I’m supposed to be finishing another story tonight, but I’ve just come from Darcy Burner’s primary night party...and I have in front of me the results of the important races tonight in Washington’s newfangled "top two" primary.

It is unfair to extrapolate the results of elections in the "People’s Republic of Washington" directly onto a national map, but as I look as these results it seems fair to say that if any Republican strategists aren’t sweating bullets this morning it’s because they’ll be hustling for votes in towns like Maggie Valley, North Carolina (don’t forget to stop by Saratoga’s for the Wednesday night jazz...)...or, perhaps, Bessemer Bend, Wyoming.

For the rest of the Republican community, tonight’s events are not good news.

We have a fair amount to cover, so let’s get to it.

Darcy Burner is  trailing Reichert a bit in the Washington open primary, but still very fired up.

While Darcy Burner is unopposed in her primary election tomorrow, the race will still provide a bit of a preview for November. Washington state has adopted a ridiculous "top-two" primary system, with every candidate listed on the ballot and their party "preference" indicated rather than a real party identification. The top two vote getters from tomorrow's primary will advance on to the general election--in most cases there isn't any question who will be the top two, so the outcome is pretty much already determined. Like I said, ridiculous.

And not particularly popular, with very poor turnout expected, given the lack of suspense. So far, only about 27% of ballots have been returned (Washington has high absentee/mail-in voter participation). Despite the low turnout projected, the primary could still provide a bit of a preview of November.

To that end, getting the vote out for Darcy Burner tomorrow is the campaign's top priority. So folks in Western Washington, if you can help out by volunteering to work on GOTV, contact the Burner campaign to pitch in. And don't forget to vote. Even if it is a silly primary system, it's all we got.

This is a great two for one special. I've got my own Two for One Special. For every dollar donated to candidates at Two For Tuesdays I will donate two dollars (up to the first $100 donated).

For every rec I get, I will donate $.25 cents to our candidates. Up to 250 recs.

Darcy Burner's strong campaign and phenomenal fundraising has the Republican incumbent Reichert, and his GOP buddies, more than a little concerned. Which has led them to a really not politically smart effort:

Just before the August recess, a group of well-connected young Republicans calling themselves Club 218 attempted to make up the difference, arranging a fundraiser for Reichert, according to news reports.

The problem?

Roll Call recently listed some of Club 218’s members, including Mike Chappell, a lobbyist for the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. at Fierce, Isakowitz and Blalock; and Christopher Cox, a D.C. Navigators’ lobbyist for Alabama Aircraft Industries, which is fighting Boeing on a tanker maintenance contract.

EADS is teamed with Northrop Grumman in the tanker competition, to assemble the tanker in Mobile, Ala.

There are some 19,000 Boeing employees in Washington's 8th district. Now, the Club 218 people are probably smart enough to make sure that none of Boeing's competitor's lobbyists are going to show up on Reichert's FEC filings. According to the Roll Call article referenced, the event was a joint funder with Darren White, running for NM-01. Undoubtedly, all of the anti-Boeing lobbyists' money was directed to White's campaign rather than Reichert's. But at the same time, these anti-Boeing lobbyists were involved in quietly organizing a lucrative, private special interest funder for Reichert at the Capitol Club.

And it doesn't change the fact that there is an incestuous web of ties between Republican industry lobbyists and Republican members and Reichert is smack dab in the middle of it. All those Boeing employees in his district have the right to question where his loyalties really lie.

On the Web:
Darcy Burner for Congress
Orange to Blue

Some snippets of developments in races we are watching. We have a group called Two For Tuesdays. This started as a community group that we were asking for some increment of $2 every tuesday.

Here are five candidates that we want to raise a cummulative $255  for this weekend and hit $3,000 raised this cycle

1. Ronnie Musgrove Miss Senate.

2. Martin Heinrich - NM-01

3. Darcy Burner - WA-08

4. Daniel Johnson - NC -10

5. Glenn Melancon - TX 04

Make the thermometer go up (We will even throw in an extra $20 to whomever wins the poll; as long as we get at least one other new donation)

July started out incredibly badly for Darcy Burner and her family. While the family is still dealing with the loss of pretty much everything they owned, Darcy's future remains as bright as ever. That's in large part thanks to the netroots, who stepped up to help make sure that her campaign could go on in the face of her family's catastrophe.

Saying that we stepped up is putting it mildly:

Burner's campaign has just turned in their pre-primary filing with the FEC, and she's reporting to have raised nearly $351,000 in the month of July, ending the period with close to $1.5 million in the bank. Those are monstrous numbers, especially when you consider that only $18,000 of her total came from PACs.

Reichert's numbers are in, too, and and it doesn't look good for the incumbent. His July take, was just $115K.

Here's the breakdown in their reports for July and for the election cycle to date.

