There Are Still 7 Crucial Congressional Primaries Coming Up For Progressives

Progressives have had a mixed year in terms of primaries. We had four big losses-- Norman Solomon in California, Ilya Sheyman in Illinois, Cecil Bothwell in North Carolina and Eric Griego in New Mexico-- and five big wins-- David Gill in Illinois, Patsy Keever in North Carolina, Matt Cartwright in Pennsylvania, Beto O'Rourke in Texas, and Nate Shinagawa in New York. Here's the schedule for the key primaries still unfolding that we're watching:

Darcy Burner (WA-1)- August 7
Syed Taj (MI-11)- August 7
Trevor Thomas (MI-3)- August 7
Chris Donovan (CT-5)- August 14
Nick Ruiz (FL-7)- August 14
Matt Heinz (AZ-2)- August 28
Raúl Grijalva (AZ-3)- August 28

The 3 primaries in Washington and Michigan are two weeks from yesterday! And all three look good, though none are in the bag. Darcy Burner's main opponent in a 5-way race for a new district stretching from Seattle's technology-forward suburbs to the agricultural areas up towards the Canadian border, is a quintessential self-entitled one-percenter, Suzan DelBene. DelBene is the Mitt Romney of the Democratic congressional cycle-- a serial business failure in every way but one: she made lots of money for herself as she caused nothing but economic devastation around her. Everyone in America now knows that multimillionaire Mitt Romney is engulfed in a scandal because he didn't release his tax returns and refuses to disclose his assets and finances; multimillionaire Suzan DelBene similarly refused to file her 2011 financial disclosure despite the fact that federal law required it. If she's the nominee, the Republicans will have an easy time beating her because of that alone. Polling against the crazed GOP candidate has consistently shown that DelBene would lose to him and that only Darcy has a chance to keep the seat blue.

But DelBene and (especially) her husband are loaded and they're determined to buy the nomination. DelBene has put more of her own money into the race than any other Democrat anywhere in America... and is running over a million dollars in self-funded TV ads against Darcy right now. She's outspending the other 4 candidates combined 4 to 1! Because of her money she's the favorite of the Inside-the-Beltway corrupt Establishment and has been endorsed by the New Dems (basically, the Blue Dogs without the white KKK sheets). It must be driving her insane that Darcy has been ahead in every single public and private poll of the district's Democratic voters. The DCCC, slimy as always, has asked donors to keep out of the race-- in effect leaving DelBene and her self-funding with the overwhelming money advantage. Daily Kos' Orange to Blue PAC, Blue America, DFA and the PCCC have pitched in for Darcy.

Michigan also has it's primary 2 weeks from tomorrow and we have two hot races, although there are other important ones as well (including in MI-14 where two incumbents face off, progressive and underfunded Hansen Clarke vs right-of-center Gary Peters and in MI-13 where progressive icon John Conyers is battling to save his seat against 3 Democratic state legislators and a school board trustee). Michigan's 3rd district (Grand Rapids/Battle Creek) has a hot primary between a young and super-accomplished activist, Trevor Thomas, and a rich old hack, Steve Pestka, who, as a state legislator consistently voted with the Republicans against Choice and to defund Planned Parenthood. He doesn't even allow for an exception in his anti-Choice mania for women who have been raped or when there is incest involved! He's the worst of what the old-time Democratic Party is still trying to foist on voters. Although he has some corrupt institutional support, 74% of his money ($590,118) comes by way of writing checks to himself. He's heavily invested in Conoco Phillips, Exxon Mobil, Occidental Petroleum and Devon Energy which is currently planning a controversial fracking project in Michigan. Pestka has failing grades from the League of Conservation Voters. Trevor pointed out that it doesn't make sense to "say you're concerned about high gas prices, or tax loopholes, or our environment when you're personally holding investments in Exxon." Pestka's campaign stinks to high heaven and Amash would make mincemeat out of him in no time flat.


In terms of contributions from real voters, Thomas is beating him handily and polls show that if there's a big turnout Thomas will win the primary. A big turnout in a summer primary is never easy and we're asking for anyone who can afford it to send Trevor last minute contributions for his get-out-the-vote efforts.

We've also talked a bit about the contest in MI-11 where Thad McCotter's hasty resignation has opened up a Republican-held seat to the Democrats. Under the new boundaries Obama would have beaten McCain in this district 50-48%. Dr. Syed Taj is unlikely to ever get real chummy with Michele Bachmann, but he's a distinguished physician with fantastic ideas for how to improve ObamaCare. Dr. Taj is a strong across-the-board progressive champion and in the primary he's facing a bizarre sociopath, Bill Roberts, who brazenly calls himself a LaRouche activist and is obsessed with impeaching President Obama. (Yes, we're talking about a Democratic primary.) This is the header from his website:


The following week, the action shifts east and south, to Connecticut and Florida. Chris Donovan, Speaker of the Connecticut House is a real threat to the corrupt Beltway Establishment. He's the embodiment of everything they fear-- with a record of achievement to prove it. Donovan defines what it means to be a champion of regular American working families-- and he's running against two self-entitled careerist hacks who are eager to immerse themselves in the sewers of Washington. One is the son of a wealthy lobbyist and the other is a grotesque ConservaDem bolstered by EMILY's List who, thankfully, has never accomplished any of her goals-- all of which were to cut services to working families while giving tax breaks to her wealthy financial supporters.

Also on August 14 there are two big match-ups in FL-7, one between Republicans and one between Democrats. Oddly, both have teabaggers! On the GOP side, old time Republican hack, John Mica-- one of Boehner's stooges-- faces off against the Member of Congress considered the stupidest person on the Hill, teabagger Sandy Adams. On the Democratic side Blue America's first endorsee of the cycle, Nicholas Ruiz, is facing a strange Tea Party Democrat, Jason Kendall. Grassroots Democrats everywhere are looking for elected officials equal to the challenge of today's Republican Party, and, alas, Obama, Hoyer, Reid, Wasserman-Schultz and Israel just aren't going to cut it in this climate. There's a time for magnanimity, timidity and bipartisan statesmanship-- and there's a time for kicking their asses. It's time to kick their asses-- which is why people are so excited about Nick Ruiz. We've been in these circumstances before as a people, when we were faced with the debauchery of the early 20th century and the subsequent implosion, followed by FDR's appearance in the 1930s and that's why FDR and the progressives of that time had such a tremendous impact on our country. After Bush, for whatever reason, Obama and the conservative consensus that rules Congress, didn't rise to the occasion. This is the time when we need more tribunes for working families who won't hesitate in standing up for Americans values and progressive principles and will never sell out to the one percent. Nick Ruiz is the embodiment of that kind of candidate.

The two teabaggers are likely to lose their primaries and then it will be a tough contest in November between Mica, who the district is pretty sick of, and Nick Ruiz, the independent-minded progressive who will get to Congress owing nothing to the corrupt conservative Democratic Beltway hierarchy.

And that brings us to the end of August-- the 28th-- when Arizona moves front and center. Blue America has two candidates, both in the southern part of the state with districts that split Tucson-- incumbent Raúl Grijalva (AZ-3) and challenger (and state Rep) Dr. Matt Heinz (AZ-2). Raúl is the nexus of the progressive movement inside Congress... and the power of the one percent has arrayed against him again. This time-- knowing they probably can't beat him in a general election-- they're throwing their money behind a fake Democrat, a conservative shill Amanda Aguirre who's getting tons of PAC support from health insurance companies, corporate agriculture (BCBS and CropLife America) and Canadian mining operation, Rosemont Copper. And she's got George Braun, a Republican Party operative, running her campaign. Raul spends his time and energy working for us, not working the phones for campaign contributions, the way most incumbents do. If you can, please consider stepping up for him now. He's the only incumbent member of the House endorsed by Blue America this cycle. While stumping for him in Tucson, Jim Hightower reminded voters that "they're not coming after Raúl... they're coming after YOU!"

