The Daily Blue America Report-- #7

Yesterday I woke up and the very first thing I read, a story in the Austin Statesman, inspired me for the whole day. It's about a woman born in 1899 whose father was a slave. A slave! Please stop for one moment and think about that. Her father was owned like a piece of furniture or like livestock by someone else who may well have been unsympathetic to his humanity. This woman, 109 year old Amanda Jones in Cedar Creek, Texas, voted early, by absentee ballot. She's been a Democrat for 70 years but this week she had the opportunity to vote for Barack Obama. "I feel good about voting for him," she said. I hope all the Blue America candidates will live up to the dreams of people like Amanda and like the people who fought to free her father and her people-- our people-- from slavery.

California-46- Pete McCloskey retired from the GOP congressional delegation 5 years before Dana Rohrabacher was elected. But McCloskey saw that there wasn't something quite right with Rohrabacher. This week he endorsed-- and started actively campaigning for-- Debbie Cook.

“What is desperately needed in the next Congress are individuals of great integrity with fresh thoughts from outside the Beltway, and who also possess a willingness to set aside partisanship and rigid ideology. I am confident that she will help bring courtesy and thoughtful compromise back to Washington, and maybe even help restore some of the faith in our system of government that all of us have lost at least a little bit of over the last few years. Dana Rohrabacher is part of the problem.”

Florida-08- Early voting is massive, more people eager to express their enthusiasm than just beat the rush. It isn't massive just in Florida either, but all over the country (30 states). In Florida, though, Governor Crist may well have doomed McCain's chances to win the election by extending early voting hours. The earlier voters seem to be overwhelmingly people eager to vote for change. A friend in Orlando who saw the statewide figures told me that 60% of the Florida voters so far have been Democrats and Republicans and Independents are about even, 21% and 19% respectively. Alan Grayson is feeling like a great deal of hard work from his staff and volunteers is paying off. His polling shows him decisively ahead of rubber stamp retread Ric Keller and much of his game plan for the election-- just as it was for the primary-- was tied up early voting. "We're winning for one reason only," he told me this morning. "This year, truth wins against lies." And according to HuffPo the early voting trends are showing an even bigger landslide against McCain, Bush and the Republican philosophy of governance than anyone expected.

Florida- 25- Mario Diaz-Balart, a clownish man, has been a complete rubber stamp for the entire Bush-Cheney agenda. Three months ago a consultant told him that Bush and his agenda are unpopular down in Miami-Dade so he started trying, superficially at least, to distance himself from Bush. Now he tries claiming, he an "independent voice." His record tells another story though. His voting record on veterans, for example, is absolutely breathtaking. There isn't a worse one in the entire Congress! Since January 2003 Diaz-Balart the Younger has participated in 29 roll call votes regarding our veterans. Take a look at it. The only question that comes to mind is "why does Mario Diaz-Balart hate the people who went to war defending this country?" Of the 22 votes he voted against American veterans 22 times!

•    Mario Diaz-Balart voted against increasing Department of Defense survivor benefits. (Roll Call 144, 2006)
•    Diaz-Balart voted against military pay raises. (Roll Call 554, 2003)
•    Diaz-Balart voted against $3.6 billion to enhance quality of life for the troops (Roll Call 546)
•    Diaz-Balart voted against minimum rest periods for troops (Roll Call 796, 2007)
•    Diaz-Balart voted against protecting service members from bankruptcy (Roll Call 107, 2005)
•    Diaz-Balart voted against expanding healthcare for reservists (Roll Call 221, 2005)

Yesterday Joe Garcia released a new television ad that let's South Florida voters know the real story on Diaz-Balart's record on veterans.

Virginia-10- One might think that after Frank Wolf exposed himself on camera as a cranky and violent old fascist, he would just shut up and hope not enough people became aware of the story to topple him from power. But if you are one of those people to imagine that, you don't know much about what a self-entitled, self-righteous jerk Frank Wolf has always been. Lowell at Raising Kaine has another video and another look at a congressman whose "good 'til" date has long expired. Paul Begala has also noticed that there's something seriously wrong with Wolf and that he needs a nice long rest-- forever. "Dare to ask Rep. Wolf a question, and his paid congressional staff gives you a couple of lumps. I’m sure Kim Jong Il would be proud."

Texas-10- Charles Kuffner recorded a very worthwhile interview with Larry Joe Doherty. You get a great feel for who the candidate really is and what kind of a congressman he will be when he beats Bush rubber stamp Michael McCaul.

Ohio-02- BlueOhioan wins today's prize for ugliest ad of the day. Would it come as a shock that it's from Mean Jean Schmidt, the lunatic fringe congresswoman who got drunk at a St Patrick's Day Party and slipped in Michele Bachmann's vomit?

Indiana-06- Yesterday's Fort Wayne Journal Gazette rejected a major force in the extreme wing of the national Republican leadership, Mike Pence, and urged its readers to vote for Berry Welsh.

