Massachusetts Got Bluer Yesterday As Democrats Flipped Two Of The Last State Senate Seats (In Trump Districts)

Man In The Middle by Nancy Ohanian

People think of Massachusetts as an all blue state. It isn't. There's a Republican governor. And although Hillary won in a landslide in 2016, Trump still got over a million votes (33.5%). And in 2018, Republican Geoff Diehl won 36.2% of the vote statewide against Elizabeth Warren in the U.S. Senate contest and beat her by a point in Plymouth County (where Trump had done relatively well too). Republican Governor Charlie Baker was reelected 1,781,982 (66.8%) to 886,281 (33.2%) against Democrat Jay Gonzalez, winning every county in the state in his massive landslide. And the state elects Republicans to the state legislature too. There are 31 Republicans in the 160-member state House and after the 2018 election the 40-member state Senate had 6 Republicans. As of yesterday, though, there are just 4 Republicans in the state Senate.

Yesterday saw two special elections to replace Republicans who retired. As we explained a couple of months ago, Republicans Donald Humason (who didn't even have an opponent in 2018!) and Vinny deMacedo resigned from their seats, respectively in Hampden and Hampshire and in Plymouth and Barnstable. In the primaries, there were clear signals that these two red districts-- both of which had voted for Trump in 2018-- were going to go blue. In the Hampden and Hampshire district, 20,848 people voted for the Democrat and just 5,586 came out to vote for the Republican. That's quite a disparity. There was also one in the other district, where 32,858 Democrats voted in the primary but just 14,755 Republicans.

Yesterday, the two seats flipped, auguring very badly for Republicans in 2020. The chairman of the state Democratic Party, Gus Bickford, said the big defeats reflected a rejection of Señor Trumpanzee's politics. John Velis, a conservative Democrat, beat John Cain in Humason's district (which hadn't elected a Democrat in 25 years) in a landslide-- 64-36%. And Democrat Susan Moran beat Republican Trumpist James McMahon 10,780 (55%) to 8,927 (45%).

Both special elections had been scheduled for March 31 but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were carried out with both traditional in-person voting and the use of mail-in voting, an option that lawmakers are weighing for the Sept. 1 primary and Nov. 3 general election.

"Two areas that were strong for Donald Trump a few years ago came back home and voted blue tonight," Democratic Party Chair Gus Bickford said in a statement Tuesday night. "Democrats and independents are united now more than ever, and we will continue to work together through the fall. These two flipped seats are a sign of things to come in a few months."

..."Not only is this a great day for Senator-elect Moran, it's a great day for her new constituents and their fellow Bay Staters," said Rebecca Hart Holder, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts. "Her victory flipped a seat that had been previously held by a staunch anti-choice politician and prevented it from falling into the hands of another."

On June 2, voters are scheduled to settle two House special elections to fill seats held until recently by Jennifer Benson of Lunenburg and Shaunna O'Connell of Taunton. Benson left the House to work as president of the Alliance for Business Leadership and O'Connell resigned after being elected as mayor of her hometown last November.

Democrat Carol Doherty and Republican Kelly Dooner, both of Taunton, are competing in the Third Bristol House district. In the 37th Middlesex district, Democrat Danillo Sena of Acton faces Republican Catherine Clark of Lunenburg.

Blue America concentrates on congressional seats and the only times we get involved in state legislative races is when we sense a candidate is so extraordinary that they are destined for Congress or for statewide office. This cycle we are looking at several candidates around the country and so far we have endorsed just three. You can find them by clicking on the 2020 Blue America state legislative races thermometer above. Remember, some of the best and most effective members of Congress, like Red Lieu (D-CA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) honed their skills in their states' legislatures. Two of our top congressional candidates-- Jon Hoadley (D-MI) and Tom Winter (D-MT)-- are currently-serving members of their state legislatures.

Trump and his enablers are getting blamed for the incompetent and dysfunctional U.S. response to the pandemic, If that keeps building, especially if Wave II is as strong as I expect it to be, the November anti-red electoral wave is going to be mighty strong.

Will Democrats Keep 3 Massachusetts Special Election Seats In 9 Days-- Or Will The State Shut Down Voting? Anyone Ever Hear Of Absentee Voting?

In the 2018 election, Democrats increased their majorities in the Massachusetts state legislature, picking up 3 seats in the state Senate and 10 in the state House. There are 4 special elections on March 31, a week from Tuesday. Tomorrow the state legislature will decide whether or not to postpone the elections. My bet is that they will. These are the vacant seats being contested:

• Hampden and Hampshire state Senate District. Republican Donald Humason, who had no opponent in 2018, resigned after being elected mayor of Westfield. Democratic state Rep. John Velis, a self-described "fiscal conservative," will face off against Republican businessman John Cain. Neither had a primary opponent. 20,848 Democrats voted, as did just 5,586 Republicans.
• Plymouth and Barnstable state Senate District (Bourne, Falmouth, Kingston, Plymouth, Pembroke and Sandwich). Republican Vinny deMacedo resigned to take a non-governmental job. Democratic selectwoman Susan Moran will face Republican James McMahon III, the losing GOP candidate for Attorney General in 2018. 32,858 Democrats voted in the primary but just 14,755 Republicans.
• Bristol House District 3. Republican Shaunna O'Connell after being elected mayor of Taunton. Democrat Carol Doherty won her primary and will face Kelly Dooner, who was unopposed in the GOP primary. 4,994 Democrats voted in the primary, as did 1,614 Republicans.
• Middlesex House Distict 37. Democrat Jennifer Benson resigned to take a job outside of government. Democrat Danillo Sena won her primary and will face Catherine Clark, who won the Republican primary. 9,544 Democrats and 2,451 Republicans voted in the primaries.

Why did so many more Democrats vote in the primaries in these districts, three of which are red? Primaries were held on the same day as the Massachusetts presidential primary which attracted far more Democrats than Republicans.

The DLCC wrote that "Flipping even one seat like these would be a huge victory for Democrats everywhere. They all [the 3 who elected Republican legislators] lean Republican at the local level-- one has been in GOP hands for more than a quarter-century!-- but revulsion against Trump has finally given Democrats an opening to flip them blue."

States have been postponing elections. "Postponing" is absurd in the early stages of a deadly pandemic expected to rage for the rest of the year or possibly close to 2 years. Organizations and governments that say anything other "until further notice" are either stupid or lying. It's time to start mail-only voting as a way for preparing for November. Polling places are death traps, especially for polling workers but for long lines of voters included. Governors cancelling primaries and special elections are doing the right thing. But legislatures must immediately-- as in before they are told to stay home the way Georgia's state legislature has-- pass laws allowing for mail-in voting. Republicans oppose this since he makes it easier for people to vote, something conservatives oppose with all their might and ugliness.