Corporate interests have been successful in getting conservatives elected as Democrats in Arizona and they certainly succeeded in the other Tuscon district, where Ron Barber got elected and immediately started voting with the GOP, first to gut all the environmental legislation ever passed and then to gut Eric Holder as part of Darrell Issa's deranged anti-Obama witch hunt. This isn't the kind of Democrat anyone needs and, luckily, a progressive state Rep., Matt Heinz, looks like he can beat Barber next month. During an interview with Piers Morgan, Barber said in response to the recent Colorado tragedy that “between now and the election, I really believe that very little is going to be said about major policy issues.” Barber can’t talk the talk or walk the walk. He will not tackle hard issues that require a strong advocate-- issues like gun control, the environment and equality. That's why Democrats and independents are so excited about Matt. All Barber can do is hope people think he's Gabby Giffords.

EMILY'S List-- Up To Their Old Tricks, Subverting A Progressive In Connecticut For A Corporate Shill

Worried about mealy-mouthed progressives who will buckle when ConservaDem careerists like Steny Hoyer or Joe Crowley lean on them? I spoke to one today who's running for Congress against a awful Republican. I really wanted to support him. But after half an hour on the phone I was dizzy and I felt in need of a cold shower or a swim. Every word was so parsed and so nuanced that I couldn't get a feel for where he actually stood on any issues at all-- other than mom and apple pie. I prefer candidates like Connecticut House Speaker Chris Donovan. Above is his first TV ad for a primary (August 14) against a sleazy conservative Democrat being pushed by corporate power brokers EMILY's List.

Donovan is one of the greatest and most accomplished legislative leaders in the history of Connecticut and the steaming pile that EMILY's List has turned into attacked him using typical Republican framing. EMILY's List, which has disgraced itself by running a virulently anti-Semitic and racist corporate shill against Rep. Steve Cohen in Memphis, is telling it's members in Connecticut to not vote for Donovan because he raised taxes, not mentioning that his tax agenda was to make the rich pay their fair share in order to provide needed services for middle and working class residents. EMILY's List has badly lost its way. They claim their corporate candidate is for "responsible budgeting," meaning she tried to cut Medicaid, education and services to Connecticut's most needy families, particularly widowed and unmarried women with children. Whose side is EMILY's List on? It's been many many years since they were on anyone's side but the rich donors who pay their own inflated salaries. Everything about Elizabeth Esty says "Blue Dog" or "new Dem." That's what EMILY's List has turned into. " most contemptible than EMILY's List.

If you like Chris Donovan's ad and want to see it running on TV right through election day, please consider contributing to his campaign here.

In CT-5, A Battle Between The Democratic Wing Of The Democratic Party & The Corporatist Republican Wing Of The Party

Connecticut's August 14 primary is in the final stretch. There's one important Democratic congressional race-- to replace Chris Murphy in the 5th district, the well-to-do western part of the state from Danbury, Waterbury and New Britain up through all of giant Litchfield County. And the traditional media is still getting the story wrong, missing the boat as usual.

Emily's List and MoveOn.org, two national powerhouses of fundraising and political support for progressive Democratic candidates, are fighting not against Republicans, or the religious right, but each other.

Half right; MoveOn.org is a national powerhouse of fundraising and political support for progressive Democratic candidates. Emily's List? What decade is the writer stuck in? There's nothing remotely progressive about Emily's List. In fact, the organziation has become part of the toxic DC conservative consensus. A "liberal titan?" Don't think so. Not in this century. Emily's List exists to elect pro-choice women, and it doesn't care about their ideology, or whether they are running against equally pro-choice male candidates (or even more dedicated pro-choice women with a more progressive, less pro-Big Business bent) who are more progressive on every other issue. In other words, they have become a wing of the DCCC and other conservative-leaning parts of the corrupt Inside-the-Beltway Establishment, existing to elect corporate candidates of the 1% running against progressive champions. When you see Emily's List has endorsed a candidate, you have to check and recheck to see what's wrong with that candidate.

You may remember when Emily's List became the electoral face of virulent anti-semitism in Memphis, Tennessee, but there's a more recent case in point: CT-05 where they are running the wealthy Ivy League educated ConservaDem Elizabeth Esty against the progressive Speaker of the House Chris Donovan, despite the fact that Chris, as Majority Leader to a conservative Speaker of the House, successfully fought for Plan B medication to be available for rape victims at all of Connecticut's hospitals (even the private Catholic hospitals who bitterly opposed the law), despite Chris leading the fight to strengthen protections against domestic violence, and despite Chris, as Speaker of the House, not allowing a single vote that would restrict women's right to choose to come to the floor on his watch.

And despite Elizabeth Esty being a conservative Democrat fighting for he interests of the 1%, always ready to capitulate to the Republicans at the first hint of turbulence.

For example, in the budget fights of 2009-2010, encompassing Esty's lone term in the CT House of Representatives, while progressive leaders like Chris Donovan set about the important work of replacing Connecticut's flat tax with the first progressive income tax to ask millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share, Esty was joining with the so-called "moderate caucus" to suggest an "alternative budget."

The alternative being that it protected the income of the 1% and cut the programs that serve Connecticut's working families. Please, let me encourage you to click on the link and read Esty's whole hideous plan. But here are some of the low-lights:

* Cut youth employment programs

* Eliminate OTC drug coverage under Medicaid

* Increase fees for Medicaid patients

* Increase premiums for children's health care through Husky (S-Chip) program

* Cut affordable housing programs

* Eliminate funding for two magnet schools (including one that served her district)

* Eliminate After School Programs

* Reduce funding to Connecticut's Public Colleges and Universities

Sounds a little like a junior league version of Paul Ryan's budget, doesn't it? And then she joined with those other "moderate" legislators to send a letter to the leaders who were fighting for working families, asking them to capitulate to the Republican governor's budget demands so that programs would be cut, and their millionaire constituents wouldn't have to pay a little bit more for the common good.

Sending her to Congress would be guaranteeing another vote for the Simpson-Bowles plan to gut Social Security and Medicare, another vote to capitulate to the Republican Ryan plan to voucherize and destroy Medicare, and another vote for the 1% at the expense of the 99% of families who have to work for a living. Not issues on Emily's List radar.

And sending her to Congress would allow us to watch her walk back her campaign promises. For example, while she now claims to be in favor of paid sick leave, when she had her chance to vote for the first statewide paid sick leave law in the country she voted no (Chris Donovan didn't give up, and that law was passed in 2011).

That's why Esty has the support of "moderate" DC groups like Emily's List and Chris Donovan has the support of progressive groups like Blue America, PCCC, MoveOn.org, CCAG and the Working Families Party. The media has one thing right-- its a battle, but the battle is between us and them; between the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party and the spineless, corporatist, Republican wing of the Democratic Party. (There's also some rich lobbyist's son running in the primary.)

Let's make sure we win this one, and send Chris Donovan to Congress.

Happy Earth Day

Today Disney is releasing Chimpanzee, Earth Day. Yesterday we asked some of the Blue America candidates to tell us what Earth Day means to them. Let me pick that up with a short post from Ken Aden, who's running in a pretty red-leaning district in northwest Arkansas.

"As a Renewable Energy Technology Major I understand how important it is that we work together to find a common sense solution to the energy problems that plague us today. Having served in various conflicts overseas, I am firm in my belief that if we invested more in modern technologies such as geothermal energy and solar panel manufacturing then we would not have the majority of the national security problems that we do. Looking back on my military service I can't count the number of times where oil took the main stage front and center and was the sole focus and or concern. We as a country have gone backwards in our thinking. We are technologically advanced, we have a brilliant pool of minds and leading engineers yet we seem focused on only finding that next spot to drill, that next pocket of oil to extract. For me, Earth Day is an opportunity to discuss these ideas and present them in a way that is easy to understand and easy to visualize. Renewable Energy is a main campaign focus of ours in Arkansas because we know that the NW corner of our state is uniquely situated to become a leader in this field, and pave the way for other states to follow. As our next progressive member of Congress, I will work to increase tax credits for businesses that develop renewable energy technologies. I will also make sure that those tax credits aren’t just for Fortune 500 companies because I truly believe that Main Street can and should play as big of a role in helping America achieve energy independence as Wall Street. I will continue to work with local governments in the 3rd District to help attract green energy companies to our area, not only in terms of manufacturing but in terms of power generation as well. Earth Day is great time for us to pause in reflection on what we're doing right, what we need to do better and how we can make our planet not only livable but viable for future generations.