Voters in Indiana’s 6th Congressional District should elect Barry Welsh. The Democratic challenger’s positions on the key issues facing the country are more palatable than those of the incumbent, Mike Pence... [H]is position on issues such as health care, the economy and war will better serve the interests of 6th District residents than those of his opponent... Welsh demonstrates a greater understanding of how the country needs to move forward to put an end to the wars and repair relations with other nations.

This Obama ad could be adapted for any of the Blue America candidates:



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Can We Save Ourselves From The Predators Like Sarah Palin, Rudy Giuliani And Charlie Dent Who Want to Eat Us For Lunch?

Rudy Giuliani- part of the problem

Yesterday Paul Krugman said that the "economy is now hostage to the Treasury Department’s blunders." I think he meant to say the whole financial system is. He talked about the economy being on "the edge of the abyss" and pointed out that "the people who should be steering us away from that abyss are out to lunch." Persuasive, if succinct, analysis. But then he veers off course. He hope the lame excuse for a rescue bill passes "simply because we’re in the middle of a financial panic, and another no vote would make the panic even worse" and then admits that the bill is "a stinker-- and inexcusably so."

The financial system has been under severe stress for more than a year, and there should have been carefully thought-out contingency plans ready to roll out in case the markets melted down. Obviously, there weren’t: the Paulson plan was clearly drawn up in haste and confusion. And Treasury officials have yet to offer any clear explanation of how the plan is supposed to work, probably because they themselves have no idea what they’re doing.

Bill Clinton made operating the federal government look easy enough for anyone to do it-- even a pathetic and proudly ignorant loser some found charming and wanted to have a beer with. This morning I woke up and heard partisan gladiators for the Republican Party, Inc-- Pat Buchanan, Rudy Giuliani and Joe Scarborough-- talking about how Sarah Palin had passed a test and proven she had what it takes to be president. She proved no such thing. She proved she could do a reasonable impression of an ill-tempered mynah bird and the only thing that was proven is that Pat Buchanan, Rudy Giuliani and Joe Scarborough would rather see our country continue down the road to ruin than see Barack Obama as president.

The whole Infotainment/reality show mentality has trivialized American democracy. Why not elect George W. Bush? Why not elect a trained mynah bird? Why not take executive advice from The Donald, the pampered and spoiled son of a crooked real estate developer who tried following in his father's footsteps only to come up against two bankruptcies that the taxpayers bailed him out of. And what's wrong with taking advice from a shameless financial ambulance chaser like Rudy Giuliani? This morning Giuliani assured MSNBC viewers that Palin proved she could be president of the United States and tomorrow he will be in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley trying to use his celebrity to persuade voters that a lockstep, out-of-touch rubber stamp like Republican Congressman Charlie Dent is exactly what the economy needs (more of). But before, after and in between Giuliani is all about profiting from the Wall Street meltdown that his party's philosophy of unrestrained, unregulated Greed and Selfishness has brought to bear on the rest of us. Sure Rudy wants another dunce like Bush in the White House. McCain and Palin almost make Bush look competent and Phil Gramm makes Hank Paulson almost look honest. Giuliani is poised to make a killing if the rescue package passes.

In the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has begun drumming up business, positioning his law firm to advise corporate clients on how to profit from the government's $700 billion bailout.

Bracewell & Giuliani LLP announced it has formed a corporate task force to advise "financial institutions, private investment funds, institutional investors and other market participants" on the costly package.

"Our team of former government officials and experienced attorneys in the fields of legislation, enforcement and finance are equipped to guide institutions in this quickly evolving and complex environment," Giuliani said.

A firm spokeswoman declined to provide any further details and referred to the announcement.

Dent, like almost all Republican members of Congress-- and too many Democrats-- will also continue to profit from the shenanigans on Wall Street. The authors of the current crisis that Krugman warned us has the economy at the edge of the abyss, have helped finance the political career of Charlie Dent-- to the tune of $643,009 (so far). In return he has made sure they didn't have to pay their fair share of taxes and he has made sure they didn't have to worry about regulations that would protect consumers, workers and Society from their predatory nature. And now Dent, and his pal, Rudy, want you to send him back to Congress... for more of the same?

Sam Bennett- part of the solution

Krugman warns that next January "the next administration’s economic team had better be ready to hit the ground running, because from day one it will find itself dealing with the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression." And there are literally millions of voters across the country, but particularly in religionist-dominated parts of the Old Confederacy and the western Mormon empire-- Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and backward parts of Nevada, California, and Arizona-- who feel that John McCain, Sarah Palin and Phil Gramm are who they want at the helm of the ship of state as it navigates those troubling, shark-infested waters.

