The Democratic Establishment Does Like SOME Primaries-- If It's Against A Progressive
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When Carter won the red seat that the Virginia Democratic establishment felt was unwinnable, they seemed more dismayed than celebratory. They largely viewed him the way the DC Democratic establishment views AOC, Rashida and Ilhan. They laugh along with the Republicans who continue to red-bait him.
Last December Carter introduced House Bill 1806, which would overturn the state's right-to-work law. It hasn't passed... at least not yet. He explained what he was trying to accomplish on Twitter:
I assume you've been reading about and hearing about the DCCC's new diktat against primaries, right? The Virginia state equivalent of the DCCC is taking it to the next step-- encouraging primaries against progressives. Their conservative, status quo candidate against Carter this cycle is Mark Wolfe, a local Republican office-holder who says he's a Democrat. Just more proof that the Democratic Party establishment always prefers a Republican to a progressive-- whether in DC or in Virginia.
The local establishment media is virulently anti-Carter, of course. "Carter has proven to be interested only in pushing a far-left socialist agenda," editorialized InsideNOVA, "rather than listening to and addressing real issues and concerns of his district and constituents. Nothing could be a better example of this than his ill-fated attempt to repeal Virginia’s right-to-work law, which has been in place for more than 70 years and is an oft-cited reason for the state’s economic success." Leave aside the typical conservative bias towards the anti-union right-to-work laws; the whole premise of the statement is completely false. Most of Carter's legislative proposals have involved solving traffic problems in clogged northeastern Virginia. "We’re glad Carter already has drawn significant Republican opposition in this fall’s election," they continued. "We look forward to hearing him explain on the campaign trail how his socialistic proposals would help the residents of Manassas and Prince William County." Sure they do! The other Republican in the race challenging Carter is Manassas City Councilman Ian Lovejoy. The Republican attitude has been that the "ex"-Republican (Wolfe) and Carter will damage each other in the primary, making it easier for Lovejoy to win the general. "Regardless of who wins, Lovejoy will face a damaged opponent going into what’s sure to be one of the top races in the commonwealth in November." Blue America has endorsed Lee Carter (again; he was our candidate in 2017 as well) and if you'd like contribute to his campaign, you can do so by tapping the ActBlue legislative thermometer above.Another legislative candidate in Virginia endorsed by Blue America, Qasim Rashid, who's running for the state Senate and whose district, like Carter's includes part of Prince William County, is enthusiastically supporting his reelection. "Delegate Carter," he told us, "ran on a platform of combatting poverty. During his inaugural term he worked with dedication to help fulfill these promises, but that fight isn’t over yet. He continues to fight for the working class, and does so while building a strong coalition of support." Democrats are on the cusp of winning back control of the Virginia state legislature. Supporting candidates like Lee Carter, Herb Jones and Qasim Rashid is what's going to make all the difference-- especially if you want to see a legislature with progressive values, not just garden variety Democratic careerists doing their thing. The primary is June 11.
Labels: Lee Carter, primaries, Socialism!!!, state legislatures, Virginia
posted by DownWithTyranny @ 9:00 AM
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The more I read about how the democraptic Party works against those who want to represent the people, the more I question why anyone ever expects things to improve. We deride MAGAts for voting against their best economic interests, yet democraps expect us to do so also. They will at least look remorseful once they again fail us.
So as far as I am concerned, obamanation can take his circular firing squad and stuff it where the Republicans use him for their pleasure.
To anyone who is awake, the democraps have been serving their donors and DIS-serving their constituencies for decades.
It hasn't always been down to the state and local level. But the national orgs have been this way for so long, it's amazing to me that all state and local arms are not already just as corrupt and dishonest. But they're becoming so.
yet voters don't seem to notice or care... or be awake.
fuck we're stupid!
Carter is doing a great job. He's also been willing to take a politically risky stand against the VA power monopolies and the Amazon HQ2 deal. It's could be a difficult re-election, but it's an important race to win, because this is also about building a talent base for future election cycles. Yasmine Taeb is another candidate worth looking at. She's matched up against an incumbent Dem Dick Saslaw who is one of the most conservative members of the state Senate caucus. The district that he's in is a lot more left-leaning than it was when he was first elected back in 1976. He'll have the backing of the local and state party, but this is a seat that could flip in the primary and is in a solidly blue area. Carter's seat has been Democratic-leaning in higher turnout federal elections, but he put in the work two years ago to help flip the seat blue. He and his team knocked on 20,000 doors over the final week of the campaign in a district with ~88.000 people. He won even though he was outspent nearly 3 to 1. It's an open question whether the performance was due to elevated interest in the 2017 statewide races, or his unique appeal with the district. But this election should help to answer those questions.
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