Like Ken, Rob Zerban, the progressive Democrat running against Paul Ryan, whose budget proposal is astoundingly backward on the conservation and environmental fronts, has also devoted a lot of time and energy on ecology in his life. "Environmental stewardship," he told us, "is how I started my public service. I understand that we have but one world, one planet, to call home. With that comes an awesome responsibility to make sure we leave it better for our children. Congress has been sorely lacking in leaders who understand the delicate balance that protecting our environment plays in everything else we seek to do-- from creating jobs to creating memories with our families. I'm proud to follow in the footsteps of the great Wisconsin environmental leaders like John Muir, Aldo Leopold and Gaylord Nelson and I look forward to preserving their great legacy in Congress."  

Not far south and a bit west of Rob's Wisconsin district, we come to the heart of the Prairie State, IL-13, where progressive David Gill is favored to win a seat being vacated by Tim Johnson. Dr. Gill also takes the idea of environmental stewardship very seriously.

To me, there is no more important issue than restoring the health of our planet. I am a man of science, and sadly, the science of Global Climate Change is all too clear: Global Climate Change is very, very real and it's very, very threatening. And it is clearly a result of mankind's dependence upon fossil fuels. It's tragic that we allow politics to enter into this at all, and that we allow the discussion to be muddied by politicians who are bought and owned by oil companies.

The midnight hour is upon us with respect to irreversible climate change-- immediate aggressive action must be taken, or our Earth will be a dramatically different place in 50 years, in 80 years, in 100 years. As our children's children struggle to find clean water to drink and clean air to breathe, they will look back at the irresponsible "leaders" of our generation and shake their heads in disgust and sorrow. Every other issue facing us will be all but moot when our Earth becomes largely uninhabitable by our descendents.

Darcy Burner is running in a new Washington district that starts in the Seattle suburbs and goes clear up to the Canadian border. Even Republicans in this part of the country appreciate Nature. "Forty-two years ago," Darcy recalled for us, "my friend Denis Hayes organized the first Earth Day and changed the way Americans think about our planet. Now we face a climate crisis of unprecedented proportions. But just as we were up to the challenges half a century ago, we are up to these challenges. Here in Washington State, we’ve been creating the next generation of clean energy technologies which will replace the dirty, polluting fossil fuels of the 19th Century. As we celebrate Earth Day, I hope that you all will join me in taking on our challenges both through our public actions and our private choices."

Chris Donovan is the Speaker of Connecticut's House and the battle for a clean environment and a sustainable earth is something he's been dealing with inside his state legislature. He recalls that "One of my first organizing campaigns at the Connecticut Citizens' Action Group (CCAG) was an environmental justice campaign to protect aquifers, ban the land-filling of toxic waste, and to enact a "right to know" statute so that families and workers would know what toxic waste products existed in their workplaces and communities. That campaign was ultimately successful and stuck with me through my time in the legislature, that we could successfully organize to protect our communities from toxic waste, and to protect our environment for our children and grandchildren. I took that lesson into the successful fights to clean up Connecticut's "Sooty Six" power plants and to remediate brownfield sites. Our stewardship of the environment is the most important legacy we can leave to the next generation. Earth Day is a symbol of that stewardship, and of our responsibility, and our goal must be to have a cleaner environment with less reliance on fossil fuels, in order to create a cleaner, more sustainable world."

Eric Griego, represents parts of Albuquerque in the New Mexico state legislature, where he's been a leader on behalf of the values inherent in Earth Day. This morning he told us that he "believes we need more leaders in Congress to fight for bold investments to make America the world leader in the new energy economy and support science to combat global climate change. I will continue building on my consistent record of championing clean energy, conservation and smart growth."

Joe Miklosi has been fighting this battle in the Colorado legislature and he's going up against virulent Climate Change-denier Mike Coffman in November. He has a very pragmatic approach to the problem-- one that has been a winning approach in Colorado where everyone loves the natural beauty, even many Republicans. Joe:

Earth Day is unique benchmark in time for the environmental movement. 42 years ago the first Earth Day Celebration led to the passage of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. Thanks to those initiatives, the days when smog choked our cities are over, our water is safer and cleaner, and our communities are more livable and prosperous.

Earth Day is a special reminder that we can grow our economy-- and even spur new American industries, while respecting our environment and national resources. Waves of American ingenuity have been unleashed and new products are been developed for environmentally conscious consumers around the globe.

Opponents of environmental standards have made the same hollow claims for 40 years about the potential loss of jobs. For 42 years they have been wrong and they continue to make these false arguments today. Responsible stewardship actually has created jobs, industries, and cottage industries while making our communities cleaner and more livable. 

In Colorado, our environment is vital to the economy. Earth Day is a reminder that by working together we can make a measurable and lasting difference.

Ann Kuster and Carol Shea-Porter are the two exemplary Blue-America-backed progressives running for Congress in New Hampshire. Both are friends of the earth, in the truest sense of the term. Carol Shea-Porter

I was in high school when the first Earth Day was held, but I was already an environmentalist. My Republican family had taught me to respect nature. My dad had been in the Navy, and he would take garbage out of the water and talk to us about our responsibility to be good stewards on land and sea, but he and his generation did not realize the extent of our problems in the years before Earth Day. Everything came into sharper focus after the first Earth Day, and the battle began to save our planet. Sadly, climate change denial has held us back from treating this effort like the Apollo project, and we have wasted time arguing. In New Hampshire, there was always a bipartisan effort to protect natural resources until recently. Democrats and Republicans worked together to protect our shores, our mountains, and our way of life. Tourism is a huge part of our economy, and we all have a vested interest in preserving our natural resources. But now, the tea party runs NH and they are voting to undo legislation. In Washington, tea partier Congressman Frank Guinta has tried to strip the EPA of its authority to regulate polluters, and his anti-environment votes have earned him an "F" from The Sierra Club. His money comes from the Koch Brothers, oil companies, and others, and he serves their interests instead of the public interest. Granite Staters will change that in November, and I will go back to the Natural Resources Committee and serve the public interest again.

And, we hope, so will Ann Kuster:

Earth Day is significant because it shows the power of an idea to change social behavior. I remember the first Earth Day and when our science class went out to pick up trash on the side of the roads. At that point in time, throwing trash out your car window was normal practice and our highways and byways were cluttered with it. Litter was not a word in our vocabulary. In 42 years we have come a long way. Looking back, what seemed trivial in Junior High School has impacted our lives in incredible ways. Protecting our environment and the health of our people not only improves the quality of life in New Hampshire but also keeps our economy strong.

But we need to stay vigilant. From the New Hampshire State House to the United States Congress, our far right leaders are eroding our environmental protections. I am running for Congress to protect the quality of life of New Hampshire families and the quality of our environment couldn't be more important. Unless we stand up and fight back the attacks on our clean air, clean water and all the rest, we will be passing on a country that has worse quality of life and worse health outcomes for our children and grandchildren. On this Earth Day, lets redouble our collective efforts to do our part for a clean planet.

Lee Rogers, who's running against a classic GOP Nature-hater and environmental destruction machine, Buck McKeon, is a doctor and a father of two young daughters. Like many parents, he looks at the idea of the stewardship of earth's resources through a very special lens. "This weekend," he told us, "I watched Dr. Suess's The Lorax with my 3 year old daughter, Emma. I was amazed to see how quickly she 'got it.' She told me, 'if you chop the trees down, you will be sad.' The problem with Earth Day is that it's only a single day. We need this level of attention to our environment everyday. There are things we all can do to protect our environment; don't litter, recycle, use public transportation, read e-books, drive a more efficient car, and use water and energy saving technology at home. But perhaps the most important thing you can do for the environment is support candidates and legislators who will respect our planet. The uninformed and the science deniers in Congress pose the biggest threat to the health of our world. By being active and informed, we can avoid living in a real version of Thneedville."

