To A Nation Of Angry Believers His Words Are A Drug, While His Loyal Band Of Thugs Cover Up All His Many Transgressions

Let's end the day-- and launch into Labor Day-- with the best new Sheryl Crow song I've heard in years. My old pal, music critic Michael Snyder, turned me on to this live Zoom version (above) of "In the End" today. He called the song "a powerful reaction to the current state of the world and the nightmarish turn taken by American politics" and noted that "she initially released a scathing animated video to accompany the studio recording of the song, but she expressed concern that it overemphasized the heinous behavior on one side of the aisle, so she replaced it with a re-edit of the 'toon that was a more evenhanded attack on all sides of the divide while still taking square aim at the Orange Ogre on top of the heap." You'll find that after In The End's powerful and compelling lyrics:

There's a fly on the wall, in the house on the hill
Where the king of the world watches TV
And the people all wait for his latest mandate
To a nation of angry believers
Well, his words are a drug, while his loyal band of thugs
Cover up all his many transgressions
The fly, lands on his ear and whispers,
"What's there to fear, as long as you're still the obsession?"
Is it too late to turn back now?
Too late to see the light?
Do you make a vow to Heaven and Hell?
When you wake up at night, do you ask yourself?

In the end
Did you feed them? How'd you treat them?
Is it so hard to love?
In the end
Like you mean it, like you seen it
You get back what you give
In the end

There's a man on the cross with His arms open wide
And a tear that’d quench the world's fires
But His name is a shield to the ones who reveal
Their own power and greed and desire

In the end
Did you need them? How'd you treat them?
Is it so hard to love?
In the end
Like you mean it, like you've seen it
You get back what you give
In the end
In the end

Well you only live once or maybe you live twice
Depending on how well you spent it
You see, karma's a drag, you come back as a rat
[Dodging traps set by your own descendants
Is it too late to turn back now?
Too late to turn around?
You get one chance in this life
You can turn around things or you can close your eyes

In the end
Did you feed them? How'd you treat them?
Is it so hard to love?
In the end
Like you mean it, like you’ve seen it
You get back what you give
In the end
You can hear them, did you feed them?
Is it so hard to love?
In the end
Like you mean it, like you’ve seen it
You get back what you give in the end
(You get back what you give in the end)

In the end
In the end

WAIT! There's More

Andy Ruff is running to represent a southern Indiana swing district that stretches from the suburbs north of Louisville through Bloomington and into the suburbs south of Indianapolis. He sounds like the right kind of populist candidate for the district. Remember, the Democrats couldn't have picked a worse candidate for this area than Hillary and Trump trounced her 61% to 34%. Obama had taken over 40% both times he ran and in 2018 a mediocre Democrat got 43.5% against incumbent Trey Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth is one of the Congress' wealthiest men, an arch-conservative representing his own class. And Tennessee-- which is where he's from.

Ruff, who was elected to the the Bloomington City Council as an at-large member, is a high school science teacher and has worked as an environmental planner for the Monroe County government. He's also a talented songwriter and musician. 

He's making a big noise about how Hollingsworth is a carpetbagger who shouldn't be representing Indiana in Congress. On his website, Ruff wrote that "Trey 'moved' to Indiana in 2016, the same year he and his family spent $4 million buying out the IN-09 Republican Primary. It’s entirely possible, of course, to become an 'adopted' Hoosier, to be as practiced and knowledgeable in our ways and traditions as someone who was born and raised in Southern Indiana. But you have to earn the right to that title. It takes time, and real effort, to immerse yourself in our community and culture. These are things Tennessee Trey has yet to do. To be honest, I don’t think he’s even trying. For instance, recently asked to name his favorite John Mellencamp song, Hollingsworth couldn’t do it! That’s right. The congressman for Indiana’s 9th couldn’t think of a single song by the living rock legend born and raised in this very district. Show me a Hoosier who can’t name ‘Jack and Diane’ or ‘Small Town’ in less than three seconds, and I’ll show you a politician from Tennessee who spends all his time in Washington. As inconsequential as that may sound, it’s just one example of the fact that Trey doesn’t even have a baseline grasp of simple Hoosier knowledge-- and he’s ‘lived here’ for four years now (supposedly). This is essential to understanding his continued misrepresentation of this district. If you’re as appalled as me that Joseph Albert Hollingsworth III has been using our seat in the nation’s capitol to make himself even richer and has the gall to call himself a 'Hoosier' while doing it, I’m asking you to help me send him and his family money back to Tennessee on Election Day."

This is the best campaign song I ever heard a candidate do-- the ending disclaimer is hilarious too: "I'm Andy Ruff and I wrote, sang and approved this message." He also played guitar on it. It's so cool; you should listen to it:

Dan Canon: "We Ain't Done"

Dan Canon would have been a game-changer in Congress. But on Tuesday Democratic primary voters in southern Indiana decided to nominate a garden variety Democrat-- not a bad person as far as I can tell-- from DC who's friends with all the DC people. Well, they lost an opportunity... and so did we all. Up top and below were the meager efforts Blue America did to try to help at the very end of a wonderfully inspired campaign. Yesterday Dan wrote a wrap up of that campaign on this Facebook page:

Good morning!

One of the things I disliked about campaigning is that there was plenty of gratitude felt, but never enough time to express it all. And not just time, but my own inability to come up with the right words to convey how it feels to see people wearing my name and working tirelessly for little or no tangible reward. It's a bittersweet dislike, to be sure. Anyway, this is going to be a long post because there's a lot to say. If you care about what we built here, what we're doing now, and what we plan to do in the future, read on.

I'll say "we" to refer to this campaign because I'm just the "pretty face" [extreme scare quotes] of this operation. Candidates get all the credit (and the blame), and we put in a ton of time, but in a race this size but there are people working even harder in the background. Most of you know that by know even if you didn't know before watching this campaign. I couldn't have done anything substantial without these folks. Hell, there was more going on behind the scenes than I ever knew about or will know about.

First things first. My beautiful wife Valerie Canon basically gave up her husband and the father of her kids for a year to do this. She took this utterly thankless job on the chin despite the fact that she didn't ask for it. And she told me she loved me every single day of this. She's basically the best person alive, and in no universe do I deserve a woman like this. Most people have never even had a *friend* like her, let alone a spouse, and I gave up a lot of time with her to try to do this thing. When you get the urge to throw shit at a candidate over some perceived minor policy disagreement, or a gaffe, or their appearance, or whatever shit you want to throw that day, remember that that candidate and their families might be giving up a lot for this. Many politicians (though not all; fuck Ted Cruz forever) are human beings and not just objects for your amusement. Remember that as we go into the generals.

