I'm with Trippi.

Folks who've been lurking around here since Upper Left's Dean-bashing days of yore may be taken aback by that header. 'Twas a time when I could get pretty testy on the subject of the Doctor's campaign manager. Truth is, of course, that over the years I've been on the same side of lots of intra-party battles as Joe Trippi and come general election time, we've both always been Democrats.

This year, I'm on his side as much or more than ever. Recently I've had the pleasure to participate in a couple of telephone conversations with ("don't call me Mr.") Trippi on the subject of where the election stands, and where our efforts can be most effectively focused. He sums up the general tone of those conversations in a guest post at The Stakeholder, where he relates that...

Last week we had a conference call with a group of bloggers and I talked about how, I feel, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee gets a bad rap. Of all the DC committees, it covers the most ground and moves the fastest. When a congressional campaign hits the panic button, the DCCC swings in to action, swoops down and spends a lot of money in a district - and we get closer to a Democratic Congress.

****

This cycle we've got a chance to take the House - and it's not just a feeling in my bones, it's evidence based on the DCCC's unlikely victories in South Dakota and Kentucky (due in a large measure to the blogosphere) , DeLay's current troubles, and a mood in the country - a mood fueled by the radical actions of this Republican Congress. But in order to win, we've got to act together - and we've got to raise more money. If we raise the cash for the DCCC, then Jim Bonham (the executive director at the Dtrip) and others can turn around and spend that money in the races that need it most right before the election.

I agree. While it may seem like the longest shot in some ways, taking back the House can be done. Odds are, though, that it can't be done in your district. It certainly can't be done in mine, which is already as safely Democratic as a district can hope to be. There are a couple of real possibilities close to me, and maybe some close to you, but the folks who really know where the best odds are and where the most help is needed are the people at the DCCC, who study this stuff night and day.

That's why the only institutional fundraising link on Upper Left is for the D-Trip's Campaign for a New Majority. That's why I've set my goal for helping them out so high. That's why I need your help to make that goal so much. That's why you'll see this link so often. That's why I hope that if you appreciate what I do here, you'll dig down for five, ten, fifty or a hundred bucks and click here.

Because we can win the House, but we can only do it together.

(Of course, the only other fundraising link here is my PayPal account, and if you really like what I do here, well, I wouldn't mind finding a couple bucks in there, too. But for the next few weeks, at least, do the D-Trip first.)