Crucial Primaries Mañana In Georgia, Kentucky And Pennsylvania

Let me save Pennsylvania for the end, since that's the one with Democrats. Georgia and Kentucky are Republican affairs, although who the GOP voters pick in each state may influence the outcome of the November elections-- and the control of the U.S. Senate. We'll start with Georgia's 7 dwarves running for the open red Senate seat that conservative Democrat, Sam Nunn's daughter, thinks she has a chance to win. She doesn't really have a chance-- although flawed and irrelevant polling consistently predicts she does. Greg Bluestein in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Michelle Nunn, the Democratic front-runner in the Senate race, has built leads against each of the five top GOP Senate contenders in a potential November matchup, though her lead against businessman David Perdue is particularly narrow… But it’s important to note that GOP candidates have yet to unleash the brunt of their considerable resources at Democratic rivals. Deal’s campaign has so far ignored Carter in its feel-good ad campaign, and Republican Senate candidates are busy battering each other ahead of the May 20 primary."

The most recent primary polling from Fox shows certain nuts and crackpots beating other nuts and crackpots:

• David Perdue 26%
• Karen Handel 18%
• Jack Kingston: 17%
• Paul Broun: 12%
• Phil Gingrey: 11%
• Other: 3%
• Undecided: 13%

The only real chance Nunn's daughter really has-- despite a lot of wasted energy from delusional Democrats-- would be if dangerous fascist/Bircher Paul Broun won tomorrow. But he won't. And neither will she. Her excruciatingly tepid, conservative campaign not going to motive enough Democratic base voters to bother turning out in November, despite the millions the DSCC and their allied organizations waste on the election. Lots of ugly Republican Civil War ads like this one up this week:



The video way up top shows the two front-runners flatly stating-- probably dishonestly-- that they will not vote for the repulsive GOP leader, Mitch McConnell if he's reelected and wants to be GOP Leader again. And, in all likelihood, McConnell will win his primary tomorrow. The most recent polling shows him beating teabagger Matt Bevin 55-35%.

Heading into the final weekend before the 05/20/14 Kentucky primary, incumbent GOP Senator Mitch McConnell soundly defeats more conservative Republican challenger Matt Bevin, according to the latest Bluegrass Poll, conducted by SurveyUSA for the Louisville Courier-Journal, WHAS-TV, The Lexington Herald Leader, and WKYT-TV. It's McConnell 55%, Bevin 35%.

50% of Republicans say Matt Bevin is too inexperienced and would harm KY's ability to get things from DC, compared to 38% who say that Matt Bevin is the fresh face needed to shake things up in Washington. 38% of Republicans say McConnell has been in office too long and it's time for him to go, compared to 55% of Republicans who say that McConnell's expertise and seniority are important for Kentucky to have in Washington DC. 51% of Republicans say McConnell has done too little to stop federal spending, 33% say he has done the right amount. 54% of Republicans say McConnell has done too little to stop the Affordable Care Act, 31% say he has done the right amount.

Assuming McConnell emerges triumphant from Tuesday's primary, and looking ahead to the 11/04/14 general election, the forecast is cloudy for the Senate Minority Leader, who stands to become Majority Leader should he hold his seat and should Republicans capture control of the Upper Chamber.

Today, it's even-steven, McConnell 42% vs 43% for his lesser known but well-financed Democratic challenger, Alison Lundergan Grimes. These results are a nominal 3 points more favorable to McConnell than the most recent Bluegrass Poll, released 02/04/14. That poll was conducted of registered voters; this poll is of likely voters. Today, Grimes has built a narrow coalition of Democrats (74% support) and moderates (60%). The rest of her support is below 50% (women 45%, greater Louisville 48%). McConnell holds on because he is backed by conservatives (68%), Republicans (69%), and because where he trails, it is narrowly, and by single digits, such as among Independents, where McConnell is down 38% to 32%. 6-months till votes are counted, even in the face of these poll numbers, McConnell cannot be underestimated. The national Republican Party is not prepared to lose his seat; every last dollar will be spent to keep it.

Among all registered voters:


• Grimes has a Plus 14 Job Approval as KY Secretary of State: 46% approve of the job she's doing, 32% disapprove.


• McConnell has a Minus 22 Job Approval as KY's senior Senator: 34% approve of the job he's doing, 56% disapprove.


• Grimes favorability is Plus 8 (35% view her favorably, 27% view her unfavorably).