I cannot imagine a world in which I did not know Dustin Collins, but in no universe would this campaign had even a fraction of the success that it did without him. He's a part of my family, my kid brother, my nephew, my son, and somehow my mentor all rolled into one. Had he had a more conventional candidate or a friendlier set of circumstances, he would have won this race; he chose a longshot because he thought we could make real change together. He was right. Not a lot of people his age, or any age, have that kind of courage.

My dear friend Dawn Howard is a kindred spirit in a million ways. We are both only children and like it that way, but if I had a sister, I'd want it to be Dawn. She was somehow both the glue that kept the organization together, and the constant devil's advocate that kept me focused on what was right. She also made sure every t was crossed and every i dotted, which allowed me to focus on the big picture stuff. If some other campaign doesn't pick her up to do something, American politics will be worse off.

I don't know how someone can get the energy and talent of Erin McMahon, but she's just incredible. I've known Erin for 20 years and had no idea she was so amazing. All the social media stuff you saw coming from this campaign was basically Erin's work (aided in no small part by Cassie Johnston, who can turn out professional graphics and video edits on a moment's notice). She has a delightful voice that is an excellent counterbalance to my gruff vulgarity. I challenge anyone to find a campaign with a better social media presence than we had, and it's all because of Erin.

No one works harder than Cory Ray. Period. He wrangled hundreds of interns and volunteers in all 13 counties while making calls and knocking doors. I don't think he ever slept. He did it with a positive attitude and a great sense of humor. He is going to do great thing - mark my words. I want this post to be here so I can say "I told you so" when he single-handedly conquers North America or something. Cory, Michael Gibbons, Joshua Major Howerton, and Paul Bieniek were the backbone of an unprecedented field operation that registered thousands of people to vote and made hundreds of thousands of voter contacts. Watch out for these guys.

Mary Helen Ayres won't admit it, but she's the primary driver of our success in Bloomington. She's also become a member of our family. I hate that she is two hours away because I want to see her face every single day. All the misery of this campaign would be worth going through 100 times if you could get one friend like Mary Helen out of it.

El Wa is one of the very first people I met who was excited about my candidacy, and who introduced me to a whole world of people who changed my life forever. She is equal parts sweet and fierce as hell, and has damn near gotten in a couple of actual fist fights on my behalf. I am trying to talk her into running for Governor someday. We'll see how that turns out.

And of course there's my mom Pat Canon, who has basically made me everything I am, and who endured me talking about her in damn near every stump speech. She very nearly died during this campaign (seriously). She's much better now, and I'm thankful to have some extra time with her, free from the insanity of politics.

If I were to shout out everyone who worked incredibly hard on this campaign, I would be typing this for days. I'll reach out to each of you individually over time. There are literally hundreds of you, and I am overwhelmed by your support. I don't know what I did to deserve it, but I will do my best to pay it back in the future. For now, to my amazing interns and volunteers: I see you, I recognize everything you did, and I appreciate it more than I'll ever be able to say.

To all of you who put your energy, your time, and/or your money into this campaign, I want you to know that it wasn't wasted. We managed to get more than 11,000 votes from people in Indiana in a primary election where only 15% of registered voters showed up. I do believe we earned every last one of those votes-- in other words, I don't think very many people showed up and said "eh, I just like this guy's name the best" and checked a box. People showed up to vote for genuine, homegrown progress. Each of those votes is a rejection of the status quo. Each of those votes is an embrace of a brighter future. Each of those votes is a demonstration that we can make a world for our kids and grandkids where people who have been victimized by the pharmaceutical industry get real treatment, not just thrown in jail; where they have clean water to drink, clean air to breathe, and clean soil to grow food; where they can send their kids into a classroom and know they will come out again; where they can get an education without having to be saddled with debt for the rest of their lives; and where they don't have to go bankrupt or die just because they can't pay a medical bill. Each of those votes inches us closer and closer to the possibility of governance by real people who understand real problems, not just the wealthy. And that base of voters is going to grow.

Those ideas did not originate with me and are not anyone's intellectual property. Please don't make the mistake of tying them to the wins and losses of any one particular candidate. The important thing is that we're talking about a positive agenda for the future of America, and we're doing it in a way that is equal parts compassionate and fearless. If I can do that, anyone can. If we inspired even one person to go change the world because of this campaign, it was all worth it.

In fact, I know we inspired more than a few people to run for office-- people who will be on the ballot in November. There are several examples, but a big one who could use your support is Cindy Reinert for Indiana House 58. She's out there pounding the pavement, grabbing new voters, talking about the stuff that matters. She put in countless hours volunteering for us before she decided to run. Indiana needs her, and she could use your support.

I've written and spoken quite a bit about how the world of the law can be a nightmarish hell. It’s true, and probably worse, of the world of congressional politics. But that's not a reason for good people to stay out of law schools, the courtroom, party politics, or government in general. To the contrary-- if there are no good people on the inside of government, there is no possibility that government will be good. Ugly as it is, we can't leave politics to wealthy, disconnected sociopaths that are so often attracted to positions of power, lest all our complaints become self-fulfilling prophecy. If you're thinking about running, run. It turns out that even when you lose, you can win a lot.

This campaign was able to unite people who were already involved in various movements: environmental, racial justice, health justice, labor, reproductive rights, criminal justice, and all points in between. That galvanizing force is going to continue, if we have anything to say about it. A united, progressive front could be unstoppable here in Indiana, and elsewhere. Organizations that took a chance on us include Justice Democrats, Blue America, Soindivisible : Southern Indiana Indivisible, Floyd and Clark County Stonewall, Teamsters Local Union 89, and what I believe were the first ever endorsements from Democratic Socialists of America: Southern Indiana Chapter and Democratic Socialists of America-- Louisville. These groups and their candidates are the future of the American Left. We were (and are) the tie that binds those organizations and people together from coast to coast, and that feels pretty good. To the journalists that took note of what we were doing here (I'm looking at you Sean A McElwee, Michael C Powell, Jim Higdon, Sam Miro, and Adam James Oppenheim): thank you. We started national conversations about marijuana, a guaranteed jobs program, and the abolition of ICE-- which more than 15 candidates now support. When you're movement building, you have to start somewhere, and I think this was a pretty good start. As Pete Seeger said, anything worthwhile takes a little time.

As for my immediate future, it's still unknown. This is the first time in my adult life that I've been functionally unemployed. I am hatching new schemes to build a better world, of course, but your suggestions are welcome. I'm not yet sure how I can be the most useful. For now, the next thing I have coming up is arguing a case at the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals against Donald Trump and some of your favorite white nationalists over whether the President has the right to incite violence against protesters at campaign rallies. That's on June 6. Out of fire, back into the frying pan. Other than that, it's all undiscovered country.

All in all, there is almost nothing bad I can take away from this experience, and there's very little I would do differently. I've learned a million things I never would have been able to learn otherwise, I've made lifelong friends, and I've come away with a renewed sense of optimism about the fundamental goodness of humankind. If you ever get tired of screaming at people through your television, phone, or computer screen, go knock some doors. Connect with people face to face. Talk about their dreams, their aspirations, their hopes, their fears, their kids, their dogs, whatever. There's not much that separates us.

