We're making a lot of headway in Wisconsin and the recall campaign is moving along swiftly. Many of us have been engaged full on and now PFAW has moved in and really helped out the cause. Here's what they've been doing:

Our partner PFAW has been staging a multi-pronged campaign in the Wisconsin recall elections. It includes TV, direct mail, door-knocking and phone calls. Last week, they put up TV ads in three districts against Republicans Luther Olsen, Dan Kapanke and Randy Hopper. The response from their membership was great and they were able to expand those buys and also reach into Alberta Darling’s district. Check out this new ad that hits Darling.

Darling’s important because:

A) She is one of the leaders of the pack of Wisconsin R’s.

B) Her race wasn’t supposed to be close, but now it’s a dead heat. The fact that her seat is even competitive shows how strong the progressive response to these elections has been. Darling was co-chair of the committee that wrote Wisconsin’s union-busting bill, and had a central role in shaping it. She is also an unapologetic shill for corporate interests: She called Paul Ryan (who’s fundraised for her) a “hero” and recently insisted that those making $250,000 a year “aren’t wealthy people.”

C) Darling has a whole lot more money in the bank than her opponent, Sandy Pasch, though with the momentum building up in the race Pasch out-fundraised her in July. If this race, which wasn’t supposed to be competitive, ends up flipping, it will be a small but important sign of voters beginning to reject Tea Party economics.

The pressure is really getting to her now because in front of the Milwaukee press she tried to deny even knowing anything about Paul Ryan's Medicare-killing budget, when before she hailed it as heroic. Here's Howie's latest tweet:

Alberta Darling used to brag she loves Ryan's plan to end Medicare. Now: "I don't know the details" but supports Ryan's "fiscal goals."

Sandy Pasch was endorsed by Blue America and is running against Darling in the recall election and we did a great live chat session with her in June along with another WI hero, Chris Larson.

You'd have to be living under a rock not to know there's a battle in Wisconsin that's crucial for the whole progressive movement and for the future of our country. That's why Blue America started a new Wisconsin Recall page and it's why we've invited state Senator Chris Larson and state Senate candidate Sandy Pasch here for a Blue America live chat today (2pm, CT, noon, PT)...read on

We're hoping to send Scott Walker and the entire tea party a message, and getting rid of hacks like Darling - who care nothing for the working class in WI - would be an excellent start.

Robin Williams as the American flag in 1982, brought to you by People for the American Way. Open thread below.

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Sen. Jeff Sessions attacked People for the American Way on Face the Nation Sunday morning because they are exposing the right wing attacks on Judge Sonia Sotomayor by calling into question Frank Ricci's litigious nature.

SCHIEFFER: Let me just bring up something about the firefighters'case. This was the case where she ruled against the firefighters who claimed they were discriminated against because they didn't get a

promotion up here in Connecticut because minorities did not score high enough on the same test and the whole test was thrown out. Now the Supreme Court reversed her on that case. But People For The American Way, which is a liberal group that supports Sonia Sotomayor, is calling attention to what they call Frank Ricci. He's the central character in this, his litigious and background. And they say, they point out that that he has been fired from another fire department,that he claimed discrimination because he was dyslexic. Did they have a point here?

SESSIONS: No. That's just typical of the personal attacks of People For The American Way and the hard left that is supporting this nomination. These were 18 firefighters who filed this lawsuit, not just Frank Ricci, his name was the first one on the case but 18 of

them.

And when you show empathy for one party, Bob, you unnecessarily show a bias against another group. And this is the thing -- I just want to say I think Pat and I would agree on this. We need to think through how we handle these cases today. And do it in a way that is effective legally and her opinion was rejected by the Supreme Court. It was a very important opinion.

Exposing pertinent information about a man that is going in front of Congress to testify against Sonia is not a personal attack. It's called due diligence. Maybe he should read Dahlia Lithwick's piece on Mr. Ricci: The New Haven firefighter is no stranger to employment disputes.

I like Will.i.am and admire the work he's done as a musician and as an activist. But the title of this post doesn't derive from him or any of the galaxy of celebrities who were at the People For the America Way 30th anniversary celebration here in LA last week. It derives from three young elected officials you probably never heard of-- state Rep. Alisha Morgan (D-GA), state Senator Angie Buhl (D-SD) and Tallahassee vice-Mayor Andrew Gillum (D-FL). will.i.am introduced the audience-- an audience waiting to hear from Alec Baldwin and Norman Lear, J.J. Abrams, Jane Lynch, Jon Stewart, Mary Kay Place, Ed Begley, Jr., Rob and Carl Reiner-- to these young elected officials and they took over the spotlight so intensely that I actually forgot it was will who introduced them!

Andrew is the leader of a People For the American Way project called Young Elected Officials. Angie and Alisha are two of the young officials. Their stories of overcoming political adversity that always haunts young people are absolutely awesome-- and that's why I have the video embedded above.

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