Identity Politics Rearing Its Ugly Head Again-- In Hawaii, Michigan And California

This week, EMILY's List dropped a last minute $17,441 into an independent expenditure for the extremely conservative candidate they're supporting in Honolulu, Donna Mercado Kim. Many elderly ladies who remember when EMILY's List was founded by Ellen Malcolm 30 years ago don't realize EMILY's List has swung from being a basically progressive organization to being one of the most conservative and untrustworthy elements in the Democratic coalition. "We don't care about anything except electing pro-choice women to office," they use as their excuse for backing absolutely horrible conservatives most of the time-- even when their conservative candidate, like Kim, isn't even really pro-Choice. It's identity politics at its ugliest. EMILY's List is backing Kim because Kim is a woman. Other candidates in the race are much more pro-choice than Kim but… well, that's EMILY's List 2014. Maybe EMILY's List should have consulted with the Patsy T. Mink PAC, which is Hawaii's progressive version of EMILY's List. They have never once endorsed the conservative Donna Kim in her 30 years of politics. There's a reason for that.

Last week we looked at how progressive Congressman Mark Takano threw his progressive cred to the winds, lied to the Congressional Progressive Caucus that another conservative, Mark Takai is somehow not a conservative despite a record that proves he is, and tricked them into backing someone based on an ethnic kinship-- Takai and Takano both being Japanese-American. More ugly identity politics.

Today I got a letter from a former Blue America-endorsed Michigan congressional candidate, Syed Taj, from the 11th district. He's a Muslim and last cycle when he could have beaten insane teabagger Kerry Bentovolio, except that anti-Muslim sleaze bag Steve Israel refused to allow the DCCC to help him. So he lost. This year, Israel is trying to insert some ex-CIA agent, Bobby MacKenzie, as the Democratic nominee. Dr. Taj's letter this morning urged me to support another MD, Anil Kumar. I spoke with Kumar a few months ago. He seemed like a nice enough man but, unlike Taj, there was absolutely nothing about him that qualified him for public office, especially not as a Democrat. He and Taj, though, have some identity politics between them.

But the one that really took the cake for identity politics this week wasn't religious, or gender-oriented or ethnic. It was mayoral-- the very conservative, fake-Democratic mayor of San Jose, Chuck Reed, endorsing the Republican mayor of Fresno, Ashley Swearengin, for state Comptroller against a superbly qualified Democrat, Betty Yee. "Ashley Swearengin and I have worked together as part of the Big Ten Mayors, a bipartisan group organized to focus on statewide issues impacting our residents and taxpayers," said Reed. Swearengin’s "focus is not on partisan politics, but rather on getting the job done right. I’m proud to support her."

Reed’s decision to give the cold shoulder to Betty Yee, the state Board of Equalization member who is the Democrats’ choice in the Nov. 4 race, shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Reed, who has always been well out on the conservative edge of the Democratic Party, is termed out of office this year and has even less reason now to go blue.

Even before Reed was elected in a landslide back in 2006, local Democrats grumbled that the Air Force veteran and land-use attorney was way too conservative for the South Bay. But with San Jose on the brink of financial disaster, voters liked his tough stand on public spending and re-elected him with 77 percent of the vote in 2010.

But when Reed persuaded San Jose voters in 2012 to pass Measure B, which called for city workers to pay more into their pension fund and required a citywide vote before retirement benefits could be increased, labor unions howled and filed lawsuits that are still making their way through the courts. And when Reed pushed for a statewide initiative allowing cities and other government agencies to cut future pensions in a fiscal emergency, Democratic leaders joined their labor allies in loud opposition.

Reed ended up suing Democratic state Attorney General Kamala Harris for what he claimed was a biased title and summary of the initiative written by her office. After losing the court battle, he dropped efforts to put the measure on the 2014 ballot.

Reed said the pension reform was desperately needed because “skyrocketing retirement costs are crowding out funding for essential public services and pushing cities, counties and other government agencies closer to insolvency.” There’s little love lost between the San Jose mayor and the Democratic Party leaders who joined with labor to help quash the measure.

That partisan attack left a mark, as Reed made clear in his pointed endorsement of Swearengin.

The Fresno Republican has “demonstrated the leadership and determination that we need to reform government and improve efficiency, without regard for party labels,” Reed said in his statement.

At least this seems to be based on politics and issues-- albeit from a decidedly right-wing, anti-family prospect that Reed and Swearengin share. I respect that, as much as I disagree with it, much more than picking people based on factors that having nothing to do with policy, the way Takano, Taj and EMILY's List did. Obviously, I still hope Swearengin loses and have every intention of voting for Betty Yee, a far better choice.

Kerry Bentivolio, Who's Trying To Impeach President Obama, Is A Congressman Today Only Because Steve Israel Is A Bigot

The BRAVO! TV show about Steve Israel's constituents and psyche, Princesses: Long Island, has no sympathetic characters. Every single one of them is vomit-inducing. But the worst is the spoiled gnome from Roslyn, Ashlee White, a thirty year old monstrosity who lives at home with her parents and spends her time asking Irish and Italian hunks in bars if they're Jewish.

I can't imagine any scenario that would bring Ashlee and Michigan teacher of the year/reindeer rancher and impeachment-obsessed congressman from Michigan's 11th district, Kerry Bentivolio, into contact. Too bad. All Steve Israel's constituents should have to experience the Tempest in a Tea Party that is Bentivolio.

“If I could write that bill and submit it, it would be a dream come true,” Bentivolio... “I stood 12 feet away from the guy and listened to him. I couldn’t stand being there, but because he is president I have to respect the office. That’s my job, as a congressman, I respect the office.”

Bentivolio said that after the encounter with Obama he returned to his office and summoned lawyers to discuss the impeachment process.

“These are lawyers, Ph.Ds in history, and I said ‘tell me how I can impeach the president of the United States.’”

Bentivolio is an accidental congressman and will probably lose his seat, wither in a primary or in the general election next year. When long-time incumbent Republican nutcase Thaddeus McCotter was caught up in an election fraud and resigned as part of a deal to stay out of prison, there was a special election, which was won by Democrat Dave Curson. Curson, a UAW rep, beat Bentivolio to fill out the remainder of McCotter's term. Curson got 159,258 votes (48.39%) to Bentivolio's 151,736 (46.10%) and he was a congressman from Nov. 6, 2012 to January 3, 2013. Curson had decided to not run for the next two-year term... and that's where Ashlee's congressman, Steve Israel, head of the DCCC, comes in.

First the end of the story: Bentivolio beat Dr. Syed Taj 51-44%. Taj ran without the backing of the DCCC and, in fact, Israel sabotaged his efforts to raise money, making sure he couldn't compete effectively against Bentivolio. Although the race ended in a virtual dead heat in Wayne County, Oakland County, where Taj needed ad money to overcome a GOP advantage, gave Bentivolio his margin of victory.

Although Oakland and Wayne County Democrats had nominated the popular Taj to be their nominee, Israel didn't like what he saw, i.e.- a progressive and a Muslim with a funny Indian accent. He adamantly refused to allow the DCCC to help elect Taj, even though Obama had handily won the district against McCain in 2008 (54-45%) and the seat was ripe for a blue take-over. Israel just could not bring himself to help a progressive, let a alone a Muslim progressive. At the time, I wrote that "even under the new boundaries, originally drawn by the GOP-dominated Michigan legislature to shore up McCotter, the district still leans blue and Obama would have beaten McCain 50-48%. This is a winnable district... if we had a competent DCCC chairman, instead of a reptile. This is what Israel is saddling Congress with:

The brother of Kerry Bentivolio says the Michigan congressional candidate, who's favored to win on Tuesday, is “mentally unbalanced” and could end up in jail.

