Why The Race For Pennsylvania Lt. Governor Is Important

In 2012, one of Blue America's favorite candidates was Aryanna Strader, a young woman from Pennsylvania running for a pretty red seat. The DCCC refused to get behind her campaign and Joe Pitts, her GOP opponent, spent $1,208,911 to her $85,079. The biggest expenditure by an outside group was this truck from Blue America. Aryanna didn't win that year, although Pitts soon after decided to retire from Congress. And yesterday Aryanna-- now Aryanna Berringer-- declared that she's running for Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania.

Mike Stack has the job now. He and his wife were found out through an Inspector General’s investigation to be verbally abusing their house staff in a mansion that is provided to them by the taxpayers. They were also repeatedly demanding that their security detail (assigned PA State Troopers) break the law so that they wouldn’t have to sit in traffic. We wouldn’t want to inconvenience the Stacks now would we?

In an interview after the report was made public, Stack attributed all of these abuses to what he called a “Stack moment” of which he was known for having over the time not only as Lt. Governor but as a state Senator from Philadelphia.

One of the other revelations of the IG report was that the Stacks billed the taxpayers over $4,000 for hotel stays in Philadelphia. Remember the last paragraph? The Stacks live in Philly.

The Stacks are the epitome of how conservatives tag Democrats as “Limousine Liberals.” And right now, Governor Tom Wolf is considered vulnerable in his 2018 re-election. The last thing he needs is a running mate to drag him down. It’s probably why Gov. Wolf ordered the Inspector General investigation in the first place and has since removed the Stacks’ security detail; house staff can only do their work at assigned times under supervision. It’s like the Stacks had a Protection From Abuse order placed on them by Wolf.


PA Lt. Gov. Mike Stack Better Watch His Six
-by Aryanna Berringer

I first want to thank all of you who are apart of the DWT community for taking some time today to learn more about me and my decision to run for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania.

Over the past several months I have been watching not only the unfolding of our current Democratic Lt. Governor and how he has taken advantage of his position, but the actions of politicians on both sides of the aisle. It’s hard to miss President Trump. I have to say, it is one thing for me to become frustrated when a Republican’s behavior is corrupt or without morals, but I am even more disappointed when it is a member of my own political party. And that’s where I find myself now in launching this campaign to unseat an incumbent. This is bigger than Lt. Gov. Mike Stack. This is about taking on a system that serves as a catalyst for abusing the public’s trust.

A bit about me to give you a better idea of where I’ve come from.

I grew up the youngest of ten children to a mom who was a waitress (actually she still is; waiting tables part time to make ends meet at 74) and my dad who was a hotel maintenance worker. We were the working poor. I am also a kid who unfortunately had to visit my dad in jail for some poor choices on his part-- that plexiglass divider and black telephone are etched into my memory. But they were learning moments.

As a child of parents in poverty I am forever grateful for programs like the National Free School Lunch and Food Stamps. And as a teenager of parents without health insurance, thanks to funding at Planned Parenthood, I was able to have my first women’s health wellness exam.

All of these experiences and help from my community influenced the person I was becoming.

However, it was now time for me to give back to my country.

Two months after the attacks of 9/11, I joined the U.S. Army at the age of 18. I was under no illusion. I knew I was most likely going to be deployed somewhere in the world. And in 2003, as part of the XVIII Airborne Corp we were basically dropped into Jordan where we, based out of an undisclosed location just miles from the border with Iraq, got to work. It was in that frontline and forward position that I would be on the day we invaded.

Now to fast forward, I am the mother of three amazing kids, am an IT Project Manager and run my own non-profit called American Nutritional Security that is designed to improve nutrition in schools and military installations as a matter of national security (Think President Truman and the creation of the school lunch program, but now we are too fat to fight).

All of this culminates to my new mission of becoming Lt. Governor. For those reading this who are unfamiliar with Pennsylvania governing, the Lt. Gov. is elected independently from the Governor in the Primary. The person who holds this seat traditionally becomes one of the most underutilized executives and it is in large part due to either a lack of vision or a reluctance to truly engage in service to the Commonwealth. Maybe others see it as a stepping stone to running for higher office so they go into it with the mindset of not making any waves. That’s not me. I wouldn’t be here today if I ever took any of those paths.

I will always present my policy ideas and concepts to the public in an attempt to make serving as Lt. Governor a productive partner with the people Pennsylvania.

At the core of my campaign, and if you follow us you will hear and see us repeat this often, we are going at this endeavor with a clear message:Join Aryanna. Help others. Build community.

If we can end each day on this campaign knowing we’ve achieved that, we’ll win in more ways than at just the ballot box.

Joe Pitts And Grover... Sittin' In A Tree

We'll be learning a lot more about how Joe Pitts males America a worse place this year

In our post from Tuesday discussing the benefits that some congressional candidates reap for staying committed to changing Washington through running for office a second time, we also mentioned another type of commitment... like the one to Grover Norquist that so many Republican House members just can’t seem to shake.

One of those members in particular has been caught red-handed in trying to kiss up to Grover and he did it while in the well of Congress just so he made sure it was on the record.

Anti-Choice zealot Joe Pitts (R-PA) decided to give remarks on the floor regarding his opposition to a provision of the Affordable Care Act called the Medical Loss Ratio. The basics of the MLR are that it requires insurance companies to use a minimum of 80% of the premiums you pay toward actual direct care for patients when they need it. And if they are caught not meeting those minimum standards, they are penalized, or as Grover kowtowers would term it, they are taxed.

This takes us back to a debate during the recent election in which Democrat and endorsed Blue America PAC candidate, Aryanna Strader was allowed to ask Mr. Pitts any question she wanted within the topic of health care. The event was sponsored by the local Rotary Club chapter and was held on October 23. The entire debate, question-by-question on the Lancaster Online website, is embedded in such a way that they don’t provide us an embed code to post here, but if you click on “Question #2: Health Care” at the link you will be able to hear the full exchange between Strader and Pitts.

But pay attention to the 3:30 mark. This is where Aryanna poses her question to Pitts, asking him whether or not he supported Medical Loss Ratio. Of course, in front of a room full of local voters who would love nothing more than to make sure insurance companies are forced to pay for services if they are sick or need an operation, Pitts tells them he is supportive of the MLR.

