For Progressives-- Wins, Losses And The Road Forward

Start calling her Congresswoman Bush

Last night there were two gigantic progressive wins-- both in Missouri. After a decade of dogged and vicious Republican opposition in the state legislature and from the governors, the state's voters passed a Constitutional Amendment to give health care to nearly a quarter million of the state's poorest citizens (people earning less than $18,000 annually) through Obamacare Medicaid expansion, making Missouri the 38th state to adopt it. Thanks to massive popularity in St Louis, the amendment passed 52-48% statewide, with right-wing governor Mike Parson continuing to lie that the state can't afford it-- even after a credible study from the Institute for Public Health at Washington University, found that providing health care for more people would actually save the state money. Since the federal government will match 90% of the costs of the newly eligible-- down from 100% had Missouri decided to be part of the program from the beginning-- that state will save about half a billion dollars a year in federal income taxes because residents pay into the system that funds Medicaid expansion without getting the benefits of that expansion."

The other huge progressive win in Missouri was Cori Bush defeating corrupt Congressman Lacy Clay in their St. Louis congressional race:

Cori, a nurse, a Black Lives Matter activist and Berniecrat was great news on a night when other movement activists didn't around the country didn't fare as well. Clay raised $740,525 compared to Bush's $562,309 but a massive $150,000 I.E. on her behalf from Justice Democrats evened the playing field.

The biggest disappointment was that Blue Dog and "ex"-Republican Tom O'Halleran in Arizona managed to avoid being ousted by another Berniecrat and movement activist, Eva Putzova, who won the districts's biggest and bluest county, Coconino, but was dragged down by the more conservative counties that backed O'Halleran. With 94% of the votes counted, he won 34,095 (58.65%) to 24,037 (41.35%). This was Cori's second try against Clay-- and Eva's first try against O'Halleran. I expect she will try again.

In Michigan, Rashida Tlaib handily beat back a challenge from corporate shill Brenda Jones, with a 2-1 landslide. And in the southwest district, with all precincts now counted, voters have chosen the progressive state legislator, Jon Hoadley over garden variety Democrat Jen Richardson-- 52.3% to 47.7%. Hoadley is in a good position to beat Trump enabler Fred Upton in November.

In Washington state, progressives lost their congressional runs against right-of-center incumbents Rick Larsen and Derek Kilmer and in WA-10, conservative Marilyn Strickland seems to be beating progressive Beth Doglio for first place for the seat opening up after Denny Heck's retirement. It looks like they will square off in November-- with a sharp contrast between a progressive and a conservative.

This morning, Roots Action, led by Berniecrat Norman Solomon, announced that his group has launched a grassroots campaign aimed at "swing voters on the left," to persuade Bernie supporters and other progressives in swing states to "Vote Trump Out-- and Then Challenge Biden."

The Vote Trump Out swing-states initiative will include a highly-targeted social-media program and other digital outreach, utilizing messages from national and state progressive luminaries-- people who are widely respected on the left in ways that establishment Democrats are not. The campaign will urge progressives in the dozen battleground states to vote for Joe Biden rather than sit out the election or cast a third-party protest vote. Directed heavily toward young people, the effort will be entirely independent of-- and often in opposition to-- corporate Democratic leaders.

The RootsAction campaign has assembled a group of national endorsers who are likely to be persuasive to progressives on the fence about voting for Biden. They include: Ady Barkan, Medea Benjamin, Leslie Cagan, Noam Chomsky, Marjorie Cohn, RoseAnn DeMoro, Barbara Ehrenreich, Daniel Ellsberg, Bill Fletcher Jr., Jim Hightower, Rep. Ro Khanna, Jamie Margolin, Annabel Park, Linda Sarsour, Winnie Wong and James Zogby.

The #VoteTrumpOut campaign will assert that-- while President Trump is unfailingly immune to progressive persuasion or protest-- the fight for a full progressive agenda (ranging from major climate initiatives and anti-racism to universal healthcare, free public college and taxing the wealthy) would have the potential to win some victories with Biden in the White House.

The campaign’s mission statement declares: "We are not going to minimize our disagreements with Joe Biden. But we’re also clear-eyed about where things stand: supporting the Democratic nominee in swing states is the only way to defeat Trump... If Biden wins, we’ll be at his door on day one, demanding the kinds of structural reforms that advance racial, economic and environmental justice."