• McConnell's favorability is Minus 20 (29% favorable, 49% unfavorable).


• Bevin's favorability is Minus 3 (22% favorable, 25% unfavorable).

So far, McConnell has spent $11,379,032 on this race and Bevin has spent $3,340,522. This week, the NRA spent $$99,073 bolstering McConnell. The Credit Union National Association, one of the nation's most corrupt Big Bucks players spent over $350,000 last week to push two slimy candidates who have proven records of selling out their constituents in favor of the banksters, McConnell ($156,394) and fake Democrat Pete Aguilar ($197,189). Americans for Tax Reform kicked in another $37,500 this week for McConnell. In contrast the Freedomworks fire-breathers spent $2,154 trying to prop up Bevin's disintegrating campaign. McConnell and his allies have unlimited millions to start deploying against Grimes on Wednesday.

Democratic voters in Pennsylvania seem well on the way to nominating Tom Wolf for governor tomorrow, the progressive alternative to EMILY's List's horribly flawed conservative shill Allyson Schwartz, despite the Beltway pundits having practically declared her the winner even before she declared her candidacy. The punditocracy also heavily backed Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (the outrageously corrupt Clinton in-law) in PA-13 and Steve Israel's CIA spy/pro-fracker Kevin Strouse in PA-08. Both are poised to lose tomorrow, although both races are too close to call and will depend on robust progressive turnout.

DWT recommendations for tomorrow:

• PA-13- Daylin Leach
• PA-08- Shaughnessy Naughton
• PA Gov- Tom Wolf
• PA Lt. Gov- Mark Smith

Pennsylvania Progressives Just Say No To Corrupt Conservatives From The Republican Wing Of The Democratic Party

It isn't likely, but New Dem vice chair and EMILY's List fave, Allyson Schwartz, could still win the May 20, Pennsylvania gubernatorial primary-- and equally conservative corporate shill Marjorie Margolies Mezvinsky could win her congressional primary the same day. But that's also unlikely. Both women from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party were dubbed prohibitive frontrunners by the brain-dead Beltway punditry from the outset. The 3 most recent polls show progressive Tom Wolf beating Schwartz by an average of just over 27 points. And Internal PA-13 polling I've looked over shows Margolies' steady collapse from a 44 point lead to something in the mid-20s-- and dropping.

Monday, David Freedlander marveled at how progressives were able to expose the fatal flaws-- similar fall flaws-- in both conservative Democrats. "Schwartz," he wrote, "was up by 25 points in Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary for governor. Then came accusations of centrism-- now a dirty word in a party with an energized left flank."

Even though Schwartz severed her ties with Third Way after the group came out publicly against progressive values and progressive leaders like Elizabeth Warren and NYC mayor Bill DeBlasio, she didn't sever her connection to the corporately-owned right-wing New Dems and she couldn't severe her connection to her crappy voting record. ProgressivePunch gives her a 71.33 crucial vote score for 2013-'14, pretty miserable, especially for a Democrat in a D+13 district, the one she's leaving and the even more conservative Margolies is trying to win back. Freedlander quotes a local political operative looking at how the district has changed since the '90s, "I think at the time when income inequality is such a central issue and we have gone through the financial collapse and it seems like Wall Street was responsible for it, the country just isn’t there anymore. Groups that have been pushing Democrats to be more corporate-friendly at the expense of spending on social issues are living 20 years past their expiration date.”

How much has the Democratic Party of Pennsylvania moved to the left? Consider this: When Schwartz won her seat in the suburbs in 2004, it was carved out to elect a Republican. She beat one and held the seat for 10 years, and now a front-runner to replace her is Daylin Leach, a state lawmaker who proudly calls himself “The Liberal Lion of Pennsylvania.” Leach received the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders and is threatening to hold a sit-in in Gov. Corbett’s office to bring attention to the issue of medical marijuana.

“She’s a centrist. She wanted to run as a progressive, but her voting record and her associations disproved it,” said John Hangar, a one-time candidate who before dropping out jumped on Schwartz’s Third Way connections. “Economic unfairness is moving public opinion. Two years ago, proposing a $10.10 minimum wage would have made you a radical. Now it’s like, ‘We already got that.’ There is something going on in the political world of the average worker that is causing them to favor strong, liberal actions, and I think Allyson probably missed that.”

For her part, Schwartz backs a $10.10 minimum wage. She supported the bailout of the banks but wanted stricter oversight, too, supporting the creation of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.