Then, post-election and 37 days removed from the Rotary Club debate, Pitts must have gotten a call from Grover who called him out. And without resistance, Pitts marched his way down on the floor to give remarks now denouncing the MLR. And to make is point, Pitts posted his remarks straight to his congressional YouTube channel:



There is certainly something to be said for members of Congress who bend over so far to save their personal best interest that they can actually see it.

In Congressional Races, Persistence Can Mean Winning

Donna and Steny-- no longer enemies

In 2006, one of the most exciting and, ultimately successful, netroots cause célèbres was the push to replace corrupt conservative Maryland Democrat Al Wynn with a longtime and much-loved movement progressive, Donna Edwards. Pelosi, Hoyer and the whole weight of the Inside-the-Beltway Democratic Party were lined up against Donna. The grassroots stood strong for Donna both inside and outside the 4th district. The primary was September 12 and it appeared that Donna had won, narrowly. But suddenly Wynn operatives appeared with "more" ballots. In the end, the incumbent was "reelected" with 49.7% of the vote. I called Donna the next day and told her that Blue America wanted to start working on 2008 that day. She said OK. And we did. This time the primary was under heavy scrutiny and Wynn's machine wasn't able to steal the election. Although he was again supported by the Inside-the-Beltway Democratic power structure, particularly Hoyer, Donna crushed him. He had already lined up a lobbying job for himself when the vote totals came in and the 8-term incumbent wound up with 35% of the vote. Since then, Donna has won with greater support than any of the Maryland incumbents-- including Hoyer and her potential rival for the next Senate opening, Chris Van Hollen. This year Donna was reelected with 220,344 votes (77%). Hoyer got 211,816 (62%) and Van Hollen 192,711 (63%).

Friday, Markos, who was part of the coalition of grassroots supporters for Donna Edwards, pointed out how losing House races is great practice for winning them. He pointed to a few of the victories last month by candidates who had previously lost races:

AZ-01, Ann Kirkpatrick. Third race (won in 2008, lost in 2010).
CA-07, Ami Bera. Second race (lost in 2010).
CA-41, Mark Takano. Third race (lost in 1992 & 1994).
FL-09, Alan Grayson. Fourth race (lost primary in 2006, won in 2008, lost in 2010).
FL-26, Joe Garcia. Third race (lost in 2008 & 2010).
IL-08, Tammy Duckworth. Second race (lost in 2006).
IL-11, Bill Foster. Fourth race (won special & general in 2008, lost in 2010).
MN-08, Rick Nolan. Fifth race (lost in 1972, won in 1974, 1976 & 1978).
NV-03, Dina Titus. Third race (won in 2008, lost in 2010).
NH-01, Carol Shea-Porter. Fourth race (won in 2006 & 2008, lost in 2010).
NH-02, Ann McLane Kuster. Second race (lost in 2010).
NY-24, Dan Maffei. Fourth race (lost in 2006, won in 2008, lost in 2010).
WA-10, Denny Heck. Second race (lost in 2010).

While Steve Israel prepares to virtually spend all the DCCC's resources on Blue Dogs and New Dems again-- he's already encouraging 2012 reactionaries like Brendan Mullen (Blue Dog-IN) and Val Demings (New Dem-FL) to run again-- Blue America is talking with progressives who ran in 2012 about running against as well. One candidate who Donna Edwards encouraged and helped raise money for this cycle and who seems a sure bet for 2014 is Nate Shinagawa (NY-23) who-- with no help from Steve Israel at all-- managed to nearly beat far right incumbent Tom Reed. The final score was 126,519 (52%) to 117,055 (48%). In fact, Nate trounced Reed in one of the districts 3 biggest counties, Tompkins where he took 24,264 votes (70%) to Reed's 10,201 (30%). This morning Nate told us that "When you're a first time candidate, it's a constant struggle for legitimacy in the eyes of the party, donors and the media. Once you get it, the momentum builds, the organization grows and the race gets closer. A past campaign, especially if its a close loss, gives you that legitimacy immediately... Many members of Congress are independently wealthy and old enough to build a fundraising network over decades. For young progressives, we don't start with the same foundation and it takes time, and a lot of hard work, to build it."

Nate's ActBlue page is still open and although he hasn't officially decided he's running again in 2014... I'd say a contribution or two there is an excellent investment in a more progressive Congress. My guess is that Aryanna Strader will take on the abominable Joe Pitts again in the district once represented by the heroic Thaddeus Stevens and that Nick Ruiz will challenge John Mica, Rob Zerban will challenge Paul Ryan and Lee Rogers will go up against the corrupt head of the drone caucus, Buck McKeon. "Running for Congress," Aryanna told us, "certainly gives you a much deeper understanding of your community. The day-to-day contact you have with the needs of real people is an invaluable asset no matter what if you run for public office again, run a business or start a non-profit. I can't begin to describe the lessons I learned during the 2012 election."

Something all 5 incumbents-- Paul Ryan, Buck McKeon, Joe Pitts, John Mica and Tom Reed-- have in common is that they are all sticking with the Grover Norquist pledge and that they all oppose President Obama's push to keep taxes low for 98% of Americans, who they are helping Boehner hold hostage unless they can get tax breaks for the wealthiest 2%. All McKeon thinks about is how to keep federal money flowing to the Military Industrial Complex which, in turn, finances his own career. His 2012 opponent, Dr. Lee Rogers, who came closer to beating him than anyone in history is seriously considering a rematch. "They say practice makes perfect. It's true in medicine and I'm sure it's true in campaigning for office. A smart loser would spend some time in self-reflection and determine how to improve. My decision on whether or not to run again in 2014 isn't one I'm taking lightly. At the moment, I'm concentrating on being a doctor and a dad. But, I can assure you that my 'practice' run in 2012 will aid a more 'perfect' future victory."

Rob Zerban is still making up his mind about how to best serve the working families in southeast Wisconsin. But I think he'll run against Ryan again. Here's what he told us yesterday: "I certainly learned alot from my first Congressional campaign. I think that if I were to run again, we would be able to pick up a lot of the infrastructure we built right where we left off instead of recreating the wheel. I also think a lot of voters needed to see proof that a strong Democrat could go toe-to-toe with Paul Ryan-- they needed a sense of hope-- and I think by holding him below 55%, we were able to do that." 

