Tomorrow's Notable California Congressional Races-- Some Democrats Aren't Worth Voting For-- And Some Are Fantastic

Tomorrow's the big day here in California. Let me remind you, that all of our endorsements for the 17 statewide propositions are here. There are no Republicans worth voting for anywhere in the state-- not for any office. In the U.S. Senate race, Kamala Harris is a better bet than Blue Dog Loretta Sanchez and in the congressional races, the Democrats I would never consider voting for are corrupt New Dem Ami Bera (who should be in prison instead of his poor fall-guy father), Blue Dog Jim Costa, New Dem Ro Khanna, coked-up New Dem Pete Aguilar, New Dem Isadore Hall, Blue Dog Lou Correa, and New Dem Scott Peters. Blue America has endorsed Ted Lieu, Doug Applegate, Bao Nguyen, Mike Honda, Nanette Barragán, and, of course, Barbara Lee. The rest of the Democrats range from excellent to... well get a clothespin and remember they're not as bad as Correa, Bera, Costa or Hall. It's also worth noting that there are half a dozen Dem vs Dem congressional races in the Greater Los Angeles area tomorrow:

• CA-29- Tony Cardenas vs Richard Alarcon
• CA-32- Grace Napolitano vs Roger Hernandez
• CA-34- Xavier Becerra vs Adrienne Edwards
• CA-37- Karen Bass vs Chris Wiggins
• CA-44- Nanette Barragán vs Isadore Hall
• CA-46- Bao Nguyen vs Lou Correa

And in CA-40 (East L.A., Downey, Paramount, Vernon, Bell, Cudahy, Commerce, Maywood) progressive Democrat Lucille Royball-Allard is opposed by an Independent, Roman Gonzales, who won 27% in the primary. He's likely to earn a smaller percentage than that tomorrow. But in these bizarre races with no Republicans, two are especially important: CA-44 (South Gate, Watts, Lynwood, Willowbrook, Compton, Carson, Rancho Dominguez, North Long Beach and San Pedro) and CA-46 (Anaheim, Orange, Santa Ana, and Garden Grove, easily the bluest congressional district in Orange County). What makes these two races so interesting is that there is a progressive pitted against a notoriously corrupt reactionary in each.

Yesterday when the L.A. Times reiterated their endorsements, they only picked ONE of the two dozen congressional districts in the L.A. area to highlight. That's how stark the difference and important the race is between Nanette Barragán and Sacramento's most corrupt legislator, sold-out conservative Democrat Isadore Hall, already recruited by the Wall Street-owned New Dems. Of course, the entire corrupted Democratic Party establishment has sided with Hall. He is, in every way, one of them. "Barragán," wrote the L.A. Times editors, "has strong environmental credentials. State Sen. Isadore Hall’s environmental record is dismal." They neglected to mention that his sleazy political career has been funded by Big Oil and Gas, tobacco, gambling and every rot-gut issue oriented lobbyist who is generally just welcomed aboard by the worst and most pay-for-play of the Republicans.

Nanette would be a great candidate even if she wasn't running against someone as reprehensible as Hall. Same goes for Garden Grove Mayor Bao Nguyen, whose opponent, Lou Correa, is, incredibly, even worse than Hall! If he wins-- and nearly a million dollars in right-wing SuperPAC money has flooded into his race-- he will surely be California's worst and most corrupt member of Congress. Congratulations, in advance, Orange County! Correa is the poster child for the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. Naturally, he's been endorsed by both the Blue Dogs and the New Dems.



Correa is a realtor who took advantage of the mortgage crisis to build up an empire of rental properties all over Orange County-- particularly Anaheim and Santa Ana-- and one of the sleaziest realtor lobbyist groups, the National Association of Realtors Congressional Fund, spent $535,000 on his campaign so far. trying to make sure they would have an ally against consumers and homeowners inside the House Democratic caucus. But corporate special interests is a huge part of the Correa brand, another reason he fits in so well with the New Dems and Blue Dogs.

In a majority Latino district, Correa isn't just keeping it quiet that the joined the New Dems and Blue Dogs, but also that he voted against SB60, which would have made drivers licenses available for all qualified Californians regardless of immigration status. His vote was a complete betrayal of the Hispanic population. Although he's on record of having voted against it, when confronted with the vote he just lies and claims he voted for it. No wonder the Blue Dogs and New Dems love this guy!

Nor is that the only time he voted with the Republicans against working families-- far from it. Although Correa claims when he campaigns that he's committed to affordable higher education, that sure isn't what his record in Sacramento shows. When Assembly Speaker John Perez proposed AB 1500 and 1501, the Middle Class Scholarship Act, to provide scholarships covering 60% of fees and tuition at all California State colleges and universities for families with household incomes of under $150,000, Correa crossed the aisle and voted with the GOP again. Perez took the unusual step of going on the record and singling out Correa for killing the bill "because he wanted a $300 million (tax) carve out [for out-of state corporations including his campaign contributor International Paper]. "Today was an opportunity for the State Senate to join the Assembly in approving tax fairness for California businesses and college opportunity for middle class families. Unfortunately, even though most Senate Democrats supported the Middle Class Scholarship Act, we could not reach agreement with Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) or Senate Republicans that would achieve the two-thirds vote necessary... It is disturbing that Senator Correa and so many Republicans would refuse to stand up for the middle class and instead continue to support a tax giveaway that favors out-of-state companies over our own." In a disturbing pattern that defines Correa's life, he pocketed campaign contributions from International Paper-- which vehemently opposed the bill-- 10 days before he voted against AB 1500, and more loot three weeks after the disgraceful vote.

If killing the Middle Class Scholarship Act wasn't bad enough, Correa also helped kill SB 935 which was an attempt by Democrats in the legislature to raise the minimum wage in 2014. Although 63 of his fellow Democrats were co-sponsors of the bill, he claimed he voted with the Republicans against it because it was too long and he didn't know what it meant. It's almost as though he was already practicing to be a New Dem or Blue Dog!

He also worked with the GOP to restrict women's access to family planning and abortion services and to push the NRA's agenda. Planned Parenthood gave him a big fat ZERO rating and labeled him anti-Choice, the only Senate Democrat who didn't receive a 100% rating in 2009. The DCCC likes this guy; can he really be anti-Choice? You tell me-- this is is record on women's reproductive health in the state legislature:

• voted to prohibit state funding of family planning service providers
• voted to limit state funding for abortion services
• voted to ban ban abortion procedures that he disagrees with (and, no, he's not a doctor)
• voted to require parental consent before a minor can access abortion care
• voted to force women to look at biased and unscientific information before they can access abortion care

This is how patriarchal Republicans vote on Choice issues, not how Democrats vote. Although it certainly works in real well with the Blue Dogs and the rest of the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. Ditto on his cozy relationship with the gun nuts in general and the NRA in particular. He's actively supported loopholes to make sure assault-style military weapons would wind up in California neighborhoods. Again, Correa's sick record is not what Orange County Democrats and independents (nor even Republicans) want to protect society from gun massacres.

