Yeah, I know you're already sick of these pitches. We're sick of making them. But this stuff matters. It really does.

Democrats in Congress were running scared on FISA, while Republicans and Bush demanded retroactive immunity for lawbreaking telecommunication companies that had spied on us.

Chris Dodd made a courageous stand on the floor of the Senate and bought us some time. But at the time, it was all we were getting -- a bit of extra time.

Republicans cackled in glee. Democrats were weak on national security! The voters would punish us! They ran millions of ads against our most vulnerable freshmen Democrats on the issue. They thought they had a winner.

Then we got behind Bill Foster in IL-14, the conservative district held by the former Republican Speaker of the House. Foster came out courageously against retroactive immunity. Republicans pounced, accusing Foster of being soft on national security and opening America's doors to the terrorists.

We know how that played out. Foster won. The message was sent.

A week later, the House held firm and refused to cave to Bush Republican pressure on retroactive immunity, passing a new FISA bill stripped of such protections. They had seen first-hand that all the sound and fury the GOP generated on the issue wasn't worth a hill of beans to voters.

We knew this already. We just had to send that message in a way our representatives in DC understood -- by winning an election on the issue.

The next day, many of our Blue Majority candidates celebrated that victory. Here's Dan Seals' email to his list:

Seals Praises House on Passage of FISA Bill, Highlights Kirk's Failure To Stand Up To Bush Administration and Telecom Lobbyists

Promises to Uphold Constitution, Rule of Law In Congress

DEERFIELD—Today, Rep. Mark Kirk once again showed how out-of-step he is with Illinois' 10th district, by siding with the Bush administration to protect telecommunications companies who participated in illegal spying on American citizens. Kirk has received over $80,000 in contributions from the telecom companies he has continually voted to protect.

Coming in the wake of his vote against outlawing waterboarding, Kirk has shown that he is more interested in following the Bush administration than upholding our international agreements, like the Geneva Convention, and protecting our constitutional rights.

Congressional Candidate Dan Seals (IL-10) released the following statement today:

"While I was pleased to see the House Democrats stand their ground against granting amnesty to the telecommunications companies who broke the law, I was disappointed to see Mark Kirk side once again with the Bush administration and his campaign contributors over the 4th amendment.

"The U.S. Constitution is not a discretionary document. It's time we elect leaders with the courage and independence to stand up for our most sacred rights. When I go to Congress, I will stand up for our Constitution and ensure that no one is above the law."

Remember, when we started this battle, Democrats were eager to cave on retroactive immunity so we could "get it off the table" and focus on "bread and butter issues that voters care about". We taught them, through hard work, that voters do care about their Constitution; they do care about protecting our nation's most sacred document.

And now, our Blue Majority candidates -- and so many others like them -- are running on the issue! That was us, people. That was our efforts. We had invaluable allies like the ACLU and the incomparable Chris Dodd with us on this battle, but this wouldn't have happened without our tireless efforts on behalf of our Constitution, and probably would've been a hell of a lot more difficult without Foster's dramatic victory in IL-14.

The more victories we win like this one, the more Democrats will realize that it pays to be unapologetically progressive. They've been told for so long that this is a conservative nation that they've been long afraid to do the right thing on so many issues. We're teaching them that they can, that it pays political dividends, and that it feels good.

So let's do it people. Let's chip in our $10 or $20 or $50 to the cause. I know everyone is focused on Obama/Clinton, but Obama will need support in Congress to change this country for the better. This is a multi-front battle, and we short-change ourselves if we forget about the myriad battles around the country.

So give to your favorite candidates. Whether they're on Blue Majority, or another ActBlue list, or whether you give directly to them. It doesn't matter. Just do it.