A Gift To Democrats Running Against GOP Incumbents

Trump has demanded his congressional puppets start endorsing him during the impeachment trial. The optics may seem good for him, but they look dreadful for the Republican incumbents who are falling in line. Take John Katko, a Syracuse-area conservative still making a half-assed attempt to try to pretend to be a "moderate." He represents the only blue district (D+3) in the country that the DCCC managed to lose last year.

Yesterday, Katko's progressive challenger, Dana Balter, shredded him for formally endorsing Trump's reelection bid. "Congressman John Katko," she wrote to New Yorkers in Onondaga, Wayne, Cayuga and Oswego counties, "is endorsing Donald Trump because he believes that Trump’s made our country better than it was four years ago. He’s endorsing a man who is trying to rip healthcare away from 130 million people with pre-existing conditions. He’s endorsing a man who blew a $2 trillion hole in our national debt for tax giveaways to the ultra-wealthy and corporations on the backs of working families. He’s endorsing a man who is trying to slash hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. He’s endorsing a man who stokes fear, hatred, and division to maintain power. He’s endorsing a man who started and continues to escalate a reckless trade war that has done massive harm to our small businesses and our family farms. He’s endorsing a man who violated the Constitution, disgraced his oath of office, abused his power, and broke the law by extorting a foreign government to interfere in our elections. And John Katko believes this man has made us better off than we were four years ago? That tells us an awful lot about John Katko’s vision for our future."

Across the country, in eastern Washington, progressive Democrat Chris Armitage, the most recent candidate to be endorsed by Blue America, is voicing similar sentiments about the lockstep Trumpist positions his opponent, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, keeps taking. He told me yesterday that she "continues to be in the shameful position of defending the Trump brand. Beyond betraying our ideals of truth, liberty, and justice, Trump is also just a garbage brand. Trump is his own greatest and worst product and my opponent is all in."

Last cycle, Trump dragged himself down to Missouri's 8th congressional district to campaign for two total puppets, Rep. Jason Smith and the-AG, now U.S. Senator Josh Hawley. There's no doubt whatsoever Smith will be endorsing Trump imminently. The progressive Democrat opposing Smith is Kathy Ellis. "News just came out that Missouri added 47,000 new union members in the last year," she told me, "remarkable considering the state's attack on unions. To us, that indicates that people aren't happy-- typically, folks won't join unions if they're pleased with their working conditions. In my district, we've seen tariffs devastate small farmers, and wealthy farmers are receiving special treatment from Rep. Smith through government payouts and financial assistance. Yet, people in the district are suffering-- farms are underwater, farmers are committing suicide at high rates, and folks are suffering from lack of healthcare access. Smith acts ignorant of this-- in fact, just a few weeks ago, he said that the district and the country's economy is doing so well that we should cut back on so-called entitlement programs, such as food stamps. The 8th district is suffering as one of the poorest districts in the country, and Smith remains a rubber stamp to Trump's policies."

In southwest Michigan (MI-06) Republican incumbent Fred Upton can't decide if he's running or another term or not. He says he'll make an announcement next week. The most current polling in the district shows he would have a very tough time being reelected-- a job favorability rating of just 20% with 59% of respondents giving him an unfavorable rating. Trump's recent remarks about being willing to make cuts to Medicare and Social Security aren't going to help a lockstep Trump supporter like Upton--  not in a district where early 16% of the population is over the age of 65 and with almost another 14% in the 55-64 bracket. On top of that, Trump's most recent efforts to roll back environmental protections are particularly relevant in a district where the shoreline is being further eroded by the day, and where residents have to worry about pollutants like PFAS in their drinking water. I asked state Rep. Jon Hoadley, the progressive Democrat running for the seat-- and a big supporter of Social Security, Medicare and environmental protections if Upton is feeling the pain yet. "Trump's policies are speaking much louder than his words," he told me. "Whether his policies are hurting farmers or seniors, student loan borrowers or people who want clean water, people in southwest Michigan are looking for a President and Congress that will fight for us and our values."

In Iowa's 4th district, the situation is somewhat different. The Republican incumbent, neo-fascist and racist Steve King, is even less popular than Trump and it's hard to tell which one is hurting the other more. J.D. Scholten, the progressive Democrat in the race, told us that "Steve King continues to back Trump 100% despite the fact that his reckless trade has cost Iowa’s 4th district $558 million-- more money than any other district in America-- and his Administration has abused the Renewable Fuel Standard to benefit big oil companies at the expense of rural jobs and our planet. They both revel in targeting immigrants and the press and further widen the divides of our country. King will continue to put his own selfish ideology over our district and his party over our country."

Central Texas Republican, Roger Williams, is a typical Trump enabler. "Roger Williams has happily cheered Trump on for every step of his egregious administration," said Heidi Sloan, one of the progressive Democrats taking him on this year, "and his cheerleading has earned Williams Trump's endorsement. Williams is not a leader-- he's not a big player in the GOP, he's not the guy the Republicans call to do their big dirty work, he's just keeping a comfortable seat warm in a district that was gerrymandered for him personally. He and Trump are bosom buddies because they have so much in common-- neither has ever experienced a day of hard work, both are millionaires who inherited their wealth from their fathers, and both of their careers are made possible solely because they deliberately mislead working class people into thinking our class interests align with theirs. While Williams is counting on a Trump endorsement to save his seat in November, we're hustling every day to build a ground game strong enough to take this district back for the working class."