• voted against banning high capacity ammunition magazines and conversion kits (AB 48)
• voted against making it illegal to knowingly store loaded firearms that are accessible to minors (AB 231)
• voted against extending the waiting period for gun purchases when the background check reveals potential criminal and/or mental health history requiring further investigation to determine eligibility to purchase weapons (AB 500)
• voted against requiring registration of homemade guns and assault rifles, AKA “Ghost Guns" (SB 808)
• voted against restrictions on ownership of Assault Weapons and .50 Caliber Browning Machine Guns (AB 170)
• Correa opposes license requirements for purchase of guns, despite overwhelming public support, even among gun owners and voted against requiring a valid Firearm Safety Certificate in order to purchase a firearm (AB 683)

I bet you could guess he's also an environmental disaster, right? You'd be guessing right. California's League of Conservation Voters says he has the worst environmental record of any Democratic elected official in the state. He always sides with special interests to protect corporate polluters, consistently failed to protect the state's water sources from lead and contamination, and voted against ensuring Californians have a right to clean, safe and affordable water. Even though he joined corrupt Republicans to vote against SB 685, the Human Right to Water Act, in 2012, the bill passed, establishing a right to safe, non-toxic and affordable water for human consumption. But Correa voted to hide the source of vended drinking water, whether that water was from a public or private source, and the county from which the water came. AB 301 would have required water sellers to disclose this information: Lou Correa voted to keep such information hidden from the public. Large corporations have been bottling California's public water supply for years. This water is bottled and sold back to the public at an extreme profit. At the same time, the cost of water to the public is rising, and penalties being imposed for overuse. Swiss based Nestle Company has been bottling millions of gallons a year from San Bernardino's forests under a permit that expired over 25 years ago-- a permit with an annual costs of $525.00. Nestle bottles over 700 million gallons of water a year to sell back to the public at a staggering profit. As the public was ordered to cut back on water during the drought, with significant penalties at risk, corporations like Nestle were bottling California's water to sell back to them.

In 2009, the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) scored Correa's environmental voting record at 29%, 53 points below average Senate Democrat average. Correa had the lowest environmental rating of any Democrat. The following year they gave him a 30%, 61 points lower than the average Senate Democrat and the lowest rating of any Sacramento Dem. And the following year... same thing-- a 29% rating, 57 points lower than the average Senate Democrat and the lowest of any Dem in the state. The guy is a catastrophe and it's just repulsive that, for the sake of expediency, the Democratic establishment has embraced this garbage candidate who always, always, always puts corporate profits, tax breaks, and special interests over the needs of his constituents, while collecting special interest and PAC money for his next campaign. Is that the California Democratic Party today? It's certainly what Nancy Pelosi's DCCC has turned into. Steny Hoyer gave him the biggest contribution of any of the Democratic candidates of this cycle, $20,000 so far.

The weight of the Democratic Party Establishment is behind both Correa and Hall. If you live in California and you oppose corruption and conservatives, you should ask yourself why.

Meanwhile, one especially odious, brand new and little-known right-wing SuperPAC, Cooperative of American Physicians, which has spent most of it's money helping right-wing Republicans Joe Heck (R-NV), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Jeff Denham (R-CA), and Paul Cook (R-CA), has also come to the aid of corrupt conservative California Democrats Pete Aguilar ($22,438), Jim Costa ($31,627), Lou Correa ($35,000) and, worst of all, Isadore Hall ($100,122). Another right-wing SuperPAC created by Big Oil, the misleadingly named California Progress Coalition, has spent $271,411 smearing Nanette and another $63,842 trying to make Hall sound like he's a Democrat.

UPDATE: Can The Dems Win Super-Majorities In Sacramento?

No one disputes that we're going to see a blue wave in California. Democrats are counting on it giving them super-majorities in the Assembly and possible the state Senate that were lost in 2014. Ironically, in San Bernardino, Eloise Reyes beating a corrupt conservative like Cheryl Brown, ostensibly a Democrat but fully owned and operated by whichever lobbyists write the biggest checks, is the first step. And it looks good. If early voting trends are indicative, Eloise is likely to end Brown's miserable career tonight. Beyond that the Democrats need to pick up two red seats to triumph in the Assembly. Also in San Bernardino, Democrat Abigail Medino looks to beat Republican Assemblyman Marc Steinorth (Rancho Cucamonga). Two Dems who went down in 2014, Al Muratsuchi (Torrance) and Sharon Quirk-Silva (Fullerton) are back for re-matches with David Hadley (Manhattan Beach) and Young Kim (Fullerton).

The Senate looks tougher but the Democrats' best shots would be Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar) losing to Josh Newman) and Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) losing to Jonathan Ervin. Either race would take a massive Latino turnout indicative of a Hillary landslide.

Does The Democratic Party Still Stand For Working Families? That Depends How You Define "Democratic Party"

Many of us are watching the clock tick down to November 8, election day. But millions of American workers have their eyes set a few weeks further down the calendar to December 1 when a Department of Labor rule kicks in that will double the salary threshold-- from from $23,660 to $47,476-- at which workers get overtime pay for overtime work. Republicans, of course, are up in arms. But so is the Democratic wing of the Republicans Party. Four of the worst Blue Dogs, ringleader Kurt Schrader (OR) and fellow conservatives, Henry Cuellar (TX), Collin Peterson (MN) and Jim Cooper (TN), all of whom are reliable supporters of Paul Ryan's reactionary austerity agenda, introduced a bill, H.R. 5813, to postpone the rule, stretching out the help the bill offers workers until December, 2019. 5 conservative co-sponsors signed on last week, Blue Dog Gwen Graham (FL) and 4 Republicans, Jeff Fortenberry (NE), Tom Emmer (MN), Jeff Miller (FL) and David Jolly (FL).

The bill is now with John Kline's Committee on Education and the Workforce, where we can count on progressive committee members Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Mark Takano (D-CA) and Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) to put up a massive fight. But they are outnumbered by 22 extremely anti-worker Republicans who very smoothly align with the Blue Dogs and New Dems. Schrader announced that his opposition to the new rule stems from having "heard from business owners and their employees who are worried about implementing this increase overnight. Without sufficient time to plan for the increase, cuts and demotions will become inevitable, and workers will actually end up making less than they made before. It’s long past time we strengthen overtime pay protections for American workers in a meaningful and effective way." Typical textbook Republican scare tactics that are always puked up any time there's a proposal made to lessen the economic burdens on working families.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, what Big Business and the corporate world like so much about Schrader's approach is that it would eliminate the rule’s indexation of the threshold, which would raise it automatically every three years, as wages for salaried workers rise, reproducing "the very disaster for working people the Department of Labor is seeking to prevent: an inevitable and significant loss of guaranteed overtime coverage due to inflation and wage growth."

Failure to adequately update the salary threshold over 1975–2015 caused the share of the salaried workforce that was guaranteed overtime pay to fall from 49.6 percent to just 9.5 percent in 2015. Had 49.6 percent coverage been maintained, some 26.6 million workers would have been covered, rather than the scant 5.1 million who actually were covered in 2015. Raising the salary threshold to $913 per week in 2015 would have allowed 17.6 million employees to enjoy overtime protection (12.5 million of whom would have newly obtained protection), but it would not restore the level of protection provided in 1975.

...[I]ndexing the salary threshold, as provided by DOL’s new rule, allows the share of salaried workers enjoying overtime protection to remain at or near 32.7 percent. The number of workers protected increases as the salaried workforce grows, rising to 20.5 million by 2035. Without indexation, however, the share of the salaried workforce guaranteed overtime pay would decline each year, falling to 23.1 percent in 2025 and just 16.1 percent by 2035. If Rep. Schrader’s bill were enacted, by 2035 there would be 10.4 million fewer salaried workers covered by overtime protection because of the failure to index the salary threshold. Lack of indexation would cut in half the share of the salaried workforce provided overtime protection, which would fall from 32.7 percent to just 16.1 percent (20.4 million versus 10.1 million).

So who's this Kurt Schrader fellow? The head of the Blue Dogs and a member of the New Dems, we talked about Schrader quite a bit last spring when he was being primaried by Berniecrat Dave McTeague back in Oregon. As we pointed out at the time, Schrader went even further than many Republicans care to go in his zeal to wreck Social Security and Medicare. Back in early 2013, Schrader offered an amendment to accept the Simpson Bowles proposals that do just cut Social Security and Medicare benefits and raise the retirement age. 54 disgraceful excuses for Democrats-- mostly New Dems and Blue Dogs from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party-- went along. Schrader's amendment failed 75-348.