Renowned linguist, author and political activist Noam Chomsky contributed this comment to the initiative: "I live in the swing state of Arizona, and I’d vote for a lamp post to get Trump out." Chomsky is featured in a campaign-launch video [above].

"Our organization fought fiercely in the primaries for Bernie and against Biden," said RootsAction.org cofounders Jeff Cohen and Norman Solomon. "But the general election is far less about Biden than it is about Trump-- the most dangerous president in modern U.S. history, who opposes virtually every policy and principle that progressives are fighting for."

   

Huge Voter Enthusiasm To Rid America Of The Plague-- The Trump Plague

"Die For Me" by Nancy Ohanian

A wide consensus is forming that the two worst governors in America are Trump patsies Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Kristi Noem (R-SD). "Gov. Kristi Noem reiterated Tuesday that she won't be ordering South Dakota residents to stay home amid the coronavirus pandemic, as another 121 confirmed cases were reported in the state. The majority of South Dakota's 988 total cases-- 768-- are in Minnehaha County, which includes the Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, the site of one of the largest known clusters of COVID-19 cases in the country." [Side note: Minnehaha County, the most populated county in the state, went for Trump in 2016-- but 30,610 people (39.1%) voted for Hillary, so they don't deserve this.]

As bad as governors like DeSantis and Noem are, Morning Consult reporter Eli Yokley reported yesterday that their new poll shows that "Trump appears to be bearing the brunt of voters’ criticism toward government... The downward drift in views about Trump’s handling of the crisis comes as the share of voters who said they were 'very concerned' about the virus has increased to 65 percent, though Democrats (76 percent) were more likely than Republicans (56 percent) to share that strong concern.

The new survey found that Trump’s coronavirus approval rating fell 24 points among Democrats and 17 points among independents in the last month. His job approval on the pandemic is just 45%-- with 49% disapproving.

Reuters also released their latest poll-- by Ipsos-- which shows tremendous Democratic voter enthusiasm. It isn't for Biden. No one gives a shit about him who isn't part of the one percent. The enthusiasm is to rid America of the plague-- not just the coronavirus pandemic, but the Trump Plague. Chris Kahn summed it up perfectly:

When Republicans in Wisconsin pushed through state elections last week in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, Jessica Jaglowski donned a protective mask and headed for the ballot box, determining her best shot at self-preservation was not to stay home but to vote Republicans out of office.

Come November, when Republican President Donald Trump is up for re-election, Jaglowski, a 47-year-old Democrat in Milwaukee, says she will be even more determined to vote, even if the deadly virus continues to ravage her community.

“He’s half the reason we’re in this mess right now,” she said, criticizing Trump for downplaying the threat of COVID-19 before it hit the country hard. “If I have to wait in line for 12 hours, in a storm, I don’t care. I’m voting for whoever can get Trump out.”

After three years in the White House, this much about Trump is clear: Those who want to deny him the presidency are much more determined to vote now than they were four years ago.

Democrats’ intention to vote is also rising more than it is among Republicans, both nationally and in historically competitive battleground states like Wisconsin that Trump narrowly won in 2016, according to more than 66,000 U.S. adults who took the Reuters/Ipsos online poll in the first quarter of 2020 or 2016.

The highly motivated opposition is another sign of trouble for Trump, who saw his chief argument for re-election-- a soaring economy and record-low unemployment-- evaporate amid a health crisis that has put millions of Americans out of work.

Even before the pandemic, Trump struggled to woo independents and moderates he would need to win November’s election, and recent polls showed Trump trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden by several points nationwide, as well as in battleground states such as Arizona and Michigan.

According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 70% of Democrats said they were “certain” to vote in the upcoming presidential election, 9 percentage points higher than in the first quarter of 2016.

Among Republicans, the increase from 2016 was much smaller-- 3 percentage points-- with 71% saying they will vote in November.

Democrats have for years outnumbered Republicans in the United States but they also tend to be less politically active. Yet for the first time since at least 2012, nearly the same percentage of Democrats and Republicans said they planned to vote in 2020.

When the poll combined states that are expected to be especially competitive this year-- Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Colorado-- voting interest rose by 11 points among Democrats over the past four years, while it only rose by 3 points among Republicans.

...The rise in political enthusiasm was on display in the Democratic presidential nominating contests this year. Turnout in many states such as Michigan, Virginia and South Carolina surpassed previous highs set in 2008, when Barack Obama made his historic run for the presidency.

