Why The Political Reality Of Cenk Uygur?

Please listen to this 44 minute interview that Nicole Sandler did with Cenk Uygur a few days ago on her show. It would be enough to make the mythical centrist's blood boil-- if there were any mythical centrists and they weren't all as prevalent as unicorns. Do you think the party leadership wants to hear, "We can win this race and we can rock this country?" They don't. From the neo-lib governor, Gavin Newsom to Nancy Pelosi and the slimy Democratic Party chiefs on every level... they are all against Cenk-- and in an unprecedented fashion. Here's why:
  



Cenk is running for Congress in an open suburban congressional just north of Los Angeles-- Simi Valley, Santa Clarita Valley and Antelope Valley. Before he threw his hat into the ring, I told him the Democratic establishment would come down on him like a ton of bricks if he decided to run. He said he knew, he had crucial issues he wanted to get out there and he would run anyway. So he did-- and the Democratic establishment in Santa Clarita, in Los Angeles, in Sacramento and in DC all came down on him like tons and tons and tons of bricks. You'll hear about why during the short interview above.

"My God, imagine if I win! If I start making those speeches [about bribery] on the floor of the House and calling out Republican and Democratic leadership and saying, "Look, you take fossil fuel money, you take health insurance money, drug company money-- and I'll show you exactly how much you took-- that means you should not vote on this bill. At a bare minimum it is a massive conflict of interest... Put me in coach."

It's what freaked the Democratic leadership out when AOC started doing that. They shut her down fast too. Remember this?

It's exactly where Cenk wants to go-- and it's exactly why the Democratic Party-- steeped in corruption, built on corruption-- is fully backing an indemnity politics nothing candidate, who stands for nothing and means nothing and has never accomplished anything and would-- if she were to win-- climb right up into the back benches and sit there and say nothing until she's called on by the leadership and told what to say. She was chosen. The Republicans are smacking their lips and believe that even in a now-blue district-- yes CA-25 has a significant and growing Democratic registration advantage-- their candidate can beat her. I doubt 2020 ill be a year Republicans-- with Trump like an albatross hung around their necks-- are beating anyone in a blue district, regardless of how mediocre they are.

2022, though, will not be a good cycle for mediocre freshmen and sophomores. That isn't something the DCCC ever thinks about and certainly not this year with another less-than-mediocre nothing, Cheri Bustos, is in charge of the committee.

If Cenk manages to win this race, CA-25 is going to have as their representative the most outrageous and aggressive progressive in Congress. It can happen. There's probably no chance this district will get to have the best member of Congress again, probably not ever. See that thermometer above? That's the DownWithTyranny ActBlue page that you can use to contribute to his campaign. "I wish the Progressive Caucus" was more progressive." Where have you heard that before? Have you ever heard a candidate say anything like that before? I honestly thought that idea didn't exist anywhere but on the pages of DWT. He's not going to be a "don't rock the boat" member of Congress. I predict he'll be the 2020 version of Vito Marcantonio, whose spectacular congressional career ended in 1951.

Tomorrow's Blue America Candidate: Senator Toi Hutchinson

Today Nicole Sandler interviewed state Senator Toi Hutchinson and tomorrow she'll be our live guest at Crooksandliars.com at 1pm (CT). She's the progressive candidate for the seat that Jesse Jackson, Jr. gave up. New Dems and the DC Establishment are trying to force their crony, self-described "conservative Democrat" Debbie Halvorson, into the seat. Please join us tomorrow to meet Toi live and listen to the awesome interview Nicole did with her this morning. If you like what you heard and you'd like to help us make sure this seat stays a progressive bastion and doesn't slip into the hands of corporate-oriented shills, here's the special ActBlue page we set up for Toi.

If you've already listened to Nicole interviewing Toi, you understand why Blue America is so enthusiastic about her candidacy. She's one of us, not some distant out-of-touch multimillionaire who will never understand real people's real problems. Listening this morning to Inaugural poet Richard Blanco, I thought he captured the same spirit of hope that's behind Toi Hutchinson's campaign. Here's the poem, written especially for today: ONE TODAY

One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores,
peeking over the Smokies, greeting the faces
of the Great Lakes, spreading a simple truth
across the Great Plains, then charging across the Rockies.
One light, waking up rooftops, under each one, a story
told by our silent gestures moving behind windows.

