Congressman Dave Obey is a Wisconsin original. Active in Wisconsin politics since his college days in the late 1950’s, Obey speaks to voters in an unvarnished style that originated before the ascendancy of professional political consultants and spin doctors. The name of his campaign committee says it all: A Lot of People for Dave Obey. First elected to Congress in a 1969 Special Election, Dave Obey has become overwhelmingly popular in a competitive district that stretches from his hometown of Wasau all the way to the Minnesota border and Wisconsin’s beautiful Northwoods; no Republican even bothered to run against him in 2004. Dave is also a mean bluegrass-harmonica player.

Obey is never afraid to speak the truth about the corruption and incompetence of his House Republican colleagues. He’s in a position to be a great reformer as the Chairman-In-Waiting of the powerful House Appropriations Committee if Democrats can recapture the House in 2006. Now Obey is barnstorming the country with Democrats like Iowa 1st Congressional District nominee Bruce Braley, stumping for a hike in the federal minimum wage without sham Republican tax cuts added on.

House Republicans, especially those on the Appropriations Committee, have turned the important process of funding government programs into a means of self-enrichment and influence peddling. Dave Obey would be an Appropriations Chairman Americans can be proud of. Just another reason its time for a change this November.

by DoubleSpeak contributor Alexander R. Madorsky:

For all you DoubleSpeak election junkies, here’s a brief breakdown of all notable “Super Midterm Tuesday” results, provided for your convenience in alphabetical order by state:

ALABAMA GOVERNOR: Governor Bob Riley easily defeated fascist theocrat/Ten Commandments Judge Roy Moore in the Republican primary. On the Dem side, Lieutenant Governor Lucy Baxley trounced former Governor Don Siegelman, an alleged bribe-taker under federal indictment.

Although national conservatives still despise Riley for putting a debacle of a tax-hike on the ballot, he has regained credibility with Alabamans for his post-Katrina performance. He is a favorite to win re-election over Baxley, who nonetheless is the Democrats’ strongest candidate.

CALIFORNIA 50TH DISTRICT—In a race that garnered much attention from the national media, former Congressman Brian Bilbray defeated Democratic college professor Francine Busby to win a special election to fill the remainder of corrupt Rep. Duke “Carlsbad Crimpler” Cunningham’s term. There has been enough spin from both sides in the wake of this election to make a brother dizzy. Here are the facts: Francine Busby got 45% of the vote after garnering just 36% of the vote as the 2004 nominee. George W. Bush easily won this district in both 2000 and 2004. Here’s my opinion: this district was always a tough pick up opportunity for Democrats, but to have any shot at getting the House back in November, we’ll have to win seats like these, as well as much more conservative seats.

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR—State Treasurer Phil Angelides narrowly bested State Controller Steve Westly in the Democratic primary to challenge the Governator this fall. Angelides, also a real estate developer and former State Party Chair, will have his work cut out for him this fall. The race should be close and nasty. For more on the Arnie campaign, check out Arnold’s Neighborhood. In a side note, former Democratic Governor Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown, a personal favorite, easily won the Democratic Attorney General primary and is likely to win in November.

IOWA GOVERNOR—Secretary of State Chet Culver narrowly defeated former Congressman and state Director of Economic Development Mike Blouin, the hand-picked candidate of Governor Tom Vilsack, for the Democratic nomination. Kucinch-esque State Rep. Ed Fallon also ran surprisingly well. Culver should be a strong candidate against Congressman Jim Nussle, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Culver continues to improve on the stump, has great fundraising prowess, and also happens to be the son of former U.S. Senator John Culver. Vilsack’s candidate also took a whipping in the Ag Secretary primary, thus denying him much needed prestige for a potential dark horse presidential campaign in 2008.

IOWA 1ST DISTRICT—Attorney Bruce Braley narrowly defeated former Mayor and State Rep. Rick Dickinson and former State Senator Bill Gluba for the Democratic nomination in what should be one of this year’s most hotly-contested House races. I believe this is great news for Democrats. Braley is an articulate, progressive outsider with the courage to call W. a liar on TV, while Dickinson was a smarmy conservative who ran a vindictive campaign. Gluba was a well-intentioned space cadet who already lost this seat in 2000 and 2004. Republicans chose wealthy businessman Mike Whalen over State Rep. Bill Dix and former State Party Chair Brian Kennedy in the race to fill Jim Nussle’s open seat.

MONTANA SENATE—State Senate President Jon Tester has quickly become one of the netroots’ favorite candidates this cycle, and with good reason. The progressive, populist organic farmer is a regular guy, not a yuppie professional politician like State Auditor John Morrison, the man Tester trounced in the primary. Although bloggers may claim this race as a first major victory, it is probably Morrison’s zipper that cost him the nomination. A conservative hypocrite, Morrison endorsed the Federal Hate Amendment even though he acknowledged cheating on his wife. Tester is the right man to defeat Conrad Burns this fall and he’ll be a great Senator.

SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR—Governor Mike Rounds was one of the most popular executives in the nation before he signed a sweeping and patently unconstitutional ban on nearly all abortions. Although he remains the favorite in the fall, South Dakota Democrats are now energized and have more candidates for the legislature than ever before this year. The Democratic nominee is former State Rep. and physician Jack Billion.

Well folks, I hope this primer will help you, come the fall elections, and we ALL hope that all these outstanding Democrats are victorious!