You can find all the Blue America candidates on the same page about protecting the air and the water and our stewardship of the environment-- as well as on the same page for much needed campaign contributions.

The Inside-The-Beltway Party Committees-- Where Conservatism And Corruption Meet

The DCCC isn't clearing the field for Chris Donovan

This post was so long that I broke it in two and the second half, which is more general will be up at 10am (PT). This one we're going to devote entirely to the race in Connecticut's 5th CD, where current Congressman Chris Murphy is leaving to run for retiring Joe Lieberman's Senate seat. Blue America endorsed Connecticut Assembly Speaker, Chris Donovan, an exemplary and accomplished progressive leader, last year. He has two primary opponents, Elizabeth Esty a very wealthy ex-state Rep who's being run by EMILY's List and Dan Roberti, another one percenter, a p.r. guy who's dad is a well-connected DC lobbyist. The DCCC claims to be neutral in primaries-- unless they don't want to be. And they don't want to be when they can get a corrupt corporate conservative nominated instead of a progressive, especially the kind of progressive they hate most-- independent minded ones. Nothing frightens cowering party leaders like Steny Hoyer, Steve Israel, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Joe Crowley more than independent-minded Democrats.

Chris Donovan must scare the crap out of them. A former SEIU organizer, he got himself elected to the Assembly, organized the progressive caucus, took over the whole thing and started passing all the legislation progressives had hopes Barack Obama would get behind in 2008. Donovan's not just a progressive; he's a progressive who gets things done.

Two DCCC surrogates, James Carville and EMILY's List (which was once an outstanding independent operation and is now, in effect, just a flaccid and pathetic appendage of the Democratic Beltway committees brimming with cash but nothing else) sent out similarly disingenuous letters for, respectively Roberti and Esty this week.

From: "James Carville "
To: xxxx@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:01:35 -0400
Subject: The Time is NOW!

Dear Mike,

You know me – I’m a straight shooter. So I’m just going to cut to the chase. 

We have just 3 days left before the first, and arguably the most critical, Federal Election Commission fund-raising reporting deadline of 2012.  My friend Dan Roberti is running for Congress in Connecticut’s 5th District, and he needs your help now. March 31st is the last deadline before the state party’s convention.

Contribute now before the deadline. 

That means Dan needs to have the strongest showing possible.  The media, the pundits and our opponents will use Dan’s fund-raising totals as a measure of his momentum going into the convention.

We have set an aggressive goal to raise $25K more before March 31st – but we can’t do it without you.  Will you chip in to help my friend Dan? 

Contribute now before the deadline. Even just $5, $10, or $25 can make a difference. 

Dan has the momentum to win in November, but he needs you now.  Chip in $5, $10, $25 or more – any drop in the bucket can help us reach our goal.


Thanks for your help.

James

And... from EMILY's List, a letter trying to "bundle" with Elizabeth Warren and Betty Sutton, two women who fight for working families, not with a record of fighting against them.

So, who are these two candidates for whom the DCCC is "staying neutral?" Dan Roberti is, basically just a spolied rich kid with nothing going for him but a dad with big-time DCCC cronies he calls friends. That's it. The father is a sleazy lobbyist, Vincent Roberti, and a major bundler for Democratic Party insiders. He's on the DCCC Speaker's Cabinet and the DSCC finance committee. And he's given over half a million dollars, personally, to DCCC and DSCC candidates. You can imagine why worms like Crowley and Israel don't want to piss him off by telling his kid to take a hike. And Dan's given almost $100,000 himself-- all while being a student living in New York.

Don't get me wrong; I don't doubt freaks like Israel and Crowley genuinely like Vincent Roberti. He's very much like them in the most basic ways, in fact. He narrowly escaped prison on an arson rap-- gotten off by the skin of his teeth by former State Democratic Party Chair, and huge Lieberman supporter, John Droney. And it's not like he was an angel before that-- not by a long shot. In his 1978 race for the Assembly, his opponent found 130 of his campaign signs in the rear seat of Vinnie Roberti's car and three years later he was suspected of firebombing two cars owned by his opponent, the sitting mayor. A few years later he was arrested for beating up a college kid outside of a bar, although he was later able to "persuade" the kid to drop the charges. Vinnie's nickname in the legislature while he was serving was "Dirty Roberti" and he was routinely voted one of the worst legislators in the General Assembly by his colleagues. How could sleaze-bags like Israel and Crowley not love him?

Think anyone besides me noticed this is illegal?

The kid has no experience doing anything in Connecticut to speak of, so his campaign has been largely funded by his family (tons of Robertis have maxed out) and his dad's connections. For example, in the Q4 2011 filing, $50,000 was raised from just two NJ families that run the Midtown Operating Corp., a yellow cab company in NYC ($37,500 from the Shermans and $12,500 from the Tiffenbergs. As you can see, his donors come almost exclusively from his pop's D.C. power set. You want more crap like that in Congress? Isn't that's what's wrong with Congress?

As for Esty, the EMILY's List candidate, in her one term at the state house, during the fight over the budget with Republican Gov. Rell, Esty and other conservative Democrats sent a letter calling on the legislature to agree to Rell's budget cuts instead of raising taxes on millionaires. Among other things, Rell's cuts would have decimated Medicare and S-CHIP, cut funds to education and libraries, closed senior centers... you know, the whole Paul Ryan routine. She also proposed an alternative budget and crows about it on her campaign website but it also would have cut health care spending, Medicare, s-chip, schools, nutrition programs for pregnant women and infants.

Compared the Roberti family, at least she's relatively honest. But just relatively. Her campaign took $2,000 from four Northeastern Utilities (owner of Connecticut Light and Power) executives one month before her husband, Commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (with oversight of NU) controversially stepped in and made the unprecedented move of asking a regulatory agency to rescind a draft opinion denying Northeast Utilities multi-million dollar request to instal smart meters on all it's customers in CT and pass the cost on to the customers by levying new fees. He then came under fire because NU was not on his recusal list, despite taking more than $200k from them in consulting fees over an eight year period that ended in 2005. His given excuse was that he hadn't worked with NU in 5 years, and all of the executives that he had previously worked with were no longer at NU-- but the Esty campaign took money from CURRENT executives. It seems that the particular execs may have had more than a passing familiarity with the smart meter plan D. Esty stepped in to save.

Today's the last day of the FEC quarter. Help Blue America make sure Chris Murphy is replaced by an outstanding legislator, not some shady self-entitled one-percenter. If you can, please contribute to Chris Donovan's campaign here on the Blue America ActBlue page.

How To Make Small Political Contributions Make A Real Difference In A Political System Dominated By Wealthy Special Interests

Ilya's crucial primary in Illinois is the day after tomorrow. It looks very good for a progressive win. But that's hardly the end-- not for Ilya, who then has to go on and beat GOP hack Bob Dold-- and not for the progressive movement, which has quite a few more tough primaries against conservative Democrats between now and the general. Last month Jonathan Bernstein, sitting in for Greg Sargent at the Washington Post penned a column that flies in the face of Beltway conventional wisdom, Want to make your money count? Don't give it to Obama. Most realists recognize that, in the end, the presidential election will come down to a battle between a conservative standing up for the status quo and, in some areas trying to move it marginally in favor of the less privileged (marginally) and a reactionary, dead set on moving the clock backwards as far as he can get away with. Obama isn't my idea of a great president but Romney? Come on. In 2008 Blue America had already recognized what Obama is and, unlike virtually all of our colleagues we refused to endorse him. We knew what was coming. Better than McCain? Of course... marginally. But we concentrated our efforts on House and Senate races where there was a chance to elect a progressive who would actually work to move things in a new direction. And that's what Bernstein is counseling for this year as well:

If you’re planning on making political donations this year, and you really want your money to help the cause, here’s what you should do: Instead of sinking cash into either presidential campaign, put it where it will really matter-- into Congressional or state and local races.

