A Corrupt Detroit Establishment Is Desperate To Stop Rashida Tlaib

I thought Rashida Tlaib was out choosing furniture for her new office in DC. After all, she won the 6-person August 7th primary and there is no Republican running next week. And why should one? The PVI is D+32 and Hillary eviscerated Trump 78.8% to 18.1%. Progressives-- in Detroit and across the country-- are very excited that an experienced and skilled state legislator and community activist with a powerful cutting edge working class agenda would soon be in Congress, serving with freshmen like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) and Ilhan Omar (MN), and, hopefully, Randy Bryce (WI), Jared Golden (ME), Kara Eastman (NE), Katie Porter (CA), Lisa Brown (WA), etc. On Monday, writing for Jezebel Esther Wang reported that "Tlaib’s victory was hailed as part of a new wave of unabashedly leftist women of color who are challenging the establishment wing of the Democratic Party--from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York City to Ilhan Omar in Minnesota-- and winning."

Tlaib isn’t a newcomer to the political scene, nor is she new to the brand of progressive politics that is increasingly gaining traction, much to the dismay of centrist Democrats. As Medicare for All and a $15 minimum wage become banner policies for more Democrats, the prevailing political winds are finally catching up with her.

Tlaib is an activist-legislator whose defining, reputation-making moment was taking on the Koch brothers by trespassing onto private property to get a sample of petrocoke dust-- a byproduct of extracting oil from the tar sands-- to test for toxicity. Months before the 2016 presidential election, she and other women had disrupted Donald Trump while he was giving a speech in Detroit. She called out Immigration and Customs Enforcement years before #AbolishICE was part of the mainstream political debate; far from being inspired by Bernie Sanders’ presidential run in 2016, she has long clashed with local business elites while railing against the city- and state-level tax incentives being handed out to developers like so much candy; and years before the hashtag #MeToo drew widespread attention to workplace sexual harassment, she publicly alleged a prominent Arab American civil rights advocate had sexually harassed her on the job, leading him to resign.

In her race, Tlaib had received the endorsements of a slew of Bernie Sanders-affiliated groups, from Justice Democrats to Our Revolution, as well as the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, of which she is a dues-paying member. Glowing media coverage has praised her civil rights bonafides and her ambitious plan for a green economy. No profile of Tlaib fails to note that she will become the first Muslim American woman in Congress (along with Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar if she wins, as she is likely to do), and the first Palestinian American woman. There is an excitement surrounding her candidacy that is wholly warranted-- “Rashida Tlaib is the left’s way forward,” proclaimed Politico, days after her primary victory. (Some of this is not new: In 2016, she was included on a list of Democrats who, looking ahead to the 2024 presidential campaign, “just might be poised to break out eight years from now.”) It is clear that America’s progressives are ready to anoint Rashida Tlaib as one of the new national faces of the left flank of the Democratic Party.

...[W]hen she says that she wants to, in her words, “kick ass” and fight against corporate greed, you really believe her—a rarity for politicians. And while much has been made of her ethnicity and her religion, Tlaib credits her victory in large part to her message, pointing out that less than five percent of her district is Arab American. “It was people that were tired of the same old politics and tired of the same kind of people getting elected over and over again,” Tlaib said.

...The traditional black leadership... includes people like Bishop Edgar Vann II, the pastor of Detroit’s Second Ebenezer Church, a former member of the Detroit police department’s civilian oversight body and a member of the executive committee of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, a public-private partnership that has worked hand-in-hand with business leaders and local elected officials to reconfigure the downtown landscape.

When I asked Vann if he believed Tlaib’s win showed that residents in Detroit were on board with her brand of politics, Vann pointed to the crowded field. The four black candidates, he said, split the black vote, opening the door for Tlaib to eke out a victory. (Vann also expressed alarm over her unabashedly left politics, telling me, “My concern, personally, I would say, is that I am not a socialist. I have concerns about certain factions of the Democratic Party that are becoming ultra-left.”)

“Had one of those people not been in the race, then she wouldn’t have won the race,” Vann said. He noted that Jones had beat out Tlaib in the special election, held on the same day and with fewer candidates running, to fill Conyers’ vacated seat. “As historic as it was, when we look at the numbers, we recognize how it really happened,” he said.

It is impossible to discuss Tlaib’s historic victory without acknowledging the complicated role that race played during the primary. The district has had a black representative and a civil rights champion as its congressperson for more than half a century. Despite a growing perception that Conyers had stayed for too long, in Detroit, whose residents are more than 80 percent black, having a black representative still carries weight. Tlaib herself had grappled with the optics of running to replace Conyers. “I felt like, ‘Am I taking it away from my families?’” she recalled. Her decision to run was based on her sense that the district needed a candidate closer to the movements fighting for the city at the ground level.