But she also thought the Bush tax cuts should be extended for everyone making less than $500,000, double what many liberals called for and more than what President Obama favored. “In my district, there are families that make $200,000 that don’t feel enormously wealthy, so I was open to that discussion,” she says. The government, she adds, “has to create the environment for private-sector growth. Now, some progressives are critical of that. On the federal level, I have been clear: The country needs to balance its budget and deal with its debt.”

Still, she says she feels as if progressive groups wanted to make “an example of her.”

“I don’t think it was personal,” she sighs. “But there it was.”

“There are right-wing organizations, [and] there are progressive organizations that just care about an issue and that do use the opportunity of campaigns to push candidates further where they want to go,” she says. “It is less about me than it is about pushing all the candidates further.”

So her crappy corporate voting record doesn't mean anything? It may not among corrupted Beltway elites. It does among progressives. And both their problem is that there are plenty of progressives in Pennsylvania-- people looking for leaders with a coherent vision that goes beyond DC talking points. And neither of these relics from the past has one. Margolies has a base-- primarily older women who remember better times in their lives 2 decades ago when Margolies was politically relevant. Maybe they were healthier. Or wealthier. Maybe they were getting laid. Younger women are gravitating towards Val Arkoosh, who plays a nice lady on TV, and state Senator Daylin Leach, the proven progressive in the race. The one Democrat women aren't gravitating to is Brendan Boyle a vehemently anti-Choice/anti-public education Big City Machine Democrat. As Margolies' support falls apart, he's the one candidate who isn't benefiting. If you want to help make sure Daylin Leach beats this whole motley crew, please consider making a contribution to his campaign through ActBlue. Here's Margolies-Mezvinsky's last desperate ploy, which was released this morning-- weak tea:

Third Way Strikes Back-- And Strikes Out

You know the famous old audio clip of FDR welcoming the hatred of Wall Street plutocrats? It was a long speech but, by far, that line, about welcoming the hatred of America's villains, got the loudest and most sustained applause. I don't mean to equate Adam Green of the PCCC with FDR, but if I were giving him any advise I would tell him to welcome the hatred the consultant-driven world of hacks that Buzzfeed services. "The group is seen as an irritant and a drain, a parasite on liberal successes and a direct-marketing machine better at raising money than at changing policy or winning party-purifying primaries. Democratic political operatives regularly forward PCCC emails to reporters with asides like 'LOL' and 'ugh'.” No one ever forwarded one of those to me. And, my guess is that the jealousy-fueled "LOLs" of parasitic Beltway operatives-- which party being utterly irrelevant-- is certainly a badge of honor.

At one point, Buzzfeed asks, "Why go after [Allyson] Schwartz-- a fairly progressive candidate, whose establishment support makes her Democrats’ best shot at the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion?" But Schwartz, first vice-chair of the conservative Wall Street-owned New Dems, is only "progressive" or even "fairly progressive" in the oxygen-free world of Beltway operatives. According to her lifetime crucial votes, ProgressivePunch rates her as the 128th most progressive member of the 200 Democrats in the House. And they give her a miserable ranking when they compare her conservative voting record against her deep blue district, a minus 6.58. If you define a "progressive" as someone who is pro-Choice, then yes, Allyson Schwartz is a progressive. If you are slightly more nuanced, or even just a bit broader, about what a progressive is, she's not even close, on issues involving economic justice-- the true test of a progressive anywhere other than Inside the Beltway-- she's a right-of-center Democrat. Or, look at her voting record on issue of war and peace. She's playing for the other team. Fair taxation? Her record could generously be described as anti-progressive. Human and Civil Rights? She's even worse than self-admitted many conservative Democrats. Her lifetime score on LGBT equality is a dismal 33.3, the same score as right-wing Republicans Tom McClintock (R-CA) and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and significantly less progressive than Justin Amash (R-MI) and Richard Hanna (R-NY). And not even the most clueless Beltway reporters would classify any of them as "fairly progressive."

Schwartz is running for governor of Pennsylvania so Buzzfeed expects good little Democrats to rally round the flag. She's the lesser of two evils if you stand her next to Tom Corbett, the crackpot Republican who is widely despised and who almost every Democratic candidate is stronger against than Schwartz is. And Schwartz is far from the progressive candidate in the primary. John Hanger and Tom Wolf may be moderates, but compared to Schwartz and her Wall Street ways, both could be looked at as socialists. To Buzzfeed, calling Schwartz out for the heavy-handed, nihilistic attack on Elizabeth Warren and on a progressive vision for America-- just because she's a co-chair of Third Way, the organization that initiated the smear-- is an example of PCCC's "sharp-elbowed, unconventional tactics."

