Blanche Lincoln Continues To Lose Support

Blanche knows plenty of oil millionaires but I hope Arkansas voters aren't counting on her introducing them to Shep Huntleigh

When Blanche Lincoln announced that she was going to bend to pressure from her constituents and do some town hall meetings, she didn't actually mean town hall meetings per se. She meant, she would, in the words of Kevin Sack at the NY Times attend a few "controlled events before respectful crowds, like business forums and civic club luncheons." So when she finally did announce two semi-public events Blue America decided to run some more of the cable TV spots she seems to hate in the two places she had decided to favor with her presence. This morning I went through the logs to see what times of the day and which exact programs the spots ran on.

First of all I was delighted to see that the cable networks had all abided by the rule Blue America has is that we would rather pass on advertising than allow any of our ads to be run on the racism-promoting Glenn Beck Show. There were plenty of ads on O'Reilly, Hannity, Fox and Friends, Neil Cavuto, and Greta Van Sustren-- sickening enough to be a party to-- but not a single ad went to underwrite the anti-American gibberish that Glen Beck spouts daily. We'll hold to that policy under ColorOfChange asks us to reconsider.

The cable provider that covers Benton County in the extreme northwest of the state is out of Springfield, Missouri and they ran spots for us the day before, the day of, and the day after her appearance, mostly on CNN plus a few on Fox, a schedule similar, though smaller of course, than the one we ran in Little Rock-- everything from Larry King Live to American Morning and Anderson Cooper 360.

Meanwhile, Lincoln is running scared. Her re-elect numbers are in the toilet. In fact no senator in recent years has been re-elected with numbers a year out as low as hers are now. What she has going for her is the nature of Arkansas as a one-party state, the corporate party. She has a grotesque excuse for a Democrat, state Senate President Bob Johnson threatening to primary her from the right. Yes, as bad as she is-- among the 3 worst Democrats in the Senate-- Arkansas (a state whose voters say they prefer Rush Limbaugh over Barack Obama; I hope someone polls what they think of Glenn Beck next) has even worse ready to take her place. The moribund state of the Arkansas Republican Party is protecting her on that flank, since the 7 GOP pygmies huffing and puffing about running against her are all so much political chaff.

However there are two independents in the race, Greenland Mayor John Gray, running as a Green, and Afghanistan War vet/Teamsters Union member, Trevor Drown. The Greens have shown that they can be counted on to bring in double digit returns against a reactionary Democrat, as their candidate did last year against Mark Pryor (20%). Meanwhile Arkansas voters are waiting to hear more on where Drown stands on specific issues, while already impressed that his emphasis has been on ordinary working families rather than on powerful corporate interests-- like the politicians from two parties that have made up the one-party state. This morning he told me on the phone that he's worried the health care debate is missing the point. "It appears," he said "anger and party politics have overshadowed what the real need is-- affordable health care for Americans without coverage. The politicians need to think about the impact to the rest of country and come up with a workable solution which will alleviate all of our concerns. In history so many leaders and influencers have said a number of variations of this quote. It has never been more important than it is right now. 'Any society, any nation, is judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members; the last, the least, the littlest.'"

If you'd like to watch the 3 ads or donate to keeping them on TV while Lincoln works with the GOP to undermine health care reform, Employee Free Choice, fair taxation and climate and energy legislation, please click here.

Blanche Lincoln-- Hiding From Arkansas Voters

And so many of her constituents would like a word with her

Yesterday Arkansas corporate shill Blanche Lincoln got into the NY Times without just being a name in a list of conservative Democrats joining with the GOP to thwart progressive solutions to the problems that plague ordinary working families. She works for WalMart and the other major corporations that have funded her disgraceful career, not for Arkansas voters-- and she's well paid. And no one who's ever paid off Blanche Lincoln has ever complained that she didn't deliver the goods for them-- the way she is now by working diligently from her position on the Senate Finance Committee to undermine health care reform and pass a bogus bill that will enrich her Insurance Industry donors and further impoverish Arkansas families. But it isn't just her current work against climate legislation, against Employee Free Choice and against health care reform that has helped give Blanche Lincoln the reputation of being among the worst Democrats in the Senate, and one who is always most willing to cross the aisle and make common cause with conservative Republicans.

While Bush was president she often was one of the few Democrats to vote to confirm his completely unqualified and extreme right nominations to the judiciary. Overall, her voting record is abysmal no matter what issues you look at. Lincoln supported Bush's unprovoked attack on Iraq in 2002 and kept right on supporting the war as more and more of her colleagues wised up. She's either the worst Democrat in the Senate or among the 3 worst on a whole host of issues from wasting tax dollars on corporate subsidies and preventing adequate checks on corporate power, to undermining American workers, opposing equal justice, working against fair taxation and against a clean environment (where she's even worse than many Republicans!).

One of her colleagues told me, off the record of course, that it probably wouldn't matter if she was defeated and replaced by a Republican next year since on all the most important matters that come before the Senate she's "more than likely to vote with the GOP than stick with us anyway."

