Democrats trying to unseat each other II

[lpetrich]

On August 23, voters went to the polls in Orlando and cast their ballots. Frost won 35 percent of the votes, Bracy pulled in 25, and Grayson — who’d taken to calling Frost “Maxwell Fraud” by the end of the campaign — took in 15 percent. In the end, neither DMFI, AIPAC, nor Hoffman’s group had to spend a penny in the race. Bracy lost, but they had won. “That’s the goal,” observed a source close to AIPAC after the election. “That’s the whole point.”

So all that was necessary was the threat of AIPAC spending big on that race.

Lee agreed. I asked if the amount of spending had gotten into her head and influenced the way she approached the issue. “Yes, absolutely, and not just with me, I see it with other people. I see people who are running for office or thinking of running for office in the future and they feel deterred because this is a topic that they know will bury them,” she said. “There’s absolutely a chilling effect. … I’ve heard it from other folks who will say, you know, we agree with this, but I’ll never support it, and I’ll never say it out loud.”

More broadly, though, it makes building a movement that much more difficult, Lee said: “It’s very hard to survive as a progressive, Black, working-class-background candidate when you are facing millions and millions of dollars, but what it also does is then it deters other people from ever wanting to get into it. If you’re somebody who sat through my race as a supporter or not, someone in our district, who’s witnessing the movement that we’ve been a part of, they will look at the onslaught, they will look at what they said about me and how they conducted those campaigns, and then they would say, ‘I would never want to run myself.’ So then it has the effect of ensuring that the Black community broadly, the other marginalized communities, are just no longer centered in our politics.

“It’s a way of maintaining that status quo,” she said. “But also it’s just disingenuous when we say that we’re not winning because we’re not winning on the issues. No, we’re not winning because we’re not winning on the resources.”

That's a problem with democracy: winning by outshouting the other side.

 

[lpetrich]

My previous post was on AIPAC oligarchs trying to buy elections. Right-wingers seem to love oligarchs while claiming that the other side is supported by an oligarch that they consider a great villain: George Soros.

Does Ocasio-Cortez Have 'Ties' to Soros? - FactCheck.org

Not directly. Her campaign gained momentum from an interview she gave on an internet show that is supported, in part, by a nonprofit that received a grant from an organization that received funding from a Soros foundation.

Summer Lee has the misfortune of facing a Republican with the same name as the retiring Democrat of her district: Mike Doyle.

Summer Lee on Twitter: "Happy Halloween (pic link)" / Twitter

Fake Mike Doyle
includes

• Supporting a total ban on abortion
• Kicking seniors off Social Security and Medicare
• Opposing common-sense gun safety reforms
• Cutting taxes for corporations driving inflation

 

[lpetrich]

Oops, the last entry in my list ought to be

Conor Lamb PA-Sen - lost to John Fetterman 58.6% - 26.3%, beat Malcolm Kenyatta 10.9%, another 4.2%

AIPAC's score:

• Unchallenged: 3
  • Incumbents: 3
• Wins: 8
  • Incumbents: 3
    • Against incumbents from redistricting: 2
  • Open Seats: 5
• Losses: 7
  • Incumbents: 2
    • Against incumbents from redistricting: 1
  • Open Seats: 5

AIPAC spent big in only some of the races, I must note.

I've been maintaining a big list of progressive candidates. Here are all those from that list that had at least one endorsement and that were up against AIPAC's candidates. AIPAC does seem to like one relatively progressive candidate in this list: Carolyn Maloney.

• CT-01: (withdrew) Muad Hrezi, Andrew Legnani
• FL-10: (won) Maxwell Alejandro Frost, (lost) Aramis Ayala
• IL-03: (won) Delia Ramirez
• IL-06: (lost - inc vs. inc) Marie Newman
• MA-04: (none)
• MD-04: (lost) Donna Edwards
• MD-06: (none)
• MI-11: (lost - inc vs. inc) Andy Levin
• MI-13: (none)
• NC-01: (lost) Erica Smith
• NC-04: (lost) Nida Allam
• NV-01: (lost) Amy Vilela
• NY-12: (won - inc vs. inc) Jerrold Nadler, (lost - inc vs. inc) Carolyn Maloney, (lost) Suraj Patel, Ashmi Sheth, (withdrew) Rana Abdelhamid
• NY-15: (none)
• OH-11: (lost) Nina Turner
• OR-05: (won) Jamie McLeod-Skinner
• PA-12: (won) Summer Lee, (lost) Jerry Dickinson
• PA-SEN: (won) John Fetterman, (lost) Malcolm Kenyatta

There were some cases of progressive vs. progressive, and in PA-12, Jerry Dickinson almost cost Summer Lee her candidacy by vote splitting, like what happened in NY-10. Elsewhere, progressives won by larger margins, like in FL-10 and PA-SEN.

