If You Were A Candidate, Would You Want A Gaggle Of Corrupt DC Lobbyists Like Haley Barbour Raising Money For You?

Why is our government such a mess? Follow the money

By 2008, no one considered reactionary Georgia Blue Dog John Barrow an actual Democrat. He was voting for the toxic Republican agenda more consistently than a dozen Republicans were! That year progressives in Georgia felt they had finally found a candidate who could beat him in a primary, highly respected and accomplished state Sen. Regina Thomas, once Deputy Majority Whip of the Georgia House and in synch-- unlike Barrow-- with every issue Obama was presenting to the American people. When Obama stabbed her in the back and endorsed Barrow, recording a radio spot for black radio stations heralding the Republican-lite Barrow as a hero of working families, it pretty much ended any chance for Regina to win the primary-- the ultimate betrayal. Of course, no one who remembered Obama's fulsome endorsement of Joe Lieberman against Ned Lamont could have been that surprised.


Aside from the radio spot that was played exclusively on black radio, Barrow's spots from the primary were all repetitions of GOP talking points scapegoating immigrants, railing against the "death tax," boosterism for the Bush/McCain perspective on wars in the Middle East... Obama's ad said "We're going to need John Barrow back in Congress to help change Washington and get our country back on track." Back in Washington, Barrow voted against virtually every proposal Obama made to Congress. By the way, Hillary Clinton endorsed him too-- the NRA's top Democratic shill in Congress, against the African-American woman state senator who was campaigning on gun safety. Because of Obama and the Democratic establishment's support for the faithless Barrow, the Democratic Party lost the seat, not to a progressive Democrat but to a rabidly right-wing Republican.

Today one of the most loathed Democrats in Congress, #DebtTrapDebbie Wasserman Schultz, is being primaried by one of the best candidates for Congress anywhere. Once again, Obama stepped into the fray on behalf of the symbol of all that is worst and most hated about the Democratic Party; he endorsed Wasserman Schultz Monday-- and, as he did when he backed Barrow against Regina Thomas and backed Wall Street errand boy Patrick Murphy against proven progressive champion Alan Grayson, he just flat-out lied to low-info voters: "Debbie has been a strong, progressive leader in Congress and a hardworking, committed Chair of our national Party since I proudly nominated her to the role in 2011. She always stands up and fights for what is right for her district while passionately supporting middle class families."

In fact Debbie is progressive the way John Barrow was progressive-- not. And the families she always stands up and fights for are families like the notorious sugar barons, the Fanjuls, who have financed her rise to power. It is a tribute to Tim Canova that he has Wasserman Schultz so precariously on the ropes that she had to call in Obama for help in a primary! And it's just like Obama to back a slime-bag like Wasserman Schultz, the same way he backed John Barrow and Patrick Murphy and the same way he is sure to back Hillary and every right-of-center Democrat who needs help against a progressive. (He's got a presidential library in Chicago to build and money doesn't grow on trees; it comes from rich donors like Patrick Murphy's parents and like Debbie Wasserman Schultz's career-long backers/investors.)

Just up the I-95 from FL-23, the Broward/Miami-Dade County, district Wasserman Schultz occupies, is FL-18, the district Patrick Murphy is abandoning in pursuit of the open U.S. Senate seat. The Democratic Party establishment insists on corrupt big money plutocrat Randy Perkins over the progressive candidate in the race, Jonathan Chane. Standard DCCC operating procedure.

Many of K Street's sleaziest and most criminal lobbyists-- led by Haley Barbour's BRG Group, the shadiest of all the DC lobbyist firms-- threw a big bash for their boy Perkins a few days ago.

One logo is Romney's and one is Perkins'-- same difference

BRG lobbyists like Jonathan Mantz, Maya Seiden and Josh Lamel were yucking it up about it being a "Red to Blue" event, since, at least in theory, Murphy is no longer a Republican-- so the district is "blue" not "red," and they all know very well that Perkins is anything but "blue." Other of Washington's most corrupt lobbyists in attendance were Libby Greer of Forbes-Tate, John Michael Gonzalez of Peck Madigan Jones, and Tom O’Donnell of Gephardt Government Affairs. And 5 of the most corrupt, in-the-pocket-of-the-Wall-Street/K-Street-Axis Democrats were in attendance: Steny Hoyer, Joe Crowley, Alcee Hastings, Jim Himes, and Denny Heck. That should give any progressive an idea about what kind of "Democrat" Randy Perkins hopes to be.

Barbour, who was the longtime Chair of the RNC, and was always thrilled by the hundreds of thousands of dollars Perkins gave Republican candidates, had been hired by Perkins as his company's lobbyist. Barbour engineered $100 mlion+ in no bid contracts for Perkins from Chris Christie after Hurricane Sandy. The dirty money goes round and round-- it's what keeps the two corrupt parties in power-- Perkins hires Barbour to be AshBritt's lobbyist (AshBritt is Perkins' company), Barbour gets Perkins millions and millions of dollars in no bid contracts from Christie and Rick Scott, Perkins makes a hefty contribution to the Republican Governors Association (while Christie is chair-- more than $761,000), and gives Rick Scott $200,000 for his campaign against Democrat Alex Sink and Barbour hosts a fundraiser for Perkins' Congressional campaign... and so it goes.

Like Trump, Perkins calls buying corrupt politicians "just business." Business very much encouraged by the most corrupt of politicians, like... Steny Hoyer, Joe Crowley, Alcee Hastings, Jim Himes and Denny Heck. Not to mention Wasserman Schultz. Suggestion: step up to the plate for the progressives running against Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Patrick Murphy, Tim Canova and Alan Grayson... here at the thermometer; let's beat the bosses:

Progressives Betrayed By The Establishment... Again

As progressive champion Alan Grayson continued to pull ahead of Republican-lite Congressman Patrick Murphy in polling for the Florida Senate primary, Obama weighed in with an endorsement. He's certainly entitled to his opinion, parroting the exact Chuck Schumer talking points he hands out to all the stooges he gets to endorse his corrupt conservative little Schumercrat: "a tireless champion for middle-class families," a sad joke on the American people. It came three days after Grayson endorsed Bernie in the presidential race, but I don't think that's the primary reason. I'll tell you why in a minute, but first a little background.

We've talked about Patrick Murphy's ultra-conservative voting record and his odious role on the House Financial Services Committee as Wall Street's errand boy against the middle class for 3 years and I'm not going to rehash that again. I just want to pick out a few votes that were specifically aimed at President Obama himself.

On September 9 at 4:55 in the afternoon, the House passed a resolution condemning President Obama's rescue of Beau Bergdahl from the Taliban. It passed 249-163, every Republican plus 22 conservative Democrats voting for it. Two Blue Dog Democrats, John Barrow (GA) and Nick Rahall (WV) joined 92 Republicans as co-sponsors. Two months later, Democratic voters in their districts stayed away from the polls and both right-wing Democratic shitheads were finally defeated, although, not in primaries-- but to even worse Republicans. Among the disloyal 22 Democrats who voted to condemn Obama was, of course, Patrick Murphy. He always crosses the aisle to vote with his old pals the Republicans-- yes, he was a lifelong Republican and maxed out to Mitt Romney's campaign against President Obama-- on showy legislation like this. Three other conservaDems were defeated 2 months after the vote, like Barrow and Rahall-- Pete Gallego (Blue Dog-TX), Mike Michaud (Blue Dog-ME) and Joe Garcia (New Dem-FL); a 4th Blue Dog, Utah's Jim Matheson, wisely retired rather than face certain defeat at the polls. Murphy managed to skate under the radar, using the vote to bolster his image in West Palm Beach as an "independent."