In more rational parts of the country, it's crucial that the wingnuts and their enablers, like Charlie Dent (R-PA), Chris Shays (R-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Dave Reichert (R-WA), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the notorious Diaz-Balart Brothers (R-FL), Randy Kuhl (R-NY), Ric Keller (R-FL), Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Tim Walberg (R-MI), Mean Jean Schmidt (R-OH), David Dreier (R-CA), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Adam Putnam (R-FL), Dan Lungren (R-CA), Virgil Goode (R-VA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Frank Wolf (R-VA), James Inhofe (R-OK), Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Mike Pence (R-IN), John Shadegg (R-AZ)... are stopped from forcing more of the same down our throats. When the task of electing Barack Obama seems gargantuan and out of your own individual grasp, let me remind you that it is much, much easier to effect the outcome of a congressional race. ActBlue is about the cross the $70 million mark. Our own Blue America page is over $400,000 this year and, in all, we've raised close to a million and a half dollars for progressive Democratic candidates since we started in 2006. We helped elect over a dozen new progressives to Congress, mostly long-shots who were given no chance by the prognosticators. We did that with lots of $5 and $10 and $20 contributions. These problems aren't going to fix themselves and the Rudy Giulianis of the world are not going to steer you towards solutions that do anything but fleece regular working families to benefit the self-entitled crooks and thieves of his own circle. You want a better world? Help make it. Blue America is one way to move in that direction. If we don't have a candidate in your area, let me recommend the woman who is running against Charlie Dent this year, Sam Bennett. You'll find her at the link.

You'll also find Barry Welsh, the progressive running against GOP leader (and out-there extremist) Mike Pence in Indiana. It isn't a race the DCCC is contesting, despite the fact that Pence is one of the single worst members of Congress and a proponent of policies even worse than Bush's. Welsh and his grassroots supporters in Indiana are in a lonely struggle against a well-oiled (literally) machine. And that is just making him fight even harder. Here's what he had to say about why he would be voting NO today on Paulson's Wall Street bailout/giveaway plan:

The failure that is the cause of the economic frenzy on Wall Street is not the homeowners of America nor is it those that wish to own a home. The failure lies with those like Congressman Pence who believe in the myth created by Ronald Reagan that is Top Down Economics, or voodoo economics as it was correctly called. The fact that those at the top of Wall Street have lost 700 Billion Dollars and no one can tell us where it went, and the fact that they now want 700 Billion more and it is to be used at the discretion of the President and Treasury Secretary without the taxpayer knowing in advance the purpose of this bailout? That is not acceptable to me. Congressman Pence did what he does best and that is grandstand. He may have voted no but he cannot run away from the fact that his economic principal of giving more to those at the top is malfunctioning and he must reap what he has helped sow.  
 
I too would have voted no, because the fundamental questions of where did this money go, and where will this new money go, have never been answered. This Nation must return to the sound economic principals under which it expects its citizens to operate, and until then, there will be more economic turmoil. This bill is allowing those that caused the problem the capital to repeat their actions and does little to address the real problem and that is the housing market, foreclosures, and looming poverty for the workers of this nation. My opponent has such little understanding as to still want to put Social Security into the stock market. His no vote will not fool the voters.

Guest Blog By Barry Welsh (D-IN): Why Out Of Control Gas Prices Matter... A Lot

Barry Welsh, part of the solution & Mike Pence, part of the problem

Barry Welsh is the Blue Amerca-endorsed candidate taking on one of the most radical right extremists in the whole rotten Republican House caucus, fanatic Mike Pence. Barry has been leading the way in showing Democratic candidates how to talk about the inflation in energy prices caused by Republican policies. He agreed to do a guest post for us today. If you agree to donate to his campaign this week, please be sure to add one penny so that he has a chance to win the Air America contest. Barry's guest post:

Gas Prices Have a Tremendous Impact, Congressman Pence

-by Barry Welsh

Two years ago, during our first campaign for United States Congress, we ran a radio commercial where I said gas would be 4 to 5 dollars a gallon if we did not change.  Many laughed me at, but I understand economics, and I had the correct judgment. 
 
Two years later and gas is indeed at 4 dollars a gallon, and I understand the impact that has on all of us.  My opponent doesn’t see things in the same way.  While appearing on Fox News, my opponent said, “Well, look, I did two parades today here in Eastern Indiana. Gasoline is at $3.99 a gallon.  And while your report suggested accurately, that — that may be affecting vacation plans, it has no impact whatsoever on business, especially business on the farm."

I do not know if my opponent could say anything that could more indicate how out of touch he is with us in this district.  I was amazed when he said, “Iraq was like any Indiana Market in the summertime,” but to state on national television that the increase in gas prices have no impact whatsoever, takes things to a new level. 
 
My opponent obviously continues in lockstep with Big Oil and with the failed policies of the Bush Presidency.  We must move away from ALL oil, not just foreign oil.  If I were currently the congressman, I would be bringing funding for wind, solar, and flex fuel vehicle manufacturing to this district, and the jobs that would be created.
 
My opponent voted no on HR 5351. This bill would extend tax credits to power companies that are producing green energy. Allow for financing through US bonds up to 2 billion dollars for clean renewable energy research. Lowered property taxes for people with energy efficient properties, give tax credits for people who buy hybrid cars, and finally cut some tax credits for oil companies.

This bill would have created funding for projects in the sixth district such as expansion of the wind farm now being built in Randolph county, as well as the creation of new wind farms in Jay and Wayne counties, with the possibility of more wind farms in Randolph county as well. Also new jobs would be created in Muncie, Anderson, Connersville, and New Castle.  These are places where we have some of the best machinists in the country. They could be machining and building the turbines and blades for these new wind farms. Also the universities in the district, such as Ball State, would be able to receive some of this funding to innovate and design the next generation of green technologies. It's time we stop giving tax credits to oil companies that are posting record profits and start investing in the future of East Central Indiana, and America.

