People often picture a tsunami as a towering wall of water slamming into the shore, as in the movies "2012" or "Deep Impact."  

Generally, that’s not the way it works. Instead, a tsunami is like a super-tide, rising so fast that it can engulf you in minutes, if not seconds.  

And the water is a tsunami usually isn’t normal sea water. It’s filthy sludge, filled with debris.  

And that is what we are going to see between now and November on our TV screens and web browsers: a fast-rising tide of filthy, sludgy right-wing propaganda, threatening to drown us all. Dirty Money. 

Dear Friend:
 
“The Babel fish is small, yellow, leech-like, and probably the oddest thing in the universe.”  In Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it’s an animal that functions as a universal translator.  If you stick it in your ear, you can understand not only any foreign language, but any alien language as well.
 
Here is our problem:  we don’t have a babel fish.
 
We need to communicate with our voters.  In their own language.  When we communicate with our voters -- whether by mail, or by telephone, or by a knock at the door -- we have to do it in their language.
 
Most of our voters speak English.  A number of them speak Spanish.  We have to know which are which.
 
So, starting with the Democrats, we are contacting the voters in our district, and finding out what language they speak.

Former House Candidate Ed Potosnak is having a contest today. With your help, we can win it.

Ed, a Democrat, was running against Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ).  He has decided to devote his time, instead, to serve as the NJ Chair of the League of Conservation Voters.  Ed has some campaign funds left.  He is going to give $2,000 to the House candidate who has the most contributors on Blue America’s ActBlue page today, which is HERE.

The money goes to the candidate with the most contributors today, not contributions. Our average contribution on that page has been $24.  But if you made 24 contributions for $1, that would be even better!

Right-wingers can be very angry people. Angry about the President’s birth certificate. Angry about black helicopters. Angry about government death panels. Angry that poor people have so much money.

In fact, right-wingers are so angry that they seem to have trouble getting to sleep at night. What do you think would help them to get a good night’s rest? A little chamomile tea, perhaps? No; strangely, the teabaggers don’t like tea. Maybe dozing off in front of the TV, with Fox News turned on? Perhaps; virtually everything on Fox News is a bedtime story that only children could believe.

Actually, what really helps right-wingers to sleep well at night is vicious attack ads on TV. Specifically, attack ads attacking me.

Please contribute $25, $50 or more to our campaign, to make sure that these attack are answered.

On Friday, Politico reported that right-wing groups have spent $1.7 million on attack ads in my district, in Central Florida. This is roughly 20 times as much as my Republican opponent has been able to raise and spend for his TV ads so far. In fact, his campaign was “dark” (meaning off the air) for the month of September. Politico interviewed one of my opponent’s consultants, and this is what he said:

“These [outside] ads have been lifesavers,” said Jason Roe. “I have less anxiety and sleep a little better at night. If those ads weren’t there, I wouldn’t sleep as well knowing that we’re dark right now.”

Help us fight back against attack ads by outside right-wing groups! Support our campaign with a contribution.

So now you know: all it takes to help a Republican consultant sleep better at night is a $2 million lullabye -- vicious attack ads by outside interest groups against me.

Rock-a-bye baby,

On the treetop,

We have to make sure,

Those attack ads don’t stop.

When the bough breaks,

The cradle will fall,

Down will come government,

Special interests rule all.

It’s our government, not theirs. And this year, we have to fight to keep it.

So please help our campaign.

Truth,

Alan Grayson