"Party Unity" Is Just A Term To Make Progressives Support Establishment Crooks-- Rhode Island Edition

Back in September we introduced an unlikely primary winner, when progressive grassroots Democrat Marcia Ranglin-Vassell beat the entrenched Rhode Island House Majority Leader John DeSimone, an anti-Choice conservative with a miserable environmental record, a failing grade from the ACLU and an NRA-friendly record on guns. He's been in the legislature since 1992. Since the district is solidy blue, we figured the primary told the whole story and that the race was over. We were wrong.

Sore loser DeSimone can't believe he was beaten... let alone beaten by, as he put it so dismissively, "some woman from Jamaica." And with no money. He's flipping out and is running a write-in campaign against her now. Rhode Island's Working Families Party is trying to rally voters for her but DeSimone has a big name in that district. As they put it this week in a message to their followers:

DeSimone’s outrage is just another example of voters deciding they want progressive change, and politicians ingrained in establishment politics fighting against them.

Marcia won the primary because, as she put it, "This election was about a choice: Do you want to stay in the past 24 years, or do you want to move to the future? And they sided with me."

We support Marcia because she’s committed to making progressive change across the United States, like fighting for a $15 minimum wage, giving more funding to public education, and implementing sensible gun violence prevention measures. Marcia has seen these issues affect her community firsthand and has promised to fight for making the lives of the people in her district better.

We need more people like Marcia in office-- people who will advocate for fundamental human rights, opportunity, and safety. Marcia needs our support right now in this tight race and last minute funding could make all the difference.

Please consider a last minute contribution to Marcia's campaign tonight by tapping on the thermometer on the right. This one's all about building a progressive base inside the stinking, corruptly-led Democratic Party. Marcia told the media last month that she "ran for State Representative because for too long we've had politicians who only help themselves and their well-connected friends. I believe we need a government that actually fights for all of us. The voters spoke in September and made it clear they want change. I'm disappointed that John is ignoring their will but I will run my campaign on the issues that defined the primary: the need to raise our minimum wage to $15 an hour so families can provide for themselves, the need for ethical oversight of our government to fight corruption and restore trust, and the need to implement common-sense gun reform to help make our streets safe and to protect our children..."