Schrader represents a solidly blue district which Obama won 53-44% in 2008 and 50-47% in 2012. There are 7 counties in the district and in the Oregon primary in May, Bernie won all 7. These were Bernie's wins by county:

• Benton- 61.2%
• Clackamas- 51.5%
• Lincoln- 53.7%
• Marion- 53.0%
• Multnomah- 57.0%
• Polk- 54.5%
• Tillamook- 53.8%

On the same day, Berniecrat Dave McTeague, a former state legislator, went up against Schrader. The huge Bernie support just didn't bother to vote or didn't bother to vote for McTeague. Schrader win 67,124 (72.6%) to 25,289 (27.4%). There's no excuse for that. For a Bernie voter, Kurt Schrader has no saving graces on any level.

By the way, among the supporters of Schrader's amendment to gut Social Security and Medicare were many of the usual scum always looking for chances to lick the asses of the corporate campaign donors, including several Blue Dogs and New Dems up on the ballot in November, like Loretta Sanchez, who's running for California's open Senate seat, Chris Van Hollen, the Democratic candidate for Maryland senator, as well as recently defeated conservaDems trying to weasel their ways back into Congress-- Colleen Hanabusa (HI), Joe Garcia (FL) and Pete Gallego (TX). Electing more of these garbage-Democrats is the last thing we should be doing, but the DCCC and the California Democratic Party are delighted to be backing Lou Correa, a former state legislator who was widely considered the most right-wing Democrat in Sacramento (and one of the most corrupt). The progressive mayor of Garden Grove, Bao Nguyen, also made it through the primary and will be duking it out with Correa in a Dem vs Dem election November 8-- one real progressive Democrat against one from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. A few minutes ago he told us that "These corporate Blue Dog Democrats are eagerly pumping money into my opponent Lou Correa's campaign. We certainly have every reason to expect that my opponent will do the bidding of corporations in Congress if elected, as he has done in the past as a state legislator. What we really need is someone in Congress who will protect the pro-worker agenda that so many of us in the labor and progressive movement have fought so hard to achieve. I've been that champion for working families as Mayor of Garden Grove and as a labor organizer. If the people of the 46th Congressional District elect me in November, one of the first laws I would vote against is anything that would compromise or threaten Obama's overtime rule for salaried workers."

Only 21 Republicans voted for the Blue Dog anti-Social Security amendment, including Pat Meehan from the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Funny, he doesn't tell the voters in PA-07 that he voted to raise the retirement age and cut their benefits. Mary Ellen Balchunis, the progressive Democrat running against him this year, expected nothing more from Meehan. "I wasn't surprised when Pat Meehan voted to support cuts to Social Security and Medicare because he told us he would do that when he ran as a Tea Party candidate in 2010. Pat Meehan thinks that if he says he is a moderate enough times, the voters will believe it, but votes like this tell the truth. The real Pat Meehan has also voted to cut taxes for the wealthiest of Americans, to cut healthcare and cancer screenings for women, and end Medicare as we know it. If Pat Meehan was a true moderate he would stop prioritizing tax breaks for the rich and start looking out for seniors."

Please help replace Meehan with Mary Ellen and help keep Correa out of Congress-- he did enough damage to working families when he was in Sacramento-- by electing Bao Nguyen instead of him. You'll find them both by tapping the thermometer below:

UPDATE: Certain States...

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin are suing the government to stop the overtime rule. What do all these states have in common? No, they weren't all former slave-holding states that started the Civil War-- though most of the former slave-holding states that started the Civil War signed on to the suit. This list is a list of states that have Republican governors. Don't people in these states want to get overtime pay for overtime work?

What Does It Mean To Be A Blue Dog Running For Congress In California In 2016?

The other day, we looked at a list of the sneaky conservative Democrats who applied for endorsements from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party-- the New Dems and the Blue Dogs. Here in a safely blue district in northern Orange County (CA-46)-- including Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Orange, where Obama beat Romney 61-36% and where only 18% of the population is white-- the jungle primary yielded two Democrats, the progressive mayor of Garden Grove, Bao Nguyen (who was endorsed by Blue America), and the very corrupt and very conservative former state legislator Lou Correa. This isn't the kind of district where it makes sense for a Democrat to behave like a Republican. But that's exactly what Correa has done for his entire slimy career.

And in the current race, he slinked off for the Blue Dogs and the New Dems, the two most right-wing "Democratic" groups in Congress, the heart of both congressional corruption and bribery and, of course, the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. When Correa lists the organizations that have endorsed him on his website, he's smart and wily enough to not include either the Blue Dogs or the New Dems. A voter would never know Correa long ago sold his soul to Wall Street-- although they could surmise it from his record. (In contrast, Bao is proud to advertise on his own website that he's been endorsed by progressive and clean govenmernt groups like Progressive Democrats of America, the Sierra Club, the Nurses Union, Blue America, DFA and the Mexican American Bar Association PAC.)

Correa is a realtor who took advantage of the mortgage crisis to build up an empire of rental properties all over Orange County-- particularly Anaheim and Santa Ana-- and one of the sleaziest realtor lobbyist groups, the National Association of Realtors Congressional Fund, spent $535,000 on his campaign so far. trying to make sure they would have an ally against consumers and homeowners inside the House Democratic caucus. But corporate special interests is a huge part of the Correa brand, another reason he fits in so well with the New Dems and Blue Dogs.

In a majority Latino district, Correa isn't just keeping it quiet that the joined the New Dems and Blue Dogs, but also that he voted against SB60, which would have made drivers licenses available for all qualified Californians regardless of immigration status. His vote was a complete betrayal of the Hispanic population. Although he's on record of having voted against it, when confronted with the vote he just lies and claims he voted for it. No wonder the Blue Dogs and New Dems love this guy!

Nor is that the only time he voted with the Republicans against working families-- far from it. Although Correa claims when he campaigns that he's committed to affordable higher education, that sure isn't what his record in Sacramento shows. When Assembly Speaker John Perez proposed AB 1500 and 1501, the Middle Class Scholarship Act, to provide scholarships covering 60% of fees and tuition at all California State colleges and universities for families with household incomes of under $150,000, Correa crossed the aisle and voted with the GOP again. Perez took the unusual step of going on the record and singling out Correa for killing the bill "because he wanted a $300 million (tax) carve out [for out-of state corporations including his campaign contributor International Paper]. "Today was an opportunity for the State Senate to join the Assembly in approving tax fairness for California businesses and college opportunity for middle class families. Unfortunately, even though most Senate Democrats supported the Middle Class Scholarship Act, we could not reach agreement with Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) or Senate Republicans that would achieve the two-thirds vote necessary... It is disturbing that Senator Correa and so many Republicans would refuse to stand up for the middle class and instead continue to support a tax giveaway that favors out-of-state companies over our own." In a disturbing pattern that defines Correa's life, he pocketed campaign contributions from International Paper-- which vehemently opposed the bill-- 10 days before he voted against AB 1500, and more loot three weeks after the disgraceful vote.

If killing the Middle Class Scholarship Act wasn't bad enough, Correa also helped kill SB 935 which was an attempt by Democrats in the legislature to raise the minimum wage in 2014. Although 63 of his fellow Democrats were co-sponsors of the bill, he claimed he voted with the Republicans against it because it was too long and he didn't know what it meant. It's almost as though he was already practicing to be a New Dem or Blue Dog!