Turning to TX-28, if Tannya Benavides was in the race, then Jessica Cisneros would have had a good chance of beating Henry Cuellar the first time, because TB's and JC's platforms were much alike. It went HC 48.7%, JC 46.6%, TB 4.7%. The runoff round went HC 50.3%, JC 49.7%.

 

[lpetrich]

Courage to Change Pledge Distinctions - Courage to Change

Here is that pledge:

• ending the influence of special interests and corporations in campaign finance;
• expanding union power everywhere;
• increasing investments for infrastructure projects that emphasize sustainability, equity and access for everyone;
• adopting the Green New Deal, and its principles of jobs, justice, and decarbonization;
• increasing public safety through education, jobs, healthcare, and community-based programs;
• making housing permanently affordable, inclusive, and widely available;
• healthcare as a right and not a privilege;
• making public colleges and universities tuition-free while canceling all student debt;
• treating all immigrants with dignity and respect while creating a pathway to citizenship; and
• expanding voting rights to protect our democracy.

Doesn't endorse Medicare for All but might be satisfied with something like the German system: several nonprofit medical-insurance companies that cover everybody. Bismarckcare?

She endorsed a large number of local and state candidates, and also some Congressional ones: Natalie James AR-SEN, Maxwell Alejandro Frost FL-10 +29, Delia Ramirez IL-03 +39, Conor Halbleib KY-05 -60, Brian Jaye MI-09 -34, Mercedes Krause NV-02 -13, Summer Lee PA-12 +12, Michelle Vallejo TX-15 0, Greg Casar TX-35 +38, Nick Mitchell UT-02 -23

I'm including partisanship values from What Redistricting Looks Like In Every State | FiveThirtyEight to get an idea of how well the candidates might do. Sorting by that number,

Delia Ramirez IL-03 +39, Greg Casar TX-35 +38, Maxwell Alejandro Frost FL-10 +29, Summer Lee PA-12 +12, Michelle Vallejo TX-15 0, Mercedes Krause NV-02 -13, Nick Mitchell UT-02 -23, Brian Jaye MI-09 -34, Conor Halbleib KY-05 -60

 

[lpetrich]

AIPAC has a big grudge against Summer Lee, it seems. It seems to want to pull off the sort of win that Byron Brown did against India Walton.

The head of Justice Democrats:
Alexandra Rojas on Twitter: "AIPAC has dropped over $1M ..." / Twitter

AIPAC has dropped over $1M in less than 48 hours against @SummerForPA, the Democratic nominee in #PA12.

Yet not a single Democratic Party leader has condemned AIPACs most recent spending for her GOP opponent, despite claiming to fight for a Dem majority.

This is a dangerous precedent for Dem leadership to not weigh in publicly on.

AIPAC is trying to set an example with Summer— if you dare speak out about Palestinian human rights + are young, progressive, and Black you will be crushed. Unless Democratic Party leadership steps in.

AIPAC spent $4mil+ against Summer in the primary, making a mockery of how a fair democratic system should function by jamming the airwaves with disinfo about Summer and Dem leaders barely spoke up about it, paving the way for AIPAC to do as they please.

The leadership of the Democratic Party has a real opportunity in #PA12 to begin standing up against far-right Super PACs like AIPAC and defend the integrity of our democratic system and our Democratic majority but unfortunately none of us are holding our breath waiting on them.

In the meantime, donate to @SummerForPA so her campaign has the resources to fight back against AIPAC’s smear campaign and beat out her extremist Republican opponent.