Here’s why: The battle for the House and Senate may well shape up as toss ups, which means that control of Congress is hanging in the balance. This matters just as much, and in many ways more, than control of the White House. The least bang for your buck comes in presidential general elections. Your money will make a much bigger difference in practically every other type of election.

If you’re a typical donor of the $25, $100, or even $5000 variety, your money is just a drop in the ocean of the hundreds of millions of dollars that both sides are going to spend on the presidential election. But more importantly, what we know about voter behavior suggests that money is least important in presidential (general) elections. Money matters more in nomination fights-- where the candidates share a party label-- than in general elections, where most voters will use the party label as a powerful cue. Moreover, voters will pay less attention to information they hear through paid advertising when there is plenty of other information available, as is the case with high-profile presidential elections. Add it all up, and your money just matters more-- a lot more-- in lower profile contests.

If you’re a partisan, that probably means finding the most competitive House and Senate races, or state and local races, and investing your money in those. If you are ideologically driven, that may mean getting involved in primaries. I’d recommend that liberals find nomination battles with clear liberal vs. moderate lines in states or districts where Democrats should win easily in November.

He points to the Hawaii Senate race, where moderately progressive Mazie Hirono is facing right-wing corporate whore Ed Case. Not a bad idea. I'd like to suggest a lucky seven House races that matter, races where a stalwart progressive is facing at least one conservative and/or corrupt Democrat. In order of when their states vote:

Matt Cartwright (PA-17), April 24. Matt faces off against corrupt reactionary Blue Dog Tim Holden, who voted against health care reform, hysterically opposes Choice for women, supports fracking and the whole right-wing corporate agenda. Matt explained the race better than anyone else could in his announcement speech:

This is a new beginning, a new chance for working families to have a representative in Washington who will vote to put the economic well-being of the middle class first. This is your chance to elect a representative who will vote for legislation that benefits the middle class… and not the corporate special interests that fund his congressional campaign.

Working families throughout the new 17th Congressional District, like working families all across the country, are hurting. For those that aren’t struggling with unemployment or underemployment, their incomes have been stagnant. Even as we struggle to emerge from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, large corporate profits continue to go up, while middle class incomes go nowhere.

Why? Because incumbent congressmen continue to support policies and cast votes that put corporate profits over people. For too long, their priority has just been to get reelected, to protect their own jobs, so they wind up representing the deep pockets of the special interests instead of the people. It is wrong and it has to stop.

Working families in the new 17th Congressional District do not need a representative who votes against legislation making Wall Street and the big banks accountable for how they spend taxpayer money meant to prevent the collapse of our economy.

Working families in the new 17th Congressional District do not need a representative who, while the economy is still struggling, votes against legislation that helps distressed families keep their homes.

Working families in the new 17th Congressional District do not need a representative who votes for legislation that makes it harder for struggling families to get out from under crushing credit card debt.

Working families in the new 17th Congressional District do not need a representative who votes against legislation that makes medicine and health care more accessible to seniors and young adults, that allows coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and that also includes coverage for women’s preventative health care services.

To vote against legislation ensuring that taxpayer money in the TARP funds is used to benefit the economy and the middle class instead of stuffing the pockets of Wall Street executives-- that doesn’t represent middle class values or interests of working families.

To vote for legislation that makes it harder for folks to get a second chance in life… just so the credit card companies can squeeze their last nickel from them doesn’t represent the values of the middle class or interests of working families.

To side with the big banks… who helped create the economic crisis to begin with… and vote against legislation that helps avoid more home foreclosures doesn’t represent middle class values or interests of our working families.

To vote with big health care insurance companies and HMOs, doesn’t the interest of our seniors, young adults, people with pre-existing conditions and women.

I will stand up and fight for the middle class values and the interests of our working families.

If you'd like to contribute to Matt's campaign, you'll find it on the Bad Dogs ActBlue page. All of the other candidates are on the regular Blue America House page.

Chris Donovan CT-5), April 24. On the same day voters in Pennsylvania decide between Matt Cartwright and vile Blue Dog Tim Holden, voters in Connecticut will be picking a successor for Rep. Chris Murphy who is trying to regain the Joe Lieberman Senate seat for the Democrats. His opponent is a wealthy son of a sleazy lobbyist who plenty of trashy DC Democrats owe lots of favors to. Donovan is arguably the most successful state House Speaker in the entire United States, responsible for passing the kind of legislative agenda working families in the rest of America craves. In Donovan's own words:

If you dig deep in the most recent weak unemployment numbers, you’ll notice a disturbing trend. The drag on job recovery is not from lack of growth in private sector jobs but the deliberate destruction of public, government jobs. Private business added 57,000 jobs in June, while the public sector lost 39,000 jobs (bringing state and local public-sector employment to their lowest point in five years). The Congressional Republicans' goal to shrink government is working, and the result is higher unemployment and a stagnant economy. More Americans are losing their jobs due to government cutbacks, with teachers, nurses, police and firefighters joining the unemployment lines. D.C. Republicans can add stifling middle class job growth to their apparent ongoing goal to stunt our economic recovery.

Jobs in the private sector are picking up, but public-sector jobs are disappearing. This is out of line with the recoveries of the early 1990s-- in the last two economic recoveries, public-sector job growth averaged 1.7%. Since the recovery started, we have lost 430,000 public-sector jobs. If public sector job growth matched the historic average of growth during recovery, 800,000 more people would have jobs today, and our unemployment rate would drop a full half point from 9.2% to 8.7%.

But Washington Republicans are championing the loss of much-needed public-sector jobs-- a mad rush to cut the taxes of the Wall Street CEOs who put us in this mess and half-century-long ideological wars trumping the suffering of actual people. And their argument, "we can't afford it," is profoundly regressive. American families need jobs now and they will support ending tax-loopholes for the corporate fat-cats and Wall Street CEOs who created this economic morass in order to create them. We can't afford not to grow jobs by repairing our crumbling highway and bridge infrastructure. We can't afford not to grow jobs by rebuilding our aging water and sewage infrastructure. We can't afford not to grow jobs by supporting education from pre-school through college. We can't afford not to grow jobs by investing in green jobs and alternative energy sources provided by companies like PV Squared in New Britain and Litchfield Hills Solar in West Cornwall. And we certainly can't afford not to grow jobs by investing in the technology and modes of transportation of the future, projects like the electrification of the Danbury and Waterbury commuter rail lines, connecting Boston and New York through projects like the Tri-City High Speed Rail and commuter rail corridor that will pass through my hometown of Meriden, and potentially connecting Waterbury to Hartford via rail along the I-84 corridor. These projects aren't just a price tag, they are job engines and are desperately needed improvements that will relieve congestion on Connecticut's crowded highways, improve safety and public health, and create new job hubs in Connecticut's 5th Congressional district.

The American middle class, and projects like the Hoover Dam and the Eisenhower Interstate Highway system, didn't just appear. They were built, brick by brick and person by person, by soldiers returning home with a promise of new opportunities for education and health care, by immigrants seeking a new life in a new world, and by businesses, small and large, that sought American workers, required a well-educated workforce, and relied on American infrastructure. And they were built by the toil of our parents and grandparents with the collective strength forged by the unions that represented them. It's long past time to start rebuilding America, and the economic security of American families through good jobs with strong benefits, brick by brick, person by person.

Cecil Bothwell (NC-11), May 8. Having driven right-wing Blue Dog Heath Shuler out of the race (he's now soliciting jobs with shady, conservative-oriented lobbying firms), Cecil will face a Shuler political operative, Blue Dog Hayden Rogers. Cecil is likely to win the primary and the thrust of his campaign is drawing the contrast between progressive solutions and the toxic conservative agenda:

We American workers need immediate action. Our government can and must put people to work, now. The current recession will only end when unemployment levels are cut in half, and only the U.S. government has the power and obligation to make that happen quickly.