He also worked with the GOP to restrict women's access to family planning and abortion services and to push the NRA's agenda. Planned Parenthood gave him a big fat ZERO rating and labeled him anti-Choice, the only Senate Democrat who didn't receive a 100% rating in 2009. The DCCC likes this guy; can he really be anti-Choice? You tell me-- this is is record on women's reproductive health in the state legislature:

• voted to prohibit state funding of family planning service providers
• voted to limit state funding for abortion services
• voted to ban ban abortion procedures that he disagrees with (and, no, he's not a doctor)
• voted to require parental consent before a minor can access abortion care
• voted to force women to look at biased and unscientific information before they can access abortion care

This is how patriarchal Republicans vote on Choice issues, not how Democrats vote. Although it certainly works in real well with the Blue Dogs and the rest of the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. Ditto on his cozy relationship with the gun nuts in general and the NRA in particular. He's actively supported loopholes to make sure assault-style military weapons would wind up in California neighborhoods. Again, Correa's sick record is not what Orange County Democrats and independents (nor even Republicans) want to protect society from gun massacres.

• voted against banning high capacity ammunition magazines and conversion kits (AB 48)
• voted against making it illegal to knowingly store loaded firearms that are accessible to minors (AB 231)
• voted against extending the waiting period for gun purchases when the background check reveals potential criminal and/or mental health history requiring further investigation to determine eligibility to purchase weapons (AB 500)
• voted against requiring registration of homemade guns and assault rifles, AKA “Ghost Guns" (SB 808)
• voted against restrictions on ownership of Assault Weapons and .50 Caliber Browning Machine Guns (AB 170)
• Correa opposes license requirements for purchase of guns, despite overwhelming public support, even among gun owners and voted against requiring a valid Firearm Safety Certificate in order to purchase a firearm (AB 683)

I bet you could guess he's also an environmental disaster, right? You'd be guessing right. California's League of Conservation Voters says he has the worst environmental record of any Democratic elected official in the state. He always sides with special interests to protect corporate polluters, consistently failed to protect the state's water sources from lead and contamination, and voted against ensuring Californians have a right to clean, safe and affordable water. Even though he joined corrupt Republicans to vote against SB 685, the Human Right to Water Act, in 2012, the bill passed, establishing a right to safe, non-toxic and affordable water for human consumption. But Correa voted to hide the source of vended drinking water, whether that water was from a public or private source, and the county from which the water came. AB 301 would have required water sellers to disclose this information: Lou Correa voted to keep such information hidden from the public. Large corporations have been bottling California's public water supply for years. This water is bottled and sold back to the public at an extreme profit. At the same time, the cost of water to the public is rising, and penalties being imposed for overuse. Swiss based Nestle Company has been bottling millions of gallons a year from San Bernardino's forests under a permit that expired over 25 years ago-- a permit with an annual costs of $525.00. Nestle bottles over 700 million gallons of water a year to sell back to the public at a staggering profit. As the public was ordered to cut back on water during the drought, with significant penalties at risk, corporations like Nestle were bottling California's water to sell back to them.

In 2009, the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) scored Correa's environmental voting record at 29%, 53 points below average Senate Democrat average. Correa had the lowest environmental rating of any Democrat. The following year they gave him a 30%, 61 points lower than the average Senate Democrat and the lowest rating of any Sacramento Dem. And the following year... same thing-- a 29% rating, 57 points lower than the average Senate Democrat and the lowest of any Dem in the state. The guy is a catastrophe and it's just repulsive that, for the sake of expediency, the Democratic establishment has embraced this garbage candidate who always, always, always puts corporate profits, tax breaks, and special interests over the needs of his constituents, while collecting special interest and PAC money for his next campaign. Is that the California Democratic Party today? It's certainly what Nancy Pelosi's DCCC has turned into. Steny Hoyer gave him the biggest contribution of any of the Democratic candidates of this cycle, $20,000 so far. Please help elect Bao Nguyen in November, a real progressive Democrat with the record to prove it-- even if no help from an establishment that stinks to high heaven. You'll find Bao by tapping the thermometer below:

I'm Guessing Every Berniecrat Seeking Office Will Follow Bernie Into The Hillary Camp Now

I'm guessing few Bernie supporters will dance to the siren calls of the orange-faced racist, xenophobic, misogynystic sociopath no matter how many times he waves an anti-TPP banner at them. Some may vote for Jill Stein-- or even Gary Johnson-- but I suspect Hillary's going to get upwards of 80% of their votes, perhaps 90%, especially if Bernie really does campaign vigorously for her and if she doesn't go out of her way to remind everyone what a corporatist shill she is at heart, although I suppose picking an egregiously bad running mate could drive more people away from her.

Now, what about the candidates who are running on Bernie's platform? So far I'm seeing 100% of them following him into her camp-- albeit some with more enthusiasm than others. The primary runoff in Oklahoma's 5th district pits dedicated Berniecrat Tom Guild against some establishment hack. Last night Tom told us he will encourage his own supporters to vote for Hillary. "I’m disappointed that Bernie will not be the Democratic nominee," he said. "He is the candidate closest to my views. Bernie ran the race of a lifetime and fell just short of victory. Bernie has endorsed Secretary Clinton. He feels that progress has been made in the Democratic Platform on many of the issues crucial to Working People and the American Middle Class. I respect and trust Bernie and his proven leadership. Based on his recommendation I will support Secretary Clinton for president in the November general election." Bao Nguyen's election, in Orange County, CA, will be determined in November and his posture was very similar to Tom's. "I couldn't be more proud to have endorsed Bernie Sanders for president," the Garden Grove mayor told us. "Bernie has awakened great possibilities in our country with a political movement driven by the American people. It's not about any one of us, but all of us, together. I'm committed to the movement and I join Bernie in endorsing Hillary."

The congressional primary in Washington is August 2, just a bit over 2 weeks away. The first candidate Bernie endorsed for Congress this cycle was state Sen. Pramila Jayapal, for years a crusading a fiery reformer. I'd like to share a statement she made, endorsing Hillary on the heals of Bernie's own statement this week.

Last August, after I met with Sen. Bernie Sanders for the first time, I wrote an op-ed that concluded with something that still seems deeply relevant today: “ [Our work] is bigger than any one presidential candidate. It’s as big as all of us. Regardless of who is elected president in 2016, we all… have to hold the collective space for movement-building together. It’s the only way we move forward.”

I cannot be prouder of my early endorsement for Senator Bernie Sanders. I supported Bernie for President because I was inspired by his consistent, vocal platform for decades on economic inequality, corporate influence into our democracy, and election reform. In our conversation, I found him to be deeply thoughtful about the intersection of economic, racial, and social justice. He inspired millions of people to participate in our democracy. Issues like Medicare for All, college affordability, expanding Social Security and Medicare, and ending the prison industrial complex, have become a part of the national discourse. Bernie has helped people from all walks of life name the unfairness that hits too many Americans in their pocketbooks, daily lives, and hearts. He has pushed for policies that benefit working people across America and not the wealthiest few. Equally important, he helped people see the power we each have when we engage with our democracy and work together to change what is unjust. I give heartfelt thanks to Bernie Sanders for his incredible vision, energy, and truth-telling, and for now again helping to unify the Democratic party around a common vision.

Out of this Democratic primary process, we have done what democracy is supposed to do: engage our country in a real discussion about the most important issues facing working families across America. Together, we achieved real wins on what is now the most progressive Democratic Party platform in decades. For the first time, we have a public commitment for a $15 minimum wage, tuition-free college, breaking up of big banks, criminal justice reform, Native American rights, and a public option in healthcare. These are huge wins that simply would not have been possible without our movement. But our work will not be done until we turn those principles into law, which means winning the White House and continuing to take back our Congress.

We now have a chance to write the next chapter of the progressive movement. When I endorsed Sen. Sanders back in September, I also said that if Hillary Clinton was the Democratic nominee, I would throw my support behind her and work for her to become President.

That is why today, I am proud to announce that I am endorsing Hillary Clinton for President.