Total for July:
Burner: $350,897.68
Reichert: $115,474.88

From Individuals:
Burner: $329,022.30
Reichert: $49,159.88

Small Individual Donations:
Burner: $186,832.07
Reichert: $8,544.00

Total for Cycle from Individuals:
Burner: $1,995,109.43 (85%)
Reichert: $1,084,379.23 (58%)

PACs for July:
Burner: $18,100.00
Reichert: $62,250.00

Total for Cycle from PACs:
Burner: $296,859.24 (13%)
Reichert: $570,645.46 (31%)

Total for Cycle:
Burner: $2,337,372.67
Reichert: $1,866,086.08

Refunded in Cycle:
Burner: $6,550.01
Reichert: $56,970.00

Cash on Hand:
Burner: $1,476,757.53
Reichert: $928,113.96

It doesn't really get better than that. The difference between a people-powered progressive campaign and that of an establishment Republican really couldn't be made more clear. Also note that Burner's ActBlue numbers are at $416,118, or just under the difference in cash on hand. One of the reasons Darcy gets so much support is because, even though she's not in Congress yet, she's already a leader.

And she'll be talking about one of her projects, the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, today on Meet the Bloggers (http://meetthebloggers.org/ [link corrected]) at 1:00 EDT. Her appearance will be followed by a roundtable discussion on Iraq by David Goldstein, Matt Stoller, and me. You can stream the show live and participate through the comment thread, or you can view an archive after it's posted.

This is the first TV spot from netroots favorite and Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq author Darcy Burner.  Now, Darcy ran in 2006 under the thumb of DC consultants, but this time, she's running a more authentic and progressive campaign.  Comparing her bio spot this time, when she's strong enough to know how to run a campaign, with her bio spot from 2006 shows us everything that's wrong with hack cookie cutter media consultants.  Here's this year's spot:

Here's the same spot, in 2006.

SurveyUSA. 7/27-30. Likely voters. MoE 3.8% (6/18 results)

Just some float within the MoE, this thing remains tight. Independents split 45/45, while 16 percent of Democrats still support Reichert. Bringing those voters home will be important for Burner's chances of victory, and to do that, she'll need cash to deliver her message to her district's voters.

It's the end of the month, I was planning on doing a last-minute push to get her over the $150K mark we pledged after her house burned down, so she could focus on putting her life back together rather than fundraising.

Well, heading over to our Orange to Blue ActBlue page,  it turns out that the blogosphere blew by that goal -- she's at $159K. So no need for a last minute push to get her over the goal. But this isn't just a winnable race, but a chance to put a future bona fide and fearless progressive leader in Congress.

Darcy Burner is a candidate seriously worth giving to, regardless of whether we met our goal or not.

On the web:
Darcy Burner for Congress
Orange to Blue ActBlue Page

Congressman Dave Reichert (WA-08-R), with 8 other Republicans, voted to refer Dennis Kucinich’s impeachment resolution (H RES 1258) to committee.

This one is a shocker.

We set out yesterday to raise $150,000 for Darcy Burner, taking pressure off her fundraising efforts so she and her family can rebuild their lives. In 24 hours, the netroots have moved past the halfway mark, with $85,000 raised (we started at the $250,000 mark). That's 17 days she can focus on rebuilding rather than fundraising. As Goldy says:

This is more than just money, it is a gift of time and an outpouring of affection that has buoyed Darcy’s spirits just as the full impact of her loss finally started to sink in. The campaign tells me she has canceled her schedule at least through the end of the week and will reevaluate day by day after that.

I'm glad she has cancelled her schedule for at least this week. Let's help give her more time to put the pieces back together.

Having worked on several campaigns through the years I know the toll that it puts on the candidate and their families. I can only imagine what it is like to have lost a house to a fire during a campaign. The sentimental value and the memories alone along with having to start over in an unfamiliar setting can be unsettling. But to do this at a time when you are already putting your life and family on the line and stay positive is remarkable. Today is my second wedding anniversary and second year in my new house and to put that in perspective has really gotten me in a mood where I feel I must do something.

Everyone is making pleas for money for Darcy and I do ask that you give. I've come out for so many races this cycle, but I dug deep and found a little more. I am going to set a goal of $1,000 on my page and if we reach that then I am in for another $150. If we hit $2,000 I will do $200. Click on the thermometer to donate (It's easy and secure)

Seattle Times:

Looking into the black, collapsed interior of her home along the shore of Ames Lake on Tuesday, congressional candidate Darcy Burner was matter-of-fact.

"I'd say it's pretty much a total loss, based on the smoldering remains," she said. "We lost stuff. It's just stuff. The boy is fine. The husband is fine."

Burner, her husband and their 5-year-old son were home asleep when the 7 a.m. fire broke out, but they escaped unharmed [...]

Fire investigators said the blaze was caused by a malfunctioning electrical device that was plugged into an outlet in a bedroom, said Sgt. John Urquhart of the King County Sheriff's Office. Burner said a faulty lamp in her son's room apparently was to blame.

