So. Jeff, completely agree with your rationale for waiting to expel...and I very much want to help your AG campaign, but is there a donation path that doesn't run through ActBlue? I, and others, have mentioned how it seems like AB sends your email to every Dem campaign in the country. Any direct path to yours, even if it's sending a check to your campaign's address? Thanks, and go hard till the end of your term! I'm dreading the prospect of the odious Tim Moore representing the 14th in the next Congress.
Yep, same thing here. I get *dozens* of texts from various campaigns every day. I can always reply "stop" but it's a game of whack-a-mole. For every text I ask to stop it seems that I get two new ones from different (often slightly different) campaigns. And I get email from campaigns/organizations from groups or people that I've never directly supported (e.g. I'm on AOC's mailing list for some reason). The amount of emails finally blew up my email inbox's size limit and I've had to spend hours every week doing nothing but mass deletes of these.
Again, I appreciate Actblue and I'm able to donate much more than I used -- and easily donate to out-of-state campaigns -- to but I need some measure of control over who gets my information.
| Sorry about the wall of text. The TL;DR version is that I've been donating to state,
| local, national candidates mostly since the 2016 election cycle. I don't think there's
| one place or organization I can contact to keep the emails/texts/calls down.
| My parents passed away in 2017 and I still get their mail (almost all asking for $) so
| I suspect that not even death would get me off these lists.
That horse had left the barn...during the 2018 election cycle I made the mistake of donating $500 to a real long-shot candidate running in Durham. I did so because she was doing what most candidates hate the most and spending her free time calling up voters and possible donors.
Note: she was a little too far left for my tastes but during our conversation she allowed me to explain how the free market could do a far better job of expanding internet access than the government plan she had been advocating. She was polite and willing to hear me out. I was feeling a little flush and figured that she'd been making an honest effort to reach out hence the (far) larger donation than I usually give.
Big mistake. This put me on some sort of sucker list. The emails and texts went into overdrive and haven't slacked off since then. It wasn't always bad. I got in on the ground floor of Cal Cunningham's Senate campaign. I even got to meet his parents. It gave me an opportunity to spend time with him in small group settings where it was easier to get the measure of the man. And boy howdy was I wrong.
It turned out Cal was just a slicker version of John Edwards. In the end, he lost his bid to (ugh, ugh, ugh) Ted Budd who sailed into office on a tsunami of outside money. It's arguable that the last minute revelation of Cal's affair with a staffer cost him at least three points which he sadly needed to beat Budd.
It also got me a good seat (well, standing room) on "blink and you missed it" Mike Bloomberg's presidential rally that was #2 on a three-stop media blitz of North Carolina. I got some great pictures from that event but that was about it. Bloomberg didn't run long enough for me to get "Mike Gets It Done!" coffee mug...:-)
So I fish in outside waters. I donated early on to Sherrod Brown's first Senate campaign. As a former resident of the buckeye state I believed Ohio deserved better.
And I'm watching Colin Allred's campaign in Texas very closely. I refused to donate to Beto O'Rourke for being such a dumbass on the 2018 campaign trail ("Yes I'm going to take away your guns!" to a crowd in TEXAS for Christ's sake).
So as much as I hate the bombardment of texts and emails I'm not keeping my powder dry any time soon. And this being The Bulward I don't think I need to explain my reasons why...:-)
Don't provide your cell phone number to ActBlue - only your email address. You can unsubscribe from any of their emails with a single click if/when you want to.
I also get frustrated by the volume of unsolicited requests that could as a result of Act Blue but a bigger concern to me are groups that find raise through them who completely misrepresent where the money will go. You have to read the fine print. Yes your donation will go to Candidate A that you admire but what you sometimes don’t see is that Candidate A will only get a small percentage and the rest will go to ... fill in the blank.
Thank you for the updates and explanation of Santos expel vote. You are right about rushing to expel even though he should have resigned. Already contributed to AG campaign.
Now that I know "the rest of the story", I agree wholeheartedly you voted properly concerning Santos. I believe we will still get to wave goodby to him.
Hello Mr. Jackson, As always, your writings on the functions & dysfunctions of our legislative branch are refreshing... of course, the details are hardly your fault. Thank you for the insightful reporting and your reasonable commentary. On Santos, (unfortunately) I agree with you. Due process is necessary in a democracy even when, prima facie, this guy is a grifter in Drumph's image. Thank you, Gary.
I agree but I do think that the NY Republicans who brought this deserve a bit more credit. First, the Ethics Committee appeared to be sitting on this for months. Why no announcement of a (possible) report until after they called for a vote? And they had a compelling argument that a pile of new, more serious charges had been filed and his Treasurer pled guilty. I will be surprised if there is a report in November that does more than ask for more time. I hope to be very wrong.
