Thursday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

It's election day in Afghanistan. The Taliban has vowed to disrupt the elections and there has been some violence. They're not so down with democracy, as you might imagine.

The first t.v. ad from supporters of the campaign to save marriage equality in Maine is on the air.

Later today, around 3 PM Eastern/12 noon Pacific, we're going to be doing a live chat with Tony Woods, who is running for Congress in California's 10th Congressional District. There's an election on September 1st to fill the vacancy left by Ellen Tauscher. Tony's a West Point grad and Iraq vet, who got kicked out of the military because of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Check out the interview I did with him earlier this summer -- and join the chat later today. Tony is a very impressive guy.

Obama is also doing a call today at 2 PM Eastern on health insurance reform. Maybe we'll get a clue about what the strategy is from the White House. Bottom line is that progressives in Congress are standing strong for the public option. And, progressives around the country are supporting them. The ActBlue page for to thank the members who are standing up for the public option keeps piling up. It's amazing. The D.C. pundit-types can't get their heads around the idea that we're fighting for good policy.

Let's get rolling...