"I've never met anyone in my life who is conniving and dishonest as this guy," Phillip Bentivolio said, according to the Michigan Information and Research Service. "He's my brother so it's hard to talk about this, but I believe that if he gets elected, he'll eventually serve time in prison."

...Kerry Bentivolio is a Santa Claus impersonator and reindeer farmer. He made headlines after old court documents surfaced quoting him saying he had a “problem figuring out which one I really am, Santa Claus or Kerry Bentivolio.”  He’s running against Democrat Syed Taj.

Philip Bentivolio said that in 1992, he helped his brother build houses in Arkansas and Kerry owed him $20,000. This month he told Kerry he would go to the media with the story if he did not get paid, and Kerry then said he called the FBI and the Little Rock Police Department.

“He told them that I told them that if he didn't send me money, I was going to kill myself," Phillip Bentivolio said. "I couldn't believe it."

Kerry Bentivolio said that his brother has “serious mental issues” and that the FBI was looking into his brother’s request for repayment 20 years after the fact.

Instead Israel chose to chase a host of hopeless Blue Dogs in districts that had no interest in electing Democrats. And most of his candidates-- even had they been elected, would have been nearly as dependable to vote against progressive legislation as the Republicans they were running against. Steve Israel-- Nancy Pelosi's worst mistake ever.

This Cycle's Biggest Turkey: Meet Steve Israel (D-NY)

All the votes are counted and all the races decided-- although there's a Republican vs Republican runoff in Louisiana and a recount pending in North Carolina that could put Blue Dog Mike McIntyre's razor thin win in jeopardy-- and the make up of the new Congress goes from 240 Republicans and 190 Democrats to 234 Republicans and 201 Democrats. Nationally Democrats won slightly over half a million more votes in congressional races but because of grotesquely partisan gerrymandering by Republican-controlled state legislatures in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and North Carolina winning a majority of seats is virtually impossible.

Nevertheless, earlier in September Nancy Pelosi predicted that Democrats would win back the 25 House seats they needed to make her Speaker again. In fact, she told the media, the Democrats were on track to win a net of at least 27 seats. The man she had picked to chair the DCCC, Steve Israel, had given her the dope. "Steve," she gushed to the press, "has sufficient reptilian tendencies to do the job.” The Free Dictionary defines "reptilian" as "Despicable; treacherous" and "mean or treacherous; contemptible reptilian behaviour." Webster uses it to describe a villain: "cold-bloodedly treacherous."

A former Blue Dog and New Dem, Israel left those caucuses to pursue a leadership role in the House Democratic Caucus. He excels in raising money from corporate interests and especially from Wall Street and making sure they feel like they've gotten their money's worth. In a rationally organized societal situation Steve Israel would be sharing a prison cell with Duke Cunningham or Tom DeLay. Inside the House Democratic Caucus, he's hailed as a leader. Even after he dismally failed to win the 25-- let alone the 27-- seats he promised Pelosi, he was reappointed DCCC chairman for the next cycle.

Some observers chalk up Israel's failure to poor targeting and leave it at that. Poor targeting was certainly the problem. But leaving it to that is as well. It became apparent from the moment Israel took over the Committee that winning back the majority wasn't his primary goal; restocking the Caucus with "his kind of Democrats" was his primary goal. His kind of Democrats are not progressive, are not reformers, are not independent-thinkers. Steve Israel's world is a world based on corruption and his primary interest wasn't making sure there are more Democrats in the House than Republicans, it was making sure there were more corrupt Democrats in the House than independent-thinking reformers and progressives. He succeeded.

Early in the campaign I met a very wealthy, very powerful woman who I had been avoiding for a couple of years. Because of the legitimacy my former position in the music industry could bring to a fledgling endeavor, she had been trying to get me to join the board of a company she was putting together. My interest in the project was less than zero and I managed to avoid ever meeting her. And then... a wrinkle. It turns out she's one of the biggest Democratic contributors in California. And, I was told by an intermediary, she was willing to raise big money for Rob Zerban, the progressive candidate against Paul Ryan who was being stonewalled by Steve Israel and the DCCC-- and who was a top priority for Blue America. I'm easy; I even agreed to meet at the single most repulsive plutocratic watering hole in Los Angeles. I was sitting and reading Chris Mooney's brilliant new book, The Republican Brain when she swept into the restaurant. The first words out of her mouth, perhaps before even "hello," were that "your candidate" wasn't really going to run. She had just spoken with "Steve," she assured me, and he had told her not to waste her time or money. Rob Zerban wasn't the Democratic candidate and wouldn't even be running. The meeting went downhill from there.

In the end Rob Zerban was able to raise more money with no DCCC help than many of the candidates being pushed to wealthy donors and institutional organizations by Israel and the DCCC. The DCCC, always committed to giving Ryan a safe reelection, put two Democrats on their Red-to-Blue list, though neither was Zerban, even though Ryan's district was won by Obama in 2008-- 191,901 to 177,162. Voters there knew how to pull a lever for Democrats. It's not a situation like it is in districts where Israel spent millions and millions of dollars where voters do not consider voting for Democrats. The payoff, though, in those kinds of districts would be golden for Israel: Blue Dogs and New Dems. We'll come back to that in a moment. Let's stick with Wisconsin for another moment.

Israel and the DCCC routinely claim that progressive candidates they don't want to support can't raise any money and are therefore not serious contenders. They especially tell this to the lazy Beltway media and punditocracy, as well as to big donors and institutional donors. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because the Beltway media refuses to consider the races serious and the big donors refuse to "waste" their money on non-serious races.

As of the October 17 FEC filing deadline, Zerban has raised $2,117,162, almost entirely from the grassroots and in the face of relentless and determined DCCC sabotage. The DCCC and its allies spent nothing in the district. The single biggest outside spender was Blue America at around $22,000 and the only other expenditure of note was $3,000 from the SEIU.

Meanwhile, the DCCC was frantically helping two more Establishment candidates, New Dem Jamie Wall and top priority Pat Kreitlow. Wall, based almost entirely on DCCC help, raised $1,016,688 (less than half what Zerban raised) and a third of that ($334,778) came from PACs pushed by the DCCC. Before just giving up on the race entirely, the DCCC spent $87,664 on TV advertising against inconsequential Republican incumbent Reid Ribble. The other candidate the DCCC backed was Pat Kreitlow, who ran against GOP up-and-comer Sean Duffy. Kreitlow raised $1,176,147, with $389,719 of that coming from DCCC motivated PACs. And the DCCC itself spent $2,003,084 attacking Duffy while their junior partners at the House Majority PAC kicked in another $366,167 in independent expenditures.

In the 8th district Wall drew 156,371 votes (44.1%) to Ribble's 198,464 (55.9%). In the 7th district it was Kreitlow 157,340 (43.9%) to Duffy's 201,318 (56.1%) and in the 1st CD, Zerban managed to win 157,721 votes (43.4%) to Ryan's 199,715 (54.9%). That was easily the closest Ryan has ever come to being defeated since he was first elected in the traditionally Democratic seat in 1998. The DCCC has always moved aggressively to protect him from serious challengers, usually by manipulating Democratic candidate selection. But today's post isn't about WI-01 or Zerban or Wisconsin. It's about Steve Israel and the DCCC and how they work to hold back progressives and boost more conservative Democrats. What they did to Zerban is typical of what they do everywhere.

