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:

Campaigning For Congress In Indiana, Jennifer Christie Asks: "What If We Just Had A Genuine Conversation Focused In Solutions?"

Jennifer Christie is running for an open Indiana congressional seat north of Indianapolis. It's generally considered a "red" seat-- the PVI is R+9-- so, as usual, the DCCC insists on a Republican-lite politician as their candidate. That isn't Jessica, a full-throttle progressive. So while the DCCC candidate raises big bucks from DCCC mailing lists and parrots tired talking points, Jennifer is discussing real problems with Democrats, Republicans and independents-- including other candidates-- and looking for sensible common ground.

I always wind up admiring political leaders who understand how to work across the aisle. The DCCC Blue Dogs and New Dems have no idea what bipartisan means-- though they use the word more than anyone. To a corporate Dem-- who generally holds few, if any, Democratic values to begin with-- working across the aisle just means giving in to Republican ideology, maybe softening it around the sharpest edges. But some of the most successful congressmembers in our time have been progressives-- many who got their training in state legislatures-- who knew what it meant to find common ground without selling out. Former state legislators like Ted Lieu, Karen Bass, Pramila Jayapal and Jamie Raskin understands what it means to look for solutions to solve problems for constituents without discarding principles. They did it in their legislators and they do it in Congress. Alan Grayson, Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna have been incredibly successful working across the aisle with Republicans on issues that benefit everyone-- and no one can accuse any of them of the kinds of sell out tactics that define the Blue Dogs.

Jennifer Christie is that kind of a candidate, which is why I'm so especially hoping she wins her primary a week from Tuesday. She's talked with me about her ideas on this frequently, especially in regard to the Climate Crisis, and I asked her to write a guest post on it, which she did (below). Please give it a read through-- and if you like what you see, consider clicking on the Blue America 2020 congressional thermometer and chipping in what you can for her campaign.


Working Towards Solutions, Not Just Counting Coup
-by Jennifer Christie

Our election is in just over a week, and I have thought about what the general election will be like. Most predict that it will be ugly. But what if it weren’t? What if it were a genuine discourse on solutions to the issues of our time?  What if we just had an intelligent discussion?

I recently authored a letter to our state government regarding election ballots alongside three Republicans who I believe would welcome such a discourse. I have had the privilege of meeting each of them at public forums as well. They are running for the same seat as I am.

  I may not agree with these candidates on all solutions, but we care about many of the same issues. What if we had a public conversation focused on solutions? Has this ever happened on America or has the age of Trumpian politics made that impossible?

After interacting with a few of the more grassroots Republican candidates, I am a more optimistic. One of these candidates even has Climate Solutions as a top priority. As someone who has worked on climate change for years, I know that this is a bipartisan issue that opens the door to solution-oriented discussion about infrastructure, economic growth, and jobs. We also all agree that our health care system isn’t working for everyone. What if we start there, with the agreement that our goal is that everyone has quality healthcare? What if we started with the goal in mind? What if we behaved as problem-solvers instead of politicians?

I know where I stand in issues. I am the only candidate to support Medicare For All in my race as well as a Green New Deal. I also know that I cannot walk into Congress and just get everything I want; there is debate to be had. So let’s have it then-- genuine, fact-based, authentic debate!  What do we need to do to get there to have the debate in the first place?

The answer is in the grassroots. We not only need to speak up, we need to involve the grassroots, and we need authentic people in Congress. When I considered running, I almost talked myself out of it because I am not a politician. Then I thought how much I would love to be represented by a smart or hard-working person down the street. We would have entirely different discussions - and decisions.  Likewise,  the three Republican candidates that signed the letter with me talk about the need to get money out of politics which is a critical to an honest grassroots approach.

So what if we had a general election focused on ideas and authentic conversation....wouldn’t that be refreshing? We can only start with ourselves, so let’s begin.

Cheri Bustos Wields Her Red To Blue List Like A Weapon Of Death Towards Progressive Candidates-- Take Indiana

IN-05 is an open seat. Rep. Susan Brooks-- a relatively mainstream conservative Republican-- is retiring. There are 15 Republicans running-- and 9 who have raised over the $5,000 that triggers an FEC report. The top-"raising" Republican, Victoria Spartz contributed $750,000 of her own money to her campaign, 98.7% of her funds. The second in the GOP money race is Beth Henderson and she self-financed to the tune of $154,600, about half of her campaign's budget. #4, Chuck Dietzen put in 120,000 of his own (44.5%) of his campaign's budget. That's how Republicans play; they all try to buy the election. Even way down the food chain, Matt Hook "raised" $36,872 (and spent $36,366), 81% from his own pocket.

Keeping in mind the district has an R+9 PVI, there are 4 serious Democratic candidates as well. Blue America has endorsed Jennifer Christie. But it's the kind of district (red-- Trump beat Hillary 53.1% to 41.3%) where the DCCC insists there be a corporate conservative Republican-lite candidate. So... not Jennifer.

Formerly, the DCCC would pretend to be neutral in primaries, especially open-seat races. Since Pelosi gave Blue Dog Cheri Bustos the chair, that policy has been discarded and the DCCC has become a full-time anti-progressive jihad and a recruiting machine for the Blue Dogs and New Dems. Her website's issues page looks more like a GOP page than a Democratic page. She uses Republican talking points, like favoring "access" to healthcare, rather than... healthcare. She's been careful to not include any positions that will offend Republicans. So, of course the DCCC endorsed her and added her to their Red-to-Blue page and have been telling institutional donors to give their contributions to her, not to the other Democrats in the race like Jennifer, the unabashed progressive, whose is running on a clear and cohesive agenda for working families-- like this:




At the end of January, Bustos made her move to help the conservative in the race. The Indy Star seemed to think it was marvelous: "For the first time since 2012, a Hoosier has made it on the inaugural list of candidates the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee plans to throw its support behind. Christina Hale, a Democratic 5th Congressional District candidate, is one of 12 Congressional candidates across the U.S. who made it to the DCCC's "Red to Blue" program in the first round, which recognizes candidates who have a shot at flipping a Republican district. More candidates will likely be added later, but being among the first recognized is a positive sign for Hale's campaign. It could be helpful as she heads into the primary season against other Democrats. Her inclusion in the program will also enable her to access resources and fundraising support." Then the DCCC press release:

“A lifelong Hoosier, Christina Hale exemplifies the sacrifice, hustle and drive needed to deliver on behalf of Indiana families,” DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos said in a statement. “Her reputation as a consensus builder in the Indiana State House means every bill she passed earned bipartisan support."