Federal law requires the government, in particular the President and the Federal Reserve, to create jobs. This legal duty comes from three sources: (1) full employment legislation including the Humphrey Hawkins Full Employment Act of 1978, (2) the 1977 Federal Reserve Act, and (3) the global consensus based on customary international law that all people have a right to a job with favorable remuneration to provide an adequate standard of living.

This is not a matter of opinion. It is a matter of law.

It isn’t easy to stand up to the lies and corruption coming from Wall Street, from the multinational corporations, from Fox News and the right-wing noise machine. But we can be heroes and stand up for our families, our neighbors and the future of the American Dream!

Patsy Keever (NC-10), May 8. Before Patsy can take on diminutive neo-fascist closet case Patrick McHenry, she has to beat a conservative Democrat, Terry Bellamy, who is weak on protecting Choice, weak on LGBT equal rights and weak on standing up for working people when they're being set upon by corporate interests.

As a teacher, I have many causes, but my real passion is social justice, and public education is the path to a just society. Public education is the backbone of our democracy. The majority of my 25 years of teaching was in 8th grade social studies and language arts, although I have taught students in every grade from kindergarten to soldiers in the Army. Teaching was a career which I loved, but the lingering illness and subsequent death of my husband ended that career prematurely. He was a Vietnam veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange in 1970 and developed a very aggressive case of prostate cancer 30 years later. When I realized that he was never going to get better and that I probably didn’t have much time left with him, I left the teaching profession.
 
Although I am no longer teaching, my passion for leveling the playing field remains as strong as ever. I still fight for those children who live in poverty, whose only chance of a better life is a good education. I still care about the students who need to be challenged and those who have far too many challenges at home. As a state and nation, we need to invest in our children from a very early age all the way through college and beyond if we want to develop citizens who can and will contribute to our society.

For 25 years I have watched the Republican party pick away at our public education system. They have tried to treat our schools as a business which turns out a product. It is not a business! It is a service our government provides in order to maintain a just society. The question is how do we develop each individual to reach his or her potential to be a functioning, successful member of the community. Vouchers and charter schools are not the answer. Defunding good programs and instituting unfunded mandates are not the answer. Adding more students to each classroom while decreasing support systems for teachers is not the answer. Teachers, parents, students, businesses, elected officials and entire communities must find ways to work together for the good of all. Our lives depend on it.

Norman Solomon (CA-2), June 5. This is a solidly Democratic district and Democrats should opt for a perfect candidate, not one flawed by one-percenter conservative values and not one flawed by corporate corruption, like Norman Solomon's two primary opponents.

What's at stake is democracy-- rule by the people, as opposed to rule by big money. But I will be blunt here: Progressives must take much more seriously the necessity of gaining electoral power for the 99 percent. While we may often say and write very perceptive things, government continues to largely function in the service of large corporate interests. As an antidote to the poison of "corporate personhood," we've got to nurture genuine grassroots campaigns that are infused with progressive values.

That's what my campaign for Congress is about. We already have 850 volunteers, 3,800 individual donors and tremendous momentum, while I refuse to take a dime of corporate PAC money. In this "grassroots vs. AstroTurf campaign," voting begins in less than 60 days for an open seat in the new coastal district north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Right now, time is of the essence. How many lawn signs and brochures will our campaign be able to afford as we go to the printer later this month? In a significant way, that's up to you.

Franke Wilmer (MT-at-large), June 5. Another tough primary-- this time with the populist/progressive candidate, Franke Wilmer, facing two insiders, one very rich conservative and one compromised careerist.

“It seems like any news you get of Washington these days is either disappointing or crazy. Making pizza a vegetable was crazy, and the Super Committee failing to come to an agreement is disappointing. I think Congress may be the only place in America where you can ask 12 people to take 2 months to come up with a solution to an important problem and end up with nothing. It is unbelievable that 12 people couldn’t find $1.2 trillion in wasteful spending. Ending the Bush tax cuts just to the top 1% would be a good place to start. Or ending the tax breaks to corporations that export our jobs overseas. Don’t forget how much we are spending on wars ($1.2 trillion so far).

"Then one of the richest members of Congress, Denny Rehberg, comes out with his 'viable' option. In his mind there are really only two options-- either cut Social Security, Medicare, and Veterans Benefits or defund programs set up to help people cover outrageous health care costs. In his mind cutting the wasteful spending to defense contractors (the Commission on Wartime Contracting reported to Congress that $60 billion alone has been lost to waste and fraud in war spending) or cutting subsidies to the oil and gas companies would be insane. Insisting on cuts to Social Security is the wrong place for Republicans to draw a line in the sand. Senior citizens didn’t cause this recession. Congressman Rehberg ironically decided people can live without health care and presented his “viable” plan.

"There was a time in this country where our elected leaders governed using common sense. There was a time where the issues facing this country were more important than the next election. I am running for Congress to help restore some of those principles in Washington.”

Eric Griego (NM-1), June 5. State Senator Eric Griego has a record in New Mexico that indicates he will be a staunch and effective fighter for working families. His main primary opponent, the corrupt and conservative ex-Mayor Marty Chavez has a record too-- a really bad one for the 99%.

“We need a Democratic Congressional candidate who will unapologetically stand up for Democratic values. The current Republican leadership in Congress wants to dismantle the protections that it has taken generations to build, like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. We need a strong courageous advocate for working families and who has a record of taking on those who put the interests of the richest two percent of Americans and the largest corporate interests ahead of our children, our environment and our local businesses... I stand with seniors, the disabled, and the working and middle class families of New Mexico in calling on President Obama and Congress to keep their hands off Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as they negotiate a solution to the federal debt default crisis. While I support President Obama in his effort avert the catastrophic collapse of our recovering economy, any deal with Republicans that cuts Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid for New Mexico seniors and working families while failing to ensure that our nation's wealthiest are paying their fair share is entirely unacceptable."”

Do any of these messages resonate with you? Let me know here.

Win A Signed Van Halen Poster Right Now

As we mentioned this morning, Blue America would like everyone who can to chip in-- even if it's just a small amount-- to the congressional campaign of Chris Donovan. You should do it because he's been a kick ass Speaker of Connecticut's House, probably the most effective progressive leading any state legislature in America. But there's another reason too.

Chris rocks... literally. His band is called the Bad Reps. They never quite made it to the stature of Van Halen. I used to work at Van Halen's label, Warner Bros and while I was there I managed to get a Van Halen poster signed in magic marker by all 4 guys in the band. I'm happy to give that poster away to someone today. I'm going to write on a piece of paper all the names of the people who contribute to Chris Donovan's campaign here at the Blue America ActBlue page, put them in a hat and pick one randomly. That person gets the poster (5.5" x 8.5" from the Blaisdell Arena show in Honolulu on October 16, 1998). Pretty easy. And it doesn't matter if you contribute $1.00 or $1,000.00; everybody gets the same chance to win the poster, a kind of a thank you from DWT for caring about America. So... JUMP!

Chris Donovan Is Doing In Connecticut What We Need Congress To Do In Washington

As Congress (more on them below) remains stuck in neutral on a jobs bill to fix the one issue that is-- or at least should be-- on top of the priority list for Democrats, and anyone who cares what's happening to the 99% of Americans who aren't wealthy Wall Street fat cats, there's some more good news coming out of Connecticut.

Blue America-endorsed candidate for the open 5th CD seat-- Connecticut Speaker of the House, Chris Donovan-- has led the fight in the Connecticut General Assembly to pass two jobs measures to help the struggling Connecticut economy. The first, which passed almost unanimously, targets smart spending at programs designed to create jobs immediately: bridge repairs, green energy retrofits for home heating, workforce development, tax credits to encourage hiring of the unemployed, small business loans and angel investor seed money to help jump-start entrepreneurship, and a streamlining of the permit and regulation process to help speed projects like brownfield clean-up and development. (The one "NO" vote was a right-wing kook who's running for Congress against Democrat Joe Courtney and he wanted to make a point that he'll always vote with the 1% against the 99%. Every other Republican voted "YES.")

