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.

Race tracker wiki: WA-08

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

Race tracker wiki: WA-08

I can consider myself one of the luckier members of our netroots "order": lucky, in that I've gotten to spend an entire day staffing Darcy Burner.

I didn't write about that day then owing to constraints on my own personal time, but in the context of the events of the past couple of days, I thought I'd share with you what I remember--and some photos.

I think the best thing I can say about Darcy is that even if she weren't my favorite Congressional Candidate, she'd still be an awesome friend.

More below the fold--as well as the obligatory fundraising ask.

I can assure you that the diary I was going to post today was a treasure of erudition, snark and insight, and would have redirected the political discourse in this nation to a higher plane. But screw that – I’ll post it tonight. This is more important:

DARCY BURNER NEEDS OUR HELP.

DONATE HERE

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.

Race tracker wiki: WA-08

Political candidates will have their good and bad days, but this was one rough day Darcy Burner certainly didn't envision with just over four months until election day.  The above photo shows a distraught Darcy in front of the charred remains of her house.  The Burner family was asleep when the fire started.  While the house is a complete loss, the family thankfully made it out safely.  Unfortunately they did lose their pet cat to the flames, and pretty much everything else inside.

Everyone,

By now, I'm sure you've all seen that the home of Darcy Burner, a netroots hero running in WA-08, was destroyed in a fire.

Well, I think most of us here think that Darcy should be in a different House: The House of Representatives.  And I think that the last thing Darcy needs to worry about is whether she'll have the money to compete down the stretch in one of the most competitive districts in the country.

Let's get Darcy's Q3 numbers off to a good start.  I've set up a special ActBlue page in response to this tragedy, and I've set the target at a relatively modest $5,000.  You know what to do.

Darcy Burner's home was completely destroyed in a fire that broke out at 7:45 this morning.

The family made it out of the house unharmed, but the home is completely destroyed. I spoke with Darcy's campaign manager, Derek Humphrey, a few minutes ago and he stressed that everyone, including their 8 month old puppy, are safe. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

I'll have an update within an hour or so. Our thoughts go out to Darcy and her family.

Update: Let me stress that the cause of the fire has not been determined. According to one story, it appears to have begun in the upstairs room of Darcy's son, Henry. That's as yet unconfirmed.

Race tracker wiki: WA-08

It's that time, the end of the quarter. Darcy Burner turns the floor over to some of the people powering her campaign:

Go help. Reichert has had George Bush, Laura Bush, New Gingrich and John Boehner out to the district to help him try to hang on to this seat. Darcy has us. She's in far better company, both with us and with her colleagues on the Orange to Blue page.

Race tracker wiki: WA-08

In the last couple days, there have been several posts across the blogosphere citing what various candidates running for Congress have said on FISA and retroactive immunity for the telecoms.  But so far, it's been all over the map.  I'll try to corral all their statements into this diary, so you can see who the "good guys" are.

First, let's start off with the current House and Senate members who voted against this bill.  They do deserve credit, as it's their jobs on the line.

Follow me below the fold to see the dozens of Democratic challengers who are standing up for the Constitution, and are against this FISA bill and retroactive immunity.

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...

Orange to Blue candidate Darcy Burner:

Hi, this is Darcy Burner, running for Congress in Washington's 8th congressional district. Like many of you, I'm incredibly disappointed with today's vote on retroactive immunity for the telecommunications companies. I've made my position on this issue very clear, and I've been happy to be fighting to ensure that we uphold the Constitution through all of this. But the real question is what we do going forward. We need to make sure that we elect people to Congress who are going to defend the Constitution at the same time that the keep this country safe. I promise you, I will never let you down on that. It's time for us to elect more and better Democrats.

Race tracker wiki: WA-08

Yep, so at this point the sheer mass of polling data is such that it is time for me to tiptoe back into the water. The fact that school has let out for the summer (though I am teaching summer school) helps out, as well.

So today, the Following the Polls series that I began back in 2006 makes its permanent return. It will start as a weekly series (Friday seems to be the logical day), and then it will become daily once we get past Labor Day.

And, week one of the series sees a big polling week, as there are 35 separate races that were polled this week. Head past the flip for all the numerical goodness.

It's been a while since my last House diary, and I just know you've been sitting there wondering "when will Nathaniel publish his next House roundup diary? I can't live without my fix, and he's just so...incisive...and brilliant...and downright Lincolnesque." (h/t to Stephen Colbert for that.)

Well, pine no more! As always, seats are ranked by flippability, but since House races are so numerous (at 435), I eventually switch to alphabetical order after the first 18 races. I figured 18 was a convenient number...and I also got lazy after writing about Alaska At Large.

Read below the fold, if you dare...

3/31.    6/30.    9/30.    12/31.

Most of us reading or writing at DKos understand what those numbers mean.  The end of the fundraising quarter.

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

Race tracker wiki: WA-08

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."