In state after state, large majorities of Democratic primary voters-- around 60%-- said they were “angry” with the Trump administration, while 30% said they were “dissatisfied,” according to exit polls by Edison Research. Most of them said they voted for a candidate who they thought could beat Trump.

The intensity of Democratic political engagement is part of a broader, tribal mentality of “negative partisanship” that has been increasingly motivating voters for a half century, said Steven Webster, a political scientist at Washington University in St. Louis.

...Another sign of Democratic enthusiasm came from Wisconsin where liberal judge Jill Karofsky scored an upset victory over conservative, Trump-backed incumbent Daniel Kelly in a state Supreme Court election in which she won some counties that voted for Trump in 2016.

Milwaukee’s Janine Hedges, 50, was among thousands who waited in line to vote last week in Wisconsin, which also held a Democratic presidential primary. She cast her ballot for Sanders, who has since suspended his campaign and endorsed Biden. In November, she is ready to wait in line again-- for Biden-- regardless of the coronavirus.

“We just can’t do four more years of this,” she said. “Even though he is not my first choice, Biden is somebody who has a more benevolent side to him. We need that.”

Bernie and-- now, having spoiled Bernie's chance to win the Super Tuesday states-- Elizabeth Warren have endorsed Status Quo Joe. No one knows how much of their followings will walk with them into the camp of one of the most conservative Democrats of the last 5 decades-- a beacon for anti-progressives in the party that many have hoped would be the progressive party. But even among Biden-skeptics, turnout is expected to be high, not just because of progressive antipathy towards Trump and Trumpism but because of the hopes that candidates running for Congress on the issues Bernie brought to the fore-- Medicare-for-All, the Green New Deal, free public universities, racial justice, dignity for the working class, etc-- will still be able to help move this issues forward.

Polling in Arizona, until recently considered one of the reddest of red states, shows that Democratic centrist Mark Kelly will trounce Republican incumbent Martha McSally in November. He's leading her by 9 points right now, a steadily increasing advantage. Republicans favor her; Democrats favor him. But independent voters have moved decisively in favor of Kelly and against McSally, a knee-jerk Trump enabler.

I asked four of the progressive congressional candidates from very different districts if they get a sense of what's driving Democratic voter enthusiasm beyond Trump-hated. Please read what Cori Bush, Eva Putzova and Tom Guild told me last night about what they think isn motivating voters in their districts and, please, consider contributing to their campaigns by clicking on the Blue America 2020 thermometer below.

Cori Bush, who is running in St. Louis, feels one crucial factor is that people are looking for leadership-- and honesty and integrity in leadership. She told me that the "top issues that motivate the voters and supporters we speak to across the board are Medicare for All and a Green New Deal. Our base understands that no matter who is in the presidency, we will need leaders in Congress willing to champion these bold policies and hold the executive office accountable. The majority of Americans support both policies, and yet even in the midst of a pandemic, we are clearly seeing how many politicians are digging in their heels."

Eva Putzova's vast Arizona district, AZ-01, is far more rural. "In my district," she said, "most Democratic and Independent voters that I talk to are desperate to get rid of Donald Trump. But they are also increasingly motivated to change the direction of the country and not merely return to the status quo prior to Trump. They want immigration reform, they want universal health care and Medicare for All, they want immediate action on fighting climate change and they support the Green New Deal, among many other priorities. This is why my campaign for Congress is gaining so much support. Voters are tired of politicians, like my opponent, who are satisfied with minor reforms that don't address the major problems facing people today. The reason for that, of course, is that many incumbent politicians, like my opponent, are bought and paid for by corporate contributions to their campaigns. I don't take any corporate money and can't be bought. The voters in my district see that and are responding to my campaign with great enthusiasm."

Robin Wilt was inspired by Bernie and by the issues he was running on. Bernie is no longer running and Robin is representing those issues to the voters in Monroe County, New York. "The theme of Bernie’s campaign for the Presidency is 'Not me. Us,' she told us last night. "The slogan concisely communicates the sheer breadth of the movement that his platform spurred to action. There are hundreds of candidates down-ballot that represent 'Us.' Someone once asked me, after Bernie exited the Presidential primary in 2016, whether I still supported Bernie Sanders. I emphatically replied , 'Of course I do,' since my ethics and morals remained the same both prior to Bernie’s candidacy and after his exit. Now that Bernie has suspended his 2020 candidacy, the movement spawned by the ideals that he articulated is no less active. In Rochester and Monroe County, we have been fielding calls and emails from Bernie supporters who are excited to continue the fight for Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, Education and Income Equity, and Housing Justice. Bernie’s candidacy was never about Bernie, himself, but rather about the interests and policies that the 99% deserve. Those interests and policies are no less important now than when Bernie was running. Bernie may not be at the top of the ballot, but he created a movement that was farther reaching than his coattails on a ballot. He demonstrated the power that resides within each of us to fight for someone that we don’t know."