Safely reelected, Murphy continued in his role of being one of the biggest boosters of the Keystone XL Pipeline in Congress, voting for it every single time Boehner brought it up. Many other right-wing fake Democrats did as well. But in May, 2013, he did something even many of the most right-wing Democrats in the House couldn't bring themselves to do. Long before their primary battle began this other Keystone vote-- with Murphy voting with the Republican polluters and Grayson voting with the Democrats and environmentalists-- brought the two men's approach into focus-- for those who pay attention to House votes. Grayson offered a resolution challenging the constitutionality of the GOP plan to take the decision-making for Keystone XL pipeline out of President Obama's hands. "The Keystone XL Pipeline deal is an earmark to a foreign corporation, plain and simple," Grayson said. "House Republicans claim to have been incredibly keen on ridding our legislative system of Congressional earmarks-- yet here they are-- hypocritically sneaking one in for a foreign corporation. They seem to believe that the 'no earmarks' rule does not apply to them. That’s just unacceptable." Only 19 Democrats voted with the GOP that day, Murphy, of course being one of them. No other Florida Democrat, not even paid-off sleaze bag Joe Garcia, voted to strip President Obama of his decision-making power; just Murphy-- who Chuck Schumer and Wall Street are now determined to reward with a Senate seat!

In May, 2014, Murphy was still not thinking about running for the Senate. He was just trying to show Republicans he was still one of them, despite the "D" next to his name. So on May 8 as the sun was setting over DC, the Republicans were desperate to find a few Democrats willing to make their vicious plan to establish a witch hunt to use against Hillary Clinton look bipartisan. Most of the usual suspects who vote with the GOP on everything passed on that one. It was really toxic for Democrats to vote to establish the Benghazi Committee, which was so obviously a partisan attack against the Obama Administration in general and Hillary Clinton in particular. When the vote came up, it passed 232-186, every Republican voting YES and every Democrat voting NO... except for 7 fake Democrats, Murphy included. Four of the 7-- Ron Barber, John Barrow, Mike McIntyre and Nick Rahall-- were driven out of Congress at the next election. But Murphy skated by again, along with Blue Dog extremists Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) and Collin Peterson (MN).

Obama killed Regina's political career when he endorsed his own ideological enemy John Barrow

One more thing before I get into the why of the Obama endorsement. By 2008, no one considered reactionary Georgia Blue Dog John Barrow an actual Democrat. He was voting with the Republicans more frequently than a dozen Republicans were! That year progressives in Georgia felt they had finally found a candidate who could beat him in a primary, highly respected and accomplished state Sen. Regina Thomas, once Deputy Majority Whip of the Georgia House and in synch-- unlike Barrow-- with every issue Obama was presenting to the American people. When Obama endorsed Barrow and recorded a radio spot for black radio stations heralding him as a hero of working families, it was a knife right into the heart of Regina's campaign-- the ultimate betrayal. Of course, no one who remembered Obama's fulsome endorsement of Joe Lieberman against Ned Lamont could have been that surprised.

Aside from the radio spot that was played exclusively on black radio, Barrow's spots from the primary were all repetitions of GOP talking points scapegoating immigrants, railing against the "death tax," boosterism for the Bush/McCain perspective on wars in the Middle East. Obama's ad said "We're going to need John Barrow back in Congress to help change Washington and get our country back on track." Back in Washington, Barrow voted against virtually every proposal Obama made to Congress. By the way, Hillary Clinton endorsed him too-- against the African-American woman state senator. Barrow's ads from that primary have all been "disappeared" from YouTube, but this one will give you an idea of who Obama and Hillary were endorsing:



OK, now to the why. Ready for the stench of corruption? The banksters made no secret of their fury at being targeted and held accountable by Bernie and Elizabeth Warren. They were very publicly threatening to withhold funds from Democratic senators and from the DSCC. Stories about it ran in the NY Times and Wall Street Journal.

Big Wall Street banks are so upset with U.S. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren's call for them to be broken up that some have discussed withholding campaign donations to Senate Democrats in symbolic protest, sources familiar with the discussions said.

Representatives from Citigroup, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, have met to discuss ways to urge Democrats, including Warren and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, to soften their party's tone toward Wall Street, sources familiar with the discussions said this week.

Bank officials said the idea of withholding donations was not discussed at a meeting of the four banks in Washington but it has been raised in one-on-one conversations between representatives of some of them. However, there was no agreement on coordinating any action, and each bank is making its own decision, they said.

Their demands were simple: they wanted their own man to replace Harry Reid as head of the Senate Dems. Reid was found beaten to a pulp, nearly dead and immediately announced he was resigning and that Chuck Schumer would take over, even though he wasn't in-line for the job and there had been no vote. And they wanted pro-Wall Street Democrats (i.e.- Schumercrats) as the party's nominees in 2016 who would balance the anti-Wall Street faction. Schumer swore to deliver Patrick Murphy-- the banksters' first choice, to whom they have given more funding than any non-incumbent running this cycle ($872,350 so far). The other Wall Street-friendly crooked nominees approved by Wall Street: Chris Van Hollen (MD), Ted Stickland (OH), Tammy Duckworth (IL), Catherine Cortez Masto (NV) and Katie McGinty (PA). Here are the campaign contributions from the Finance Sector to their all-time favorite Members of Congress:

Ever wonder why the government stinks?

And then there's the question of who, exactly, is financing a presidential library being built in Chicago. A top Biden staffer has been sharing that, off-the-record, with Capitol Hill staffers and we hope to have more on that sad, sad news very soon.

In fairness, here's the statement the Grayson campaign made after the Schumer-engineered announcement was made yesterday: "These endorsements are a last-ditch effort by the DC Establishment to try to blunt our large and growing command of the race. It comes as no surprise that these moves are made just two days after Rep. Grayson became the first major statewide candidate in the country to endorse the anti-Establishment candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, for the Presidency. They come just one day after a new poll shows Rep. Grayson with a double-digit lead, winning among men and women, every age group, and whites, blacks and Hispanics. The anti-Democratic Party Establishment is desperate to drag Grayson’s opponent, their do-nothing, dirty errand boy for Wall Street, over the finish line. But Florida voters in both parties are fed up with egregious manipulation by outside forces to dictate our candidates. These arrogant Empire-Strikes-Back efforts by the Democratic politburo will be no more successful than the similar failed attempts by Republican party bosses. This is the year when the voters decide."

Obama was also manipulated into endorsing the pathetic establishment Senate candidate in Ohio, Ted Strickland, the same week that every newspaper in the state has started endorsing his opponent, PG Sittenfeld. I asked PG's communications director, Dale Butland, why he thought Obama would endorse a conservative loser like Strickland. "It’s no surprise that the Democratic establishment-- which has long been in Gov. Strickland’s corner-- would be getting mighty nervous about the momentum that’s been building around PG’s campaign. And the endorsement they engineered in Washington today was clearly designed to counter the endorsements PG’s recently received in Ohio from respected political figures like former Gov. Dick Celeste-- and respected Ohio newspapers like the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon Journal. "But no endorsement-- no matter who it comes from-- can change Ted’s A+ rating from the NRA-- or the fact that he voted against background checks, a ban on assault weapons, and every other common sense gun safety measure that was ever put in front of him. So when PG wins the Democratic Senate nomination on March 15, we’ll look forward to working with the President to defeat Rob Portman in November."

Back to Florida for a moment. The Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida was aghast that Schumer and Wall Street "got to" Obama and persuaded him to back a Republican reactionary lightly disguised as a Democrat over one of the most effective progressives in our lifetimes. Caucus president Susan Smith:

"As someone who worked hard to help President Obama win Florida in 2008 and 2012, I am profoundly saddened and disappointed by his apparent lack of trust in Florida Democrats to choose our own U.S. Senate nominee. In fact, poll after poll has shown that Florida Democrats tend to prefer Alan Grayson over former Republican Patrick Murphy.