It's the latest sign of optimism from Democrats that the 5th district isn't reliably red anymore.

Republican Susan Brooks' decision to retire from Congress gave Republicans and Democrats alike the chance to seek the 5th District seat without having to run against an incumbent.

Republicans see the district-- which stretches from the northern portion of Indianapolis to the city of Marion and includes all of Hamilton County-- as an easy win since they've long controlled the seat.

But Democrats are hopeful they can capitalize on changing demographics in the suburban portion of the district, as Democrats elsewhere in the country have.

A year ago the DCCC put the district on its list of targeted districts in 2020.

Hale will likely face three candidates on the Democratic ballot in May: Dee Thornton and Jennifer Christie, who both ran in the 2018 Democrat primary for the 5th District, and Andy Jacobs, the son of former Congressman Andrew Jacobs, Jr.

Republicans face a much more crowded field, with potentially nine candidates on the May ballot. On the Republican side, both Kelly Mitchell and Chuck Dietzen are part of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s more extensive "On the Radar" candidate list.

Hale, who was John Gregg's running mate during his 2016 gubernatorial campaign, has long been a party favorite. The DCCC reached out to Hale about running, even as early as 2018.

Historically in Indiana being included in the "Red to Blue" program hasn't necessarily led to a victory in the general election.

Last year, 2nd District candidate Mel Hall and 9th District candidate Liz Watson were added to the list later on in the election cycle. Both lost their respective elections against Republican incumbents.

The last time a Hoosier made it on the inaugural list was 2nd District candidate Brendan Muellen in 2012. He also lost to a Republican.

Hopefully, this time, the DCCC corporatist shill won't even make it through the primary. Hale is trying her best to run an issue-free campaign, just like the DCCC urges their candidates to. At the candidates forums she bothers to participate in, she just pivots to her talking points or stump speech and tries avoiding answering questions directly. Recently she has been willing to say she is pro-choice, however and was endorsed by Planned Parenthood; one of her staff is on the board.

The Indy Star compared the positions on top issues of the 4 Democratic candidates in late March. One progressive-- and three mushy centrists. A Blue America member in Carmel near Indianapolis told us he has gotten flyers from Hale that he describes as just generic "horse-pucky" that full of poll-tested talking points. "She states her support for a 'public option' for Medicare and something "dizzyingly generic about climate change," but in the end "you know just one thing-- she's never going to be on the same side as an AOC or Pramila Jayapal. I don’t even think she would talk about climate change if Christie wasn't campaigning so hard on it... Hale did not show up to the Climate Forum which was bipartisan and hosted by CCL. I can tell you one thing for sure-- when she was a centrist state legislator, she accepted a lot of money from fossil fuel PACs and other Corp PACs. So that should give you an idea about what kind of member of Congress she would be."

I asked Jennifer about the DCCC endorsement for her status quo primary opponent and she just shrugged it off. "There are 5 names on the ballot," she said. "I am the only progressive, the only to support Medicare For All, a Green New Deal, and other important progressive causes. We have experienced staff and motivated volunteers. The DCCC has been helping our opponent since the beginning. We’ve seen them out knocking doors for her, phone-banking, and the DCCC has surely been an integral part of fundraising and steering PAC money to her campaign. Our opponent is running TV adds and blanketing  the district with mailers that have the usual political messaging. We take that as another sign that we are doing well, so we keep calling and writing voters because we know that the more people we talk with, the more votes we earn. We have vision, not talking points.  We are working for real change."

The DCCC ran a poll and their candidate did so badly that they didn't release the results, but Hale started spending a lot more money than she had planned to in the primary. Please consider helping Jennifer's campaign by clicking on the Blue America 2020 congressional thermometer above and contributing what you can.

Jim Harper: The Pandemic Is NOT The Time To Let Up On Gun Safety

18 term Democratic Jim Visclosky is retiring from his northwest Indiana congressional seat-- a deep blue (D+8) seat where whomever wins the primary is the next member of Congress. Districts like this shouldn't be sending GOP-lite candidates to Congress; they should be sending bold progressives. The bold progressive in contention is Jim Harper-- and his top opponent is Tom McDermott, an arch conservative and crooked ex-mayor of Hammond. In McDermott's first interview after announcing, he attacked the House Democrats for impeaching Trump, something that might be expected from a right-of-center corporatist who only became a Democrat after being blocked from ballot access by the local Republican Party. His "change of heart" did not include supporting the broader Democratic Party. And as anyone who's followed McDermott's sleazy career would guess, his first quarter campaign finance report was riddled with donations from corporate PACs and city contractors.

Jim Harper-- the candidate endorsed by Blue America-- has a sterling platform built on planks like the Green New Deal, Medicare-for-All, campaign finance reform and criminal justice reform.

Jim hasn't let the pandemic get in the way of gun violence safety either. Quite the contrary in fact. "At a time when public health experts and political leaders are pleading with Americans to stay home and save lives," he told us, "a growing number of states have allowed gun stores to stay open for business as usual. Even though 42 states have issued 'stay at home' orders, at least 30 states-- including my state, Indiana-- have allowed gun stores to remain open. Of course, these actions will undoubtedly result in the increased spread of the coronavirus and, therefore, the loss of life. But the decision to provide a special exception to gun stores also comes at a time when gun violence poses a particularly significant threat to American families and children."

Jim's point is that the pandemic is making gun safety even more urgent. "In February," he said, "gun background checks spiked by 36%, indicating a significant increase in the number of gun purchases. At the same time, an increasing number of children and families are staying at home. Before this crisis, an estimated 4.6 million young Americans lived in a home with an unsecured firearm. Moreover, American kids are 20 times more likely to be killed in accidental shootings than kids in other countries. Now is not the time to label gun stores as 'essential' or to exempt those stores from public health requirements. That’s why I call on Indiana’s governor to remove the exception for gun stores from the 'stay at home' order." Indiana's governor, an NRA shill, isn't listening. Jim:

It’s also why we need to talk about and advocate for other gun safety measures during this time. Of course, I have consistently supported common-sense measures like an assault weapons ban and high-capacity magazine restrictions. But other gun safety measures often fly under the radar. In February, I sat down with close friends who lost their young son when he was able to access an unsecured gun at a babysitter’s house. I met these friends-- Kandice and Ron Cole-- through our involvement with Mom’s Demand Action. After Kandice and Ron lost their son, they learned how hard it was to hold individuals responsible for unsecured firearms. I have joined Kandice and Ron to advocate for safe storage laws, which make it illegal for adults to store a firearm where a child can access it. As more kids are staying home from school, safe-storage measures take on added urgency.