Long though it may be, this post doesn't begin to cover everything I want to say about this experience or everyone who needs acknowledgment. I will probably add stuff in the comments, but my intention is to walk away from the Facebook brain parasite for a few days and get back in touch with the outside (and inside) world. If I missed something or someone, please don't hesitate to point it out. But if you don't get responses right away, it may be because we are taking an extended break to regroup, reconnect, and get focused. In the meantime, throw your support behind any of the amazing candidates we have running all over Indiana and Kentucky. They need your time, your money, your hands, and your love.

TL;DR: We ain't done. Love you all.

Today's Two Most Important Primaries? Districts Trump Won In North Carolina And Indiana

It's primary day in West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina, all states Trump won in 2016, but all staes with pockets of resistance and all states with lots and lots of buyers' remorse. There should be plenty of interesting results up and down the ballots in November when Democrats go up against Republicans. But today is the day when each party picks which candidates. There are especially bloody Senate GOP primaries in West Virginia and Indiana. But the most important primaries for Blue America today are congressional races in North Carolina's 5th district to pick a nominee to oppose Virginia Foxx and in Indiana's 9th district to pick a nominee to oppose Trey Hollingsworth. Neither is a "normal" place for an important race.

NC-05 has a PVI of R+ 10 and Trump won the district 57.4% to 39.8%. And IN-09's PVI is worse-- R+13, with a Trump victory of 61.1% to 34.2%. Yet two of the most promising candidates Blue America has endorsed this cycle are running for those two seats. The DCCC has backed neither, nor have the Blue Dogs, New Dems nor any of the crooked Inside the Beltway groups that endorse and validate candidates in America. Jenny Marshall and Dan Canon have been on their own and today they have no one to count on but their own grassroots efforts.

Dan tackled the question of why primaries matter.

If you’ve noticed how our elected officials are mostly members of the 1%, then you’ve noticed that they are-- de facto-- not representative of the other 99% of people they are meant to serve. It’s hardly surprising when they vote for measures that favor themselves and their friends and hurt people in need. They don’t understand what most people are facing, so their “solutions”-- if they offer any at all-- are tragically out of touch, and wholly inadequate to address the myriad, complex ways everyday people are struggling.

Low voter turnout in primaries has a lot to do with this. When we don’t get to know candidates and don’t support candidates who are, in a word, us, we allow the person with the most money-- and the wealthiest friends-- to be the loudest and most persuasive voice. In order to take back our government and elect people who will in fact serve us-- all of us-- we must seek out and support candidates who are truly representative of the people they would serve.

I was raised by a single, working mom, dropped out of high school, earned my GED, and became the first person in my family to graduate college. I’m not the model of a politician that we’ve come to expect (and largely dislike) in the United States. I’ve lived paycheck to paycheck. I've gone without health insurance. I have student loan debt. I've been divorced and remarried.

From representing people here for years - and experiencing the problems of the working poor in my own life-- I've gained an intimate knowledge of the real problems we face every day. I’ve learned to listen, and I've learned that real solutions come not from Washington D.C., but from working directly with people who are experiencing real problems. I have a lifetime of personal and professional experience doing just that-- and getting real results.

My first order of business will be to establish a substantial constituent services program right here in IN-09. People here do not want platitudes and promises; they want to see you getting elbow-deep in the community and taking real action. I plan to run services out of those offices-- enough that no one has to drive a half-day to reach one - that are responsive to everyday constituent needs, and also a hub for directing people to other valuable resources in their communities. People need to know that the federal government is doing something for them, and what better way to show that than to... do things for them? Not just by voting for legislation, but on a day-to-day, personal basis. This is has been sorely lacking in IN-09 for a long time, and is something I believe will lead to this no longer being a "swing district" in the future.

Jenny Marshall came to our attention because she was a successful Bernie organizer in a state where Bernie's message hadn't penetrated yet. But Bernie did significantly better in the counties she was organizing in than in the rest of the state. We noticed right from the start that Jenny is a kind of Every Woman, a school teacher trying to make her community a better place for everyone-- and in a district where Virginia Foxx has all but ignored the 99% in favor of her own wealthy campaign contributors.

"I became a teacher," Jenny told us yesterday in her last minute message, "to stand up for those kids who needed a little more help because they didn't fit the typical model of student. I advocated for their learning and their rights to be successful against a system that wasn't built for them. I got used to being the voice in the room that demanded we do better for our students. As my level of advocacy spilled outside of my classroom, I saw bigger obstacles that needed to be addressed. The push for charter schools and voucher was draining money from our already strapped public school system.  My already struggling students were being left out in the cold. I began making trips to the state house to talk to the powers that be about the legislation they were trying to pass.  I talked to everyone who would listen and dogged everyone who avoided me. It didn't matter what party, if the representative was attacking public education I fought back. I didn't take this on alone. I created a group that grew to over 9,000 strong of both parents and educators who also took on the General Assembly. We used our collective voice to demand our representatives protect education and return education back into the hand of the professionals rather than the bureaucrats. We were able to mitigate some of the more draconian measures they were trying to push. At every turn I stood up and demanded that we do right by our communities. That is why I decided to run for Congress. We need strong leaders who are not afraid to say the truth even if it is unpopular. We need people who remember what it is like to struggle to make ends meet just like the majority of Americans. We need people who don't just look past people's troubles, but who actively seek to help those in need. We need people like me who are committed to strengthening communities, empowering people and building a better future for all of us."

It's not to late to make a difference for these two candidates who will-- unlike most candidates for Congress-- actually make a difference. If you live in their districts, you can vote today. If you have friends or family in their districts, you can call and try to persuade them to get out and vote-- for Dan Canon in Indiana and for Jenny Marshall in North Carolina. America is depending on candidates like Jenny and Dan to remake Congress and to protect the country until 2021 when Trump finally leaves the White House.

Hope... In Indiana? Yep-- A Week From Today (But Not In The Senate Race)

Indiana has a really important primary for progressives a week from today-- the 9th congressional district has a face-off between stalwart and brilliant progressive Dan Canon and some DC insider who's pretending to be part of the local community. Electing Dan can be a game-changing event because there are so few members of Congress like him. Most Democrats are just worthless garden variety seat-occupiers, some better than others, like Liz Watson, the one from DC opposing him. Please consider contributing to Dan's field operation here.

Meanwhile a much bigger deal is being made about a Senate race that will eventually result in electing either a very conservative Republican pr a very conservative Democrat. None of them are any good but-- surprise, surprise-- the very conservative Democrat, Joe Donnelly (rated "F" by ProgressivePunch and, according to them, the 4th worst Democrat in the Senate (after Doug Jones, Joe Manchin and Heidi Heitkamp). But that contest is not 'til November. Next Tuesday the big race is for the GOP nomination to oppose Donnelly.