My face, your face, millions of faces in morning’s mirrors,
each one yawning to life, crescendoing into our day:
pencil-yellow school buses, the rhythm of traffic lights,
fruit stands: apples, limes, and oranges arrayed like rainbows
begging our praise. Silver trucks heavy with oil or paper--
bricks or milk, teeming over highways alongside us,
on our way to clean tables, read ledgers, or save lives--
to teach geometry, or ring-up groceries as my mother did
for twenty years, so I could write this poem.

All of us as vital as the one light we move through,
the same light on blackboards with lessons for the day:
equations to solve, history to question, or atoms imagined,
the “I have a dream” we keep dreaming,
or the impossible vocabulary of sorrow that won’t explain
the empty desks of twenty children marked absent
today, and forever. Many prayers, but one light
breathing color into stained glass windows,
life into the faces of bronze statues, warmth
onto the steps of our museums and park benches
as mothers watch children slide into the day.

One ground. Our ground, rooting us to every stalk
of corn, every head of wheat sown by sweat
and hands, hands gleaning coal or planting windmills
in deserts and hilltops that keep us warm, hands
digging trenches, routing pipes and cables, hands
as worn as my father’s cutting sugarcane
so my brother and I could have books and shoes.

The dust of farms and deserts, cities and plains
mingled by one wind-- our breath. Breathe. Hear it
through the day’s gorgeous din of honking cabs,
buses launching down avenues, the symphony
of footsteps, guitars, and screeching subways,
the unexpected song bird on your clothes line.

Hear: squeaky playground swings, trains whistling,
or whispers across café tables, Hear: the doors we open
for each other all day, saying: hello, shalom,
buon giorno, howdy, namaste, or buenos días
in the language my mother taught me-- in every language
spoken into one wind carrying our lives
without prejudice, as these words break from my lips.

One sky: since the Appalachians and Sierras claimed
their majesty, and the Mississippi and Colorado worked
their way to the sea. Thank the work of our hands:
weaving steel into bridges, finishing one more report
for the boss on time, stitching another wound 
or uniform, the first brush stroke on a portrait,
or the last floor on the Freedom Tower
jutting into a sky that yields to our resilience.

One sky, toward which we sometimes lift our eyes
tired from work: some days guessing at the weather
of our lives, some days giving thanks for a love
that loves you back, sometimes praising a mother
who knew how to give, or forgiving a father
who couldn’t give what you wanted.

We head home: through the gloss of rain or weight
of snow, or the plum blush of dusk, but always-- home,
always under one sky, our sky. And always one moon
like a silent drum tapping on every rooftop
and every window, of one country-- all of us--
facing the stars
hope-- a new constellation
waiting for us to map it,
waiting for us to name it-- together

Thuggish Republican Allen West Says It's OK To Beat Up Peaceful Protesters

Sometimes I worry about my old pal, radio host Nicole Sandler. She keeps pressing her luck. Her district is represented by fascist Allen West and she keeps questioning him. Fascists don't like being questioned. He had her dragged out of a Florida townhall, arrested and jailed a few months ago. And this week she had the temerity to show up at his DC office with a whole bunch of other constituents to talk with him about his voting record against the middle class. You know, even before he managed to get into Congress, West was known for having been kicked out of the military for torturing a suspect he didn't like. That's why I worry about Nicole; West is a dangerous sociopath and if he can hurt her and get away with it, he will.

"It sickened me to see his name on the door of a congressional office," Nicole told me today. "Allen West should be in a military brig, not in Washington DC. I went with a group of other constituents to see him, and he refused to meet with all but four of us. Even his staff was rude, something I didn't encounter in any other office I visited. I guess that's just his leadership trickling down.

"I've invited him on my show numerous times, as he says he represents ALL of his constituents. I think that means all of his constituents who agree with his twisted way of thinking."

West, an Army veteran, became a YouTube sensation by criticizing “this tyrannical government” and crying out: “if you’re here to stand up to get your musket, to fix your bayonet, and to charge into the ranks, you are my brother and sister in this fight.” He said that the country was engaging in “class warfare” between “a producing class and an entitlement class,” which is composed of Obama supporters.

While serving in Iraq, he was forced out of the Army for his violent handling of an investigation of a police officer. During the interrogation, West dragged “him outside, pushed his head into the sand, and fired a gun next to his face to get him to sing.” According to West: “It wasn’t torture. Seeing Rosie O'Donnell naked would be torture.”

A real comedian!