The notion that the crowded field-- which included Jones as well as Ian Conyers, John Conyers’s grandnephew, and Coleman Young II, the son of Detroit’s first black mayor—would split the black electorate had alarmed Vann and other members of Detroit’s black political establishment. In March, he and other clergy, as well as union leaders and Democratic Party activists, met and decided to collectively endorse Jones. Jones, who was the president of the local chapter of the Communication Workers of America before being elected to city council in 2005, was widely viewed as a capable and reliably progressive candidate who preached about reaching across the aisle (in her campaign, she staked out support for some of the same policy positions as Tlaib). As Jonathan Kinloch, the chair of the 13th District Democratic Party put it to the Detroit Free Press, the prospect of a non-black candidate replacing Conyers was “a very, very, very big concern.” One long-time political commentator and consultant, Steve Hood, expressed it more bluntly: “I’m not a racist, but I’d rather see an African American.”

...During a time when identity politics has largely been emptied of its original, liberatory meaning, and women running for office are often celebrated for simply being women, without an interrogation of whether their policies support the real needs of other women, poor people, immigrants, and people of color, Tlaib’s expansive vision of an intersectional politics rooted in organized movements points to a way forward for the Democratic Party. “I know that if we don’t support the movement work, we’re never going to pass Medicare for All. We’re never going to pass the environmental justice protections that we need,” she said. “Going and pressing a button, great. But man, we need more than that.”

And, sure enough, on Monday, the centrist establishment candidate, runner-up (and City Council President), Brenda Jones, launched her last-minute write-in candidacy-- mostly race-based-- against Rashida. As an independent. Jones won the separate election to finish John Conyers term (which expires January 3rd) but "Jones' final decision to complete the rest of the Detroit Democrat's term would come down to a pending ruling from the House Committee on Ethics on whether she can legally serve in both roles (City Council president) at the same time."

"Many voters felt that the process-- there was some concern with the process. I received several-- many, many calls from voters who said to me, 'I'm writing your name in,' and that was before I even decided I was running a write-in campaign," Jones said.

In a confusing twist during the August primary, Jones won the race to finish Conyers' term, but Tlaib won the race to fill his seat for the following two-year term. Jones said that voters were worried about the primary's integrity after seeing fluctuations in online voting counts.

But voting equipment executives at the time said the display problem had nothing to do with accuracy.

It's not clear whether Jones will even serve the term she won, as she is waiting on a decision from the House Committee on Ethics as to whether she can remain council president at the same time.

Michigan Democratic Party chairman Brandon Dillon said that Jones’ write-in campaign is a both a distraction for Democrats and a bad idea.

“Rashida Tlaib is the Democratic nominee and won her race outright,” he said. “The chances of it being successful are zero and Rashida’s going to be a great congresswoman.”

Tlaib has also received a swell of attention as potentially the first Muslim woman to be elected to Congress, which would be upended if Jones' campaign proves successful.

On Tuesday, Jones pushed back against potential criticism.

"I'm not here to distract anyone, and I've never tried to distract anyone," she said. "I'm here to help everyone, and that's what I'm doing launching this write-in campaign."

Not only is a write-in campaign a herculean task, it becomes even harder when 34,410 absentee ballots have already been turned in to the Detroit City Clerk’s office, said city elections director Daniel Baxter.

And Tlaib, who appeared on stage with Jones before former President Barack Obama spoke to a crowd of several thousand people in Detroit last week, pivoted to fundraising off of Jones’ announcement.

“We learned late Friday that a challenger is mounting a write-in campaign in next week’s general election. The voters in Michigan-13 don’t deserve any distractions,” she told supporters in an e-mail on Tuesday. “At a time when voters around the country need to be coming together to elect Democrats up and down the ballot to check Donald Trump’s hateful, racist agenda, the last thing we need is someone coming in and sowing division."

“But this write-in opponent-- who we defeated in the August primary-- is a reminder that we need to work every day between now and Election Day to turn out our voters and win,” she added.

She that picture up top? That's a drawing of Rashida-- a very limited edition signed print by Nancy Ohanian. Nancy gave me 10 to help us elect Rashida. If you'd like one, please contribute to her campaign by tapping on the Act Blue thermometer on the right. Usually we ask people to contribute any amount and then pick the winners randomly. This time it's different. We need to raise her some serious money to take on the full weight of the corporate establishment that is terrified of having to deal with a tried and tested working class champion like Rashida. So... we're asking for contributions that are at least $50 for a chance to win a print. If there are more than 10 people who contribute over $50 to Rashida's campaign, then we'll pick randomly between them. This is a quick one. The 10 winners will be chosen Thursday at 3 pm (ET). obviously, smaller contributions are welcome too-- but just from people who want to help Rashida win, not for the Ohanian prints. Wait, wait... i don't like the way this sounds. I have a personal copy of the print as well, so I'll toss that in and that one will go to a random donor regardless of the amount they contribute. I hope that's OK.

