Beltway Political Bosses Don't Put Much Premium On The Independent Minded Or The Uncorruptible

Recently Farron Cousins spoke with Alan Grayson about why he has such a beef with the corporate establishment Democrats who run the Senate, particularly out-going leader Harry Reid and-- unless someone can stop him-- in-coming leader Chuck Schumer, two of the most grotesquely corrupt men to ever hold U.S. Senate seats. Cousins reminds his audience that Grayson has always been an anti-establishment type-- running and winning against an incumbent Republican without any help from the DCCC on a platform primarily based on ending the Iraq War. "Grayson," Cousins wrote, "has made himself such an enemy of beltway Democrats that Senate Minority leader Harry Reid has made it his sole mission to block Grayson from winning the Florida senate seat against establishment candidate Rep. Patrick Murphy." He claims that 4 reasons have turned Reid against Grayson:

• Grayson consistently opposes cuts to Social Security, an issue of utmost importance in his state of Florida. Grayson authored a petition which gathered nearly 3 million signatures in order to oppose cuts.
• Grayson has given the power of his Superdelegate vote over to the people, launching a website which asked citizens all over the nation to decide who he would be supporting in the Democratic primary. Grayson also spoke about the corrupt nature of the delegate system and has called for a change in the way the DNC operates.
• Grayson has written and sponsored multiple bills which aim to cut money out of politics.
• Grayson has consistently spoken out against the Trans Pacific Partnership, even as the president has tried to convince the public that the deal is a good one. Grayson voiced his concerns on videos posted to Facebook as well as telling his supporters that the deal is a rotten egg.

Oh, and a fifth one: "Much like Senator Bernie Sanders, Grayson is focusing more on the will of the people rather than playing the complex game of political elite strategy, which means that he makes enemies of establishment Democrats all while advocating for the wants and needs of regular folks like us."

More than anything, though, what party bosses like Schumer and Reid can't take is Grayson's incorruptibility and his independence of mind, two traits which fly in the face of the Senate's hierarchical system. Saturday, Grayson sent his Florida supporters sure to have the slimy little Reid gnawing on his own leg in fury.

More than a month ago, not very long after Bernie Sanders won eight Presidential primaries and caucuses in a row, nasty party hack Harry Reid asked Bernie to drop out of the Presidential race. This was several months after Reid manipulated polling in Las Vegas in order to defeat Bernie in Nevada. (Reid ordered the casinos to give casino workers time off in the middle of the day to attend the caucuses, and then deployed 100 “poll watchers” to make sure that “people know what they’re doing.”)

When Reid issued his edict to Bernie to drop out, Reid was fresh off wrecking the political career of Donna Edwards, for no good reason whatsoever. Donna, a committed progressive, would have been the second African-American woman elected to the Senate. Reid, a rather confused individual, thought that Donna had hurt Reid protégé Shelley Berkley. Donna hadn’t, but of course, that didn’t matter to Reid.

Reid also wasted around $3 million of Democratic Party money in order to defeat the highest ranking military official ever to serve in Congress, Joe Sestak, in the Democratic primary. Why? Because Sestak ran for the Senate in 2010, and stayed in the race after Reid ordered him to drop out against a GOP party-switcher whom Reid liked. Also, Reid told Sestak, “Sestak, when I tell you something, the only answer is to be ‘yes,’” and Sestak, a three-star admiral who felt a greater loyalty to the voters than to the party Politburo, found it difficult to agree to those terms of surrender.

Seriously, who do these people think they are?

It’s not as if these corrupt party bosses are any good at picking our candidates. They’ve lost 14 Senate seats in the last six years. Mitch McConnell, Mr. Mealy-Mouth himself, has wiped the floor with them. The party bosses are no good at beating Republicans, so they have to take out their frustration on liberal Democrats.

So, anyway, Bernie told Reid that he was staying the Presidential race. And in response, Reid and the party Politburo stole some delegates from Bernie in Nevada, Reid’s home state, and then stacked the Democratic Convention against Bernie and his supporters.

And still, Bernie won’t drop out. Neither will I.

But seriously, who do these people think they are?

The last Public Policy Poll had us up by one point in the Florida Democratic Senate Primary. Reid has broadcast despicable lies, and lined up every flunky in the D.C. Establishment that he can find against us-- and we’re still winning.

Grayson closed by asking a simple question: "who gets to choose our candidate? Corrupt party bosses, or We, the People?" If you think it's the latter, please consider contributing to Grayson's grassroots campaign. Like Bernie, he's depending on small contributions from the people whose interests he represents. Please, just tap on the thermometer: