MOST AMERICANS HAVE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD THE TWO NAMES THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO ME TODAY-- DONNA EDWARDS & MARK PERA

Yesterday we pointed out Lynn Woolsey's bold stand on Bush Dogs-- cheering progressive son who want to force them into primaries. We're hearing her colleague, Ms. Pelosi, is mighty pissed off. I wonder if that's an act-- I hope so-- and Pelosi is just being diplomatic. Who knows? I do know that I ocassionally get calls from the leadership telling me how much they hate this Bush Dog or that Bush Dog and whisper... very, very low, that no one would mind if they get slammed. Most of the anger towards Democrats voting for the Bush agenda regards Iraq. And Iraq can't be underplayed. But I want to remind everyone that there is pretty of egregious stuff going on above and beyond the catastrophe the Bush Regime has created in the Middle East. There's one, in fact, a lot closer to home. And, alas, there are more Democrats taking part than there should be.

Last year when Al Wynn had to resort to violence and vote stealing to hold onto his Maryland seat, he got the scare of his life. Donna Edwards really did beat him but suddenly some ballot boxes were discovered at the last minute and he scraped by. He immediately changed his voting habits on things he didn't really care about-- issues like FISA and Iraq and impeachment. "Rah, rah, rah-- I'm a Democrat now." But on bread and butter issues-- his bread and butter-- he's the same old slimy Al Wynn.

We don't usually quote the New Republic here or give much notice to Jonathan Chait but the day before yesterday he posted a story worth examining, Patronage Saint.

Nearly everybody was baffled when, half a dozen years ago, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) mounted the strongest resistance to campaign finance reform within the Democratic Party. One CBC member, Al Wynn of Maryland, even co-sponsored (along with then Ohio Republican and current federal inmate Bob Ney) the counter-measure designed to kill reform. Numerous other Black Caucus members sided with Wynn. "You have the potential for opposites to come together," said Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi. "I'm talking about liberal African Americans and conservative white Republicans." Thompson has proven prophetic. Somehow, the Congressional Black Caucus has become the party's most reactionary wing.

One has to expect this kind of race-baiting from a Neocon propaganda rag like TNR, which conveniently skips over the fact that members like Barbara Lee (D-CA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Maxine Waters (D-CA), John Lewis (D-GA), Jesse Jackson, Jr, (D-IL) and a dozen other CBC members are among the most steadfast progressives in the entire Congress, and the conscience and moral backbone of American politics.

But back then Wynn was getting the lowest rankings, along with reactionary corporate shills Harold Ford, William Jefferson and Sanford Bishop, we took a look at his voting record-- and it made us sick. It's what convinced us to try to help a dynamic and brilliant young woman in the district, Donna Edwards, win a primary against him. Fortunately, she's running again and now is the time to give her a hand.

Now, back to the whole Bush Dog thing. There aren't many in solidly Democratic districts. But one who is, Dan Lipinski, was the subject of our Blue America discussion last weekend at Firedoglake. Our guest was Mark Pera, the progressive Democrat running against him. It's only been a few days and we've already raised over $1,300 for Mark's campaign. Today our pals at DailyKos, MyDD, OpenLeft and Swingstate Project are joining us in asking people to contribute to Mark's campaign. We think he's the progressive most likely to beat a Bush Dog and send a message to the Democratic Inside the Beltway establishment that we're really serious about ending the war and ending Bush's policies. Our Blue America page is open 24/7 and splitting a donation between Mark and Donna sends a message all the Bush Dogs and Blue Dogs need to heed. (MINI UPDATE: Blue Majority also hit it for Dan Maffei, the Blue America-endorsed candidate from upstate New York.)