Green sees it differently than Third way, the DCCC, the New Dems, the Blue Dogs and the rest of the Republican wing of the Democratic Party and the organizations in DC that service them and exist on their crumbs. “Our goal is to build progressive power,” he said, “and we think about things much more in terms of a 20-year plan than a two-year election cycle or a one-year legislative calendar.”

The thought of Green commanding the attention of 45 members of Congress likely causes some Democratic strategists to break out in hives. Conversations with more than a dozen strategists over the past few weeks raised three core complaints about the group, each of which Green was happy-- almost proud-- to respond to. He takes negativity in stride, leaning into the critics and admitting a shameless, unapologetic campaign to shake up the Democratic Party.

First off, observers say PCCC is unpredictable, jumping quickly at high-octane fights and launching unorthodox fundraising campaigns.

“I’m not really clear on what they’re trying to do,” said one Democratic strategist who has faced them several times.

More than one reporter’s inbox lit up with snide quips when PCCC launched its “Edward Snowden Defense Fund.” The campaign raised about $38,000, according to Green. He said the money went to a Washington-based law firm, Trout Cacheris, which represented the high-profile case of whistleblower John Kiriakou.

Green has rebuffed critiques of the group’s fundraising before. In an interview, he said he had successfully called off reporters from the Washington Post and Politico sniffing around PCCC’s contributions to the Wisconsin recall fights of 2011. Skeptics alleged the organization raised a lot but spent a relatively small amount.

Green said his critics are misreading the financial records and pointed to the two spiked stories as evidence he’s on the right side of things. He bristled at questions about his group’s legitimacy when it comes to fundraising.

“We take integrity very seriously,” said Green.

Then there’s the issue of self-promotion.

Critics say PCCC’s media strategy has made Green a sort of self-appointed spokesman for what the group calls the “Elizabeth Warren wing of the Democratic Party”-- a slogan it recently printed on T-shirts and bumper stickers, now for sale online.

When speculation over a possible Warren presidential bid dominated headlines, it was Green who appeared quoted in the much-discussed New Republic cover story, headlined “Hillary’s Worst Nightmare,” discussing how progressives view Hillary Clinton. And earlier this year, when PCCC led its Schweitzer draft campaign, it was Green who repeatedly pitched himself to MSNBC, saying that Schweitzer would soon announce his campaign, according to a producer at the network.

Promotion? Of course, says Green. He is unabashed about courting press.

“For us, the media is a key part of our model,” he said. He is quick to stress, though, that he and his co-founder Taylor are equal partners in the organization at every level. “I tend to be more of the public face,” he added. (The late tech visionary Aaron Swartz was also involved with the group.)

Green said he was gratified when PCCC was recently described to him in conversation as “the most progressive group out there that’s taken seriously in the media,” which depends a bit on which reporter you talk to.

Operatives who have worked with PCCC say Green excels more at “proxy wars” than electoral politics-- in recognizing opportunities and seizing them-- with several Democrats pointing to the Third Way dust-up as a prime example.

“This is where PCCC excels: seizing moments that can get them placed highly in stories in TPM, Roll Call, Politico, and others to demonstrate their reach, the voice of their members, and show up in Beltway publications,” said Whitney.

And that leads to the core criticism of the group: that PCCC cares less about winning races than advancing the progressive mantle and its own identity, in whatever way possible.

Whitney praised PCCC’s ability to “hold the left flank” but hasn’t been impressed with its record on the ground. “Their success with political campaigns has been elusive. If they really want to put themselves alongside the DCCC and DSCC in terms of candidate impact, they have a long way to go.”

Its primary record isn’t great-- a fact Green readily acknowledges. He said that a “key part” of his group’s model is getting “involved very early.” But last year, PCCC endorsed just five candidates in congressional primaries. Four lost. Only one, Ann McLane Kuster of New Hampshire’s 2nd District, became the Democratic nominee. (Warren was the only candidate PCCC backed in a Senate primary. In the general election, the group endorsed many more candidates: 30 federal, state, and local-level Democrats it backed ended up winning last November.)