Let's go back to Israel's targeting for a moment. He made it clear from the get-go he wouldn't go after any Republican leaders, policy makers, committee chairs or anyone from the ultra-secretive shady little bipartisan Conservative-Consensus fraternity he founded, the Center Aisle Caucus. That pretty much excluded everyone but a bunch of unknown backbenchers, predominantly freshmen. The DCCC targeted one "national figure," the clownish Allen West (who spent nearly $20,000,000 and only to be defeated 166,223- 164,316), but not his female counterpart, Michele Bachmann (who spent nearly $20,000,000 and barely won reelection, 180,131- 175,923). Israel decided to back Murphy, a lifelong Republican who joined the New Dems and who Israel could be sure would never allow a progressive, reformist or independent thought to cross his mind, while ignoring the far more substantial Jim Graves in Minnesota, a very independent-minded, reform-minded, anti-corruption good government type with a pretty progressive economic agenda. The DCCC and House Majority PAC spent $3,036,163 helping Murphy. Although at the very end of the campaign-- when it was far too late to make any difference-- the DCCC put Graves on the Red-to-Blue program with Murphy and other candidates they were backing, they spent exactly zero on his race, the exact same amount the House Majority PAC spent. Graves' only two substantial independent expenditures came from CREDO ($37,806) and NARAL ($11,482). Could the DCCC have swung the race by helping get another 4,500 votes for Graves by using some of the money they wasted on losing right wing Democrats like Leonard Boswell ($2,090,111), Ben Chandler ($332,393), Mark Critz ($2,430,306), Kathy Hochul ($1,112,785), Sal Pace ($453,626), Brendan Mullen ($470,872), David Crooks ($516,483), Gary McDowell ($1,218,594), Charlie Wilson ($2,513,712), Nick Lampson ($163,722) and Eric Stewart ($298,914)? Easily! But that would have messed with Israel's targeting goals.

Several progressives won without any help from the DCCC-- Alan Grayson (FL), Alan Lowenthal (CA), Mark Takano (CA), Beto O'Rourke (TX) from the Blue America list-- but how many more progressives would have won with some of that money Israel spent on losing New Dems and Blue Dogs? Certainly Syed Taj in Michigan, Nate Shinagawa in New York and Lee Rogers in California. Possibly as many as another dozen with real efforts by the DCCC, enough to have brought the final "score" to 216 Democrats and 219 Republicans. And we're just talking about pro-Choice, pro-equality, pro-working family Democrats-- the ones from the FDR wing, not more anti-Choice/anti-gay Blue Dogs and not more New Dems who live to grovel for scraps from corporate dinner tables while selling out traditional Democratic constituencies-- particularly working families. One very experienced and very savvy campaign manager says it's more than just Israel's anti-progressive ideology that destroyed so many progressives; it's the systemic corruption that defines the DCCC. "You get blackballed," he told me on the phone yesterday, "when you don't use their high-price media people and their pollsters. They all want kickbacks."

Nate Shinagawa's race against medical bill collector, racist pig and Tea Party incumbent Tom Reed was always a winnable one that Israel stubbornly ignored. Red-to-Blue chair Donna Edwards campaigned with Nate in the district and gave him her own contributions-- but could never get Israel to put him on the Red-to-Blue list, let alone spend any money on him. Nate, who was ahead much of election night, ultimately lost-- 126,519- 117,055. Reed had raised $1,977,658 and Nate brought in $709,727. The DCCC spent nothing in the district. Even a modest independent expenditure would have swung the race to Nate, who not only had to battle Reed but was up against over a million dollars in outside spending from special interests eager to keep Reed in power, particularly the National Association of Realtors, whose PACs bolstered him with $700,000 in advertising. In contrast, the only outside spending for Nate was from the United Steelworkers, $423.

In Michigan's 11th district, Israel claimed Dr. Syed Taj had a funny accent-- a polite way of Israel admitting he's an Islamaphobic asshole-- and he refused to take a seat that was just waiting to be plucked. Crazed teabagger and reindeer farmer Kerry Bentovolio had nearly a million dollars spent by outside right-wing groups on his behalf. The DCCC spent $10,000 in the race and then ignored it and allowed Bentovolio to win 1811,796 (51%)- 158,889 (44%). This is the garbage that was thrown against Dr. Taj which the DCCC refused to respond to:



In CA-25, House Armed Services Committee chair was more vulnerable than ever in his career. Israel never tired of telling donors and institutional players that it wasn't a serious race. Other than Paul Ryan, no Republican incumbent got as much protection from Israel as Buck McKeon, who managed to keep Lee Rogers' campaign off the national radar. McKeon raised $1,869,645 and, with Israel urging wealthy Democratic to not contribute to Rogers, Rogers raised $333,391. Despite the antipathy from Israel, no candidate has ever come closer to beating McKeon, one of Congress' most toxic characters. A post-election chart in the NY Times shows McKeon is now the second most likely Republican to lose his seat. That's exactly what a DCCC chair is supposed to know-- and act on-- before it's reported in newspapers a continent away.

Pelosi decided to double down and reward Israel for his abysmal failure, reappointing him chair of the DCCC, virtually guaranteeing that John Boehner will be Speaker at least until 2016-- unless he's removed by his own caucus-- and guaranteeing that the House Democratic caucus will be less progressive and more subservient to the Wall Street interests Steve Israel is dedicated to serving.

Steve Israel's Biggest Failures-- Michigan

Michigan Republican Fred Upon, saved by The Reptile

Tuesday, President Obama won the 16 Michigan electoral votes by wracking up an impressive 54-45% win in one of Mitt Romney's home states. His margin of victory was around 400,000 votes. At the same time, Senator Debbie Stabenow swamped right-wing Republican Pete Hoekstra 58.3- 38.5%. But because of the grotesque incompetence of the DCCC there, there were no coattails whatsoever. The only race the reptilian Chairman allowed the DCCC to get involved in was in the 1st CD, the Upper Peninsula, where Israel felt comfortable backing a fellow Blue Dog, Gary McDowell. With 100% of the precincts reporting, McDowell appears to have gone the way of all Israel's Blue Dogs: trash heap of history. He lost to lame teabagger Dan Benishek 166,833 (48.2%) to 164,536 (47.5%). His was the only Michigan district on which the DCCC and its affiliates spent any money-- $1,218,594. They missed an opportunity to pick up several seats in the southern and central parts of the state.

The DCCC, as they often do, moved to protect senior Republicans early on in the primary process, where they discouraged serious competition for key committee chairmen Fred Upton, Mike Rogers and Dave Camp. They also backed a virulently anti-Choice conservative, Steve Pestka, against a far better candidate, Trevor Thomas, against libertarian-Republican Justin Amash. Upton and Rogers had progressive opponents and the DCCC refused to back either of them. And Israel also refused to back Dr. Syed Taj in MI-11, also a progressive, running against a fringe Tea Party sociopath Kerry Bentivolio. Israel, who is unfriendly to Muslims to begin with, is known to have decided that Dr. Taj's accent made him unelectable. Maybe that would be true on Long Island, but Israel misread Michigan and needlessly threw away a seat because of his own sick prejudices.

Dr. Taj narrowly won in Wayne County, 56,710 (48%) to 55,823 (47%) and lost because the DCCC turned down his request for help in Oakland County, where Bentivolio won 117,758 (52%) to 95,353 (43%). There is no question that Dr. Syed Taj would be a congressman-elect today if Nancy Pelosi had chosen a less incompetent and less reptilian DCCC chair. Bentivolio was bolstered by over $800,000 in right-wing spending from outside groups, while Steve Israel forced the DCCC to sit on its hands and let Dr. Taj sink.

Mike O'Brien lost to Energy and Commerce Committee plutocrat Fred Upton 163,355 (55.5%)- 122,357 (41.6%) but tied him in the biggest county in the district, Kalamazoo. President Obama and Senator Stabenow both won Kalamazoo by big margins and both won Van Buren County. Had the DCCC helped O'Brien he is likely to have displaced Upton, which would have been a major coup-- except that he and Israel are old cronies.