Not all that many candidates win House seats the first time around. Progressives Beto O'Rourke (TX-16) and Matt Cartwright (PA-17) beat corrupt, reactionary incumbents in primaries and went on to win the general election in first time efforts for each. Alan Lowenthal won on his first shot for two reasons: he was well-known and admired as a state senator in the district and it was a new district with no incumbent. (Well, there was a third reason: his Republican opponent, Gary Delong, is a Climate Change denier and hopelessly out of touch with the district's voters and only managed to win 45% of the vote (and most of that in the smaller, very red Orange County part of the district).

The only Blue America candidate who I was able to reach who ready to make an on the record commitment to run again was Nick Ruiz in central Florida. He's not fooling around. "We have to keep chipping away at the largely bogus Democratic caucus-- to replace the shills with truly liberal and progressive Democrats. The current Democratic shillocracy is unimpressive edifice, and despite the Democrats that won this cycle, how many of them will actually do something we can be proud of? Not many-- and that will be the safest, surest prediction we can make all year. I lost in 2012, but I'm going to try again in 2014, because it's one way I can make a progressive difference in this world, among other things. And to the best of my ability, I'm going to do what I can to help other candidates replace as many Democratic shills as possible, nationwide."

John McCain Should Retire-- His Only Remaining Role Is Inciting Bitter Obstructionism Among His Party's Pathetic Extremists

McCain and his closeted South Carolina sidekick Lindsey Graham may have started it but Republicans are showing their instinctive hatred for women and for African Americans by jumping on the preposterous notion that Ambassador Susan Rice is unqualified to be Secretary of State. 97 bigoted extremists in the House, led by South Carolina racist Jeff Duncan, have sent Obama a letter demanding he not appoint Rice. Did any non-racists sign the letter? Not that we could find; here's the list. Let us know if you find a non-racist on it:

Jeff Duncan* (R-SC)
Michael McCaul (R-TX)
Tim Huelskamp* (R-Koch)
Lynn Westmoreland* (R-GA)
Joe Pitts (R-PA)
Steve Pearce* (R-NM)
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
John Culberson* (R-TX)
Jeff Landry* (R-LA)
Blake Farenthold* (R-TX)
Joe "You Lie!" Wilson* (R-SC)
Steve Southerland (R-FL)
Paul Broun* (R-John Birch Society)
Phil Gingrey* (R-GA)
Dan Lungren (R-CA)
Frank Lucas (R-OK)
Dan Burton* (R-IN)
Steve King* (R-IA)
Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI)
Stephen Fincher* (R-TN)
Renee Ellmers (R-NC)
Ted Poe* (R-TX)
Tom Marino (R-PA)

Steve Chabot (R-OH)
Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)
Chris Smith (R-NJ)
Todd Rokita (R-IN)
Joe Barton* (R-TX)
Marlin Stutzman (R-IN)
Michele Bachmann* (R-MN)
John Carter* (R-TX)
Phil Roe* (R-TN)
Larry Bucshon (R-IN)
Vicky Hartzler* (R-MO)
David McKinley* (R-WV)
John Fleming* (R-LA)
Louie Gohmert* (R-TX)
Mick Mulvaney* (R-SC)
Spencer Bachus (R-AL)
Bill Huizenger (R-MI)
Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
Mike Pompeo (R-Koch)
John Mica (R-FL)
Kevin Brady (R-TX)
Kenny Marchant* (R-TX)
Rob Bishop* (R-UT)
Jeff Denham (R-CA)
Jim Jordan (R-OH)
David Schweikert (R-AZ)
Tom Graves* (R-GA)
Tom Price* (R-GA)
Dennis Ross* (R-GA)
Steven Palazzo* (R-MS)
Billy Long (R-MO)
James Lankford (R-OK)
Tim Walberg (R-MI)
Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)
Trent Franks* (R-AZ)
Bill Posey (R-FL)
Scott DesJarlais (R-TN)
Bill Flores (R-TX)
Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY)
Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)
Jeff Miller (R-FL)
Doug Lamborn* (R-CO)
Candice Miller (R-MI)
Roscoe Bartlett* (R-MD)
Michael Burgess* (R-TX)
Rich Nugent* (R-FL)
Bill Johnson (R-OH)
Robert Aderholt (R-AL)
Tom Cole (R-OK)
Chip Cravaack (R-MN)
Allen West* (R-FL)
Trey Gowdy (R-SC)
Ralph Hall* (R-TX)
Bob Gibbs (R-OH)
Nan Hayworth (R-NY)
Diane Black (R-TN)
Tim Scott* (R-SC)
Mean Jean Schmidt (R-OH)
Steve Scalise* (R-LA)
Quico Canseco (R-TX)
Don Young (R-AK)
Alan Nunnelee (R-MS)
Lamar Smith* (R-TX)
Sue Myrick* (R-NC)
Cynthia Lummis* (R-WY)
Lynn Jenkins* (R-KS)
Michael Turner (R-OH)
John Campbell (R-CA)
Connie Mack (R-FL)
Sandy Adams* (R-FL)
Randy Hultgren (R-IL)
Cory Gardner (R-CO)
Tim Griffin (R-AR)
Lord Charles Boustany (R-LA)

Of the 97, just over half, 49, are Representatives from former Confederate states and many are still not reconciled to equality for African-Americans. The ones who were defeated for reelection this year or are retiring are italicized. The vast majority of the Members on this list having voting records that indicate they are adamantly opposed to equality for women. The ladies and gentlemen with asterisks next to their names are members of Michele Bachmann's crackpot Tea Party Caucus.

One of the first to sign the letter was misogynistic zealot Joe Pitts. We asked his 2012 opponent Aryanna Strader, who we expect to run against him in 2014, what she made of Pitts' participation in the anti-Susan Rice jihad by the Far Right. “If one thing is clear it is that Congressman Pitts has learned nothing with regard to how information and orders are passed down through the chain-of-command,” said Aryanna Strader. “As an Army veteran, I know that when dealing with intelligence, you have to carry out your mission with the best information available. With that, for Joe Pitts to glom onto what is nothing more than a bitter political stunt demonstrates yet another severe lapse in judgment on his part.”

