Vote for Darcy Burnder

How you get ahead in this society: You're born in Alaska and adopted by a family in Nebraska. The father had enlisted in the Army after high school. The mother, who already had two sons, wanted a girl. But Darcy was a tom-boy geek. (A second daughter was a girl-girl, now a nurse.)

Darcy applied to Harvard and worked her way to a degree in computer science. Then to Seattle and Microsoft where she wrote code and rose to become manager of a significant project and a successful product.

When Darcy decided to run for office she went to see one of the oracles of the Congress who told her to concentrate on fundraising. Instead, Darcy Burner joined a number of significant organizations including the Afghanstan Study Group whose report on ending the war was endorsed by Republicans as well as Democrats.

A few weeks ago, Burner was impressive as keynote speaker at the Netroots Nation conference. More impressive than Elizabeth Warren, running for the Senate in Massachusetts. Darcy has been going around the new 1st Congressional District with Retired Major Gen. Paul Eaton, who was a leader in Iraq. Recently they talked at the Blaine Senior Center about the cost of the Afgahanstan war in money and lives. Here's a summary in a devastating New Yorker article – July 9-16 issue – by Dexter Filkins who was co-winner in 2010 George Polk award for coverage of this war:


After 11 years, nearly two thousand Americans killed, sixteen thousand Amerricans wounded, nearly four hundred billion dollars spent, and more than twelve thousand Afghan civilians dead since 2007, the war has come to this: mission not accomplished.


Burner and Eaton note that 80 percent of Americans are against this war, as measured by opinion polls. They argue the end should be now rather than 2014, as the President has projected.

The trend in TV ads and direct mail is for candidates to keep the message simple, easy to understand by children of all ages. Examples are the mailing pieces we are getting daily from Suzan DelBene and Laura Ruderman. Darcy Burner's brochure is a small book that covers the major issues.

The 1st Congressional is a district that was structured – not gerrymandered – for an equal contest. There are six Democratic candidates.

With phone calls and knocking on doors we have been surveying voter attitudes. Many are disgusted with the lack of substance. Darcy Burner is a candidate who is showing the way to better politics.




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