Democrats trying to unseat each other II

[lpetrich]

(Doyle Canning...)

Well, the winner of OR-04 will face Alex Skarlatos. Alex is a real piece of shit and must not serve in the legislature. He supported the Jan 6 rioters and was a quanon supporter. Eugene is not the liberal bastion community that it once was. I don't know much about Doyle. But it would be very bad for democracy if the left voted for a progressive over a moderate that could have beaten Skarlatos.

Or else Alek Skarlatos is trying to get the MAGA vote.

More seriously, The Squad and Squad-adjacent Democrats tend to do well in elections, at least as well as their predecessors did against Republicans.

 

[lpetrich]

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Rallies Support For Progressive Texas Candidates | HuffPost Latest News - "Campaigning for Jessica Cisneros and Greg Casar, Ocasio-Cortez sent a message to the Democratic establishment: "Do not mess with Texas progressives.""

Liberal Pro-Israel Group To Spend $100,000 Boosting Jessica Cisneros In Texas | HuffPost Latest News - "The J Street Action Fund is backing Cisneros, a progressive attorney, in her Democratic primary challenge against Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas)."

One 30-second spot is a contrast ad that highlights Cuellar’s alleged corruption and conservatism, as well as Cisneros’ attributes, saying she “fought for South Texas families as a human rights lawyer.”

A second 30-second video is solely an anti-Cuellar attack, citing the FBI raid and Cuellar’s opposition to abortion rights and pro-union legislation.

“Henry Cuellar isn’t fighting for Texas families, he’s looking out for himself,” the ad concludes.

Meanwhile, Pro-Israel America, a more conservative pro-Israel group founded by a former leader of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, has endorsed Cuellar, praising him as an “outspoken supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship throughout his time in Congress.” As of the end of 2021, Cuellar had raised more than $54,000 from pro-Israel donors and groups.

3 Exit Rep. Henry Cuellar's Campaign After FBI Raid On Home | HuffPost Latest News - "Three consultants for the conservative Texas Democrat have left since late January."

The departing consultants were Chris Cantu, a data specialist; Andrew Kovach, a digital marketing consultant; and Bert Santibañez, a field organizing expert, according to two people familiar with their exit. All three Democratic consultants are based in San Antonio, and Cuellar’s progressive challenger, Jessica Cisneros, heavily outperformed him in 2020 in Bexar County, the part of Texas’ 28th Congressional District where San Antonio is located.

So that will hurt HC's campaign in the San Antonio area, where JC is strong. One has to ask why they quit. Are they trying to avoid embarrassing associations? Do they expect HC to lose?

In addition to the exits of the three consultants, the Voter Education Foundation, a “dark money” political nonprofit that aired ads attacking Cisneros, is no longer active, according to someone who used to work for the group.

...
Cuellar has once again heavily out-fundraised Cisneros, but she has picked up some momentum following the FBI raid. Cisneros announced on Thursday that her campaign had raised $700,000 in the first six weeks of 2022 ― nearly twice as much as she raised in the final three months of 2021.

...
Cisneros also told HuffPost that in the wake of the FBI raid, she and her campaign workers have noticed greater receptivity to her bid when they knock on voters’ doors.

The raid “forced people to really think about their choice in terms of whether they were going to vote for Cuellar or this campaign a lot sooner than it did last time,” she said. “It also forced people to know that we are the most electable candidate.”

 

[lpetrich]

Jessica Cisneros Is Going Up Against The Last Anti-Abortion Democrat In The House | HuffPost Latest News

Referring to:

Actions - H.R.3755 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Women's Health Protection Act of 2021 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - legally protecting abortion and putting into law what is in Roe vs. Wade.

The vote: Roll Call 295 | Bill Number: H. R. 3755
Sep 24, 2021, 11:53 AM | 117th Congress, 1st Session
The vote was:
D: Y 218, N 1, nv 1
R: N 210, nv 2
Total: Y 218, N 211, nv 3

The only Democrat to vote against the bill was Rep. Henry Cuellar.