Lois Frankel, the frontrunner among Democrats eager to challenge West at the polls next year, doesn't think he's very funny. After his appearance on Fox earlier this week, glorifying violence to some zombie right-wing propagandist masquerading as a journalist, against his own constituents for protesting, peacefully, at his office-- this is, after all, specifically guaranteed by the Constitution he's sworn to defend-- Mayor Frankel had a suggestion for him: "Allen West needs to re-read the copy of the constitution that he carries around in his pocket. West is there to represent all of his constituents not just the four that he let in his office." She issued an even stronger statement to West Palm voters:

Congressman West has again shown how out of touch he is with the concerns of the middle class. For Congressman West to joke about violence directed at citizens exercising their constitutional rights and expressing their outrage at a system that he helped tilt against them is disgraceful. West's contempt for working families and seniors will not create jobs for Floridians or help the country tackle the deficit responsibly. Mr West, when will you actually have the courage to defend your plan to protect billionaires at the expense of Medicare and a middle class tax break? Once again Allen West panders to the most extreme Washington elements and makes fun of the very people he is supposed to serve and represent. Congressman West's behavior proves why we need to make a change in Congress and get it working for Florida's hard pressed families. West's behavior yet again confirms that he is an arrogant elitist who embodies all that is wrong with Washington.

The is an important race-- a Democratic district with one of the most-- if not the most extreme right-- Member of Congress. The one percent is running their own candidate in the Democratic primary, "former" (he switched party registration a few months ago so he could run) Republican Patrick Murphy. If it's an Allen vs Murphy face-off, the one percent wins-- and laughs. Lois Frankel has a record of standing up for the middle class and working families. Allen West and Patrick Murphy don't. When Allen West becomes a fulltime Fox commentator in 2013, let's make sure he's replaced by a real Democrat, not a rich Blue Dog type. And, yes, West is already practicing for his new role: "I’m very concerned about this very divisive rhetoric the president is using when he continues to talk about ‘equality’ and ‘fairness’ and this thing that I think is really contrary to the principles that I mentioned, as far as life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Because the government cannot guarantee happiness."


UPDATE: Patrick Murphy Fundraiser

If you're a wealthy Republican-- but like a mainstream one, not a crazy one-- you might want to consider going to Patrick Murphy's fundraiser at Morgan & Ibrahim Al-Rashid home at 2443 Fisher Island Drive on Fisher Island this Tuesday evening. Minimum contribution is $500 but you get to schmooze with that great Democratic fighter for progressive values, ex-Governor Charlie Crist, perhaps more of a Democrat than Murphy is.

Allen West, Heywood Broun And Another Resurgence Of American Fascism

 

It's ironic that one of America's more blatantly fascist congressmen, Allen West, was elected in one of the most Jewish districts in the South. His outburst about how women are "neutering men" made me go back to political scientist Lawrence Britt's classic delineation of the characteristics of fascism. The characteristic I was looking for was #5-- "Rampant Sexism"-- but as I started reading through them, I started thinking, uncomfortably, about slippery slopes:

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

4. Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.

6. Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

7. Obsession with National Security
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

9. Corporate Power is Protected
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

14. Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

I also like this one: "Any action by a government that places the rights of a corporation or a group of elites above the rights of the people is a step toward fascism." This tweet about long-lost Tennessee made me think about it:


Needless to say, the legislation is sponsored by Republicans, Jamie Woodson of Knoxville in the state Senate and Glen Casada of Franklin in the House. It would allow corporations to make direct contributions to political candidates.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner noted that foreign-based corporations also would be allowed to contribute under the bill, though House sponsor Rep. Glen Casada, R-College Grove, said they will have to have a Tennessee presence to do so.

...Woodson said the move is a logical response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that struck down a federal law barring corporations from making independent expenditures in political campaigns. The Tennessee Legislature last year approved a law allowing independent expenditures in state campaigns.

The new bill goes beyond that to authorize corporations to directly give money to candidates and political parties for the first time in Tennessee, which has had a longstanding ban on direct corporate contributions.

The bill also would raise the current maximum contribution that can be given to a candidate, which has remained unchanged since 1995, according to Woodson. The limits would be raised annually based on inflation.

...The bill also will repeal current law that limits the total amount an individual can donate to all candidates ($40,000) and PACs ($61,400).

Heywood Broun, founder of the Newspaper Guild, was a journalist who championed the cause of the underdog during the Roaring Twenties, when the plutocracy was nearly unchallenged in America. His definition of fascism-- which was a tangible threat at the time, included this: "I think that it is not unfair to say that any businessman in America, or public leader, who goes out to break unions is laying the foundation for fascism. Hello Scott Walker. Hello Rick Scott. Hello Rick Snyder. Hello Paul LePage. Hello John Kasich. It's ugly but looking away doesn't make it go away; it just makes it uglier.

