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On Tuesday, yet another “Bad Blue” apparently went down to defeat – with seven-term Congressman Kurt Schrader of Oregon running way behind community activist Jamie McLeod-Skinner in the slowly tallied Democratic primary.
Schrader is not the first “Bad Blue” on our list to face defeat by a progressive challenger. And he’s unlikely to be the last.
The incumbent heavily outspent McLeod-Skinner – thanks to lavish funding from big pharma and other corporate PACs – but Schrader was out-organized on the ground. McLeod-Skinner called him “the Joe Manchin of the House.”
The current vote count indicates that constituents in that Oregon district will no longer be represented by a Democrat who obstructs progressive initiatives on Capitol Hill, such as drug pricing reform and Build Back Better. (Despite his blockage of Democratic measures, Schrader was endorsed in the primary by Joe Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.)
Next Tuesday in South Texas, Henry Cuellar – now the only anti-abortion House Democrat – may be ousted in a Democratic primary runoff by progressive immigrants’ rights lawyer Jessica Cisneros. As we wrote in our 2019 “Bad Blues” report, Cuellar is so corporate that he gets funded by the Republican-allied Koch Industries PAC.
But it’s not just Koch Industries that supports Cuellar against Cisneros. It’s also Pelosi. And that’s the crux of the problem – a blue wall of corruption and incumbency.
Bad Blues in the House rely on support from old-line Democratic leaders like Pelosi and Jim Clyburn, and cash from corporate PACS that fund the leadership of both political parties.
The good news is that Bad Blues are being ousted by progressives who rely on small donors and support from grassroots activists.
Speaker Pelosi reaffirmed her endorsement of Cuellar against Cisneros even after the FBI raided Cuellar’s home and campaign headquarters last January as part of a corruption probe. Then she doubled down on her endorsement of the anti-choice incumbent just days ago, even after the Supreme Court draft to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked. Meanwhile, as the number-three House Democrat, Clyburn recently campaigned in Texas for Cuellar against Cisneros.
It’s worth remembering – and might be a source of inspiration – that the top of the blue wall of corruption is getting weaker and near retirement. The Democratic House leadership trio of Pelosi, Bad Blue Steny Hoyer and Clyburn are aged 82, 82 and 81 respectively. Well-funded by corporate interests, they serve the status quo. Running on an aggressive change agenda (Green New Deal, Medicare for All, etc.), the grassroots-funded Jessica Cisneros is not yet 30.
Of the 15 Bad Blues we identified in 2019, two have chosen to retire from Congress, and two were primaried and defeated back in 2020. Democrat-in-name-only Dan Lipinski was defeated in Chicago's Southwest Side and neighboring suburbs by liberal activist Marie Newman. And then in one of the most stunning upsets in recent U.S. politics, 16-term Rep. Eliot Engel from New York – the hawkish chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee – was ousted from Congress by educator Jamaal Bowman, who promptly joined the progressive “squad.”
Bowman, after being recruited as a candidate by Justice Democrats, got into Congress because of a grassroots campaign that involved activists from many groups, including the Working Families Party and Democratic Socialists of America.
On his path to Washington, Bowman owed no favors to big donors or to the status quo Democratic leadership. He arrived in Washington ready to fight for the progressive reforms needed by his working-class constituents in the Bronx and Westchester.
Jamie McLeod-Skinner, as the replacement for Bad Blue Kurt Schrader, would not be beholden to any of the many corporate PACs that supported him.
And if Jessica Cisneros can defeat Cuellar on Tuesday in South Texas, she’ll be ready to fight for the interests of her working-class district.
And the rest of us will gain a congresswoman who can help chip away at a blue wall of corruption.
Jeff Cohen is co-founder of RootsAction.org, a retired journalism professor at Ithaca College, and author of “Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media.” In 1986, he founded the media watch group FAIR.
Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and the author of a dozen books including “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death.” He is the founder and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.
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Right now, as you read this, shareholders at Chubb are meeting to decide our future. On the table is a vital resolution calling on Chubb to stop insuring fossil fuel expansion now. Chubb remains one of the top oil and gas insurers globally and invests BILLIONS in coal, oil, and gas companies. Pipelines and other destructive projects need insurance to operate; that’s why it’s crucial that insurance companies like Chubb commit to stop insuring fossil fuel expansion immediately. There’s no time left to waste. It's simple. If your company is fueling the climate crisis, we’re going to make sure everyone knows. Yesterday, RAN showed up outside Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg’s home and office in NYC with a message: insure our future, not fossil fuels. Today, they need to hear from you. Chubb claims to be a “steward of the Earth,” but in reality, they’re profiting from insuring fossil fuel expansion, and AT THE SAME TIME, they’re refusing to insure customers facing climate chaos because of it! We see right through their hypocrisy. Join us in sending CEO Greenberg and other top Chubb executives a clear message: divest from fossil fuel expansion now and respect human rights. Thanks to your efforts, Chubb has taken steps like no longer insuring new coal-fired power plants, but it’s not enough. The planet can’t wait. We can’t wait. Tell Chubb execs how you feel and demand they immediately stop underwriting new fossil fuel projects, phase out all fossil fuel underwriting and investing in line with a 1.5ºC pathway, and respect human rights.