Hillary Clinton shares many of the same values that I do-- that all progressives do. She has been a longtime champion of issues that are near and dear to my heart: a woman’s right to have control over her own body, gun reform, and health care for all. She has tremendous experience in a number of roles, including as U.S. Senator and Secretary of State, and she has shattered glass ceilings again and again against a gender-biased media and society. As a proud feminist and someone who has fought my whole life for equality and justice on every level, I will proudly join forces with President Hillary Clinton to continue these battles every day on behalf of women, men, and working families here and around the world. On the issues where we differ, I will continue my track record of taking principled stands and seek to find common ground even when it appears impossible.

The threats to our country of a Donald Trump presidency cannot be understated. As an immigrant woman of color, this is personal and universal. I am horrified by the racism, xenophobia, homophobia and fear that Republican nominee Donald Trump has been drumming up. Donald Trump represents none of those values that we as progressives hold dear. Trump is a bully, pure and simple, and comes from a place of greed and selfishness. Trump ridicules women for sport and wears his bigotry as a badge of honor. Frankly, a Trump presidency scares the hell out of me. We simply cannot let Donald Trump become President or even get close to that office. We cannot let him appoint our next Supreme Court nominee, because it is clear he will have no compunction in appointing a Justice that subscribes to his hateful vision for our country-- and will undermine every core principle of Democratic values. Our defeat of Trump’s candidacy must be overwhelming-- or we continue to provide encouragement to the forces of hate that he has unleashed.

As a movement, I believe we must unite behind a bold, progressive agenda for the long-term. After decades of work on the outside as an activist taking on the Bush Administration for civil liberties abuses when few others were doing so, helping to establish a $15 minimum wage in Seattle, standing up for labor unions and against unfair trade agreements, I am running for Congress now because I believe people like you and me can and must work from the outside and inside to move that agenda forward.

I am deeply committed to the work ahead of us within the Democratic party, and I intend to continue the movement we have started all the way to Congress. If we can win, you can be sure that I will continue to do what I have done for the past 25 years. I will fight for justice for working families and for a democracy that responds to the voices of all of us.

In a country that has so much hopelessness and fear today, a country wracked by violence and grief, I call up the faces and the voices of those who may seem to have the least power but bring the most courage to the table, women and men that I have worked with for decades on the struggle for justice.

We owe it to ourselves and to this country-- built on flawed structures but an awe-inspiring vision-- to continue our work to achieve a society that offers true opportunity for every single person, regardless of class, race, gender, sexual orientation or any other factor.

I know that each person will have to decide exactly what course to take moving forward. I hope my thinking may be helpful to other Bernie supporters as you make your choice this November. Let’s join together in moving forward our values thoughtfully, with a particular commitment to a principled unity that builds for the short and the longer term.

We’re all counting on each other-- this is OUR movement. Let’s keep building it together.

Peter Jacob is the official Democratic Party candidate for New Jersey's 7th congressional district, a seat currently help by unpopular Republican Leonard Lance. In a statement to his supporters endorsing Hillary, he made it clear that his political stands are based on a package of values and principles rather than on personalities. "Today," he wrote, "Senator Bernie Sanders pledged his support of Secretary Hillary Clinton for President of the United States of America, and our campaign joins in this endorsement. We are ready and enthusiastic to ensure this nation elects its first woman President, while preventing Donald Trump from stepping foot in the White House. Our campaign will continue to be about much more than electing one person to one office, though. While we are elated with the adoption of strict climate change and gender equality language into the Democratic Party’s national platform, we recognize several key differences between our own platform, and that of the DNC, and Secretary Clinton. We will continue to push both the party and Secretary Clinton in a people’s progressive direction on issues such as America-first trade and stemming the tide of globalization, perpetual warfare and inadequate care of our returning veterans, expansion of worker’s unions, immigration, and sweeping criminal justice, financial system, and student debt reform. We will keep fighting to overturn some Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United, place strict regulations on lobbying and political contributions, move towards a publicly-financed electoral system, end the corruptive practice of gerrymandering, and return the power over government to the people of this nation. Healing our democracy will once again enable the United States to be the global leader in solving our most dire problems, and ensure that the safety, security, and freedom of the American Dream will live on for generations to come."

Keith Mundy and Tom Wakely already won their primaries and both are pretty hard core Berni supporters who are now expressing support for Hillary. Mundy who is running for the Ohio seat occupied by Jim Renacci, told us he "will vote for Hillary because it's about the Supreme Court, period. We can't let Trump win the White House. We have worked hard to get to where we are with our Progressive Movement. It's time that we all come together so we can get Democrats elected up and down the ticket. None of us know what Bernie has had to do to make this work for all of us." Similarly, Wakely, the Democrat opposing Texas wing nut Lamar Smith, told us he's "sure many were disheartened when the torchbearer for our movement conceded the race to Secretary Clinton, but our mission is far from complete. Bernie Sanders won 23 contests and received over 13 million votes in this primary. While I understand that a loss is a loss, it's important to understand that this movement far exceeded popular expectations. Knowing how far we've come has personally given me so much hope as I look to unseat Lamar Smith this November. Democrats, non-partisan progressives, and, quite frankly, all the people of this nation share a massive common enemy this fall: Regression. I was fortunate enough to win all 10 counties in my primary and send a clear message that Central Texas is ready to fight for progress in Washington. The vast majority of my constituents would lend a better voice to our people than Lamar Smith, including my primary opponent. He feels the same way, as he's lent resources and ideas to our campaign as we push into the general. I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to lead that fight and I'm thankful for the support that I've received from progressives all the way to Republicans who are looking for true representation. I will always put country before party, the same cannot be said for any Republican willing to stand side by side with Trump. To me this is a call to common sense. This is an acknowledgement that our nation won't go anywhere with Donald Trump, nor will it progress to any reasonable stature under the thumb of Republicans who support their presumptive nominee. I will remain forever thankful to the candidate I endorsed, stay ever vigilant to fight for progress in Texas, and look to grow our movement into a win this November that shatters D.C.'s 'conventional wisdom.'"

Adam Sackrin's Miami-Dade primary is August 30 and if he wins it he'll be taking on Wasserman Schultz's top GOP crony, Ilene Ros-Lehtinen, in the general. He's very dedicated to Bernie and his political revolution:

Similar to what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was able to accomplish for racial justice, Bernie Sanders will forever be the catalyst of #OurRevolution, leader of the progressive movement, and champion of socio-economic-environmental justice for all. His speech yesterday in New Hampshire, where he tactfully congratulated Hillary Clinton for winning "the Democratic nomination process" and gave his endorsement, conjured a lot of emotions. Sadness in defeat, confusion and a feeling of hopelessness, definitely. But also comfort, clarity, and peace of mind. Peace of mind in knowing that the Party of Trump will lose a third consecutive Presidential race in a few months, and won't be nominating any potentially-disastrous Supreme Court Justices anytime soon. Clarity by avoiding a contentious convention and galvanizing support for down-ticket races. And comfort in hearing Bernie tell us himself that he isn't going anywhere, he's going everywhere, and helping the Democratic Party campaign-- and win-- on the most progressive platform in history, and supporting progressive candidates and groups nationwide to keep the fire Bern-ing through 2018, 2020, 2022 and beyond.

The issues facing America, and the bold progressive initiatives we need to take to resolve them, are simply too important to consider staying home or casting a ballot for someone else in defiance. The prosperity of our planet is at stake. Basic human rights and opportunities are at stake. Our very democracy is at stake. Despite her numerous and obvious indiscretions, and our differences, Hillary Clinton is beyond qualified to be our President, and she will likely be very good at the job. Though we wanted Bernie Sanders, and we deserve President Sanders, I am confident that OurRevolution will continue. He will not let it die for nothing, and he will not let them silence us. As long as he's with her, I'm with them. Join us.