Donnelly was a crap Blue Dog in Congress, who realized he had ZERO chance of being reelected in 2012, so he went for a hail Mary pass and ran for the U.S. Senate and then lucked out when neo-fascist Richard Mourdock knocked out mainstream Republican Richard Lugar. Predictably, Mourdock-- though not running around with a swastika on his arm-- was caught saying insane enough things for Donnelly to actually beat him, albeit narrowly-- 1,281,181 (50%) to 1,133,621 (44.3%), with a Libertarian drawing 5.7% of the vote. Donnelly is probably hoping for a replay-- and he may get one, as the Republican candidates push each other further and further right in a quest for a lunatic, Trumpist party base. NBC covered the Republican primary fight for NBC News yesterday, noting that the Republicans are charging each other with things like "Drunken driving, self-dealing and false advertising," while all 3 candidates-- Congressman Todd Rokita, Congressman Luke Messer and former state Rep. Mike Braun-- are "doing their best to portray themselves as the second coming" of... Señor Trumpanzee.

As of the April 18 FEC reporting deadline Braun had raised the most-- $5,841,425 (though 91.6% of that, $5,350,377, was from his own pocket)-- compared to Messer ($2,895,11) and Rokita ($2,659,487). Donnelly has out-raised them all-- $9,773,228-- not counting the $3,007,557 that Schumer's Senate Majority PAC has spent on Donnelly.

If it comes down to who is the most Trump-like, Braun should have the edge.

He took the political establishment here by surprise, dumping millions of dollars of his own money into ads that introduced him to voters and framed his opponents as twin denizens of the Washington "swamp" that the president often rails against.

In one ad, Braun, 64, dressed in his trademark blue shirt with sleeves rolled, walks around with cardboard cutouts of Rokita and Messer, both in suits and matching red ties, and asks voters if they can tell his rivals apart. Spoiler alert: They can't.



Like Trump, Braun has focused on his business acumen-- in his case an auto-parts distributorship. And while critics note that he voted in Democratic primaries for many years and worked legislative levers in the Statehouse to try to win tax breaks for the timber industry, in which he has a personal stake, neither argument make him seem less like the president.

Trump won Indiana with 56 percent of the vote in 2016.

Braun lumps his primary opponents together with Donnelly, saying that the incumbent, Messer and Rokita have failed to make a positive mark in Washington-- a message that could remain consistent from the primary to the general election.

"I'm not going to waste my time," if elected, Braun told NBC News. If he can't make a dent, he pledged, "I'm going to head back to Hoosierland."

Braun has raised his profile to the point that with 45 percent still undecided in the only public poll taken, he led on April 11 with 26 percent, to Rokita's 16 percent and Messer's 13 percent. Veteran political observers here say that the combination of Braun's ad blitz, and the relatively sleepy and low-dollar campaigns of his rivals, has vaulted him to front-runner status. But they also say the race is unsettled.

"This is fascinatingly close," said former Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind. "People who are following are changing their minds. I've never seen such fluidity before."

n 2017, the American Conservative Union scored 25 votes by House members. Rokita voted with the group, which runs the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in the Washington area, all 25 times. Messer strayed just once, by voting to fund the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a federal program that shares costs with local governments and private investors to aid small and mid-size manufacturers.

Messer voted for an omnibus spending bill last month that boosted funding for both the military and domestic accounts while Rokita voted against it. But even Trump appeared to be torn on the matter, trashing it publicly before he signed it.

Both lawmakers have had to explain past allegations of driving under the influence. Messer, 49, who won his state House seat after his predecessor was killed by a drunken driver, has been convicted twice on such charges. Rokita, 48, was arrested for illegal consumption of alcohol and possessing a fake ID after a traffic stop when he was in college-- the officer reported that he seemed intoxicated-- but those charges were dismissed and his campaign has said he passed a sobriety test and was in possession only of closed-container alcohol.

Before Trump was the Republican nominee, Rokita and Messer both bashed him-- as "vulgar" and "race-baiting," respectively.

Now, though, they each want to be seen as the logical pick to help Trump advance his agenda in Washington. Messer, who represents portions of the Indianapolis suburbs and the eastern part of the state, notes that he has a slightly higher score (92.9 percent) than Rokita (90.1 percent) in FiveThirtyEight.com's rating of how often lawmakers vote with Trump.

Rokita is also talking like it's still 2016-- referring to "Crooked Hillary" on the campaign trail and keeping alive supporters' calls to "lock her up."

Tina Beck, a Trump backer who voted early for Rokita, lamented last week that Clinton had not yet been jailed, while blasting the media for trying to "get" the president.

...It's Rokita and Messer who have to make up ground in the closing days of the campaign. Both say they're better bets in November.

Rokita is embarking on a final sprint through 50 events, and his spokesman, Nathan Brand, said that push and the record he has in Congress will help put him over the top.

"Todd will continue to outwork his competition over the final days, talking directly to voters about the need for a pro-Trump, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment conservative who will stand up against the liberal elites in Washington," Brand said.

Brad Todd, a consultant to Messer's campaign, said Republicans need to put up a nominee in November who can win over swing voters in the Indianapolis suburbs.

He said honesty could be the key to the race.

"The whole argument against Donnelly is that in Washington he isn't who he says he is in Indiana," Todd said. "Braun has faced criticism for claiming to be a 'lifelong Republican' in his ads while his voter records show he was a lifelong Democrat even into the Obama years. Rokita claims to have Trump's endorsement but the president demanded he cease and desist. Luke [Messer] heads into the general with the strongest argument against Joe."

Voters here will welcome the end of the ugliness in eight days.

Pretty ugly-- all the more reason we need to elect Dan Canon to Congress-- starting with the Democratic primary next week.

Will The Country Be Cleaner If We Elect Progressive Democrats This Year? (Not A Trick Question)

A week from tomorrow 2 crucial congressional primaries will be playing out-- one on Indiana's 9th district and one in North Carolina's 5th district. The DCCC isn't exactly crazy about either of these stalwart progressives and each one will have to face a multimillionaire far right odious crackpot-- Dan Canon taking on Trey Hollingsworth and Jenny Marshall taking on Virginia Foxx.