Congressional women have taken to the airwaves and I saw my own Congresswoman, Karen Bass, on MSNBC this morning denouncing this stunt as vociferously as Aryanna. And Democratic Whip, Jim Clyburn, the highest ranking African-American in the House pointed out that the racist Republicans aren't fooling anyone with their use of code words. From an interview on CNN this morning:

You know, these are code words. We heard them during the campaign. During this recent campaign, we heard [Romney surrogate John] Sununu calling our President ‘lazy,’ ‘incompetent.’ These kinds of terms that those of us, especially those of us that who were born and raised in the South, we’ve been hearing these little words and phrases all of our lives. And we get insulted by them. Susan Rice is as competent as anyone you will find. And to place that word on her causes problems with people like Marcia Fudge and it certainly causes a problem with me. I don’t like those words. Say that she was wrong for doing it, but don’t call her incompetent.

Of course, if they just said what she did was wrong, they'd still be making fools of themselves, as an editorial in yesterday's NY Times pointed out.

The more it becomes clear that Susan Rice, the United Nations Ambassador, did not knowingly deceive the American public about the Benghazi consulate attack, the more Republicans accuse her of having done so. Most recently, 97 members of the House wrote to President Obama opposing her possible nomination as secretary of state since she had “propagated a falsehood.”

Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham have been banging this drum since the election. Mr. McCain and Mr. Graham are threatening a filibuster if Mr. Obama nominates Ms. Rice when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton steps down.

...As U.N. ambassador, Ms. Rice had no direct involvement in the Benghazi mess, before or during the attacks. Do Republicans hostile to her think she should have gone rogue and simply ignored her approved talking points? And let’s keep things in perspective: Ms. Rice was trying to explain an event that had already taken place; she wasn’t disseminating inaccurate information to justify a future invasion, like Colin Powell did at the United Nations in 2003.

The letter from the 97 House members says that Ms. Rice’s comments did “irreparable damage to her credibility both at home and around the world.” That’s rather audacious. Where were these defenders of American credibility when George W. Bush misled Americans about Iraq, or withheld vital information about electronic eavesdropping, indefinite detention and torture?

I have no idea if Mr. Obama really wants to nominate Ms. Rice. But if he does, he shouldn’t give into extortion by Republicans, and especially Republican House members, who have no say over who gets appointed to secretary of state or any other job.

Onward And Upward-- Good Guys Always Win In The End

The first time he ran for Congress, Alan Grayson lost the primary. Two years later Blue America encouraged him to run again and he did. Derided by the political Establishment in Florida and in DC, he beat their favorite in the primary and went on to beat the incumbent Republican congressman in the November general. He then went on to inspire millions of Americans desperate for political leaders who could and would stand up to the conservative consensus that dominates Beltway politics. And when Grayson lost in 2010, he started working on the 2012 race. Blue America was with him every step of the way. And on Tuesday we celebrated when he won the biggest congressional comeback in American history-- a 62.5% victory that saw him win the vote in every municipality in Florida's 9th district. He won among men and he won among women; he won the youth vote and he won the senior vote and he won the votes of people in between. He won among white people, among black people, among Hispanics and among Asians. He won the urban vote, the suburban vote and the rural vote and he won over 60% of the vote in Orange County, in Osceola County and even in red-leaning Polk County! 3,205 individual contributions from Blue America donors added up to $57,190 for Alan this year.

This morning, Grayson said in a statement that speaks volumes about his dedication to  the ideals embodied in the men and women who put him back in office, “Let’s not fall into the trap of thinking that one Democrat is as good as any other, that we’re all interchangeable parts. We’re not. Some of us have a head, and a heart, and a spine, and some of us don’t. Blue America concentrates on helping the Democrats who deserve our help, the Democrats who can make a difference. Blue America’s encyclopedic knowledge of every Congressional race means that they do your homework for you. When you support Blue America, you’re supporting the best of the best, in the most important races in the country. It sure made a difference in our election.”



And Alan wasn't our only big win this cycle. After we helped a young reform-minded El Paso City Councilman, Beto O'Rourke, oust longtime corrupt incumbent Silvestre Reyes in a primary that sent shock waves through the DC Establishment, Beto went on this past Tuesday to roll up an awe-inspiring two-to-one landslide, beating his Tea Party opponent 65.5 to 32.8%. Aside for raising money for Beto, we also introduced him to Alan Grayson and Jared Polis so that he would have a base among other reform-minded Democrats in Washington and not just the corrupt, corporate-oriented glad-handing party leaders.

As you know by now, all three of the people Blue America backed for Senate, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Baldwin, won incredible victories. Bernie was reelected with over 70% of the vote. Elizabeth was the only Democrat to dislodge a sitting Republican senator-- Wall Street's favorite member of the Senate, no less-- and Tammy Baldwin beat back a 4-term governor to become Wisconsin' first woman senator, and the first openly gay person to even win a Senate seat in America.

In 2010, Annie Kuster and Rep. Carol Shea-Porter were both victims of the Tea Party wave that swept over New Hampshire. Tuesday that wave reversed itself and both outstanding grassroots progressives won congressional seats and helped turn New Hampshire dark blue again-- with a new Democratic governor and an overwhelming victory in the state legislature. And across the country in California, state Senator Alan Lowenthal, a principled and determined progressive, who got no help from the DCCC, won a powerful 10 point victory over Climate Change-denier Gary Delong.

Blue America is very proud of all our winners, of course-- and very proud of our members who gave and gave and gave and gave so generously and so consistently. We're also incredibly proud of the candidates who didn't win their races but who fought hard, usually against overwhelming odds and with no help from the DCCC or the Beltway Establishment or the state parties that take their cues from Washington. Rob Zerban gave Paul Ryan the biggest fight of his career and came closer to ending it than anyone who's ever challenged him before. Rob will be back. And Rob isn't the only one we will be working with again. Some of our youngest first-time candidates, Aryanna Strader, Lee Rogers, Nate Shinagawa, Nick Ruiz have assured me that what we've worked so hard to build, won't be wasted. Lee took on the powerful and entrenched chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and gave him the first close call of his long, corrupt career. Will McKeon even run again? None of these candidates had any help from the DCCC; all of them outperformed expectations and made a mark. The morning after his near victory over Tea Party debt collector Tom Reed, the DCCC asked Nate Shinagawa to suit up for 2014, which indicates that might actually support him next cycle. I'm certain, with your help, Blue America will.