As more adults also stay at home, we need additional measures to protect victims of domestic abuse. Universal background checks-- which Republicans and the NRA continue to senselessly oppose-- are a good start. But we also need to close exceptions in currently law like the “boyfriend loophole,” which allows abusive partners to retain their firearm as long as they are not married to the victim of abuse. Here, too, the NRA stands in the way. In Congress, I look forward to standing up to the NRA and closing this loophole.

In the middle of the coronavirus crisis, our focus has understandably shifted from other public health crises. However, Americans continue to suffer from gun violence, and the current crisis only exacerbates the risk faced by children and family members. It’s time to recognize that gun stores are not essential and to enact common-sense gun reforms in Washington, D.C., and state capitals. In Congress, look forward to leading these efforts.

As I mentioned above, Jim Harper was endorsed by Blue America and by clicking on the thermometer above is you can help his campaign compete effectively against the corporate-backed conservative he's competing with for a seat in a nice blue district that only gave Trump 41.5% of its vote in 2016.

Indiana Doesn't Elect Many Democrats Statewide These Days... But That May Change This Year-- At Least For Attorney General

-by State Senator Karen Tallian
Candidate, Attorney General

Headlines in the Indiana newspapers have been consistent and recurring for more than 18 months. The story has even made national news. Curtis Hill, the Republican Indiana Attorney General, was accused of being extremely drunk at a party held at the close of legislative session, and groping 4 women: 3 young staff members and one legislator. Republican leadership called for his resignation but he refused. The Inspector General did an investigation, and found that the allegations were true but did not rise to the level of a criminal prosecution. A Disciplinary hearing, lasting 4 days, saw a multitude of witnesses confirming the allegations. The hearing officer, former IN Supreme Court Justice Myra Selby, recently recommended that Mr. Hill be suspended from the practice of law for 60 days, WITHOUT automatic re-instatement. That recommendation is now before the Indiana Supreme Court, which will issue the final determination.

The Curtis Hill story, which has become well-known household knowledge in Indiana politics, is an embarrassment to the State and the office, and has caused the Republican Party here to become unglued. Mr. Hill, who represents the very right wing of that party, has become a pariah.

All of which leaves a great opportunity for the Democratic party. Indiana, arguably a 45 D /55 R state, is not nearly as Red as the gerrymandered legislature would have you believe. Democrats have been successful in state-wide office, especially when there is a problematic opponent. Witness the defeat of the notorious Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett (R) by the out-of-nowhere Glenda Ritz (D). Or the victory of Joe Donnelly in the U.S. Senate race against the right wing Richard Murdock, who took out the well-loved Richard Lugar. And of course, Indiana went blue for Barack Obama.

Curtis Hill is a very vulnerable target.

Who am I ?

Factually, the basic stats are these:

BA, University of Chicago, 1972 with a degree in philosophy and psychology. I come from the left-wing liberal progressive school of thought that prevailed there at that time. Recall that Bernie Sanders was there just 8 years before me.

JD, summa cum laude, Valparaiso Law School, 1990. Practiced law in Northwest Indiana for 29 years, most of which was trial practice.

State Senator, Indiana District 4, from 2005 to present. Currently I am the Caucus Chair for the Senate Democrats, the Ranking Minority Member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, the State Budget Committee, and the Courts & Criminal Code Committee; also serving on Energy & Environment, and Pensions & Labor Committees.

My Career in the Senate:

This is easily paralleled by the 3 Governors who have dominated the second floor of our statehouse.

My first legislative session, I cut my teeth fighting Governor Mitch Daniels, who had pushed through a very controversial proposal for a 75 year lease of the Indiana Tollway, which runs through my district. I became the attorney freshman who had actually read the Lease document and was the Voice against the plan. During the next few years of that administration, I continued to fight him as he pushed a union-busting agenda against AFSCME, teachers, and, his parting shot, Right to Work. As the Ranking Minority Member of the Pensions & Labor Committee, I was the Senate Voice for labor.

Mike Pence then took the Governor’s position, and I spent all 4 years fighting the furthest right wing organizations who supported him. Again, on the Senate floor, I fought as the administration defunded Indiana Planned Parenthood, passed one after another anti-choice bill, and pushed for RFRA. I was one of the most vocal opponents of that measure, arguing against the constitutionality of those measures. As part of Senate leadership, we eventually got them to “take it back” just weeks after the Governor had eagerly signed the RFRA, memorialized in what is now an infamous photograph. (By the way, one of the Republicans who is challenging Hill is one of the people hovering over Mike Pence as he signed that law). Mike Pence also continued Daniels’ legacy, completing his anti-labor agenda by repealing the protections of the Common Construction Wage (aka, Prevailing Wage). Again, I was labor’s Voice.

Now, Eric Holcomb is the Governor. Although trying to stay away from “social issues,” he continues to be a Big Tall Wall, standing in the way of positive change. His administration has blocked Hate Crimes legislation. (I was a co-author of that bill). He also adamantly refuses to consider any marijuana reform legislation. I am well known state-wide as the Senator who initiated and continues to push for marijuana reform for nearly a decade. I have been thwarted by the last 3 Governors.

I can win.

And, I suggest, I am the only candidate who can win. Over my 15 years in the legislature, I have built coalitions of many diverse groups. As champion of women’s issues (health care access, choice, FMLA), I have the support of women’s groups that my male primary challenger can never get: NOW, Planned Parenthood, Hoosier Women Forward, Indiana Democratic Women...

As the Voice of Labor for 15 years, all the labor unions know and respect me, and have always unanimously supported me in the past. This year, some of his local organizations have supported my opponent, but on balance, the union support is largely with me. This includes teachers, with whom I have worked statewide during my entire career.

And, of course, I have the support of everyone who ever wanted to legalize, medicalize, or de-criminalize marijuana in the state of Indiana. This is not insignificant. For many people, including those people who normally characterize themselves as Republican or Libertarian, this is a driving issue. I expect significant cross-over vote from this group. They constantly tell me that. And the Veterans for Medical Cannabis gave me a Legislator of the Year award for my work on that issue.