As of the April 18th FEC reporting deadline Dan had raised $433,401, compared to Hollingsworth's $887,779, and Jenny had raised $125,476 compared to Foxx's $1,482,801. Each also has a garden variety Democrat to face on May 8 (primary day). Both Dan and Jenny (whose newest video is up top) can use some help with their field operations. Field will determine the outcome of each primary. If you'd like to chop in to either campaign-- or both-- you can do it by clicking on the Blue America ActBlue congressional thermometer on the right. Both candidates have a lot in common policy-wise and certainly protection of the environment is one of them. Dan has been very clear that protecting the environment is one of his top priorities. He promised to "demand comprehensive environmental protections, including but not limited to: legislative strengthening of the EPA-- increased enforcement powers to deal with Flint-type crises, to ensure breathable air, drinkable water, and clean soil for all; support for the Keep it in the Ground Act of 2017 (H.R. 2242); measures to address, halt, and reverse global climate change by researching the viability of responsible geoengineering and other technological innovations; facilitation of both agency and private enforcement of the root causes of climate change (e.g., deforestation and irresponsible energy consumption); protect and strengthen the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Antiquities Act, and the Endangered Species Act; support and/or introduce legislation designed to reduce carbon pollution by at least 28% by 2025 and 80% by 2050; support permanently extending the wind production tax credit (PTC) and the solar investment tax credit (ITC); support and/or introduce legislation designed to facilitate a transition to 100% clean energy by 2050; ending subsidies to the fossil fuel industry."

Similarly Jenny makes it clear that "We only have one earth and we must take care of it. This means investing in clean renewable energy sources, increasing sustainable building and clean air, soil and water protections" and makes that point that she will push for 

• ban on fracking and eliminating the EPA fracking loophole for oil and gas companies.
• reinstate the superfund tax structure so that the cleanup of such sites does not burden the citizens, but the industry who created it.
• the passing of a renewable electricity standard (RES) setting binding targets for renewable energy in the near-- and long-term to diversify the U.S. electricity generation mix, save consumers money, and reduce pollution.

And both Dan and Jenny are very concerned by how Scott Pruitt is handling the EPA. Pruitt's corruption issues are bad enough. His policy problems are even worse. And now he's further alienated and demoralized his own staff.

Several current and former EPA officials and other people close to the agency said Pruitt did himself no favors with his congressional testimony Thursday, in which he blamed his aides for installing a $43,000 privacy booth in his office and approving more than $100,000 in first-class flights that he took last year. Pruitt also denied knowing key details about raises that his top staff received last year. And he declined to defend his former policy chief against Democrats' accusations that she had failed to show up for work for three months, even though she and Pruitt had been photographed attending the same meeting during the period in question.

...A current EPA official said Friday that employees are veering between "despair" and "embarrassment," and Pruitt's televised performance did not help.

"I will tell you, it did not go unnoticed from people who watched the hearing that he did not take responsibility on the policy pieces” of the testimony, the official said. "It was not lost on us on the stuff we know about that he used very careful language, he was parsing his words, that some might say he did not speak the whole truth."

One former EPA official said even political aides are “sick of Pruitt constantly putting himself first,” and “putting himself before the president’s agenda.”

“He’s rarely been interested in selling regulatory reform as improving Americans’ lives, and is far more interested in saving his political career,” the former official said.

But Trump has shown no signs of abandoning his EPA chief, who has won the strong backing of conservative groups with his efforts to erase Obama-era environmental regulations. So far, that has outweighed the anger of White House staff members and exasperation of key Republican lawmakers at Pruitt's series of controversies over luxe travel, extensive security, a below-market D.C. condo rental from a lobbyist and history of questionable real estate deals in his native Oklahoma.

...Departed EPA aides who have said Pruitt didn't tolerate internal criticism of his spending and secrecy say current staffers still fear they’ll be similarly swept up in the scandals-- but won't be able to find jobs if they quit now and gain a reputation for disloyalty.

“They’re trying to do the best they can in a toxic environment,” one former staffer said. “You cannot express any idea that might be misconstrued as a political attack on Pruitt or any policy issues, so people just do what they’re told. They’re professional. ... They don’t want to get caught in an undertow.”

Another former EPA official has been getting phone calls from staffers who are frustrated by the controversies but keeping their heads down.

“Everyone in the building wants to come out and say something … but as soon as they say something, they’re out of a job,” that person said.

...“Administrator Pruitt speaks for a certain aspect of the Trump administration conservative movement,” the appointee said.

Next Big Primaries: North Carolina And Indiana

Building a team for real change starting in 2019- Jenny Marshall with Randy Bryce

On Tuesday, Marie Newman gave Blue Dog Dan Lipinski a run for his money. With over 92,000 votes cast, just 2,000 separated them. In the end, Lipinski won the primary, 51.2% to 48.8%, although losing the suburban parts of the district where the Cook County Machine was unable to tamper with results. The next primaries up are on May 8 in Indiana and North Carolina, where we have two outstanding candidates, Dan Canon (IN-09) and Jenny Marshall (NC-05). Both are running strong, issues-oriented grassroots campaigns and both need help with the final 5-week lap. I asked Jenny and Dan what good campaign contributions do this late in the game. Here's what they told me-- Jenny first:

Our campaign has been running a strong field program, but with 263 precincts spread out over 3200 square miles we need to ensure that we reach as many voters as possible. We have been out knocking doors for a month and calling voters for the past 12 weeks, but we have many more people to reach. We need to send out 20,000 mailers to those people who live in more remote and rural areas, hire 10 additional field canvassers for those areas we can walk so we can talk to people at their homes, and purchase campaign materials including 10,000 more door hangers, 20,000 4x6 handouts highlighting our campaign, 700 yard signs and to support our digital advertising in the district.  We expect to have 41,000 people turn out and vote in the primary. We estimate it will take $30,000 to secure the Democratic nomination on May 8th.

Jenny and her team have been running a bold progressive campaign to unseat arch-villain Rep. Virginia Foxx who has turned herself into a virtual rubber stamp for Trump and a terrible representative of North Carolinans. Jenny told us that while she's been out on the campaign trail, she's "talked to thousands of people who tell me that they are struggling to make ends meet and are afraid they are going to lose their health insurance. This coupled with those who just can't afford to use the insurance they pay for is just unconscionable!  Rep. Foxx has ignored the needs of the people for far too long. She voted no on raising the minimum wage back in 2007 when it was just $5.85 an hour. She voted to strip healthcare away from millions of people with her vote to repeal the ACA. She just doesn't care about the daily grind the vast majority of us are going through. Our campaign speaks up for those who have been ignored and dismissed. We are here to fight for them."

  Jenny is eager to take on Foxx but she's got to win the primary against a centrist primary opponent first-- that's the May 8th election. Her opponent is an establishment Dem who doesn't believe in raising the minimum wage beyond $10 per hour, who doesn't support tuition free public colleges and universities and who stated that our public education system is broken and would use her knowledge of the business world to "fix it." In other words, she is all about doing just enough to look like she is on our side, but not enough to actually help our families and our communities. Jenny is committed to raising the wage to $15 an hour and tying it to inflation and fighting for healthcare for all.