Let me share with you a note I got on Wednesday morning from Aryanna Strader our candidate in PA-16, who waged a lonely battle against entrenched incumbent Joe Pitts:

6:30 AM and the morning after a hard fought election. The sun just barely peeked out of the grey clouds and I heard the rustle of bed sheets and small voices. I walk into my children's room to talk to them. The first words out of their mouths: "Mom! Did ya win?" And unfortunately my response was, "Not this time."

As the words left my mouth I saw faces sink and tears come to the eyes of my 7 year old son. "But Mom, you worked so hard, I saw it, people believe in you. How come you didn't win?"

I sat for a moment to try and figure out how to best explain this to my kids. As their eyes watched me and their arms were around me I realized just a few months ago my son had already given me the answer.

"Good guys always win in the end."

What I explained to Donovan was that this is just the beginning. The hard work and effort of everyone involved in this campaign, from him and his sister, to the countless volunteers, to my fellow veterans across the Nation, is not for loss.

No matter where the next mission takes us, we are more prepared than ever before. We know that the challenges we are facing as a Nation are great and I will keep fighting for my fellow veterans to ensure that when they return home they get the help they need and deserve. I will continue to fight for those in poverty because I know there is a little girl out there who is just like me... ready to work hard to lift herself up if only we’d give her a fair shot.

For people like my mom who worked their entire lives, just so they could take care of their families and now, all they want is to retire with dignity and without struggle. And for the women who came before me, blazing a path in the fight for equality, for fair pay, and the right to choose.

We owe it to them all.

With that, I want to you give you so much of my thanks and gratitude. It is all your support during the course of this campaign that I know this fight won't end just because an Election Day has passed.

Donovan is right: Good guys do always win in the end and with your help, the good fight ahead of us all will prove it.

Aryanna

And we'll be there for her. And for Rob Zerban. This is what he said on election night: "This fight was never about a single election or a single person. This campaign was about the middle class, working people, and the American Dream itself. So we must be proud of this campaign and this movement we’ve built together. And we must not allow these efforts to have been in vain, because the people of the First District deserve representation that belongs to them, not to the moneyed and powerful special interests. You have my word, I will remain a part of that fight. Earlier tonight, I left a message for Paul Ryan to concede this election. But there is a grander, much larger battle ahead of us-- and that battle, I do not concede."

Corporate Shill Steve Israel Blocks Progressive Democrats Aryanna Strader And Syed Taj

In 2008 McCain beat Obama 51-48% in Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district. That district has been significantly altered by the Republican state legislature-- but they weren't looking out for longtime right-wing Congressman Joe Pitts. Under the new boundaries, which jettisoned some of the rural red areas and added solid blue Reading, Obama would have beat McCain 50-49%. What an opportunity for a House pick-up!

But that isn't how DCCC boss Steve Israel sees it. Described-- admiringly-- by Nancy Pelosi as "reptilian," Israel decided to commit DCCC money to backing reactionary Blue Dogs who are virulently anti-Choice and antigay and pro-corporate New Dems in districts Obama lost by wide margins rather than backing progressives in districts that Obama won. Aryanna Strader is not a Steve Israel type of candidate. She's a straight shooter and a reform-oriented progressive who has no interest in the kind of rampant corruption that reptiles like Steve Israel thrive on. The DCCC has ignored the race, entirely and worked hard to demoralize Strader (and other progressives around the country). But Strader, an Iraq War vet, isn't easily demoralized and she's buckled down, ignoring the DCCC and concentrating on voters in southeast Pennsylvania. Gigantically out-funded by Pitts, a notorious corporate whore-- exactly like Steve Israel-- Aryanna has run a grassroots campaign and has garnered significant support in the district, including a fulsome endorsement from the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, the district's #1 newspaper. So, while Steve Israel was busy doing the reptilian things that Pelosi so admires-- and that will guarantee Boehner another two years as Speaker, this is, in part, what people in PA-16 are reading this week:

After initially vowing not to serve beyond a fifth term, Pitts is now seeking an eighth term in Congress. He argues that his growing seniority gives him leverage in Congress to help constituents in the district.

Pitts favors making the Bush tax cuts permanent. He laments the lack of bipartisanship in Congress, yet he has voted with his party 95 percent of the time.

He opposes the Affordable Care Act, which has become an issue given that Pitts' biggest campaign contributors include Big Pharma, health insurers and health professionals.

His Democratic opponent, Aryanna Strader, is a software consultant and a veteran of the Iraq war.

She has run her campaign on a shoestring. She said that 80 percent of her campaign contributions have come from individuals.

Although she does not agree with all aspects of the Affordable Care Act, she would work to improve rather than repeal it.

Strader believes the president is correct to push for alternative energy sources and favors tax cuts for small business.

...Pitts deserves credit for his constituent service. But each year in Congress he has leaned further to the right. And his decision not to participate in a debate with all three challengers should raise concerns among voters.

Strader's first run for office will likely end in defeat. But she has struck a chord with voters. She expressed herself forcefully in the lone local debate with Pitts. She did the same when she debated Bednarski and Murphy.

She has our support in this election.

It probably wouldn't end in defeat if Steve Israel-- who as a founder of the transpartisan Center Aisle Caucus which vowed not to campaign against other members, regardless of party-- could also say "she has our support in this election."

Blue America has a mobile billboard, pictured above, traversing the highways and towns of the sprawling 16th district every day. Today it's spending half the day in and around Willow Street and half the day in Millersville. Tomorrow and Tuesday are all about Lancaster and Sunday and Monday, it's Reading all day, both days.

There are so many progressives where the DCCC hands-off posture is handing the districts to heinous Republicans. We've written a lot about how Steve Israel helps protect GOP leaders and senior committee chairmen, like Boehner, Cantor, McCarthy, Paul Ryan and Buck McKeon. One race that-- if not for a Muslim-unfriendly Steve Israel-- would be a slam-dunk for Democrats in the Detroit suburbs. MI-11 is a district Obama won handily in 2008 (54-45%) and whose incumbent, Thaddeus McCotter was recently caught committing election fraud and was forced to resign to stay out of prison. The psychotic teabagger who was challenging him in the primary, reindeer rancher Kerry Bentivolio, is now favored to win because Israel decided to starve the Democrat, Dr. Syed Taj, of funds. Even under the new boundaries, originally drawn by the GOP-dominated Michigan legislature to shore up McCotter, the district still leans blue and Obama would have beaten McCain 50-48%. This is a winnable district... if we had a competent DCCC chairman, instead of a reptile. This is what Israel is saddling Congress with:

The brother of Kerry Bentivolio says the Michigan congressional candidate, who's favored to win on Tuesday, is “mentally unbalanced” and could end up in jail.