Michigan has 14 congressional districts, 5 Democratic and 9 Republican. An even modestly competent DCCC chairman would have walked away with a 7-7 split and someone who really knew what he was doing would have overseen Democratic victories in the 11th (the old McCotter seat where Bentivolio won), the 8th (Mike Rogers' district), the 6th (Upton's seat), the 3rd (Amash's seat) and possibly the 7th (where Tim Walberg was reelected), which would have brought the state's congressional delegation more in line with how blue it has become.

Corporate Shill Steve Israel Blocks Progressive Democrats Aryanna Strader And Syed Taj

In 2008 McCain beat Obama 51-48% in Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district. That district has been significantly altered by the Republican state legislature-- but they weren't looking out for longtime right-wing Congressman Joe Pitts. Under the new boundaries, which jettisoned some of the rural red areas and added solid blue Reading, Obama would have beat McCain 50-49%. What an opportunity for a House pick-up!

But that isn't how DCCC boss Steve Israel sees it. Described-- admiringly-- by Nancy Pelosi as "reptilian," Israel decided to commit DCCC money to backing reactionary Blue Dogs who are virulently anti-Choice and antigay and pro-corporate New Dems in districts Obama lost by wide margins rather than backing progressives in districts that Obama won. Aryanna Strader is not a Steve Israel type of candidate. She's a straight shooter and a reform-oriented progressive who has no interest in the kind of rampant corruption that reptiles like Steve Israel thrive on. The DCCC has ignored the race, entirely and worked hard to demoralize Strader (and other progressives around the country). But Strader, an Iraq War vet, isn't easily demoralized and she's buckled down, ignoring the DCCC and concentrating on voters in southeast Pennsylvania. Gigantically out-funded by Pitts, a notorious corporate whore-- exactly like Steve Israel-- Aryanna has run a grassroots campaign and has garnered significant support in the district, including a fulsome endorsement from the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, the district's #1 newspaper. So, while Steve Israel was busy doing the reptilian things that Pelosi so admires-- and that will guarantee Boehner another two years as Speaker, this is, in part, what people in PA-16 are reading this week:

After initially vowing not to serve beyond a fifth term, Pitts is now seeking an eighth term in Congress. He argues that his growing seniority gives him leverage in Congress to help constituents in the district.

Pitts favors making the Bush tax cuts permanent. He laments the lack of bipartisanship in Congress, yet he has voted with his party 95 percent of the time.

He opposes the Affordable Care Act, which has become an issue given that Pitts' biggest campaign contributors include Big Pharma, health insurers and health professionals.

His Democratic opponent, Aryanna Strader, is a software consultant and a veteran of the Iraq war.

She has run her campaign on a shoestring. She said that 80 percent of her campaign contributions have come from individuals.

Although she does not agree with all aspects of the Affordable Care Act, she would work to improve rather than repeal it.

Strader believes the president is correct to push for alternative energy sources and favors tax cuts for small business.

...Pitts deserves credit for his constituent service. But each year in Congress he has leaned further to the right. And his decision not to participate in a debate with all three challengers should raise concerns among voters.

Strader's first run for office will likely end in defeat. But she has struck a chord with voters. She expressed herself forcefully in the lone local debate with Pitts. She did the same when she debated Bednarski and Murphy.

She has our support in this election.

It probably wouldn't end in defeat if Steve Israel-- who as a founder of the transpartisan Center Aisle Caucus which vowed not to campaign against other members, regardless of party-- could also say "she has our support in this election."

Blue America has a mobile billboard, pictured above, traversing the highways and towns of the sprawling 16th district every day. Today it's spending half the day in and around Willow Street and half the day in Millersville. Tomorrow and Tuesday are all about Lancaster and Sunday and Monday, it's Reading all day, both days.

There are so many progressives where the DCCC hands-off posture is handing the districts to heinous Republicans. We've written a lot about how Steve Israel helps protect GOP leaders and senior committee chairmen, like Boehner, Cantor, McCarthy, Paul Ryan and Buck McKeon. One race that-- if not for a Muslim-unfriendly Steve Israel-- would be a slam-dunk for Democrats in the Detroit suburbs. MI-11 is a district Obama won handily in 2008 (54-45%) and whose incumbent, Thaddeus McCotter was recently caught committing election fraud and was forced to resign to stay out of prison. The psychotic teabagger who was challenging him in the primary, reindeer rancher Kerry Bentivolio, is now favored to win because Israel decided to starve the Democrat, Dr. Syed Taj, of funds. Even under the new boundaries, originally drawn by the GOP-dominated Michigan legislature to shore up McCotter, the district still leans blue and Obama would have beaten McCain 50-48%. This is a winnable district... if we had a competent DCCC chairman, instead of a reptile. This is what Israel is saddling Congress with:

The brother of Kerry Bentivolio says the Michigan congressional candidate, who's favored to win on Tuesday, is “mentally unbalanced” and could end up in jail.

"I've never met anyone in my life who is conniving and dishonest as this guy," Phillip Bentivolio said, according to the Michigan Information and Research Service. "He's my brother so it's hard to talk about this, but I believe that if he gets elected, he'll eventually serve time in prison."

...Kerry Bentivolio is a Santa Claus impersonator and reindeer farmer. He made headlines after old court documents surfaced quoting him saying he had a “problem figuring out which one I really am, Santa Claus or Kerry Bentivolio.”  He’s running against Democrat Syad Taj.

Philip Bentivolio said that in 1992, he helped his brother build houses in Arkansas and Kerry owed him $20,000. This month he told Kerry he would go to the media with the story if he did not get paid, and Kerry then said he called the FBI and the Little Rock Police Department.

“He told them that I told them that if he didn't send me money, I was going to kill myself," Phillip Bentivolio said. "I couldn't believe it."

Kerry Bentivolio said that his brother has “serious mental issues” and that the FBI was looking into his brother’s request for repayment 20 years after the fact.

Instead Israel is chasing a host of hopeless Blue Dogs in districts that have no interest in electing Democrats. And most of his candidates-- even if elected, would be nearly as dependable to vote against progressive legislation as the Republicans they're running against. Steve Israel-- Nancy Pelosi's worst mistake ever.

Keith Ellison's Inclusive Prosperity Act

Instead of waiting for Obama and Boehner to cobble together some "Grand Bargain" on November 7, Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Keith Ellison decided to give them a headstart with some commonsense legislation that just about everyone in the country-- other than hedge-fund managers and Rush Limbaugh-- would probably embrace. This week Ellison introduced H.R. 6411, the Inclusive Prosperity Act, "to impose a tax on certain trading transactions to strengthen our financial security, expand opportunity, and stop shrinking the middle class." So far there are 8 co-sponsors, John Conyers (D-MI), Bob Filner (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Pete Stark (D-CA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Jim McDermott (D-WA), all House Members who put the interests of working families above the interests of the corporate campaign donors who make the wheels in DC-- both sides of the aisle-- go round and round.

Ellison, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, points out that the bill, if passed without tampering by lobbyists, will "raise billions to invest in our economy by taxing highly speculative financial transactions." It would tax the sale of stocks, bonds and derivatives sold by Wall Street firms. The tax imposed will be 0.5 percent on stocks, 0.1 percent on bonds, and 0.005 percent on derivatives or other investments.

He explained that “the American public provided hundreds of billions to bailout Wall Street during the global fiscal crisis yet bore the brunt of the crisis with lost jobs and reduced household wealth. This is a phenomenally wealthy nation, yet our tax and regulatory system allowed the financial titans to amass great riches while impoverishing the systems that enable inclusive prosperity. A financial transaction tax protects our financial markets from speculation and provides the revenue needed to invest in the education, health and communities of the American people.” 