Because even if Democratic leadership refuses to stand up to Republicans, we won't: (link)

 

[lpetrich]

Summer Lee Faces AIPAC Spending Onslaught in Final Days - from May 16, about AIPAC supporting corporate lawyer Steve Irwin against her

Mrs. Darsy NaNoCryMo on Twitter: "@alexandrasiera @SummerForPA I'm so genuinely confused about this though! ..." / Twitter

I'm so genuinely confused about this though! Remember the documentary that featured AOC celebrating her primary win because it meant she'd definitely be winning the general? This seat feels that kind of safe (not that we won't be voting, mind you)! So, WHY spend so much??

I live in PA12, watch a lot of YouTube, and travel around every day. I see no signs for her opponent, 95% of the ads are for Summer (or to warn about the fact that her opponent's name is the same as the retiring incumbent), and it's a heavily Dem district. Why is this happening??

Guy the dream sequencer on Twitter: "@darsynia @alexandrasiera @SummerForPA The Republican Party trying to sow doubt among D-leaning voters and wanting to shape a "red wave" narrative?" / Twitter
Seems likely. I haven't found anything on the content of AIPAC's recent ads, however.

 

[lpetrich]

Summer Lee on Twitter: "With 1 week left until Election Day, ..." / Twitter

With 1 week left until Election Day, AIPAC has upped their spending to over $1 million to help elect my extreme Republican opponent.

This is the same Super PAC that attacked me during the primary for not being "sufficiently Democrat."
Now they're trying to elect the Republican.

They want to paint young Black women as extreme because we have a vision for a safer future for all of us.

A vision that doesn't involve corporate tax cuts for billionaires, but living wages for working people.

Where our reproductive freedom is protected & Medicare is funded.

But that's too extreme for AIPAC's Republican donors.

Because they want a different extreme. Right-wing extremism: Anti-abortion. Anti-gun safety. Anti-Social Security & Medicare. Antisemitic. Pro-Corporate Handouts. Pro-Insurrection.

Noting
Jeremy Ben-Ami on Twitter: "Just a week before the midterms and AIPAC is now spending over $700,000 to defeat a Democrat in a traditionally blue seat, a move that risks handing the majority to election-denying MAGA extremists.
How can this group claim to represent American Jews and our values? (pic link)" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Shamefully, AIPAC is working for Republican control of Congress and further destabilization of US democracy.
Let’s rally for @SummerForPA. Help her out with a volunteer shift or donation today: (link)" / Twitter

Noting
Jacob Rubashkin on Twitter: "Whoa... AIPAC's Super PAC is spending against Democrat Summer Lee in PA-12. This looks like the group's first spending in any D vs. R election, and comes as there's some concern over Lee's race because her GOP opponent has the same name as the outgoing Democratic member." / Twitter
noting
CATargetAlt on Twitter: "NEW FEC F24
UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT (UDP)
$78,684-> #PA12
(links)" / Twitter
noting
Form 24 for UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT (UDP)

Then noting that UDP spent over $2M to beat SL in the primary. It's now spending a lot on mailers and TV ads.

 

[Derec]

How AIPAC and DMFI Outspent the Democratic Insurgency - "A People-Powered Insurgency Threatened to Reshape the Democratic Party. Then Came AIPAC and Its Allied Super PAC, Democratic Majority for Israel."
[...]
Turner said she was told she had to distance herself from members of the Squad, particularly Muslim Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, or face an onslaught.

Those tricksy Jewses not wanting to be demonized by the likes of Ilhan Omar.

“I even have emails right now, to this day, of local primarily business leaders in the Jewish community where they were encouraging Republicans to vote in this primary and were saying things like: We must support Shontel Brown, in no way can we let Nina Turner win this race,” Turner said.

In a safe seat, like OH-11 certainly is, the minority party has only a voice if they participate in the majority party primaries. What's wrong with people voting for the candidate they like more?
In the end, I would do away with partisan primaries, which tend to favor extremes, and just have jungle primaries everywhere.

 

[Derec]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Shamefully, AIPAC is working for Republican control of Congress and further destabilization of US democracy.

The Jews are the threat to US democracy. Is that what Unterscharführerin Cortez is trying to insinuate here?
Plenty of organizations support candidates of their choice. Why is AOC singling out AIPAC as "destabilizing" US democracy?

Let’s rally for @SummerForPA. Help her out with a volunteer shift or donation today: (link)" / Twitter

[/url]First of all, AIPAC has the right to support the Republican candidate if they like him better than the Democrat.
Had Dems nominated Steve Irwin, rather than the extreme and anti-Israel Summer Lee, things would have been different.

