Introducing Rightroots

I am pleased to join some of my favorite conservative bloggers, in an effort led by John Hawkins of Right Wing News, to announce the unveiling of Rightroots, a fundraising effort dedicated to helping GOP candidates retain control of the House and Senate.

John Hawkins enlisted Mary Katharine Ham, Erick Erickson, Patrick Hynes, Ed Morrissey, Robert Bluey and me (on behalf of Wizbang and Wizbang Politics) to help him compile a list of 18 candidates in competitive Congressional races across the country who could use the support of our readers to make the difference in holding the House and Senate for the GOP.

Incumbents, because they already have name recognition, a good amount of money and support, were not included. We also decided not to wade into any primary fights, so no primary candidates appear on the list. Gubernatorial candidates are subject to different campaign finance laws, so they were also excluded.

We decided to keep the list somewhat short so that maximum attention could be directed to each of the 18 very competitive races, so please don’t be surprised or offended if your favorite candidate is not included. There are literally hundreds of deserving candidates across the country, but we tried to zero in on those congressional races in which we believed our readers could make the most difference. In addition to the excellent list of Rightroots candidates, we at Wizbang and Wizbang Politics will, from time to time, also direct readers to other races that are worthy of their time and money.

The summer is nearing an end and now is the time to get busy. You can make a difference! Rightroots is one way to help deserving candidates utilize the blogosphere to raise money, as the liberal blogs have done. The left side of the blogosphere, the Netroots, has been directing their readers to contribute to candidates they want to see elected for some time and they have raised over $350,000. Now those of us on the right side of the blogosphere are going to get a chance to show our stuff. So blog readers, check out the Rightroots site. Read about the various candidates and their races and give generously. Bloggers, please link and direct your readers to the Rightroots site, then go and give some money, too.

Need some incentive? Repeat after me — Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid. For those who do not respond well to scare tactics, let me inspire you with the following: Imagine you are at home watching election night coverage on a channel other than Fox and you notice a change in tone. Brows begin to furrow and you think that might even be a tear in the eye of your least favorite liberal pundit. The mainstream media anchor you are watching looks very serious and annouces that the station will be cutting to the concession speech of Jack Murtha. If that doesn’t inspire you to open your wallet, I don’t know what will.

Additional information on Rightroots can be found at Right Wing News and Human Events Online. More at Townhall, Captain’s Quarters and Ankle Biting Pundits.

Update (8/1 at 12 p.m.): Rightroots has already raised over $5000!

Update II: Check out Congressman Jack Kingston’s challenge.

Cross-posted at Wizbang Politics.