"As much as it breaks my heart to see President Obama attempt to put his thumb on the scale for Patrick Murphy, it's even more worrisome that the president seems to have done so with bad information. Patrick Murphy has said he wants to look at cuts to Social Security, and he supported the so-called Bowles-Simpson plan that would have cut benefits for the vast majority of Social Security recipients.

"Patrick Murphy was a Republican until he decided to run for office in 2011, and before he decided to run for Senate, he voted like one. It's one thing if the President is willing to look past Murphy's support for the Republican's Benghazi witch hunt and the Keystone XL pipeline, but it is another thing entirely to make an endorsement based on bad information. I hope the President will read up on Murphy's real record and reconsider his decision to throw the weight of the White House behind someone who will do Wall Street's bidding."

I contributed to Grayson, Sittenfeld and to Donna Edwards today, to show my disdain for the Democratic establishment and to do my bit, once again, to help elect a progressive and non-corrupt U.S. Senate. I hope you'll do the same... by tapping on the thermometer below:

REGINA! Is Back-- And Barrow Shouldn't Start Counting His Chickens Yet

There's no way to prove that sleazy Blue Dog John Barrow stole the primary election in Georgia July 20. The state of Georgia made certain of that by opting for voting machines with no paper trail. What we do know is that Barrow was unable to buy off the electoral officials in the biggest county in the district, Chatham (Savannah) and that there Regina Thomas swamped him better than two to one. According to the Secretary of State's official canvas, Regina wound up with 6,083 votes and Barrow, the Blue Dog incumbent only took 2,788 (in his adopted hometown). She won Screven, a rural county north of Savannah, with a much closer margin but lost the rest of the district with suspiciously high returns, including tiny Johnson County which early returns showed she had won (with approximately 90% of the precincts counted before it tuned into a route by Barrow). In the end, the official canvas shows Regina with 14,201 votes (42.1%) to Barrow's 19,505 (57.9%). As of June 30, the FEC shows Barrow had raised $1,344,515 and spent $713,332. Regina raised $43,709 and spent $35,792. The day after the election, Regina, in excellent spirits, called me up and told me she wouldn't be challenging the results or even running again.

I just got off the phone with her. She's running in the November general election as a write-in Democratic candidate. "When I lost the Democratic primary on July 20," she began, "I had no thought or inkling that I would even consider qualifying as a write-in candidate. With 42% of the vote and barely raising the amount to run a viable campaign... it wasn't a bad showing. But my thoughts were of the people in the district, a district that has been represented by a "Blue Dog" Democrat for the last 6 years and the residents of the district, my friends and neighbors. So many people asked me to run as an Independent-- not an option for this Democrat-- then there were others who said be a 'write-in'... something to consider. At least I would still be a Democrat. I had to weigh the pros and cons. What did I have to lose? How would this affect the outcome of the general election and, most important, how would it effect the people here? One thing I do know-- a Republican cannot win the 12th and since we are already represented by a 'blue dog'-- what do we have to lose? My conscience would not allow me to think of anything else but the district and how we have suffered. I for one do not like to wonder, bite my nails or hold my breath to see if the 'blue dog' would turn 'yellow' and vote with the party. How can we trust a politician that will campaign one way-- say what they will do/support then do the exact opposite?

"It is past time that we bring back trust between those elected and the people back home. It is time to have a representative with integrity whose word is their bond. It is past time to have a representative who cares for the whole district and votes for what is right and not what is popular or just to get elected.

"I am first and foremost a Democrat, a true public servant who has the desire to serve-- even when my own party will not support me. As I have said, this is not about me; it's about being able to trust who is elected, it's about we the people, of the people, for the people and by the people. If the GA 12th is ready for a true Democrat who is a public servant with integrity-- then you want REGINA, if not then it will be 'politics as usual'."

Far fewer Republicans showed up to vote (27,477 as opposed to almost 34,000 Democrats) in their confusing 4-way race. The winner of the Republican primary Ray McKinney took far fewer votes than Regina, only 11,709, and ended up with 42.6% of the GOP vote. The other candidates, particularly runner-up Carl Smith, hate him and aren't going to be voting for him. The two of them just faced off in a hard-fought primary last week and McKinney won 14,256 (62%) to 8,722 (38%). The bitterness between the two camps in palpable. Nevertheless, the first response to Regina's declaration tomorrow will be that she's a spoiler who will throw the seat to McKinney.

The first journalist to write about the new situation was Dave Weigel, who went right there:

Here’s another reason to be skeptical that Democrats will benefit from Republican infighting and insurgent candidacies: They’re not keeping their own house in order.

...“I’ve had a lot of people asking me to run,” Thomas told me in a phone interview. “The people deserve it. Those who voted for me on July 20, and those who didn’t vote because they didn’t realize I wouldn’t be on the ballot – they deserve a chance to restore some honesty and integrity to the relationship between this district and its representation.”

Thomas’s two runs against Barrow pitted her political base against the national Democratic Party, which intervened for the congressman. Then-candidate Barack Obama even recorded ads for Barrow in 2008. Thomas said she wasn't worried, and that it would be "dishonest" to back Barrow.

“It is what it is,” said Thomas. “You deal with it. You can't let it stop you. Look, if they're pleased with his voting record, with begging him to support the president, with him embarrassing the president with his votes, that's fine. The president does not live in Georgia. They don’t live in Georgia.”

Thomas said that she's "running to win," and doesn't think Republicans have a chance at winning the seat. In Georgia, a candidate who fails to win more than 50 percent of the vote on election day is forced into a runoff. The most likely beneficiary of a situation like that would be GOP candidate Ray McKinney, but Thomas confidently predicted she'd make the runoff and that McKinney had "no chance."

This is all happening in a context of a battle Pelosi is working furiously to tamp down: Democrats vs Blue Dogs. Russell Berman and Molly Hooper interviewed Henry Waxman for The Hill last week and he spat out some positions that are as impolitic as they are clear headed. I hear the coverage at DWT ruffled some feathers from our serious friends Inside the Beltway. Steven Dennis at Roll Call has been sniffing around the story and reports that Waxman has walked back his anti-Blue Dog howl in the night and that Barney has "clarified" his tirade as well.

While Waxman’s comments earned rave reviews from some left-wing bloggers, Blue Dogs fumed. They sought a rebuke from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and wanted a public apology from Waxman.

Waxman instead wrote a letter to the editor objecting to how The Hill represented the interview and vowing his support for all incumbents.

“For those who support universal health coverage, clean-energy policies, and economic stimulus for our struggling economy-- as I do-- there can be no bright side to the defeat of any Democratic members of Congress,” Waxman said in the letter.

Pelosi, in an apparent effort to quell the unrest, reiterated to the Democratic Caucus during this week’s special session her support for bringing back every Democrat in November.

“The Speaker’s highest priority is to re-elect every single incumbent Democratic Member of Congress, who have worked to create jobs, restore fiscal discipline and move America forward, not back,” said her spokesman, Nadeam Elshami. “The Speaker has said on numerous occasions: we will not yield one grain of sand.”

However, senior aides for moderate [sic] Democrats told Roll Call that Waxman needs to do more to repair his relationships with Blue Dogs, which they say were already frayed by Waxman’s handling of climate change and health care bills in his committee.

“He needs to pony up,” said one aide who complained that Waxman has been stingy with helping Democrats who opposed the health care and climate change bills. “He needs to demonstrate with his war chest that he wants these Members back.”

“I’d like to line them up and ask him which ones are too ‘difficult’ to come back,” fumed a former senior staffer for moderate Democrats. “Those are the types of things that make it tougher and tougher and tougher for the Democratic Caucus to work together collegially.”