“Look, we’ve won some primaries and we’ve lost some primaries,” Green said of his group’s electoral record. He argued that PCCC has pushed the conversation to the left in every race it’s played in: winning by not winning. “When we enter a primary, every candidate competes to be the most progressive in the race,” Green said. “Our opponents are putting the word ‘progressive’ on all their literature.”

“For us, we care about the issues first,” said Green. “Elections are just a means to that end-- but they’re a really important means.”

Progressives on Capitol Hill generally praise PCCC, even as they keep their distance from some of the group’s methods.

“Substantively we tend to agree, and even on tactics we tend to agree a lot, but there are times when I wouldn’t have done something one way,” said Rep. Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota and co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus. “I still support them, because we are better off with them than not.”

It's ads like these, against conservative Democrats, that makes DC Establishment shills hate the PCCC. Mission accomplished!

It Would Be Great To Get Allyson Schwartz Out Of Congress, But Is She The Best Pennsylvania Democrats Can Come Up With For Governor?

John Hanger

Allyson Schwartz is a champion of women's rights. Other than that, though, hers is a profile in cowardice. Right-wingers call her a liberal-- which her miserable voting record shows she isn't-- and she moves to the right. She's exactly what is not needed in the already dysfunctional political system. Pennsylvania would almost be better off with an outright conservative being pressured to move towards the center, than with Schwartz, who is already right-of-center and will always give in to pressure to move right.

A vice chair of the corrupt, Big Business-owned New Dems, Schwartz has amassed a putrid voting record, one of the worst from any Democrat in a deep blue (safe) district. On crucial roll calls, her career-long ProgressivePunch score is a pathetic 76.70. But since she decided to run for governor, she's begin following Boehner and Cantor much more dramatically and this session her score is an even more dismal 55.56. Some liberal! Good on Choice though!

There are much better Democrats running for the gubernatorial nomination. In the recent past we've profiled John Hanger and Tom Wolf, each one a far better choice than Allyson Schwartz. This week, Hanger made the case for not settling for a mediocre candidate like Schwartz:

Why not the best? Virtually all the Democratic candidates for governor are beating Corbett in polling, so voters do not need to settle for second or third best. Voters can answer the question, “Who would be the best next governor?” The media would serve the public by exploring this question, as opposed to focusing on the political horse race more than 13 months before the May, 2014 primary.

Governor Casey told me in 1993 when he nominated me to be a Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission that the test of a public official is not that he or she won or gained an appointment to office, but instead what he or she did, “when he had the power,” to make life better for the people of Pennsylvania.

I have an unmatched record of accomplishments, inside and outside government, which demonstrates my ability to make change and get things done for the people and economy of Pennsylvania. This record of accomplishment shows that I will implement the policies that I am promoting in my campaign.

What I did in the past to make Pennsylvania better shows that I can and will improve public education; strongly regulate and reasonably tax gas drilling; create thousands of jobs through public-private partnerships in health care, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing; double renewable energy; protect our air, land, and water with a Growing Greener III initiative; and defend the liberty of all Pennsylvanians.

During my term as a commissioner on the Public Utility Commission, I:

• Saved Pennsylvania families and businesses billions of dollars by building a bi-partisan effort that capped electricity rates at 1996 levels for 14 years and ended electricity generation monopolies that allowed more than two million Pennsylvania electricity customers to shop for cheaper and cleaner power;

• Created customer assistance programs for struggling working families to help with gas and electric utility bills.

In the private sector, I led successful campaigns that:

• Passed Pennsylvania’s landmark Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act that built a renewable energy industry, created tens of thousands of jobs and attracted $3 billion in private investment to the Commonwealth;

• Gained overwhelming voter approval for the $625 million Growing Greener bond, the biggest investment in conservation in Pennsylvania history.

As secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, I:

• Enacted five new rules to strengthen regulation of natural gas drilling;

• Doubled natural gas well inspectors;

• Issued 1200 notices of violations to gas drillers and multimillion dollar fines;

• Wrote the moratorium on further leasing of state forestland for gas drilling that Governor Rendell issued by executive order;

• Supported and implemented energy savings law that created conservation programs and helped families and businesses save billions on electricity bills;

• Implemented the Pennsylvania Sunshine Program that built 6000 solar energy projects.

I have managed two critical state agencies-- the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection-- with thousands of employees and budgets totaling $800 million.

Campaign slogans and promises must be backed up by demonstrated ability to lead. My 28-year career in public service both inside and outside government shows that I have the ability, executive experience, accomplishments, fact-based ideas and the compassion to be Pennsylvania’s next governor.

