Segall2008 :: Putting Alabama First

Over on Sweet Home Potomac, Rogers reacts to Josh’s growing support:

Alabama’s congressional delegation has long operated under a “gentlemen’s agreement” that incumbents wouldn’t publicly campaign against fellow incumbents, even if they are from the other party. This arrangement, although unofficial and not iron clad, has helped keep this group of nine on somewhat friendly terms and able to work together on statewide issues, such as the water wars or the Air Force tanker contract dispute.

 

But then a few weeks ago Rep. Artur Davis’ donated to Josh Segall, the Democratic challenger to Republican Rep. Mike Rogers. And then Davis made a personal appearance at a Segall fundraiser.

 

I asked Rogers if he viewed this as a sign that the gentlemen’s agreement was kaput.

 

“I don’t put that much concern into this because I recognize Artur is in DCCC leadership and there are certain things he has to do,” Rogers said. “So I don’t have any grief about it. I get it. This is a business we all understand.”

 

Open seats are fair game, by the way.

 

http://blog.al.com/sweethome/2008/08/mike_rogers_says_no_hard_feeli.html

AL-03 (open, upgraded): This is a long-shot race for Democrats for sure, but the DCCC appears to have taken an interest in Alabama races - and the local press has taken notice. Democratic nominee Joshua Segall will be helped by the fact that AL-02 and AL-05 are both featuring contested races, in the hope that a mention of his own contest will be inserted in other House stories.

Check out the entire entry at  http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/8/18/111113/632.

Mike Rogers doesn’t seem too picky about who he accepts campaign contributions from. In 2002 and 2004, Rogers accepted a total of $6000 from Bob Ney’s PAC American Liberty.

Mike Rogers’ buddy, Bob Ney, will be released this weekend from a halfway house where he has been finishing up a sentence for federal fraud and conspiracy charges. Ney pled guilty to these charges, in 2006, after his connection with the Jack Abramoff bribery scandal surfaced. Ney was accused of using his position in Congress to grant favors to Abramoff’s lobbying team in exchange for gifts, including free trips to the Super Bowl, the Northern Marianas Islands, and Scotland, as well as free meals and the use of luxury boxes at sporting events and concerts.

Most politicians who received money from Ney have returned the money or donated it to charity. Shouldn’t Mike Rogers give back the $6000 that he got from Ney?  Josh Segall says that “Alabama deserves a representative who is not influenced by corrupt politicians like Bob Ney and who puts the interests of Alabamians over those of national party big-shots.”

According to a recent article in the Talladega Daily Home little signs saying “Josh” have been spotted on telephone and power poles all over the district. It is an old Southern campaign tactic to post signs with the first name of a candidate, leave them up for a little while, and then add signs with the candidate’s last name, and finally add the office for which the candidate is running.

In Talladega and Lincoln, Oxford and Anniston and Lineville and Ashland, dozens if not hundreds of small strips of white paper with the word “JOSH” printed on them in blue ink can be seen on power and telephone poles, with at least two and sometimes up to six on a single pole.

Democrat Joshua Segall is seeking to unseat incumbent Congressman Mike Rogers for the third district of Alabama seat, but his campaign says they are not aware of the signs and did not authorize them.

Although the Segall campaign is not behind this promotion, we are excited to see such enthusiastic support. We don’t know who the vigilante sign posters are, but we recommend to anyone who wants to spread the word about Josh that you follow all local laws and ordinances regarding posting signs.

The Segall campaign will be launching a yard sign blitz throughout the district and encourage you to show your support by volunteering to put up a sign in your yard or help deliver them around the district.

After another stellar fundraising quarter (during which we OUTRAISED our opponent, Mike Rogers) the campaign is in full swing. Josh is criss-crossing the district talking about Rogers’ failed Bush/Cheney lapdog policies. He said this yesterday, “Mike Rogers is bought and bossed by Big Oil and his biggest donors. Our fundraising success is a clear sign that the people of the 3rd District are tired of Rogers’ Washington politics that have gotten our gas and grocery costs out of control and sent our jobs overseas. People now work 1-2 hours a day just pay for their gas to get work, their dollar at the grocery store gets them less than ever, and they continue to wait for their sons and daughters to return home from Iraq.”

Our fundraising is strong because our message is strong, and growing.

Today, the Montgomery Advertiser had this to say about our race:

Fundraising — widely view­ed as a barometer of a cam­paign’s strength — is critical as the candidates’ rely on televi­sion and radio ads to introduce themselves to voters outside their local areas.

In another Alabama congres­sional race, first-time candidate Josh Segall continued to post surprising fundraising in his challenge to 3rd District Repub­lican Rep. Mike Rogers.