My opponent also voted no on HR 6, The Energy Act of 2007. This bill would have increased standards for fuel efficiency in cars, increased production of renewable fuels, and also required ethanol plants, as well as other renewable fuel refineries, to lower greenhouse gas emissions, as well as other pollutants, which are detrimental to the surrounding communities.

This bill again would have allowed for the creation of new research and manufacturing jobs in the 6th district.  The people in this district already know how to make great quality automotive parts, and there is no reason to believe that in the future they wouldn't be able to make great quality, more fuel efficient, automotive parts. This would also allow for ECI to take advantage of its fertile soils that allow for ethanol plants to become a larger part of our economy, and become a new point of employment here, and this would eliminate the main concern that we all have about ethanol, and that is the pollution and smell that comes with some of these plants. This bill would have made these plants become environmentally friendly as well as more community friendly.

My opponent also voted no on HR 3221, which was titled: An Act moving the United States toward greater energy independence and security, developing innovative new technologies, reducing carbon emissions, creating green jobs, protecting consumers, increasing clean renewable energy production, and modernizing our energy infrastructure. How can one be against any part of that?

This bill would have given grants to medium and small business, allowing them to become more energy efficient, created more funding of research for renewable clean fuels, and set aside 1 billion dollars for funding of new clean energy producing plants.

Greater energy independence isn't just important when you're paying 4 dollars a gallon at the pump.  It is a matter of national security. A matter of public health and cleaner communities, and most importantly, an opportunity to create new jobs here in East Central Indiana. I hope you will join me in working toward these necessary changes.

IT TOOK LONG ENOUGH BUT BLUE AMERICA IS PROUD TO WELCOME BARRY WELSH

Of all the solid, progressive candidates Blue America didn't get around to endorsing last year, one of the ones that I felt worst about was Indiana's Barry Welsh, who I covered quite a bit here at DWT but never got a chance to have on FDL. Barry's running against Mike Pence again, who has one of the most extremist voting records in the entire Congress-- far more radical right than even your run of the mill, garden variety rubber stamp Republican. And when Barry announced he was going to try again, I knew exactly who to turn to-- DWT's Indiana connection, Joh Padgett who, no surprise, was one of the first people to volunteer for Barry's campaign. I'm on a plane today but Joh is going to help Jane host our first meeting at FDL with a progressive easily worth more than all three of the Blue Dogs Indiana elected last year. Here's Joh's report:

I was struggling with how to begin writing this introduction and I got to thinking about something I keep telling everybody that asks "how's the campaign coming along?" ever since Barry Welsh announced at YKos that he was running against rubber stamp extremist Mike Pence (R-Iraqi Markets) for the second time in Indiana 6th congressional district. It's an honest question and my reply always starts out with "it's gonna be different this time." The reason I say this is because it already is different this time, one month into the announcement, as of Labor Day, and already we have experienced the shift that occurs when a candidate truly turns a corner.

Last time around, in 2006, Barry ran a Netroots savvy, groundbreaking campaign whose official website resides in the US Library of Congress as part of the Election 2006 MINERVA collection created to document the online history of the 2006 elections. Barry pushed for Howard Dean's 50 State Strategy by putting up a special section of his campaign site to help recruit and identify potential candidates to run in every state of the Union. Without Barry Welsh the 2006 elections could very well have gone very differently. This is one clear difference about Barry-- its not always about him and he fights for the team, not for his own personal glory.

When election night rolled around, November 7th 2006, Barry lost his race against Pence, but something unexpected that nobody, not even Barry, thought would happen. As returns rolled in, it became apparent that Barry's little campaign-that-could, had beaten the odds to crack 40% of the vote. Now I know some of you read that figure and think to yourself "only 40%? Why is this guy so impressed by 40% of the vote?" And normally, you would be correct in your assessment, but this is not a normal district Barry is running in.

This is a district that is so red the previous Democrat that ran in 2004 got 31% of the vote. Barry and his band of volunteers and average people who never campaigned before in their lives struck a chord wherever they went and forced a 9 point swing in votes with less than $50,000 in total donations, more than half of which from in-kind donations and very little from cash on hand. That is something we call in Indiana "brassroots campaigning" because that means someone brought out the brass knuckles when they went campaigning-- and that someone was a Methodist minister from Laurel, IN named Barry Welsh.

The man is an animal on the campaign trail; I mean it! He doesn't know when to quit and if you tell him to take it easy, it makes him drink an extra can of Mountain Dew and get started earlier than he was planning to. But again, this time it is different and the story about that is one that must be shared as it explains what drives the man.

For the past ten years Barry has been pastor for Laurel United Methodist Church in the tiny town of Laurel, IN. Located in an economically depressed area of the state, life can be hard in Laurel and so a lot of people who live in the town of 584 (2006 Census estimate) turn to their faith to get them by in these difficult times. Barry led a flock of about 40-50 of his neighbors every Sunday in worship at Laurel UMC, one of eight churches in Laurel. That little town has a lot of faith, and Barry's congregation love and support him and his wife Sherri.