The second bill, which passed with largely Democratic support, will create roughly 7,500 jobs-- many of them immediate-start construction jobs-- with modest spending over 10 years to enable a research company to open at the site of the UCONN Health Center. The lab is part of the Connecticut Democrats' push for Bioscience Connecticut, an emerging research triangle anchored by Yale in New Haven, UCONN in Storrs, and the UCONN Health Center in greater Hartford that will be the base for the state emerging as a leader in the growth bioscience industry.

This story is a good insight on why we need CAN DO progressive fighters and leaders like Chris in Congress. Congress can't seem to pass an overwhelmingly popular jobs bill, but Chris is able to get two jobs bills through his legislature, despite not being able to print money and having to live within the confines of a hard budget, with Republican support. Chris:

“Connecticut families want jobs and a strong economy. We targeted small businesses and the unemployed. Because we worked together, people will go back to work. This bill gives them more than hope. It gives them a program that invests in their future. It fosters an environment that will create jobs, help small businesses grow, spur innovation, educate and train our workforce, and make Connecticut competitive again.”

His Republican opponents on the other hand, are anxious to get to Congress so they can join Boehner and Cantor in saying no to commonsense job bills that would help the 99% of us that aren't their insider corporate donors. Andrew Roraback, card-carrying member of the 1% fresh from saying that $800,000 will buy you "a pretty nice house" where he comes from and for voting against money to build a playground for disabled kids, voted against the laboratory project, despite it being in the congressional district he is running to represent. Not to be outdone, millionaire nursing home and golf course magnate Lisa Wilson-Foley sent out a press release attacking the jobs-creating project in her own district using phrases like "big-boy pants" and saying that politicians who disagree with her "belong in diapers." Yes, really. I wonder if she's met David Vitter.

Yesterday we talked to Members of Congress and to Democratic candidates who were angry about the sell-outs of the SuperCommittee who say they are willing to bargain away Medicare benefits. Chris was one of them. He told me that "Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are part of what makes this country great. In times of economic turmoil like what we are facing today we should be thinking of expanding these programs, not cutting them." We need Chris in Congress-- to fight for jobs, to fight for the rights and the dignity of the 99%, and to fight against boneheaded plans to give up on 80 years of support for overwhelmingly successful, and popular, New Deal programs like Social Security (and Medicare and Medicaid). We need good, progressive Democrats with the right values and the experience to fight for us, and to win. Please join us in supporting Chris today. In fact, anyone who does contribute to Chris' campaign at our ActBlue page today will get a chance to win a totally rare old Van Halen poster signed by each member of the band (complements of DWT). Even a one dollar contribution makes you eligible for the little thank you gift. You know Chris has a band too, right?

Inside/Outside Strategy-- Still A Must If You Want Real Progress Rather Than An Anarchistic Bloodbath

David Korten's book, Agenda For A New Economy sounds like it laid the groundwork for #OccupyWallStreet. "Leadership for transformational change must come, as it always has, from outside the institutions of power," he wrote on page 1. Of course, I'm so old I remember Bob Dylan singing "Don't follow leaders, watch your parking meters." (Watch the video up top; that's Allen Ginsberg with the tallis in the background.)

The amorphous "left" made a horrific miscalculation when a mainstream conservative in a Blue T-shirt talking a slick populist game was elected president to follow Bush. American voters empowered not just Obama but huge, unassailable majorities in both Houses of Congress. Progressive activists relaxed, more or less and did some Obama cheerleading. What could go wrong? If you've been reading this blog for the past couple of years, you know exactly the answer to that. Obama followed a mainstream conservative agenda-- obviously not the crazy right-wing, reactionary, fascist agenda pushed forward by the GOP at the behest of its Daddy Warbucks financiers, but... well many of those Daddies are giving warbucks to Obama and to more than a few congressional Democrats as well. A majority of Americans expect Obama to not win reelection, even if they personally feel a Republican would be much worse for the country.

Early yesterday Obama's reelection team issued a memo that indicates he's going to keep following the Elizabeth Warren populist approach to the voters. It's done wonders for her, as the second poll in a row shows her in a dead heat with Wall Street shill Scott Brown. But will voters believe Obama, after three years of playing footsie with Wall Street? And if, by some miracle, he is reelected, what does that campaign memo suggest about how he would govern during a second term? Absolutely nothing. Here's the memo itself:

From economics to immigration, Governor Perry, Governor Romney and the Republican field have embraced policies that the American people oppose. The campaign to win the Republican nomination has become a campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Tea Party. They would return to policies that have been tried before and done nothing to improve economic security for the middle class, rewarding special interests who can afford to pay for lobbyists instead of looking out for working families.

While the President is fighting to create jobs and put money in the pockets of middle class Americans, the Republican candidates have proposed extending tax breaks for large corporations and tax cuts for the wealthiest while allowing special interests to write their own rules.

The Republican candidates universally want to repeal the protections that the President put in place to prevent another financial crisis and instead allow banks to write their own rules, but an overwhelming majority of Americans-- Republicans, Democrats, and Independents-- favor strong oversight of Wall Street and an independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [Lake Research 7/11].

Governor Perry called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” and continues to question its constitutionality and Governor Romney supports turning Social Security funds over to Wall Street. Yet even a majority of Republicans oppose a fundamental overhaul of Social Security [Gallup 9/15/11].

According to recent surveys, a strong majority of Americans favor asking the wealthiest to pay their fair share in order to create jobs and get our fiscal house in order. Seventy three percent support ensuring that people who make over a million dollars a year pay the same percentage of taxes on their total income as those who make less, and in a recent Gallup poll asking the wealthiest Americans to pay more was the single most popular proposal to reduce the deficit [PPP 9/22/11; Gallup 8/7/11]. Seventy three percent of Americans support repealing tax breaks for oil and gas companies [CNN Poll 7/21/11]. Yet none of the Republican candidates would ask the wealthiest to pay an additional dime and their economic plans maintain tax breaks for large corporations.

The Republican candidates have embraced Republican budget plans-- from the Ryan budget to the so-called Cut Cap and Balance plan-- that would end Medicare as we know it, erode Social Security, and eliminate investments in education and research and development. Fifty seven percent of Americans oppose replacing Medicare with a system in which government vouchers would be used to help pay for health insurance [Bloomberg Poll 9/12/11]. And recent surveys have all reflected support for the investments the President has proposed we make to create jobs and spur the economy-- from putting first responders and teachers back to work to rebuilding our roads and bridges-- rather than a retreat from them.

Instead of laying out a plan to promote America’s competitiveness, the Republican candidates have focused on what they want to dismantle. While the EPA has become the Republican candidates’ favorite punching bag, 71% of Americans believe we should continue to fund the EPA to enforce greenhouse gas emission standards and other environmental regulations [CNN Poll 4/10/11]. A majority of Democrats, a majority of Republicans, and a majority of Independents believe that the Department of Education should remain [CNN Poll 9/11/11]. But Governor Perry called “cutting back on the Department of Education” a “good idea,” and Representative Bachmann said we should “turn off [its] lights and lock the door.” 

While Americans oppose repeal by a margin of 52-37, the Republican candidates would repeal the Affordable Care Act, allowing insurance companies once again to refuse to cover preexisting conditions [Kaiser 9/12/11].

Americans don’t want to return to policies that haven’t worked in the past, and they don’t want to start doing away with sensible environmental safeguards and investments in education. They want a forward looking plan to take on our economic challenges, to create jobs and to ensure that America wins the future in a competitive global economy. The Republican field has become increasingly out of step on immigration. While 64% of Americans believe the U.S. should allow undocumented immigrants to become citizens under certain conditions, the leading Republican candidates oppose a path to citizenship for immigrants [Gallup 6/12/11]. And a majority of Americans have consistently supported the DREAM Act which the Republican candidates universally oppose at the federal level.