Vote-by-mail is favored by a majority of Americans-- 55% to 25% who oppose the idea, mostly Republicans naturally.

Do you want some good news? Here's a Snopes page the checked out that viral list of good things from around the world that's been circulating widely online. Most of it is true or partially true. Here in California, Governor Newsom issued an executive order on Friday to permit vote-by-mail n all upcoming election. And the same day, the Texas Democratic Party filed a lawsuit aimed at increasing access to vote by mail.

The plaintiffs are “demanding a declaratory judgment that allows all eligible voters, who believe their health is in danger under the threat of COVID-19, the ability to cast their ballot by mail if they so choose," according to a press release.

The lawsuit was filed in Travis County District Court against the Texas secretary of state and Travis County Elections.

Texas has one of the most restrictive vote-by-mail programs in the country. Voters must be older than 65, disabled, out of the county or in jail to vote by mail in the state.

“We must do everything we can to guarantee access to the ballot box for individuals who are practicing social distancing and self-quarantining,” Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement. “Current law says you can vote-by-mail if you are disabled and we believe COVID-19 puts the health of all of us at risk. This lawsuit will.”

Mike Siegel, who was the City Attorney of Austin before he decided to run for Congress, has been super-concerned about Texas voting restrictions for long before COVID-19. "This crisis," he told us this morning, "shows how important representative government is, and we must condemn any policy that weakens our democracy. In Texas, vote by mail is restricted to the elderly, to travelers, and to persons with a disability. Disability is defined as having a 'physical condition' such that going to the polls represents a risk of injury. Of course, in this coronavirus pandemic, every person is at risk by going to the polls, not to mention poll workers themselves. Universal access to vote by mail is thus essential to protect both democracy and public health. Unfortunately, the Texas Republican Party fears opening the door to 'no excuse' vote by mail, because once open it will be hard to close. More participation means a faster decline for a GOP that clings to an anti-immigrant, anti-Black, anti-choice and anti-justice agenda. The public sees that vote by mail is the obvious choice. Hopefully we can continue to build pressure to force progress to occur."

Last week, in a Washington Post OpEd Amy Klobuchar and Ron Wyden advocated for a bill they introduced to allow every American to vote by mail. "The best way to ensure that this virus doesn’t keep people from the ballot box is to bring the ballot box to them," they wrote. "We must allow every American the ability to vote by mail." And then they added something that seems oxymoronic (although ACLU voting Rights Project director, Dale Ho, explains it in the video below): "And we must expand early voting so that voters who are not able to vote by mail are not exposed to the elevated infection risks of long lines and crowded polling locations."

Today Is Election Day In Massachusetts

Whoever wins the Democratic primary in MA-05 today will be Congress' next member-- and they walk right into the dysfunctional mess in DC. Only one candidate is prepared to walk into that mess and take a significant role and that's Carl Sciortino. No way to be sure who's going to win today. The EMILY's List candidate, Katherine Clark wrote herself a check for a quarter million dollars to buy the seat and EMILY's List continues to pour massive amounts of money into the race-- another $58,666 just last week from their shady Women Vote SuperPAC that ran the misleading ads suggesting that Elizabeth Warren endorsed their horribly flawed pro-domestic spying candidate. Warren, of course, refused to do any such thing. In fact, all the congressional progressives who have endorsed in this race-- Alan Grayson, Raul Grijalva, Mark Takano, Jared Polis and Keith Ellison-- have endorsed Sciortino. Sunday night Grayson sent out a finally message to his Massachusetts supporters urging them to get out and vote for Carl.

I always thought that defending Social Security and Medicare was a good thing. But apparently, the corporate media doesn't agree with me. So the corporate media has dumped all over Congressional candidate Carl Sciortino-- for defending Social Security and Medicare.



Earlier this year, as you may recall, there was a lot of nattering about cutting Social Security benefits by messing with the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). I didn't like that. My philosophy is simple: If it ain't broke, don't break it. So I authored the Grayson-Takano letter, pledging to vote against any and every cut in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. Almost 50 of my House colleagues joined me. We posted the same pledge at No-Cuts.com, and that helped us to deliver almost 3,000,000 petition signatures to the White House and to the House Speaker against earned benefit cuts.



Call me naïve, but I think that it's very important to let the voters know where every candidate stands. So I have encouraged Congressional candidates across the country to take the pledge, and promise to vote against earned benefit cuts.

Carl Sciortino is running to replace now-Senator Ed Markey in the U.S. House of Representatives. He did just that. Carl Sciortino promised to protect Social Security and Medicare from benefit cuts.


That pledge should have earned Sciortino applause. Instead, it earned him a nasty smack from the Boston Globe. By way of background, the Boston Globe is now owned by a Wall Street commodities and futures trader (but then again, what isn't?). Needless to say, Wall Street wants to privatize Social Security, and voucherize Medicare. So this week, the Boston Globe condemned Sciortino's staunch support for Social Security and Medicare, citing it as evidence that Sciortino lacks "maturity." (Excuse me, but isn't it precisely the "mature" ones among us who are most dependent on Social Security and Medicare?)

The Boston Globe chose to endorse a different candidate in Carl's race, on the theory that her stated willingness to cut Social Security and Medicare supposedly marked her as the "mature" candidate, even though this might be "disappointing to liberals." (Irony alert: the other candidate actually had pledged to a liberal group that she would not cut Social Security and Medicare, just before pledging to the Boston Globe that she would. So it appears that pandering and prevarication are the best marks of "maturity.")

The good voters of Massachusetts are about to choose between Carl Sciortino, a fierce defender of Social Security and Medicare, and another candidate who stands for I-don't-know-what. Shortly, one of these two candidates will be serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, and voting on our Social Security and our Medicare.



I think that we had better support Carl Sciortino. Right now. Because our future is at stake.



Last call. Tuesday is Election Day in Carl's district.


 The race is all about turn-out now, of course, and Carl has an outstanding field team. Blue America's giant electronic billboard is now flashing a "Vote today" message, along with messages about being a proud liberal, a proponent of equal pay for women and someone willing to stand up to the NRA. We'll update this post tonight when the votes are counted.