The Waxman kerfuffle is emblematic of the broader fight between the two wings of the Democratic Party; moderates feel leaders like Waxman and Pelosi walked them off a plank for issues like the climate bill that went nowhere in the Senate, while liberals have been frustrated that moderates have slowed or watered down a host of agenda items.

Dennis followed the bright shiny object down the rabbit hole and away from a story I suspect he'll be breaking this week when the Blue Dogs go on the offensive and make a concerted effort to destroy a progressive leader. Stay tuned; this is going to be big.

Endorsement: Regina Thomas (D-GA) For Congress

Today is the primary in Georgia and sleazy Blue Dog John Barrow faces progressive Democrat Regina Thomas. Barrow has collected massive amounts of money-- some of it from Republican fund-raisers-- while virtually ignoring the actual voters. He has consistently refused to debate anyone this year and has hunkered down and hoped his overwhelming corporate money advantage will lead to his re-election. The Atlanta Press Club was absolutely brutal to Barrow this week when he didn't show up at their debate. Regina debated an empty podium with aplomb, humor and a keen grasp on every issue that was thrown her way, from Afghanistan-- she thinks we should have already ended the occupation-- to abortion and No Child Left Behind. If you live in GA-12, please vote today. If you have friends or relatives there, please ask them to consider going out and voting for Regina. Here's the "debate":

Do Democrats Have A Chance To Win Obama Surge Voters This Year?

It's quite a leap for an Obama surge voter to be expected to turn out for a reactionary Blue Dog who virtually always votes against their interests-- like, let's say, John Barrow (D-GA). Today's Washington Post looked at these surge voters and what they found augurs poorly for Blue Dogs in general, and for Blue Dogs in primaries like Barrow in particular. Keep in mind that Obama won GA-12 (a stretch of eastern Georgia from Augusta to Savannah) 54-45%, after a narrow Bush win in 2004. And a week from this Tuesday, Barrow faces popular African-American former state Senator Regina Thomas. In the 2008 primary Obama endorsed Barrow, who had promised to support healthcare reform. Barrow was one of reform's most treacherous opponents-- voting against healthcare in committee, in countless procedural votes, and all three times when it ultimately mattered-- and this year the silence from the White House has been deafening.

The loyalty many blacks feel to Obama does not always spill over to other Democratic candidates... Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster, warned that not even politically engaged black voters like Kendrix are necessarily going to turn out for Democrats in the fall. "These are Obama voters. These are not Democratic voters," he said. "They are leaning toward Democrats in their views, but these surge voters are not a part of the traditional Democratic voting bloc. That's the big X factor here. We can't turn surge voters out by two weeks of black radio."

Largely ineffectual party organizations like the DNC/OFA, DCCC and DSCC are running around like chickens without heads, wasting money trying to persuade Obama surge voters that dependable John Boehner supporters like Barrow-- as well as Travis Childers (Blue Dog-MS), Bobby Bright (Blue Dog-AL), Frank Kratovil (Blue Dog-MD), Glenn Nye (Blue Dog-VA), Joe Donnelly (Blue Dog-IN), Charlie Melancon (Blue Dog-LA), Brad Ellsworth (Blue Dog-IN), Scott Murphy (Blue Dog-NY), Betsey Markey (Blue Dog-CO) and even non-Blue Dog reactionaries like Suzanne Kosmas (FL), John Adler (NJ), Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ), Harry Teague (NM), Tom Perriello (VA), Michael McMahon (NY), and Larry Kissell (NC)-- merit support. Their spurious case is that although these congressmembers have consistently voted against the interests of working families, some through corruption (like Kosmas and Adler), some through ideology (like Childers, Ellsworth and Bright), some through cowardice and confusion (like Kissell, Perriello and Markey), and others, like Barrow, from a combination of all these factors, African-Americans should do the knee-jerk shuffle down to the polling places and vote for them again. If it doesn't work, and it looks like it won't, Democrats in the House could well be giving up their primo parking spots and corner offices to make way for Speaker Boehner and his team. Career criminal Darrell Issa is already promising to hire a team of investigators to tie up the presidency for the second half of what is likely to be Obama's single somewhat wretched term.

Is there anything Americans can do to prevent this national calamity? Clearly, following the lead of clueless and compromised Inside the Beltway Democrats, many of whom are as corrupt and venal as the Republicans, is the wrong way to go. A week from Tuesday Barrow faces a day of reckoning in the Georgia primary. In November-- with a disillusioned and listless Democratic base-- his brand of Republican-lite conservatism will have no chance against a real Republican. That can be staved off with a defeat on July 20 and a victory for a progressive champion like Regina Thomas. Obama surge voters have far more reason to vote for her than even for the sketchy Obama! (Blue America is running cable TV ads for her now, and we have a page that allows you to pick the program and the town you want to see ads run on, ads that cost as little as $4 and $8 a spot.) Defeating one Blue Dog in one district-- even as reprehensible a cur as Barrow-- isn't going to save Democratic majorities in November. Going on the offense may, although Debbie Wasserman Schultz at the DCCC is preventing that by monopolizing virtually every cent the DCCC has in her sordid incumbent protection racket.

Yesterday Blue America hosted a fired-up and brilliant Democratic candidate, Dr. Fred Johnson, ex-marine and current professor, in a live blogging session at Crooks and Liars. While looking at his responses to questions, I tweeted this:


By all means go back and read the transcript. This is exactly the kind of race progressives need to get involved with. First of all, Johnson-- unlike conservatives like Barrow and the lot listed above-- is a smart, working-family-oriented problem-solver. Second, he is exactly the kind of candidate who will inspire Obama surge voters to come to the polls, not stay away from them. Michigan's Second Congressional District has been thought of as a deeply red hellhole. It isn't, and this year the seat is open as the lame incumbent tries for higher office. But where Gore only managed 38% in 2000 and Kerry 39% in 2004, Obama surge voters left McCain with a meager 51% victory in 2008. And if Republicans keep screeching on behalf of their Big Oil contributors about drilling for oil in the Great Lakes-- the source of drinking water for 40 million Americans-- the kinds of environmentally friendly independents who determine winners and losers in MI-02 are not going to vote for Republicans in November. Johnson's response to a question by Digby about Republicans wanting to drill in the Great Lakes was unambiguous and forthright, leaving no doubt whatsoever where he stands on the issue, even if corporate shills on both sides of the aisle-- what better pair of posterchildren for this than Louisiana crooks David Vitter (R) and Mary Landrieu (D)?-- do all they can to confuse the issue and try coming across on both sides of it. Fred Johnson:

I talk about the windpower potential of the lakeshore with voters all the time. There is some NIMBYism out there, and I am cognizant of the local concerns relative to tourism. However, we have to get serious about this, or Big Oil will definitely come after the Lakes. I'm continually amazed that as a vast body of water is being destroyed by Big Oil there are still those who behave as though the threat from drilling was an issue that needed further study. We must become energy independent. We must start as soon as possible. We must begin the process of transitioning from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources and support the President's efforts to build a "Green" economy.

Drilling in the Great Lakes IS NOT THE SOLUTION TO ACHIEVING ANY OF THOSE AIMS IN THE SHORT OR LONG TERM. Further, suggesting such a thing only serves to validate the extent of Big Oil's influence in government. Enough!!!

And Fred is far more than a package of answers to policy questions. The man is an inspirational figure who inspires confidence because of his instincts and the way his mind works. In response to a question about the book he wrote on Tupac Shakur's life, he talked about examining "the social and historical contexts of the period that inspired the music, dictated the method and degree of the music's impact, and determined where, and to what, extent Tupac's bold lyrics and his occasionally misguided behavior made him such a powerful representative of the realities and struggles existing in urban America from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s."

