Why Is Blue America Making Such A Fuss About Ted Lieu's Race?

As you probably know by now, Blue America is giving away an opportunity to own a rare and collectible RIAA-certified Fleetwood Mac quadruple platinum award. Anyone who contributes to Ted Lieu's campaign on this page, before Wednesday at noon, will be among those who have a chance to be chosen, randomly, to get this thank you gift from Blue America. When people tell us that Ted is a shoe-in, we point out that Sheldon Adelson is making an unprecedented financial push to win this seat for one of his protégés. Last time a right-wing Republican dumped a massive amount of cash into this district, beloved, 20-term incumbent Henry Waxman, won anyway-- but with great difficultly… and only barely. Republican plutocrat Bill Bloomfield spent $7,567,080 of his own money and Waxman won 171,860 (54%) to 146,660 (46%)-- and that was with President Obama on the ticket, bringing in 210,010 votes (61%) against Romney. That's what a billionaire can do with a $7,567,080 check to himself. Adelson and his network are funneling massive funds into the Republican in CA-33 now-- and Ted, although a highly accomplished and admired state senator for most of the area, isn't nearly as well known as Waxman. The danger is clear and present and why we are asking you to help Ted-- and why Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti doing the same.

Tonight Mayor Garcetti is hosting an event for Ted at 6:30 PM and anyone who contributes at least $250 to Ted's campaign on our Fleetwood Mac page will be on the guest list for that as well. The mayor backed him during the primary, telling voters that "Ted is not only the most qualified candidate, but the type of person we need in Washington-- intelligent, ethical and relentless as a representative for our community. He has shown tremendous leadership on important issues of our time including climate change, healthcare and protecting victims of domestic violence. I am confident that Ted Lieu is the best candidate to strengthen the middle class, create more jobs and help workers save for retirement."

And it helps that Waxman is campaigning for him. He told voters in the district that Ted Lieu is his choice to represent the district in Congress. "I endorse Ted Lieu because he will always work tirelessly to strengthen the middle class, make higher education more affordable, help workers save for retirement, and protect our privacy from intrusive NSA surveillance." Ted is very aware of the Waxman legacy and how important it is to the voters in CA-33. This morning he gave us this statement about his own feelings about Henry Waxman and what it will take to carry on that legacy.

Congressmember Henry Waxman is a remarkable American whose four decades of public service have shaped the course of our country. From pushing through the Clean Air Act Amendments-- one of the strongest environmental laws in the world-- to nutrition labeling, tobacco reform, the Ryan White CARE Act, the Affordable Care Act, and numerous other significant laws, Congressmember Waxman has improved the lives of generations of Americans. But Congressmember Waxman has acknowledged there is one issue he did not finish working on: climate change.

I believe climate change is an existential threat to humanity. Ocean levels are rising, we are experiencing more extreme weather events, and there is more risk of droughts. Left unchecked, climate change will turn from an inconvenience to a full scale disaster that affects our food and water supply. In other words, conditions that will kill people on a large scale and cause violent conflicts.

That is why I have repeatedly championed legislation to tackle climate change. Last year, as a result of a California law I authored, two rounds of funding totaling over $3 million have been awarded to cities and nonprofit organizations to address climate change. I was also a coauthor of AB 32, California’s landmark law that mandated greenhouse gas reductions by 2020.

Two years ago I authored a bill to take cap and trade funds and direct a portion to natural resources conservation. Wouldn’t it be great if we could invent a machine that sucks carbon out of the air? Well guess what, nature already has that technology: it’s called a tree. If we could simply preserve or even expand our natural resources-- including forest land-- we would help mitigate climate change.

As a Member of Congress, I would focus on climate change as one of my highest priorities. There are many difficult challenges we face in our country. But only one issue threatens the existence of our species.

One of my first acts will be to reintroduce the Waxman-Markey bill, which puts in place a nationwide cap and trade system and imposes a 20% renewable portfolio standard. To seriously address climate change, we need America to do what California has done. And then we need America to get the world to do what California has done. This is how we and our children will survive.