The Home Stretch In Massachusetts Brings Out The Worst In EMILY's List-- As Usual

Of course Elizabeth Warren refused to endorse conservative shill Katherine Clark, but that didn't keep EMILY's List from printing up these fliers

Last April, Digby exposed the EMILY's List strategy for beating progressive L.A. mayoral contender-- and now progressive L.A. Mayor-- Eric Garcetti on behalf of their Republican-"turned"-Democrat conservative candidate with a sleazy campaign mailer you can see here. The obvious intention was to portray Garcetti, a happily married man and a naval officer, as a sleaze bag. L.A. voters know him too well, and the EMILY's List slimy tactics failed miserably and their pathetic candidate lost badly. EMILY's List sent out the shady mailer under another of the many names they use to mislead people: "California Women's Vote." Keep that in the back of your mind for a second.

A few years before that, EMILY's List financed a very corrupt conservative-- the Harold Ford Machine candidate-- against progressive Congressman Steve Cohen. EMILY's List didn't just finance a race-baiting sociopath against Tennessee's only good congressman, they financed a virulently anti-Semitic campaign against him-- so virulently anti-Semitic that when wealthy Jewish EMILY's List donors had a mass conniption, EMILY's List was forced to withdraw their endorsement… the day of the election! The EMILY's List executive who made the decision to go with Nikki Tinker was soon eased out. But EMILY's List disgusting and sleazy tactics-- like the ones used against Eric Garcetti-- are still the heart and soul of what they do when they take over a candidate's campaign. Five years ago, the day before the pressure got too intense on EMILY's List to keep backing Tinker, their anti-Semitic and homophobic candidate, I wrote this:

Tennessee holds its primary tomorrow and all eyes are on Memphis, where progressive freshman Steve Cohen, who is white and Jewish, is being challenged by a vicious anti-Semitic, racist pawn of ex-Congressman Harold Ford. It's been a very ugly race-- and the ugliness is all on one side, Nikki Tinker's. Steve Cohen was first elected in 2006 with the help of Blue America and we have enthusiastically endorsed him again. If you know anyone in Memphis, please call them and talk to them about this race. Cohen has been a real leader for working families and he is the only progressive congressman from Tennessee. Tinker is a complete corporate shill and far more conservative across a wide array of issues. Rahm Emanuel, a longtime ally of Ford's, has encouraged institutional support for Tinker and has prevented his DCCC pawn, Chris Van Hollen, from coming to the aid of Cohen, the way the DCCC and Nancy Pelosi backed other challenged incumbents like Kilpatrick yesterday and Al Wynn a few months ago. One of the most corrupt members of the Democratic Party, Gregory Meeks (NY) has been supporting Tinker, as has Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio). More progressive and respectable members of the Congressional Black Caucus like John Conyers and Jesse Jackson, Jr. have been campaigning for Cohen.

So why rehash all that EMILY's List crap again now? Well, of course, they're up to it again-- this time in the crucial Massachusetts House race next Tuesday. They're raising campaign money for the worst of the 5 contenders, state Senator Kathleen Clark, the very wealthy wiretapping enthusiast. And that ad up top-- that was a flat-out misleading attempt to get voters to think that Elizabeth Warren endorsed Clark. Of course, she hasn't. Progressive members of Congress like Alan Grayson, Raul Grijalva, Keith Ellison, Mark Takano and Jared Polis have loudly and unambiguously endorsed Carl Sciortino. Elizabeth, whose views are in sync with Sciortino's, has insisted on staying neutral in the primary battle in her own state. EMILY's List tried to get her to endorse their horrible candidate and she turned them down. So they printed up thousands of those fliers and send them out all over the district to mislead voters. That's EMILY's List-- and that's Katherine Clark.

A brand new PPP survey shows that 57% of voters are less likely to vote for Clark once they learn that she sponsored a bill, S. 654, to give police more power to listen in on private conversations of people not suspected of breaking the law. Randy Borntrager of People for the American Way explains that the "polling shows once again that Massachusetts voters want a real progressive in the United States House. Carl Sciortino is the only reliable progressive in this race. He has a strong record of standing up for civil rights and civil liberties in Massachusetts, and will bring those values to Washington.”

EMILY's List has morphed into an anti-progressive operation whose sole function is helping to enrich themselves through campaigns backing wealthy women. They take over the campaigns and funnel as much money into their own operations as they can get away with. So they don't care about that. In fact, none of Clark's anti-progressive positions worries them at all, especially since she has a marked tendency to tell whomever she's talking to whatever it is she thinks they want to hear. At the PCCC-sponsored online forum on April 10, where she assumed she was talking to progressives, she said, “I just want to be crystal clear-- that I am taking a pledge never to cut benefits to our seniors through Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid... I will not be part of a ‘grand bargain’ that leaves our seniors behind and breaks our promises to them.” She was trying her best to sound like Carl Sciortino.

But when she talked to the far more conservative editors of the Boston Globe she told them about "her willingness to support a 'grand bargain' to trim the long-term federal deficit, even if it includes some provisions that are disappointing to liberals, is a sign of maturity." If Katherine Clark is elected Tuesday, she'll be Massachusetts' worst Member of Congress… by far. Hopefully the 5th district will opt to elect Massachusetts' best instead.

Carl Sciortino commented on the discrepancy this morning. “It’s appalling to me that Katherine Clark would be open to cutting Social Security and Medicare. We’re Democrats. We’re the ones that stand up for seniors-- not cave to the Tea Party on the most important social safetynet in the last century. I’m proud to stand with Ed Markey in my pledge never to cut these vital American programs. I call on Katherine Clark to clarify her position on Social Security today. The voters of the 5th District deserve to know whether she stands with Ed Markey against cuts in Social Security, or if she would cave to the Tea Party and vote for cuts in a ‘grand bargain’ as she told the Boston Globe.”

One Week From Today-- Crucial Massachusetts Election

There are no teabaggers we have to worry about in the race to replace Ed Markey in the deep blue Massachusetts House seat that will be decided a week from today. Most of the candidates are garden variety Democrats looking to advance their careers. True to form, EMILY's List has backed the most conservative woman running, Katherine Clark, best known for her efforts to pass domestic spying legislation in Massachusetts-- yes a bill that allows people to be spied on without a warrant. Another badly flawed candidate, Will Brownsberger, backs Citizens United and the Keystone XL Pipeline. It's no wonder that a wide coalition of progressive groups have been working hard to elect state Rep. Carl Sciortino and it's no wonder that he's been endorsed by Congressmen Alan Grayson (D-FL), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Mark Takano (D-CA) and Jared Polis (D-CO). ALl of them have met with Carl and understand why he would be much, much more than just someone who votes right. Carl is a natural progressive leader who has proven himself in the state legislature. It's why Blue America endorsed him 8 months ago.