Dan's turn:

There’s an old adage in politics that "field wins campaigns." That is why this campaign has invested in a robust field program that has been up and running since mid-September. We have three offices open across the 9th District and have made over 125,000 (and counting) contacts thanks to a dedicated base of supporters who have been calling voters, pounding the pavement, and attending countless events since last summer. In the final month of the primary, the money you donate will be spent heavily on our field efforts to mobilize supporters and G(et) O(ut) T(he) V(ote)! By helping us keep our offices running full steam ahead through May 8th, as well as funding direct mail and digital advertising targeted to likely voters, a donation to this campaign is an investment that will help us build a movement here in the heartland. 

Throughout this campaign, Dan has been a strong proponent of a guaranteed public jobs program, a national UBI pilot program, and the abolition of ICE. "I am proud to say I am the only candidate in my race discussing these ideas that are crucial to creating jobs, investing in our workforce, and ensuring the dignity of all people. Hoosiers (those of us from Indiana) are tired of the duck-and-cover rhetoric that other campaigns use, and with your help we are going to prove that progressive candidates can take bold stances that offer real solutions for real people."



No one is going to be able to accuse Dan Canon of being another garden variety status quo Democrat. He's been on the cutting edge of social and economic issues for far longer than this campaign-- and his campaign has been engaging the folks in Bloomington, Martinsville and Bedford and from the suburbs south of Indianapolis to the suburbs north of Louisville in discussions from marijuana legalization to the impact of automation on job markets.

Recent estimates show 73 million jobs are on the line due to impending automation. These changes could come quickly and shifting labor demands will force many people into new fields.

On the high end, more than 54 million people may have to change jobs by 2030 if technology is adopted swiftly. That equates to roughly a third of the total workforce nationwide. What’s more, automation is expected to lead to depressed wages and a drastic reduction of jobs available to people with less than a four-year degree. Almost no industry is exempt from facing these changes and the impact will be massive.

Why aren’t more politicians talking about this?

First off, there is little political will to change this trend. Tech is sexy. Think about the frenzy of cities competing to be chosen as the next location of huge tech companies’ headquarters. Second, special interest groups donate millions to keep the downside of job automation out of focus while they work to further it and push for ever-greater profits.

I am proud to be the only candidate in this race who has worked to offer solutions on this issue. When in Congress, you can expect me to stand tall for workers every day, even when it isn’t a popular position. There are things we can do now to set people up for success in the future.

• We can create a guaranteed public jobs program that provides meaningful work to people who are willing and able to take it. Let’s focus this program on rebuilding and improving American infrastructure, energy grids, and rural broadband access for starters.
• We can raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour (allowing for regional variance) to help fight against impending wage decreases.
• We can invest robustly in career training and transition assistance, including union apprenticeships, technical schools, and public education systems to better prepare workers to move into other fields.
• We can pilot a Universal Basic Income (UBI) program to develop a foundation for providing people with basic financial security.

The problems of tomorrow demand that we invest in solutions today. We cannot wait even until the next election in 2020. An estimated 5 million jobs could be gone by then.

There Are Still Politicians Completely Devoted To The NRA Agenda Of Death

As more and more NRA corporate partner flee the NRA cooties and as polls show that voters are finally ready to express their NRA-hatred at the polls, the tone-deaf and clueless DCCC is still clinging to their NRA recruits-- such as Anthony Brindisi (NY), Jeff Van Drew (NJ) and Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ). Even more tone-deaf and more clueless are Republican state legislators in the states where the GOP has a stronghold on political power, like in Tennessee. There a crackpot state rep., pig rancher Andy Holt, who calls himself "west Tennessee's conservative voice" and who introduced a bill that would allow people carry guns in airports and bars local governments from passing their own gun regulations. The bill comes up before the legislature today. Holt has 10 unpaid speeding tickets and was questioned by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation about his part in a bribery ring. He's probably best known for fighting with Carrie Underwood on Twitter and for tweeting directly at President Obama in 2016: "Take your gun control and shove it." A friend of mine in the Tennessee general Assembly told me he doesn't smell worse than the swine he raises but "his social skills aren't as good."

Last week Republicans in the Oklahoma state House passed 2 NRA bills, one that allows teachers to carry guns in schools and another that allows Oklahomans to carry guns without a permit and with no training. The progressive Democrat who looks like he can win a congressional seat in Oklahoma City, Tom Guild, told us that "the lesson learned from the mass shootings in Connecticut, California, Texas, Nevada and Florida is that we need to pass common sense gun safety measures to reduce and eliminate tragic gun massacres from occurring. We need to outlaw bump stocks, not only administratively but legislatively. Administrative actions such as executive orders can easily be undone by incoming administrations. We need to pass truly universal background checks covering all civilian commercial transactions involving firearms. America needs to greatly expand investment in mental health treatment. We need to raise the age to purchase firearms for civilian use to 21. We also need to seriously consider and adopt a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault rifles purchased for civilian use. These measures are a good start in bringing peace to America and help ensure that Americans are not targeted for slaughter at schools, churches, concerts, political rallies, and as we simply undertake our daily routines and exercise our fundamental right to assemble peacefully."

Meanwhile another right-wing imbecile, this one in Indiana, state Rep. Jim Lucas-- whose website brags "As your State Representative, I have authored and co-authored many bills and amendments to restore and protect our gun rights"-- is probably best known as the nut who is trying to license journalists, proposed an amendment right after Parkland to expand another NRA bill aimed at letting Hoosiers take guns into schools and churches. He citizens of Indiana need to be guaranteed the right to carry weapons on all state-owned property-- as well as at horse tracks and in casinos.

Lucas' amendment gets a hearing tomorrow.

Lucas lives in Seymour in Jackson County which is in Indiana's 9th congressional district, the seat Dan Canon is contesting this year. And Dan didn't mince any words about what Lucas is trying to do. "The extremist agenda of the Indiana legislature is a textbook example of just how far removed elected officials are from the needs and wishes of their constituents. Most regular folks in Indiana don't want to live in the wild west, especially after seeing dozens of kids die in their classrooms over the last few years, and yet you have lawmakers pushing these unbelievably regressive gun bills. Putting guns in schools isn't what Hoosiers want. Making semiautomatic weapons and silencers easier for everyone to get isn't what Hoosiers want. Making it easier to carry concealed firearms across state lines isn't what Hoosiers want. The people want commonsense gun legislation, and they're not getting it. Lawmakers aren't even seriously talking about it. Is there any real question about what master is being served here?"

And the Republican multimillionaire Canon is taking on, Trey Hollingsworth, is another NRA butt-kisser. Normally districts like IN-09 and OK-05 wouldn't even be up for grabs. But this year isn't "normal," not even in Indiana or Oklahoma. Hillary only a bit over a third of the vote in each district but Dan and Tom have every expectation of winning over half with their strong, values-oriented grassroots campaigns. Please consider helping Dan and Tom get their messages out so they can take on GOP/NRA extremists like Jim Lucas, Trey Hollingsworth and Steve Russell. There are plenty of red-state Democrats who don't want to speak out on a divisive issue like this-- which is exactly how the DCCC counsels candidates. Dan Canon isn't one of them-- and neither is Tom Guild. If you'd like to see people like them in Congress instead of NRA water carriers, please click on the thermometer above and consider making a contribution to their campaigns.