Margaret Thatcher And EMILY's List

While we didn't cheer, nor take part in the wailing and the rending of garments,  at the announcement of Margaret Thatcher's death-- she's been all but dead for several years-- yesterday, we did recognize her passing. I hope you read Ken's fair and balanced obit last night. And, regardless what you thought of her reactionary brand of politics, there is certainly no denying her a hard-earned place in history-- England's first women prime minister. When a similarly senile British Consul General assigned to the L.A. garden party and high tea post, viciously anti-union Dame Barbara Hay, went on KPCC to eulogize her idol yesterday, she seemed stumped when asked to name a Thatcher contribution. So she went right to Thatcher breaking the unions, the real bond that she and Reagan had in common.

When her Conservative Party cabinet colleagues kicked her out of office, she was embittered and said, even years later, "I shall never forget; I shall never forgive." What a dreadful old monster she was! And no less so for being a woman. In politics, as in all things, there are good women, great women, horrible women, flawed women and women who are good on some things and bad on others. Sounds a lot like men, doesn't it? Morrissey doesn't have fond memories of Thatcher in any way, shape or form and he wasn't shy in pointing out that she was even a monster when it came to women's issues, even beyond wrecking the social system women often depend on for themselves and their children.

Iron? No. Barbaric? Yes. She hated feminists even though it was largely due to the progression of the women's movement that the British people allowed themselves to accept that a prime minister could actually be female. But because of Thatcher, there will never again be another woman in power in British politics, and rather than opening that particular door for other women, she closed it.

Thatcher will only be fondly remembered by sentimentalists who did not suffer under her leadership, but the majority of British working people have forgotten her already, and the people of Argentina will be celebrating her death. As a matter of recorded fact, Thatcher was a terror without an atom of humanity.

I don't want to go into my whole schpiel about how special interest groups like EMILY's List and, say, Victory Fund make grievous strategic errors when they support a conservative woman or a conservative gay over a progressive man or a progressive straight ally. I watched Barbara Boxer, clearly senile now and past her due date, crowing about how she persuaded an ex-progressive champion, Nancy Pelosi, to support conservative (proto-Republican Wendy Greuel for mayor of L.A. over a far smarter, far more progressive and far better qualified Eric Garcetti for one reason and one reason only: Wendy has a vagina and Eric has a penis. Each of them is a lot more than plumbing. The National Organization for Women (NOW) gets that even if EMILY's List, which predictably, is backing Greuel, doesn't. The California state branch of NOW endorsed Garcetti as did, yesterday, one of California's foremost advocates for women and children in Congress, Rep. Karen Bass, the former state Assembly Speaker. (Sadly, Boxer and Pelosi are in their dotage. Who's going to help them ease out of public life though? It was hard enough for U.K. Conservatives to unceremoniously throw Thatcher out in time.)

There are a number of races EMILY's List is getting involved in that pit conservative women against progressive men and one of their keystone races is for the governor of the Keystone State. Their candidate is great on one issue: Choice. On economic justice issues, she's a backward conservative and a danger to working families. Her record in Congress is disgraceful for anyone calling themselves a Democrat, let alone a Democrat from a safe, solidly blue district like hers. A vice chair of the repulsively corrupt, corporately-owned New Dems, her lifetime ProgressivePunch score on crucial roll calls is a wretched 76.68. But for the current session-- where nothing is in her mind except her lust to become Pennsylvania's first woman governor-- her voting record has really gone into the toilet as she endeavors to prove how conservative she is by voting with Boehner and Cantor whenever she can. Her score for the current session has sunk to an abysmal 52.4, Blue Dog territory.

Allyson Schwartz isn't a terrible candidate because she's a woman. She's a terrible candidate because she's a conservative serving the interests of Big Business and Wall Street rather than of working families of Pennsylvania. EMILY's List is terrible for supporting her just because she's a woman. They should be supporting women-- we need lots more in public office-- but not women like Margaret Thatcher... or Allyson Schwartz. Oh come on, Howie... how can you compare Allyson Schwartz to Margaret Thatcher? Here's how:

• Allyson Did the Dirty Work for America’s Credit Card Industry Against the Middle-Class

She came under heavy fire from liberals in Philadelphia for her vote in favor of the credit card industry-written Bankruptcy Bill of 2005 that the GOP was pushing. The bill allowed the credit card companies to ruin the finances of middle-class Americans and then prevent those same Americans from filing for bankruptcy and getting rid of their credit card debts. The bill also specifically removed protections to prevent identity theft.