The very first congressional Democrat to endorse Bernie was CPC Chairman Raúl Grijalva but he didn't wait for Bernie to endorse Hillary. Last month he did a Facebook post how he saw a a genuine desire for a better, more responsive way of electing our leaders and making policy [based on] a heartfelt conviction that America is ready to live up to its very highest ideals and explaining" and why he would vote for Hillary.

Those ideals are the heart and soul of Bernie’s campaign, and voters have responded to them in a way that goes deeper than mere support for a candidate. The American people, across the board, support sweeping campaign finance reform, universal health care, affordable college access, and a fairer economy that rewards work instead of just wealth. Bernie made this election about those issues and the values behind them. The country is already much stronger for it.

Those issues and those values transcend any one person. This was more than a campaign for the presidency. It is a movement.

With voting completed in the final Democratic Primary, it is now time for the Democratic Party to unify. For all of us who supported Bernie from the beginning, whether we considered ourselves progressives or independents or just Americans tired of being on the outside looking in, the most important thing now is to beat Donald Trump in November. To use a word that’s been thrown around a lot lately, now is the time to unify.

Unity will not be realized if the millions of voters who supported Bernie Sanders feel taken for granted. Our country needs a president who understands why the American people are hungry for something better and more substantial than political trench warfare. That president must be able to channel our hunger into action and our action into results. Tinkering at the margins is no longer an acceptable presidential platform. Hillary Clinton has the capacity and the instincts needed to carry forward what has been started. I support her and will do what I can to help ensure her victory. I firmly believe that her victory will only come when she and the Democratic Party articulate the themes this movement has so powerfully expressed.

Bernie has pointed the way toward a more humane economy, a more peaceful foreign policy and a stronger support network for Americans of all ages. Those will be the centerpieces of Democratic governance for the foreseeable future, and we will owe Bernie a debt of gratitude for it.

It won’t be enough to just accept the merit of his ideas. This is in no small part Bernie Sanders’ party also. His team, his supporters and his movement must-- and will-- be integrated into the future of the Democratic Party at every level. In many ways this is a new entity. The Democrats who won elections twenty years ago by running against marriage equality, avoiding questions about gun violence, blaming poverty on laziness and waffling on the environment are nearly a thing of the past. From now on, Democrats will celebrate Sandersism and channel its energy not just to electoral victory, but to better decisions for the American people.

At some point, every presidential election is called “the most important in a generation.” This one actually merits the description. Winning in November will require standing arm in arm. I’m ready.

All these Bernie Congress candidates can use some help. If you can, please consider contributing to any of them you'd like to see in Congress, by clicking on the thgermometer. This revolution has a long, long way to go:

Another NRA Victory-- This One In Orlando

A gay Zionist friend in Florida, who spends a lot of time doing drugs and listening to Hate Talk Radio, sent me this note earlier: "I went to read your story about the Orlando shooting, are you going to post one? Do you see these Muslims should not be protected by the left? They will kill you all, they have been hiding behind the left to further their agenda, but in the end they are worse than the most far right Americans." Even before that, I got an e-mail from Roland saying, simply, "This is what Trump has been waiting for."

I'm going to assume that everyone who reads this post already knows the available gruesome facts about the largest mass shooting in U.S. history and the largest attack on the U.S. since 9/11, which is why I started with President Obama's response in the video above. And, indeed, Trump did pounce-- demanding President Obama resign and trying to blame the terrorism not just on all Muslims and all immingrants-- though the shooter was born in the U.S.A.-- but on Hillary Clinton as well. That's what Donald Trump is. (The imam of the sexually repressed, unhinged right-wing shooter, by the way, supports Trump for president.) Here's part of the statement by the pervert who wants to be president of the United States:

In his remarks today, President Obama disgracefully refused to even say the words 'Radical Islam'. For that reason alone, he should step down. If Hillary Clinton, after this attack, still cannot say the two words 'Radical Islam' she should get out of this race for the Presidency.

If we do not get tough and smart real fast, we are not going to have a country anymore. Because our leaders are weak, I said this was going to happen-- and it is only going to get worse. I am trying to save lives and prevent the next terrorist attack. We can't afford to be politically correct anymore.

The terrorist, Omar Mir Saddique Mateen, is the son of an immigrant from Afghanistan who openly published his support for the Afghanistani Taliban and even tried to run for President of Afghanistan. According to Pew, 99% of people in Afghanistan support oppressive Sharia Law.

We admit more than 100,000 lifetime migrants from the Middle East each year. Since 9/11, hundreds of migrants and their children have been implicated in terrorism in the United States.

Hillary Clinton wants to dramatically increase admissions from the Middle East, bringing in many hundreds of thousands during a first term-- and we will have no way to screen them, pay for them, or prevent the second generation from radicalizing.

We need to protect all Americans, of all backgrounds and all beliefs, from Radical Islamic Terrorism-- which has no place in an open and tolerant society. Radical Islam advocates hate for women, gays, Jews, Christians and all Americans. I am going to be a President for all Americans, and I am going to protect and defend all Americans. We are going to make America safe again and great again for everyone.

Perhaps Trump and Trumpists were enraged by President Obama saying "We will not give in to fear or turn against each other. Instead, we will stand united, as Americans, to protect our people, and defend our nation, and to take action against those who threaten us." That always enrages opportunists, racists, haters like Trump.

You probably also know-- as I reminded my Hate Talk Radio-consuming friend in Florida-- about the man arrested in Santa Monica early this morning on his way to the gay pride event in West Hollywood with a car filled with assault weapons. James Wesley Howell was born in Indiana, not Afghanistan.

Bao Nguyen, mayor of Garden Grove, just south of where Howell was caught, was brough to America as an infant from Vietnam and is currently running for Congress. He is openly gay and you can probably guess his sadness and horror at what occurred in Orlando. "As a gay man myself, I am especially disturbed by this horrific act of violence against my LGBT brothers and sisters. I condemn this barbaric shooting. Don't let anyone tell you that this twisted individual truly represents any faith community. At times like these, it's more important to hold our loved ones close, have compassion, and show the world that we stand together against hate, not divided against each other. My deepest condolences to the families of those killed. It's long past due for us as a nation to look inward and get serious about addressing the causes of mass violence in this country."

Similarly Congressman Jerry Nadler, who represents a New York City district with a huge gay population and a huge immigrant population and a huge Jewish population, noted that “From what we know at this time, this tragedy seems to be both a terrorist attack and a hate crime directed against the LGBT community. It is also clear that far fewer people would have been killed or wounded if the attacker had not had access to a deadly assault weapon. Once again, the necessity of controlling access to military-style assault weapons, whose only purpose is to kill large numbers of people as quickly and easily as possible, is made tragically clear. We must pass legislation that I have long supported to re-institute the assault weapon ban, and I hope Congress will finally take the action needed. Furthermore, we must continue to support efforts to destroy ISIS and other terrorist organizations which threaten America and our allies at home, and abroad. On the same day as the horrific shootings in Orlando, a suspect was taken into custody in California targeting the Los Angeles Pride festival, with assault weapons and explosives found in his car. This demonstrates the importance of hate crime legislation, which we worked hard to pass into federal law to make it easier to investigate and prosecute such crimes. We must continue to take action to crack down on hate crimes against the LGBT community, whether affiliated with terror groups like ISIS or the actions of an individual filled with hatred and bigotry."

Let me remind people of a few facts. First of all, Republicans have consistently rejected proposals to prevent the sale of assault weapons regardless of how many massacres and murdres take place-- guns solely meant to murder large numbers of people rapidly. And Republicans-- with a few conservative Democratic allies-- have refused to pass legislation that would ban the sale of weapons to people exactly like Omar Mir Saddique Mateen. Last time a proposal to ban sales to suspected terrorists came up in the Senate 45 senators voted for the bill and 54-- all Republicans plus EMILY's List right-wing Democrat Heidi Heitkamp (ND)-- voted against it, as the NRA demanded they do. Like Trump, all the Republican leaders opposed the bill and all 4 Republican senators running for president at the time-- Cruz, Rubio, Graham and Rand Paul-- voted against it. Corrupt consevatives in the House killed the same legislation-- proposed by Nita Lowey-- in the Appropriations Committee by a 19-29 vote.

