AL WYNN IS BACK-- AND HE'S THROWN IN HIS LOT WITH CORPORATE WHORE HAROLD FORD

Last year one of Blue America's most beloved candidate's was the brilliant and beautiful Donna Edwards in Maryland's 4th CD, who challenged entrenched and reactionary incumbent Al Wynn, the House's version of Joe Lieberman. Donna won last time but Wynn's corrupt machine was able to steal it with tampered ballot boxes. When he went back to Congress he was welcomed by reactionaries and corporate lobbyists. Wynn got together with his Republican buddies at the Energy and Commerce Committee and laughed and joked about how he was able to steal the election.

This week Wynn kicked off his re-election campaign, knowing full well he will have to face a now much better known Donna Edwards on February 12. (In Maryland's 4th CD, the winner of the Democratic primary is a sure winner; it's one of the bluest districts in the U.S.-- and it deserves a congressmember who represents Democratic values and principles, not the disgraceful bucket of slime they have now.)


The CBC Monitor has been watching Wynn's record-- and all members of the Congressional Black Caucus-- and his ratings have been an absolute disgrace. He is a pawn of corporate interests and, even though he was frightened enough by Donna's challenge to try to clean up his act, he's still one of the least progressive members of Congress with an overall score of D+ (up from an F).

The guest of honor at Wynn's fundraiser, however was right at the bottom of the barrel, the CBC member with the lowest score of all (F-- but an even lower F than William Jefferson, the only other member with an F), the recently defeated Harold Ford, currently the chair of the corrupt, reactionary DLC.

There was a bit of buzz at the event, however, about Wynn's selection of a keynote speaker for the event--former representative and candidate for Senate Harold E. Ford, who is now head of the Democratic Leadership Council. Edwards' campaign has been built on attacking Wynn from the left, especially because he voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq in 2003. Ford, meanwhile, is widely seen as a fairly conservative Democrat.

"He's not representative of the district--I don't think he represents the Democratic party," said Del. Victor R. Ramirez (D-Prince George's). "I don't see how it helps [Wynn]."

"I was a little disappointed in Mr. Ford's comments on Iraq," said Del. Doyle L. Niemann (D-Prince George's). "I thought they were not necessarily representative of where Al Wynn stands."

But it is exactly where Wynn stands. Like Ford, Wynn is part of the Cheney wing of the Democratic Party. They are two shameful corporate whores who cater to Big Business interests and leave workers and consumers high, dry and on their own.

DWT contacted Donna today. She'll be kicking off her campaign on June 30. This is what she told us on the phone:

Today, Al Wynn aligned himself with the Republican wing of the Democratic party when former Representative Harold Ford came into our district. The people of the 4th congressional district believed from the beginning that the war was wrong and that we should bring our troops home today, not tomorrow.

Al Wynn and Harold Ford are wrong; nuclear power is not a solution to our energy challenges in the 21st Century. It creates waste, endangers health and leaves the taxpayers holding the bag. His support of the nuclear industry is no surprise, given that Al Wynn has received substantial contributions from the nuclear industry. 

It is not business OR workers, it's time for Wynn to recognize that workers are the bedrock of our economic success and business cannot survive without them.

Like the sound of that? Donna will be a live guest for a Blue America session on Saturday, July 7 at Firedoglake. You don't have to wait to contribute to her campaign; I didn't. I've never met anyone who would be a better member of Congress.