 

[lpetrich]

Unterscharführerin = feminine of Unterscharführer = a rank in the Nazi German SS militia, lit. "junior squad leader"

How is Summer Lee "extreme and anti-Israel"?

 

[Derec]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Shamefully, AIPAC is working for Republican control of Congress and further destabilization of US democracy.

The Jews are the threat to US democracy. Is that what Unterscharführerin Cortez is trying to insinuate here?
Plenty of organizations support candidates of their choice. Why is AOC singling out AIPAC as "destabilizing" US democracy?

Let’s rally for @SummerForPA. Help her out with a volunteer shift or donation today: (link)" / Twitter

First of all, AIPAC has the right to support the Republican candidate if they like him better than the Democrat.
Had Dems nominated Steve Irwin, rather than the extreme and anti-Israel Summer Lee, things would have been different.

 

[Derec]

Unterscharführerin = feminine of Unterscharführer = a rank in the Nazi German SS militia, lit. "junior squad leader"

Yup. About the equivalent of sergeant, but in Waffen-SS. You get it? She is the leader of the Squad and she always complains about the Jews.

How is Summer Lee "extreme and anti-Israel"?

She is DSA, so we know she is extreme overall.
And she tweeted about how she thinks Israel defending itself from attacks by Palestinian terror groups " (such as rockets from Gaza or stabbing attacks in Jerusalem) "undeniable atrocities".

 

[Derec]

Summer Lee on Twitter: "
Trayvon, a kid, was walking in his own neighborhood, going home.
George didn't like the way he looked and assualted him.
Trayvon fought back with his fists.
George drew a gun and killed him.
American government: "George had a right to defend himself."

This shitty old canard yet again?
1. It wasn't "his own neighborhood". Trayvon was visiting. It was Z's "own neighborhood" though.
2. It was actually Trayvon who didn't like the look of Z. He called him a "creepy-ass cracker". Or is that "creepy ass-cracker"?
3. There is zero evidence that Z assaulted Trayvon and that the latter fought back with his fists. All evidence of physical attack was on Z, not on Trayvon. Which suggests that Trayvon initiated physical violence.
4. The only true part is that Z drew his gun and killed Trayvon. And that it was self-defense.

Summer Lee on Twitter: "When I hear American pols use the refrain "Israel has the right to defend itself" in response to undeniable atrocities on a marginalized pop, I can't help but think of how the west has always justified indiscriminate& disproportionate force &power on weakened & marginalized ppl" / Twitter

That's the same tweet I posted below. I did not know you quoted it here.
Palestinians have many terror groups whose aim is to kill Jews and drive them into the sea.
Of course Israel should defend itself. Bombing a Hamas rocket depot in Gaza or killing an Islamic Jihad leader in Jenin are not "undeniable atrocities" and neither is it "indiscriminate and disproportionate force". And Palestinians are anything but marginalized. They have many fans among western Left, precisely because they are in conflict with Israel. Other conflicts do not get nearly as much press because if you can't blame Israel, what's the point?

Inhumanities against the Palestinian ppl cannot be tolerated or justified" / Twitter

Main inhumanity against Palestinian people is by their bloodthirsty and kleptocratic leadership.

That set off some people in Pittsburgh, like a member of a Jewish community organization. He is concerned about her because “she’s endorsed by some people I believe are antisemites, like Rashida Tlaib.” and “Another thing that worried me was her equating the suffering of the Gazans and Palestinians to the suffering of African Americans. That’s one of these intersectional things. If that’s her take on the Middle East, that’s very dangerous.”

He is right.

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Shamefully, AIPAC is working for Republican control of Congress and further destabilization of US democracy.

The Jews are the threat to US democracy. Is that what Unterscharführerin Cortez is trying to insinuate here?

Derec, repeat after me:
AIPAC != the Jewish people
AIPAC != the Jewish people
AIPAC != the Jewish people
...

Plenty of organizations support candidates of their choice. Why is AOC singling out AIPAC as "destabilizing" US democracy?

By supporting Republican election deniers and insurrectionists, and by being willing to spend enormous amounts of money on their preferred candidates.

