What Kind Of Democrat Calls Himself A "Reagan Fiscal Conservative" In A Primary?

The other day, we mentioned that the two conservative Dems in the Inland Empire congressional race (CA-31), Joe Baca and Pete Aguilar, are slugging it out over which one is worse on the environment. They're both really awful. Aguilar, a former bank lobbyist for the failed Arrowhead Savings and Loan, is the picture of sleazy insider corruption and his entire career has been predicated on his eagerness to cozy up with the Chamber of Commerce Republicans who control the Redlands area. He hasn't earned anything; it was all given to him by the conservative establishment looking for someone with a Latino name willing to be their patsy.

Baca, an admitted Blue Dog, as well as a creature of the NRA, is basically precisely what Aguilar aspires to become when he grows up. It's a sickening and pathetic cycle of ugliness for one of the most hard pressed congressional districts on the West Coast. That's why Blue America is trying to help working families break out of their bind by supporting independent-minded progressive Eloise Reyes. Up top is the new TV spot she just started running.

Meanwhile, Baca and his allies are presenting him more and more frequently as the conservative in the race, which squeezes Aguilar out of his natural base. This week, a Baca SuperPAC flooded the district with expensive mailers touting Baca as a “Reagan Fiscal Conservative.” There's no way to know if Baca-- or even Aguilar-- would support Democratic positions were either to win in November… or if either would even remain in the Democratic Party.

San Berdoo would be way better off with someone who actually believes in the Democratic Party values that are interwoven through Eloise's entire life. Tomorrow the PCCC will be officially endorsing her over the two unsatisfactory Establishment characters. Yesterday the National Organization for Women Political Action Committee (NOW/PAC) endorsed her for the House seat. Terry O’Neil, PAC Chair of NOW said, “Eloise knows what it’s like to be a woman working in a field dominated by men. She was the first Latina to open a law firm in San Bernardino County and she flourished. Throughout her campaign she has talked about issues important to women and families like Equal Pay for Equal Work and increasing the minimum wage. Eloise is committed to achieving full equality for women and girls and she will be a strong advocate for them in Congress. We endorse her without reservation.” Please be sure to watch Eloise's 30 second ad again and then consider contributing to her campaign at the Blue America ActBlue page-- so she can keep it up and running on TV.

Why The National Organization For Women Endorsed Rush Holt

Tuesday is election day in New Jersey-- not the general election, which is in November, but the special election primary for the open Senate seat. Wall Street has been successful in creating the conventional wisdom that their puppet, Cory Booker, can't be stopped. But a late summer special election primary is really about turning out voters more than anything else. Cory Booker may be a TV celebrity but he has a putrid record of failure and a sleazy relationship with Big Business special interests. That's why I was so buoyed to see the National Organization for Women endorse Rush Holt, the progressive alternative to Booker over the weekend.

This is as strong a case from a third-party validator as anyone has gotten heading into the final days of this election. I suppose the CEOs and lobbyists from JPMorgan and BankAmerica could send something like this for Booker, but that might confuse his low-info backers. Jennifer Armiger is the chairwoman of NOW-NJ PAC and the case she makes about why her organization decided to back Rush, instead of the front-runner or even instead of a prominent woman also running in the race, is very compelling.

I’ve spent the last month diving into the records of every candidate in Tuesday’s Senate election, working on behalf of the National Organization for Women’s New Jersey PAC. I studied their votes and public statements, and I reached out to each candidate for an in-person meeting.

I came away absolutely convinced that Rush Holt is the best candidate to uphold former Senator Frank Lautenberg’s legacy in support of women’s rights, progressive issues, and equality for all.

Earlier this week, the National Organization for Women’s PAC endorsed Rush Holt for Senate...

Rush has a record of leadership on women’s and progressive issues-- in sharp contrast to some of the other candidates in the primary race. He has been willing to stand up and defend the rights of women, the LGBTQI community, and the hardworking voters in his district, even when it has meant challenging the political status quo.

While I was able to schedule interviews with three of the candidates in this race, Mayor Cory Booker’s campaign was entirely unresponsive to the NOW-NJ PAC requests for interview, despite repeated attempts to contact his offices by phone, email, and other means. For this reason, the PAC could not consider a recommendation for endorsement of Booker’s candidacy.

Feminists and progressive allies will not simply hand over a Senate seat in the face of the pressure of public celebrity...