I'm sure you're correct and I think his fellow NY Republicans feel let down. Were his House colleagues, generally, willing to do more, they would have by now. Many politicians, e.g., Drumph, are transactional in that they will do what's good for themselves at the moment. If they have principles, they tend to keep them well hidden. (Of course, Drumph is the worst of the worst because he's a certifiable malignant narcissist and, sadly, a role model for the MAGA GOP.) I trust the court system will deal fairly with Santos and he'll get some of what's coming to him. His voters must feel stupid, betrayed, or some combination, thereof.
I agree with waiting for due process. This should also apply to all civil servants as well which it does not currently. They are forced to resign if indicted.
Jeff.....your consistent ethical, moral, sensible and responsible approach to politics (and I suspect, Life) leaves me stunned. I had become so bitter and demoralized about ALL politicians in general and had given up any hope of real change, that your newsletters have become not just a breath of badly needed fresh air, but also a ray of hope for the future. All I can say is "may the Force be with you"; I would like to live long enough to see you become President (if you can hold on to your values).
You should concentrate on the most pressing issues that the USA is facing. A possible Nuclear War in Europe could boomerang at any moment. Many European Countries are already reaching the breaking point. The second one, the blind support to Israel by the USA with its brutal occupation of the Palestinians that resulted in Hamas taking over the worldwide narrative, that is because AIPAC muzzles any opposition and dictates how votes by Congress in regard to Israel. If the Gaza Genocide does not stop very soon, the USA will face the most virulent Islamic backlash. Government that are friendly to the West will become a liability.
From Burbank, CA, once again thank you for your insightful weekly updates. I agree with you and the few of your colleagues about the Santos vote to expel. But those "symbolic" votes? Puh-leeze! 🤦🏼♀️ Symbolic of the MAGArs' inability to govern.
So. Jeff, completely agree with your rationale for waiting to expel...and I very much want to help your AG campaign, but is there a donation path that doesn't run through ActBlue? I, and others, have mentioned how it seems like AB sends your email to every Dem campaign in the country. Any direct path to yours, even if it's sending a check to your campaign's address? Thanks, and go hard till the end of your term! I'm dreading the prospect of the odious Tim Moore representing the 14th in the next Congress.
Yep, same thing here. I get *dozens* of texts from various campaigns every day. I can always reply "stop" but it's a game of whack-a-mole. For every text I ask to stop it seems that I get two new ones from different (often slightly different) campaigns. And I get email from campaigns/organizations from groups or people that I've never directly supported (e.g. I'm on AOC's mailing list for some reason). The amount of emails finally blew up my email inbox's size limit and I've had to spend hours every week doing nothing but mass deletes of these.
Again, I appreciate Actblue and I'm able to donate much more than I used -- and easily donate to out-of-state campaigns -- to but I need some measure of control over who gets my information.
People, I get the same ActBlue stuff you do....takes me a few seconds to unsubscribe. It almost sounds like an excuse.....
When you tell them to stop, they know they have a good address.
| Sorry about the wall of text. The TL;DR version is that I've been donating to state,
| local, national candidates mostly since the 2016 election cycle. I don't think there's
| one place or organization I can contact to keep the emails/texts/calls down.
| My parents passed away in 2017 and I still get their mail (almost all asking for $) so
| I suspect that not even death would get me off these lists.
That horse had left the barn...during the 2018 election cycle I made the mistake of donating $500 to a real long-shot candidate running in Durham. I did so because she was doing what most candidates hate the most and spending her free time calling up voters and possible donors.
Note: she was a little too far left for my tastes but during our conversation she allowed me to explain how the free market could do a far better job of expanding internet access than the government plan she had been advocating. She was polite and willing to hear me out. I was feeling a little flush and figured that she'd been making an honest effort to reach out hence the (far) larger donation than I usually give.
Big mistake. This put me on some sort of sucker list. The emails and texts went into overdrive and haven't slacked off since then. It wasn't always bad. I got in on the ground floor of Cal Cunningham's Senate campaign. I even got to meet his parents. It gave me an opportunity to spend time with him in small group settings where it was easier to get the measure of the man. And boy howdy was I wrong.
It turned out Cal was just a slicker version of John Edwards. In the end, he lost his bid to (ugh, ugh, ugh) Ted Budd who sailed into office on a tsunami of outside money. It's arguable that the last minute revelation of Cal's affair with a staffer cost him at least three points which he sadly needed to beat Budd.
