Bernie And Biden Are Getting Significantly Different Types Of Endorsements

If I were Status Quo Joe, I'd be embarrassed to admit I was endorsed by California New Dem Ami Bera, a member of Congress so toxic that the California Democratic Party decided to not back him for reelection. After all, caught in an illegal campaign finance scheme, he let his elderly father take the rap and go to prison in his place! In fact, when you go through the list of members who've endorsed Biden, most are embarrassing-- Blue Dogs and New Dems from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. But who else would endorse Biden?

Some of the worst Democrats in the House are on Biden's endorsement list-- like Oregon Blue Dog Kurt Schrader and Massachusetts New Dem Stephen Lynch. Of the 33, fully 28 have earned "F" ratings from Progressive Punch.

See that video up top? That was a Bernie endorsement yesterday-- from Make the Road, one of the nation's largest progressive grassroots immigrant-led organizations and works on issues of workers' rights, immigrant and civil rights, environmental and housing justice, educational justice, and on justice for transgender, gender nonconforming, intersex and queer people. I wonder how many more votes that is worth than all the conservative members of Congress opposing universal healthcare that Biden has scooped up.

And as far as members of Congress, while Biden's list is filled with people like former Republican Charlie Crist (FL), now a Blue Dog and-- in 2020-- a closet case, who's more part of the problems facing the country than a solution to anything, Bernie has attracted real activist members of Congress: Ro Khanna, AOC, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, people who mean something and stand for something and have an impact on the lives of voters. Biden's latest endorser was Staten Island Blue Dog Max Rose, who had just voted-- along with the GOP and 7 other anti-peace conservative Democrats-- against the War Powers Resolution. Or was Republican former congressman Ray LaHood of Illinois Biden's latest? His son Darren, the current congressman, is the Illinois Trump campaign co-chair but apparently Ray finds Biden closer to the Reagan conservatism he worships than the crazy fascist Trump. Bernie's endorsement today? Wisconsin Congressman Mark Pocan, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.





I asked a couple of the candidates on our Bernie Congress page, which you can see by tapping on the thermometer on the right. Heidi Sloan is running or Congress (TX-25) against a reactionary Trump ally, Roger Williams and her own campaign is virtually a Bernie organizing exercise. She told me today that she "endorsed Bernie Sanders because he and I share a vision for what our society could be, a consistency and a commitment to the issues we prioritize, and a common understanding of how we beat the power of organized money. Bernie is the only candidate who has spent his entire life organizing, standing with marginalized communities against oppression, and going after the right enemies. I trust Bernie to withstand the pressure of big business when he's fighting for Medicare for All because he has never equivocated on our demands for universal healthcare. I trust Bernie to hold firm in his commitment to LGBTQIA+ rights, to public education, to housing as a human right and so many other things-- but more than anything I trust him to never lose sight of the movement. Bernie uniquely understands that it is not enough for him to get elected-- we must build a movement of regular, working class people by organizing them into the fights that affect our lives, because it is only with that collective power of the working class that we can create real change. Bernie showed me how we could win here in Texas, and I've followed his example as a role model every day of our campaign."

Shahid Buttar is the progressive running for the San Francisco seat from which Pelosi is blocking virtually the entire post-2000 progressive agenda. That's right-- it isn't just MoscowMitch in the Senate. Pelosi will never allow legislation like Medicare-for-All or the Green New Deal to get to the floor of the House. Hopefully Shahid will take care if that this year.

“Bernie Sanders, he told me today, "is unlike any politician on the national stage, particularly in the sense that he has always put the movement before his career. He inspired me to run for Congress because he demonstrated that a vision for federal policy placing people before profit is already the object of a growing national consensus, and also because he demonstrated how to run a political campaign in a way that builds social movements, instead of sapping energy from them. I’m excited to go to Washington next year, either to escalate the struggle to keep fascism from consolidating, or alternatively to support Bernie in crafting and securing a policy agenda to meet the needs of the future.”

Eva Putzova is the progressive Democrat running for an Arizona House seat in a swing district represented by "ex"-Republican legislator Tom O'Halleran, currently a Blue Dog. O'Halleran will never be a Bernie supporter. Eva very much is. She told me this morning that "In 2016, I was Bernie's delegate at the DNC in Philadelphia because he presented an ambitious vision for this country rooted in justice, generosity, and inclusiveness. He spent the last four years further mobilizing communities, building partnerships, and inspiring young and old. He fundamentally transformed political dialog, made progressive positions wildly popular, and defined the conversations in today's presidential election cycle. His leadership is transformative, inspiring, and courageous. Bernie is a true statesman with great integrity, heart, and moral compass and I will be so proud to call him my president."

Robin Wilt, the progressive candidate for Congress in Monroe County, N.Y. (Rochester), sometimes calls herself a Berniecrat. "For me, as the mother of three Black sons," she told me, "the choice to endorse Bernie was the only moral option in a time when the state of affairs is so dire for our frontline communities. Bernie is the only candidate for President who has demonstrated the willingness to unwaveringly support the policies that will center the needs of marginalized communities, and not just resist the retrograde and unjust policies of the current administration, but articulate a way forward with a bold vision that includes all of us."

No one need me to interpret these numbers, right?

Kim Williams, a Central Valley progressive who worked as a diplomat in the Obama administration and is today running for a congressional seat held by a reactionary Blue Dog, Jim Costa, told us that "Bernie is resonating with so many because he makes us feel seen and heard. He shows up in places others pass over and speaks directly to the pain and struggles of millions of Americans. He has the political courage to make the hard calls and the lonely votes, and he stands firm in his position when other candidates are walking policies back. He doesn’t make political calculations or sacrifice the interests of the majority because it might upset the powers that be or because the media will block him out. He simply speaks his truth and he clearly speaks ours. This is why so many progressives endorse Bernie and why so many Americans need him to win."

Shaniyat Chowdhury, a super-progressive from southeast Queens running for a congressional seat held by super-corrupt New Dem Greg Meeks told us this morning that he had "endorsed Bernie because he is the only candidate who has a movement behind him. Some of his biggest supporters and donors are retail workers and teachers. That speaks volumes to his character and values as someone who grew up working class and has continued to fight for the very same people today. We cannot trust politicians, but we sure can trust Bernie to fight for all of us and not just the wealthy few."