The good we do.

The failure of the Alito filibuster was frustrating, but let's never succumb to the belief that we can't make a difference. Over the past day or two, Kos, then Atrios, then several other bloggers including VichyDems helped spread the story of Ciro Rodgiguez, who's trying to unseat a Vichy D named Henry Cuellar in Texas. Here's an email I received today from Tracy Russo with the Rodriguez campaign:

Hello all.

So I am going to keep this short - this could not have happened without every one of you and the collective energy and effort that went into making yesterday an amazing day for the Rodriguez campaign. Below is the blurb from Hotline about the blogosphere and Ciro. I can't wait for House Race Hotline to come out later today.

I still don't think Ciro can believe it! He is that humble and just overwhelmed. I printed out the posts for him to look over last night and he is just floored....

Once again, thank you all! Now I have to get back to work!

-Tracy

Ciro reportedly received over $12,000 in Internet donations in the last day -- enough to have an impact on a House race. That fact, and then Tracy's email, are what prompted me to open an account at ActBlue where we can contribute to anti-Vichy candidates like Ciro.

It's nice to think that a bunch of people with telephones and keyboards can make a difference for a guy like Ciro, and I have to think that in the end it will make a difference for our country. Nice work. Let's keep it up!

UPDATE, FEB. 4, 2006: Another letter from Tracy:

Happy Saturday -
I crashed last night after the mayhem that was the amazing response to Cuellar's SOTU embrace with the President, and while I slept we topped the $50,000 mark in online contributions. Again, this would never have happened without the amazing soapbox that is the internet, and the online progressive community. Traditional media outlets are also starting to wake-up to this race - there were several calls from reporters yesterday, both in Texas and nation-wide who have finally started to pay attention to this race and wanting to write about the match-up. Anyway - just another e-mail to say thank you for all the blogging you have done on Ciro's behalf. As I always, I am here if there is anything you need! More good news to come soon! All the best
-Tracy