Every couple of years the pastors assigned to the different UMC congregations come up for reappointment to their churches. Earlier this summer, when Barry met with the church officials who decide such things, what he thought would be a routine reappointment ended up not being the case. The church leaders decided that Barry was not the kind of minister they want leading the church in Laurel despite his popularity with the congregation and 10 year tenure in the same post. The official reason for his dismissal? He turns in his paperwork at the last minute. Not late, mind you; he turns in his paperwork exactly on time. This was obviously a political decision made by the church officials, and as a result Barry has taken a 2 year sabbatical from his ministry in order to pursue the nomination to run against Pence full time.

The GOP tentacles in our society today reach far and wide and can even destroy families on a personal level like they tried to do to Barry. Fortunately for the Welsh family Barry's wife Sherri works outside the home and they can, with belt tightening and creative budgeting, work it out so that Barry can concentrate on campaigning full time this cycle. This means Barry is dedicating himself to 24/7 Pence Watch and fundraising for the campaign. Yet another clear difference this time around.

Barry does not run from a fight, if anything he welcomes it. He is a man of peace but he is also a man who is not afraid to use righteous anger. FDL folks know all about righteous anger, and when you see the video below of Barry speaking to the UAW members at a rally from last year you will see him display his righteous anger in a manner not seen in a long time. The hairs on my neck literally stand up every time I watch this clip and I know it will affect you in a similar way. This video clip shows a very clear difference between Barry and the kind of Blue Dog Democrats that tend to come from the state whose name means the Land of Indians. Barry is one of the More and Better Democrats Howie and Darcy talk about.

Another thing you need to know about Barry is that he is also a former teacher and coach. His brilliance and his respect for education, especially science and history, is exemplary. He truly understands the science behind ecologically friendly initiatives and wants Indiana and our nation to embrace technologies that could make us energy independent and far less reliant on foreign oil. He embraces innovation and would like to see a "moon shot" program to invent the technologies we need to have a sustainable energy future for our children and grandchildren. He sees the closed down auto factories in the 6th District and envisions high tech manufacturing plants churning out solar panels and other products that will go a long way toward securing our energy needs for the future. Yet another clear difference between Barry and Pence, the reactionary regressivist.

On a personal level Barry is one of the kindest and most caring human beings I have ever met. He is like that friendly neighbor you love to invite to the backyard barbecue because he's so outgoing and charming, but genuine and the kind of person you walk away from saying "I like that guy." You look forward to seeing Barry at the high school football game, grocery store or while walking the dog.

My only regret is that I could not get involved in his campaign last cycle due to the circumstances I found myself in last summer presiding over the eventual passing of my mother Phyllis last September. Mom would have loved Barry and would have been shoulder to shoulder with me in support of him. I hope you all will join me in support by heading over to our Blue America page to donate to his campaign, or go to his website to sign up for updates or to volunteer.

I want to thank Howie for having Barry over to talk to the community here at FDL about his campaign. Barry and I really appreciate the opportunity, and we are both honored to have Jane moderating the discussion with Barry in the comments section while Howie is traveling back east to do battle with the forces of conservative evil on his latest trip. Barry and I are set up in the cafe at Paradise Bakery in the Castleton area of Indianapolis where we have turned this into a public event to introduce Barry and FDL to the public. If you would like to see what is going on at our end while the discussion takes place, open up a separate browser window to catch our UStream.tv live video stream.

MORE AND BETTER DEMOCRATS

Barry Welsh, one of the good ones-- and worth 3 Blue Dogs easy

Indiana was 3 for 3-- 3 freshmen Democrats elected, 3 freshmen Democrats who vote just the way the Republicans they replaced would have voted on issue after issue after issue. Last year Rahm Emanuel Insiders shoved 3 right of center marginal Democrats down Indiana's throat: Baron Hill, Joe Donnelly and Brad Ellsworth. Blue America made no endorsements in these races. Gretchen Clearwater, our candidate to oppose far right reactionary Mike Sodrel, was beaten in the Democratic primary by a less far right reactionary, ex- and future congressman Baron Hill. Hill has turned out to be as awful as we expected, voting with Bush at nearly every opportunity, yesterday's FISA authorization being just the latest assault on Democratic (and American) values and ideals.

His two clones, Brad Ellsworth and Joe Donnelly, have been exactly as horrible, voting against the Democrats on almost every issue that separates Democrats from Republicans, progressives from reactionaries. In 2008 there is a race in Indiana shaping up that will be very different from the lesser of two evils type races in most Indiana districts. Progressive, values-oriented minister Barry Welsh is challenging right-wing extremist loon Mike Pence again. This time, though, Barry, could actually beat him. And I'd take one Barry Welsh for a trio of traitors like Hill, Ellsworth and Donnelly any day of the week. Barry will be the live Blue America guest at Firedoglake on Saturday, September 1. (I'll remind you closer to the day.)

