -- and allow the netroots to frame the Democratic message. If we can reach voters before the DC consultants and pro-corporate Democrats, the Democratic grassroots has will set the Reform tone. We need to strike fast, we need to start the values conversation that will define 2006, and we need your help.

http://frontierpac.org/open.html

...or how I learned to stop worrying and love the K Street Project.

This morning's David Sirota post on ethics/reform opportunities for Democrats (rah-rahed here) makes a compelling case that both state and national Democrats can make big gains by aggressively and publicly trying to clean up the lobbying process.  But he doesn't address a more fundamental cause for Democratic optimism: the success of Republican attempts to destroy us.

[I assert my basic sanity below the fold]

I'm down with this. Morrison should be the candidate--Chris

A National Race Needs a National Candidate.

The battle to unseat any sitting Majority Leader--especially one as powerful and unscrupulous as Tom DeLay--is a national race.  Please join us in telling the DCCC that to win a national race, we need a national candidate.

Sign our petition here.  We'll let the Democratic leadership know they can't ignore the netroots, and that the best candidate to get rid of Tom DeLay is the candidate with a national donor base and national grassroots support: Richard Morrison.

Let the DCCC know who runs this party, and let Richard Morrison know we've got his back!

Let's Stay On Offense.

Exploiting the growing cleavage between rural libertariansim and today's Republican extremism is more than a matter of political opportunity.  It points to something fundamental to OUR identity as Democrats: we are the party which respects the individual.  We respect your access to and agency in the voting franchise, we respect your right to make end-of-life decisions, and we stay out of your bedroom.

From FrontierPAC.org:

Americans everywhere are coming to the realization that freedom from government intervention--long a staple of American conservatism--is now at growing risk from the big-government Republicans in Washington...  States' rights and individual rights flow from the same place: a federal government that knows its place.

To call the basic liberties which underlie our American jurisprudence and national identity an "issue" is admittedly strange, but the concept is a nexus of many separate issues which highlight a major fissure in the Republican coalition.  This is especially true in the rural West, where many Republican states and municipalities are--for instance--rejecting the PATRIOT Act whole-hog.  

[more below the fold]

Let's Go On Offense.

There is no single issue with political and human ramifications as broad as energy independence, nor is there any one issue which puts as much at stake for American voters and interests.  Our current energy policy endangers America's national security, environmental safety and public health, while also leaving consumers out to dry.  

From FrontierPAC.org:

There's a reason why consumers see gas and utility prices go up year after year, while energy companies post record profits. It's the same reason why we let Saudi oil kingpins influence our foreign policy, while at the same time looking for ways to drill in our own wildlife preserves. The same reason we see market-rigging like the Enron scandal followed up by additional deregulation...

We all know that the reason mentioned above is our failure to craft a cogent national energy policy.  Voters all over the US--and especially in Western states--are beginning to learn this as well.  Let's make sure they do so on OUR terms...

[More below the fold]

UPDATE: Thanks for recomending, everyone!

We are proud to name Richard Morrison the first Frontier Democrat of the 2006 cycle.  We're also pleased to announce the launch of FrontierPAC.org and to introduce ourselves to the netroots at large.

Frontier PAC exists to help Democrats win in new geographic and demographic territory, and we know the netroots are going to be a huge part of that.  We support strong, populist candidates who won't miss an opportunity to extoll their Democratic values in building a new electoral majority in states like Montana, New Mexico, and Colorado.  We are also set to embark upon a unique, positive branding campaign to establish Democratic principles and messages in new "markets."

http://frontierpac.org/values
Are central values are Integrity, Independence, and Reform, and we fight for candidates who stand up for American families, even when it means standing up to multinational corporations.

more...