Just arrived in the mailbox. Rep. Joe Sestak (PA-7), who you may remember from our 2006 trip when he was first running for congress, has announced that he’s running for PA Senate in 2010.

Dear Friend,

This morning I officially launched my campaign for U.S. Senate.

This campaign is not about me … it’s about all of us, and we are going to need your help to win.

In Pennsylvania, like all around the country, we find ourselves in challenging times.

But this nation has always thrived on the knowledge that with adversity comes opportunity. We have an opportunity – if we act now, with vision and resolve – to root out endemic problems in our financial system, to provide health care and educational opportunities for all, and to recommit ourselves to our core principles of honesty, accountability, and hard work … and to put principle above politics.

We must restore the promise of the American Dream – that our children will have the opportunity, based upon their talents, to do even better than their parents.

For too long, people in powerful positions have failed to remember that the American Dream has never been about getting ahead. It is about having an opportunity to do well and to create a better world for the next generation so they will be inspired to do the same.

It is that great pact between generations – that we will pass down a better world than the one we inherited – that has been lost for the first time in our history. That is why I am running for the U.S. Senate.

Why has that pact been lost? Because the people you sent to Washington to represent you – to look out for you – failed to do so, and must be held accountable. That’s why my District voted for change in 2006, our nation voted for change last year, and Pennsylvania will vote for change next year to remain committed to a new direction.

The challenge we face today is itself an opportunity to remember that America’s strength has never come from force of arms, industrial might, or even innovation. These are simply the fruits of the conviction that everyone deserves a fair shot, that everyone can and should contribute to their full potential, and that honest hard work will be respected and rewarded.

If you believe in that message, I ask you to please show your support at this time by making a contribution. We need every dollar to help restore the American Dream!

Please Contribute Now: Contribute

Thank you and please stay engaged in our campaign to restore the American Dream.

Warmly,

Joe Sestak

Check out the interview and you’ll see why we’re such big fans of Congressman Sestak and the work he’s done here at DoubleSpeak.

Remember a while back when the New York Times printed a story that planted seeds of a McCain affair with lobbyist Vicki Iseman? Well, for the first time, Iseman is speaking out about the (non) affair, the lawsuit that followed the story and her opinion of the New York Times. Here’s the video from the CBS’s The Early Show.

Watch CBS Videos Online

A couple weeks ago, I started an online effort via Facebook on behalf of Sam Seder when it was announced that MSNBC was seeking a new host for its 10:00pm EST time slot. I’ve known Sam for a while and I really respect his many talents.

Late last week, the Los Angeles Times ran a story where they profiled the organizing that is taking place on Facebook, aimed at persuading NBC executives to install a solid progressive host into the 10:00pm EST time spot. Check out the article below.

In the process, MSNBC has been criticized for melding opinion with news, even as it excited the political left.

“For years, while everyone has always talked about this liberal media bias, we haven’t seen it on cable television,” said Peter Slutsky, a Democratic consultant who started the Facebook campaign for Seder with his brother, Matthew. “I believe strongly that MSNBC has been so successful because it has decided to drive a firm position to the left.”

I really do believe that MSNBC has earned its progressive audience by engaging them with top-notch talent and firebrand hosts like Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. I also believe that MSNBC will respond to grassroots organizing and from hearing their audiences opinions.

“This is the next step in the future of Internet activism,” said Seder, who has worked with Maddow at Air America. “I think there’s a real hunger out there for new voices who will speak more truth to power and who are less ensconced in the establishment machine. Someone like Maddow really represents that. She did not come up through the classic channels, and that’s encouraged and emboldened people.”

That’s what drove Slutsky to start up the Facebook campaign on behalf of Seder.

“This whole idea of going to journalism school and working your way through satellite stations — it’s a good way to do it, but stars are born all kinds of ways,” Slutsky said. “Having the power of the Internet behind you is just as powerful as having a Hollywood agent on your side.”

I also have a great deal of respect for Cenk Uygur from The Young Turks – he’s been a good friend of DoubleSpeak over the years and I would be absolutely stoked if he were to get the spot. Either way, no matter who ultimately gets the post,be it Sam, Cenk or another host,I am excited to see Facebook-driven organizing and stories about the progressive activist base in newspapers like the Los Angeles Times. This is a big step for all of us.

You can read the rest of the story here.

If you’re so inclined, you can join the Facebook group: Hey MSNBC – Bring Sam Seder To 10:00PM ET.

If you want to weigh in and tell MSNBC what you think, email them here.

Obama Countdown
created by James Miller

Check out the clip from my latest trip to MSNBC.

I was cut-off at the end by Contessa before I could make a key point. In response to whether the Blago scandal in Illinois is “red meat” for Republicans, my reaction is simple: bring it on. If Republicans think that attacking the President-elect while his poll numbers are at 80%, his cabinet picks are being widely celebrated by both parties and our country is in a financial crisis, then they are more tone deaf and inept than I ever could have imagined.

After all, it was only a few weeks ago that American’s voted resoundingly against the very type of politics that the Mike Duncan and the RNC are pushing.

Republicans will continue to be lost in the wilderness if they continue to tack Obama to the mess in Illinois. This tactic makes them look petty and in the end is counterproductive towards what they really should be doing which is recruiting new leadership at the national level who can turn their proverbial ship around.

Enough said. Enjoy the clip.

Cameron Hickey, our immensely talented director for The Delegates shot this short video on Election Night in Brooklyn. Check it out.

Election Night in Fort Greene, Brooklyn from Cameron Hickey on Vimeo.

Obama Victory Speech – VIDEO, TEXT.

This is what it all comes down to. Election day.

Don’t expect many updates from the DS team tomorrow as we’ll all be out in the field, canvassing, driving, and getting out the vote in Florida, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. We’ll see who can win a state, and who can’t. Or maybe we all will.

In the meantime, we’ll be checking these sites for updates throughout the day:

• Real Time Election Results via Google Maps
• Talking Points Memo
• OpenLeft
• Ben Smith
• FiveThirtyEight.com

Here’s a list of poll closing times:

Barack Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died of cancer this morning in Hawaii. She was 86.

She raised quite a grandson. Let’s all go out there tomorrow and win one for Toot.