The small tax is meant to discourage unsafe speculation and gambling-- rather than real investing-- by Wall Street firms. It would make high frequency trading less profitable, which could reduce the excess speculation on commodities like food and gasoline that has caused their prices to escalate, sometimes irrationally-- and much to the disadvantage of consumers. Almost 30 nations have some form of a financial transaction tax and the U.S. had a similar tax from 1914 until 1966. The UK has had a tax on stock trades for decades-- the same rate proposed in HR 6411-- and their volume of trading has grown robustly. Supporters of a form of financial transactions tax include business leaders such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban, and Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffet. Jean Ross, RN, co-president of National Nurses United:

“Congressman Ellison is showing great leadership for our country. HR 6411 is a critical step to generate the revenue for the healing and recovery our Main Street communities across the nation so desperately need. From coast to coast, nurses, health care, environmental, labor, and community activists have come together calling for a tax on financial speculation so that Wall Street will help pay to reverse the damage its reckless behavior caused to our economy. This is a small, common sense tax, already in place and working wonderfully well in dozens of countries across the world.”

As I mentioned, on the first day, Ellison already had 8 co-sponsors. Some of congressional candidates from our Prosperity Economics page contacted me to tell me how solidly they stand with Elliosn's proposal as well. Although the DCCC refuses to lift a finger for progressive champion Lance Enderle-- even though Obama won the district 52-46%-- this is a winnable race and no one seems to be able to figure out why Steve Israel is so adamant about protecting Mike Rogers' career. Rogers will certainly never support the Inclusive Prosperity Act (on the other hand, would Israel?) No question about Enderle though:

"I fully support Congressman Keith Ellison’s bill H.R. 6411, to strengthen middle class financial security. This is the first step to stop the predatory financial speculation which was at the root of our financial collapse and helped bring down the middle class. I am proud to support a bill that demands equitable accountability from our financial institutions, and more importantly holds them to America’s social contract."

Aryanna Strader is in a similar district-- Obama won it in 2008. And like in Lance's case, there's a very senior Republican there and Steve Israel refuses to allow the DCCC to help her beat him. Undre the new blue boundaries Obama had a tight margin-- 50-49%-- but Aryanna is a very compelling candidate... and there are few in Congress as odious as War Against Women fanatic Joe Pitts. Pitts is also a suck-up to Wall Street and there's no need to wait to see him sign on to Ellison's bill. Aryanna, on the other hand, would love to vote for it:

"This is precisely the kind of common sense measure that members of Congress should be working on. As a small business owner I don't take financial risks like I am at a casino and, like most Americans, I don't want to continually bailout Wall Street traders who assume no responsbility for their actions. Even my children know better than to put their hand near an open flame."

Nate Shinagawa (NY-23) is also in a district that Obama won and also in a situation where the DCCC isn't doing anything to help get him reelected. He's not even running against a powerful senior incumbent-- just some schlubby racist teabagger, Tom Reed. "There are still too many ways," Nat told us this morning, "for an unchecked Wall Street to send us back to the dark days of the recession, and the incentives for taking those risks with our money is still too high. The Inclusive Prosperity Act will help prevent the giant swings like the recession, and also keep our day to day commodities, like milk and gas prices, more stable. This is a tried and true piece of legislation that will keep our economy growing safely, and make it fairer for middle and working class families."

And Dr. Syed Taj (MI-11) in the Detroit suburbs, is also running for a seat in a district Obama won. DCCC? AWOL. But Keith Ellison endorsed Dr. Taj and Dr. Taj is completely into his proposal and can't wait to get to Congress to help pass it. "The Inclusive Prosperity Act asks a sector that can afford it the most to pay its fair share. This will not only help our long-term fiscal outlook, but curb the speculation and Wall Street greed that brought our financial system to the brink of collapse."

John Nichols is one of the journalists dubbing this the Robin Hood tax. He points out that the pittance being taken from wealthy speculators in this tax, raising $350 billion, would "in combination with the elimination of Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy and aggressive moves to prevent the sheltering of assets in tax havens-- would make a mockery of Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan's fantastical claims about fiscal crisis."

“We’re not broke,” Ellison says of the United States. “We’ve got plenty of money. It’s just not in the hands of the American people because the people with so much of the wealth bought lobbyists and influence to get loopholes for themselves so that they would not have to pay for the civilization that is America.”

Along with more constrained proposals by U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Congressman Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, the Ellison plan seeks to extract a small amount of the money that speculators now pocket in order to pay for vital public services.

“The money is in the hands of the most privileged and well-to-do Americans, many of whom churn-- and I don’t say ‘trade,’ I mean ‘churn’-- stocks, bonds and derivatives on Wall Street,” the congressman from Minnesota explained during last week’s Democratic National Convention, when he appeared at a “Progressive Central” event organized by Progressive Democrats of America and supported by many activist groups and The Nation.

“So one of the ways for us as Americans to recoup the money is to tax them when they do this churning of these financial assets,” Ellison continued. “It’s a transaction tax. It is appropriately named by its most vigorous advocates a ‘Robin Hood Tax.’”

...[I]f Congress makes the rich pay their fair share, cracks down of off-shore tax havens and makes taxes the speculators, America is not-- and will never be-- broke.

You can help bolster support for Ellison's bill by supporting Lance Enderle, Aryanna Strader, Nate Shinagawa and Syed Taj here.

Top 10 "Underground" House Races Party "Pros" Inside The Beltway Aren't Paying Any Attention To

Yes, Steve Israel is "reptilian," but whose side is he on?

Sarah Jaffe at Alternet seems a lot more tuned in than the DCCC or Cook. She looked at 10 congressional races this week that could spell big gains for progressives-- not reactionary Blue Dogs and New Dems or even just garden variety lockstep Democrats-- in November. She examined 10 independent-minded progressives who stand out from the pack but who the DCCC is either ignoring, sabotaging or just paying lip service to.

One of the candidates Jaffe focuses on is Patsy Keever and yesterday the Keever camp sent out a press release to local media asking them to take a look:

Two days ago Sarah Jaffe, associate editor at AlterNet, released her top 10 list of under-the-radar Congressional races to watch. The battle here in NC-10 between Patsy Keever and Patrick McHenry rated a spot on the list.
 
She writes, “North Carolina redistricted notorious Blue Dog Heath Shuler out of Congress […] But that might wind up helping Patsy Keever, who's facing off in the 10th against Patrick McHenry.” The article also quotes Alex Pareene at Salon as saying that McHenry was “born to be cheerfully corrupt: He’s a product of the College Republicans, an organization that trains little Lee Atwaters, Karl Roves and Grover Norquists in the arts of scorched-earth campaigning and wholly irresponsible 'governing' on behalf of the monied interests that bought you your job.”
 
“I think that the article is on target,” said Keever's campaign manager Bruce Mulkey. “We are running a very well-organized, people powered campaign, and Patsy is being met with enthusiasm wherever she goes. I hope the pundits are paying attention on November 6, because I think they’re going to be in for a big surprise.”

These are the kinds of candidates being supported by Blue America and if you;d like to help, you can find them all either here or here. These were the 10 races Jaffe says are "flying under the radar, where you just might see an upset." She starts with the most winnable race in America that the DCCC is ignoring, Lee Rogers' courageous battle against backward and corrupt House armed Services Committee Chairman, Buck McKeon:

1. CA-25: Democrat Lee Rogers vs Republican Buck McKeon

Buck McKeon is a trifecta of loathsome: a Republican in a district that Obama won in 2008 who got preferential treatment from housing-bubble blowers Countrywide, and who, as the Chair of the House Armed Services Committee, refused to hold hearings on sexual assault at the Air Force's training facility at Lackland. He was also one of the forces behind California's anti-gay Proposition 8, and is the co-chair of the House drone caucus (for real).