Yesterday's Times however, carried a poorly researched bit of flackery by Kevin Sack about how she has been able to avoid her constituents during the August break. She's been especially careful to stay away from any situation that could expose her to ordinary working Arkansans who have been most victimized by her political maneuverings over the years.

While her colleagues subjected themselves to brickbats at town-hall-style meetings, Ms. Lincoln filled the first week of the Senate recess with controlled events before respectful crowds, like business forums and civic club luncheons. The closest demonstrators got to Arkansas’s senior senator were the clusters of people who waved placards from roadsides as her car zipped by.

...Ms. Lincoln, a rice farmer’s daughter, has already broken with her party on several important measures. While she voted for the stimulus package and the rescue of the financial system, she opposed the reauthorization of the banking infusion and the carmakers’ bailout. She also opposes a Democratic initiative to help workers unionize and the House’s cap-and-trade legislation to reduce industrial emissions.

But her stand on health care could prove even more defining. Her office phones are ringing off the hook, with most callers expressing displeasure. Even at her well-mannered events, angst was evident.

At a Lions Club lunch in Malvern last week, Barry Ballard, 64, told Ms. Lincoln that his doctor was dropping him when he turned 65 because Medicare did not pay enough. “Are we going to run into another government-operated program that the doctors won’t support?” Mr. Ballard asked.

At the moment, Ms. Lincoln does not seem to be in serious political trouble in seeking a third term.

An interesting way of characterizing a disapproval rate so high that 60% of her constituents in a recent poll said they would not vote to re-elect her if the election were held today. I guess Sack must have figured that the 27% who say they would vote to re-elect her are the only ones likely to turn up on election day. Sack probably thinks she's safe because the GOP hasn't put up a credible opponent, although we're hearing that they may yet dig one up. Were Huckabee to take her on, she'd be lucky to get 40% of the vote. Recently, however, there has been an under the radar movement in several states among people sick and tired of corrupt politicians from both parties. People are thinking about supporting independents who are neither corrupt Democrats not corrupt Republicans, And Arkansas has one of the most plausible independents running for the Senate in any state, Trevor Drown. Last night I asked him why he thought Lincoln was avoiding speaking with voters the way other members of Congress are-- and the way he has been doing since expressing interest in challenging her.

I find it disturbing Senator Lincoln, the wife of a doctor is allowing her need to support the special interest groups who have put millions into her campaign accounts over the medical care of so many Arkansans and Americans who cannot afford it.
 
Senator Lincoln, needs to firmly establish now, who she works for; the people of the State of Arkansas or the Corporate Cash Cows, who appears to have bought her influence.
 
As a veteran and a son, I owe a debt of gratitude to those that came before me, raised me and made this country what it is. I will not turn my back on the elderly or those unfortunate enough to not have affordable health care.
 
Senator Lincoln’s failure to hold town hall meetings to allow Arkansans to express their opinions, regardless of the reasons, is indicative that she is out of touch with the people of this state or that her staff has insulated her from what is going on. This is an example of poor leadership.

In Washington D.C. poor leadership costs hard-working Americans money they don’t have. In combat, poor leadership, can result in someone dying.
 
I have been a member of the Teamster for 20 years and their support of my family while working at UPS and while I was deployed in Afghanistan is something I will always appreciate.
 
If nothing else, a leader is a listener. He listens to those he is responsible for or those he represents. When you fail to listen you lose the confidence of the people followed by their support. A leader is also a buffer, he shelters those that he represents and leads from those who are attempting to do something that is not helpful. Finally a leader is a fighter, one who fights for those that he leads or represents to ensure they get taken care of and their needs are met. Senator Lincoln has failed in all aspect of this.

Kevin Sack at the NY Times may think Blanche Lincoln is "safe" in her re-election efforts but people in Arkansas know better. Watch the ad Blue America ran in all the towns she visited in her off-limits-to-regular-people tour of the state last week-- and if you can, please chip in so we can keep it-- and two others from the same series-- on the air:

Could 2010 Bring An Independent Caucus In The Senate To 4?

We've seen enough of these 2 clowns

In 2006 I figured that one of the best ways progressive bloggers could be of service would be to help drum up some kind of challenge to Nebraska's arch-conservative Ben Nelson, a putative Democrat who has been voting with Republicans on substantive issues for years and years. According to ProgressivePunch Nelson has voted more frequently with Republicans on crucial votes, both this year and during his entire career, than any other Democrat. Worse yet, his current year's cumulative progressive score is actually closer to those of Republican senators like Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and Arlen Specter than it is to any of the next most conservative Democrats, Evan Bayh, Blanche Lincoln and Max Baucus! But I couldn't find any allies who wanted to take on Baucus and the sensible decision was to try-- successfully, as it turned out-- to elect enough Democrats to win back the House and Senate. That year, with endorsements from anti-Choice groups, the NRA, the US Chamber of Commerce, the viciously anti-union BIPAC and all kind of groups that always back conservative Republicans, Nelson took 64% of his state's vote against a hapless Republican multimillionaire from Wall Street, Pete Ricketts, even winning votes from 42% of Nebraska Republican voters. Next time Nelson is up for a possible primary is 2012.

