Solidarity-- Inside Wisconsin And Between Wisconsin And Florida

Today's big news in the WI-01 congressional race between Randy Bryce and Paul Ryan was about an extraordinary endorsement from neighboring congressmember, Mark Pocan for Bryce. So why is that extraordinary? Well, Mark is a very good congressmember who have long been known-- both in the state legislature and in Congress-- throughout southeast Wisconsin for standing up and fighting hard for the legitimate interests of working families. In fact, when Ryan refused to meet with constituents, Pocan went and did them in Ryan's district. He's the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and he has an incredible voting record-- the best of the best. But that isn't what the biggest news is. As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, there's been, for many years, an informal convention among Wisconsin politicians-- something formulated by former Congressmember David Obey (D) and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R)-- that Wisconsin congressmembers won't endorse against an incumbent (even of the opposing party) if their districts border each other. Obey, himself endorsed Randy Bryce, but he's not a sitting member, so his rule stood... until this morning.

This is what Rep. Pocan told his fellow Wisconsinites in Paul Ryan's district this morning-- at the UAW hall in Kenosha-- just about an hour ago: "The first Congressional District needs a member of Congress that will put his constituents first-- not Donald Trump, not the Tea Party, and not the wealthy special interests. Paul Ryan has become a part of the problem in Washington, and his values are out-of-touch with the people of southeast Wisconsin. I was raised in Kenosha, and I know the people there don’t want to cut 20 million people from their healthcare, privatize Social Security or provide tax cuts only to the wealthiest. We need a representative like Randy Bryce who will bring our working class values to Washington and fight on behalf of the people he represents and not the special interests." The Obey Rule is O.V.E.R.-- and for the best of possible reasons: replacing Paul Ryan with Randy Bryce.

As you probably know, everyone running for office is frantic this week because Saturday is the end of the FEC reporting quarter. The DCCC tries to make this arbitrary deadline into "a thing" that helps candidates raise money. "Help me, help me-- the deadline is coming, the deadline is coming." Yeah. Instead of that kind of stupidity-- which Debbie Wassermann Schultz has used at least once or twice every day for the last week-- her progressive, reform-minded, anti-corruption primary challenger, Tim Canova, sent a different kind of fundraising letter-- one urging his own donors to contribute to Randy Bryce! That should tell you a lot about what Canova is all about-- and what kind of congressman he'll make. This is the letter he sent his supporters:

Support Randy Bryce vs. Paul Ryan & Win a Green Day Guitar

Dear Friend,

I am proud to support Randy Bryce in his race against Paul Ryan, the Republican Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives who has pushed an extreme conservative, corporatist, and regressive agenda.

Randy is a working-class hero, a union ironworker and U.S. Army veteran who, when elected, will fight for our progressive agenda in Washington.

I am also excited that Blue America-- the very first progressive grassroots group to support my campaign last year against Debbie Wasserman Schultz-- is helping Randy with a contest. Blue America will give away a guitar signed by all the members of Green Day to one person who contributes any amount to Randy’s campaign by this Saturday, September 30th, by contributing here at the NoTrump.NoKKK.NoFascistUSA page.

Randy has pledged to take no money from Big Oil or from Wall Street. He will fight tor a Single Payer Health Care system, while Paul Ryan is trying to repeal Obamacare and take health care away from up to 32 million Americans. Ryan supports unfair trade deals, repressive tax policies, union busting, and the fossil fuel industry. He wants to strip away a woman’s right to choose. He has been swimming in corporate cash. And he has no problem with our broken immigration system that continues to tear families apart.

Meanwhile, Randy supports the Fight For 15, investing in renewable energy, fighting climate change, defending women’s health care and reproductive rights, committing to real campaign finance reform and overturning Citizens United, and pursuing comprehensive immigration reform.

Please go to the NoTrump.NoKKK.NoFascistUSA page and contribute to Randy's campaign by this Saturday. You'll be automatically entered in the contest for the signed Green Day guitar. Of course, the real prize is not an autographed guitar; it's repealing and replacing Paul Ryan!

Randy Bryce gives me hope that change is on the way. Imagine a Congress without Paul Ryan and without Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Let’s visualize a Congress in which I’m working side by side with Randy Bryce for the progressive agenda our generation so urgently needs.

A new day is dawning-- a Blue Green Day-- when corporations no longer call the tune in our politics. If we all pull together, if we refuse to back down, we will turn the tide and restore our broken democracy.

Thank you for standing for Randy Bryce and thank you for your continued support for my campaign.