Writing Tupac's biography reinforced my already acute awareness of the need to continue the fight against poverty, homelessness, joblessness, and the despair among young people. It also presented a grim opportunity to compare how the actions of Wall Street criminals in the 1980s had wreaked havoc on the economy and working people just as the “Street's” criminals have done in the 21st century. What was especially interesting was discovering the extent to which right wing ideologues had been intentional and relentless in their steady prosecution of an over three decade assault on the middle class, working families, and America's most cherished democratic institutions for the benefit of moneyed special interests. Their methods of distorting truth, destroying the nation's manufacturing base, and distracting people from the urgent issues of the day with endless debate on cultural controversies, and the overall attempt to shrink and hobble the federal government so that it literally has great difficulty responding to catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina or the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are not new. Tupac, in his own way, knew about them and he, at least, had the guts to challenge those in power.

The DNC, DCCC and DSCC may be hopeless, but Democrats and progressives can make headway despite them. Supporting candidates like Regina Thomas and Fred Johnson is a vital component of accomplishing that. Both of them-- as well as progressive opponents to other worthless hacks, from Michele Bachmann and John Boehner to Tim Griffin and Virginia Foxx-- are on this page. Anyone there you'd care to help win a seat?

John Boehner Is The Only Kind Of Abortion Conservatives Like

Good news for anyone who'd like to see women pushed back into the servile social position Bronze Age patriarchs created for them through their brutal, self-serving mythology. Ohio Congressman John Boehner, having just led House conservatives in denying unemployment benefits to millions of Americans-- and probably to a politically expedient economic slowdown-- now plans an assault on women's right to Choice. And, as he noted, because the DCCC has been so spectacularly successful in destroying primary candidacies of pro-Choice progressives while pushing forward hopelessly conservative anti-Choice fanatics, Boehner may have the numbers he needs to deal the crippling blow to women the right has been attempting for years.

Saturday Boehner, whose aim is to replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, delivered a fanatic rant at an annual anti-Choice convention in Pittsburgh and promised new legislation that would ban all federal funding for abortion. "The American people-- and a bipartisan majority in the House-- supported the Stupak amendment," brayed Boehner, "which would have prohibited taxpayer funding of abortion through the health care bill. [But] instead of heeding the will of the people and a bipartisan majority, [President Obama and Democratic leaders] crafted a disingenuous, last-minute executive order that they claimed eliminated the need for pro-life protections... I believe this must be the next objective for pro-life America.  It’s clear from the health care debate that the American people don’t want their tax dollars paying for abortion, and a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives agrees.  It’s the will of the people, and it ought to be the law of the land-- right now."

Last week Hoyer, the DNC, OFA, the DCCC and the whole Democratic Inside-the-Beltway Establishment stood firmly behind Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT) as he struggled to retain the Democratic Party nomination for the November election. Last November, he was one of 64 Democrats voting with Boehner to pass the Stupak Amendment to the healthcare reform bill. No one talked about Mathson's vote because his default position on virtually every contentious issue is to follow Boehner's lead. He ran against a progressive pro-Choice woman with no funding whatsoever. No pro-choice congressional leaders came to her assistance; they were all on Matheson's side. This is something that has been playing itself out-- and continues to play itself out-- everywhere in the country. The DCCC and the Democratic Establishment just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to elect conservative, anti-Choice, anti-gay fanatic Mark Critz in Pennsylvania. He may be wearing the right color jersey but he's already proven himself a devoted Boehner Boy, crossing the aisle on every important vote since being sworn in on May 20.

His first vote in Congress, to congratulate the University of Texas mens swimming and diving team for winning the NCAA Division I national championship, was a vote with his own party-- and it passed 405-0. And the Democrats have been able to count on Critz on votes like that. The important ones... not so much. His first vote on a contentious proposal was Patrick Murphy's amendment to the Defense Authorization Act which will lead to the repeal of DADT. Making clear to anyone who hadn't been paying attention that the DCCC had just wasted a fortune on electing another vicious bigot to Congress, Critz joined Boehner, all but 5 of the Republicans and a couple dozen homophobic Blue Dogs to oppose Murphy's legislation. He's also been voting with the GOP to recommit (kill) major legislation, like the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act and voted outright against the DISCLOSE Act last week, one of 36 Democrats who nearly tanked the bill that is meant to take some of the corrupt practices Critz-watchers knew he is so eager to immerse himself in out of politics. As Boehner talked yesterday about taking away Choice from American women, you could almost see Mark Critz's image dancing in the orange glow around his forehead.

Like I mentioned above, even before the DCCC managed to slide Critz into the western Pennsylvania House seat, there were 64 hardcore anti-Choice Democratic votes (the miscreants who voted to pass Stupak). And, like in the case of Matheson, the DCCC and Obama are supporting each one of them who is getting a challenge from a grassroots progressive back home. (Well, the DCCC and Obama aren't supporting Parker Griffith; right after voting against Choice, he jumped the fence and changed into a red jersey.) Right now Blue America is trying to help raise money for three primary challengers running against the anti-Choicers Boehner is counting on to help him put another nail in the coffin of women's Choice. These are the races:

Regina Thomas vs John Barrow (Blue Dog-GA)
Jim Wilson vs Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK)
Mac D'Alessandro vs Stephen Lynch (MA)

Each of the Blue America candidates is a staunch supporter of Choice and each incumbent is an anti-Choice voter who John Boehner will be calling on to help the GOP bring back the bad old days of back-alley abortions. I wish this issue was as important to the progressive "movement" at large as it is to Digby, John and I. Is it important to you? Today (for the next 24 hours) everyone who donates to one of these 3 candidates at the page linked above gets entered in a drawing to win an autographed copy of the 2-disc deluxe concert film, Melissa Etheridge, Live... And Alone. Just contribute to one of the campaigns through the ActBlue pages in the links and you'll have a chance to win the DVD set. There's no minimum; any amount is fine and any amount will help put a progressive Democrat in the House instead of an anti-Choice Boehner-boy.

Regina Thomas, a former state legislator, first a House member then a Senator, representing Savannah, was sickened by Boehner's divisive call for anti-Choice legislation. This morning she told us it's "cowardly to pick on women and our choices. Do something meaningful and let the voters see that you are there for America and not just to get re-elected on non-issues." And, of course, she's running against someone who is one of the original Boehner-boys and who votes with Boehner against Democratic ideals and values every chance he gets-- especially against women.

It is hard to believe that these fanatics would address this issue (Women's' Choice) at a time when Congress needs to come together to fix the ills of our economy. Instead of addressing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to bring our troops home, or addressing the horrific "No Child Left Behind" and the unfunded mandate that has our educators and children thinking that they are inadequate and failing; instead of addressing the BP Oil spill and banning offshore oil drilling what do they do???? Attack women. Women we are under seige!

The 'so-called' "right" feels that it is better to attack us-- whom they consider the "Weaker Sex", than to address the real issues. This is a News Flash!!! Gentlemen-- we can take care of ourselves-- we can make our own decisions and choices-- we do not need your interference. I have a few suggestions if you do not have anything else to do: 1) Repeal the tax cuts that were given to so many BIG Industries; 2) Put the public option back in the Health Care Bill; 3) Take care of our environment with clean energy solutions and not delusional attempts; 4) Make Social Security Solvent again and stop borrowing from it; 5) Help Homeowners keep their homes by passing real restrictions on Financial Institutions and stop the extraordinary high interest rates; 6) Take care of our Military men, women and their families and bring our troops home; 7) Stop campaigning on DADT because it is an election year and do what is right; 8) Pass a Hate Crimes bill that has some teeth in it.