See that ad up top? Every time it gets played, Carl's ranking goes up. It's essential we keep it up on very expensive broadcast TV. Can you chip in? If the ad runs all week, Carl will win. If you want to help out, you can do it at this link.

Carl's been working tirelessly 7 days a week for this-- though he did take off one day last week, Saturday… to get married! Forget the wedding gift… let's just help him keep that ad running. Along with fighting for an economy that works for everyone, not giving up on an assault weapons ban, and protecting a woman's right to choose, Carl will never stop fighting for everyone's right to share the moment he had with his family and friends this weekend-- no matter who you love, and no matter what state you live in.


UPDATE: Not Too Late

I asked Erin Hill, who runs ActBlue, if it's too late to get money that will be used effectively to Carl today. It certainly isn't too late and that's part of the genius of ActBlue. "The Sciortino campaign," she told me, "uses ActBlue for all their online fundraising, specifically to take advantage of our wiring program.  Because of our large economy of scale, ActBlue is able to clear credit cards 'overnight' and wire the funds to the Sciortino campaign the next day.  So, every contribution they get into ActBlue by midnight tonight, the Sciortino campaign can spend as cash tomorrow."

Once again, you can do it here.

Can An Ad Win An Election?

Politics as a bloodsport even predates Ted Cruz immigrating to the United States. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr weren't dueling over a damsel. That video above may win a congressional seat for Carl Sciortino because people like the message. No, not especially the messages on the Blue America billboards based on the video, although those are popular messages in MA-05. But it is the message of comity between an unabashed progressive and a Tea Party member that makes it so compelling. The moment I saw it, I sent it to Norman Lear, creator of All In The Family. Norman loved it, of course.

DWT and then Blue America endorsed Carl last February. Since then, there was a slow build as other progressives joined the fight on his behalf: Alan Grayson, People for the American Way, a plethora of Massachusetts progressive groups, Congressmen Mark Takano, Raul Grijalva, Keith Ellison, Jared Polis... And then the ad came out. Suddenly the campaign was on everyone's radar. Several hundred thousand people viewed it online. It was played over and over on national and local news shows, Carl's contribution rate skyrocketed and his polling numbers started moving, especially among people who had seen the ad.

In their new book, Predisposed-- Liberals, Conservatives, And The Biology Of Political Differences, academics John Hibbing, Kevin Smith and John Alford, cite a definition of American's two political parties from Clinton Rossiter's classic work on political science, Parties and Politics in America:

Democrats: Sweaty, disorderly, offhand, imaginative, tolerant, skillful at give-and-take.
Republicans: Respectable, sober, purposeful, self-righteous, cut-and-dried, boring.

OK, this is before the advent of the Tea Party and before the Beltway Democratic Establishment transformed into "your father's Republican Party" in response to the Republicans transforming into a neo-fascist, anti-democracy operation. But travel back to 1968 for a second when ABC-TV hired conservative movement founder William F. Buckley and author Gore Vidal to serve as analysts-- and sparring partners-- at the Republican and Democratic national conventions. The country was torn apart over Vietnam a the time and the debate was nothing like the lovable back-and-forth between Carl Sciortino and his father in the ad up top. Here's an infamous minute of it:



Predisposed characterized Buckley and Vidal as "smart and hyper-articulate, and their plummy, East Coast establishment tones made them seem so, well, civilized. Perhaps they could demonstrate a more mature way to deal with political differences. Or not.

In their most famous exchange, on April 27, 1978, Buckley asserted that Vidal was unqualified to say anything at all about politics, calling him "nothing more than a literary producer of perverted Hollywood-minded prose." Vidal retorted that Buckley "was always to the right, and always in the wrong," and accused him of imposing his "rather bloodthirsty neuroses on a political campaign."

After that the gloves came off.

"Shut up a minute," said Vidal. Buckley did not shut up. Vidal called him a "proto- or crypto-Nazi." Buckley was not happy with that. "Now listen you queer," he said. "Stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I'll sock you in the goddam face." Buckley went home in a huff and sued Vidal for libel. Vidal went home in a huff and, perhaps miffed that he didn't think of it first, counter-sued Buckley for libel.

So much for a civilized exchange of views.

Quite the contrast with the Sciortino ad and the follow-up appearances all over television with his father!



If you'd like to help Carl keep the ad running on TV, you can contribute to his campaign here... even if you're in the Tea Party.

Batten Down The Hatches-- It's The End Of The Quarter

Maybe you already started getting the desperate and pathetic e-mails from multimillionaire congressmen, like Scott Peters, begging for your money to finance his career-- which is all about supporting Wall Street corporate special interests. Or maybe you got one of those ridiculous Steve Israel e-mails telling you that [fill in the blank] is the most important race of the cycle and please give more money. My own personal favorite DCCC e-mails are about how they need money to fight the evil Republicans trying to defund Obamacare which never mention that the money goes straight into the campaign coffers of Blue Dogs Mike McIntyre (NC) and Jim Matheson (UT), both of whom voted with the evil Republicans to defund Obamacare.

Those races are over a year away and, take my word for it, the pace will only increase as we get closer. Giving the DCCC or any of their cardboard candidates anything will just encourage them to ask for more and more and more. And in any case there's a race coming that's a lot sooner-- October 15, in fact. This isn't just another race to elect another run-of-the-mill Democrat. The MA-05 congressional race will determine if Congress gets a new young progressive leader to stand with principled visionaries like Elizabeth Warren, Alan Grayson, Bernie Sanders, Raul Grijalva, Barbara Lee, Keith Ellison and... there must be a few more.

There are 7 Democratic candidates in the race-- but only one is a proven progressive champion: state Rep. Carl Sciortino. Most of them are just garden variety Democrats, though the worst of the lot, Katherine Clark, is the principle sponsor of a Massachusetts state Senate bill to allow warrantless wiretapping of American citizens. She's dangerous and the ACLU is fighting her big tooth and nail. EMILY's List is pouring money into her campaign, even though there's a far less objectionable woman in the race.