My Democratic opponent has good credentials. He was a legislator for a few years, and the prior mayor of Evansville, Indiana from 2002-2010. He is a conservative southern Democrat, and likes to taut that. However, he will not say where he stands on Choice, marijuana reform, or a number of other such topics. This is simply no longer acceptable to what is a growing progressive, Bernie-supporting, group of younger people in the Democratic party.

I am their voice.

I need your help.

Blue America Endorsement In Indiana-- Jim Harper For Congress

Indiana’s 1st congressional district is a rare deep-blue territory in Mike Pence’s home state. Incumbent Democratic Congressman Pete Visclosky-- retiring after 18 terms-- won the district by 31 points in 2018. The primary on May 5 will decide whether the next representative from this district is a conservative, a lobbyist, an anti-impeachment former Republican, or a truly bold progressive.

Jim Harper is easily the most progressive of the candidates who are competitive in a race with 14 Democrats running. The first candidate to announce was Tom McDermott, the mayor of Hammond. In his first interview after announcing, he attacked the House Democrats for impeaching Trump. He has drawn attention for receiving a large fine for illegally moving campaign funds and only becoming a Democrat after being blocked from ballot access by the local Republican Party without supporting the broader Democratic Party. His first quarter campaign finance report was riddled with donations from corporate PACs and city contractors.

State Rep. Mara Candelaria-Reardon owns a lobbying firm, MCR Partners, that has represented her husband’s company, Maya Energy, whose projects include building a dump next to a school in Gary, which predominantly serves black children. She has also used her work as a legislator to support her consulting firm. A quick look through her campaign contributors shows a schmorgesborg of pharmaceutical, oil, and tobacco companies along with their lobbyists. In her first federal campaign finance report, she listed donations from Republicans and a shady, conservative PAC.

Jim Harper’s platform shows that he is a true progressive is focused on the most important issues facing our country today: healthcare, climate crisis, attacks on unions, supporting public education, and stopping the chaos and corruption in Washington. Jim is the only viable candidate to support Medicare for All, and he has been vocal in his support for a Green New Deal.

Jim is not new to fighting for vulnerable people. Shortly after finishing law school at the top of his class at Georgetown University he helped found the Veterans Legal Advocacy group fighting on behalf of veterans for millions of dollars in compensation for service-related injuries. He also moved to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to work in one of the most underfunded and understaffed public defender’s offices in the country.

In 2018, Jim ran a long-shot bid for Secretary of State as a Democrat in deep-red Indiana. He dramatically outperformed expectations given to a generic Democrat and won large majorities in each of the three counties in the 1st Congressional District-- Lake, Porter and LaPorte. The Secretary of State’s office was important to Jim because he believes strongly in the right to vote and made the case for issues like vote by mail, longer polling times, and gerrymandering reform. His fight for voting rights didn’t stop with the election; Jim is currently pro bono co-counsel on a lawsuit against the state of Indiana to mandate a paper-trail verifying vote total on election day. Blue America is endorsing Jim today and he was kind enough to pen a guest post-- and make the video below-- for us. Please consider contributing to his campaign by clicking on the Blue America 2020 thermometer above. Remember, this is a solid blue district and whomever wins the primary will be in Congress. We can help make sure that person is a for-real progressive who backs Medicare-for-All, the Green New Deal, criminal justice reform and a more equitable economy, rather than another corrupt Republican-lite careerist.

Bringing Bold Criminal Justice Reform to Indiana and D.C.
-by Jim Harper

After decades of a “tough on crime” mentality, the tide is finally beginning to turn against a prison-industrial complex that has torn apart millions of families, disproportionately impacted communities of colors, and cost taxpayers billions to the benefit of private prison companies. Criminal justice reforms have made significant strides, but much work remains to be done – particularly in Congress. To me, the issue is personal.

I have devoted much of my legal career to making our criminal justice system fairer. After graduating from law school and completing a federal judicial clerkship, I passed up a job at a big law firm and went to work at the New Orleans public defender’s office. It was not an easy job. In tatters immediately after Hurricane Katrina, the public defender’s office is notoriously underfunded and understaffed. I was also working within a jurisdiction that had the highest incarceration rate in the country (in a country with the highest incarceration rate in the world). And, of course, the system was discriminatory. In a city that is 60% black, more than 90% of my clients were black.

I am proud to fight for my clients-- both in Louisiana and now that I have returned home to Indiana-- to get a fair shake in an unfair system. The story of one client will always stick with me. In 2012, I was honored to represent a young man who was arrested for looting, a crime that carried a mandatory minimum of imprisonment. My client professed his innocence, but more than anything he wanted to get out of jail. If the prosecutors had offered him a plea deal that included probation, I have little doubt that he would have taken it. But they insisted on incarceration and, unable to afford bond, my client sat in jail. It didn’t take long, however, for it to become clear that he was innocent. The prosecution’s main witness disputed telling police that my client was involved. And the description from other witnesses matched the identity of my client’s uncle, who was also in the area. Initially, neither the judge nor the prosecutor were swayed. My young client continued to sit in jail. In the end, it took more than six months before prosecutors finally dropped the case and allowed my innocent client’s release.

Cases like this are all too common. Every year, hundreds of Americans are exonerated (and, with exoneration efforts focusing on the most serious crimes, the number of wrongfully convicted is certainly much higher). Thousands more are arrested on baseless charges. And countless others-- like another client, who was sentenced to twenty years for a couple of joints worth of marijuana-- are sent to prison for unjust sentences. Despite having just 5% of the world’s population, the United States has 20% of the world’s prison population. That’s why, in Congress, I will fight for comprehensive criminal justice reform. To start, I will work to legalize marijuana, abolish the death penalty, and end private prisons. I will also sponsor and support legislation that reduces or eliminates mandatory minimums. And I will support dramatic increases in investment in reentry programs, so that former offenders are given the tools they need to succeed when they rejoin their communities.

I became a lawyer to fight for those who had no one else to fight for them, and I want to go to Congress to fight for everyone in my community, particularly those who have no other advocate. Unlike my opponents-- who have taken support from corporate PACs and shady Republican groups-- our campaign rejects corporate PAC and dark-money donations. In addition to our grassroots fundraising efforts, we are investing heavily in our field operation, already canvassing heavily despite the winter weather in Northwest Indiana. But in order to fight for bold criminal justice reform-- as well as other progressive policies like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal-- we need your help. I hope you will join our campaign and help us make sure that this blue district is represented by a progressive Democrat.

Do You Think Congress Would Be Better Off With Fewer Political Careerists And More Scientists... And More Moms?