Alas, Beltway Types Don't Value Authenticity-- Maybe We Really Do Need Term Limits

Last cycle I begged the Congressional Progressive Caucus to not throw south Texas progressive Sonny Palacios under the bus by endorsing hard-core conservative crook Vicente Gonzalez. But most members didn't care about the border district and others were impressed with all the money the very Trump-like Gonzalez self funded into his campaign ($1,850,000). They endorsed him and he almost immediately went on the radio to make fun of them and their ideas. As soon as he got to Congress he eschewed the Progressive Caucus and joined the Blue Dogs. Embarrassing, isn't it? They then learn a lesson? Not at all. The Caucus just endorsed wealthy New Dem-- former lobbyist-- Angie Craig. One if them told me she's a married lesbian so how could they not? I wanted to throw up. They also endorsed Liz Watson in Indiana's 9th district. Like them-- but not like the people in IN-09-- she's a creature of the Beltway... and a liar. Because Bernie won IN-09 so big (40,186 to 31,803) she's suddenly calling herself a Berniecrat, despite the fact that she contributed to Clinton during the campaign and not to Bernie. That's a legitimate choice... but lying about it isn't. She's just another status quo careerist, not the real thing. The CPC should be looking for cues like that. They don't.



Like in the case of the Vicente Gonzalez race and the Angie Craig race, there's an actual progressive running in Indiana, Dan Canon. It's too bad the Progressive Causes folks didn't read the Vice feature on Dan. "The progressive civil rights attorney," wrote Michael Powell, "is one of the most fascinating midterm House candidates in the country, a longtime advocate for causes ranging from gay marriage to immigration to cannabis who spends his free time acting in community theater, playing in bands, and marching in protests. If he can get into Congress, it'll be proof for a lot of leftists that yes, their preferred candidates really can win." But not the loches at the CPC. Dan "has his work cut out for him: In 2016 Donald Trump won the district by 27 points and Republican Congressman Trey Hollingsworth beat his Democratic opponent by 14 after moving from Tennessee in 2015. But with the prospect of a nationwide 'blue wave' coming in this year’s midterm elections, Canon could actually win. If he does, it will serve as a flashing beacon that the Republican Party is in serious trouble-- just as the 2015 victory of Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin, a Tea Party outsider, was, in retrospect, a forerunner of Trumpism."

The incumbent Hollingsworth has one advantage over any eventual Democratic opponent-- he’s one of the wealthiest members of Congress, with almost $60 million in assets. Canon says his advantage will come through optics and lived experience. “You have people like Trey Hollingsworth who come to a district as an outsider millionaire with multi-generation wealth and doesn’t understand living paycheck to paycheck, doesn’t understand making the choice between paying for health insurance and paying the rent, or scrounging for change in the couch to buy a Big Mac,” Canon told me. “These are things that I’ve actually experienced, and I think gives me a point of identification with lots of other people. Very few if any candidates at an office this size understand those very real problems because of the prevalence of money in politics… It’s difficult for working-class folks to run for office.”

Now that an orthodontist with a massive and well-documented video game collection has dropped out the race, Canon’s most prominent opponent in the Democratic primary is Liz Watson, an attorney from Bloomington who spent most of her professional life in DC. Canon, by contrast, has always been based in the Ninth District, which stretches from Indianapolis’s conservative, affluent southern suburbs down to Louisville’s middle- and working-class northern suburbs 110 miles away. It includes the hip liberal college town Bloomington, vast swathes of farmland and rural communities, small factory towns, and a city whose opioid crisis is so extreme it led to one of the largest HIV outbreaks in US history.

Before he was a candidate, Canon was a civil rights lawyer on behalf of nearly every liberal cause under the sun. Most notably, he represented a gay couple in Kentucky denied a marriage license, a case that advanced through the court system and merged with others to become the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case that gave same-sex couples the right to marry.

Canon is currently representing a group of protesters-- Kashiya Nwanguma, Molly Shah, and Henry Brousseau-- who say they were attacked at a Louisville Trump rally in March 2016 and are suing the president for allegedly inciting the violence by telling his supporters to “get ‘em out of here.” Judges have yet to decide whether the suit, which was brought before the election, can go forward; Canon and the other attorneys are attempting to get Trump’s tax returns during the discovery process and want to depose the president, saying in a motion that “as of this writing, Trump has played golf 20 times since his inauguration. He has the time for a deposition."

The suit also targets one of the alleged assaulters, Indiana resident Matthew Heimbach, who supposedly riled up other Trump supporters. Heimbach is the founder of the Traditionalist Worker Party and promoted the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. “It’s about bankrupting the Nazis and smoking out the keyboard warriors,” Canon told me.

...Canon has already grabbed endorsements from multiple Democratic Socialists of America chapters and unions like the Teamsters Local 89. He seems to have a way of inspiring what Democratic operatives might call the “base.” Dustin Collins, his campaign manager, is a 27-year-old Air Force veteran and cancer survivor who married his minister husband thanks to Obergefell and cut his teeth in politics as an organizer for Barack Obama in 2008, helping to turn Indiana blue for the first time since 1964. “[Canon] stirred a passion in me that reminded me why I got involved in politics in the first place,” Collins told me, “a passion that we as a party need to reignite so we don’t continuously come in last in voter turnout.”

...Mary Hellen Ayres is a campaign volunteer and Bloomington resident. “Authenticity counts for a lot, especially outside of Bloomington,” she said. “He’s been living in this district most of his life-- he could’ve moved to Louisville or DC, but he didn’t. That means something.” Ayres said she and other activists in the Ninth will support whoever wins the primary, but Dan “has an ability that’s not shared by [Watson] to connect in a real way with people here,” she said. “We know the only Democrat that’s going to flip this district is the one who can get a lot of people to the polls.” Ayres, a midwife of 25 years, has some grassroots experience “working on a campaign to change midwifery laws in Indiana,” but said she never expected to work on a congressional campaign. “But I didn’t expect to find someone as exciting as Dan either,” she added. “He reminds me of a Paul Wellstone,” the legendary Minnesota progressive.

Canon is the sort of candidate leftists dream of—an actual populist, with unimpeachable credentials and even a sense of humor. He’s unwavering in his support of universal universal health care, decriminalizing marijuana as a means to tackle the opioid crisis, raising the minimum wage, criminal justice reform, and other progressive benchmarks. “Dan is unafraid to say what he believes, and the party really ought to be saying [the same thing],” Ayres said.