Sunday Best-- Regina Thomas vs John Barrow

Even though John Barrow-- despite the incumbent protection racket atmosphere that usually trumps all other considerations in DC-- has been unable to raise money from fellow Democrats this cycle, he's still rolling in corporate cash. [Note that the worst of the Inside-the-Beltway corporate shills, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Steny Hoyer plus fellow Blue Dog scum Allen Boyd and Collin Peterson were among the 10 members who did donate to Barrow.] Barrow, probably the most hated congressional Democrat in his own district has already spent $339,652 and has $825,221 on hand to deploy for the July 20 primary against Regina Thomas, who's raised just over $23,000, almost half of it from Blue America supporters.

With just 4 weeks to go, Blue America is still collecting money for Regina-- you can donate directly to be campaign here-- but we're doing something else as well too. We've created a 30 second TV ad and we've started running it in parts of her district. We don't have the money it would take to blanket the big markets, like Savannah and Augusta so we're concentrating on some of the other markets, smaller ones where Regina isn't as well known.

Jacquie, the Blue America media buyer, didn't like the idea of missing the Savannah and Augusta markets-- so she came up with a brilliant idea. You know what American Idol is, right? Well, there's a gospel version of that show which is every bit as popular in GA-12, especially with the kind of family-oriented, churchgoing women Regina will need to turn out on election day if she's going to beat Barrow. The show is on BET and it's called Sunday Best. Tonight is the finale, which pits 79-year-old Elder Goldwire McLendon of Philadelphia against 27-year-old LeAndria Johnson from Orlando. (The video below was LeAndria's original non-televised audition.) Last weekend we ran our spots in every single GA-12 market, including all the Savannah and Augusta cable areas. Tonight we're doing the same thing-- thanks to the Blue America donors.

The 12 week reality show is hosted by Kirk Franklin and includes 3 judges, Tina Campbell of Mary Mary, Pastor Donnie McClurkin, and Yolanda Adams. The winner gets a recording contract, a new car, a $300,000 prize package benefiting his or her community and, of course, the title "Sunday Best." I wish both contestants lots of luck tonight and I hope the show has a record viewership. We've already paid in advance for our advertising. We're still buying spots for CNN, Comedy Central, Food Network, MSNBC and so on. And you can buy spots yourself-- in fact, I hope you will... right here. The least expensive spot we're offering is just $4.00. If you're an HGTV fan though, you know Curb Appeal is a Georgia-based series. In Milledgeville it only costs $8.00 to get our ad on the air. It's fifty cents more to sponsor an ad on the Food Network's Down Home With The Neeleys in Augusta. More traditional advertising slots are also available for shows on CNN or Colbert's program, Rachel Maddow's, Olbermann's or... the Daily Show. Take a look.

Have You Ever Bought A TV Ad For A Progressive Challenger? $4 Is All It Takes!

July 20 is primary day in Georgia and our old friend, state Sen. Regina Thomas faces off, once again, against reactionary anti-health care Blue Dog John Barrow. Except President Obama has declined to support Barrow this year. In 2008, with Barrow swearing to support a family oriented agenda-- including health care reform-- Obama cut a radio spot for him that clearly won him the primary. Obama was sorely disappointed when Barrow's already dismal career-long ProgressivePunch score (55.10) sank to an eye-popping 35.37 for 2009-10.

Although the White House is only withholding support-- and not actively campaigning against Barrow-- Democrats in DC have signaled that they would like to see him lose his seat. Respected Majority Whip Jim Clyburn traveled to Augusta this month-- against Barrow's howls of protest-- to speak in favor of health care reform and other Democratic issues Barrow joined the GOP to oppose. Barrow boycotted Clyburn's appearance, which was attended by Regina Thomas and a bevy of Democratic lawmakers and community leaders. Yesterday the ineffective state Democratic Party chair, Jane Kidd, decried the fact that almost all the local party leaders are supporting Regina. At Barrow's behest she's been demanding they resign from their party posts if they don't, at least, shut up about Barrow's glaring shortcomings.

The Associated Press obtained a letter Democratic chairwoman Jane Kidd sent to county chairmen in Barrow's southern Georgia district, where some party leaders have said publicly the congressman's vote against President Obama's health care overhaul has angered core Democrats... Kidd's letter says criticizing Barrow while he seeks re-election violates state Democratic bylaws that require party officials to refrain from taking sides in contested primaries.

"Any of you wishing to continue this type of activity are required by our Charter and Bylaws to resign any official position with the Democratic Party of Georgia immediately," says Kidd's letter, dated June 1.

...Thomas said the Democratic chairwoman has no standing to tell other party officials to butt out of the race. She said Kidd called her in 2008 to try to discourage her from running against Barrow.

Grassroots support within GA-12 for Barrow, who fled to Savannah a couple of years ago when his own Athens-based district was gerrymandered to elect a Republican, has virtually collapsed. He's never been viewed as anything but an opportunist and interloper and many community leaders see the July 20th primary as a way of getting rid of him.

Blue America is running a TV campaign against Barrow-- with a twist. We're urging progressives who would like to replace him with Regina to buy specific cable TV ads in specific markets. Ads range from BET's Lift Every Voice in Milledgeville ($4.00) through the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC in Savannah ($35.70) and the Colbert Show on Comedy Central in Savannah ($42.50) to USA's In Plain Sight in Savannah ($85.00) and Sunday Best on BET in Augusta ($150). Donors can run one show one time or as many as a dozen times. Please take a look at all the options and please consider helping Regina win this one. And here's the 30 second spot:

Primary Season: Next Up-- NC Runoff + Georgia, Utah & Oklahoma

Moment of triumph for Arkansas progressives- Joyce Elliott beats Robbie Wills

The U.S. Senate would have been considerably less reactionary-- and less a vehicle for wealthy and corrupt corporate interests-- but Blanche Lincoln won a close reelection race last night. There isn't a lot we know about Bill Halter and I doubt he would have turned out to be some kind of a progressive knight in shining armor but there is one thing we do know about him: he's not Blanche Lincoln. His first priority was never going to be to kill the Estate Tax or try to undercut Democrats at every turn-- from Social Security and healthcare reform to Employee Free Choice. Lincoln has had a disgraceful and hackish career even when she was just a slimy Blue Dog in the House using another name (Blanche Lambert). Watching her seemlessly transition to K Street would have been more than natural. But, alas, she'll still be forcing the Senate Democrats to water down every bill and make each even less family friendly and more in line with her corporate donors' avaricious self interest. Unless-- as is very likely-- she loses in November to corporate shill GOP slob John Boozman.

There was some excellent news out of Arkansas as well. Proven progressive leader Joyce Elliott beat conservative hack Robbie Wills in the second C.D. (Little Rock) and will now face Karl Rove crooked protege Tim Griffin. Please give her a hand (and whatever you can afford). She's a Blue America endorsed candidate and you can donate here. She'll need the help. If she wins in November she'll be the first African American elected from Arkansas since the mid-1800s.

But there's no getting around the tremendous loss last night in California's 36th district, where voters decided to give reactionary warmonger Jane Harman another term instead of doing the sensible thing and electing Marcy Winograd. We'll just have to learn to fight harder and smarter. In the end, Marcy took 41.2% of the vote.

But primary season is far from over and there are still plenty of messages Inside-the-Beltway Democrats need to hear. The next key races coming up to focus on are the North Carolina Senate primary runoff that pits progressive champion Elaine Marshall, the front-runner, against an ambitious but unaccomplished empty suit being pushed by Bob Menendez. That comes up June 22 and yesterday Durham Mayor Bill Bell endorsed her. This past weekend the National Federation of Democratic Women announced she has been selected as the Outstanding Democratic Woman Elected Official for 2010. Former opponent, Ken Lewis, the guy who came in third, not only endorsed her; he joined her campaign as chairman! Please consider adding your support here.