In solidarity,

Tim Canova

Two thermometers below-- the first (on the left) for the Green Day guitar contest, where you can contribute to Randy and possibly win the guitar. And the second (on the right) is the Blue America congressional page where you'll find all of our House candidates (including Randy and Tim).

Rules Are Made To Be Broken-- Even In Wisconsin

The excitement around Randy Bryce's candidacy for the southeast Wisconsin congressional seat Paul Ryan has held since 1998-- without even one DCCC challenge, odd for a swing district Obama won in-- is palpable, growing and national. And in Wisconsin... I was first introduced to Randy simultaneously by two trusted political leaders there: Rob Zerban, the only Democrat to ever make a serious run against Ryan (with no help from the DCCC) and state Senator Chris Larson, the most progressive member of the Wisconsin's legislature. Polling shows Randy can beat Ryan-- if Ryan even decides to run again, a proposition looking iffier by the day.

Yesterday, National Nurses United (NNU) endorsed Randy for the seat. Here's the letter Ken Zinn, NNU’s Political Director, sent to Randy: 

I am happy to inform you that National Nurses United, the nation’s largest organization of registered nurses, is supporting your campaign for Congress to represent Wisconsin’s 1stcongressional district. We appreciate your commitment on the key issues of health, labor, economic justice, women’s equality, and civil rights, which are important issues to registered nurses.

In releasing the letter, Randy reminded the media that NNU was an early backer of then presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and "organized powerfully around the Senator’s platform of single payer healthcare, among other progressive cornerstones of his candidacy. They have been instrumental in crafting the Medicare for All legislation, which is quickly gaining traction among Democratic Senators this week... NNU has never wavered in their support for single payer healthcare, and I am honored to have their support. Paul Ryan stands in the way of our shared vision and with NNU’s support, he will be repealed and replaced in 2018. The time is now to support a bold, progressive vision for our country.”

Randy's campaign was quickly embraced by stalwart progressives like Ro Khanna, Barbara Lee, Ruben Gallego, Ted Lieu, Alan Grayson, Raul Grijalva, Joe Kennedy and Jan Schakowsky and then the Congressional Progressive Caucus. So what about the Wisconsin congressmembers? There are 3 Democrats in the delegation-- two progressives, Mark Pocan and Gwen Moore-- and a less-than-worthless reactionary, New Dem Ron Kind who is personally very, very close with Ryan with whom he frequently votes. But none have formally endorsed Randy. (Pocan has been talking Randy up big time in Wisconsin and in DC.) The lack of endorsements is because of something called "the Dave Obey rule," a uniquely Wisconsin institution that prevents members of Congress from endorsing members of their own party against incumbents of the other party. It's an absolutely sucky rule and this would be a great year to rip it to shreds.

Now, Dave Obey, still one of the state's most influential Democrats, isn't in Congress any longer. But today he endorsed Randy Bryce himself. A signal? "Paul Ryan," he wrote, "has for far too long gotten away with his finely tuned act of being a moderate policy wonk, fighting the good fight on behalf of his constituents in Southeast Wisconsin. Rather, Ryan is an intellectually rigid, romantic ideologue masquerading as a moderate and pragmatic legislator. The only thing moderate about Paul Ryan is his demeanor. Candidate Trump had promised working people that they could count on him to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Advancing his own agenda that is hard on working people, Paul Ryan has pushed to turn Trump from a promise-keeper to a promise-breaker, in ways that would severely hurt working people. Working people can’t afford that kind of Koch Brothers-inspired and funded agenda. Working people can count on Randy to repeal and replace that kind of brutal thinking."

It will be worth watching what Mark Pocan, Gwen Moore and even Ron Kind do next.

Kelly Westlund Cheddar Bomb… Today

Blue-America endorsed candidate Kelly Westlund (WI-07) is running for the massive 72-county swing district seat in the northern, ventral an western part of Wisconsin. Sean Duffy, a sad Paul Ryan stooge, currently occupies the seat, although Obama won it 53-45% in 2008 and lost narrowly in 2012, 51-48%. The district was represented for over 40 years years by Dave Obey, who has endorsed Kelly: "I’ve won 25 elections in Northern Wisconsin, so I know what it takes to win up here. You have to stand up for people who are struggling to make ends meet. You have to tell the truth, even when powerful interests oppose you. And you must demonstrate to voters that you have passion and strong beliefs, ones that cannot be bought off by corporate lobbyists. Kelly Westlund shows these qualities every day. While incumbent Republican Sean Duffy opposes raising the minimum wage and complains about how hard it is to make ends meet on a $174,000 congressional salary, Kelly Westlund thinks hard-working Wisconsinites deserve a raise. She’s smart, she’s fearless, and she’s a fighter."