My difficulties with the Booker campaign speak plainly to the broad concerns about his bid for office and the running of his Senate campaign-- that he is strong on style and ideas, but weak and unproven on the issues. He is unresponsive to his constituency and has produced little in terms of real outcomes that improve the lives of residents and voters in the city of Newark, most especially women and the underserved.

Not so with Rush Holt. A longtime member of the board of Planned Parenthood of Mercer County, Rush supports and will continue to defend abortion rights and reproductive freedom. He supports the Equal Rights Amendment, pay equity for women, marriage equality, labor rights and public sector workers' rights, environmental protection, and single-payer health insurance. Rush also strongly defends civil liberties, and he is unwilling to bargain away workers' rights and protections, as well as United States industry and sovereignty, in the name of free trade.

New Jersey voters deserve a candidate who will have their best interests at heart. That candidate is Rush Holt. I ask for your help in sending him to the United States Senate.

With appreciation,
Jennifer Armiger
Chair,
NOW-NJ PAC

Blue America has endorsed Rush Holt as well, not because he's a Democrat-- there are plenty of worthless Democrats running for Senate seats we would never consider endorsing-- but because he's a proven progressive. Here's our full Senate list so far.



UPDATE: And The Corruption

Cory Booker is not just unworthy of Democratic votes in Tuesday's primary because he's bad on the issues-- which he is-- and because he's a pathetic Wall Street puppet-- which he is-- but also because he's a ticking time bomb liable to explode before the general election and saddle New Jersey with some kind of rightwng lunatic senator like that Lonegan character. Today's NY Post reported that he was taking "condidential" payoffs from his former law firm while serving as mayor of Newark.

Cory Booker pocketed “confidential” annual payouts from his former law firm while serving as Newark mayor.

Booker, the front-runner in New Jersey’s Senate race, received five checks from the Trenk DiPasquale law firm from 2007 until 2011. During that time, the firm raked in more than $2 million in fees from local agencies over which Booker has influence.

...Booker did not list Trenk DiPasquale as a source of income on the financial-disclosure report he filed as a Senate candidate in May. One part asks for a listing of compensation of more than $5,000 paid by one source for services provided from 2011 to 2013.

If you live in New Jersey, please vote for Rush Holt Tuesday.

Blue America Welcomes Connie Saltonstall

I woke up early in the morning a few days ago and saw that finally someone in Michigan's vast first congressional district had decided to step up and stop letting anti-Choice fanatic Bart Stupak get a free ride to re-election. On seeing a brief news item about Connie Saltonstall running for Congress, I was on the phone with her in half an hour, ascertained she was of a distinctly progressive bent, and had her on the Blue America Sending Democrats A Message ActBlue page within an hour. Since then close to 200 people have contributed over $5,000 to her campaign. These were primarily people who didn't know much about Connie, but knew all they would ever need to know about Bart Stupak.

Within a day or two Digby was winging her way east to sit down, face-to-face, with Connie and... well, see what she was made of. A couple days later, Digby, John and I sat down and decided that Connie merits a full scale Blue America endorsement. We added her to our candidates page and she's already gotten another 160 donations and, again, over $5,000. Today at 3pm (est/noon on the West Coast) Connie will be doing her first ever live blog session. It's being hosted by Digby at Crooks and Liars. NOW, one of the biggest and most important women's advocacy groups in the nation, just endorsed her this morning. They said, in part:

The National Organization for Women Political Action Committee is proud to announce our endorsement of Connie Saltonstall for Congress, representing Michigan's 1st District. Saltonstall is taking on reproductive rights foe and health care reform obstructer Rep. Bart Stupak in the state's Democratic primary this August.

What a relief that a courageous feminist candidate stepped up to the plate to challenge the co-author of the anti-choice Stupak-Pitts Amendment. Thanks to Connie Saltonstall, Stupak's bullying attempts to use health care reform as an opportunity to restrict women's access to abortion will be contested at the polls. Saltonstall stated: "I believe that [Stupak] has a right to his personal, religious views, but to deprive his constituents of needed health care reform because of those views is reprehensible."

Saltonstall is a strong supporter of the full range of feminist issues, including reproductive justice, affirmative action, pay equity, constitutional equality and equal marriage rights. More specifically, she is in favor of repealing the Hyde Amendment, fully funding the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, rescinding the Defense Of Marriage Act, expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act to add paid leave, and undoing the Bush-era damage done to Title IX.

There have been plenty of naysayers-- "she can't win" (which reminded me of how the battle started when we decided to back Donna Edwards against Al Wynn) and "he's entitled to his religious beliefs," being two of the most persistent comments-- but the folks who have been donating this week see an opportunity to hold a faithless politician who has gone way too far accountable.