But his delivery stands out, especially in comparison to some milquetoast technocratic Democrats. "This is an act of incredible cruelty done for no other reason than to appease the lowest common denominator: Trump's white nationalist base,” Canon said in his statement condemning the Trump’s administration's to end protected status for 200,000 Salvadorans in early January. That's the sort of aggressive language Democrats have traditionally been hesitant to embrace, especially in red states like Indiana. “New candidates equals new rhetoric equals new party,” he said.

Canon’s response to the GOP tax bill was a press release marked up in the margins with handwritten notes like the actual tax bill. Canon is also very entertaining on Twitter, and has conducted novel fundraising stunts like #DineWithDan, where donors at the $25 level and above have a chance to eat a meal cooked by Canon at home.

“There’s this dual pressure in this part of the country that you have to be authentic and inauthentic at the same time,” Canon said. “[The Democratic Party wants] you be natural and real and yet dance around your principals.”

There are certainly shades of 2016’s election at play-- with Canon playing the passionate, insurgent Bernie Sanders and Liz Watson as the measured insider from DC. Canon himself doesn’t endorse that kind of talk, though. “People are looking for an excuse to re-litigate 2016, but I’m not because I don’t want to create a rift in the party,” he said.

Canon has raised more money than Watson in the last quarter but is still at a disadvantage compared to Hollingworth. Despite that disparity, a one-term incumbent who underperformed Trump in 2016 and voted for the massively unpopular healthcare bill is a textbook target for Democrats.

“We’ve got two good candidates, what a luxury,” said Ayres. “But [in the Ninth] the race is won by being yourself, and Dan being Dan, with his bold record in court, is a pretty winning proposition.”

Campaigning For Congress On What People Want-- Dan Canon (IN-09) And Marijuana

Perhaps you heard or read in the last few days that U.S. life expectancy has dropped ny a tenth of a percent in the U.S. since Trumpanzee took over the Oval Office. And it’s his supporters— prescription drug addicts— who are overdosing and dying. Americans can now expect to live to be 78.6 years down from 78.7 last year, primarily because of the spike in drug overdoses. During the campaign, tackling the problem was a constant Trump pledge. Since the campaign he’s largely ignored the problem, other than cutting funds for medical treatment.

A couple weeks ago we got an early copy of the new Dan Canon video in which he talks about legalizing medical marijuana nd ran it in conjunction with a similar video about West Virginia. The PVI of hers is R+19 and his is R+13. Both feel strongly that a policy-forward, issue-oriented campaign based unprogressive issues (rather than DCCC-type Republican-lite strategies can over come giant Republican advantages). Legalized medical marijuana makes sense in their districts, even if its is considered “too out there” for Republicans. Yesterday, Dan was interviewed about his medical marijuana stand by The Independent, where he called U.S. marijuana policies “anachronistic” and pointed out the benefits of medical marjiuana in treating opioid addiction.

Mr Canon, a music teacher turned civil rights lawyer who lives with his wife and two kids in Southern Indiana, claimed he’s not personally invested in legalising marijuana— “I never personally enjoyed using it,” he said-- but took interest in the issue when some of his legal clients asked him about it.

Slowly, Mr Canon became convinced that legalising marijuana was the solution to America’s opioid crisis— and more.

More than two million Americans are currently dependent on opioids. The broad class of drugs includes both illegal street drugs, like heroin, and legal painkillers, like morphine, oxycodone or hydrocodone. The two variants share a sinister interplay: The majority of heroin addicts, studies show, start off by misusing their legal pain medication.

The consequences of this pattern are staggering: More than 90 people in the US die from an opioid overdose every day. Between 2002 and 2016, the number of fatal heroin overdoses alone jumped more than 500 per cent. As the crisis continues to worsen, experts forecast that almost 500,000 people could die from opioid use in the next 10 years.

Mr Canon puts the blame for this crisis squarely at the feet of pharmaceutical companies. He claimed these companies push doctors to prescribe “fistfuls” of opioids to pain patients even when a natural, safer option already exists.

“In states where there is no medical marijuana available, like Indiana, you’ve got doctors that are left with no option but to prescribe these addictive pharmaceuticals instead of something that is safe, and legal, and natural, and has never caused an overdose death— ever,” he said.

Many of Mr Canon’s fellow lawyers have taken a similar position. Just this year, attorneys in Ohio, Illinois, Mississippi, New York and California all filed lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, claiming they had overstated the benefits of opioids while downplaying the risks of addiction. In two of those cases, the drug manufacturer has already agreed to settle.

But Mr Canon is tackling the issue through a different kind of lawsuit. The 40-year-old currently represents three Kentuckians suing the state over its criminal ban on marijuana. Two of the three plaintiffs say marijuana helped them cure symptoms that would otherwise be treated by opioids.

“I’ve been out here using cannabis on a daily basis to deal with all the spinal problems I have,” Dan Seum, one of the complainants, told The Independent. He added: “It’s a hell of a lot easier to live with that than it is with the opioids.”

Mr Seum was prescribed opioids by his doctor after a botched back surgery. But the drugs, he said, made it impossible for him to function. They did little for his pain, disrupted his sleeping patterns, and made his thinking foggy. His day job— working as a high school football coach— felt nearly impossible. Cannabis was the only thing that cured the pain.

With marijuana in his system, however, Mr Seum said many doctors refused to treat him. That’s when he and the other plaintiffs decided to file suit.

“We just got desperate, and that’s when we found Dan,” Mr Seum said. “Thank God he stepped in.”

The Kentucky suit is still making its way through the courts. A circuit court judge threw the case out in September, but Mr Canon’s law firm filed an appeal shortly thereafter.

In the meantime, there’s some evidence to suggest that the plaintiffs are on the right track.

A 2015 review of more than 40 clinical trials published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found high-quality evidence that cannabis could be used to treat chronic pain, neuropathic pain and some symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Another study published in the same journal found states that legalised medical cannabis saw significantly lower rates of opioid overdoses.

…“You are legalising something that is safe and natural, and has never killed anyone ever to combat the spread of something that is killing a hundred people a day due to overdose,” [Canon] said. “I don’t think it’s too difficult to do the utilitarian calculus on that.”

It seems support for Mr Canon’s opinion is growing. A CBS News poll from April of this year found that 88 per cent of Americans favour legalising medical marijuana. Sixty-four per cent support legalising the drug for recreational use too, according to a Gallup poll from October— up four percentage points from the same time last year. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia now allow for medical marijuana use.

And as medical marijuana laws keep loosening, Mr Canon claimed, support for legalisation will only grow.

“More and more people are touched by this, and more and more people are in need,” he said. “There’s a reason why there is such overwhelming popular support for the legalisation of medical marijuana: Because it’s touched the lives in some way shape or form of just about everybody.”

He added: “People can recognise good policy when they see it.”