• Allyson Gave Cover to House Republicans to Overturn Obamacare

Allyson Schwartz has been accused of siding with health care interests-- one of her biggest bloc of contributors-- and giving House Republicans cover on dismantling important parts of ObamaCare. Schwartz’s actions would result in increased profits for health care providers.

• Allyson Supported Keeping the Bush Tax Cuts For the Wealthy

When President Obama was forced by House Republicans to move the cut-off for the Bush tax cuts to $400,000 from $250,000, Politico reported that Schwartz cheered the move as beneficial to her wealthy district. “It makes a difference for some in my district,” she said. Previously, in 2010, Schwartz proposed extending the Bush tax cuts for those who making up to half a million ($500,000) a year. And in December 2010, Allyson Schwartz voted to extend all of the Bush tax cuts for two more years.

• Allyson Sided With George W. Bush on Iraq

During her first campaign for Congress in 2004, Schwartz said she supported Bush’s War in Iraq and then repeatedly voted to give him blank checks to keep it going. Then, in May 2007, she voted against the bipartisan progressive/Libertarian resolution that sought to safely redeploy U.S. troops out of Iraq. Four years later (March, 2011) she helped defeat another bipartisan plan to end another war, this one in Afghanistan. All the while, she has been voting to renew the Patriot Act without protections for civil liberties.

Is she better than Corbett? Sure... but what a low standard. Pennsylvania Democrats can do a lot better-- and there's more than one good choice. OK, I hope you've paid attention. How about, as a reward of sorts, a couple of songs by Elvis Costello, one he wrote about Margaret Thatcher ruining human existence and one about Alison? Enjoy!

Imagine A Liberal Lion Replacing New Dem Vice Chair Allyson Schwartz In Congress: Daylin Leach

Admirably, Allyson Schwartz has been a real fighter for Women's Choice. Unfortunately, her progressive credentials stop there. PA-13-- Northeast Philadelphia -- is one of the most liberal districts in Pennsylvania. Obama beat McCain 65.4-33.7% in 2008 and did even better last year-- 66.2-32.9%. Schwartz was reelected with 69% of the vote, 66% in Montgomery County and 74% in the parts of the district within Philadelphia. She's always been extremely cautious to not get out ahead on any contentious issues and tends to vote very conservatively for a Democrat in a safe seat, especially on issues of economic justice. Now she's running for the gubernatorial nomination and is giving up her seat in the House. This is the perfect time to replace her with a real leader and a courageous fighting progressive. State Senator Daylin Leach fits the bill perfectly. Take a look at the video up top. You have to admire a politician who brags about an "F" from the NRA.

But an "F" from the NRA isn't why he's so well known in the area. He's been taking on tough issues that most politicians are afraid to get anywhere near-- from legalizing marijuana and pushing marriage equality to labeling genetically engineered food. He's been a major opponent in the state legislature of Republican efforts to privatize and voucherize public education and has been one of the leading voices against GOP efforts at voter suppression. Yesterday I mentioned that I spoke with another congressional candidate, this one in Florida, about important issues. When I mentioned specific tough issues, she punted, reverted to generalities and made excuses about hanging up. When I asked her about the Chained CPI I wasn't sure if it was ignorance or a desire to play everything close to the vest. When I asked Daylin about Chained CPI, I felt like I was on the phone with Bernie Sanders or Raul Grijalva. "At a time when corporate profits, executive compensation, the stock market and wealth disparity are at near record highs, it is obscene to even consider balancing our budget on the backs of seniors and veterans," he instantly responded. "I fully supported President Obama's election, but I can't support any drift towards corporatism to appease tea-party extremists." 

And he had a lot of answers like that to my questions. When I asked him how to deal with Medicare, he reminded me of Alan Grayson: "Some complained that the Affordable Care Act was over 2,000 pages. My health care reform would be two words. Where it says in the law that people over 65 are eligible for Medicare, I would cross out 'over 65.' Done."

Although we've been following his career since 2011, we just had our first conversation yesterday and we're satisfied enough that he's the real thing that we've made him an official Blue America endorsee. His record in the state legislature will made the process a lot faster. (Besides he has the funniest website I ever saw from a politician.) Meanwhile, if you'd like to contribute, you can do so on our ActBlue page. We're working on setting up a live online chat. But you'll get a pretty good idea who he is if you watch the video above.