All across the country there are true blue Democratic progressives challenging the reactionary establishment. In some cases, it is a real Democrat like Donna Edwards going up against a corrupt  Establishment thug like Al Wynn, or a proven progressive incumbent like Memphis' Steve Cohen being challenged by the reactionary Harold Ford Machine. Some of our best Blue America candidates, from Angie Paccione, John Laesch and Vic Wulsin to Darcy Burner are being challenged by opportunistic and establishment Democrats in primaries. Yesterday 41 Democrats abandoned America to vote for Bush-Cheney fascism. Read John Laesch's take on the FISA debacle if you want to understand the difference between the real deal and some quasi-Republican.

If someone were to define me as a political candidate, the best label might be "economic populist and progressive." My primary opponent chose to call himself a Blue Dog Dem. In the Daily Herald:

Foster said he’d be a blue dog Democrat, a coalition of moderate and conservative mostly Southern lawmakers. Rep. Melissa Bean of Barrington is one of them.

"There’s not much they’re pushing for I don’t agree with," Foster said.

It seems to me that there is only one common thread that links blue dogs-– they cave to fear and conversely, there is only one common thread that links progressives-– they’ve got the stones to stand up for what is right.

A Blue Dog will cave and vote to give Bush unchecked war powers in Iraq and the authority to spy on Americans.

The Progressive Caucus voted against the "blank check," standing up to Bush and saying, "no." Many progressives voted against the Patriot Act and a growing majority support de-funding the Iraq occupation.

A Blue Dog will hem and haw over an uncomfortable issue like immigration or in my opponent’s case, just endorse Newt Gingrich’s plan for a national ID card for immigrant workers.

I on the other hand have the guts to tell the "right" that we have a challenging task ahead and you may not agree with my position, but comprehensive immigration is the only reasonable approach to handling this challenging issue. I also delve into a conversation about NAFTA because unfair trade agreements have left Mexico with 28% unemployment. That is a lot of people looking for work north of the border and at the end of the day it is all about big businesses looking for cheap labor.

The Inside the Beltway Democrats, don't care if they wind up with a Blue Dog who votes for the toxic Republican agenda-- just as long as they vote to organize Congress with the Democrats in charge. For ideals and principles and for good government, for values, you have to seek out the John Laeschs, Barry Welshs, Donna Edwardses. Those are the real Democrats, not these turds.

A couple of weeks ago, Blue America followers had a chance to meet Darcy Burner, one of our brightest and most passionate candidates. She's challenging Bush rubber stamp Dave Reichert in Washington's 8th CD, just east of Seattle. But reactionary quasi-Democrats are running an ex-Republican, Rodney Tom, who like Foster, would have loved to have been the 44th Democrat to kiss Bush's ass on FISA. Today over at FDL, Pach has a great video clip-- from where the title of this post comes-- that shows how Darcy answers reactionary Democrats who vote with Republicans. I highly recommend you hit this link and take a look at what Darcy and Pac have to say. And right underneath it is a post by Phoenix Woman worth reading too.


UPDATE-- AN ANTIDOTE TO FUTURE FISA SELLOUTS: DEFEAT MARY LANDRIEU

The Democrats' most vulnerable incumbent is reactionary Mary Landrieu (LA) who has worked very hard to earn the contempt of progressives for years. The Republicans are likely to go after her with all their might. Let them. Progressives should let her go down to defeat, the same way we let the treacherous DLC congressman Harold Ford defeat himself in Tennessee last year. Last year we won a majority in the Senate without Ford and we're better off without Ford. We'd be better off without Landrieu as well. She isn't a Democrat except on the day she votes on organizing the Senate. There is no way to teach Democrats to vote in the interests of the grassroots unless the grassroots stand up and let them know there is a price to pay for perfidy.

Today's Washington Post published an editorial worth reading: Warrantless Surrender-- Congress Is Stampeded Into Another Compromise of Americans' Rights. "The Democratic-led Congress, more concerned with protecting its political backside than with safeguarding the privacy of American citizens, left town early yesterday after caving in to administration demands that it allow warrantless surveillance of the phone calls and e-mails of American citizens, with scant judicial supervision and no reporting to Congress about how many communications are being intercepted. To call this legislation ill-considered is to give it too much credit: It was scarcely considered at all. Instead, it was strong-armed through both chambers by an administration that seized the opportunity to write its warrantless wiretapping program into law-- or, more precisely, to write it out from under any real legal restrictions."

FDL is more brutal in exposing the paucity of credible leadership among the Democrats. "We are a nation represented by sheep."

ALL CONGRESSIONAL INDIANA PRIMARY RESULTS-- PROGRESSIVE HERO IN THE MAKING: BARRY WELSH, THE VALUES CANDIDATE

There were no real surprises in the Indiana congressional primary races, but I thought I'd give an update to the pre-primary story from April 6th. My biggest disappointment, of course-- though not exactly unexpected-- is that instead of a clear choice between a proud progressive (Gretchen Clearwater) and an unabashed neo-fascist, 9th CD incumbent Mike Sodrel will have to face ex-Congressman Baron Hill, a moderate former congressman. Hill isn't my kind of Democrat but he'd definitely be a HUGE improvement over Sodrel. Interestingly, Hill seems to have drawn significantly more voters than Sodrel today, something that bodes well for November. Similarly in the 8th CD, Democrat Brad Ellsworth is drawing a similarly lopsided turnout compared to hysterical right-wing maniac John Hostettler.