Tom Guild's district is mostly Oklahoma City. Yesterday, he told me that "A majority of Democrats and Independents who voted in the 2020 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary in March told exit pollsters that they favor Medicare for All. With the projected loss of private for profit employer provided health care estimated at 35 million workers, now more than ever Americans are coming to the conclusion that Medicare for All is the way to go. There are eleven candidates who filed for Congress in my district. I’m the only candidate who favors MFA. Not one single competitor has publicly embraced any plan to bring universal health care to the American people. As more people learn that I’m the only candidate running who wants to give them dependable and affordable universal health care security, our support continues to grow. Many younger voters and others are very serious about climate change. As they learn that our campaign supports the Green New Deal, and that no other candidate has the same position, we have many who are anxious to join us. The future viability of our planet is too crucial to neglect. I’m also the only one running in the 5th district who not only supports raising the minimum wage to $15, but also going a step further. I want all Americans to have a living wage. Once the living wage is set it will be automatically adjusted upward as inflation eats into the purchasing value of the wage. Working Oklahomans have lower wages when compared to national and regional averages, and they are excited that they can look to a future when they can work a 40 hour week and afford their basic expenses every month. On the international front, I’m the only one running for this seat in Congress, who wants to reassert the power of Congress, and stop this president or any future president, from initiating another endless foreign war without the authorization of Congress. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the sole power to declare war. Many Americans are exhausted with the current series of endless wars. There are millions alive today who have never experienced an America at peace. Opposition to endless war cuts across nearly all demographic and partisan groups. It is a strange and unusual election year, because of the pandemic emergency. Blue America and DWT help many grassroots progressive candidates garner the resources to get our essential message out to voters. It’s a challenging environment, but thankfully there are many progressive champions willing to go to work for ordinary Americans. We appreciate your support!"

Blue America Endorsement-- Cori Bush For Congress (MO-01)

Missouri's first congressional district-- the entire city of St. Louis and the mostly black northern suburbs-- Ferguson, Florissant, Black Jack, Spanish Lake-- is the 385th poorest congressional district of 435 nationally and the poorest in the state. It borders the second congressional district which is one of the richest in the country. MO-01 is a minority majority district (42.9% white) and MO-02 is 88.1% white. The district lines have been carefully drawn to pack as many likely Democratic voters into a single district and keep the second CD as Republican as possible. MO-01 has a PVI of D+28 and next door the PVI is R+8. MO-01 is poorly represented by William "Lacy" Clay (D), who provides a clear reminder of why progressive voters need to organize around fresh, new voices who will upend Capitol Hill, stiff-arm corporate interests, and take back the Democratic Party from the corporate special interests. A ten-term incumbent he long ago sold out to big banks, payday lenders and other financial parasites that depend on Washington to look the other way while they continue preying on poor and underrepresented communities.

Despite representing a district with high concentrations of poverty-- half of the public school students receive free and reduced lunch-- Clay has used his position in Washington to carry water for industries like rent-to-own stores, which target minorities and charge usurious interest rates for basic household appliances, such as refrigerators, ovens and washing machines. Clay actually told a room full of rent-to-own operators assembled at an industry convention, "I’ll always do my best to protect what really matters to you."

In the words of respected investigative journalists Zach Carter and Ryan Grim, Clay is one of a handful of Congressional Black Caucus members who have "pushed for a host of seemingly arcane measures that would undermine Dodd-Frank’s rules on financial derivatives, the complex contracts at the heart of the 2008 meltdown."

Don't expect to see the DCCC or EMILY's List endorse Cori Bush. She's way too real and way too progressive for them. Expect instead to see groups like Matriarch.org and Justice Democrats. And, as of today, Blue America has endorsed her campaign. Cori intends to finish what she began last cycle, when she took on Clay. Progressive icon Ro Khanna endorsed her last cycle and it's worth listening to what he had to say about her:





I asked Cori to introduce herself to DWT readers and Blue America members. Please read what she had to say about her campaign and consider contributing by clicking on the 2020 Blue America congressional thermometer below.