"I've never met anyone in my life who is conniving and dishonest as this guy," Phillip Bentivolio said, according to the Michigan Information and Research Service. "He's my brother so it's hard to talk about this, but I believe that if he gets elected, he'll eventually serve time in prison."

...Kerry Bentivolio is a Santa Claus impersonator and reindeer farmer. He made headlines after old court documents surfaced quoting him saying he had a “problem figuring out which one I really am, Santa Claus or Kerry Bentivolio.”  He’s running against Democrat Syad Taj.

Philip Bentivolio said that in 1992, he helped his brother build houses in Arkansas and Kerry owed him $20,000. This month he told Kerry he would go to the media with the story if he did not get paid, and Kerry then said he called the FBI and the Little Rock Police Department.

“He told them that I told them that if he didn't send me money, I was going to kill myself," Phillip Bentivolio said. "I couldn't believe it."

Kerry Bentivolio said that his brother has “serious mental issues” and that the FBI was looking into his brother’s request for repayment 20 years after the fact.

Instead Israel is chasing a host of hopeless Blue Dogs in districts that have no interest in electing Democrats. And most of his candidates-- even if elected, would be nearly as dependable to vote against progressive legislation as the Republicans they're running against. Steve Israel-- Nancy Pelosi's worst mistake ever.

Billboards In Rural Wisconsin

During primary season, Blue America fracking billboards in northeastern Pennsylvania helped end the disgraceful career of corrupt Blue Dog Tim Holden. Right now, just south of there we have a couple of sleek mobile billboards driving all around Reading, Lancaster, Ephrata, Coatesville, Elizabethtown, Millersville, Mt. Joy, Lititz and everywhere else in PA-16, where Aryanna Strader is putting up a valiant fight against bigot and anti-Choice fanatic Joe Pitts. And on the West Coast, we have a pair of billboards driving all over Santa Clarita, the Antelope Valley and Simi Valley helping make sure voters know that Lee Rogers is closing in on corrupt warmonger Buck McKeon. The DCCC has refused to help either Strader or Rogers, although President Obama won both districts in 2008 and is expected to win both again this year. Blue America is stepping in for them. Video:



But our biggest single billboard of 2012 is the one on for Rob Zerban just south of the Milwaukee Airport at the Ryan Road Exit on the I-94. We had it up last spring and we just put it up again for the final month of the campaign. It's the single most viewed billboard in the state-- and the most costly. Everyone driving between Kenosha and Racine and Milwaukee passes it. And that's the most populated part of Wisconsin's first congressional district. West of there, it's more rural. And we had a strategy for that too. We have ads in dozens of shoppers and weeklies and we have a Burma Shave style billboard campaign on the smaller roads around Janesville and in the less populated parts of the district. Your contributions here, here and here helped us do it. Thank you. Here are some of the photos:

And, yes, there are dozens more.

Will Rural Chickens Come Home To Roost For The GOP Nov. 6?

Bye-bye Iowa?

As you know, the DCCC gave Boehner a free pass to reelection-- they made sure he would have no opponent this year-- and he's spending campaign season getting drunk with lobbyists raising money for vulnerable Republicans and campaigning in their districts (since he has no need to be back in his own). This week he was in Iowa begging voters to return one of his closest cronies, 8 term conservative shithead Tom Latham, who's in a tight incumbent vs incumbent match-up with Blue Dog Leonard Boswell (also a shithead). Latham is a straight down the line Establishment Republican, a member of the crooked Appropriations Committee and a member of that committee's Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration. It's how he brings home the bacon for his constituents. But it's what could cost him his career in two and a half weeks.

Iowans are flipping out that Boehner and Cantor refused to even bring the Farm Bill, which has overwhelming bipartisan support, up for a vote before adjourning Congress. Boehner and Cantor decided to gamble that causing pain in rural America would hurt Obama's presidential chances more than it would damage Republican congressional incumbents. They may have miscalculated. [A new poll out this morning, for example, shows Obama with a strong 51-43% lead in Iowa.] Everyone knows it was Cantor bottling up the bill and desperate Republicans, including Latham, are publicly blaming him. Latham claims "Boehner is not the problem... Eric Cantor is the one who controls floor activity.” The farm bill has passed the House Agriculture Committee and has passed the full Senate but has been hanging in limbo ever since and whether you blame Cantor or Boehner or both, voters in farm states-- and farm districts everywhere-- know the problems they're having now are the fault of the GOP leadership. Here's a letter Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent to a farm district newspaper in Illinois, explaining the problem.

Since we can’t make it rain, the single most important thing Congress can do to assist producers impacted by this year’s drought is pass a farm bill. Most farmers will tell you they can survive one bad year, but right now farmers can’t plan for future years. Nearly three months ago the Senate passed a full five-year farm bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. It would reauthorize several expired disaster programs, extend several other programs to assist fruit and vegetable growers and dairy producers and expand crop insurance coverage. The Senate farm bill would also provide farmers with long term certainty in farm policy that will allow to plan out their recovery from this drought while still reducing the deficit by $23 billion. Unfortunately, the House won’t even bring a farm bill measure to the floor for debate. Instead, they offered an extension of a few disaster programs that do little to help Illinois farmers and producers that have struggled through this drought. Nearly 63 percent of the country is experiencing some level of drought. Every county in Illinois has been declared a disaster by USDA.

And while our first thought during a drought is the impact to crop farmers, these conditions have a serious impact on businesses and economic growth throughout the state.

About 1.5 million Illinois workers are employed in agribusiness industry which contributes more than $8.85 billion to the Illinois’ economy annually. It’s time for the House to take up and pass a farm bill with robust disaster assistance and the long term policy farmers need.  If the House can’t write a bill, they should at least call the bipartisan Senate bill for a vote as soon as possible.