IN-05 doesn’t fit the kind of profile of a competitive enough district for the DCCC to take an interest in. But 2020 isn’t shaping up to be a normal kind of year and seats that have previously been considered safely red, could well fall in another anti-red wave. In the case of IN-05, the GOP incumbent, Susan Brooks, is retiring, offering more of an incentive, even in a district with a PVI of R+9 where Trump beat Hillary 53.1-41.3%.

The predictable DCCC approach, of course, is to find a white bread candidate advocating Republican-lite policies. That candidate is decidedly not Jennifer Christie, a grassroots progressive Democrat who was inspired to run by a desire to stand up effectively against the Climate Crisis. Her platform is built, boldly, on a Climate Agenda and on single payer Medicare-for-All, gun safety, campaign finance reform and plank after plank that in no way could be interpreted as “Republican lite.”

In 2018, Susan Books beat Dee Thornton, a not very inspiring candidate who is running again, 180,035 (56.8%) to 137,142 (43.2%), losing 7 of the 8 counties that make up the district, including must-win Hamilton, which provides the biggest share of voters. Christie’s strategy is to expand the blue base in Marion County (a slice of northern Indianapolis), flip Hamilton, Boone and Madison counties and limit Democratic losses in Grant and the other more rural counties.

In 2018, Thornton was outspent $1,909,690 to $170,213. This cycle the DCCC is pushing centrist Christina Hale who has outraised all 3 Republicans + the 3 other Democrats combined. That’s how the DCCC and EMILY’s List thinks elections are won. I asked Jennifer why she thinks that isn’t the case. Here’s how she responded. And… if you like what she has to say, please consider contributing by clicking on the Blue America 2020 congressional thermometer on the right. She framed her response with a question of her own: “Why should an everyday middle class mom of young children and a scientist run for Congress, especially when we already have experienced politicians to do the job?”

The very question points to what is wrong with representation in our country… Lets start with the “mom of young children” part. I am the only mother with young children in this race. How many moms with young children are in Congress? Let’s just say not many. I have four young children at home and am often asked, “How will you do this?” Or “What will you do with your children?” I wonder how many men are asked this question. Yes, it’s hard running for office and raising little ones but they are the reason I am running. The truth is that having young children gives an important perspective. I don’t have to be reminded to consider how legislation will effect children because I am living it… my very FIRST thought is,” how will this effect children and everyday families?” We should have more mothers with young children in Office! And when we do, we will have laws that work for children and their families such as better education, decreased poverty, universal healthcare, and better workers’ rights.

Now the scientist part: I am the only scientist in this race. Now, more than ever, we need scientists in office. We have been witnessing an all-out assault on truth with “alternative facts” and cries of “fake news.” This couldn’t come at a worse time when we are facing the existential threat of Climate Change. We must rely on science to save our planet. Scientists are disciplined to seek solutions based on unbiased data and observation. Imagine a Congress that truly sought and listened to experts and data in order to formulate legislation and vote. The main reason why I am running is to solve the Climate Crisis. This is the greatest threat to ever face humanity and yet we have seen virtually no real action or leadership on an issue that threatens our very existence. Our campaign has already released a Climate Agenda, and we are ready to fight for a Green New Deal and legislation, such as a Carbon Fee and Dividend, that will bring us to zero emissions to save the planet.

And how about the everyday middle class part? When 1% of the population owns almost 90% of the wealth, when our middle class is paying a higher tax rate than the richest companies in the nation, when the wealth gap grows bigger every year and workers are paid less…You bet we need regular middle class moms! I will fight for you like a mom fights for her kids. I will vote for bills like Medicare For All that will improve the lives of people.

It’s true that I am not a politician. And that’s exactly why our campaign is powerful. I am driven to run because politics as usual isn’t working. Our campaign is funded for and by the people. We are not accepting any corporate PAC money and have refused fossil fuel money by signing the “No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge.” We have talented field staff and a large and motivated grassroots volunteer team made up of highly skilled women and men in the district who want to make change. In other words, we are the everyday people in our district stepping up to be the change.

We have a primary in May. I was the first to file, and soon after, the current congresswoman announced that she would retire. The seat became an open and targeted seat. Quite a few people have entered the race. I respect my opponents and like them on a personal level. However, I am still the only scientist, mother of young children, and progressive actively supporting transformative change like the Green New Deal, Medicare For All, Gun Reform, and more. We have the most clear and comprehensive positions in the race which can be found on our website, JenniferForIndiana.com.

Why should someone like me run? Because no one like me has ever run before in our district and we need the everyday voice of a mom scientist who is committed to the people and the planet.

Jennifer Christie: "It's More Than Weather"

A few days ago I asked Indiana progressive candidate Jennifer Christie if she was up for commenting on a post I was working on about the Republican war against science. Was she ever! In fact she has so much to say about it-- and even sent us a homemade video!-- that I decided to run it as a stand alone post.

Why Climate Change is an Existential Threat

-by Jennifer Christie

It’s more than weather

The Earth’s climate has been extraordinarily stable which is partially why humans have done so well. A stable climate has enabled the development of agriculture and the advancement of civilizations around the world. Life on Earth has enjoyed relative stability for millennia due to the thin layer of gasses that are trapped by Earth’s gravity, our atmosphere. Scientists have measured Carbon Dioxide (CO2) levels from ice cores and have data going back 800,000 years. The level of CO2 has been relatively stable, even through multiple ice ages and warm periods.  CO2 concentrations did not go over 300 ppm in 800,000 years UNTIL NOW.  CO2 levels began rising dramatically with the use of fossil fuels and reached 407 ppm in 2018. In other words, we now have more CO2 in our atmosphere than in the last 800,000 years (at least). And as a result, the global mean temperature (which had been stable for all those years) is rising fast! That means processes such as wind and ocean currents, seasonal temperatures, and precipitation patterns, are also changing so rapidly that life on Earth cannot adapt quickly enough. This disruption essentially removes the stability that most living organisms, including people, need to live.