So why aren't we hearing more about his opponent, surgeon Lee Rogers? As could be expected, Rogers is running heavy on health care, leaning on his experience with the system-- he says that 75 percent of his patients (he's a podiatrist) are on Medicare-- and calling for improvements to the Affordable Care Act. He's called for keeping drug addicts out of prison, getting out of Afghanistan, and investing in infrastructure. As Blue America's Howie Klein notes, McKeon hasn't had real competition in a while, so this race could get interesting.

2. NY-23: Democrat Nate Shinagawa vs Republican Tom Reed

Nate Shinagawa is running as both the Democratic and Working Families Party candidate in upstate New York's 23rd district against Republican Tom Reed. He is one of the youngest candidates for Congress this year (just 28 years old) and a former student labor activist. He's already spent six years in the Tompkins County legislature, and has been an outspoken critic of fracking-- a practice his opponent is all for-- which New York Governor Cuomo would like to open up in his district.

In addition to welcoming fracking in his backyard, Reed was one of the GOP members of Congress on an infamous trip to Israel, where in addition to enjoying the hospitality of AIPAC's nonprofit offshoot the American Israel Education Foundation, at least one legislator copped to going skinny-dipping in the Sea of Galilee. (Reed says that he and his wife were “appropriately clothed.”) He's been cited as a possible future GOP “star” from New York, and he's a big fan of Paul Ryan and his (wildly unpopular, especially in New York) budget.

3. PA-16: Democrat Aryanna Strader vs Republican Joe Pitts

Joe Pitts's name is familiar to anyone who cares about reproductive justice-- along with Democrat Bart Stupak, the Pennsylvania Republican was the author of the infamous Stupak-Pitts amendment to the health care reform bill-- a sneak attack on abortion rights that would've restricted access to abortion coverage in private health insurance plans.

Pitts should be a huge target for Democrats, but despite a leftward trend in his district and a bit of redistricting that might make it even more likely to swing Democratic, they're not pushing very hard. But Aryanna Strader is. She's a 29-year-old veteran, a mom, and a small business owner, and she leaves no question where she stands on reproductive freedoms-- she argues that Pitts “started the war on women's health.”

There are two independents running in the 16th as well-- Jim Bednarski, a former Republican who apparently wants to win the seat without fundraising, and John A. Murphy, who called Strader the Democrats' Sarah Palin. Pitts is smoking his competition when it comes to fundraising, though-- which might make one wonder about the Democrats' commitment to electing pro-choice politicians, since there's plenty of money being funneled into other Pennsylvania races, including Mark Critz's race at the other end of Pennsylvania-- despite his support for Pitts' H.R. 358, dubbed the “Let Women Die Act” because it would, well, let women die if their doctors were opposed to abortion.

4. MI-11: Democrat Syed Taj vs Republican Kerry Bentivolio

If this district sounds familiar, it's because Thaddeus McCotter resigned from it earlier this year after a chunk of the signatures qualifying him for the primary ballot were found to be fraudulent. (Four of his staffers were charged with violating election law.) Dr. Syed Taj is one of several M.D.'s running for Congress this year on their practical health care experience. He's skipping the special election for the remaining weeks of McCotter's term (really, weeks), choosing to focus on the general, where he's facing a Tea Party candidate, Kerry Bentivolio, who's well, unique-- Mother Jones describes him as “a reindeer rancher, Santa impersonator, and political novice who once starred in a low-budget movie suggesting that 9/11 was an inside job.” A former teacher, he's facing questions about his treatment of students, and he got a chunk of funding for his campaign from a 21-year-old Ron Paul fanboy
.
Taj has spent over 40 years as a doctor, including a stint as Chief of Medicine at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn. He's been endorsed by the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News, Representative Keith Ellison, Senator Debbie Stabenow, the Michigan Nurses Association and the American Federation of Teachers.

5. WV-01: Democrat Sue Thorn vs Republican David McKinley

West Virginia is coal country, and any political battle in the state is likely to have Big Coal's dirty fingers all over the race. Sue Thorn's challenge to David McKinley is no exception. Multimillionaire McKinley (what is it with these rich members of Congress in some of the poorest districts?) has gotten a good chunk of his campaign cash from Murray Energy, the company whose Utah mine at Crandall Canyon collapsed and killed nine people-- and which got slapped with the largest fines ever from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (until the 2010 explosion at Upper Big Branch mine right in West Virginia, that is).

McKinley tries to claim that Thorn doesn't support coal mining and works under a big picture of a miner-- but Jack Spadaro, former head of the National Mine Safety and Health Academy, doesn't buy that:

There's no question about that, he's a hypocrite. He may say that and have that poster in his office, but he hasn't done anything to further the interests of miners and to make their workplace safe.

Meanwhile, Thorn has pointed out that McKinley's voted against stronger protections against black lung (which is having a resurgence) and better safety regulations. And she spent her Labor Day at events with actual workers, not just pictures of them.

6. WI-01: Democrat Rob Zerban vs Republican Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan's busy running for Veep, of course-- but just in case, he's also running for reelection in his House district. And Rob Zerban would like to take that job from him as well. Zerban's probably the first serious challenge Ryan has faced in Wisconsin since his election; he's raised over $1.4 million for his race so far, and points out that Obama carried the district in 2008 (and still would have even after redistricting). He told AlterNet's Joshua Holland:

I’ve lived my version of the American dream. I was only able to do that because our government was there when I needed help. I realize that being a successful small business owner-- someone who employed 45 people, providing excellent wages and benefits-- I realize that this isn’t something I accomplished all on my own. Our government helped me get an education on Pell Grants and loans, I was able to go on and start these small businesses. I want to make sure economic opportunity exists for everybody in this country, not just the wealthy and the well-connected.

Zerban's wife is a teacher and they were both part of the Capitol protests against Scott Walker's anti-union bill. He endorses a “Medicare for All” single-payer system, noting that people don't start small businesses, in part, because of the sky-high costs of health insurance.

Ryan's selection to the presidential ticket may have helped put other Congressional races in play for the Democrats-- it'd be pretty funny if he managed to lose his own, too.

7. NC-10: Democrat Patsy Keever vs Republican Patrick McHenry

North Carolina redistricted notorious Blue Dog Heath Shuler out of Congress(Shuler decided to step down after some of the more Democratic-leaning parts of his 11th district were sliced out and dropped into the neighboring 10th). But that might wind up helping Patsy Keever, who's facing off in the 10th against Patrick McHenry, described by Alex Pareene at Salon as “born to be cheerfully corrupt: He’s a product of the College Republicans, an organization that trains little Lee Atwaters, Karl Roves and Grover Norquists in the arts of scorched-earth campaigning and wholly irresponsible 'governing' on behalf of the monied interests that bought you your job.”

Keever, on the other hand, won a primary over more conservative Asheville mayor Terry Bellamy (who had the backing of the national party). The former schoolteacher is a sharp critic of the corporate education reform policy currently being celebrated at both party conventions, writing recently:

Vouchers and charter schools are not the answer. Defunding good programs and instituting unfunded mandates are not the answer. Adding more students to each classroom while decreasing support systems for teachers is not the answer.

Howie Klein notes that unlike Hayden Rogers, the anti-gay, anti-choice candidate (and Shuler's Chief of Staff) now running in the 11th district, Keever's getting little support from the Democratic party in the 10th. This, even though she strongly opposed North Carolina's anti-gay marriage Amendment One and was endorsed as pro-choice by NARAL. Interestingly, the DCCC named Rogers a “Red to Blue” candidate, which gives him additional funding even though he's running to replace his old boss, a theoretical Democrat, while Keever's running against an honest-to-goodness Republican.