And Democratic candidates have been turning their fire on Republicans who were unable to persuade Boehner and Cantor to act on behalf of farmers. David Gill in one of Illinois' most productive farming areas: "We haven't just had a historic drought in Illinois and across the Midwest, we've had a drought of leadership in Congress. House Republicans have refused to step forward and pass a bi-partisan Farm Bill to help keep our Heartland alive. It's Tea Party politics at its very worst."

Aryanna Strader is opposing Joe Pitts in southeast Pennsylvania's Lancaster and Chester counties. Even if he's sitting on his hands and babbling about abortions and gays, she's talking directly to the regions farming families. "Too often, members of Congress like Joe Pitts talk about having political courage. Well Joe Pitts has been in Washington long enough that he should be able to demonstrate some leadership to get his Republican colleagues to pass the Farm Bill... but he hasn't. As an Iraq War veteran I have seen true courage and it means standing up and taking real action, not just standing at a microphone and giving speeches. The Farm Bill means jobs and economic security in Pennsylvania and Congressman Pitts just sits there waiting for the recess gavel to come down."

Another Blue America-endorsed progressive, Nate Shinagawa, is seeking to represent one of New York State's most productive farming areas, the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier. He held a press conference to distance himself from Rep. Tom Reed's blasé attitude about the GOP blocking the bill and the resultant hardship for area farmers. “Congressman Tom Reed and the Republicans seem to neglect the fact that Congress has significant responsibility, whether it’s with the livelihood of our farmers or promoting job growth, and as the party in power, should be taking immediate steps to compromise on a full 5-year renewal.” Shinagawa noted the importance of a 5-year renewal after conversations with local farmers, saying it was critical to be able to “plan accordingly to develop a business plan. They need the long term stability to remain profitable.” He supports the Senate version of the bill, which has passed with bi-partisan support, because it “sustains critical subsidies for farmers, and also limits cuts to food stamp programs used by 1 in 7 Americans.”

In North Dakota, Democrat Heidi Heitkamp has deftly turned the issue against Republican freshman Rick Berg, who's running against her for an open Senate seat. Heitkamp called the lack of a new farm bill the “biggest failure of this Congress" and Berg has cravenly blamed his cronies in the Republican leadership. "We have a stonewall problem. I’ll agree. The House Republican leadership is a problem on the farm bill."

Yesterday the Des Moines Register tore into Boehner while he was in Iowa campaigning for Romney, Latham, Steve King and other Republicans.

Boehner, of Ohio, didn’t respond to questions about federal farm provisions that expired this month after lawmakers failed to reach agreement on a new farm bill before leaving the capital ahead of the general election.

...Boehner’s speech did not include specific legislative priorities for the next Congress. He didn’t respond to media questions, and his staff blocked him off from reporters.

Boehner and other congressional leaders have been criticized in recent weeks for dismissing lawmakers without touching the federal farm bill.

Just before Congress went into recess, [Rep.] Loebsack wrote a letter to Boehner, urging him to push for a vote on the farm bill.

“Americans elected Congress to get things done for the American people. I stand ready to work in bipartisan fashion to get a farm bill passed and again urge your attention to bringing up the farm bill for passage in the House,” Loebsack wrote in September.

There are a handful of House and Senate races where the Boehner/Cantor decision to once again put their partisan anti-Obama mania before the good of the country could wreck GOP chances to win key races.

The farm bill, which sets subsidies for everything from crop insurance to milk production, expired on October 1 after the Republican majority in the House could not muster enough votes to pass a new law.

No race demonstrates the Democratic strategy better than in western Iowa, where Christie Vilsack, the wife of President Barack Obama's agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, is stressing the farm bill in a bid to unseat conservative Republican Representative Steve King.

"The lack of a farm bill right now has the farming community up in arms," said Bryan Kruse, 34, who has two small farms and works for another farmer to pay the bills outside Ringsted, population 422. "We need to get something done."

Kruse wants to know if he can still get federal crop insurance to protect his corn and soybeans against disasters like this year's drought.

...Democrats are focusing on the farm bill in Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Colorado and Illinois. It is also a major issue in close U.S. Senate races in Montana and North Dakota, where Republican House members are seeking seats held by Democrats.

...Vilsack, whose husband also was Iowa governor, touts the fact that the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate passed a farm bill, but the Republican House did not.

Steffen Schmidt, a politics professor at Iowa State University in Ames, says most Democrats have done a poor job of explaining that, apart from farm subsidies, the farm bill includes food stamps, school lunches and rural development money.

"A big failure of the Democrats is they have not explained the farm bill has broader economic and social implications," Schmidt said. "Christie Vilsack has done better than other Democrats at making that point."

A Special Thanks To Clear Channel

Clear Channel functions as a part of the Republican political machine. In the past they have rejected Blue America radio ads for the flimsiest of excuses and this cycle their billboard division told us flatly that they don't care what kind of message we have, they flat out refuse to run any billboards in Santa Clarita, where they own all the good billboard locations, against Republican Buck McKeon or for Democrat Lee Rogers. So why am I thanking them? If they hadn't turned down our billboards-- which we needed to go along with our extensive radio campaign in the district-- I would never have complained to Alan Grayson and he would never have explained to me how much more cost effective it is to use a mobile billboard.

It sounded whack to me at first-- like something out of Spanish Harlem when I was growing up in New York. But mobile billboards have come a long way since then-- they're sleek, clean and even back-lit-- and when we looked into it we realized we would be reaching far more people in the district and for a lot less money. So this week we have our two sided mobile billboard prowling 8 hours a day, 7 days a week in Simi Valley, all over the Santa Clarita Valley, in Lancaster, Palmdale and all places in between.



And we wound up using some of the money we saved to rent a mobile billboard for the race in PA-16, a district Obama won in 2008 and will win again in November, which pits Aryanna Strader against hopeless reactionary shithead Joe Pitts, Congress' most misogynistic member (yes, worse than even Todd Akin). We take over the truck as soon as Billboards2Go is finished running a project CBS' Rachael Ray Show featuring Tyra Banks giving a makeover to one of the audience members. If you'd like to pitch in and help Blue America's independent efforts to defeat the worst Republicans and replace them with great progressives... we have a page for that. And aside from helping Lee Rogers and Aryanna Strader replace Buck McKeon and Joe Pitts, we're also flooding WI-01 with... communication, to help Rob Zerban beat Paul Ryan in his own congressional seat.