Mass Extinction

Adaptation takes time, lots of it. That is why evolution is such a slow process. Over the last 4.5 billion years, the composition of our atmosphere has changed. Roughly 3 billion years ago, cyanobacteria produced Oxygen and began changing our atmosphere. Plants showed up about 700 million years ago followed by the first animals roughly 550 million years ago. Notice we are talking about millions and billions of years for changes to occur. Life on Earth adapts through genetic variation as a result of environmental interaction and natural selection; it takes a long long time. There are species that are so specifically evolved that they can be found in only one place on Earth, such as the Golden Toad of Costa Rica’s cloud forests. Even widely dispersed species, like the Monarch Butterfly, have intricately adapted life cycles that depend on environmental stability of their habitats.  One significant change could wipe them out. Imagine if the overwintering habitat of the Monarch disappeared one year due to climate change or if a reef system that was spawning habitat for fish was gone….an entire species could be wiped out very quickly. That is beginning to happen now. As a biologist, this makes me deeply sad.  As a mother, I worry about my children’s future. As an Earthling, I begin to feel the weight of the gravest sin. While an insect or amphibian might seem irrelevant to some, they are intricately connected to us in a complicated web of life. Plants and insects have intricate relationships as do herbivores and plants as do predators and prey… remove one and the system begins to collapse even if you don’t see it immediately. Life will strive to survive until it can’t. Our own food sources depend on pollinators and healthy ecosystems.

Droughts and Floods cause Economic and Security Disasters

Both. Local weather and precipitation will change as the climate changes. Some places will become desert while others will flood.  As a result, people will migrate and crops will fail. If all the ice in Greenland melts, ocean levels will rise 25 feet and coastal cities will be under water. The economic implications are enormous. The US already spends over 35 Billion on climate-related disasters each year. That is minuscule compared to what it will cost when entire populations and industries are forced to relocate. The Department of Defense already recognizes Climate Change as a top threat to national security. As wells dry up and entire communities become unlivable, borders and boundaries will be tested. It was a hot day that sparked the war between Shakespeare’s Montagues and Capulets in Romeo and Juliet.   We already see climate refugees around the world; if we do not solve climate change what we will be is almost unthinkable.

Racing Against Time

Scientists in the Journal of Nature recently called for urgent actions as they identified nine climate tipping points that are at high risk of collapse (Arctic Sea Ice, Greenland Ice Sheet, Boreal Forests, Permafrost, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, Amazon Rainforest, Warm-Water Corals, West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Parts of East Antarctic Ice Sheet). These tipping points, once gone are irreversible and threaten human civilization and life on Earth. Sadly, these and other tipping points can serve as feedback loops which can amplify warming. For example, the loss of the Amazon Rainforest would mean losing the greatest carbon-capture system in the world. The melting of the ice sheets put water into the atmosphere (also a greenhouse gas) and reduce reflection of solar radiation thereby causing even more heat to be trapped by the atmosphere. We are running out of time.

Back to the Question: Is Climate Change an Existential Threat?

Indeed, it is the only existential threat that modern humans have ever faced.  Whether disrupting food sources, destroying ecosystems to be unlivable, or fueling wars, Climate Change is the greatest challenge we have ever seen. It is our biggest test. And we did it to ourselves. The good news is that there is still a little bit of time, and we can transform our economy and our future if we take real action. We have the ability to solve it, but will we? This will require new thinking and rearranging priorities and old ways. We will need to be selfless and courageous and innovative. We will need new leaders who understand and prioritize Climate Action, and this is why elections are so important especially in the U.S. America is best positioned to take real leadership on solving the Climate Crisis. We have the innovation, academic and technical institutions, and the wealth to do it. Our campaign has released a Climate Agenda (JenniferForIndiana.com), and we are ready to fight for a Green New Deal and legislation, such as a Carbon Fee and Dividend, that will bring us to zero emissions to save the planet.  This is a critical moment in human history. Our great-grandchildren and the world are counting on us.

Jennifer is running for an open seat just north of Indianapolis, IN-05. Trump beat Hillary there, 53.1-41.3%, more because they didn’t like Hillary than because they liked Trump. And they like him less now. It’s an uphill battle-- and the DCCC is running a status quo candidate against Jennifer-- but this is a winnable race for someone spending more energy on a ground-game, as she is, than raising money for a flood of TV ads in a market that will be saturated with political ads by next summer and fall. If you agree with what Jennifer had to say about handling the Climate Crisis, please consider contributing to her campaign by clicking on a special Blue America page thermometer on the right: Congress Needs More Progressive Women.

IN-05 Is Very Similar To NC-09-- But Jennifer Christie Isn't Much Like Dan McCready

Last night, Team Blue was disappointed that their candidate in NC-09 was defeated by Team Red's candidate. In a gerrymandered R+8 suburban/rural district-- where Trump had beaten Hillary 54.4% to 42.8%-- Republican Dan beat Democratic Dan by less than 2 points. Democratic Dan outspent Republican Dan $5,810,131 to $1,471,452. So how-- and why-- did Democratic Dan get so close to winning but still fall short?

Democratic Dan is a Blue Dog who campaigned on a defensive, fairly uninspiring DCCC platform that opposed the Green New Deal, opposed Medicare-for-All and promised to not ban the sale of assault weapons. It was a Republican-lite strategy that was meant to take progressives for granted while luring moderate Republicans to vote for a right-of-center Democrat. The strategy worked in 2018-- almost entirely in less red districts-- but it usually flops the same way it came up short last night in North Carolina.

I want to introduce you to a very similar congressional district, in Indiana, the 5th. A big plurality of the votes in the congressional elections there come from Hamilton County, basically the affluent suburbs north of Indianapolis. The second largest number of votes come from northern Indianapolis itself (Marion County), a Democratic stronghold. All or part of 6 other counties make up the district-- which is almost 40% rural. in 2016, Trump beat Hillary 53.1% to 41.3%-- about the same 12 points Trump won by in NC-09. The progressive Democrat competing for the nomination in IN-05 has two advantages over Dan McCready. In 2020, this will be an open seat because Susan Brooks-- like so many of her constituents-- is sick of Trump, and retiring. And, perhaps more important, the Democrat with the best chance to win the open-seat race is running on a full-fledged progressive platform: Green New Deal, Medicare-for-All, rural investment, gun safety, consumer protection, equal pay for equal work, workers' rights, LGBTQ equality, Choice...

Meet Jennifer Christie, a mom of four young children, a scientist (environmental chemist), a science educator, a person of faith. Jennifer lost her mom, a nurse, to cancer. When she got sick, she lost her insurance coverage and before she died nearly lost her home due to medical expenses. Too many Americans know that story first-hand. Today, Blue America endorsed Jennifer Christie. She's a natural leader and we were impressed with her abilities and with the aspirations for her community that are behind her decision to run for Congress. Please take a look at what she had to say in the guest post below and consider contributing to her campaign by clicking on the 2020 Blue America congressional thermometer on the right. Remember, Dan McCready would only talk about abstract "access" to healthcare, the way the GOP and DCCC do. On her website, Jennifer wrote that "It’s time we simplify the process to allow for single-payer healthcare that guarantees health care for every American without exception. We have already proven that the Medicare system works. Guaranteeing health care as a human right is simply the right thing to do." Dan McCready said he was for universal background checks but against banning the sale of assault weapons. On her website, Jennifer writes "High-capacity magazines and military-style assault weapons have no place in the civilian world and should be banned." Clear as a bell!

