Endorsement

I usually don't endorse political candidates, but Jean Schmidt's conservative credentials are just too good to pass up. It's not often that we're blessed with a congressional candidate who so fervently believes:

- in fighting a war in which only the working class is expected to make sacrifices;

- that serving in the military constitutes an abandonment of your community;

- that elected officials are duty-bound by the principles of free-market capitalism to accept gifts from lobbyists in return for legislative favors; and

- that unwatched balls are very dangerous.

My endorsement comes at a key point in this race. Iraq war vet Paul Hackett's campaign is gaining momentum. French bloggers, excited by Hackett's opposition to the Glorious Global Struggle to Resubjugate Brown People and his support for traditional Democratic economic values, have poured hundreds of thousands of Francs into his campaign. For the first time in decades, polling shows a Democrat within a few points of taking a lead away from an OH-2 Republican.

Of course, the Inner-Party is fighting back. After collecting a tithe from a few of the lobbyists and CEO's who call Dennis Hastert daily with their coffee and sandwich delivery orders, the RNC was able to raise $285,000 for Schmidt's war chest.

That's a good start, but with Frenchman donating to Hackett here (it's never too late to donate--GOTV phonebanks, printing, and last-minute media buys eat money) and pouring into the district and signing up to volunteer for the Hackett's GOTV effort here, we must remain vigilant. Otherwise, the National Republican Party will suffer the humiliation of being beaten in one of the reddest districts in the country.