Stupak has worked closely with conservatives to build a coalition to hold healthcare reform hostage, insisting that the bill will force Americans to pay for abortions, an out and out lie straight from John Boehner's messaging shop. Sadly, the bill will actually restrict women's ability to purchase insurance coverage for abortions, even with their own money. This was the result of a wrenching compromise by the pro-choice members of Congress who reluctantly acquiesced to the unreasonable demands of the minority so that millions of uninsured Americans might have access to health care. But that wasn't good enough for Mr. Stupak, who continues to lie about the provisions of the bill and is committed to vote with the Republicans who are determined to make healthcare reform President Obama's "Waterloo." Stupak refuses to take yes for an answer.

Well, as Digby pointed out to Blue America donors, Bart Stupak isn't good enough for a frustrated constituent named Connie Saltonstall, who waited patiently for months for someone to step up as Stupak waged his quixotic crusade against reproductive rights on the backs of the uninsured. When no one did, she finally decided that she had no choice but to challenge him herself. She says,

"Our Congressman has let us down. Bart Stupak has threatened to block healthcare reform unless the Amendment that bears his name is included in the final bill. I believe that he has a right to his personal, religious views, but to deprive his constituents of needed healthcare reform because of those views is reprehensible."

Saltonstall is an experienced and qualified politician having served in various capacities in Michigan politics for decades. More importantly, she is a person of deep commitment to progressive politics who not only believes that it's not too much to ask that the Democratic party protects a woman's constitutional right to privacy and provide health care for everyone at the same time, but that the progressive agenda can best deliver to her friends and neighbors what they need to get through these tough economic times, preserve their liberty and keep America a strong, tolerant, future-oriented nation.

Blue America is proud to endorse Connie Saltonstall for Congress. We hope that you'll join us for a live chat at CrooksandLiars.com at 3PM, meet Connie for yourself and gage how much you want to participate in this campaign. The future of the health care reform bill, the Democratic Party and the country are at stake and regardless of the outcome when the vote is finally taken, Bart Stupak has proven that he is willing to go to any length to impose his personal religious views on the whole country. If you feel, as we do, that this is not in keeping with the fundamental values of the Democratic Party, then a donation to Connie Saltonstall's campaign is the best way to ensure that he no longer has the opportunity to do it.




UPDATE: And By The Way The Healthcare Reform Bill Would Benefit The Residents of MI-01 Tremendously

The Commerce and Energy Commttee has come out with a review of the impact of the bill on Stupak's constituents, people who are now encouraging Connie to run. Highlights of what the bill will achieve there:

* Improve coverage for 364,000 residents with health insurance.

* Give tax credits and other assistance to up to 197,000 families and 17,900 small businesses to help
them afford coverage.

* Improve Medicare for 141,000 beneficiaries, including closing the donut hole.

* Extend coverage to 44,000 uninsured residents.

* Guarantee that 10,000 residents with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage.

* Protect 1,100 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.

* Allow 50,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their parents’ insurance plans.

* Provide millions of dollars in new funding for 41 community health centers.

* Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and other health care providers by $102
million annually.

But Stupak is still insisting on joining the GOP obstructionists in opposition.

Staten Island Primary Pitting Conservative Emanuel-Backed Semi-Democrat Against Progressive Steve Harrison, Heating Up

Chuck Schumer is all about change

The New York State primary is September 9. There aren't many contests we're watching aside from Jon Powers battle against kooky Republican-in-Democratic-clothes, Jack Davis in NY-26, a district stretching from the Buffalo city limits to the Rochester city limits. But there is one more congressional district where the primary is crucial, the Staten Island/Brooklyn district where corrupt Republican Vito Fossella was forced to retire after being caught with two families. I was born in the Brooklyn part of the district and my sister currently lives in the Staten Island part.

In 2006, Brooklyn attorney Steve Harrison challenged Fossella and drew an impressive 43% of the vote. It's the best any Democrat has ever done against Fossella-- and Harrison had no institutional help whatsoever. Fossella spent $1,639,598 on the raise. Harrison spent less than $5,000. Perhaps if brain surgeon Rahm Emanuel had given Harrison a tenth of that $4,556,495 he wasted on Tammy Duckworth in Illinois Steve would have made up the 13,250 vote deficit and won. In any case he seems to have impressed a number of Democrats so much that when he declared he would run against Fossella again, there was a great deal of support. Even NY's senior senator, Chuck Schumer endorsed him, telling his constituents, "I want Stephen Harrison in Washington with me, to fight for the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn. He will not be a rubberstamp, rather he will truly represent his constituents’ interests, on everything from protecting our country to protecting the rights of working families."