In solidarity, Elana Sulakshana
At RAN, we take the “Network” in our name seriously. It is only through your support that we are able to fund major campaigns for the forests, their inhabitants and the natural systems that sustain life. Please consider joining RAN as a Member by making a gift today. 425 Bush St, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94108, United States |
BREAKING: Historic bill to boost USPS and save BILLIONS of dollars passes House I need your eyes on this: My Democratic colleagues and I just passed a critical bill that gives the USPS a major overhaul and saves nearly $5 BILLION. But despite this historic effort, Postmaster General DeJoy continues to politicize and run the Post Office as his business rather than a public service. That’s why I need your signature on my emergency petition before midnight to oust DeJoy and save our beloved Post Office. Will you add your name? >> I need you to know three things:
I’m fighting everyday to save our beloved Post Office. I’ve heard from constituents all across the country about their outrageous mail delays. I’ve grilled Trump’s Postmaster General DeJoy in front of my committee, twice. Now, my Democratic colleagues and I just passed this critical bill to save the USPS. Thank you for acting quickly, Raja
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Justice Democrat Summer Lee won her primary against the political establishment on Tuesday night in PA-12! It’s a huge victory and our second primary win of the year. Now, I want to tell you what this means for our movement.
It was hard to start this work and it’s been hard to sustain it. But what keeps us going is your support and our major upset victories. After Bernie’s 2016 presidential campaign, a bunch of us got together and decided to work towards electing progressives that shared Bernie’s vision to the U.S. House. If we changed politics in Congress, we could deliver important wins for the people.
Our first major win came after we recruited Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for Congress in NY-14 against one of the most powerful Democrats in the House. We were outspent but our message, our strategy, and our organizing won.
We wondered if we could replicate what we did and elect more progressives in 2020, while also ensuring the Squad was re-elected. We recruited and helped elect Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, and re-elected every member of the Squad.
But could we keep this work up? Fundraising is always difficult, especially when we’re 100% grassroots funded going up against the unlimited corporate money of the political establishment.
Even with a budget a fraction of the size of most other political organizations, we kept going. And we’ve kept winning. We won a primary backing Greg Casar in TX-35 earlier this year. And Tuesday night, we stood with our 2022 recruit as she declared victory in Pittsburgh. Summer Lee overcame millions in Super PAC spending to win the Democratic nomination for PA-12.
The mission of Justice Democrats is to recruit and run progressive candidates often from working-class backgrounds. Candidates from these backgrounds have fewer resources to hire expensive staff who can get their campaigns going. JD helps fill some of those gaps. And with Summer, our team of staff and volunteers helped Summer strategize, organize, and out-campaign the corporate lawyer and corporate Super PACs in this race.
It’s amazing what we can do as a movement working together against millions of dollars spent attacking us — millions of dollars from Wall Street, Big Oil, Big Pharma, health insurance CEOs, and union busters. We do it with donations of $5, $27, and $100 at a time from regular people who want to see Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and student debt cancellation in our country.
We have another primary on Tuesday, when Jessica Cisneros takes on the only anti-abortion Democrat in the House, Henry Cuellar. Cuellar is a conservative Democrat who consistently votes against abortion rights, labor rights, and action to address climate change. Yet, he still has the backing of Nancy Pelosi and high-ranking Democrats in the House.
It’s another race where we’re up against corporate Super PACs and the Democratic establishment, and we need your help to make sure Jessica defeats Cuellar.
Can you step up today and help Justice Democrats win more primaries against corporate Democrats?
I know we can do amazing things together, because we’ve done amazing things together. I’m grateful to be in this fight with you. Let’s keep up our momentum.
In solidarity,
Alexandra Rojas, Executive Director
Justice Democrats
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ELON MUSK TOLD MAGA DIM WITS TO CUT CHILD CANCER REEARCH FUNDING! WHAT HAS ELON MUSK EVER DONE FOR ANYONE? THIS IS ABOUT CUTTING SOCIAL S...