Best news of the night is that progressive pastor Barry Welsh is winning his primary contest handily and will face corrupt rubber-stamp Republican Mike Pence in the 6th CD come November. Other Democratic primary winners include Katherine Carr in the 5th, Dave Sanders in the 4th, Thomas Hayhurst in the 3rd and Joe Donnelly in the 2nd. (Donnelly is also getting significantly more votes than his Republican November opponent, rightist clown Chris Chocola.)

There were no interesting primaries on the right-wing side.


MORNING AFTER UPDATE: 3 INDIANA DISTRICTS LOOK READY TO MOVE OUT OF DARKNESS

In the three Indiana congressional districts most likely to switch from red to blue in November, Democratic primary winners drew much greater numbers of voters than Republican winners. In the southern part of the state (IN-09) moderate former Congressman Baron Hill won his DCCC-backed primary against progressive grassroots Dem Gretchen Clearwater with 20,390. The far right rubber-stamp incumbent, Mike Sodrel drew less than 17,000 votes in his primary battle against Sam Schultz.

Meanwhile in the western part of Indiana (IN-08), neither Democrat nor Republican had a primary challenger and Sherrif Brad Ellsworth, the popular and admired Democrat, swamped hysterical rightist lunatic John Hostettler 43,213 vs 27,366 in what many see as just a taste of what's in store for the pathetically rubber-stamping, somewhat whacky Hostettler in November. And in the north central portion of the state that goes from South Bend down to Kokomo (IN-02), the DCCC-backed Joe Donnelly outpolled progressive Steve Francis with 29,541 votes while Tom DeLay-clone Chris Chocola barely managed to gather 22,000 votes against a Republican challenger.

Primary victor and progressive hero Barry Welsh faces a much tougher challenge against entrenched and extremist Bush-ally Mike Pence in IN-06, the east-central part of the state (around Muncie and Richmond).

CAN INDIANA HELP TURN CONGRESS BLUE? INDIANA???

The next primaries coming up that have caught my attention are on May 2nd in Indiana. Indiana has 9 congressional districts and 7 of them are held my right-wing extremist Republicans. The easiest race is in the 8th CD, western Indiana, where heroic and much admired Evansville Sheriff Brad Ellsworth is challenging the delusional lunatic who represents the district now, John Hostettler. Like all 7 Indiana Republicans, Hostettler is pure rubber-stamp. Brad has no primary challenger and Democrats, independents and even moderate Republicans are uniting behind him. Hostettler squeaked by with 53% of the vote in 2004. Brad, basically a conservative Democrat by national standards, seems to have a great chance to take the seat.

The most interesting race is for the seat currently held by freshman Republican Michael Sodrel. Sodrel is so far right that he's considered one of the looniest whackos on Capitol Hill. He gets a perfect zero on almost every important issue that came up in Congress since he was elected. Every single time it came up he supported corporate welfare against the interests of workers and consumers; he voted wrong on every single piece of tax legislation; wrong on issues involving health care, family planning, housing, justice, government checks on corporate power, labor rights, human rights, civil justice, and, of course, on all issues of war and peace. Sodrel has a perfect zero on all those categories of issues. He goes beyond rubber-stamp into the very definition of partisan hack and extremist fruitcake. His watertight connections to convicted Republican bribe-taker Randy "Duke" Cunningham as well as to GOP crime syndicate leaders like Tom DeLay, Roy Blunt and John Boehner make his ethics look very shady (although he hasn't been indicted for any crimes). Now what makes this race so interesting is that he is the only congressman who won with less than half the votes. A third party candidate threw him the election over the Democratic incumbent Baron Hill. And this year Hill is back in southern Indiana's 9th CD as a challenger.

But there's a twist. Hill is a MAJOR priority for the Inside-the-Beltway power establishment and for Rahm Emanuel's anti-grassroots DCCC. And Hill is pretty... moderate. His record on some of the key issues that separate the two parties is spotty. His campaign website, like most good little DCCC shills' websites, avoids discussing issues. Making this race really interesting is that Hill and the DCCC are fighting an intrepid grassroots idealist, a 100% progressive activist named Gretchen Clearwater. For people who complain that politicians from the two D.C. parties are too similar and just sort of morph into each other in too many ways, Gretchen is as good as it gets. If Hill's website avoids controversy entirely, Gretchen grabs it by the horns and wrestles it to the ground. She's ready to join Russ Feingold in censuring (or John Conyers in impeaching!) Most DCCC hacks don't even mention Iraq or if they do, they almost never take a stand that is different from what a Republican would say. If every Democrat took the kind of stand Gretchen takes on her website, the Democrats would sweep Congress:

I am committed to bringing about a resolution in Iraq and to bringing our soldiers home. Questioning this war is the responsible thing to do. It is the only way the war will end. My conscience will not let me stand idly by as thousands of people are wounded and killed.
There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. This administration has circumvented the Geneva Convention by redefining torture and evading responsibility for countless abuses. This is not the way to spread democracy. Our soldiers are sent to battle without the weapons and armor needed to protect them on the front lines. When they come home they are denied their hard-earned medical benefits.
Our National Guardsmen should be home for emergencies such as Hurricane Katrina. Their services are being misused. Our troops are fighting for an unknown time and for unknown goals. I will support legislation such as HR 55, the Homeward Bound bill - which sets a time line for return and mechanisms that would help fund Iraq's recovery.