But then Fossella got sloppy and got caught and... well, got read out of the GOP. And the race got interesting. Suddenly Democratic Party bosses saw an opportunity to pick up a seat-- and if there was a chance for an actual victory... well the hell with Schumer's happy talk about no rubberstamps. They wanted one-- one who they could count on to not go off and think for himself and work for his constituents' interests instead of the special interests that fund the political racket Inside the Beltway. In steps Emanuel and his team and suddenly Harrison is pushed aside and the inevitable winner is... ultra conservative Staten Island City Councilman, Michael McMahon, the ultimate hack. The Staten Island Conservative Party, which endorses his City Council races, was so impressed with his bellicose pro-war rhetoric that they wanted to endorse him over the Republican. The state party cracked the whip and they didn't.

Monday the NY Times followed the lead of Emanuel, the DCCC and the whole rotten political Insider Establishment and endorsed McMahon. Hillary endorsed McMahon the week before. And somewhere along the way, so did... Schumer. But Harrison-- like John Hall, Carol Shea-Porter, Jerry McNerney, Jon Tester in 2006-- is not buying into the "inevitability" meme the Insiders have sold to the media. He's staying in the race. He's been relying on grassroots organizations-- rather than party bosses-- for endorsements. Both the local and the national Progressive Democrats of America picked him, as did the 504 Democratic Club and the Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC and several Democratic clubs in both Brooklyn and Staten Island. So did Democrats.com and the Democratic Advancement PAC, both of which, like Blue America, work to elect progressives to office. But today Steve's campaign has a major announcement-- an endorsement from the National Organization for Women (NOW). It was an easy endorsement. The conservative McMahon is anti-choice. "NOW PAC is pleased to endorse Steve Harrison for the U.S. House of Representatives from New York," said NOW Political Action Committee Chair Kim Gandy. "We look forward to voters in Staten Island and Brooklyn sending a strong supporter of women's rights to Washington. Steve has the values we need to improve the lives of women and families in this country."

When discussing why NOW didn't follow along with all the other outfits that allow Emanuel to call the shots, Shirley Ranz, chair of the local NOW PAC, said “We were impressed with Steve Harrison’s grasp of and support of our core issues:  constitutional equality for women, reproductive rights, equal economic opportunity, stopping violence against women and ending gender and sexual orientation discrimination.” The NOW endorsement follows an endorsement from Gloria Steinem.

The Secretary of the local NOW chapter explained that “McMahon is a political conservative who opposed choice when his vote counted in NYC Council. We cannot support someone who waivers in his support of our issues to placate his RTL constituency. They have the Republicans for that. Who will speak for women; Steve Harrison!”

Last month a Times story pointed out the stark contrast between the right-wing McMahon from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party and the progressive Harrison. If voters want more of the kinds of corporatist Bush agenda McMahon is the man; for real change, only Harrison fits the bill.

Political labels aside, there are stark differences between the two. Mr. Harrison opposes capital punishment, while Mr. McMahon supports it. The councilman favors nearly all means of addressing the nation’s energy problems, including offshore drilling, something Mr. Harrison opposes. Mr. McMahon supported Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s ultimately unsuccessful congestion pricing plan, while Mr. Harrison opposed it.

On the Iraq war, Mr. Harrison has demanded an immediate withdrawal of American troops, while Mr. McMahon said he supported “a responsible redeployment of our troops in Iraq.”

Mr. Harrison described his opponent as a Johnny-come-lately who entered the race only after Mr. Fossella announced that he would not run for re-election. “I’ve been doing this for the better part of two years,” Mr. Harrison added.

“We have some real differences between us,” Mr. Harrison said in an interview on Friday. “We have a real grass-roots campaign going on and he has support mainly from party officials. He has more money. But most of it came from PACs in Washington.”

Despite Mr. Harrison’s strong showing in 2006, virtually all of the Democratic establishment has endorsed Mr. McMahon, from local officials to Senator Charles E. Schumer and the Democratic members of Congress from New York City. And Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, broke with a longstanding tradition of not taking sides in a primary and also endorsed Mr. McMahon.

"Longstanding tradition?" Emanuel controls the Democratic congressional caucus' media efforts. You can imagine him getting away with that with some hick in bumfuck. But Jonathan P. Hicks bought it for the NY Times. Congratulations Mr. Hick, you win a free subscription to DownWithTyranny.