Go west, young man

Alternately, go north. Note: also applies if you are a chick. As many of you have probably noticed, there are a whole bunch of election campaigns going on right now. As you may have also heard, things are looking pretty good for the Democrats. As you may also know, there are a couple hot races right here in Chicagoland (a term, incidentally, that I love - makes me think of Legoland): one to the West, Tammy Duckworth vs. Pete Roskam, and one to the North, Dan Seals vs. Mark Kirk.

It's time to get out of Chicago and go out into the provinces - we're so close, and having people knocking on doors is one of the single most effective campaign techniques. As Marx tells us,

[M]ankind always sets itself only such tasks as it can solve...[I]t will always be found that the task itself arises only when the material conditions for its solution already exist or are at least in the process of formation.

The material conditions were not so much at hand for Democrats until the Republicans started imploding, but now the task is eminently soluble. Also, let's bring in Jack Handey to help us understand what Marx may have meant when he referred to "mankind":

Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: "Mankind". Basically, it's made up of two separate words - "mank" and "ind". What do these words mean ? It's a mystery, and that's why so is mankind.

Moving right along, one of the criteria you may want to consider when choosing which of these candidates you help out is each one's politics. I canvassed for Duckworth yesterday, and although I found her likable and supported many of her policies, she seemed a tad more conservative than I would otherwise like. For example, she's pretty into tax cuts, which aren't something I see as a pressing issue, but more importantly her message is more conservative. You can tell because she keeps referring to her opponent, Roskam, pejoratively as a trial lawyer - a frame promulgated by the right since most trial lawyers are Democrats. This is bad for the progressive movement as a whole, even if it helps her win right now. Although I'm really not that surprised, since Mr. Win Right Now Instead of Planning for the Long Term (local boy Rahm Emanuel) basically forced out a more progressive Democrat who nearly beat long-term GOP rep, Clinton antagonizer, and alumnus of my very own undergraduate alma mater, Henry Hyde in 2004 anyway.

I met Seals today at a DailyKos event at some stupid bar, and he was both charming and had a somewhat more appealing policy list. But more importantly, his message was a lot stronger. He talked about accountability first and foremost, and I think that is the single most coherent and potent message Democrats can use this election cycle. Plus, if this is really going to be a message to the establishment election, the more progressive the Democrats we send to Washington are, the better off we are. However, that said, Duckworth is still totally worth supporting, and more importantly, she will pick you up in a bus and provide you with an incentive to work for her. My understanding is that the Seals campaign, in that it wasn't hand-picked by Lord Rahm, doesn't have the money to do that. Either way, get involved through UC Dems!