Why Does Bobby Bright (D-AL) Hate Women And Children And Love Republican Ideology?

He even LOOKS like a Republican!

Yesterday Alabama freshman Bobby Bright joined the House Democratic caucus' most reactionary member, Jim Marshall (Blue Dog-GA), in opposing the Democratic Party's attempt to reach needy children with health insurance (S-CHIP). They were the only two Democrats to vote against the bill, which passed in a massive landslide, 289-139, with 40 mainstream conservative Republicans joining the rest of the Democrats to pass it. Currently there are 76,000 uninsured children in Alabama (and 307,000 in Georgia). If SCHIP passes the Senate and becomes law 66% of the Alabama kids will be covered (and 59% of the Georgians). Both numbers are significantly higher than the national average (47%). Earlier in the day, Bright and Marshall, along with 3 other arch-reactionaries, had joined the GOP in an obstructionist tactic to kill the bill through a motion to recommit, something the Democratic leadership was able to beat back.

Last Friday, Congressman Bright participated in his first roll call votes as a member of Congress. Generally speaking he showed himself to be a perfect little dupe for the Republican Party. He voted with them on their parliamentary tactics to kill Democratic legislation. When the GOP attempted to derail the bill to make sure women who are not paid fairly have some kind of recourse under the law, Bright joined 8 other extreme right wing Democrats to cross the aisle and vote with the Republicans. And when that bill, the Paycheck Fairness Act came up for a vote, Bright and two other right wing freshman Democrats (fellow Alabaman Parker Griffith and Walt Minnick of Idaho) joined all but 10 Republicans in voting against equality for women.

Later the same day the landmark Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 came up for a vote and Bright was one of only 5 Democrats to cross the aisle and join the GOP to register their contempt for the concept of equal pay for equal work for American working women, the others being Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK), Allen Boyd (Blue Dog-FL), Parker Griffith (AL), and Travis Childers (MS).

During the 2008 election cycle we warned the DCCC and Alabama voters that Bright's reactionary record indicated clearly that he could be counted on to support Republican Party positions on even the most basic, core Democratic values and principles. The DCCC proceeded to spend $1,177,847 in Independent Expenditures alone on electing Bright. They also helped him raise the bulk of the million dollars he spent on his campaign apart from that. At the same time dozens of real Democrats were given not one dime-- or even the time of day-- by the DCCC, some of whom were able to hold their Republican opponents to tiny margins. Here is a list of some of the Republican incumbents who could have been beaten had the DCCC not wasted all that money on proto-Republican-in-Democratic-clothing Bobby Bright. The key to remember here is that the Democrats who ran against these Republicans got no financial help (zero), in terms of Independent Expenditures, from the DCCC:

Dan Lungren (CA-03)- 50%
Brian Bilbray (CA-50)- 50%
Thaddeus McCotter (MI-11)- 51%
Ken Calvert (CA-44)- 52%
Jim Gerlach (PA-06)- 52%
Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46)- 53%
Judy Biggert (IL-13)- 53%
Michael McCaul (TX-10)- 54%

This morning I got a letter from David Canter, a progressive Democrat running for Congress in 2010 against far right Republican Mike Coffman in Colorado's 6th CD (suburban Denver). The e-mail deals with equal rights for women.

Believe it or not, on January 9th newly elected Congressman Mike Coffman, my opponent in the 6th Congressional District, voted AGAINST equal rights for women-- not once, but twice!

These were Mr. Coffman's FIRST TWO VOTES in Congress, and they give us an idea of what we can expect from the next two years. I am running for Congress to replace Mr. Coffman and I say that's not acceptable!

The Declaration of Independence says that "all men are created equal." But what about women? The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution says that "all persons" shall have equal protection under the law, but let's face it, throughout American history women have not had equal protection, and they do not enjoy completely equal rights even today.

Did you know that research released in April 2007, shows that just one year out of college, women working full time already earn less than their male colleagues, even when they work in the same field. Ten years after graduation, the pay gap widens. To match men's earnings for 2008, women have to work from January 2008 to April 2009-- an extra four months! Click here for more info: AAUW's Position on Pay Equity.

What does this have to do with Mike Coffman and my campaign?

In 2008, the American people overwhelmingly elected Barack Obama to the Presidency and a larger majority of Democrats to the U.S. House and Senate to get things done, and that's what the new Congress came to Washington to do. The new House convened on January 6th, 2009, and by January 9th had already passed two bills to address equality for women, and particularly pay equity.

Mike Coffman voted against both of those bills!

While Barack Obama and the newly expanded Democratic Congress came to Washington to work for the American people, Mike Coffman showed up ready to do the only thing he can do as a Republican in Washington today-- obstruct progress toward solutions to America's problems. That he chose to do so by voting against equality for women tells us exactly how far outside the mainstream Mike Coffman is!

I believe this is wrong and I will fight to fix it! I believe in equality for women, not only in the workplace and in pay, but in the right to make decisions about their own bodies. I invite you to visit my website, and specifically the page on Women's Rights, for more information. Here's a link to make it easy: Women's Rights.

If you agree with me that issues such as Women's Rights are too important to be left to the whims of Mike Coffman's extreme right wing ideology, then I'm asking you to please help me win this seat so that I can support Barack Obama and help solve the problems facing America today. Please visit my website to learn more about me, to sign up to help, and to donate. Your donation today, of any size or amount, will help us get this campaign rolling and win in CD6!

Substitute so-called Democrat Bobby Bright's name for extremist Republican Mike Coffman in Canter's letter. Then tell the DCCC that you want accountability for the money they spend on reactionary fake Democrats. Millions of dollars were wasted in the last two cycles on "Democrats" who consistently vote against the most basic Democratic principles, "Democrats" who revel in crossing the aisle and voting with the GOP. In this year's freshman class, we have already seen Bright, Parker Griffith and Walt Minnick showing how helpful they're going to be to John Boehner and the GOP leadership as it prepares to obstruct everything Barack Obama plans to do to rescue America from years and years of Republican misrule and corruption. But God knows those weren't the only candidates DCCC money helped elect who have gone on to support the Republicans. We'll see how long it takes for conservative freshmen like Gerald Connolly, Michael McMahon and Kathleen Dahlkemper to start crossing the aisle but for a solid baker's dozen Democrats there is no need to wait. Right wing kooks calling themselves Democrats who vote with the GOP again and again on substantive matters include Gene Taylor (MS), Collin Peterson (MN), John Tanner (TN), Mike McIntyre (NC), Travis Childers (MS), Jim Marshall (GA), Dan Boren (OK), Allen Boyd (FL), Jim Matheson (UT), Chris Carney (PA), John Barrow (GA), Bart Gordon (TN) and Lincoln Davis (TN).

Next year the DCCC has proclaimed they will devote most of their resources to incumbent retention. Money shouldn't be wasted on retaining the above members. There has got to be some kind of accountability for Democrats who vote with the Republicans as a matter of course.