Over 5,000 individual donors have contributed to Carl's campaign and Blue America is helping. You can contribute here at this link if you'd like to. He needs the contributions for his field operation and to keep the Tea Party Dad ad on television. (The ad is up top; it's so compelling that it's given him the most momentum of anyone running.) Since the release of the ad 3,600 individuals donated to the campaign-- a total of $178,000 in just over a week! Here's how Carl's campaign put it in a press release yesterday:

Just today, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) released a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling that showed Carl leading in the race at 29% among voters who have seen his ad. This comes on the heels of a Karen Spilka poll that shows Carl is the only candidate gaining ground while all other candidates in this race remain stagnant.

Sciortino’s growing momentum shows that voters in Massachusetts are hungry for a progressive leader that can get things done. As a legislator, Sciortino has been a leader on important progressive issues including; preserving marriage equality, passing legislation extending equal rights to transgender residents, and establishing a buffer zone around reproductive health care facilities.

Below are the three new billboards Blue America has up as of this week-- in addition to the anti-bombing billboard-- all with quotes from Carl's TV spot. If you'd like to help us expand the billboard campaign, you can do that here-- and on this one, there is no maximum contribution (nor a minimum, of course). If everyone just gave one dollar to Carl's campaign every time they get an e-mail from the DCCC or one of the DCCC shill candidates, we'd see Carl in Congress this year.

Carl Sciortino-- Fighting For America's Future

If you're a regular DWT reader, you already know that Blue America endorsed Carl Sciortino for Ed Markey's old congressional seat (MA-05). The election is less than a month away and there are 6 garden variety Democrats running against Carl, including an EMILY's List candidate who wrote the bill to allow warrentless wiretaps of ordinary Massachusetts citizens and a state senator, Will Brownberger, who's campaign consists of backing Citizens United and the Keystone XL Pipeline!

We're running a billboard campaign for Carl and we teamed up with People For the American Way and the Congressional Progressive Caucus to raise him some money to keep his phenomenal TV ad running. We're giving one random contributor a rare and beautiful RIAA 10 times platinum Eric Clapton Unplugged award plaque (which you can see here; you can also enter to win at that link). This is how People For the American Way's Voter's Alliance framed the effort:

I-93, Stoneham

Carl Sciortino is running in a competitive Democratic primary to replace U.S. Rep. Ed Markey in Massachusetts. He’s the best progressive in the race. We’ve endorsed him. He’s awesome.

Carl’s the best for a number of reasons. He’s a member of our affiliate PFAW Foundation’s Young Elected Officials Network and has been simply amazing carrying the progressive flag on so many issues in the Mass. state legislature.

He just released an incredible campaign ad that is getting tons of attention, standing out for its tone, for the way Carl unabashedly takes pride in his liberal credentials and just because it’s a really, really good ad.

I want you to watch the ad and share it, but more importantly, I urge you to support Carl’s campaign with a donation.

Please click here to do both now.

Oh yeah, and here’s the other new reason to throw YOUR support behind Carl right now: your donation of any amount will enter you in a chance to win a unique piece of Eric Clapton memorabilia.

When I say the piece is unique, I mean really unique. Remember Eric Clapton’s Unplugged album, featuring his iconic retake on his classic Laila as well as Tears in Heaven and more? That album didn’t just go Gold… or Platinum… it went Diamond-- one of the only albums to ever receive such a distinction. The president of the record company that released that album is also a huge fan of Carl, so he donated his special award plaque for it-- one of only a handful made.

So, if you’re a rocker, a Clapton fan or just want to own a cool piece of history, there’s one more reason for you to support Carl Sciortino today.

This contest is a collaborative effort by our affiliated federal PAC, the PFAW Voters Alliance, Progressive Action PAC and Blue America PAC. Of course, when you give, feel free to chip in for the Voters Alliance and/or our great partners. But please give what you can to support Carl.

I can assure you that this will be an investment you will be very happy and proud you made… and Carl will make you proud fighting for your values in Congress.

Raul Grijalva and Keith Ellison, two music fans, as well as the co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, sent letters to their supports with a more Clapton-centric perspective, although their backing for Sciortino is very serious.

Hey Hey!

Campaigns aren’t won Runnin’ on Faith. You need a whole lot of folks knocking on doors and a whole lot of friends Rollin’ and Tumblin’ for you to cross the finish line.

That’s why we’ve endorsed Carl Sciortino for Congress.

Now Before You Accuse Me (us) of just another pitch to contribute, you should know we have a special gift for one lucky contributor. Our friends over at Blue America have generously donated an extremely rare Recording Industry Artists of America Award presented to Eric Clapton for one of our favorite albums of all time: Unplugged.

DONATE TO CARL SCIORTINO’S CAMPAIGN TO CHANGE CONGRESS TODAY

Don’t be a Lonely Stranger. Thousands of people across the country are donating to Carl because he is a real progressive committed to fight for you in Washington.

  Even his tea-party father thinks so (click to see the TV ad).  That’s why the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, People for the American Way Voters Alliance, Blue America and our colleagues Mark Takano, Jared Polis and Alan Grayson endorse him.

So don’t just Layla there. Give some Old Love to Carl Sciortino. It’s the only way you can enter to win the Eric Clapton Diamond Award, but more importantly it’s a chance to support a great candidate for Congress.

Help Carl become the next solid progressive from Massachusetts’ 5th Congressional District and enter for your shot to win this extraordinary piece of Clapton history! Contribute $5, $25, $50 or $500 today!

Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) gets the last word:

Here's a funny thing: before someone actually is elected to Congress or the White House, he or she never actually has to make a decision on whether to go to war. The most experienced state representative, county commissioner, school board member, lawyer, businessman, doctor or even general never has to make that call. So it's a conundrum: how do you know whether a candidate for Congress will be pro-peace, when they've never had to vote on it?

All we've got to go on is what they say. But sometimes, that's enough.

There will be a special election soon in Massachusetts to replace Rep. Ed Markey, who has taken a seat in the U.S. Senate. There are seven candidates. During the recent debate over U.S. military intervention in Syria, six of those candidates decided that the safe thing was to avoid taking any position on the issue, apparently concluding that the shortest route to immense popularity is to stand for nothing. (This "logic" is all-too-common in public life, unfortunately.)

There was one exception: State Rep. Carl Sciortino. Carl Sciortino held a news conference, with me, to announce his opposition to U.S. military intervention in Syria. That news conference received very wide coverage, including a prominent story in the Boston Globe.

Some people wear their hearts on their sleeves. In Carl's case, that sleeve is embroidered with a peace sign.