Burner said she and her husband, Mike, were awakened Tuesday morning by their son.

"Henry came into our room screaming there was a fire," she said. "I scooped him up and got him out of the house. The fire started in his room. He did everything right."

"Thank goodness for smoke detectors," said Glaser. Investigators believe Henry was awakened when smoke alarms sounded, Glaser said.

I just went and re-checked the smoke detectors in my kids'' room. The thought of a fire starting in their room makes me want to throw up.

Darcy needs time to put her life back together. We're doing our part to make that possible, looking to cover her fundraising goal for the month ourselves.

I'm in for $1,000.

Update:

Update II: HelpDarcy.com

Guys, as you might've seen, Orange to Blue candidate Darcy Burner lost her house yesterday to a fire. The tragedy has obviously upended her life, and she's struggling right now to put all the pieces back together. As such, she now faces a dilemma -- the more time she dedicates to dealing with her personal affairs, the less time she has to campaign and raise money.

We can't help with the "campaign" side of things, but we can help with the money side of things. Darcy would have to raise about $150,000 in the month of July to keep up with her Republican opponent. Us bloggers are going to try and raise that for her.

Darcy is currently at $250,000 across all of ActBlue. We want to get that to $400,000. A tall order, but no one deserves the respite from the rigors of fundraising more than Darcy.

One last point: Darcy is a huge netroots sensation because she is truly one of us -- a former Microsoft exec who is a geek at heart, and someone who has been with us on the war and FISA since she first started running in 2005. Some politicians can put up a facade or say the right things for the right audience, but there's no faking it when you've just run out of your burning house, seeing all your worldly possessions go up in flames as you frantically try to ensure your family is safe.

Look at the shirt she was wearing:

(Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times)

She is family.

I know I promised a lull from the fundraising after the end of the quarter, but these are not normal circumstances. Darcy will be someone who will be there for us when she's in Congress. Now's our chance to be there for her during these horrible, trying times. Let's do what we can to help her out.

Update: Goldy:

[...] that’s XML for “end war.” And the fact that this was the shirt that Darcy was wearing at 7AM when she and her family fled their burning house, tells us in the netroots all we need to know about Darcy Burner [...]

Darcy needs to raise about $150,000 this July to keep pace with Dave Reichert and her own 2006 fundraising, and everyday she takes off makes her campaign budget that much harder to hit. That’s about $5,000 a day.

And that’s why I’m joining with bloggers nationwide to ask our readers to contribute what they can today, to help give Darcy the breathing room she needs to tend to her own affairs without worrying about neglecting her campaign. Every $5,000 increment we raise represents a day that Darcy won’t have to dedicate to her own fundraising efforts. It is a gift more precious than money; it is a gift of time.

In the circles of Hell reserved for politicians there is a special place for those pols who were specifically charged with fighting corruption and chose instead, to enable it.

John McCain is one of those politicians and so is Doc Hastings.

The ethically challenged Doc Hastings has been in Congress since 1994 and his career is highlighted by his extreme dedication to Tom DeLay and the Leaders of his Party. As for the people of his District, they are just the chumps who keep sending him back to Washington no matter how little he does for them. This year, his luck may be about to run out.

The WA-04 is shaping up to be a very interesting race. Right now it is rated as being Safe Republican, but I have a hunch that this is one of the long-shot races that could suddenly become very competitive.

A fired-up Democratic base, a very corrupt Republican, a great Democratic Candidate and the unique "Top Two" Primary on August 19 create an opportunity for real change.

To the jump...

SurveyUSA. 6/16-18. Likely voters. MoE 4% (X/XX results)

That's a gap we can help close, and it's hard to imagine a better representative in Congress than Darcy Burner.

On the web:
Darcy Burner for Congress
Orange to Blue ActBlue page

For the first time ever today I was called for a political poll, and I FAILED!  You didn't think it was possible to fail a political poll, but you were wrong.  Oh, the shame.  I am so sorry, Darcy Burner!

I got home from work and was doing the usual pet the pooties routine when the phone rang.  Didn't think much of it because it was the special "solicitor" ring but I checked the caller ID and it said "KING NEWS POLL."  

Darcy Burner, who narrowly lost the race in Washington State's 8th District in 2006, is featured in a nice 2-page article I read in Politico this morning. The piece outlines Burner's (and other Democrats') efforts to outline a clear strategy forward in Iraq, which they've title a 'Responsible Plan' (Here's a link to the plan, in PDF on Burner's campaign site).

From Politico:

Now a stable of Democratic House challengers, led by Washington state’s Darcy Burner, are promising a new tack.

More than 40 candidates have endorsed the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, a detailed 36-page strategy that reads like a “cross between a think tank report and a political platform,” as the National Security Network’s Ilan Goldenberg reported. Burner assembled the plan with input from Retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, known as the “father of the Iraqi army” for leading the first trainings of Iraqi soldiers in 2003, to show voters how Congress will end the war.

More after the jump...