What Did Paul Broun (R-GA) Contribute To The Mayhem In Arizona? A Guest Post From Russell Edwards

We first came across a young attorney, Russell Edwards, last August when he was campaigning for a House seat held by radical right fanatic and John Bircher Paul Broun (R-GA). Russell wrote a thoughtful guest post for us at the time and he's written another one today. I have to admit, Blue America is trying to persuade him to run against Broun again in 2012. In November Broun took 137,263 of the votes to Russell's 66,574, a respectable first-time effort with no help whatsoever from the DCCC. In fact, Russell won in Athens (Clarke County) with 63% of the vote and did respectably well in Richmond County (Augusta). Broun spent $1,786,409 on the race and Russell spent $218,078-- just a million and a half less. We'll keep pushing him; I was encouraged by the clear-thinking behind his analysis of what happened in Tucson over the weekend. Russell Edwards:

The point-blank shot in the head received by Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords along with the murder of 6 others, including a Federal Judge, shook the nation over the weekend, leaving folks wondering how something like this could happen in America. Frankly, I believe now is a good time for us to examine the words of our Congressman and whether or not he needs to tone down his vicious rhetoric. Before you fly off the handle and claim I’m using this tragedy for political gain, please hear what I have to say.  

Paul Broun Jr. is a public official. With his office comes heightened responsibility and an expectation for a sense of decorum. However, our Rep. routinely disgraces his office by spreading conspiracy theories which threaten the existence of our democracy. His conspiratorial claim during the health care reform negotiations that “they’re going to give your grandmother narcotics until she catches pneumonia and dies” was particularly gruesome. You see, when conspiracies are propounded from an elected office, they achieve a greater sense of legitimacy-- a sense of legitimacy which can wreak havoc in the mind of a mentally unstable, fully-armed boy like Saturday’s shooter.  

Is Paul Broun Jr. fully responsible for Saturday’s tragedy? No. But do his words often, in effect, create permission for acts of violence against our democratic government? Of course. Back on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, Paul Broun Jr. attended a 2nd Amendment rally on the Mall where he said: “Fellow patriots, we have a lot of domestic enemies of the Constitution, and they're right down the Mall, in the Congress of the United States... The 2nd Amendment is all about us protecting ourselves from a tyrannical government." Should Paul Broun Jr. be so shocked, as he claimed last Sunday, that someone took the life of one of the “domestic enemies of the Constitution” who voted to create “death panels?”

In the Rolling Stone yesterday Matt Taibbi asks that we also not overlook the role of the ratings-driven media in helping haters like Broun create an atmosphere conducive to this kind of tragedy. "I think," he writes, "the reason that many people are going to be criticizing right-wing rhetoric in particular in the wake of the Giffords incident is not for what people like Rush and Sarah Palin say openly, but precisely because their underlying message is suspect. I think it's pretty clear that in many cases, and especially with people like Beck, their hottest rhetoric is delivered with a conspiratorial wink, as in, "I'd be more explicit about the threat your political enemies pose, but I can't. But you know what I'm trying to say about them, and about what has to be done." Beck in particular gets his market share by going further in that direction than his competitors." And our old pal Nicole Sandler has put together a little video that demonstrates his point-- and Russell Edwards'.



More on Georgia at 10AM (PT)-- although from a very different perspective.


UPDATE: More Threats From Right-Wing Fanatics Against Democratic Congressmen (From Tucson)

In the past we've covered the violence from right-wing terrorists perpetrated against Raul Grijalva, the other Democratic congressman from Tucson. Apparently, the level of threats have increased since Saturday but Capitol Hill police hasn't increased what passes for vigilance. According to the Huffington Post, Grijalva's office has reported "at least two very credible threats" to the division, yet the Capitol Police responded by directing the office to the Tucson Police. In the past, said the aide, the Capitol Police would immediately send the FBI to investigate the source of the threat to determine its seriousness. Late Monday night, the threats division called Grijalva's office to apologize for the slow response, said the aide, but still had little interest in the threats. "It's like they don't pay attention," the aide said. "He's a very polarizing figure. He's been in Tucson politics for over thirty years. He's lived in Tucson his whole life. There are people who are gunning for him." Literally.