St Louis Needs Real Representation
-by Cori Bush

What comes to mind when you think of St. Louis? Maybe you've seen headlines declaring that our crime rates make us the "most dangerous city" in America. Perhaps you watched protests ignite in Ferguson and spread around the world after 18 year-old Michael Brown Jr. was killed. You might know us for our Arch, a landmark intended to signal success and prosperity for those who settled St. Louis.

  For me, I think of all the mothers I've held in my arms, too many to count, as we grieve for the children they lost to gun violence. I think of soul food cooked in small, unassuming neighborhood joints that are better than any Michelin star restaurant you could find. I think about my years as a nurse, caring for the most vulnerable people in our communities, who are suffering from preventable ailments. I think of our history here as a city of protest, of resistance, of resilience; and the legacy we continued every day that we took to the streets in Ferguson.

The people of St. Louis are fighters. I, too, am a fighter.

But for too long, we've been fighting and getting nowhere fast because the one person we've entrusted with our welfare refuses to take action. Here in Missouri-01, Lacy Clay & his father before him have together held our seat in Congress for over half a century. Rep. Clay assures us that everything is fine, while people in my community are forced to make decisions every day that can mean the difference between making ends meet and living in poverty, hunger, or unhoused on our streets.

I started my campaign for Congress as a mother, nurse, activist, and proud St. Louisan, and that's exactly how I will lead in Congress. The people of St. Louis need a Congress-person and deserve a representative, not a career politician. Because I've faced homelessness and being uninsured; because I am a strong single mother who worked for years as a low-wage worker; because I've survived violence; because I come from a proud military family; I could never forget who I was and how I lived, before taking office. Voters across America know that we are facing a turning point in the battle for the soul of our nation. We have nothing to lose, and everything at stake, and that is why we must be vocal, authentic, and unapologetic in our leadership. For St. Louis, and for America, it's the only way.


 


Here's how I will show up and show out for my constituents in 2020:

• Leading and campaigning with integrity

◦ Using campaign funds to campaign--not for any other purpose
◦ NO corporate money, ever. Our campaign is 100% people-powered, which means I don't and won't respond to corporate pressure
◦ Commitment to a living wage for our canvassing team 

• In Congress, I will be present & meaningfully involved in my constituency

◦ At least one town hall with constituents every quarter 
◦ A listening tour around Missouri-01 within my first 100 days of office
◦ Accessible campaign offices around the district, well-staffed to ensure folks' concerns are communicated to our D.C. office
◦ Satellite offices will double as community centers, with a #CoriCares session open to the public once a month
◦ Have a physical presence in schools, prisons, and on district streets to be a resource to community members
◦ Attending neighborhood meetings & community events when possible and staying up-to-date on local organizations' progress
◦ Shelter visits, group home visits, and host pop-up shelters for neighborhoods in need
◦ Strong relationships with local political leaders
◦ Commitment to joining local protests to stand with communities under attack
◦ Ensure engagement with our many diverse communities across MO-1, so no one is left out or left behind

• I will be a Congresswoman for the community

◦ I will publicize the issues we face here in St. Louis in national press outlets, so that our stories don't go untold and unheard any longer
◦ We will form reasonable relationships with well-funded local business to finance job training and career days in our local schools
◦ We will support job training with placement guarantees, including programs specifically focused on employing our formerly incarcerated residents
◦ We will find creative ways to support our unhoused population while advocating for federal funding for homelessness here and across the US
◦ We will host skill sessions for the real world, including financial literacy
◦ We will work to raise awareness surrounding the effects of trauma from sexual assault and domestic violence
◦ We will proactively advocate for environmental justice, reproductive health, more educational funding, and humane prison & criminal justice reform
◦ We will host community events that highlight the district’s diversity so that we can be invested in each other's concerns, offer political education, and connect constituents to resources

I see it as my moral obligation to run for Congress and fight for a better future we all need. But, it is also a serious responsibility with real-life impacts. We deserve better than a representative who can't be pinned down. There should be no room for doubt-- we must know where our leaders stand. The plan I've laid out above is just a taste of what we can build together, and I hope to see you join us.

Are you in?