As many of you know, the small town of Wasilla has a population of 9,000.  This is one of the pillars of the Republican's arguments for Palin's experience.  

Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in southern California, United States. As of the 2006 census, the city population was 194,436.

Wiki

Now that's merely a number but Huntington Beach's population is 21 times larger than Wasilla's.  And Mayor Cook is a Democrat who was elected to be Mayor by the Cit Council for two terms.  Orange County is highly Republican but Mayor Cook has an amazing reputation of being able to appeal to not only Democrats but Republicans as well.  She actually does reach across the aisle.

Debbie was elected to the Huntington Beach City Council in 2000, and was reelected overwhelmingly in 2004. She currently serves as Huntington Beach's Mayor. On the Council, Debbie is recognized for her common sense, her commitment to fiscal responsibility and her willingness to go across party lines to find bipartisan solutions for Huntington Beach. She continues her active support for clean beaches, safe drinking water, parks, open space and the extraordinary habitat of Huntington Beach wetlands.

She helped lead the fight to prevent the Orange County Sanitation District from massive dumping of partially treated wastewater into the ocean, and educated her constituents on the environmental and fiscal folly of a proposed ocean desalination project. In 2007, she co-sponsored the proposal that led Huntington Beach to become one of only seven cities in Orange County to join the U.S. Mayor's Agreement on Global Warming.

Debbie is an internationally respected leader in the energy field, educating the public and policy makers about the risks and vulnerabilities from the inevitable peaking of global oil production and the resultant challenges for local government and its citizens. Debbie serves on the board of directors of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO-USA) and Post Carbon Institute. She has spoken about local government solutions to the energy gap across the U.S. and at the ASPO conference in Cork, Ireland.

Debbie is a regional leader and is serving on the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Regional Council. As Chair of the SCAG Energy and Environment Committee, she guided energy and transportation policies for all of Southern California that take into account the future scarcity of oil and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

She also has served as President of the Orange County Division of the League of California Cities, Chair of the League of California Cities Administrative Policy Committee and Chair of the Orange County Parks Commission.

Cook has ties across the 46th congressional district which stretches along the coast from Costa Mesa to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. She has an honorary degree from Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa as a result of 25 years of volunteer work. While in her 20's she purchased her first home in Westminster and volunteered in the Fountain Valley schools and the Fountain Valley neighborhood watch program. She has been a resident of Orange County for more than forty years.

Debbie Cook

Now I must confess something, I'm a personal fan of Debbie Cook.  She went back to school at 37 to get her law degree and was instrumental in helping keep our Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

At 37, urged on by her husband and by her desire to continue to make a difference in her community, Debbie went to law school, earning a degree from Western State University and joining the California bar in 1994.

Debbie then served as attorney for the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, and was instrumental in the efforts that saved the Bolsa Chica wetlands--and coastal wetlands throughout California--from development.

In 1996, the California Coastal Commission approved a plan to construct thousands of houses in the Bolsa Chica wetlands. The Bolsa Chica Land Trust sued the Coastal Commission in an effort to protect the 1,700 acres (6.9 km2) of wetlands, at the time the largest unprotected wetlands south of San Francisco.

The suit challenged the commission's approval of the construction of housing on coastal wetlands. The suit was successful at both at the local and appellate court level and resulted in a published opinion that protects coastal wetlands throughout California.

Wiki

Hm, so, how do you think Mayor Cook compares to Governor Palin so far?  Yeah, I thought so.  Debbie Cook has fought for her community for almost 30 years.

In 1989, Debbie began a quest to save Huntington Beach's natural resources from development. Ignoring their constituents, out-of-touch politicians at city hall proposed turning one-quarter of Huntington Beach Central Park into an 18-hole golf course and building a massive retail development on the beach at the Huntington Beach pier.

A group of outraged Huntington Beach citizens spoke out against the proposals at a City Council meeting, and afterwards formed Save Our Parks and Beaches. Meeting in Debbie's living room, the group began a grassroots effort to place a measure on the ballot that would protect beaches and parklands from development. They gathered 18,000 signatures in six months and placed Measure C on the ballot. Despite a venomous opposition campaign funded by out-of-town interests, Measure C passed by a three-to-one margin.

But I guess that makes her one of those "Community Organizers", doesn't it?  Isn't this someone you want to have in Congress though?  Isn't this the kind of candidate that progressive Democrats should be supporting?  I think so and I urge to do so.

But the other huge factor in her race is her oppenent.  Not only has the incumbent Republican been named "The Worst Person in the World" by Keith Olbermann, he's earned that title many times over with his stunning lack of understanding for energy issues, equality issues and foreign policy.  OH, yes, he's a good friend of Jack Abramoff as well.  Isn't that special?

With Reagan a lame duck, Rohrabacher left the administration in 1988 to pursue the open House seat recently vacated by Dan Lungren. With the fundraising help of friend Oliver North, Rohrabacher was able to win the Republican primary and capture the seat, centered around northern coastal Orange County. A friend and fellow White House aide, Chris Cox, won a seat in the same election in southern Orange County. The pair remain close though Cox is now chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Wiki

I think it says a lot about someone by the company they keep.  The above says it all for me but sadly, there is a lot more.

"I hope it's your family members that [sic] die," said US Rep. Dana Rohrabacher to American citizens who questioned the Bush administration's unlawful extraordinary rendition policies.

Congressional hearings provide a deep insight into the inner spirit of our elected representatives - and sometimes the insight is not pretty.

Truth Out

Interview with Rohrabacher by Bill Maher.

Minute 3!

Oh wow, he really knows what he's talking about!  Don't you think it's time we got this guy out of Congress?  Shouldn't we help Mayor Cook win this seat for every single one of us, not just those in her district?

Debbie Cook at Netroots Nation on the Energizing America Panel!

And some more of Mayor Debbie Cook.

Debbie at the Long Beach Gay Pride Parade.  Long Beach is part of the District and Crazy Dana had the nerve to say, "There are no gays in my district".  Sorry Dana, I actually know quite a few who live in your district.

Debbie Cook an Oil Rig.  Not just some photo "op", Mayor Cook understands the oil issue and the energy debate.  She actually "gets it".

So Democrats, isn't it time we stopped talking about Sarah Palin and started to talk about the amazing Democrats who have the experience and what it takes to be elected to office?  Shouldn't we be supporting them with our deeds and money?  Please support Debbie Cook for Congress. I've personally donated and believe that she has the best chance to win another Democratic seat in Orange County.