8. CA-39: Democrat Jay Chen vs Republican Ed Royce

Ed Royce is a longtime incumbent who's gotten more money from the financial sector than any other member of the California delegation; he's one of the few senior Republicans to actually join the Tea Party Caucus, has said that Arizona's “Papers, Please” anti-immigrant law should be the national standard, railed against multi-language ballots, and voted against extending the Voting Rights Act. But he's in a new district this time, and this one is 30 percent Asian-American and 30 percent Latino-- creating a perfect opening for Jay Chen to take a crack at defeating him.

Chen still faces an uphill battle, but the school board member and Navy Reservist is running on the issues that matter-- making education more accessible, better health care (he's ultimately a single-payer supporter) and financial regulation. He recorded Mandarin-language ads to urge the Chinese-American community to vote against Proposition 8, and even though the DCCC doesn't see fit to spend money on his race, he's determined to keep fighting.

9. PA-03: Democrat Missa Eaton vs Republican Mike Kelly

Missa Eaton is one of many educators running as a Democrat in a time of reduced funding for schools and universities. The daughter of a union bus driver, the assistant professor of psychology is challenging super-rich incumbent Mike Kelly and mentions the student debt crisis as one of her issues to tackle. She's also no slouch on trade policy, an issue that might not be sexy but is deeply important in the era of outsourcing.

Eaton's getting union support in her blue-collar western Pennsylvania district (represented, before Kelly, by Democrat Kathy Dahlkemper) and won the “Keystone Challenge” from the state Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, Mike Kelly compared the health insurance mandate to cover contraception to Pearl Harbor and September 11. No, really.

10. TX-16: Democrat Beto O'Rourke vs Republican Barbara Carrasco

Beto O'Rourke's already won one rough race this year-- his primary, where he knocked off conservative Democrat Silvestre Reyes, in part in a battle over drug policy. O'Rourke favors marijuana legalization and bluntly calls the drug war a “failure.” The El Paso city representative argued that marijuana prohibition only fuels the cartels and stokes violence just over the border. It didn't hurt that Reyes had other problems-- $600,000 in campaign funds steered to himself and family members, say, or a vote to defund Planned Parenthood. Tim Murphy at Mother Jones notes that try as Reyes might have to make drugs an issue in the campaign, the race was really won on the economy.

O'Rourke's also pushed for benefits for same-sex partners and is pro-choice, pro-contraception, and pro-health care. The district remains largely Democratic even after redistricting, but O'Rourke still has to go through Barbara Carrasco, a Republican whose website pledges that she'll “FIGHT for America's Free-Market Economy” and “PROTECT our Children-- Born and Unborn.”

"Ex"-Blue Dog Steve Israel, the head of the DCCC-- who Nancy Pelosi endearing refers to as "reptilian"-- would rather see Republicans win than watch more progressives get into the Democratic House caucus. He's not supporting these candidates and there is documentary evidence that he's personally told major Democratic big dollar donors to not give them any support or contributions. Nancy was sure right when she used the term "reptilian" to describe Israel, regardless of what she had in her heart, which no one can really know for sure anyway.


Once again, these are candidates who can win but who the DCCC is basically ignoring so they can fight for more anti-Choice, anti-gay, pro-Business conservative Democrats in the imagine of horrible Beltway hacks like Steve Israel, Joe Crowley, Steny Hoyer and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, careerists with their own corrupt agendas. If you'd like to help the progressive candidates win seats in Congress instead of more Blue Dogs, you can contribute here and here.

Labor Day-- More Than Just A Day Off

I like how progressive Democrat David Gill re-did his Facebook page today in honor of Labor Day. Any Democrat who isn't running on the issues that impact the lives of working families that Gill brings up, shouldn't be running... at least not as a Democrat. David's Labor Day greeting was a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.: “History is a great teacher. Now everyone knows that the labor movement did not diminish the strength of the nation but enlarged it. By raising the living standards of millions, labor miraculously created a market for industry and lifted the whole nation to undreamed of levels of production. Those who attack labor forget these simple truths, but history remembers them.” Yes, organized labor, along with businessmen and women and politicians who weren't obstructing progress, built our country. Now conservatives and their greed-driven selfish financiers are trying to destroy it. And they have two well-paid notorious Wall Street whores, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to be the smiley faces behind the steel glove. Although, I should note, that Leo Gerard, President United Steelworkers, the best of American unions, won't take any of their crap. He had a pleasant message to his members today... and some plans to get the country back on the right track.

Another Blue America candidate, West Virginia's Sue Thorn emphasizes these issues every day she's campaigning and today, before setting off for a number of union-oriented events around the district she sent out this tweet:


Her multimillionaire right-wing opponent, David McKinley tries to make a case that she doesn't support coal mining. But he only backs the mine owners-- who finance him lavishly-- and she supports the men and women who work in the coal mining industry. So who really supports coal and who doesn't? Public News Service took a look last week:

Federal records show one of Congressman David McKinley's largest campaign donors is Murray Energy, the mine company owned by Robert Murray. Mine safety experts say Murray was directly responsible for the deaths of nine miners at Crandall Canyon in Utah in 2007, and McKinley's opponent says the congressman should return Murray's money.

Sue Thorn says McKinley let Murray host a fundraiser for him this spring, despite the mining company having one of the worst safety records in the industry. She says McKinley calls himself a friend of miners, but votes to block black-lung disease protections and better safety rules.

"He is voting with the people who are giving him money, people like Don Blankenship and Robert Murray. To pretend that he is somehow caring about coal miners is very hypocritical."

Despite multiple phone calls and e-mails, including written questions submitted to his office, McKinley has refused to comment.

According to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the roof at Murray's Crandall Canyon mine collapsed because the company was removing supporting pillars to get at the remaining coal.

The former head of the National Mine Safety and Health Academy says Robert Murray personally chose what was known to be an unsafe practice. Jack Spadaro calls Murray's actions a "principal cause" of the accident that killed six miners and three of the rescue workers who went in after them.

"You'll see Bob Murray's hand in the events that led up to the mine disaster that resulted in the deaths of nine miners."

Until the Upper Big Branch disaster in West Virginia in April 2010, Crandall Canyon had resulted in the largest-ever MSHA fines. But Spadaro says Murray has a history of using his political influence to help him cut corners. Murray did not return a call requesting comment.

McKinley has a full-size poster of a coal miner in his office and tells visitors he's in Washington to represent miners like that one. To Spadaro, it's hypocrisy.

"There's no question about that, he's a hypocrite. He may say that and have that poster in his office, but he hasn't done anything to further the interests of miners and to make their workplace safe."

Labor Day greetings from an anti-working family asshole

Due north of Sue's Appalachian district is another mountainous resource extraction area where a progressive woman is facing off against a far right multimillionaire freshman. This time, we're talking about PA-03 where Missa Eaton (D) is facing Mike Kelly (R), who's wife is an heir to the Phillips Petroleum fortune. Kelly is an anti-union fanatic. Missa, supports the legitimate aspirations of working families and, of course, unions. Like every Democrat and every thinking American, she understands exactly who built this country. This was her Labor Day message:

Today is the 118th time our country has officially celebrated Labor Day as a federal holiday. As we enjoy this day of rest and commemorate it with picnics and parades, let us also thank the men and women who have helped build this great nation into the economic leader it is.

Through hard work, sweat, and even blood, the American workforce produced our Industrial Revolution. This same amazing workforce built the planes, tanks, and ships to arm and protect our nation in numerous wars. And today, this American work ethos lives on in our workers as they continue to make our country a leader in the new, global economy.

My parents instilled a strong work ethic in me that I carry with me every day. They worked hard and they worked with their hands. Because of the values they taught me, I am ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work for the people of Pennsylvania’s Third District.

I am proud to have the support of many labor groups, including: Teamsters Joint Council 40, Teamsters Local 261, Teamsters Local 397, United Steel Workers, United Auto Workers, Utility Workers of America Union, United Mine Workers, Iron Workers Local 3, United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters, Service Employees International Union, Communications Workers of America, Union of Electrical and Radio Workers, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Sheet Metal Workers Local 33, AFSCME Council 85, and the National Education Association.

