DownWithTyranny!: There Are Some Big Senate Primaries In May

Although the newest twist in teabagmania is to repeal the 17th Amendment-- direct election of senators, an accomplishment in 1913 that had taken 100 years of progressive reformer efforts-- most people outside Glenn Beck's little world of neo-fascism think the U.S. Senate needs more democracy, not less. An extraordinarily reactionary Supreme Court just gave democracy a mighty backhand in dealing out overwhelming political power to wealthy (mostly corporate) interests which will, in effect-- if not handled quickly-- tend to make the Senate even more liable to corruption from the moneyed classes than it already is. Having state legislatures pick senators-- as they did until the 17th Amendment passed-- would make it even easier for corporate power to assert itself in the furtherance of its own bottom line goals. Other than the very wealthy and selfish, only people who crave to enslave themselves (i.e., brain-dead teabaggers) would ever support any such thing. Ex-Senator Zell Miller, a Georgia reactionary combines all those traits, along with jaw-dropping ignorance, and he has been an outspoken advocate for repealing the 17th Amendment (which has never been ratified by Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Virginia... hmmm... what do those states have in common again?).

But outside of the teabag circuses, most American voters are starting to think about a spate of primary elections that start next month and will largely determine whether the Senate will be a body for progressive change or a tool of reactionary special interests. There are half a dozen Democratic Party primaries in May that pit progressives against... well, less-than-progressive insiders at best, raving conservative shitbags at worst.

First Up are North Carolina, Ohio and Indiana on May 4. We can cross Indiana off the list, because retiring conservative Evan Bayh worked with Indiana Democratic Party bosses to make sure there would be no primary. The bosses picked an extremely conservative Blue Dog congressman, homophobic aisle-crosser Brad Ellsworth. Chalk one up for the bad guys. The GOP has an even worse array of characters running but I'm rooting for the craziest of all, John Hostettler, since he is the most likely to be committed to an insane asylum or be defeated in 2016 if the Democrats manage to come up with an actual Democrat to run. Hostettler was endorsed by Ron Paul, but most teabaggers seem to be going for a fringe-loon named Marlin Stutzman-- anything over embarrassing lobbyist Dan Coats.

The two biggies on the first Tuesday in May are North Carolina and Ohio. In both states, progressive candidates-- Secretaries of State Elaine Marshall and Jennifer Brunner-- have forced middle-of-the-road careerists to compete, albeit awkwardly, for Democratic base votes when each would be far more comfortable claiming to be conservative enough for Republican general election voters. Lee Fisher in Ohio and Cal Cunningham in North Carolina are both uninspiring products of a political system that encourages mediocrity and political cowardice.

Yesterday's Charlotte Observer ignored the corrupt DSCC and endorsed Elaine Marshall, calling her "the best choice in the Democratic field."

We believe Elaine Marshall best combines the experience, achievement, temperament and intellect to make a promising U.S. senator.

Marshall's story is one of an underdog who has made good. Marshall became the first woman elected statewide to executive office in North Carolina in 1996, when she defeated NASCAR legend Richard Petty in a race for secretary of state. She has won re-election three times since and is the only one of this bunch to have won statewide. In 2008, she won more votes in a contested race than anyone but Attorney General Roy Cooper.

Her 13-plus year performance as secretary of state has been impressive. She was instrumental in bringing about lobbying and ethics reforms. She brought organizational skills and technological upgrades that have vastly improved the performance of her department. She is recognized for her efforts to combat counterfeit goods and protect copyrights. And she has battled consumer fraud.

She did these things with never a whiff of the scandal that has plagued so many Democrats in state government during that time.

Before winning statewide, Marshall fought for women's rights as a rookie state senator. She also practiced law and taught public school.

Marshall is authentic, smart, experienced and public-service oriented. She has taken on special interests and won.

