An Endorsement That Means Something-- Bernie Backs IronStache For Paul Ryan's Seat

Endorsements for candidates by other politicians don't generally mean much. They can even backfire... look what Trump's endorsements did for North Carolina Congresswoman Renee Ellmers. An incumbent, she lost her House seat. And look what happened when Trump endorsed-- multiple times-- Luther Strange. Though he spent millions of dollars more than crackpot pedophile Roy Moore, Trump's endorsement didn't do bupkis for Strange. And his endorsement for Ed Gillespie in Virginia actually caused Gillespie to sink in the polls. He was defeated-- by a far greater margin than anyone predicted and dragged down the rest of the statewide ticket and helped the Democrats knock out 15 House incumbents including the Majority Leader and Majority Whip. Every Democratic candidate wants Trump to endorse their opponent.

You know what else every Democrat wants? To be endorsed by one of the 2 political leaders whose endorsement actually means something: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Both are perceived by voters as people of integrity whose endorsement actually carries some weight. And an hour or so ago, Bernie did endorse a Democratic candidate-- one who is running an authentic blue collar campaign on the issues that motivate Bernie and Bernie's supporters: Randy Bryce. Please watch that video up top.

"We've got to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid from people like Paul Ryan," explained Bernie to Randy. "I think you've got an agenda that is going to make sense to working families and members of your community. Work hard and get elected-- we need you here in the Congress."

We sure do. We need a lot of men and women in Congress who mean it when they talk about the legitimate aspirations of America's working families. Blue America was the very first group outside of Wisconsin to endorse Randy. We helped state Sen. Chris Larson and the Wisconsin Working Families Party to persuade him to make a run that no one-- NO ONE-- thought was feasible. Randy figured at the time it was his duty to help hold Ryan accountable even if it was a stretch that he could actually win. And he very much wanted to help with voter turnout in southeast Wisconsin to help Senator Tammy Baldwin's tough reelection effort. Now polls show Randy and Ryan neck and neck; some even show Randy winning. It's the realest race in the country and the most important, not just because Ryan is an arch villain-- he is-- but because Randy is a model candidate, the kind of candidate the DCCC should be recruiting instead of the garbage "ex"-Republican self-funding multimillionaires they're foisting on Democratic voters.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus, which Bernie founded, endorsed Randy almost as soon as he declared his campaign. In his own state, Dave Obey, the progenitor of the Obey Rule-- which has kept Wisconsin congressmembers from endorsing against incumbents of the opposite party-- not only endorsed Randy, he ended the Obey Rule. Mark Pocan and Gwen Moore, from neighboring Madison and Milwaukee, immediately endorsed as well, joining progressive champions in Congress like Ro Khanna (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Ruben Gallego (R-AZ)... not to mention the very first political leader to endorse Randy: Alan Grayson. Those endorsements are all helping Randy to build his unique brand. Bernie's endorsement will help him build votes-- especially in a district where Bernie did so well in the primaries, beating not just Hillary but Trump as well. Please consider contributing to Randy's campaign at the Blue America Stop Paul Ryan page, accessible by tapping the thermometer on the right. Randy is not taking money from Wall Street, from Big Oil or from corporate PACs. His campaign is being financed by real people giving small contributions, the way democracy is meant to work.

This was back in 2016 when it was Randy endorsing Bernie (and pissing off his Hillary-backing union in the process)