That's why we endorsed her and that's why we're asking you to contribute to her Cheddar Bomb today. Twelve days ago, Wisconsin Republicans controlling all aspects of state government announced they are now requiring voter identification. It put a few things in perspective for Digby, John and myself. Right-wing politicians like Scott Walker, Ron Johnson, Paul Ryan and Sean Duffy are cut from the same gray flannel: anti-union, anti-women, anti-minimum wage, beloved by the Tea Party and the Koch brothers. It’s simple. If they win, we all lose. Kelly Westlund and other Wisconsin progressives are leading the charge for a higher minimum wage, equal pay for equal work, and workers’ rights. It’s simple. If progressives win, we will change the course of politics in Wisconsin, and the nation.

Bernie Sanders (I-VT) noticed how important this race is as well: "At a  time when so many working families are struggling with a difficult economy, Kelly Westlund is the right person to help get our economy on track. Her experience helping local communities develop good jobs is exactly the kind of common sense values we need to bring to Washington. I'm proud to endorse Kelly for the U.S. Congress."

And closer to home, Phil Neuenfeldt, President Wisconsin AFL-CIO, also jumped into the battle a few weeks ago. "We are proud to support Kelly Westlund for Congress," he said on behalf of Wisconsin working families. "Northern Wisconsin needs someone like Kelly who is ready to support the rights of working people on the job, fight for a living wage and take on the special interests in Washington. We know Kelly will work hard every day for working people and middle-class Wisconsinites. Kelly’s commitment to community and improving economic opportunity proves she is the best choice for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District."

It probably won't surprise any DWT readers to know that Steve Israel has forbade the DCCC to assist Kelly. It may be a swing district but he's wasting most DCCC money on Blue Dogs and New Dems in much redder districts where they have no chance to win. Kelly does have a chance to win-- despite Israel's venal incompetence. Please consider helping her today here. She's asking for $7 contributions. Since August, Kelly's campaign has called 45,000 voters, knocked on 10,000 doors, and established 11 field offices. WI-07 is a battleground district between Scott Walker and Mary Burke. Helping Kelly's get out the vote effort today, is going to help guarantee the fate Walker has earned over the last 4 years.

More Steps Towards Ending The War In Afghanistan

President Obama is days away from announcing the inevitable buckling under to the military-industrial complex and giving the generals more young Americans as cannon fodder for a useless and unwinnable war, that most Americans do not support. So who in Congress really wants to end the war and who's content just leaving it up to the military to do whatever they think is best? We saw that last June only 32 Democrats had the cojones to oppose Obama's supplemental war budget, which allowed continued expenditures for war without responsible funding. In other words, Obama continued the Bush policies he campaigned against which charge war expenses to borrowing from the Chinese and against our great grandchildren's future. Unlike the deficits run up for the stimulus and healthcare reform, this is completely wasteful spending which only impoverishes America and stimulates nothing... at least nothing worthwhile.

David Obey, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, along with other House Democrats are holding Obama to his vow to pay for wars and not shove the expenses off on future generations the way Bush did. Obey warned him that sending more troops would be a mistake that could "wipe out every initiative we have to rebuild our own economy."

"There ain't going to be no money for nothing if we pour it all into Afghanistan," House Appropriations Chairman David Obey told ABC News in an exclusive interview. "If they ask for an increased troop commitment in Afghanistan, I am going to ask them to pay for it."

Obey, a Democrat from Wisconsin, made it clear that he is absolutely opposed to sending any more U.S. troops to Afghanistan and says if Obama decides to do that, he'll demand a new tax-- what he calls a "war surtax"-- to pay for it.

"On the merits, I think it is a mistake to deepen our involvement," Obey said. "But if we are going to do that, then at least we ought to pay for it. Because if we don't, if we don't pay for it, the cost of the Afghan war will wipe out every initiative we have to rebuild our own economy."

...Obey argued that the tax should be paid by all taxpayers, with rates ranging from 1 percent for lower wage earners to 5 percent for the wealthy.

The White House won't be able to count on Obey's support the next time the president seeks funding for the war.