Here's another funny thing: after Carl Sciortino held that news conference, the other candidates in the race announced that they, too, were against U.S. military intervention in Syria. Maybe they did that to try to demonstrate that they are right on the issue. But what they actually demonstrated is that Carl Sciortino is a leader-- a leader on war and peace.

I hope that that is enough to motivate you to support Carl Sciortino's campaign. But in case it is not, there is something more: a chance to receive the custom plaque for Eric Clapton's diamond album, Unplugged.

People For The American Way Endorses Carl Sciortino For Ed Markey's Old House Seat In Massachusetts

There are a number of garden variety Democrats-- and worse-- running for Ed Markey's old House seat (MA-05), but there is only one strong progressive in the race: state Rep. Carl Sciortino, who was endorsed by Blue America last February. We endorsed Carl so early not just because of his great voting record and not even just because of his great record of progressive leadership in the Massachusetts legislature. John, Digby and I had first met Carl several years ago at a People For the American Way Young Elected Officials conclave. Even among a group like that, filled with young leaders from all over the country, Carl stood out as someone who could accomplish a lot of good. We were stoked when he decided to run and could hardly wait to help raise campaign contributions for him.

And we were very gratified this week when People for the American Way itself endorsed Carl. Their reasoning was impeccable:

People For the American Way Voters Alliance PAC today endorsed Carl Sciortino for Congress, praising his strong record of progressive leadership. Rep. Sciortino, currently a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, is running to represent Massachusetts’ fifth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. The seat was recently vacated by Ed Markey on his election to the U.S. Senate.

Since his election in 2004, Carl has fought tirelessly for progressive causes. A founding member of the Massachusetts House Progressive Caucus, he has pushed for closing corporate tax loopholes, advocated for better access to transportation and healthcare, stood up for workers’ rights, and been a staunch defender of LGBT rights. The 2012 Transgender Equal Rights Bill, which Carl co-authored, provided legal protection against discrimination for transgender individuals in Massachusetts.

Before his election to the state legislature, he served as Massachusetts state director of the affiliated People For the American Way Foundation's Young Elected Officials Network.

“Carl is a strong leader, a committed public servant, and a true progressive,” said People For the American Way Voters Alliance PAC political director Randy Borntrager. “He knows that being a progressive means standing up for Americans from all walks of life; it means fighting for a woman’s right to choose, for better transportation access, for workers’ rights. And he has done all of this in Massachusetts. He has also been a real champion for LGBT rights, achieving a number of significant victories for LGBT people, including the Transgender Equal Rights Bill.

“There’s no question that Carl would defend these principles just as strongly in the U.S. Congress, where we need his powerful progressive voice more than ever. Carl will bring an unmatched dedication to progressive values to his constituents to the U.S. Congress, and we’re proud to endorse him.”

Carl Sciortino said, “We need to change the conversation in Washington and fight hard for progressive values. As a state representative, I have fought to close corporate tax loopholes, protect access to abortion clinics, and to make the economy work for regular people-- not Wall Street or the big banks. In Congress, I will fight against those who put corporations over the rest of us and Tea Partiers who want to tell women what to do with their bodies.”

Aside from Blue America and People For the American Way, Carl has been endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, MassEquality, the Victory Fund, and another major endorsement will be announced in a day or two. Meanwhile, though, if you'd like to help Carl get into Congress, you can contribute to his campaign here.

Carl Sciortino Faces A Democrat Who Thinks Keystone XL And Citizens United Are Just Fine

Brownsberger wants to stand out-- even if only as the worst candidate in the race

A Republican isn't going to win Ed Markey's old House seat, MA-05. The district is very blue. Last year Markey was reelected 254,128 (76%) to 82,286 (24%). The district is composed of 24 townships. Markey rocked every one of them. Obama beat former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney 65-33%. The PVI is D+14. Republicans don't win in D+14 districts. The whole ball game in MA-05 is the primary. Will a progressive Democrat win or will a middle-of-the-road or conservative Democrat win? Blue America endorsed state Rep. Carl Sciortino early because he has a perfectly progressive record in the legislature and, more important, because he's an effective leader on tough issues-- a guy with courage, smarts and heart.

So far there are at least 4 others in the primary, Karen Spilka, Katherine Clark, Peter Koutoujian and Will Brownberger. Last week we looked at the atrocious candidate EMILY's List dug up, Katherine Clark, who doesn't stand for anything but craven careerism and domestic spying. Will Brownsberger is an even worse candidate, an opportunistic self-satisfied conservative masquerading as a Democrat in a deep blue district. There's nothing about Brownsberger's sick, right-wing platform that indicates he's a progressive-- although he does eat kale salad and claims to be "semi-vegetarian," whatever that is.

In the WBUR interview, he defended the Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision, which helped clear the way for unlimited corporate spending in political campaigns, on free speech grounds.

And he said he would not favor any congressional intervention to block the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport oil from the tar sands of Canada to the Gulf Coast, arguing that the project is little more than a footnote in the fight against climate change.

The state senator is aware that his positions on those two issues could sink him in the solidly Democratic 5th Congressional District, which bends through the suburbs north and west of Boston.

But he’s betting that a tell-it-like-it-is approach can distinguish him in a crowded field. Indeed, he seems to be staking his campaign on the notion.

...Brownsberger’s atypical positions have already created the first kerfuffle of the campaign.

Last week, WBUR reported that he was the only state senator to vote against a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision.

Democratic rival Peter Koutoujian, the Middlesex sheriff, pounced with a statement arguing that Brownsberger’s “support for the Citizens United decision should be troubling to anyone who is fed up with the tidal wave of special interest money that this Supreme Court ruling has unleashed.”

The other three Democrats in the race-- state Sens. Katherine Clark and Karen Spilka, who voted for the resolution Brownsberger opposed, and state Rep. Carl Sciortino, who backed a similar measure in the House-- all tell WBUR they favor a repeal of the decision.

Brownsberger argues that the Citizens United decision is in keeping with the country’s free speech tradition.

He says he doesn’t like the idea of third parties swamping elections with big expenditures-- he’s endorsed a “People’s Pledge” among the candidates, designed to discourage just that sort of spending.

But corporations have the First Amendment right to play in elections, he says. And in the end, he argues, the public has a responsibility to sort through the advertising and arrive at the right decision.

“The 99 percent,” he said, “have 99 percent of the vote.”

Brownsberger maintains that direct contributions to candidates are a more corrupting influence than outside spending. And that, he says, is why he doesn’t accept donations from lobbyists or political action committees. Last week, he challenged his opponents to join him in swearing off those donations as part of an enhanced “People’s Pledge.”

