Make a difference this November...

Robert Bluey:

Today marks the debut of Rightroots, a new fundraising effort organized by conservative bloggers (myself included) to help 18 U.S. House and Senate candidates that we believe will give the GOP the boost it needs to retain control of Congress this November.

After several weeks of planning, John Hawkins of Right Wing News just informed me that we're ready to pull back the curtain and unveil the right's answer to the liberals' use of Internet fundraising, popularly known as Netroots.

What is our goal with Rightroots? It's really quite simple: Our coalition has identified 18 candidates who we feel represent the GOP's best chance to retain control of Congress and to enact a conservative agenda.

Under Hawkins' leadership, a group of conservative bloggers including myself, Mary Katherine Ham (Townhall), Erick Erickson (RedState), Patrick Hynes (Ankle Biting Pundits), Ed Morrissey (Captain's Quarters) and Lorie Byrd (Wizbang) strategized about who best could help us achieve our goal. The 18 candidates we selected represent a group we feel can fend off Democratic challengers and bolster the Republican Party on Capitol Hill.

You'll notice that no incumbents were identified and no Republican primary challengers are in the mix. That's a decision we made based on fundraising totals for incumbents and the long-term outlook for primary candidates. Governors, who are subject to different campaign-finance laws, were also excluded. Many factors went into who was ultimately identified as a Rightroots-approved candidate, and anyone not on our list shouldn't feel slighted.

What can you do to help? Start by visiting the Rightroots page at ABCPAC, which features profiles of the candidates and a tally of how much has been donated on their behalf. If you write for a blog, please link to this page. The more attention it gets, the more likely we are to succeed.

Here at HUMAN EVENTS, we'll identify Rightroots-approved candidates by including a special graphic when we write about them.

The coming days will be a crucial time period. This is your opportunity to make a difference. Help GOP candidates by logging on to Rightroots today.

This effort seems very deserving. It's just getting started, so help if you can!

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