And were also getting mentions all over the blogoshpere:

Left in Alabama said this:

Here is Josh Segall’s July quarterly report.  Comparing it with his April report shows net receipts of $276,016.38, including a $31,000 loan “made or guaranteed by the candidate.”  Segall had cash on hand of $410,619.33 at the end of June — that’s less than Rogers has, but it’s definitely enough to run a first rate campaign in the 3rd district.  And he’s not through fundraising, either.  If you recall, Segall raised $75,000 just in the last week of June.  That’s some enthusiastic support for a Democrat running in Alabama’s third district!

Have y’all checked Josh Segall’s issues page lately?  It’s up now and includes this:

As your congressman, I will lead according to my guiding principles.

• Your congressman should wake up every day thinking of one thing: how to make your district more prosperous and more secure.

As your congressman, I will work every day to bring new jobs and economic opportunity to our district. My top priority will be serving the people who make this district great – our veterans, teachers, farmers, workers, and families.

• Your congressman must put his district above everything else—including his political party.

• Your congressman’s first job is to listen to you.

That’s the attitude you want in a Representative — Segall has it and Rogers doesn’t.  After 3 terms of the ineffective Mike Rogers, the folks in AL-03 are beginning to wonder “Is this how buyer’s remorse feels?”  Lucky for them, there’s a chance to trade him in for a new, hardworking Congressman, Josh Segall, coming up in November.

And dailykos.com, perhaps the most influential blog in America, had this to say:

Well good thing the Josh Segall campaign is as sharp as any campaign I’ve seen. They have already ripped apart some claims in his ad based on his voting record. from Segall’s website

We also look at Segall’s strong fundraising performance. This is one of the best sleeper races this cycle in our opinion. Plus, Alabama of all places has a chance to have a majority blue House delegation this November.

Segall raised 248k to Rogers 238k this cycle. Not good for a three-term incumbent running against a first-time 29 year old candidate.

For the final week of the second fundraising quarter, Josh was the tenth highest fundraiser in the country!

Our online fundraising effort continues to grow thanks to your help and support.

ActBlue had this to say about Josh:

Josh Segall, a fourth-generation Alabaman, is running for Congress in the Alabama Third, challenging Republican Mike Rogers for the seat. Segall has been turning heads in Democratic fundraising circles, and was recently named to the DCCC’s “Twenty Emerging Races” list, which will give him an opportunity to qualify for the prestigious “Red to Blue” roster. Segall, formerly a community organizer in Virginia, Texas, DC, and Alabama, is a graduate of the University of Alabama law school, and practices law at a civil defense firm in Montgomery.

Segall has seen an influx of contributions since being named to the DCCC Emerging Races list (http://actblue.com/page/emerging), and continues to benefit from the support of local community fundraisers (http://actblue.com/page/johnforjosh, e.g.) and bloggers.

Segall’s ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18698
Segall’s campaign site: http://www.segall2008.com/splash.php

Today we’re releasing our first online video to help spread the word about Josh’s campaign through the online grassroots network.

We’ll be doing a lot more of these as the campaign continues, so be sure to visit our YouTube Channel and stay current with the campaign.

Enjoy!

As June comes to a close, and families are busy preparing for the Fourth of July, vacation trips, or just relaxing, there are two quick and easy ways to help Josh in a big way.

First, an important local newspaper, the Alexander City Outlook, is running an online poll today between Josh and Mike Rogers. Winning this poll would send a significant message that folks in the 3rd district are ready for a Congressman that will put Alabama first, for a change.

Please go to www.alexcityoutlook.com and vote in the right column. This will literally take a few seconds.

Secondly, a new national blog, The Progressive Electorate, is asking people which of five national races they would like to see covered, and our race is one of the five. Let’s reinforce what the DCCC and numerous newspapers and blogs have already noticed: that our race is building a groundswell of grassroots support.

Please go to www.progressiveelectorate.com and, on the left column, select “Alabama House Race 3 - Segall” and click “Vote.” You will be instructed to create an account with your email address, but this only takes about a minute.

As you know, small victories like these pave the way for our larger goal of winning on election day.

Thank you for your continued support.

Today, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced their newest list of “Emerging Races” to watch this cycle. Only 20 candidates were selected and we made the cut!

Our momentum is building both locally and nationally and the DCCC has taken notice. Read all about it here. And please help us meet our financial goal for the quarter by contributing here.

Also, check out our release - and be sure to stay tuned for more news!

Our race is continuing to garner national attention.

Nick Beaudrot of the political blog Cogitamus wrote:

I cross-referenced my list of Republican Incumbents in Obama-friendly districts with the Swing State Project’s competitive fundraising table to find five races where there’s a credible candidate who need a financial boost. The five are:

• OH-12: David Robinson, challenging Pat Tiberi
• NC-08: Larry Kissell, challenging Robin Hayes
• AL-03: Josh Segall, challenging Mike Rogers
• PA-06: Bob Roggio, challenging Jim Gerlach
• NJ-04: Josh Zeitz, challenging Chris Smith