Peter Ubertaccio, a political science professor at Stonehill College, says selling a nuanced approach to campaign finance reform will be difficult.

“Those two words together-- Citizens United-- are visceral,” he said. “People have a very powerful response them. And political campaigns are not public policy seminars.”

...The pipeline, Brownsberger acknowledged, would allow for the extraction of more Canadian oil. But “the truth is what causes climate change is not taking oil out of the ground, it’s burning it,” he said.

“The problem is us,” he said. “The problem is not the oil industry.”

If Congress wants to get serious, he suggested, it should impose a carbon tax designed to reduce consumption of oil.

Brownsberger, if all alone on Citizens United, is not quite so isolated on the Keystone pipeline.

That may have something to do with the fact that organized labor, viewed as an important constituency in race, sees jobs in the construction of the pipeline.

Eric Hyers, the campaign manager for Spilka [who is also extremely conservative and an anti-immigrant fanatic with an ugly, bigoted record], emphasized in a statement that her “number one priority is creating jobs” before adding that “she is concerned about the environmental impact of this project and will continue to study it with the rest of the delegation.”

...Sciortino’s campaign said he is opposed to the pipeline. And the candidate, who is attempting to position himself as the true liberal in the race, broke sharply from Brownsberger on Keystone and Citizens United.

“These issues show a clear difference between us,” said Sciortino, “and the difference between someone who calls themselves a progressive at election time and a progressive leader who knows what it takes to protect the environment and keep corporate money out of campaigns.”

It’s the sort of stark contrast Brownsberger will have to avoid, analysts say, if he’s to succeed in the congressional race.

The date of the primary hasn't been set yet, but late October would be a good guess at this point. We should know next week. If you'd like to help Carl beat this pack of clowns, you can contribute to his campaign here.

And, Senator Dipshit, no, MoveOn.org is not the same thing as lobbyist and profiteer Grover Norquist.



UPDATE: The Date Of The Primary Has Been Announced

Ed Markey was sworn in as a U.S. Senator this morning and the date of the primary was immediately announced. Carl:

We have a date!

It's just been announced that our Special Primary Election Day will be on Tuesday, October 15th.

That's just 3 months from today, and the summer is going to go by fast!

There is a lot of work to be done between now and then, and I'm going to need your help.

I hope you will join us at our new office at 23 Forrest Street in Medford Square (the old Markey field office) this coming Saturday, July 20th at 10:00 a.m. to help us get started-- that's when we'll begin gathering petition signatures. We need your help to find 2,000 registered voters to sign in order to get my name on the ballot.

EMILY's List Up It Its Old Tricks Again... Trying To Slip In A Corrupt Conservative Over A Progressive Because They Like The Plumbing's Better

Except when it's bad women candidates like Michele Bachmann, Colleen Hanbusa or Katherine Clark 

I got into a friendly Twitter argument the other day with a guy who works for the Victory Fund, an LGBT PAC. He was cheering slimy New Dem Sean Patrick Maloney, who is the Democratic freshman with the worst-- i.e, most conservative-- voting record this year. He's corrupt and unworthy of being reelected, despite the fact that he's gay and married with two adorable children. His lovely family does not excuse his excruciating bad votes. (Watch this video, please.) But the Victory Fund guy and I just could not see eye to eye on this. Finally I said something like, "we both support Carl Sciortino for Congress. I back him because he has a record as the most progressive and effective member of the Massachusetts state legislature. Why do you?" I don't want to put words in his mouth; here's the exact tweet exchange:

Blue America also endorsed Heather Mizeur for governor of Maryland. It's cool that she's a woman and it's cool that she's an up front lesbian, but that certainly is NOT why we think she will make as good a governor as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are senators. No, Mizeur is dynamite on policy and big on ideas and that's what attracted us to her. Maybe Victory Fund will back her because she's a lesbian and maybe EMILY's List will back her because she's a pro-Choice woman-- I hope so-- but Blue America backs her because she's the best candidate running.

Last year the Victory Fund endorsed a conservative Republican-- albeit a mainstream one, not a teabagger-- for Congress, Richard Tisei, over John Tierney, one of the most progressive Members of Congress AND a guy with a career-long 100% voting record on LGBT issues (unlike Tisei who was a typical Republican dick to the LGBT community when he was still a closet case). Ugghh. Maybe that's the only time the Victory Club ever made that kind of mistake, I hope so. EMILY's List, however, turned away from the progressive coalition long ago and seems to take particular delight in screwing up progressive male candidates-- especially ones with impeccable pro-Choice records-- on behalf of corrupt, untrustworthy women candidates (untrustworthy even on Choice), like when they backed the horrific anti-Semite Nikki Tinker in Memphis against Rep. Steve Cohen and the way they're pushing for corrupt warmonger Colleen Hanabusa now against Senator Brian Schatz in Hawai'i.

A friend of mine in Massachusetts sent me a post from Blue Mass about EMILY's List latest nightmare candidate, Katherine Clark, who they're running against the aforementioned Carl Sciortino. Clark is trying to pass a bill that would allow the cops to wiretap virtually anyone for anything, anytime, anywhere. She's the lead sponsor of a bill she claims would "just update" the organized crime wiretap bill on the books. The ACLU doesn't agree that she's trying to update it and they're horrified by Clark's Big Brother position that advances in communications technology,” necessitates it. The ACLU has said otherwise: “It’s not an ‘update.’ It’s a broad expansion of the wiretap law," asserts the ACLU, "to allow law enforcement to listen in to private conversations for virtually any investigative purpose.’” The ACLU is working with the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, Demand Progress, Digital Fourth, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Fight for the Future to stop Clark.

While Carl was fighting in the legislator to preserve benefits for ordinary working families, EMILY's List managed to find the lead sponsor of the very Republicanesque pension "reform" bill that was premised on cutting employee benefits and drastically raising the retirement age. That's why a coalition of over 20 Massachusetts unions including the AFL-CIO, the Massachusetts Teachers Association and AFSCME, opposed Clark's unfair conservative anti-worker approach. This is all typical of a ConservaDem who fights for corporate special interests and against ordinary working families. There are enough of them in Congress already-- way too many. Clark's vote for putting punitive restrictions against poor people in the welfare bill tells you all you need to know about her: she's a Republican at heart, masquerading as a Democrat in a blue state. Did you watch that video I suggested up near the top?