Enjoy your Labor Day

A jog west and we get to MI-11 in the Detroit suburbs, the open red seat Taj Syed is turning blue. Taj is a successful physician. His patients, though, to whom he's dedicated his life, are mostly working families. He's running for them. "Here in Detroit," he told his supporters today, "our shared history in the Labor Movement carries a special meaning for Labor Day as we are acutely aware of the struggles and sacrifice that workers have made to build a strong middle class and more just society."

Union leadership and workers advocated and fought for civil rights, equal pay for equal work, safe working conditions, decent wages and benefits, the promise of a secure retirement through Medicare and Social Security, and enhanced opportunities for all who put in a fair days work. This work and sacrifice has had a powerful impact in leading efforts for building a middle class across the state and nation that continues today.

Today, we also celebrate the labor movements’ ability to adapt, innovate and advance the causes of the American worker and American Auto Industry. Our workers right here in this great area demonstrate every day that given the opportunity our workers are the best in the world and possess the skills and determination necessary to lead the world in producing exceptional vehicles-- competing globally and leading the auto industry world wide.

Union members across our district and economy deserve a special thank you this labor day-– from the police and firefighters protecting our community to the teachers educating our youth, the tradesmen building a 21st century infrastructure and the nurses caring for those in need.

That’s why this Labor Day, I vow to keep up the fight for working middle class families across Greater Detroit, and the nation.Together as one, we can protect the jobs, wages and rights that made this country the strongest nation in the world.

I wish you and your family a relaxing and hopeful Labor Day

So does DWT! And we hope youl enjoy every weekend-- while you still can. Oh... and Red Smear... from Iowa:

Austerity Vs Prosperity-- In Congressional Race After Congressional Race, That's The #1 Question

Normally on Tuesdays we introduce a new Blue America candidate. But this week we're concentrating on the responses our candidates have to Austerity. In short, the response is... Prosperity. Like I said yesterday, Jacob Hacker and Nate Loewentheil have put into words-- and numbers-- the premise upon which progressives have been battling the Ryan Budget, the Wall Street Agenda and any moves towards a Grand Bargain that takes from the working and middle class to further enrich the already too wealthy. If you want to get into Hacker's and Loewentheil's details, which I encourage you to do, here are 60 glorious pages. Alan Grayson summed it up-- at least in part-- pretty well in the 30 second campaign ad above. He's running against a typical Republican clone who wants to turn Social Security over to Wall Street. That's a key to the Austerity Agenda and Grayson wants to make sure voters in FL-09 know all about it. Yesterday Grayson explained one of the reasons Prosperity Economics is so important right now:

The Seinfeld show, which TV Guide named the greatest TV show of all time (seriously), often was described as a show about nothing. We are in danger of the 2012 Election becoming an election about nothing. When a nation is facing the kind of problems that we are facing, then Barack Obama’s birth certificate, his religious beliefs, Mitt Romney’s gaffes, his personal deductions, and even Todd Akin’s understanding of female anatomy all are the moral equivalent of nothing. This coming election is too important to be about nothing. And that is why Nate Loewentheil’s “Prosperity Economics” platform is important-- it’s not nothing, it’s something. Something big. For a Democratic victory to be meaningful, for it to create a “mandate,” we owe it to America to explain what we would do with that victory. We need to make some promises, and then do our darnedest to try to keep them. “Prosperity Economics” is a coherent, comprehensive plan that offers the hope-- the essential hope-- of leading us out of the wilderness.

Although every Democrat on our Americans for REAL Prosperity page is running against a Republican who wants to privatize Social Security and abolish Medicare, few of them are stupid enough to say it into a microphone the way Todd Long, Grayson's hapless opponent did (several times). But all of these Democrats are using the issues that make up Prosperity Economics as part of the foundation of their campaigns. In yesterday's post we saw Jay Chen's and David Gill's pushback against Austerity in California and Illinois.

Every candidate on our growing list approachs the Austerity vs Prosperity battle from their own unique perspective. Aryanna Strader is running against anti-Choice fanatic Joe Pitts in a newly blue-leaning Pennsylvania district (16th CD) and she looks at the dichotomy in light of her own experiences:

As a small business owner, mother, and Iraq War veteran, I stand behind the foundations of prosperity economics presented by Dr. Hacker and Mr. Loewentheil. Like every aspiring entrepreneur, it comes as no surprise that our goals are to expand our business. Investing in America's growth through infrastructure not only creates jobs but drives private business to make investments of their own. Empowering young people who want to pursue higher education only makes us a greater, more competitive nation. Ensuring that people like my mother are secure in their retirement is a necessity. My mother worked hard her entire life as a waitress and her only form of retirement is Social Security. Had Medicare been turned into a voucher program, my mother would not have been able to receive a life-saving operation. We must do all we can to protect Medicare and ensure that those in future generation will have access to the health care they need. I served our Country and defended Democracy. Additionally I fought to protect and foster the right to vote of every U.S. citizen in order for their voice to be heard. We must remove barriers that infringe upon this right so that we can hold our elected officials accountable. The middle-class; the poor have been punched in the gut for far too long. Our American worker has always risen to the occasion throughout history. We in turn must support ideas that restore and provide them the ability to flourish. It is common sense in my opinion that we cannot have prosperity for all unless we justly and fairly provide the opportunity for all to prosper.

Syed Taj-- also running in a blue-leaning district (MI-11 in the Detroit suburbs)-- is an immigrant from India who has been a doctor for decades and teh first Democrat in his township to win elective office in many years. His whole reason for running for Congress is tied up in the bedrock of Prosperity Economics... and has been even before Hacker tied it together and put a name on it.

Prosperity Economics is the kind of powerful, intellectual force we need to rebuild our middle class, grow our economy, and recreate the equitable society that accomplished so much throughout our nation’s history. These are common sense solutions for sustainable public policy. We need leaders in Congress to invest in our middle class and Hacker and Loewntheil have shown the way. As a physician and small business owner, I stand behind this plan to rebuild our economic foundation because we cannot keep believing that prosperity for some must come at the expense of others.

The resistance to economic stimulus, environmental regulation, social safety nets, and progressive taxation has persisted for generations. “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much,” President Roosevelt said, “it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.” These ideals have upheld the test of time. The great feats we’ve accomplished have shown just how effective government can be when we invest in our future and protect the middle class. Economists have proven hazardous effects of austerity, market failures, and income inequality on our society. Austerity has had its day, but from the Great Depression to the Great Recession, it has failed to produce the prosperity its champions have promised. Prosperity Economics gives us a way forward.

The newest candidate to come aboard is Ann Kuster, who's running against New Hampshire corporate shill and Austerity fanatic Charlie Bass. Ann, who's currently ahead in the polling, told us "At hundreds of house parties across New Hampshire's Second Congressional District, I've heard the same thing: the middle class is hurting and they don't feel like they have a voice in Congress. I am running for Congress to be a voice for middle class families in New Hampshire. We can create jobs and turn this economy around so we can have Prosperity once again. How do we do it? Education is how we grew an economy this strong in the first place, and it's where we need to start again. Innovation has been a powerful competitive advantage for America, and we can’t afford to lose our edge. And Rejuvenation-- of our bridges and roads, cities and towns, and highways and broadband communications-- that's the key to a country that is built to win the future. We can make smart cuts, eliminate wasteful spending, and streamline regulation, but I agree with the principles of Prosperity Economics-- that we can't just cut our way to a stronger tomorrow. We need to make smart investments in our future. The time for political arguments and excuses is over. Doing nothing isn’t working. Let’s rebuild our country and win the future, again."