Michigan To The Rescue?

The DCCC managed to find itself a Michigan Blue Dog, Gretchen Driskell, to support for Congress. Yesterday we looked at what happens when Blue Dogs get into Congress. The damage they cause is very serious. Blue America has endorsed 2 women running for Congress with proven records for leadership in the Michigan state legislature, Ellen Lipton and Rashida Tlaib. We endorsed them both because they are progressives with progressive records of accomplishment. Identity politics played no role in either endorsement. That said, take a look at this tweet from Dave Wasserman last week:

Ellen is the only woman in the August 7th primary for an open seat up against two men, one of whom, Andy Levin, is the retiring Congressman’s son. He’s got the family name recognition; Ellen's got the legislative experience and proven record fighting for progressive values, having served 6 years in Michigan’s State House and worked as a healthcare activist and public education advocate.

The polling and focus groups that have been dome in MI-09 show that when voters-- particularly women voters-- see and hear her story, her record and progressive vision, trump Levin's name recognition and she wins. 2018 so far is an extraordinary year for women candidates, and women in Democratic primaries are voting in record numbers. She promised her supporters that "We’re going to win this primary by hosting events all over the district, knocking on thousands and thousands of doors, and making sure every single voter in the 9th knows my name, who I am, and what I stand for...  I’m so proud and inspired to be a part of the wave of Democratic women standing up to run for Congress this year. It’s time to change the fact that only 20% of Congress is female-- because we all deserve better. We need strong women leaders in Congress now more than ever."

Republicans don't do well in her district-- McCain only pulled 40.1%. Romney, a hometown boy, did a little better at 41.9% and Trump pulled 43.7%. The PVI is D+4 and it's more than very likely that whoever wins the primary will be the next congressmember. That's even more so in MI-13, where the Republicans aren't even running a candidate and which Rashida represented in the state legislature and where she's running now. The PVI is a jaw-dropping D+33 and Obama won with around 85% both times he ran and where Trump only drew 18% of the vote. MI-13-- a big chunk of Detroit plus Highland Park, Dearborn Heights, Inkster and Romulus out beyond the airport-- is a blue powerhouse, the kind of district that should be sending cutting edge leaders to Congress. And that's exactly who Rashida is. Again, two relatives of the last congressman, John Conyers, decided to run, a son (who was disqualified) and a nephew. If Rashida wins this one, everything in her record points to one thing: she's not going to be some backbencher voting like a good little Democrat; she'll be helping form a new progressive consensus among House Democrats and leading the way on tough issues others are afraid to touch, just the way she did in the Michigan legislature.

Both Ellen and Rashida are guided by the belief that everyone, not just the wealthy and privileged, deserves access to opportunity and a better quality of life. They have both dedicated their professional lives to amplifying and addressing the concerns of working families. They don't just talk about it... they both have records to show they've been doing it.

Rashida: "I’m running because I get results. I brought home $5.6 million in funding for before-and-after school programs and $7.8 million for bilingual education and literacy. I brought home $1 million for free health care clinics and $2 million to remove toxic lead paint from older homes. And I did it with Republicans in control of the Legislature, because I don’t make excuses, I get it done."

Neither of these dynamic women is an establishment candidate. The DCCC is ignoring both. That may be because neither sits still and gets told what to do by representatives of the status quo. They are exactly what Congress needs, what the Democratic Party needs... what our country needs. Please consider contributing to their campaigns by clicking on the 2018 congressional thermometer on the right.

Rashida Tlaib-- Not Another Garden Variety Democrat... A Leader

A couple of days ago, Michael Keegan, president of People for the American Way, invited me to meet a candidate for the open John Conyers seat in Michigan, Rashida Tlaib. The West Detroit district that goes all the way through Dearborn Heights, Inkster and Romulus to the airport, is one of the bluest in America-- with a PVI of D+33. Obama won it with 85% both times he ran and even Hillary managed to get 79% of the vote. A predominantly African-American district with a growing Hispanic population, it is less than 20% white. The Republicans aren't bothering to run a candidate and the most important election is the August 7 primary. Conyers' son was disqualified and two people withdrew, which leaves half a dozen Democrats, including a Conyers nephew, as well Detroit City Council president Brenda Jones, Westland Mayor Bill Wild and Rashida. If she wins she'll be one of the most forceful and significant voices in Congress, that I can guarantee you-- another Ted Lieu or Pramila Jayapal.