Why Sequestration Could Sink Dozens of GOP Hypocrites In Congress-- And One Running For Vice President

Buck McKeon, founder & chairman of the Drone Caucus

Ryan got caught up in his hypocrisy (and mendacity) several times during the debate Thursday. The most embarrassing moment was probably when he got called on his lies about requesting stimulus money after he has been running around the country campaigning against it and calling it pork. He was also exposed as a liar several other times one of which was when he starting whining about sequestration, a favorite whine of many Republicans-- particularly House Armed Services Committee Buck McKeon here in California. Both Ryan and McKeon (as well as 172 other Republicans and 95 Democrats) voted for it. It passed on August 1, 2011, 269-161. 66 Republicans didn't go along with Ryan and McKeon (95 Democrats voted with the GOP and 95 Democrats voted against the GOP). Those 161 congressmembers thought sequestration was a bad idea. On our side Raul Grijalva, Tammy Baldwin, John Tierney, Barbara Lee, Brad Miller, Dennis Kucinich, Keith Ellison, Maxine Waters, Jesse Jackson, Jr. Judy Chu, Donna Edwards, John Conyers, Jerry Nadler, Lynn Woolsey, Jose Serrano, Barney Frank, Jan Schakowsky... most of the most progressive Members of Congress voted NO. Plenty of Blue Dogs voted against it too, as did a few dozen very conservative Republicans-- like Ron Paul, Justin Amash, Jason Chaffetz, Joe Walsh, Michele Bachmann, Steve King, Louie Gohmert, Todd Akin... Why did all those right-wing Republicans vote NO, while Paul Ryan, Buck McKeon, Patrick McHenry, Ed Royce, Rick Berg, Eric Cantor, Mary Bono Mack, Tom Reed, Charlie Bass, Frank Guinta, Joe Pitts, Darrell Issa, Mike Rogers, David McKinley, Mike Coffman vote YES-- and then all turn around and start whining about it?

Early in September Romney was on Meet The Press slamming Members of Congress who voted for sequestration, perhaps not fully aware that he was slamming 174 Republicans, including his running mate. That same Sunday, Ryan, who wrote the bill, was on Face the Nation doing what he does best: lyin'. But he was lying to Norah O'Donnell and Norah O'Donnell isn't a GOP shill like Hannity or O'Reilly. And she called Ryan out on his bullshit. When she pointed out that he-- like the other 173 Republicans-- had voted for the sequestration bill he wrote, his desperate response was "Norah, you’re mistaken." But she wasn't. Ryan may have wished and fantasized he was voting for some other bill but the one he's on record voting for-- along with the 172 other Republicans he and McKeon led astray-- includes a trillion dollars in cuts to the Pentagon, cuts they're complaining about now, but cuts they were willing to vote for back then in order to get cuts to civil jobs they oppose. Ryan’s statement after voting for the bill contained not a single word of criticism about the defense cuts. As O’Donnell correctly noted, Ryan said the bill “represents a victory for those committed to controlling government spending and growing our economy” and that “The agreement-- while far from perfect-- underscores the extent to which the new House majority has successfully changed Washington’s culture of spending.”

There are over 2 million jobs on the line now. And many Republicans, like McKeon, are running around like chickens without heads trying to shift the blame away from themselves. But McKeon, like Ryan, pushed the vote through and is on record voting for it. He keeps trying to but he can't make that record go away. Old Buck has been resorting to hysterics in trying to take military funding out of the legislation that he voted for, but not trying to avoid job cuts for working families. [At the debate last week he said protecting civil jobs isn't something he's concerned about.] He's trying to avoid profit cuts for America's big arms manufacturers, their CEOs, and their shareholders. McKeon's ignorant claims that President Obama is doing nothing to avoid these cuts, fails to take into account McKeon voted for this and sent it to the President's desk. But, McKeon has a plan. He wants to cut $1 trillion from Medicare and Social Security to fund his special wars and weapons systems that even the Pentagon doesn't want.  His opponent, Dr. Lee Rogers, has been hitting him hard on his foolish behavior and reminded voters in Santa Clarita, Simi Valley and the Antelope Valley that the George Mason University economic impact survey predicts 225,000 job losses in California alone. That how many jobs McKeon voted to cut-- while fighting to keep his own. "If we lose jobs in our district," Rogers told me two weeks ago, "you can consider that pink slip signed by Buck McKeon. I will stand up for working families in our district. I won't let our big corporations or our government take advantage of them and I would never let Medicare be sacrificed at the hands of war profiteers." After McKeon stumbled all over his own weak message in the debate, Rogers reiterated that "sequestration is bad national policy and going to be devastating for California's 25th district. Both, Buck McKeon and I agree on that point, with one major difference; he voted for it. In our debate, McKeon said that he's there for the defense industry and that someone else ought to be watching out for the other side. What is this other side? It's the FAA's Air Traffic Controllers, the FBI, the DEA, the National Weather Service, education programs, Medicare providers, and social services. Well, that someone else is me. I'm running to be the representative from the whole 25th district. Defense and non-defense sequester will be awful. There is no other side. There is only our side.

And, of course, it isn't just Ryan and McKeon who brought this disaster down the pike. There were 172 other Republican Members of Congress who also thought Ryan's idea was just swell. One was Joe Pitts (R-PA), who never opposes the GOP leadership on anything. His opponent, an Iraq War vet, is Aryanna Strader and she's as opposed to sequestration as Lee Rogers is. "What we can't do," she told me this morning, "is allow, for political gain, politicians like Congressman Joe Pitts set an arbitrary date that will put us into a precarious national security position... without strategically thinking through what precise areas need to be cut in order to balance our budget. Sequestration is a political stunt that is not only bad for our military but it is detrimental to our government civilian workforce. However, what we can do through schedule attrition rates within the civilian workforce we can effectively reduce the size of government. The Department of Defense has publicly acknowledged that they need to create a much leaner fighting force. What we must do: (a) allow for military professionals to identify cuts while maintaining our national security and (b) hold them accountable."

You can help defeat careerists like Ryan, McKeon and Pitts and replace them with independent-minded, responsible progressives here on the Blue America main page. Time is getting short.