Do you remember Dan Canon from the 2018 election cycle? It was Dan who introduced us to Jennifer and who recommends her highly. This morning he told us that "Jennifer is a unique blend that you rarely see in congressional candidates. She's got the courage to talk about the issues that really matter to progressives, and the small-town, Midwestern kindness that helps her connect with the undecided and win them over to our side."

Leadership
by Jennifer Christie

Someone recently asked me about leadership and what kind of leader I would be in Congress. I have been a leader in many areas of my life.  I’ve chaired committees for nonprofits, corporations, and community organizations. I’ve managed projects and people in multiple countries, taught students, and built a profitable business from the ground up while coaching many other women to do the same. By all traditional measures, I have been a leader most of my life. But position doesn’t really define a leader because we see people in high level positions who fail to lead every day.

A leader possess the universally respected qualities of honesty, integrity, and courage. Perhaps the most important characteristic, however, is kindness. When kindness is coupled with courage and honesty, real change can happen because a person who is both courageous and kind will travel the good path and bring many people with them.

I have watched for years as greed and corruption have driven decisions in Washington, and simply cannot sit by and watch any longer. My only motivation is to leave a better country and planet for our children. I am clear about who I serve and our purpose, and my votes are not for sale.

Many will look at a midwestern mom of four children and under-estimate her. However, kindness and courage are weapons of change in an army of people equipped with faith and a greater purpose. Our campaign is full of people who are highly skilled, contagiously optimistic, and simply unstoppable.

So what kind of leader would I be? Simply put: I will fight for you like a mom fights for her kids. And I don’t know anything more powerful than a mother acting on behalf of her children. I will do it with kindness, courage, and an unwavering dedication to solving the Climate Crisis, Health Care for All, and claiming our democracy for the People.

With Susan Brooks Suddenly Retiring, Is IN-05 Seriously Winnable?

IN-05 is a red (R+9) central Indiana congressional district north of Indianapolis. If the Republicans can't win here, they'll have to pack their bags and move to Russia. Except for the slice of Marion County (Indianapolis) in the district, every county is deep red. Last year incumbent congresswoman Susan Brooks was reelected 180,035 (56.8%) to 137,142 (43.2%), safe... but her worst showing ever. In 2016 Trump won the district 53.1% to 41.3%. He isn't especially popular there but Hillary was completely wrong for the district. Bernie beat her, heavily in the primary. Brooks was first elected in 2012, replacing far right crackpot Dan Burton. She won with 73% and was reelected with 65% in 2014 and 62% in 2016. Yesterday she suddenly announced that she's not running again next year-- and the DCCC is already targeting the district.

This came as a big shock for McCarthy, since Brooks is the head of recruitment for the NRCC. She's member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, a plum assignment that has helped her raise lots of money she didn't need for reelection campaigns and could use for ladder climbing inside the party. Last cycle, she raised $1,909,690 and ended the campaign with $864,926 on hand.

Brooks is considered a mainstream Republican-- as is the largely suburban district-- and she gets primaries from the right. This cycle, ex-state Senator Mike Delph, a homophobic psychopath and vicious racist, who was defeated last year for reelection by openly gay Democrat J.D. Ford, was already challenging her. Two Democrats are also contesting the seat, anti-Choice Democrat Jennifer Christie and former state Rep. Christina Hale.

Brooks, who has been an advocate for recruiting more women to run for Congress, will stay on as NRCC recruitment chair for the rest of the cycle. She says that without having to worry about her own reelection, can can be more useful at the NRCC.

For 2020, Democrats had put Brooks on their “retirement watch list.” They see her district, which includes the wealthy northern Indianapolis suburban areas, as potentially flippable as Republican support has eroded in some suburban areas under President Donald Trump.

But Brooks insists Indiana’s 5th District, which she carried by nearly 14 points as Republicans lost the House in November, will remain in GOP hands with or without her.

So is she leaving because it’s no fun being in the minority? Brooks points to legislation she’s been working on with Democrats, including a bill reauthorizing funding for health emergency programs that is awaiting the president’s signature.

Is she frustrated with the party’s support for female candidates after voters sent the lowest number of GOP women to the House in a quarter-century? Brooks said she feels good about the ongoing efforts to change that.

Is she dissatisfied with the leader of the party? Brooks said she has a "fine relationship" with Trump and an “outstanding relationship” with Vice President Mike Pence-- her former law school classmate.

“Indiana is going to be very strong for the president and vice president in the 2020 cycle,” she said.

I guess that depends who the Democrats nominate-- a lesser of two evils kind of candidate or someone offering Indianans something worth fighting for. That goes for a presidential candidate and, of course, for the candidate who will try to win Brooks' seat. If Cheri Bustos decides to put up a Republican-lite candidate, it's not likely the Democrats will take the district. After all, there is a reason why Bernie bested Hillary among the voters there in 2016.

• Hamilton-- Bernie- 54.2%, Hillary- 45.8%
• Marion-- Hillary- 50.4%, Bernie- 49.6%
• Madison-- Bernie- 51.9%, Hillary- 48.1%
• Grant-- Bernie- 50.3%, Hillary- 49.7%
• Boone-- Bernie- 55.2%, Hillary- 44.8%
• Tipton-- Bernie- 51.9%, Hillary- 48.1%
• Howard-- Bernie- 58.1%, Hillary- 41.9%
• Blackford-- Bernie- 51.0%, Hillary- 49.0%

Task For Democrats-- Winning Back The Midwest

Yes, this does speak to voters in the Midwest

This morning we took a look at the economic uber-populism that dominates one lane of the Democratic primary-- and influences, for better or worse, another, more centrist lane occupied by careerists like Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker, etc. Zach Carter's observation ended the post:

Running for re-election in 1936, FDR noted that the “economic royalists” of “business and financial monopoly, speculation” and “reckless banking” all counted themselves among his political “enemies.” 
“Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today,” Roosevelt said. “They are unanimous in their hate for me-- and I welcome their hatred.” 
For today’s Democrats, that’s the ticket.