Last year I was gung ho to back races against conservative Democrats Mary Landrieu (LA) and Mark Pryor (AR). Instead the netroots yawned and got behind right-leaning Democrats like Kay Hagen (NC), Mark Begich (AK), Mark Udall (CO) and Mark Warner (VA). Next time any of them, despite atrocious voting records, can be held accountable is 2014.

This year Arkansas' corrupt corporate senior senator, Blanche Lincoln, is up for re-election-- and fairing increasingly badly in approval surveys. She has vowed to join the Republicans to filibuster the Employee Free Choice Act, she has come out against climate change legislation, and she has been a prime behind the scenes operator in replacing progressive initiatives in health care reform with the self-serving agenda drawn up by her generous campaign donors among CEOs and lobbyists from Big Insurance. This week, according to the Arkansas Times she told demonstrators at a health care town hall in Benton County that she opposes the public option because "We cannot afford it" and then went on citing Republican talking points prepared by Insurance Industry lobbyists about how the post office and Medicare are screwed up. Although Blue America has been running cable TV spots about her anti-health care positions few among progressive groups-- most of whom say they hate her-- are interested in helping. [If you'd like to, that link in the last sentence is the place to do it, by the way.]

Labor unions and progressive groups have scoured the state looking for a plausible Democrat to challenge Lincoln in a primary. More than a few Democratic office holders dislike her and abhor her corruption and her conservatism but, so far, no one has had the cajones. We've been talking with the Green Party candidate who drew 20% against Pryor last year and there's a chance she might do it. Far less plausible for progressives-- at least at first glance-- is Trevor Drown, an earnest and straight-talking former Green Beret who's never run for office and is mostly known for having spoken at a wingnut tea party. I called him up and asked him if he's a teabagger. He isn't. Nor is he a Republican-- and like many independents has very low regard for the GOP. He turned down Republicans asking him to run against Lincoln on their ticket. He's an independent-minded problem solver who is essentially non-partisan. If he's elected to the Senate, is he going to vote with the Democrats on key issues more frequently than Lincoln? Possibly, but I'm not fooling myself about the likelihood of Drown, though a union member (Teamsters) himself, turning into a Jeff Merkley or a Bernie Sanders. But I'll tell you what the differences are that I see between him and Lincoln:

1- he isn't corrupt and he won't have his head up the asses of every corporate CEO waving a check under his nose;

2- he genuinely cares about ordinary American working families and will look to put their interests ahead of the special interests;

3- no matter how he votes on issues, he won't be working behind the scenes to undermine progressives within the Democratic caucus-- since he won't be in the Democratic caucus;

4- no one trying to persuade him about the merits of a progressive stand on an issue is going to face a closed mind or a door closed to all but corporate donors.

At his new Dare To Make A Difference website, Drown a fascinating blog that bills itself as the philosophical third party opposition to the two-party system. They cover everything from the Working Families Party, the Socialist Party and even the Communist Party to the Conservative Party, the Libertarians and The Whigs and currently is covering the races of two independent former Republicans, Lincoln Chafee and Tim Cahill, respectively running credible campaigns for governor of, respectively, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. I want to go in entirely different direction though: south-- from Arkansas. That would be Louisiana.

Louisiana's big election next year is the junior senator seat, currently held-- very tentatively-- by extremist Republican hack and hypocritical whore monger David Diapers Vitter. Democrats must be salivating at the prospect of knocking off a mindless obstructionist like Vitter and they appear to be putting up someone nearly as reactionary, corporate shill and Blue Dog, Charlie Melancon. An ice-cream man before getting into politics, Melancon boasts to his constituents that he's anti-choice, anti-gay and pro-gun. Republicans are so happy with him that they didn't even bother to run anyone against him last year, even though McCain took the district with 61%-- a significantly higher percentage than Bush won in 2000 or 2004.

I've been more interested in the independent race of adult film actress Stormy Daniels, which is probably not going to happen. This week, however, another Independent, one who sounds, in some ways, something like Trevor Drown, officially declared that he is running for the seat. Bob Lang is also a combat veteran and a strong defender of the Second Amendment. He doesn't seem nearly as open-minded about the issues facing the country and from what I can gather, this one really could be a teabagger.

"This country, in my opinion, is on the verge of a financial calamity and changing from a constitutional republic to a socialist/communist form of government. If the United States Congress and president continue to spend in such an insane manner and borrow at least half of everything we spend, that will be a guaranteed recipe for national suicide and nation failure.

Citizens who believe in a small and sovereign federal government, a strong sovereign state government and all of the power in the hands of the people have to come forward now to stop this out of control socialist train that is flying down the tracks at warp speed."

Like Drown he's a committed Christian but unlike Drown he's an anti-Choice fanatic and a xenophobe. I have a feeling he'd like to bring back the gold standard and he's running a campaign at least partially based on Vitter's moral failings: "I give you my word," he tells voters, "that I will not embarrass the citizens of Louisiana with immortal [though I think he means immoral] behavior while serving as your U.S. senator. I humbly ask for your vote on Nov. 2, 2010." Gee, I hope Stormy decides to run!