Derec, think of it this way. Imagine that Hamas was doing what AIPAC does. Or Iran. Or Saudi Arabia. What would you think?

 

[lpetrich]

Unterscharführerin = feminine of Unterscharführer = a rank in the Nazi German SS militia, lit. "junior squad leader"

Yup. About the equivalent of sergeant, but in Waffen-SS. You get it? She is the leader of the Squad and she always complains about the Jews.

"Always complains about the Jews"??? What kind of baseless nonsense is that???

How is Summer Lee "extreme and anti-Israel"?

She is DSA, so we know she is extreme overall.

What makes the DSA so "extreme"?

Issues | Summer Lee For Congress

• Democracy and Voting Rights
• Disability Justice
• Economic Justice & Union Jobs
• Education
• Environmental Justice
• Gun Violence
• Immigration
• Justice Reform
• LGBTQ+ Rights
• Medicare For All
• Reproductive Health, Rights, & Justice

And she tweeted about how she thinks Israel defending itself from attacks by Palestinian terror groups " (such as rockets from Gaza or stabbing attacks in Jerusalem) "undeniable atrocities".

So Hamas is so evil that it's important to act like Hamas?

I'm reminded of Bertrand Russell – Nobel Lecture - NobelPrize.org - "What Desires Are Politically Important?"

He mentions various reasons for hating Communists, and important in this context is "Fourthly, we hate them because they do not allow liberty; this we feel so strongly that we have decided to imitate them."

 

[ZiprHead]

3. There is zero evidence that Z assaulted Trayvon and that the latter fought back with his fists. All evidence of physical attack was on Z, not on Trayvon. Which suggests that Trayvon initiated physical violence.

This is bullshit. Trayvon's GF testified Trayvon was attacked while he was on the phone with her. That's hardly zero evidence.

What there is zero evidence of is that Trayvon assaulted Z. Considering Zimmerman's actions since the incident, it's become quite clear Zimmerman is a violent, racist POS.

 

[lpetrich]

Don’t Look Now But Progressives Are About to Expand Their Ranks in Congress - In These Times

It’s been a rough year for progressives, or so the headlines tell us. Pundits have been quick to elegize the left electoral movement after several high-profile primary defeats in New York, Illinois and Texas. “Left loses momentum.” “Progressives are in danger of losing influence.” Pundits are “seeing limits on the political support for their reformist vision of the country” with this year’s “spate of losses” only the “latest blow to progressive power,” as the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party struggles “to find a winning formula.”

elegize -> eulogize

The jubilant mood at the Vermont senator’s September roundtable with a group of progressive House primary winners, then, might come as a surprise. “The Squad” — the moniker claimed by the troupe of progressive and democratic-socialist insurgents who started elbowing their way into the House in 2018 — is expected to number in the double digits in 2023, with at least four likely inductees poised to safely win blue districts in November. All in all, progressives are set to claim at least six Congressional seats opened up by redistricting and a record number of retirements.

“I was elected to the House and took office in 1991, and I can tell you there was nothing — nothing — like what we will be seeing in Congress next year,” Sanders said.

THE MOST PROGRESSIVES IN CONGRESS EVER (LIVE AT 8PM ET) - YouTube
with guests Greg Casar (TX-35, +38%), Becca Balint (VT-01, +28%), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01, +41%), and Delia Ramirez (IL-03, +39%)

Thanx to the likes of the Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party.

 

[Derec]

Don’t Look Now But Progressives Are About to Expand Their Ranks in Congress - In These Times

Thanx to the likes of the Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party.

I don't know about you, but I do not think radicalization and polarization of Congress is a good idea for our country.

 

[Derec]

This is bullshit. Trayvon's GF testified Trayvon was attacked while he was on the phone with her. That's hardly zero evidence.

First of all, she did not see anything, and as to what she may have heard (such as wet grass), she is hardly a disinterested witness.

What there is zero evidence of is that Trayvon assaulted Z.

There were abrasions on Trayvon's knuckles indicating he hit Z, but no such abrasions on Z's knuckles.
That shows that it was Trayvon who hit Z, not the other way around.

Considering Zimmerman's actions since the incident, it's become quite clear Zimmerman is a violent, racist POS.

What evidence of Z's alleged "racism" do you think you have?
And even if he was - even racist have the right to self defense if attacked.