And on issue after issue, that's what you get. If she wins the primary, next November IN-09 voters will have a clear choice between a right-wing rubber-stamp Republican and a proud progressive true blue Democrat. You want to get involved? It's not too late. Go here to volunteer for Gretchen's campaign.

The 6th CD in east-central Indiana (around Muncie and Richmond) is currently held by Mike Pence someone so extreme and so right-wing that he almost makes Tom DeLay look like a moderate! The only time Pence is not a rubber-stamp is on the rare occasion that the GOP position isn't whacko enough! As horrible as Pence is-- and, frankly, it just doesn't get any worse-- that's how good his Democratic opponent, Barry Welsh, is. Like Gretchen, he faces all the toughest issues head on-- and comes up on the correct side each time. Listen to what he has to say about a woman's right to choice and about same-sex marriage:

I am the pastor of a church, and when someone comes to me with an unwanted pregnancy situation, I do not council for abortion under any circumstances, and I do not judge people that make that choice.
Sometimes pregnancies are terminated due to medical necessity, sometimes pregnancies are terminated due to rape or incest or both, and sometimes pregnancies are terminated by choice. No matter the reason, I know that there are psychological implications when this choice is made, and I do not believe in compounding that mental burden with social torment.
Congressman Pence and I both agree that abortion is not the personal choice of either of us, we disagree on making criminals of those that are faced with this difficult decision. Until an individual is faced with that choice, it is easy to say what one would do, so I choose not to judge. Marriage is a sacrament of our faith and is Biblically between a man and a woman. But I also understand that just because I do not believe in same sex marriage, does not mean that people should be denied civil rights.

Like Gretchen, he's amazing on all the issues, from "We support our troops by bringing them home as quickly as possible" to "Congress had no trouble voting for their own cost of living wage, but then forget about those that are struggling just to survive. I propose a one-dollar increase in the minimum wage in the first year, and a fifty-cent raise in the second year." This is the kind of guy I want to see in Congress-- not the Rahm Emanuel empty suits who smell like Republicans but an honest to goodness commonsense progressive!

The other district that looks like fertile ground for a Democrat is the 2nd CD in north-central Indiana from Michigan City, South Bend and Elkhart down to Kokomo. It will probably be a re-match between moderate Democrat Joe Donnelly and ultra right-wing kook Chris Chicola. A lock-step Republican zombie, Chicola couldn't be more of a rubber-stamper if he tried. He's a symbol for everything that is wrong with Republican misgovernment in Washington and maybe that's why MoveOn.org decided to target him-- along with only 3 other equally abysmal Republicans-- with his very own TV spot, which you can watch by clicking here. There is also a progressive Democrat in the primary, Steve Francis, who sounds great on all the issues.

The races in the other districts would need a major Democratic tsunami for any changes from red to blue. CD 3 in the northeast of the state (from Goshen to Fort Wayne) is represented by Mark Souder, another entrenched rubber-stamper (though not as far off the cliff of insanity as Sodrel or Pence-- but almost). There appear to be 4 Democrats vying for the opportunity to challenge him: Kevin Boyd, a progressive pastor who looks GREAT on the issues, Tom Hayhurst, whose slick website smells DCCC all the way (no positions on issues), and 2 guys with no websites Thomas Schrader and Edward Smith.

The 4th CD is just west of Indianapolis and includes Lafayette, Greenwood and Bedford. Stephen Buyer-- another garden variety far right maniac and rubber-stamp corporate asskisser-- is the incumbent. The 3 Democrats fighting it out in the primary are Rick Cornstuble, a retired school teacher and a moderate, Dave Sanders, a biodefense researcher and national security policy expert, also a moderate, and Darin Kinser, who has no website.

The 5th CD is the home of one of the worst jackasses in Congress, Republican loon and wild extremist Dan Burton. This certifiably-insane person goes beyond rubber-stamp. If we are ever to see a real fascist/KKK take-over of this country this is one of the nuts to watch. The Democrats who want to take him on are Katherine Carr, a middle class retiree with a solid analysis of what Bush and the rubber-stamp Congress have done to screw things up in our country, Mike Clements, a handsome young fella with no issues on his DCCC-smelling website, and a couple of guys with no websites, Tom Williams and Mike Brown.

I asked the Art Deptartment to do a picture with Gretchen and Barry because they both seem so awesome but Sophie and Sadie go to sleep around 7 and Adam passed out drunk and only stuck Gretchen into the art. Anyone who's keeping score-- we like Barry Welsh too.