That same day, the 22nd, Utah Democrats have the most exciting and meaningful primary the've had in my memory when progressive champion Claudia Wright faces struggling Blue Dog incumbent Jim Matheson. Matheson has asked the voters to look at his record and she is responding to that challenge.

"Matheson has shown little if no leadership in his 10 years in office and the Second District deserves better" Claudia told us. "I believe he voted for the repeal of DADT simply due to the fact that I am in this race... [and] the fact that he attended the Grand Marshal Reception for Pride the weekend, something he has never done, shows he is pandering the base." Matheson appeared like a fish out of water at the reception unable to interact with anyone there. He left before the annual Pride Awards were presented and skipped the actual parade at Washington Park entirely. Claudia was given the opportunity to address Pride, and took part in the Pride Parade and was welcomed with rousing applause at every turn.

"I also question the timing of his introducing the two wilderness bills this last month, one of which trades land destroyed by off road vehicles and snowmobiles at the Snowbird Ski Resort for pristine wilderness." she said. And at a press conference on Monday, she questioned his statement last week "that we need to look at safety issues when it comes to deep water oil rigs," as too little too late. "He has been on the Subcommittee for Energy and Environment for ten years, where has his leadership been?" Energy companies know exactly where-- and have been very grateful.

Following a successful fundraiser Monday evening, Claudia is now heading out on her Wright Way Tour throughout the sprawling Second District to meet with voters and tell them of her pledge to revisit them each month from DC to share ideas and issues with them, something Matheson doesn't seem to believe it-- and certainly doesn't do.

And that brings us to July, a month with two important races for anyone interested in taking the Democratic Party back from corporately funded conservative Blue Dogs. Both races pit proven progressive state legislators against 2 of the most reactionary Democrats in Congress, John Barrow and Dan Boren. In GA-12 we see a re-match with former state Senator Regina Thomas, except this year Barrow doesn't have the support of President Obama like he did when he lied his way back into office in 2008. Although Barrow is running a well-financed media campaign, Regina has a grassroots operation and the power of constituent rage over Barrow's attempt to undermine healthcare reform and other initiatives backed by President Obama and the constituents who Barrow has routinely ignored in favor of his country club friends who vote for the Republicans anyway.

The following week (July 27) anti-health care fanatic Dan Boren is facing Oklahoma state Senator Jim Wilson, a healthcare reform champion. It is also a classic battle between an outrageously corrupt and entrenched incumbent an a reform-minded clean government type. Like Matheson, Boren has wormed his way onto natural resources committees where he's in line to get tremendous bribes-- disguised as campaign contributions (he's the #1 House member, including Republicans, on the payroll of Big Oil in this cycle!)-- and sabotage effective regulation of the predatory corporate instincts of his paymasters.

You can help us defeat Matheson, Barrow and Boren-- and replace them with Claudia Wright, Regina Thomas and Jim Wilson-- at Blue America's Blue Dog page




UPDATE: Notable California Republican Primary Races

For all their bluster, the Southern California teabaggers completely flamed out, the same way all the statewide teabagger candidates flopped-- Poizner (26.9%), birther queen Orly Taitz (25.7%), and Chuck DeVore (19.0%)-- did. They all lost against the incumbents, although Jerry Lewis and Gary Miller both had unpleasant surprises. In Lewis 41st CD, Eric Stone, the guy who was afraid to campaign against Lewis lest he get whacked, wound up with just over a third of the vote. Imagine if he had campaigned. The final was:

Jerry Lewis- 65.9%
Eric Stone- 34.1%

Pat Meagher, the progressive Democrat running-- with no opposition-- drew 20,607 votes, compared to Lewis' 28,025.

In the 42nd CD crooked conservative Gary Miller had to contend with three teabaggers and they managed to keep him under 50%! The final vote:

Gary Miller- 49.0%
Phil Liberatore- 37.2%
Lee McGroarty- 10.7%
David Su- 3.1%

My highest hopes for a surprise was in the 44th CD (Riverside/Orange counties), where we expect Bill Hedrick to win in November. But conservative Chris Riggs ran a good-- if underfunded-- campaign against Ken Calvert from the right and managed to mobilize church-goers and teabaggers for a respectable showing:

Ken Calvert- 66.6%
Chris Riggs- 33.4%

Conventional wisdom-- and teabagger ravings-- had predicted a close call for corporate shill Mary Bono Mack-- a supporter of the two Bush bailouts and cap-and-trade but the 45th CD Republicans largely stayed with her, although she's likely to be ousted by conservative Democrat Steve Pougnet in November. Last night's finals:

Mary Bono Mack- 70.4%
Clayton Thibodeau- 29.6%

The only other GOP primary I was watching closely was in the 19th CD, where Dirty Dick Pombo was trying to a comeback and had the support of many of his old colleagues and, of course, every major polluter in America. He came in a distant third:

Jeff Denham- 36.4%
Jim Patterson- 30.4%
Dick Pombo- 20.8%
Larry Westerlund- 12.4%

Unions, Our Progressive Allies-- Take Two, Georgia Episode

Like I said the other day, unions aren't always dependable progressive allies. It looks like John Barrow has gotten to the Georgia statewide AFL-CIO's Richard Ray. You might find this Communications Workers of America letter as interesting as I did:

All GA Local Presidents

All GA Retirees' Chapter Presidents

Communications Workers of America

May 26, 2010

 
Dear Presidents,

We attended the GA AFL-CIO COPE Meeting last week. During the discussion pertaining to the GA12th Congressional District, I thought at times this meeting closely resembled one that might be conducted by Rush Limbaugh. We opposed the endorsement of John Barrow, because after telling us he was for Healthcare reform and even campaigned on the need for HC Reform, he did everything he could to defeat the Bill in Congress. It did not matter if it was a procedural vote on the Bill or the actual vote. He was against CWA, our retirees, the AFL-CIO resolved to make healthcare better and more affordable for all Americans, the AMA, the AARP and the Alliance for Retired Americans. In other words, he was for the unsustainable status quo. This is nonsense.
 
I was shocked and extremely disappointed that Richard Ray who chaired the meeting actually entered the debate and actively opposed us while he controlled the gavel. Allowing so much bad information to be published which we were not permitted to refute. Such as Tasso Knight saying since Obama Healthcare was adopted he received a letter from ATT telling him about his premiums would have to go up. Another speaker bringing up the ATT charge back. We were not allowed to refute this misleading garbage. After the fact, Richard did apologize and say he was wrong for speaking. That is like a person picking up a gun intentionally pointing it at another person pulling the trigger and say I apologize I was wrong.

The President of the Savannah Central Labor Council, told us that not a single member of that labor council supported John Barrow. They are the 12th Congressional District of GA. This endorsement is unbelievable.
 
Regina Thomas his opponent in the Democratic Primary has been a strong ally and friend of working families, retirees, and senior citizens in both Houses of the GA General Assembly. Her word is the bond.

Thanks for the many, many, many good things in the Healthcare Bill! The efforts of John Barrow to the contrary notwithstanding.
 
I will talk with you all very soon.
 
Thanks,
James Starr
Political Coordinator
GA CWA Retired Members
President Metro Atlanta
Chapter (30901)

At least Obama won't be endorsing Barrow this time. According to the DNC, the president won't be cutting spots for any Democrats who voted against healthcare reform. That's good for Regina Thomas, good for Jim Wilson and good for Claudia Wright, all of whose campaigns you can find on Blue America's BadDogs page.

And if you'd like to see this video on the air in Savannah, Vidalia, Statesboro, Augusta, Milledgeville... even in Screven County and Glascock County, stick some money into the Blue America PAC slot.




UPDATE: I Wonder If Richard Ray Reads The NY Times

Today's Times covers organized labor's valiant fight to hold the corrupt and reactionary Blanche Lincoln accountable. She's certainly is neither more corrupt nor more reactionary than Barrow. And they are both equally opposed to the legitimate aspirations of working families. But it looks like Ray was able to override the wishes of working Georgians while the national leadership was busy in Arkansas.