Ed Markey Won The Senate Seat-- Now Let's Make Sure Carl Sciortino Wins Ed's Old House Seat

Carl and Ed, Massachusetts progressives

Only weak minded and self-deluded Republicans were surprised by Ed Markey's healthy win yesterday in the Massachusetts special election to fill John Kerry's old Senate seat. Markey has been the foremost champion of climate change amelioration of any elected official in the entire federal government. And the Republicans put up some wealthy, crooked, right wing businessman to oppose him. Gomez spent his last days of the campaign blaming his defeat on the Republican Party. "They're wrong on too many issues. I mean, you know, you gotta realize, they gotta realize we’re in the 21st century." That helped Markey run away with a 10 point lead yesterday, despite the last minute flood of money from rich rightists and hatemongers from around the country.

As Alan Grayson, Markey's colleague in the House, put it last weeked, "Who cares about climate change? Ed Markey does." Grayson explained what thay means for the country.

Ed Markey served as the one and only Chair of the U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, during its four years of existence. Let me explain to you what an utterly thankless job that is. If you are the Chair of a committee on global warming, you've got Big Oil against you. You've got the electrical utilities against you. You've got the auto manufacturers against you. You've got the pipeline and tanker and drilling companies against you. What kind of person would want all of those headaches, just for a shot at saving Planet Earth?

Ed Markey. That kind of person.

After the Democrats took over the House in 2007, Speaker Nancy Pelosi wanted action on climate change, so she chartered a new House Committee, and put Ed Markey in charge of it. The Republicans named Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) as their Ranking Member. Sensenbrenner has said that the science of climate change is a "global conspiracy." Sensenbrenner has said that labeling carbon dioxide as a pollutant is "propaganda." Mocking concerns over climate change, Sensenbrenner once suggested that we "put catalytic converters on all our noses." Ignoring the havoc that climate change and extreme weather have wrought, Sensenbrenner suggested that climate change might help "crop yields go up." When Nobel Prizewinner Paul Krugman called climate denial "treason against the planet," Sensenbrenner boasted, "I plead guilty as charged."

For almost four years, Markey and Sensenbrenner battled it out, through 80 committee hearings and briefings. Markey gamely publicized clean energy technology, and the risks caused by climate change. Markey pushed forward legislation like H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (which passed the House, and then Republicans filibustered it to death in the Senate). Markey's Committee educated the nation about global warming facts both horrifying (according to the World Health Organization, climate change already causes 150,000 deaths each year) and ironic (by 2030, there will be no glaciers in Glacier National Park). Markey faced down Big Oil, and ignored the steady drumbeat of nonsense and distraction from the see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-evil Republican tools and zealots on the Committee.

With enemies like that, Ed Markey needs friends. And deserves them.

When the Republicans took over the House of Representatives after the 2010 election, they shut down Ed Markey's Committee. But Ed Markey remains the leading environmentalist in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Who speaks for the trees? Ed Markey does.

No one thinks Markey's win yesterday means it's time to relax. In fact, the very next thing we need to do is fill Markey's own House seat. It's a deep blue district and a Democrat will certainly win there. While Obama was winning the state of Massachusetts last November with 61% of the vote, he was winning Markey's district (MA-05) with 65%-- while Markey was being reelected with a stunning 77%! There are 24 counties in the district and Markey won every one of them. His "weakest" performance was a healthy 58% win in Southborough. There are a number of Democrats running for the seat, even progressives, but only one, state Rep. Carl Sciortino, is of a leadership caliber worthy of Ed Markey and the kind of people who elected Ed Markey. Grayson is meeting Carl today to give him some advice about how to win his race. And Blue America endorsed him a couple of months ago.

"Ed Markey’s win today," Carl told us last night, "is not just a victory for the people of Massachusetts, but a victory for the progressive movement. As Americans, we are fortunate to have his voice in the Senate-- but it comes at the cost of losing a true progressive leader in the House. There are real differences in the race to replace Senator-Elect Markey and we, as a movement, need to come together and make sure his legacy as a progressive leader in the House continues." Amen! And there's no one running quite like Carl, one of the organizers of the Massachusetts legislature's progressive caucus.

He reminded me that "in 2004, I was told by my Democratic state representative that 'we’ve done enough for ‘you people,’ when I asked him why he wouldn’t support marriage equality. Then and there, I decided to run against him in the Democratic primary-- and I beat him by 93 votes. When I got to the Massachusetts House, I was told by liberal members that the state wasn’t yet ready for a Transgender Equal Rights bill, but I filed the bill, organized a coalition, and now Massachusetts has protections for its transgender citizens. When the Democratic leadership decided to slash the retirement funds public sector employees had been promised when they signed up for their jobs, I stood up to the Democratic leadership and fought and voted for middle class workers."

Yes, so maybe you can see why Blue America-- and why House progressives-- are so enthusiastic about Carl taking over Markey's seat. I just got off the phone with him and I hope I wrote this down right:

"In Washington, there’s no question we need more strong progressives-- not just working on issues of civil rights, but on issues of economic justice. Never in American history has the gap between the wealthy and the rest of us been so great. Families are working hard, but only just able to afford the bare necessities. I will sign onto the bill to raise the minimum wage and index it to the cost of inflation. I will join the fight to close corporate tax loopholes at the federal level, just as I did in Massachusetts. And as a citizen signer of the Grayson-Takano letter, I will fight to protect Social Security, as well as fight to keep protections for those living in poverty that are so often left out of the public debate. Please help me keep Ed Markey’s seat progressive by supporting my campaign."

Monday, Carl was one of the first Democrats to react to he misguided 5-4 Supreme Court decision against women's health. On the campaign stump for Markey at the time, he told supporters that “I was proud to author and pass the Buffer Zone Bill after witnessing patients and their loved ones force their way through protestors to get to a health clinic. I always respect the right to free speech-- but there is no right to harassment and brutal intimidation, which is exactly what was going on before the bill’s passage. This law is important to ensure women’s access to reproductive health, and this challenge is just another attack from the right in the war on women-- something I will continue to aggressively fight against as a member of Congress.” If that's the kind of congressmember you want to see working in DC, please consider giving him a hand here.



Carl's statement today after the Supreme Court ruling:

“When I first ran for State Representative in 2004, I couldn’t have imagined how much progress we would make on marriage equality in nine short years. We are headed to the day to all couples have the right to marry whoever they love in any state in the country. But we are not there yet. Today is a great step forward for the thousands of couples living in states with marriage equality, and I’m so proud of Massachusetts for being a leader for equal rights. We must keep working until there is true marriage equality in every state.”