Anthony Weiner Warns Democrats To Get Off Their Knees And Start Fighting Back

Long before Anthony Weiner went to work as an aide for Chuck Schumer I lived in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, in what is now New York's 9th CD. It's where I voted the first time. And it's where Weiner is now Representative, following in the footsteps of the same Chuck Schumer I went to James Madison High School with. Weiner's very popular; Republicans aim for a third of the vote there-- and rarely achieve it. In 2008, in fact, the Republicans didn't even bother running a candidate. They didn't run one in 2006 either. Last time Anthony Weiner faced a Republican-- Gerard Cronin in 2004-- Weiner took 71% of the vote. The last Republican elected there was Andrew Petersen... in 1921. This year Weiner's challenger is uber-conservative Bob Turner, a big donor to right-wing causes, whose campaign seems to be about agitating against building the Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan. He's raised about $109,000, almost half of which comes from his own bank account. Weiner's raised well over a million dollars; like I said, he's very popular in the old neighborhood, more so these days because he's spoken up loudly, in almost an Alan Grayson kind of way, against the reactionary anti-family elements who run the national Republican Party.

Wednesday Weiner was speaking up again, urging his fellow Democrats to go on the offensive the way he and Grayson do. (The CVI for Weiner's district is D+14; Grayson's is R+3.) "We've got to get out of our defensive crouch here, and start to talk about some of the things that were accomplished," Weiner said on "Imus in the Morning" on the Fox Business Network. "And realize that, look, we're going to have a choice in November: [The] Republican Party has basically said they're going to repeal a lot of these things."

But is the Big Tent Party capable of rallying around anything that ordinary voters care about? With their massive corporate media machine, the rightists have managed to paint Pelosi as some kind of a monster almost on a level of Tom DeLay or John Boehner. If the only organizing principle of the election is making sure Pelosi and Hoyer keep their good parking spots and fancy offices... well, we may actually get stuck with a drunken, orange-tinged lazy golfer as Speaker. And can the Democrats run on a platform of "We may be Wall Street whores but the GOP is much worse," even if Republicans are much worse? "We suck but they suck worse" isn't going to do it this year. So I was buoyed when Obama-- first time ever-- actually drew a line in the sand and said he won't compromise on the Bush tax cuts for millionaires. It's what he should have been doing from the day he got elected. But he didn't. Is it too late now? Probably-- and especially since he doesn't seem able to rally his own party around him. Too many Democrats agree with the Republicans that America belongs to the millionaires and billionaires and that if they don't want to pay their fair share of taxes, well... it's their country and they get to call the shots.

[M]any vulnerable Democrats in the House and Senate aren’t as sure as Obama. They oppose raising any taxes, even on the rich, given the sluggish economy. Others want middle-class tax cuts only; while some are prepared to accept the "millionaire compromise" or let the cuts expire.

And resurgent Republicans hopeful their party is on the verge of winning back control of Congress have hammered Obama, warning any tax increase would hinder recovery efforts.

Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi, who has advised both parties on the economy, has said all of the tax cuts should be extended temporarily, and the White House on Tuesday was blindsided by its former budget director, Peter Orszag. He said all of the cuts should be extended for two years, and then all of them should be phased out to reduce the deficit.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has signaled that he will move a tax package that aligns with Obama when Congress returns next week, but it is far from clear whether he has the 60 votes necessary to pass it.

“This is a proposal that should enjoy broad support of Democrats on the Hill,” a Reid staffer said. “However, the only way we can get it done is if Republicans agree to support it.”

...Some Democrats have suggested a compromise in which all taxpayers making less than $1 million would see the low rates extended, which they argue would be difficult for Republicans to oppose.

The move would stop millionaires from receiving an average tax refund of approximately $100,000 and allow Democrats to keep their word that the wealthy did not profit from their tax policy.

More likely nothing will happen at all and voters will be further persuaded that Democrats are worthless dogs unworthy of support. And that works just fine for the GOP and the wealthy families who are doanting millions and millions of dollars to get their puppets back into power. Big money interests are most eager to elect proven corporate shills who have consistently delivered for them in the past-- Rob Portman (OH), Pat Toomey (PA), Carly Fiorina (CA), Mark Kirk (IL) and Marco Rubio (FL), as well as incumbents Eric Cantor and John Boehner.

The Center for Responsive Politics first noticed a change in the financial industry's pattern of giving in February, when 17 of the top 25 recipients of contributions were Republicans.

"This was not a blip. There was a dramatic change and it has persisted," said Dave Levinthal, communications director at the center. "We see no indication of it stopping."

Blue America endorses fighters, some who go on TV and battle the dragons the way Alan Grayson and Raul Grijalva do, and some who work behind the scenes working on bucking up weak-knee-ed Democrats the way Donna Edwards does. This year we're concentrating our efforts on House candidates with strong progressive values and the will to push them aggressively inside Congress and to the voters. Two of the best we've endorsed this year-- Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH) and David Segal (D-RI)-- have their primaries this coming Tuesday. They are both scrappy grassroots fighters who know what it takes to win. We need people like them in the House. If you'd like to, you can contribute to their campaigns here through ActBlue, where you will find not just Segal and Kuster, but all our House challengers so far this cycle.