Not all my friends are like the Hate Talk Radio consumer in Florida, of course. Another one had a more thoughtful approach. Her e-mail asked, "What, exactly, is the difference between the hatred spewed by radical Islamists and that by Christian fundamentalists in the United States? How can any less responsibility be laid at the feet of the U.S. politicians and their supporters for violence and terror when they espouse the same forms of hatred and marginalization as those they blame for that terror? Why are we so quick to connect the lone gunman in Miami with Islam and so unwilling to connect the “lone wolves” like Robert Dear, Angie Dillard, and Scott Roeder with the Christian right, or to hold young white star athletes accountable for the violence they perpetrate on women? Why are we so loathe to talk about rational limits on an AK-47 assault rifle, a weapon of war, when mass murders have become routine?

As you no doubt know by now that ATF confirmed earlier today that the Orlando murdrered bought two weapons within the last week, having previously been investigated twice by the FBI for possible terrorism charges. He legally purchased the weapons with no restrictions whatsoever. Thanks, Paul Ryan and the GOP/NRA.

I want to share part of a statement from People for the American Way president Michael Keegan issued right after the mass shooting:

"[O]ur sympathies are not enough. This tragedy, the worst mass shooting in American history, is the result of a toxic brew of intolerance and easy access to firearms. Today is a heartbreaking reminder that despite decades of progress, anti-LGBT hatred and violence is still a deadly reality, and it’s crucial that we recommit ourselves to challenging bigotry in all its forms. It’s a reminder, too, that a nation awash in guns isn’t inevitable. It’s the result of policy choices driven by pro-gun extremists and enabled by politicians who refuse to stand up to them. Our elected leaders could take sensible steps to keep weapons of war away from those who would use them to murder innocent people. They’ve simple chosen not to. As we mourn the victims of this horrible tragedy, it would be inexcusable to ignore the steps we can take to prevent the next one."

#NeverTrump-- as they work to create the next, less psychotic model

As one angry, exasperated Democratic member of Congress put it tonight, "I will not attend one more 'Moment of Silence' on the Floor. Our silence does not honor the victims, it mocks them."


UPDATE From Alan Grayson (D-Orlando):

Today I call on my colleagues in the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, to ban assault rifles permanently.

Yesterday in Orlando, one man, armed with one assault rifle, caused so much carnage in a few short minutes that he killed 49 people, and 53 others were injured. It was the worst mass shooting in the history of our country.

The killer couldn’t have committed this mass murder with a knife, or a pistol. He had an assault rifle, and he used it as a weapon of mass destruction. It was the same weapon as the one used in the Sandy Hook massacre. A weapon like that makes it far too easy to kill many people, very quickly.

Until last summer, virtually any would-be killer could have bought one at Walmart. Then the company, the largest seller of guns in America, decided to sell militarized weapons of war to civilians no longer.

It’s too late to save the 49 innocent people who died in Orlando yesterday, but it’s not too late to save countless other lives-- if we act now.

Some Endorsements Can Mean A Lot-- Like The Nurses Announcement For Bao Nguyen

Two Democrats involved in crowded primaries got very high-level endorsements this week. Blue America-backed progressive Bao Nguyen is competing in a jungle primary with 2 other Democrats and 4 Republicans to replace Loretta Sanchez in the Orange County congressional seat she's giving up to run for Senate. Two great unions-- National Nurses United (NNU) and the California Nurses Association came together to endorse him Monday. Bao, the Mayor of Garden Grove, is the only progressive in the race and he's backing Bernie's campaign and running on the same package of issues and values.

Shella Soriano, RN, and a local leader of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, announced the much-coveted endorsement, noting that Bao "has made serving the public interest his priority... For demanding improved Medicare for all, advocating for school funding, ensuring accountable government, and pushing back on corporations that put our community and our environment at risk, Bao has demonstrated that he will be a champion for the people of Orange County-- our jobs, our families, and our health."

Bao responded by pointing out that "the fight for universal healthcare is not over. While the Affordable Care Act certainly has helped in many respects, millions of Americans remain uninsured. I plan to build off the successes of Obamacare, and fight to expand healthcare until every last American family has the resources they need to keep themselves and their children healthy... The nurses who care for our families are on the front lines, keeping Americans healthy. I’m proud to have their support, and in Congress, I’ll make sure they have the resources they need to do their jobs."

The same day, just a few hours later, one of the villains of Democratic Party politics, Steve Israel, looked at the list of 5 Democrats vying for the NY-03 North Shore of Long Island seat he's giving up and, predictably, went right for the most corrupt and most conservative of the 5, Suffolk County legislator Steve Stern. Israel had previously promised the other candidates he wouldn't endorse in the race, although his staffers have all been working for Stern and helping Stern connect with Israel's shady contributors. Stern admitted publicly that Israel is his "mentor" and said he intends "to fulfill Steve Israel’s legacy."

Israel said he told Stern of his endorsement decision at Sweet Hollow Diner about two weeks ago, at a time he was lying to the other candidates about remaining neutral. But, of course, lying is a major part of Steve Israel's greasy legacy. No one ever thought he would be neutral anyway. Israel had lured poor Anna Kaplan into the race so that she would split the Nassau County vote with Kaiman (and, as it turned out, Suozzi). Abut, basically, Israel had promised Stern the seat when he thought he was going to run for Hillary's U.S. Senate seat (before Schumer told him to go sit in the corner and behave himself). Stern's wife is a real Jewish American Princess and she's always been giving Stern a hard time about being a lowly county legislator even though she comes from a family of wealthy furniture peddlers. And that brings us to the other part of Israel's disgraceful legacy-- turning the Democratic Party into a kind of plutocracy, even admitting that one of the factors that went into his decision to endorse the lazy, low-achievement Stern was that he raised the most money, neglecting to mention, that there aforementioned furniture empire have him $54,000 and that he self-funded another $68,000.

The Bernie candidate in the race, Jonathan Clarke (who you can support here) downplayed Israel's endorsement. "It doesn’t mean much. People are tired of career politicians. Israel is one and Stern is just following in his footsteps. No one is more generic than Steve Stern."

2 corrupt career politicians, Steve + Steve

The New Dems Have A List Of The Next Batch Of Congressional Sell-Outs And Corporate Shills-- Their 2016 Endorsements

Yesterday at this time, we looked at some of the so-called "Democrats" in Congress who are willing to sell out Social Security and Medicare and other programs that make up the safety net. Who are these people and why aren't they Republicans? Well, most of them are from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party, the Wall Street-owned New Dems or the shriveled Blue Dog caucus. And yesterday the Blue Dogs announced 9 more congressional candidates running as Democrats, who will be the next in line to vote with the Republicans and betray Democratic Party values and principles at every turn. We've been writing about several of them-- warning Democratic primary voters-- all year. First the list of the 9 new New Dems:

• Isadore Hall, the most corrupt legislator in Sacramento, a tool of Big Gas and Oil and the tobacco and gambling lobbyists.
• Darren Soto, who wants to take over the Alan Grayson Orlando seat and turn it into a corporate stronghold.
• Monica Vernon, a conservative Iowa Republican who now claims to be a Democrat.
• Val Demings, the picture of political incompetence from central Florida.
• Kathleen Matthews, the rich lobbyist wife of MSNBC's worst anchor, Chris Matthews.
• Lou Correa, a corrupt career politician, who Democratic consultant Chris Crotty pointed out to me is "as far right as you can be in California without being a Republican."
• Salud Carabajal, the establishment candidate chosen by the Santa Barbara establishment and furiously trying to pass himself off as a progressive and as the next term of Lois Capps, herself "an honorary New Dem, whatever that means.
• LuAnn Bennett, a real estate developer and the former wife of crooked ex-Rep. Jim Moran.
• Matt Heinz, a moderate ex-state Rep. from Arizona, easily the least heinous of the New Dem endorsees so far this year election cycle.