The hand-picked DSCC candidate, Cal Cunningham, comes across as a soulless cutout whose biggest attribute is that he's not nearly as bad as incumbent wingnut Richard "Bank Run" Burr. North Carolina deserves more, and the Observer hit the nail right on the head. If you'd like to lend a hand, there's a special ActBlue page just for the May primary progressives.

The Ohio Democratic Establishment has also offered up an uninspiring promise of more of the same, in the person of Lee Fisher. He isn't a bad candidate, but he's far from a good one. Better than Bush's employment-killing trade czar Rob Portman? Well, sure. But, Ohio could do a lot better. And Jennifer Brunner is offering an opportunity for the state to have not one but two senators dedicated to fighting-- and fighting smart-- for ordinary working families. And believe me, in the U.S. Senate, that's saying a lot. There isn't anyone running for the Senate anywhere who has more to offer than Jennifer Brunner. Short of abolishing the Senate entirely, there's nothing that could be done to increase its value to this country more than to elect progressives like Jennifer and Elaine.

Two weeks later, May 18, we have the primaries in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Dyed-in-the-wool conservative Blanche Lincoln, one of the absolute worst things about the Senate, would be easily beaten by any Republican running. The Democratic base in the state will simply not turn out and vote for her. The only way to prevent a GOP takeover of the Arkansas Senate seat is to nominate Lt. Governor Bill Halter, a decent moderate. The decent moderates in Pennsylvania and Kentucky, respectively Joe Sestak and Jack Conway, are also the best way to make sure those two states' Senate seats are voting for Main Street values over Wall Street ones come next January. Joe Sestak is up against two Republicans: one, Arlen Specter, who now opportunistically calls himself a Democrat; the other, a radical right sociopath, Pat Toomey, who would be too extreme for Texas or Georgia, let alone Pennsylvania. As for Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, allow me to quote yesterday's endorsement in the Louisville Courier-Journal:

Kentucky voters have an opportunity this year to upgrade their representation in the U.S. Senate. Republican Sen. Jim Bunning, whose list of legislative accomplishments in 12 years is negligible and list of embarrassing utterances and actions is long, is retiring. It will be an easy record for hopefuls of either party to surpass.

On the Democratic side, state Attorney General Jack Conway of Louisville stands out as a superior candidate, and we endorse him for his party's nomination. He has an enviable record of policy-making accomplishment in state government and ran a principled though unsuccessful race for Congress in 2002.

Mr. Conway served for six years as a senior cabinet-level official in the administration of Gov. Paul Patton, where he was a key player in the state's 1997 higher education reforms, as well as in energy and criminal justice policy. After being elected attorney general in 2007, Mr. Conway pushed bipartisan legislation to protect children from online predators, created a cybercrime unit and successfully sued drug companies on behalf of the state's Medicaid program.

More important, however, Mr. Conway would pursue a more progressive agenda in the Senate than would his principal rival, Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo of Hazard.

Mr. Conway, unlike Dr. Mongiardo, says flatly that he would have voted for the recently enacted national health care reform. Only he seems fully aware that a measure that expands insurance coverage, prohibits denial of insurance based on pre-existing conditions and creates exchanges to lower the cost of premiums is of special benefit to Kentucky, which has higher rates of poverty and illness than the nation as a whole.

Better yet, Mr. Conway is already thinking of ways to improve health care reform, such as allowing younger, healthier adults to participate in Medicare-- a step that would provide revenues for Medicare and allow more people to take advantage of an efficient system-- and giving Medicare officials the power to negotiate bulk rates for medications. Mr. Conway also dismissively-- and correctly-- refused to join the ranks of right-wing attorneys general from some other states who are filing quixotic suits to overturn reform.

...On social issues, there is a broad gap. Mr. Conway upholds women's legal right to make their own decisions about their pregnancies; Dr. Mongiardo does not. Both candidates favor repeal of the “don't ask, don't tell” policy toward gays in the military, as do most of the nation's top commanders. But Dr. Mongiardo was a leader of the disgraceful push in 2004 to insert discrimination in the Kentucky Constitution with an amendment forbidding gay marriage.