Pennsylvania's Had Some Pretty Crappy Governors In Recent Years-- Backed By Even Worse Money Men

Republican ex-Senator Judd Gregg and Rendell are co-chairs of Pete Peterson's slimy anti-Social Security Campaign-- Fix the Debt. Other members: Robert Zoellick, former president of the World Bank; Erskine Bowles; Dave Cote, CEO of Honeywell; Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock; Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; Pete Peterson, founder and chairman of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation; Steven Rattner, chairman of Willett Advisors; Alice Rivlin; and Paul Stebbins, CEO of World Fuel Services

I wonder if anyone has told the MSNBC hosts and producers that for more and more progressive viewers, a guest appearance by Pennsylvania ConservaDem Ed Rendell is a bathroom break signal-- if not an opportunity to throw something at the TV screen. Having lived in Monroe County for a while when Rendell was governor, I never thought Rendell was even a Democrat, at least not by principles, values and convictions. I most remember him as the guy who lowered property taxes by legalizing slot machines, a very regressive form of taxation, and backing Bush's attempt to privatize Social Security. He seemed to always be looking for issues he could back the GOP on and stab his own base in the back. Then, last April, when Blue America was doing all we could to replace corrupt, right-wing corporate shill Tim Holden with a good-government reformer, Matt Cartwright, Rendell came barrelling into the race endorsing Blue Dog Holden.

I remember getting all these calls from people telling me Blue America should cut its losses and bow to the inevitable that Holden would never be beaten because Rendell was so respected by Democratic voters. That didn't exactly turn out to be what happened. Blue America just redoubled our efforts and Cartwright ignored the endorsements from Rendell and other conservatives. Cartwright clobbered the 10-term Rendell-endorsed incumbent-- and particularly clobbered him in the bluest precincts. The only areas where Holden did well were in Republican areas or the district where his record and Rendell's endorsement meant something.

So it should have come as no surprise to anyone this week when porcine Philadelphia power broker and Rendell fundraiser, David Cohen came out of the shoot favoring Pennsylvania's worst governor in modern times, Tom Corbett. Corbett, steeped in the corruption and elitism that a slimy character like Cohen thrives in, will be up against New Dem Allyson Schwartz. In the past, Cohen and his wife have contributed thousands of dollars towards Schwartz's political career. Although usually identified as a Democratic fundraiser, Cohen, an executive vice president at Comcast, has given hundreds of thousands of dollars in thinly veiled bribes to politicians on both sides of the aisle-- though he seems to prefer conservative Democrats--whether Fred Upton (R-MI) and Jim Gerlach (R-PA) or Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Chris Carney (Blue Dog-PA). He's considered a key player in Rendell's miserable career.

Now, just as the 2014 governor's race is beginning to heat up, Cohen says he will likely back Republican Gov. Corbett's reelection campaign.

"I expect to support Gov Corbett," Cohen said in an e-mail, without elaborating on his rationale for doing so.

Last month, he and his wife, Rhonda, held a small fund-raiser at their Mount Airy home for Corbett that drew about 30 people, mainly Republicans, but also a few Democrats, and raised about $200,000.

Cohen praised Corbett that evening as a friend, a "man of integrity," and a "good public servant," one attendee said.

Only 19 months earlier, the Cohen residence was the scene of an event that raised $1.2 million for Obama's reelection.

At the time, Obama thanked the Cohens for having been supportive for so many years.

Few who attended the most recent event were surprised that Cohen is now using his clout for Corbett.

They said that as the leader of the nation's biggest cable company, Cohen is a businessman first who recognizes that history has demonstrated that Pennsylvania's incumbent governors do not often lose reelection.

"He's a partisan but pragmatic Democrat," said one corporate executive in Philadelphia, who attended the fund-raiser but would not speak for attribution.

A prominent Philadelphia Republican, who also did not speak for attribution, said Cohen is well aware that the cable industry is regulated by state boards whose members are appointed by the governor.

"Cohen is an extremely loyal guy," he said. "His first client is Comcast, and that does require him to cross the aisle.

Meanwhile a poll by Beneson for the Democratic Governors Association last month indicates Cohen may have made a very bad business decision, since Corbett's policies are so unpopular and disliked in the state that Schwartz, who hasn't even declared she's running yet, is already ahead of him by 8 points, 50-42%. The polling indicates that Schwartz's margin will more than double once she starts campaigning.