And that brings us to the bipartisan letter from Jim McGovern (D-MA), signed by 50 Democrats and 7 Republicans advocating an end to the occupation of Afghanistan. This is a significant expansion of the 32 Democrats who voted against funding in June. The signatories are:

Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Neil Abercrombie (D-HI)
Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Pete Stark (D-CA)
Bruce Braley (D-IA)
Phil Hare (D-IL)
Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
Bob Filner (D-CA)
John Olver (D-MA)
Jose Serrano (D-NY)
Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Jerry Costello (D-IL)
Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM)
Alan Grayson (D-FL)
Peter Welch (D-VT)
Kurt Schrader (D-OR)
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Ed Pastor (D-AZ)
Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
John Lewis (D-GA)
Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Richard Neal (D-MA)
Diane Watson (D-CA)
John Conyers, Jr (D-MI)
Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Donna Edwards (D-MD)
Laura Richardson (D-CA)
Michael Honda (D-CA)
Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
Dan Maffei (D-NY)
Steve Kagen (D-WI)
Michael Capuano (D-MA)
Sam Farr (D-CA)
Chellie Pingree (D-ME)
Luis Guitierrez (D-IL)
Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Jared Polis (D-CO)
Mike Michaud (D-ME)
Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Rush Holt (D-NJ)
Mike Quigley (D-IL)
Pete DeFazio (D-OR)
Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)

Plus Republicans:

Ron Paul (R-TX)
Walter Jones (R-NC)
Tim Johnson (R-IL)
Ed Whitfield (R-KY)
Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD)
John Duncan (R-TN)
Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)

Please click the images to read the letter in full:

PUBLIC FINANCING OF ELECTIONS-- ONE STEP CLOSER? TWO STEPS BACK?

You know what the root of all evil is, right? No, not Cheney; even deeper. Yes, money. And in politics-- even more so. All the reforms and rules and regulations... democracy itself in fact, is never going to be strong and vibrant while massive amounts of money can be deployed to corrupt the process and the system itself. There are few things the assinine pack of contemptible monstrosities the Republicans have fouled the Supreme Court with could have done to please their corporate masters more than to nullify the key part of McCain/Feingold they dispensed of this past week. Few Americans seem to care or to understand the significance of this crass reactionary ruling.

Two senior congressional Democrats, David Obey (D-WI) and Barney Frank (D-MA) say they do  understand-- and that they want to do something about it. They recognize that the incrementalism inherent in baby step reform has failed and they are proposing the kind of serious-- radical-- reform that will protect working Americans from the unmediated power of capital. Friday they started talking up a proposal to ban all private spending in general election congressional campaigns-- i.e.- public financing for House races.

Blasting the narrow partisan nature of the Supreme Court decision, a decision Frank correctly labeled "one of the most intellectually dishonest decisions ever rendered by the Supreme Court," the two lawmakers are proposing the most sweeping change to campaign finance in history. Their plan is dependent on voluntary donations from taxpayers on tax forms and would guarantee up to $2 million per race. The House would be a test case and if it worked out well-- even after perfection-- it could be applied to Senate and presidential races. The bill already has it's first co-sponsor, Tom Udall (D-NM). It is sure to be opposed by big money interests and their Republican congressional whores.

This is hardly a new idea-- and Arizona, Maine and Vermont already have partial public financing of elections--  and it is one that Frank and Obey have been working on for years. Last year the New York Observer explained it in a way everyone could understand. "Cheaper and more-contested races, more citizens participating as $5 donors, lawmakers unmolested by lobbyists en route to doing the people’s business-- how’s that for representative democracy?"

DO THE HOUSE DEMOCRATS WANT TO END THE WAR OR NOT? WELL SOME DO AND SOME DON'T

Today's CongressDaily makes it abundantly clear why there's no progress from Congress on Iraq. The Democratic proposals, instead of being formulated by Members who actually want to extricate us from Bush's hideous and failed quagmire-- and there are many-- are being "handled" by Members with long and consistent records of support for all of the Bush Regime's and the Neocons' worst policies in the Middle East, hacks and shills like Steny Hoyer (MD), Dave Obey (WI) and Steve Israel (NY).

After today's special Democratic caucus meeting it was clear that these clowns are so pathetic and scared of their own shadows that nothing is going to get done. Bush's approval rating on Iraq is down at 23%. Think of that number! That includes Utah, Wyoming and Idaho and other places where they think Jesus, the guy who picked Bush to be president, is coming on a spaceship next week to rescue them so nothing matters anyway. Bush's overall approval rating, depending on which poll you give more credence to is either 28% or 29%. But there are enough Democrats in the House still afraid of him to-- combined with die-hard Democratic war supporters-- thwart the attempts by progressives and anti-war Democrats from getting anything real done to end the war.