Fighting for a fairer economy that rewards hard work and responsibility has been at the center of this administration’s mission. Upon taking office, the President took immediate steps to address our historic economic challenges. He stood up to the banks and passed sweeping credit cards reforms ensuring that they couldn’t gouge consumers through deceptive lending practices, he ignored the pundits and extended a loan to the auto companies that saved 1.4 million American jobs, and instead of carving out tax breaks for large corporations, he cut taxes for small businesses 17 times in order to fuel the true engine of job creation.

America’s future will be defined by the success of our middle class, but the Republican candidates are positioning themselves as champions for large corporations and special interests whose plans would leave working families in the lurch.

So what's the takeaway? Whether Obama wins or loses, we need a strong progressive activist base working outside the system and a strong progressive cohort inside the system working for the same goals we're working for, not Blue Dogs and not New Dems or DLC hacks... honest to goodness New Deal Democrats, like Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Baldwin and Bernie Sanders in the Senate and like the progressive challengers Blue America has found who are running for House seats. We need both to get anywhere, regardless of Obama. Chris Donovan has been both an outsider and an inside player-- an SEIU organizer and the current Speaker of Connecticut's House. He's running for Congress and Blue America has endorsed him. He totally "gets" OccupyWallStreet. Here's what he told us this morning: "The Occupy Wall Street protests are a clear sign that Americans are angry about the lack of accountability for the Wall Street millionaires and billionaires that brought our economy to the brink of collapse. Now is the time to focus on bailing out Main Street by creating jobs, building bridges, roads, and rail, hiring teachers, nurses, and firefighters, and relieving the crushing burden of student loan debt.

"And we must reduce income inequality by instituting the Buffett Rule ensuring that billionaires do not pay a lower tax rate than their middle class employees. As we did in Connecticut, millionaires and billionaires should be asked to pay their fair share of an equitable economic recovery."


UPDATE: Advise... From An Ex-Teabagger

It's an interesting open letter about cooption and it brings up a lot of points worth considering. Keep in mind it comes from one person's perspective, a Paultard no less, for better and/or worse:

I don't expect you to believe me. I want you to read this, take it with a grain of salt, and do the research yourself. You may not believe me, but I want your movement to succeed. From a former tea partier to you, young new rebels, there's some advice to prevent what happened to our now broken movement from happening to you. I don't agree with everything your movement does, but I sympathize with your cause and agree on our common enemy. You guys are very intelligent and I trust that you will take this in the spirit it is intended.

I wish I could believe this Occupy Wall Street was still about (r)Evolution, but so far, all I am seeing is a painful rehash of how the corporate-funded government turned the pre-Presidential election tea party movement into the joke it is now. We were anarchists and ultra-libertarians, but above all we were peaceful. So, the media tried painting us as racists. But when that didn't work they tried to goad us into violence. When that failed, they killed our movement with money and false kindness from the theocratic arm of the Republican party. That killed our popular support.

I am sharing these observations, so you guys know what's going on and can prevent the media from succeeding in painting you as violent slacker hippies rebelling without a cause, or from having the movement be hijacked by a bunch of corporatists seeking to twist the movement's original intentions. If you think this can't happen, it happened to the Independence Party and the tea party movement. Don't let it happen to your movement as well.

Here's how they turned our movement into a bunch of pro-corporate Republican party rebranding astroturf, and this is how I predict they are turning your movement into a bunch of pro-corporate Democratic party rebranding astroturf. I believe many of these things are already happening, so take note.

1- The media will initially and purposely avoid covering your dissenting movement to cause confusion about what your movement is about within mainstream audiences. This is to enrage you and make you appear unreasonable, and perhaps even invisible.

2- While the obsfuscation is happening, stooges will infiltrate and give superficial support, focus and financial backing to the targetted movement. In the tea party movement's case, it was the religious Republicans and Koch Brothers. In this case, it's the Public Sector Unions (the organizations as quasi-human entities, not the members themselves) and Ultra Rich liberals who pretend to care, but frankly do not serve liberators and freedom seekers but rather the interests of those who run the Public Sector Unions and the Democratic Party. Democrat, Republican, these parties are all part of the same corporate ruling system. Case in point: http://www.debates.org/

3-The media will cover the movement only after this infiltration succeeds. Once the infiltration is completed the MSM will manufacture public media antipathy towards the movement by using selective focus on the movement's most repulsive elements or infiltrators on the corporate Conservative media side, while the corporate Liberal media will create a more sympathetic tragic hero image -- this is the flip side of the tea party, but same media manipulation tactics. I go into greater detail on this tactic: http://vaslittlecrow.com/blog/2011/09/08/how-the-media-and-ideological-groups-manipulate-your-beliefs/

4- Someone in the Democratic Party will feign sympathy for the movement and falsely "non-partisan" entities provide tons of funding and unwanted organization, just as was done with the tea party movement by Republicans. Once people assume that the pro-corporate government operatives are their friends, they will hijack the movement and the threat of your movement will be neutralized.

If this new Occupy Wall Street movement is to survive, here's what needs to be done.

1- Loudly denounce violence and disavow the violent rabblerousers of the movement. They do not help the cause.

2- Be image conscious. Present your best face and call out those who act like fools within the movement. People are more likely to pay attention to you in your Sunday dress and bringing homemade food, than when you are drinking a bottle of Snapple and chomping on Big Macs while you are looking like a slacker rich hipster/unwashed hippie stereotype.

3- Accept that you've already been infiltrated by the corporate-funded government, and work hard to say, and state what your movement is and is not about. "No, this isn't about unions or Liberals, conservatives or bored spoiled brats. This is about 99% of our population being exploited and manipulated for the sake of profit." "No we will not resort to violence." "Yes, all we want is for for the end of government collusion with corporate entities that are illegitimately recognized as people." And, so forth...

4- Don't forget who you are as the illusions are thrown at you. Corporatists are masters of illusions. That's the most powerful weapon they have. That's how they sell products you don't need and convince you to justify accepting atrocities for the sake of products Don't fall for it. Otherwise, your cause will be lost. Be wary of large donations from special interest groups or non-profit corporations that were not involved this movement from the inception. Special interests groups are not your allies. Non-profit corporations are still corporations, and unfortunately, too many of them care more about donations than doing the right thing. Killing a movement with kindness is easy.

5- Remain independent and focused. If you can, pick a face to represent your movement. Rosa Parks wasn't just a random lady in a bus. http://l3d.cs.colorado.edu/systems/agentsheets/New-Vista/bus-boycott/ -- She was chosen. You too can use the power of illusion against those who oppose you.

I wish your movement better luck than we had with the tea party movement before it got hijacked by the theocrats and corporatists. We used to be non-partisan too. We were the older version of you. But, I believe that as the media apparatchik and infiltrators start to twist your cause, you will understand the frustration us early adopter tea partiers felt and that we were not your enemy after all. A fascist oligarchy on the verge of winning is our common enemy. This should be your focus. Don't be dazzled by the illusion as we were. For the sake of our future, know who you are.

Thank you for reading. I would love to read your ideas on the subject. Correct me where I am wrong. Explain what is going right. This is ultimately your fight.

EDITS: To understand how movements get hijacked, check out this fantastic video that JamesCarlin shared: http://vimeo.com/20355767

If my essay seems too conspiratorial or tl;dr for your tastes, try Hibernator's excellent and much less paranoid sounding summary below:

"Someone starts a movement. It starts small, and there's a lot going on in the world, so the mainstream media gives it minimal coverage. Today's mainstream media is also understaffed, so they don't investigate and they wait for someone else to slap a label on it.

Eventually a sound byte X pops up above the noise and the mainstream media uses this to engage viewers and define the movement. This defining characteristic X spreads like a meme.

People in power now notice what's going on, and think to themselves "Hmm, this new movement is defined by X, and that's almost in line with my goals, so maybe I can use them to further my ends."

But people in power are all labelled as Democrats or Republicans, so now the media applies the polarizing filter of American politics to associate movement X with one of the parties.

The original movement has now been labelled X, and associated with a political party, and none of this happened because of any 'government conspiracy.' It just happened because that's what you get as output when you plug something new into the American political system."