This motley batch are decidedly not from the Elizabeth Warren/Bernie Sanders wing of the party. They are all... well, New Dems, where corruption is valued as a positive trait-- they call it "being practical"-- and the height of success is signing on to the Republican agenda. Who opposes minimum wage hikes? Who's against expanding Social Security? Who wants to weaken the already way-too-weak Dodd-Frank consumer protections? Who admires the payday lending industry and the private insurance industry and will move heaven and earth to protect Wall Street fraud? Yes... the NEW DEMS! This is the home of crooks and frauds like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Patrick Murphy, Joe Crowley, Ami Bera, Gregory Meeks, Kathleen Rice, Kyrsten Sinema, John Delaney, Sean Patrick Maloney... the Democrats who get Wall Street money in return for helping allow John Boehner and now Paul Ryan call their horrific agenda "bipartisan."

Not only are Kathleen Matthews, Monica Vernon, Isadore Hall, Salud Carabajal, Lou Correa, Val Demings and Darren Soto especially ghastly candidates, all of them have significant primaries from progressives running in the same districts-- respectively Jamie Raskin, Pat Murphy, Nanette Barragán, Bill Ostrander, Bao Nguyen, Bob Poe and Susannah Randolph. Several of the newly minted New Dems applied for endorsements from the Congressional Progressive Caucus and all were turned down, several submitting questionnaires that reflected a lack of understanding about what a progressive even is. Soto, a tool of Big Sugar, was one of them and the members were so horrified that they quickly endorsed his opponent, Susannah Randolph, who formerly worked as Grayson's district director. Last night Susannah told us that she's "proud of my consistent record of fighting for strong Democratic and progressive values and will continue to do so once elected to Congress."

DINO Monica Vernon is one of the worst of the fake Dems being pushed by conservatives. And she's up against one of the best progressive Democrats running anywhere in the country, former Iowa House Speaker, Pat Murphy, who laughed when we told him the New Dems had endorsed his opponent. He spends most of his time campaigning against the crackpot GOP multimillionaire incumbent, Rod Blum (the one who lied to Iowans by telling them he would donate half his salary to charities and then reneging) but he told us that he's "proud of my long record of progressive accomplishments for the people of Iowa. I first registered as a Democrat in 1977 and have been active in the party ever since. In the legislature I expanded access to healthcare for women and children, I passed collective bargaining, I increased the minimum wage and teacher pay, and I stood up for equality by passing an LGBT Civil Rights bill and defending marriage equality. It's no surprise Monica Vernon was endorsed by the New Democrats. Joining the party just recently as a former supporter of Phil Gramm and George Bush, she really is a new Democrat in more ways than one. But that's not who I am; in 2014 Republicans tried to attack me saying I was an FDR Democrat-- it was the nicest thing a Republican as ever said about me! In Congress, I'll keep fighting for the progressive values that make our party, and our country, strong."

Bao Nguyen, the openly gay and openly Bernie-supporting Mayor of Garden Grove contrasted his own progressive activism with Correa's career-long conservatism. "While my opponents are rounding up endorsements from the same groups that support the TPP and other corporate interests, the people are sick and tired of waiting for real progress in Washington. From tackling climate change to achieving full equality for the LGBT community, to protecting Social Security and Medicare, this grassroots campaign is about fighting the very same moneyed interests that my opponents seem to so eager to receive endorsements from."

When people talk about a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party this is very much what it comes down to. The New Dems epitomize corporate corruption in Washington and the Democratic Party move away from progressive values that Thomas Frank has so thoroughly investigated in his insightful new book, Listen Liberal-- What Ever Happened To The Party of The People?. Voting for New Dems and their candidates is like voting for Republicans who might not be anti-Choice or anti-gay but who are, in most other ways, right-wingers.

Listen to what author and legal scholar Michelle Alexander told Chris Hayes last week on MSNBC about what Bernie's political revolution is and why she endorsed it. Needless to say, all of the New Dems are the antithesis of what she's talking about:



The polar opposite of the utter worthlessness of the New Dem endorsements yesterday was this morning's announcement in the NY Times that Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley had endorsed Bernie for president.

In 2008, Blue America back the very progressive Speaker of the Oregon state House for a U.S. Senate run. Jeff Merkley was a candidate Amato, Digby and I all strongly agreed would make an extraordinary senator, guided by a strong sense of progressive values and principles that came from his life's experience, not from political calculation or expediency. His background, like ours, was working class and we recognized a kindred soul when we sat down with him. Right from the very beginning, he lived up to his promise, unlike so many others (take Jon Tester, for example, who have disappointed). ProgressivePunch grades him a strong "A" on his crucial vote score this session and for his entire career. And today-- in an OpEd in the NY Times-- he explained why he was endorsing Bernie for president, the first U.S. Senator to do so.

After considering the biggest challenges facing our nation and the future I want for my children and our country, I have decided to become the first member of the Senate to support my colleague Bernie Sanders for president.

I grew up in working-class Oregon. On a single income, my parents could buy a home, take a vacation and help pay for college. My father worked with his hands as a millwright and built a middle-class life for us.

My parents believed in education and they believed in the United States. When I was young, my father took me to the grade school and told me that if I went through those doors, and worked hard, I could do just about anything because we lived in America. My dad was right.

Years later, my family and I still live in the same working-class community I grew up in. But America has gone off track, and the outlook for the kids growing up there is a lot gloomier today than 40 years ago.

Many middle-class Americans are working longer for less income than decades ago, even while big-ticket expenses like housing, health care and college have relentlessly pushed higher.

It is not that America is less wealthy than 40 years ago-- quite the contrary. The problem is that our economy, both by accident and design, has become rigged to make a fortunate few very well off while leaving most Americans struggling to keep up.

And as economic power has become more concentrated, so too has political power. Special interests, aided by their political and judicial allies, have exercised an ever-tighter grip on our political system, from the rise of unlimited, secret campaign spending to a voter suppression movement.

...Bernie Sanders is boldly and fiercely addressing the biggest challenges facing our country.

He has opposed trade deals with nations that pay their workers as little as a dollar an hour. Such deals have caused good jobs to move overseas and undermined the leverage of American workers to bargain for a fair share of the wealth they create in our remaining factories.

He has passionately advocated for pivoting from fossil fuels to renewable energy to save our planet from global warming-- the greatest threat facing humanity. He recognizes that to accomplish this we must keep the vast bulk of the world’s fossil fuels in the ground.

Bernie is a determined leader in taking on the concentration of campaign cash from the mega-wealthy that is corrupting the vision of opportunity embedded in our Constitution.

And he has been unflinching in taking on predatory lending, as well as the threats to our economy from high-risk strategies at our biggest banks.

It has been noted that Bernie has an uphill battle ahead of him to win the Democratic nomination. But his leadership on these issues and his willingness to fearlessly stand up to the powers that be have galvanized a grass-roots movement. People know that we don’t just need better policies, we need a wholesale rethinking of how our economy and our politics work, and for whom they work.

The first three words of the Constitution, in bold script, are “We the People.” The American story is a journey of continuous striving to more fully realize our founding principles of hope and opportunity for all.

It is time to recommit ourselves to that vision of a country that measures our nation’s success not at the boardroom table, but at kitchen tables across America. Bernie Sanders stands for that America, and so I stand with Bernie Sanders for president.

Integrity is a lonely place in a Senate dominated by Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer