Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Maybe Progressives Really Earn The Scorn Everyone Seems To Hold Them In!

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You're probably not aware that Democratic members of Congress have to pay "dues" to the DCCC. Blue Dogs notoriously earmark their contributions to other Blue Dogs or for reactionary Democrats within the caucus or running for Congress. This year they're all getting behind right-wing shill Lori Edwards in Florida, for example. Are members of the much bigger Congressional Progressive Caucus earmarking their money for progressives? Of course not. With leaders like Lynn Woolsey running around campaigning for Blue Dogs against progressives, the CPC is a joke.

In the last few weeks, I've been talking with some of the smarter CPC members about helping fellow progressives and I've been impressed with the receptivity I'm finding. Blue America will be announcing some exciting online events with some of these members soon. Meanwhile, I decided to look through some of the leadership PACs of members of Congress to see who they've been donating to so far. What a disappointment right from the start! I checked CPC member Neil Abercrombie's Aloha PAC and of the $28,500 he's handed out so far, $9,500 has gone to Blue Dogs, $8,000 has gone to non-Blue Dog conservatives who generally vote with the Blue Dogs, $4,000 has gone to moderates. The only progressives getting anything were Mike Capuano (MA), Mary Jo Kilroy (OH), Steve Kagen (WI), Eric Massa (NY) and Carol Shea-Porter (NH). No challengers got anything.

Another legendary progressive, Earl Blumenauer of Portland, has a very active PAC, the LivPAC. The list of endorsees practically starts out as a who's who among Democrats who are least likely to vote for the issues most important to Blumenauer! Among the batch (all incumbents) are reactionary Blue Dogs Jason Atmire, John Barrow, Chris Carney, Kathy Dahlkemper, Joe Donnelly, Brad Ellsworth, Baron Hill, Frank Kratovil, Walt Minnick, Harry Mitchell, Scott Murphy, Glenn Nye, Kurt Schrader, Heath Shuler and Zack Space, although other-- somewhat less toxic Blue Dogs were also thrown bones, like Leonard Boswell, Betsy Markey, and Mike Arcuri. Other conservative getting dough from Blumenauer's PAC include Wall Street shills Melissa Bean, John Adler, Suzanne Kosmas, Bill Foster and Ann Kirkpatrick. What a huge disappointment!

Contrast that to Allen Boyd's Harvest PAC and keep in mind that Boyd was the Democrat Bush dug up to co-sponsor his bill to kill Social Security. So far Boyd has handed out $22,000 this year-- all of it to Blue Dogs. The biggest contribution was to his female mirror image, Lori Edwards ($5,000) and one donation is counted by Open Secrets as a $1,000 contribution to a Republican because it went to former Blue Dog Parker Griffith of Alabama, presumably before he officially became a Republican. Or look at corrupt Blue Dog Mike Ross of Arkansas. The $60,000 his Our Congress PAC has gone exclusively to conservatives, almost all of them Blue Dogs, including $5,000 for Lori Edwards. Similarly David Scott's BRAVE PAC has made 5 contributions so far, each one to an extremely reactionary Blue Dog. I might point out here that when I complained to the DCCC that they were breaking their vow not to interfere in contested primaries for open seats by endorsing Edwards, they first pointed out to me that she was raising so much money and that Tudor wasn't. She actually hasn't raised very much money and except for a few dollars that Boyd and Debbie Wasserman Schultz squeezed out of some of the sleaziest lobbyists in Washington, virtually all her money has come from Blue Dog incumbents. Not one fucking progressive incumbent has given one cent to Doug Tudor. And then they cry that there are too many Blue Dogs in the caucus to get anything done!

No one would dispute that NY Democrat Maurice Hinchey has a wonderfully progressive voting record. And he even named his PAC The Progressive Victory Fund. He only made one contribution in 2008. It was to John Boehner's biggest ally in the Democratic caucus, arch-reactionary Blue Dog, Travis Childers, whose votes have canceled out Mr. Hinchey's on nearly ever important matter that's come before Congress. (He gave him four grand.) And arguably the most liberal member of Congress, heroic Oakland Congresswoman, Barbara Lee, has made just one donation so far this year-- to moderate to conservative waste of a seat Kendrick Meek (FL), $5,000. I guess they're friends or maybe it was a Congressional Black Caucus thing. And what about liberal icon Henry Waxman? Because of his reputation as a fighting progressive his L.A. PAC takes in a lot more money than most liberals' leadership PAC. And he makes big donations. So far this year he's given all of it to conservative Democrats, including $5,000 to warmonger and Military-Industrial Complex patsy Jane Harman, the richest Democrat in the House, who is fighting for her political survival against an L.A. community leader far more progressive than Waxman, Marcy Winograd.

So what's the take-away? We're doomed as progressives because progressives are self-loathing pinheads? Maybe. But on the other hand... we can reach out to people like Marcy Winograd and Doug Tudor ourselves and help them overcome the odds and win seats. It worked with Alan Grayson and Donna Edwards. The Establishment hated both of them. Now they're each in Congress-- and each toiling effectively for working families and not for the Establishment. Please consider a donation, even if only $5 or $10 to Marcy, Doug, and Regina.

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6 Comments:

At 11:38 AM, Blogger 333 said...

I don't know where else to comment, so I am just going to put something here.

1) The Democratic party is assuming (first hand knowledge) that any person not yet filed, attempting to persuade Republicans in a notroriously Republican voting area, that the Democrat MUST THEREFORE BE AN INDEPENDENT! They are screaming to high-hell here in Georgia that you CAN NOT speak with Republicans and that talking to them is nothing but a waste of time and further proves you must be something other than a Democrat

2) The economy is about to collapse. PERIOD. There is no sustainable growth, jobs are being created overseas and the looming home foreclosures, back-owed debt and Commercial defaults are merely weeks, if not days from destroying the US Economy.

Obama has been Jimmy Carter'd. Its over. He is finished and not for lack of work on his part. The cronies and clowns that are the Democratic Party, from Pelosi to Reid, to Emanuel, and down the line to your local county party rep, have destroyed any resemblance of HOPE.

We're doomed. You're Doomed. Republicans don't care and will benefit by default.

The Corporations have the American Public on the Floor with a GUN to their heads and their message? If you move, we'll kill you and your country. FOR GOOD.

How did the US beat Russia? Economy.

How will the Chinese and Middle Eastern Taliban destroy the US? ECONOMY.

NAFTA, repealing Glass-Steagal, 2 wars, and Debt set us up to fail, and fail we have. Its a 2 party system and they are both to blame.

Who owns you? I know who owns me. Wells Fargo.

 
At 11:40 AM, Blogger lawguy said...

Well, this is really depressing. I guess it is one thing to claim to believe in something, but another to put your money where your mouth is.

Are they really that clueless and feckless? What is the answer?

 
At 12:41 PM, Blogger Jack Jodell said...

Let's face it: progressives haven't really had a party for more than 30 years. After years of complacency as the seemingly-majority party, by the late 1970s the Democratic Party started getting bought out. They are now a corporatist party save for a handful of firebrands. Reagan's and Gingrich's conservative tidal wave has pushed the Democratic Party far to the right of where it once stood when it actually delivered for the poor and working people. Most of today's Democrats would have been considered liberal Republicans 35 years ago. Since the poor, most workers, and a good share of the shrinking middle class no longer have representation anymore, THAT is why the Democratic Party has had weak o lukewarm support and can accomplish ver little. Today's "Blue Dogs" are wimpy milquetoasts who are wasting everyone's time at great public expense. They are Republican Lite, and that just doesn't cut the mustard today!

 
At 1:43 PM, Blogger 333 said...

The Answer is : Create your own brand of Democrat, be the person you need to be, in YOUR AREA, to get this ship back on course. If you have to speak a different language, or in a different tone, or if you have to change your argument so that it makes sense to someone who has no other source of information but HANNITY, BECK and the CONSERVATIVE MEDIA OUTLETS, then SO BE IT.

The only way to get our Democratic, FDR party back, is to make certain we have jobs for people who simply want to work.

BRING BACK THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS.

Get out, speak to the Republicans that are pissed off and want to be TEA BAGGERS. Explain that you are a Democrat, but that you are a different breed. Explain that you are an Independent, but that you have a different agenda.

Knock over the Democratic Party leaders if you have, but for GOD'S SAKE take care of YOUR NEIGHBORS. If the DNC won't help, run your own campaign! The Republicans are willing to listen, they are willing to give Democrats a chance.

Party line-tow is what screwed the Republicans in 2006 and 2008... The Democratic Party is on the same path. LET'S GET BACK TO FDR! It was good for America for 60 years, it'll be good for America for the next 60!

Structure, Message, FEARLESS Innovation!

 
At 4:01 PM, Blogger Doug Kahn said...

C3--does that refer to an explosive, to a 501c3, or what?

 
At 6:25 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sadly, the more noble ideals of the Democratic party were lost when the party itself was hi-jacked by progressive, socialist organizers.

 

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