The unions have made the race here the centerpiece of a new effort to hold union-backed candidates accountable for their votes after they are elected.

The push is fueled by a frustration that goes back years but that peaked in the health care debate and in the failure of the Democratic-led Senate to bring far-reaching pro-union legislation to the floor. Even as unions lose members and bargaining power across the country, their campaign against Mrs. Lincoln shows that they are determined to flex their political muscles more than ever before.

“We’re sending a message here,” said Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America. “Our members have had it-- not just in Arkansas, they have had it across this country.”

Hopefully someone will tell Richard Ray.

Inside The Beltway Stalinism Crumbling?

[Wander down to the bottom of this post to find out how you can win a k.d. lang platinum album award without having to read about what a destructive jerk Rahm Emanuel is.]


This morning CQPolitics made the case that the out-of-touch, Inside-the-Beltway, Stalinist party organs are shattering. If it turns out to bee true, it would be a blow in favor of participatory, grassroots democracy. Insiders blame everything from a lack of an easily identifiable (and galvanizing fiend), like Bush, to the recession, but the conventional wisdom is that "[t]he inability of Washington Democrats to shape the political playing field has grown more acute with the onset of the primary campaign season," meaning, in effect, that the Beltway types are starting to recognize what everyone in America has seen all year.

Veteran Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania could find themselves out of a job at this time next week, the victims of restless Democratic primary voters and activists who no longer take their cues from the national party establishment in Washington.

Unlike the previous two election cycles, when Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill cleared the field for their incumbents and muscled preferred primary candidates to the nomination in targeted seats, 2010 has witnessed a dramatic slide in party influence beyond the Beltway. Not only are the Arkansas and Pennsylvania incumbents vulnerable in primaries, but the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s hand-picked candidate in North Carolina also is in trouble.

...In Pennsylvania, Specter is fighting Rep. Joe Sestak one year after leaving the Republican Party to avoid an uphill primary battle against former Rep. Pat Toomey. Specter was immediately embraced and backed by President Obama, and the DSCC is now working overtime to salvage his campaign. Specter is running even with Sestak after leading by wide margins just a few months ago.

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey said he expects Specter to win the May 18 primary, adding that the incumbent is working hard and always expected a tough race. Casey won a contested Democratic primary in 2006, but his nomination was never in doubt after Schumer worked to clear out any serious competition.

Yes, Schumer at the DSCC and Emanuel at the DCCC were the heart and soul of insider, anti-grassroots Democratic Party Stalinism-- although Schumer messed up and failed miserably in Montana, where his corporate shill was beaten back by Jon Tester, who went on to beat the Republican corporate shill in November; and Rahm messed up when his signature shill, a bona fide corrupt Republican who Rahm persuaded to change party affiliation-- i.e., jersey color-- days before the primary, Tim Mahoney, got hoist on a petard of delicious irony, ceding the seat back to a red jersey wearing Republican.

Ignoring the shock this past weekend of stalwart grassroots progressive Claudia Wright standing up to reactionary Blue Dog incumbent Jim Matheson and Emanuelist Steny Hoyer in Salt Lake City... and prevailing, the Village is certain that "[t]he first shot across the bow came May 11 in West Virginia, where 14-term Rep. Alan Mollohan fell in the 1st district Democratic primary to state Sen. Mike Oliverio, who hit the incumbent for supporting health care overhaul on his way to a 12-point victory." Always the comfortable default position for Villagey wisdom-- the loser was "too liberal," even when he's a conservative, like Mollahan is, and when the whole campaign was about how incredibly corrupt he is. No room for primaries against Blue Dogs and other conservatives by progressives in that narrative! This morning Greg Sargent at the Washington Post at least came close, closer than anyone else in the DC press corps, to getting the narrative right about the anti-incumbent-- rather than an anti-progressive-- mood. And yesterday's Macon Telegraph was clearly sensing what barnacles like David Broder and Charlie Cook will try to explain in retrospect. Furthering what Sargent alluded to, there is room in the anti-incumbent fervour for insurrgent progressives to oust reactionaries like John Barrow.

Rep. John Barrow's vote against health care in Congress has cost the Georgia Democrat key support within his own party, from officials quietly withholding endorsements to one party leader calling for his defeat.

While other Democrats up for re-election are being targeted by Republicans for passing President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in March, Barrow faces backlash for his "no" vote from fellow Democrats in southern Georgia... Democrats fuming over the three-term congressman's vote will have a chance to vent their anger in the July 20 primary, when Barrow faces a rematch with Democratic challenger Regina Thomas, a former state senator.

"We are very angry about the way John Barrow has sold us down the river," said John Brewer, Democratic Party chairman for rural Montgomery County. "I will go to the polls on primary day and I will vote, but it won't be for John Barrow."

...[S]ome Democrats say Barrow went too far in alienating his own party and Obama on health care, particularly for many black leaders to justify supporting him. Black voters make up 41 percent of Barrow's constituents, and account for a solid majority in Democratic primary races. It's unknown whether Obama will weigh in with an endorsement.

State Rep. Mickey Stephens, a black Democrat from Savannah, made the rounds of local churches stumping for Barrow in past campaigns. However, Stephens refrained from taking sides in Barrow's 2008 primary race with Thomas.

This year, Stephens is openly supporting Thomas in the Democratic primary. Barrow's health vote, he says, wasn't just the last straw - it "was a piece of timber."

"Most African-Americans are under-insured or don't have insurance at all. They need it the most," Stephens said. "John didn't just turn his back. He turned his back and ducked on this vote."

Two other black lawmakers who endorsed Barrow in the 2008 primary have backed off this year. State Rep. Bob Bryant of Garden City says he's now supporting Thomas. State Rep. Quincy Murphy of Augusta said, while he's unhappy with Barrow's health vote, he hasn't decided whether to endorse either candidate.

It's much easier for Villagers to deal with the defeat of conservative Republican Bob Bennett at the hands of a Glenn Beck/Dick Armey-backed teabagger (who wound up coming in second to an even more deranged teabagger) than it is to talk about Claudia Wright's low budget success against Matheon and Hoyer, something the Village is just absolutely not willing to talk about. Wright, a great great granddaughter of Brigham Young, prevented Matheson from winning the Democratic Party endorsement and could actually beat him in the June 22 Utah primary. (Please give her a hand at the Blue America anti-Blue Dog page.) Yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune reported a further worry for Matheson, one that could doom his re-election hopes-- Operation Chaos, Utah style:

Some Utah Republicans who harbor hopes of taking a congressional seat that a Democrat has held for a decade are raising the possibility of crossing over to vote for the candidate they perceive as the weakest in the Democrats' open primary.

State Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, became a topic on KSL Radio's Doug Wright Show on Tuesday after he posted a Facebook suggestion that Republicans vote for Claudia Wright over five-term Congressman Jim Matheson in the June 22 Democratic primary. While Utah Republicans reserve the primary vote to registered party members, Democrats have an open primary that enables independent voters-- with no declared party affiliation-- to vote.

Wright has a great deal of momentum against a Republican-voting Democrat whose only real asset among Democratic primary voters is father's name, and she could very well beat Matheson with or without Winner's version of Operation Chaos. "[S]he believes she has enough interests in common with moderate Republicans and "tea party" activists-- starting with opposition to bank bailouts-- to win the district" and says Republicans are more afraid of Matheon's massive corporate warchest than anything else.

When Wright's BadDogs page hits $2,000 I'm going to pull the name of a contributor out of a hat and send them a Blue America thank you in the form of an RIAA-certified platinum award disc for k.d. lang's Ingenue.