What I took away from watching her in action, reading her record in the state legislature and two chats, I could see that she's guided by the belief that everyone, not just the wealthy and privileged, deserves access to opportunity and a better quality of life. She's dedicated her life to amplifying and addressing the concerns of working families and average folks in Detroit and Wayne County, across Michigan, and around the country. Rashida has run some of the most aggressive and visionary campaigns Detroit has ever seen and made history as the first Muslim woman ever elected to the Michigan Legislature-- the second Muslim woman to serve in any state legislature. If she wins this race she'll also be the first Muslim woman to reelected to Congress.

She's well-known as a progressive warrior and has taken on billionaires and multinational corporations for Detroit residents... and won! In 2013, then-State Rep. Rashida Tlaib stopped Marathon Oil and the Koch brothers from storing massive, open piles of poisonous petroleum coke byproduct (“petcoke”) on the banks of the Detroit River. She even went so far as to collect her own samples and conduct her own independent lab testing to force the Republican-controlled Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to recognize the threat this posed to the health of her residents. Maybe you remember seeing Rashida’s interview with Rachel Maddow on the issue.

And when reclusive Detroit billionaire Manuel Moroun illegally seized a city park occupying land he coveted for a second toll-bridge to Canada, Rashida fought back. In liberating the park, she became a target of the notoriously vindictive Mouroun, who funded a recall campaign against her and continues to fund her political opponents. Rashida has defeated all of them, too.

Beyond her impressive list of victories for her residents, Rashida is lauded for the transformative constituent services that she provides.She knows that public service is about more than voting for legislation. When taking office as a State Representative in 2008, Rashida learned that all legislators were barred from using State resources to open a district office. Undeterred, she raised over $40,000 in private funding to open the very first Neighborhood Service Center-- an incredibly important tool for connecting her residents to the resources of State government. In Lansing she sponsored legislation to stop dishonest tax-prep companies from taking advantage of low-income consumers. At her Neighborhood Service Center, she could help those same residents get over $1 million in tax refunds by providing free tax preparation services. That’s life changing representation.

Rashida has carried on her work as a warrior for social justice after her time in the legislature, working as a public interest lawyer at the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice leading efforts to create meaningful community benefits requirements on taxpayer subsidized development deals, as well as leading a regional Take On Hate civil rights campaign. Rashida’s record prioritizes people over profits and firmly establishes her as a leader who will fight back in a political climate all too willing to pander to the elite and powerful. In fact, she was one of the first to stand up to Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric and policies-- infiltrating, protesting, and being forcibly removed from his appearance at the Detroit Economic Club in August 2016, months before the election.



It's become apparent to me that people in Metro Detroit have abs opportunity to elect someone work tirelessly to make their lives better in tangible ways, whether by policy or by action, and this commitment to rolling up her sleeves and going to work for her community. It's what sets Rashida apart. She offered a guest post, Why I'm Running.

I’ve served as a State Representative in Lansing and I’ve been a people’s lawyer at the Sugar Law.

I think it’s time for a Congresswoman who’ll fight for us in the streets, in the courts, and in Congress, and who people can count on to fight for them and never sell them out.

We need someone who will stand up to the billionaires and corporations taking advantage of our communities and hijacking our government. I took on the Koch brothers and won, forcing their toxic petcoke off our river. I fought back against Matty Moroun and won, moving his polluting trucks off our neighborhood streets. I protested the Trump rally at the Detroit Economic Club and got thrown out for asking him to “read the Constitution” before other Democrats were taking him seriously. I pushed back when Quicken Loans and Little Caesars asked for huge tax breaks that take money from our schools, even as local government celebrated the corporate handouts.

I’m running because I get results. I brought home $5.6 million in funding for before-and-after school programs and $7.8 million for bilingual education and literacy. I brought home $1 million for free health care clinics and $2 million to remove toxic lead paint from older homes. And I did it with Republicans in control of the Legislature, because I don’t make excuses, I get it done.

  In Washington I’ll fight back against the Trump agenda that puts corporate profits and serving the rich over the needs of the rest of us. I’ll fight alongside you for Medicare-for-All so everyone can receive the healthcare they need, and for a $15 minimum wage that helps workers provide for their families. Together we’ll hold polluters accountable and resist Trump’s attacks on our communities. On top of that, I’ll operate a local service center that changes your ideas of what a representative should be. I can’t wait to get to work for you.

She'll vote right, but that isn't the main reason to back her. I recognized a strong, effective progressive leader in her-- another person who can make a real difference in a largely dysfunctional Congress-- another Alan Grayson or Ro Khanna, Ted Lieu, Pramila Jayapal, Raul Grijalva or even a Nancy Pelosi of long, long ago. If you'd like to contribute to her very grassroots campaign you can do it by clicking on the 2018 congressional thermometer on the right.