I agree; that's the ticket. And I want to run it through a filter Elana Schor and Sara Burnett set up for the Associated Press: 2020 Democrats weigh how to recapture voters in Midwest. A successful Democratic presidential campaign in 2020 needs to recapture the blue-leaning states that Bernie won in the primaries but that the centrist/corporatist who the Democrats burdened themselves with in the general election did so poorly in the general. The Upper Midwest went for Bernie's from-the-gut economic populism and rejected Hillary conventional establishment approach, even after she tried a Bernie-lite approach she barely understood (ala Kamala Harris today). Bernie won Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Kansas, North Dakota and Illinois minus-machine-controlled-wards in Chicago. Hillary lost Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana and drastically underperformed Obama everywhere in the Midwest (while outperforming Obama in many areas of the more traditionally conservative Sun-Belt).

Let's take Indiana as an example. Obama beat McCain there in 2008. In the 2016 primary primary, Bernie beat Hillary 355,256 (52.5%) to 303,382 (47.5%) and a severely corrupt Democratic Establishment led by a still-in-office Debbie Wasserman Schultz promptly awarded Hillary 47 delegates and Bernie 44 delegates. A few months later the Democratic Establishment and their candidate got a perfectly understandable response from Indiana voters. Trump swept all but 4 of Indiana's 92 counties and eviscerated Hillary 1,556,220 (57.2%) to 1,031,953 (37.9%).

No one-- except me (in my most optimistic of moods)-- believes the Democrats are going to wrest Indiana away from Trump next year. But everyone is counting on Wisconsin to come home. Last year the Democrats' very weak, generic gubernatorial candidate, Tony Evers, beat incumbent Republican Governor Scott Walker 1,324,307 (49.6%) to 1,295,080 (48.5%) while progressive Democrat Tammy Baldwin crushed Republican Leah Vukmir in the Senate race, 1,472,914 (55.4%) to 1,184,885 (44.6%).

In 2016 Bernie's economic populism resonated among Wisconsin Democrats. Although Wasserman-Schultz fixed the delegate situation so that Bernie got only 49 to Hillary's 47, he crushed her in the primary, 567,936 (56.6%) to 432,767 (43.1%). On primary day Cruz beat Trump, 531,129 to 386,370 but I'm sure you noticed that Bernie beat each of them. Look what happened in Dane County (Madison) on primary day:

• Bernie- 102,585
• Hillary- 61,072
• Cruz- 26,320
• Trump- 20,884
• Kasich- 20,055

Trump beat Hillary in both Racine and Kenosha counties-- must wins for Democrats if they want to win statewide. But Bernie won both counties in the primary. Kenosha:

• Bernie- 14,612
• Trump- 11,139
• Hillary- 10,871
• Cruz- 10,855
• Kasich- 9,730

Racine told a similar story, also worth taking into account today when you hear pundits shrieking about how only a centrist like Biden or Bloomberg or Gillibrand can win in Wisconsin:

• Cruz- 18,698
• Bernie- 14,651
• Hillary- 14,086
• Trump- 11,756
• Kasich- 5,269

Despite a silly narrative that fans of Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Sherrod Brown are pushing, "success in the Midwest comes down to more than geography."

Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law Poll at Milwaukee’s Marquette University, said he’s “somewhat dubious” that being a Midwesterner translates into success at the regional or national level.

“It’s not like his neighborliness did him any favors,” Franklin said of Walker.

More fundamentally, there’s no guarantee that voters are familiar with-- or fond of-- their regional political leaders. In a Marquette Law poll conducted earlier this month, nearly two-thirds of Democrats and independents said they didn’t know enough about Klobuchar to have an opinion about her. Of the eight candidates whose names were included in the poll, only Julian Castro of Texas was less familiar to Wisconsin voters.

With name identification numbers far lower than coastal rivals such as Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Brown and Klobuchar have their work cut out for them. Brown’s new tour, which will also stop in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, could give him a needed boost as he weighs a primary campaign.

As the tour begins, even Brown says he doesn’t see his potential candidacy as solely geared to the Midwest.

“I think it’s an appeal to working-class voters from all regions and of all races,” Brown told The Associated Press, describing his message as a product of “who I am and my whole career,” not shaped by “focus groups.”

Klobuchar also dismissed the notion that her commanding re-election victory in November, in which she won 42 counties that Trump claimed in 2016, makes her uniquely qualified to capture Midwestern voters. Yet she also touted the power of the playbook she’s used to win over Minnesotans “in this time of highly polarized politics, where people are in opposite corners of the boxing ring.”

“While I stand my ground on issues that matter to me, I’m also someone who looks for common ground,” she said in an interview. “That’s only way you can get to higher ground.”

Still, if she mounts a presidential bid-- she said she’ll announce a decision “shortly”-- Klobuchar could surprise rivals in Iowa, a neighboring state she’s visited multiple times since Trump’s election. David Johnson, a former Iowa state senator who switched his affiliation from Republican to independent in 2016 out of opposition to Trump, said Klobuchar is a familiar face who shares the workhorse sensibilities of many people in the state.

“She’s real knowledgeable, and she has a real sense of humility about it,” Johnson said. “She’s level-headed. She’s not a grenade-thrower.”

Recalling Klobuchar’s pitch to bridge the divide between rural and metro areas during remarks to the Iowa Farmers Union last month, Johnson added that “a majority of Americans want some sanity to return to Washington and the Congress, and I believe she’s the one candidate that can bring that together, rather than both parties operating in the extremes.”

Brown’s keen focus on blue-collar areas feeling the economic wallop of globalization has its own dark-horse potential. He also brings a fluency in civil rights issues that could break through with black and Hispanic voters in early primary states that follow the overwhelmingly white electorate in Iowa.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper pointed to one small but meaningful touch that’s succeeded for Brown: publicly name-checking their state’s smaller manufacturing hubs, a signal that he cares about areas seeking “a role that’s positive in this 21st-century economy.”

Pepper recalled that Democrats instinctively pushed back at Trump’s call to “make America great again” in 2016, but the president connected with Midwestern voters who “thought, at least they saw someone who seemed to appreciate they are struggling.”

That connection is at the core of the presidential pitch from another Midwestern hopeful, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana. “To me, the really important thing to do in the so-called Rust Belt is to demonstrate there’s a way forward that isn’t soaked in nostalgia,” the 37-year-old Buttigieg said this month as he announced his candidacy. “So, yeah, we have a relationship to our past, but we’re not trying to recapture it.”