Dave Obey, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee-- always a position that should give one pause (at least in order to secure one's wallet and other valuables)-- has a proposal. His Iraq voting record makes me, as someone who opposes Bush's policies, somewhat suspicious. Obey has voted with Bush and the hard right Republicans 9 times on Iraq roll calls between October 10, 2002 (H.J. Res. 114) and May 25, 2005. His plan is supposed to be a compromise between the Out of Iraq Caucus-- the Democrats who want to end the war-- and... the Osama bin-Laden/Dick Cheney faction that is determined, for their own reasons, to keep the war going as long as possible. (The Blue Dogs and Ellen Tauscher's New Democratic Coalition are with bin-Laden and Cheney of course.)

Steve Israel, Long Island's second most reactionary congressman-- after vicious right-wing extremist Peter King-- has an even worse Iraq voting record than Obey (actually, much worse, having voted with Bush and the extremists 20 times in the same time period, including on almost every single crucial vote). But he's speaking as though he were some kind of an honest broker instead of the total warmonger his voting record proves him to be. Stressing that Obey's plan won't satisfy the "extreme wings" of the party (the extreme wings being Jim Marshall (GA) and Bud Cramer (AL) on the far right and 81 Democrats with respectable Democratic voting records on Iraq on the "left" of the party. "I think you're getting fewer members demanding extremes and more trying to find a sensible compromise. So, obviously the ground is shifting, and they're trying to accommodate a lot of concerns...

Another long-time and consistent war supporter (18 votes with the Bush-Cheney coalition while he was Democratic Whip!), disgraceful Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, says the process of coming up with something is taking longer than anyone would have guessed. Anyone who was guessing should have voted for Jack Murtha as Majority Leader and it would have been solved by now.

I watched the Turd-in-Chief on TV today reading Rove's carefully constructed and completely deceitful talking points about how voting against the Regime's proposals is stabbing the fighting men and women in the back. Anyone who wants to see how to stab our fighting men and women in the back need look no further than how they have been short changed on armor in Iraq and short-changed on medical care when they were blown up because Bush skimped on the armor, when they got back. Why aren't the Democrats talking about impeachment?

As Hunter warns Democratic members of the House and Senate (and by implication, the bums running for the presidential nomination) on Daily Kos today, "There's a world of hurt coming your way, and time is running out."

We are surrounded by political figures in all parties unwilling to make political sacrifices a hundredth as difficult as the sacrifices we expect of the men and women who serve in our military, and in such a time as this, political courage is not optional, it is flatly and unequivocally expected. It is required, and if it is not forthcoming, then the wrath of the American public will grow, and quickly.
Quit jockeying for position among yourselves. Quit expecting ultraconservative apologists to offer anything more than plans to get more people killed and call it "progress". Quit expecting anything but another two years of incompetent buffoonery from the Bush administration. Quit expecting bipartisanship. Quit expecting miracles that haven't come for three years, and aren't just over the horizon now. And quit expecting patience.
You've got weeks, not months. Within the next two weeks, people are going to begin figuring out who's blocking what, and talking about it. Within a few weeks after that, there are going to be be explorations of all the Senators and House members who are willing to keep troops in harm's way without a plan. And within two months, those figures are going to be marked as apologists or worse, and the same fire that rained down on Republicans and on Joe Lieberman last election cycle from an American public deeply, deeply angry about the conduct of the war will begin to rain down on you, and there won't be enough talking points in the world to absolve or defend you.
You have no idea how much raw fury there is out there, just under the surface. And all the "Democratic apologists" like me are on our very last ounce of patience, and all the grassroots supporters have torches lit and at the ready, and all the Democrats and Republicans in your district are watching to see whether you're really different from the Republicans or not, and all the troops in Iraq are waiting to see if you can provide an ounce of leadership.
Fix it. Now.

UPDATE: OH, BY THE WAY... YOU WANT TO SEE SERIOUS ANTI-WAR DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS?

Normally I've reserved my pleas for donations to our candidates to Saturdays. It suddenly dawned on me that maybe some people don't read DWT on Saturdays. I know, for example, Joe Lieberman doesn't. In any case, we don't have many Democratic candidates up on the Blue America board yet. But the ones we have up are not hot air Democrats; they're all the real McCoy when it comes to ending the war. May I ask you to consider $5 or $10 contributions to the campaigns of Charlie Brown (CA-04), who is taking on the odious warmonger John Doolittle again, and freshmen reps, Patrick Murphy (PA-08) and Steve Cohen (TN-09)?