It also got me a good seat (well, standing room) on "blink and you missed it" Mike Bloomberg's presidential rally that was #2 on a three-stop media blitz of North Carolina. I got some great pictures from that event but that was about it. Bloomberg didn't run long enough for me to get "Mike Gets It Done!" coffee mug...:-)
So I fish in outside waters. I donated early on to Sherrod Brown's first Senate campaign. As a former resident of the buckeye state I believed Ohio deserved better.
And I'm watching Colin Allred's campaign in Texas very closely. I refused to donate to Beto O'Rourke for being such a dumbass on the 2018 campaign trail ("Yes I'm going to take away your guns!" to a crowd in TEXAS for Christ's sake).
So as much as I hate the bombardment of texts and emails I'm not keeping my powder dry any time soon. And this being The Bulward I don't think I need to explain my reasons why...:-)
Don't provide your cell phone number to ActBlue - only your email address. You can unsubscribe from any of their emails with a single click if/when you want to.
Me too!
I also get frustrated by the volume of unsolicited requests that could as a result of Act Blue but a bigger concern to me are groups that find raise through them who completely misrepresent where the money will go. You have to read the fine print. Yes your donation will go to Candidate A that you admire but what you sometimes don’t see is that Candidate A will only get a small percentage and the rest will go to ... fill in the blank.
You are a very good man, sir. Native Tar Heel, here, and I so wish there were more folks like you in public service.
Thank you for the updates and explanation of Santos expel vote. You are right about rushing to expel even though he should have resigned. Already contributed to AG campaign.
Now that I know "the rest of the story", I agree wholeheartedly you voted properly concerning Santos. I believe we will still get to wave goodby to him.
Thanks for a really interesting perspective on expelling Santos. That hadn’t occurred to me. I support your decision ( and your campaign!).
Hello Mr. Jackson, As always, your writings on the functions & dysfunctions of our legislative branch are refreshing... of course, the details are hardly your fault. Thank you for the insightful reporting and your reasonable commentary. On Santos, (unfortunately) I agree with you. Due process is necessary in a democracy even when, prima facie, this guy is a grifter in Drumph's image. Thank you, Gary.
I agree but I do think that the NY Republicans who brought this deserve a bit more credit. First, the Ethics Committee appeared to be sitting on this for months. Why no announcement of a (possible) report until after they called for a vote? And they had a compelling argument that a pile of new, more serious charges had been filed and his Treasurer pled guilty. I will be surprised if there is a report in November that does more than ask for more time. I hope to be very wrong.
I'm sure you're correct and I think his fellow NY Republicans feel let down. Were his House colleagues, generally, willing to do more, they would have by now. Many politicians, e.g., Drumph, are transactional in that they will do what's good for themselves at the moment. If they have principles, they tend to keep them well hidden. (Of course, Drumph is the worst of the worst because he's a certifiable malignant narcissist and, sadly, a role model for the MAGA GOP.) I trust the court system will deal fairly with Santos and he'll get some of what's coming to him. His voters must feel stupid, betrayed, or some combination, thereof.
I agree with waiting for due process. This should also apply to all civil servants as well which it does not currently. They are forced to resign if indicted.
Correct way to vote on Santos issue. Innocent until proven guilty, as the saying goes.
Jeff, Please get back to us regarding contributions without ACT Blue
Jeff.....your consistent ethical, moral, sensible and responsible approach to politics (and I suspect, Life) leaves me stunned. I had become so bitter and demoralized about ALL politicians in general and had given up any hope of real change, that your newsletters have become not just a breath of badly needed fresh air, but also a ray of hope for the future. All I can say is "may the Force be with you"; I would like to live long enough to see you become President (if you can hold on to your values).
You should concentrate on the most pressing issues that the USA is facing. A possible Nuclear War in Europe could boomerang at any moment. Many European Countries are already reaching the breaking point. The second one, the blind support to Israel by the USA with its brutal occupation of the Palestinians that resulted in Hamas taking over the worldwide narrative, that is because AIPAC muzzles any opposition and dictates how votes by Congress in regard to Israel. If the Gaza Genocide does not stop very soon, the USA will face the most virulent Islamic backlash. Government that are friendly to the West will become a liability.
Exactly! but instead, the congress will be wasting time and money on figuring out what 'the process' findings were about Santos.
Agree, and you're in excellent company - with constitutional law professor Cong/ Jamie Raskin.
From Burbank, CA, once again thank you for your insightful weekly updates. I agree with you and the few of your colleagues about the Santos vote to expel. But those "symbolic" votes? Puh-leeze! 🤦🏼♀️ Symbolic of the MAGArs' inability to govern.
Thanks as always for unveiling the inscrutable.
Totally dysfunctional. The chamber cannot expel a fraudulent member, and elected a right-wing evangelist as speaker. Bah humbug.
Wish you the best.
Thank you for making that make sense!