Everybody's got a pitch...

...for cash today, it seems, but I'm feeling kindly disposed to the DCCC right now, so if you aren't inspired to click on the PayPal button to your right (did I mention the ISP bill? The phone bill? The City Light bill?), well, click on over to the Stakeholder, where they'll fill you in on what's at stake, and treat you to a terrific Emily Miller story at the same time.

Why the warm feelings toward the House Democrats today? Well, as a proudly partisan D myself, I'm a perpetual fan, but I was particularly pleased to see this assessment of Don Barbieri's run for WA-05, the open seat formerly held by Speaker Tom Foley.

Greg Speed, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said Washington's 5th District is one of about seven open seats in the nation that Democrats feel they can win.

"He is running one of the strongest campaigns in the country for an open seat right now," Speed said. "What has them in fits about Barbieri is he has the type of pro-business background and ties to the folks in the business and labor communities and in both parties in Spokane that is going to make him so formidable."

Personally, I think the symbolic value of recapturing Speaker Tom's old seat should elevate this one on anybody's priority list. I'll admit that Don Barbieri might be a little more pro-biz and hawkish than a lot of progressives would prefer, but frankly, a candidate who might please Seattle would go down in smoke in Spokane. The bottom line is that while he might not take every vote I might wish for in the House, he will take the one I wish for the most.

Which one might that be? This crack from State Republican Chairman Chris Vance offers a clue. ""The people of the 5th District are not going to elect a Democrat and help make Nancy Pelosi speaker of the House," Vance says.

Well, they just might. In fact, there's a pretty good chance they will. You might want to help. You can check him out here.