It's Hammer Time

Fundraising reports were filed yesterday with the FEC for the period from 10/1 to 10/18, and for the first time in this election cycle, Jerry McNerney outraised Richard Pombo. The results were similar in the CA-04 race between Charlie Brown and John Doolittle. In their FEC filings, the candidates report the following totals:

Jerry McNerney — $417,000 raised, $330,000 CoH
Richard Pombo — $351,000 raised, $1.05 million CoH

Charlie Brown — $416,000 raised, $382,000 CoH
John Doolittle — $207,000 raised, $712,000 CoH

What’s really stunning about these numbers is that they include the fundraising totals from George W. Bush’s campaign appearance back on October 3 on behalf of candidates Pombo and Doolittle. McNerney and Brown both raised more money with their netroots/grassroots support than Pombo and Doolittle did with a visit from the freaken President. So give yourself a little pat on the back. Good job. Now, it’s time to really get to work.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the NRCC just dumped another $681,750 into CA-11 this week. McNerney has only 1/3 of the cash on hand that Pombo does. The DCCC has been outspent roughly 12-1 so far. That means that now, more than ever, Jerry McNerney is going to have to rely on people power. So with that in mind, here’s your smörgåsbord of volunteer opportunities for this weekend, starting with Project BlueBridge and my favorite, Manteca:

Canvassing Manteca, Saturday, 10/28 and Sunday, 10/29
Manteca, with its 55 precincts, is an important "outlying" city that needs our help to supplement the efforts of the local democratic club. Last weekend, PBB canvassers there found strong support for Jerry McNerney — this is fertile ground for our persuasion and identification efforts. We have canvasses scheduled for:

Saturday morning, Oct 28, leaving [the East Bay] at 9 AM (RSVP to Jane at 510-763-5673, or callbackjane@earthlink.net).

Sunday morning, October 29, leaving [the East Bay] at 11 AM (RSVP to Carol at 510-547-4843 or Carol_Strickman@yahoo.com).

Canvassing Brentwood on Saturday, 10/28 - Meet Jerry McNerney in person. Last week, Project Blue Bridge brought seven volunteers to Brentwood, another outlying area often lost in the fray. Surprisingly, many voters we talked to had not yet made up their mind and were very appreciative of the information we shared. While many folks have heard of Richard Pombo, few had heard about Jerry, so knocking on doors really makes a huge difference!

Carpools leave North Berkeley 12 noon. We will walk from about 2-5:30. Jerry will be in Brentwood from 5-7 for those who want to stay and meet him in person. Contact Kari at 510-295-4781 or khamerschlag@gmail.com. (You can also meet us in Brentwood at 1 PM at 1010 Meadow Brook Drive)

Take Back Red California is also organizing carpools from Marin County to Tracy this weekend.

Saturday, Oct. 28, 9 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
**One carpool will leave from the Larkspur Ferry parking lot in Marin at 7:45 a.m.

Sunday, Oct. 29, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
**One carpool will leave from the Larkspur Ferry parking lot in Marin at 11:45 p.m.

Contact Bill Sims, wmasims@2xtreme.net or (415) 331-3899 to RSVP for the TBRC carpool.

Additionally, the Defenders is mounting another huge Day of Action in the Tri-Valley. They will meet at Civic Park, 100 Main Street , Pleasanton at 10:00 AM. There will be special appearances by Rodger Schlickeisen, President of the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund; Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club; and Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States.

These three charismatic and accomplished leaders represent millions of pro-environment and animal welfare advocates throughout the country, and they are excited about this important opportunity to go canvass voters with you to help defeat the politician that Rolling Stone just named the “Enemy of Earth” and one of the “10 Worst” in Congress. Will you please join them?

5 Bus Pick-Up/Drop-Off

• Oakland/Berkeley: MacArthur BART Station, 555 40th Street, Oakland
  
• Pick-up at 9:00 AM; Leaves Civic Park at 3:30 PM
• Questions? Call Josh Sabato (202) 374-3514 jsabato@defendersactionfund.org



• San Francisco: Civic Center, 99 Grove St, San Francisco
  
• Pick-up at 8:30 AM; Leaves Civic Park at 3:30 PM
• Questions? Call Abraham Kneisley (510) 816-0563 akneisley@defendersactionfund.org



• San Jose: 95 N. Third Street, San Jose
  
• Pick-up at 9:00 AM; Leaves Civic Park at 3:30 PM
• Questions? Call Peter Leroe-Munoz (510) 867-6300 pleroe-munoz@defendersactionfund.org



• Palo Alto: Cal Train Station, 101 S. California Avenue, Palo Alto
  
• Pick-up at 8:30 AM; Leaves Civic Park at 3:30 PM
• Questions? Call Alex Nosnik (972) 375-7602 anosik@defendersactionfund.org



• Santa Cruz: Parking Lot Next to the Calvary Episcopal Church, 532 Center Street, Santa Cruz
  
• Pick-up at 8:30 AM; Leaves Civic Park at 3:30 PM
• Questions? Contact Matt Ortega at mortega@defendersactionfund.org

BART pick-up shuttle will also be provided at the Pleasanton BART taxi-turnaround at 9:50 AM.

Finally, as always, you can volunteer directly with the Jerry McNerney campaign. They will be canvassing in Manteca, Tracy, Stockton, Lodi, Brentwood, Morgan Hill, and the Tri-Valley. Also, if none of the buses or carpools mentioned above work for you, here are two things to keep in mind. The Pleasanton BART station is very close to McNerney’s campaign headquarters. If you call ahead at (925) 833-0643, they can almost always arrange to have someone pick you up. Second, Left on 580 maintains a ride board for people who are coming into CA-11 to canvass. So, really, you have no excuses left. There are only two weekends to go — it’s pedal to the metal time.

Oh, and money. Give lots of money. Show Ellen Tauscher how it’s done.

Tags: CA-11, Jerry McNerney, Richard Pombo, Project BlueBridge, Take Back Red California, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, Pombo In Their Pocket