This wasn’t the first time Cuellar had voted against the reproductive health of millions of American women. Cuellar, a nine-term incumbent, has a long history of voting against pro-choice legislation, and now stands as the last anti-abortion rights Democrat in the House. He regularly supported former President Donald Trump’s attacks on the Title X family planning program and was the only Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee in 2021 to support the Hyde Amendment, which bars federal health insurance programs like Medicaid from covering abortions.

The second remaining antiabortion Democrat was Dan Lipinski, and he was primaried by Marie Newman back in 2020.

 

[lpetrich]

Primary dates (United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2022 - Ballotpedia):

• March 1: TX
• May 3: IN, OH
• May 10: NE, WV
• May 17: ID, KY, NC, OR, PA
• May 24: AL, AR, GA
• June 7: CA, IA, MS, MT, NJ, NM, SD
• June 14: ME, ND, NV, SC
• June 21: VA
• June 28: CO, IL, MD, NY, OK, UT
• August 2: AZ, KS, MI, MO, WA
• August 4: TN
• August 9: CT, MN, VT, WI
• August 13: HI
• August 16: AK, WY
• August 23: FL
• September 13: DE, NH, RI
• September 20: MA
• November 8: LA

Texas has runoff elections on May 24, Alaska will be using a nonpartisan top-four system for the first time, California and Washington use a nonpartisan top-two system, and Louisiana has a nonpartisan top-two system where the second election is skipped if some candidate wins a majority.

 

[Harry Bosch]

(Doyle Canning...)

Well, the winner of OR-04 will face Alex Skarlatos. Alex is a real piece of shit and must not serve in the legislature. He supported the Jan 6 rioters and was a quanon supporter. Eugene is not the liberal bastion community that it once was. I don't know much about Doyle. But it would be very bad for democracy if the left voted for a progressive over a moderate that could have beaten Skarlatos.

Or else Alek Skarlatos is trying to get the MAGA vote.

More seriously, The Squad and Squad-adjacent Democrats tend to do well in elections, at least as well as their predecessors did against Republicans.

Well, I'm a Duck. Know Lane county well. It's not as liberal as many think. I was down there a few weeks ago to tour the campus with my daughter. I was surprised at all the Trump signs in the areas around the campus. Many anti-Kate Brown signs. She is hated. In every restaurant, they proudly proclaimed that they don't agree with Brown's position on masks and etc. Clearly, the college kids and professors are left. But what will their turnout be? The dems need to win the moderates to keep a quanon believer from federal office. Just saying...

 

[lpetrich]

From a year ago: Marianne Williamson's Endorsee Candidate Summit

She recently followed up with Seize The House - Candidate Summit

The candidate list was unchanged, except for dropping Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick FL-20 and adding Stephanie Gallardo WA-09.

A panel discussion with Krystal Ball, Briahna Joy Gray, Katie Halper, Julianna Forlano, Marianne Williamson
LEFT TAKEOVER: SEIZING THE HOUSE - YouTube

I watched the whole thing. Krystal Ball was around only for the first few tens of minutes, but the other hosts stuck around for the entire three hours, mainly interviewing most of the candidates.

Marianne Williamson - YouTube has a lot of interviews, like with Rep. Pramila Jayapal.

 

[lpetrich]

Nick Cunningham on Twitter: "Progressive climate champion Doyle Canning running for OR-04. Merkley and DeFazio endorsed Hoyle, which has angered climate groups in OR over her history of taking money from Jordan Cove LNG." / Twitter
That's Val Hoyle.

The only TX-28 poll I've found is someone repeating a 3-month-old poll.
PollTracker on Twitter: "2022 #TX28 Democratic Primary Poll:
Jessica Cisneros 36%
Henry Cuellar 35%
Other 7%
Undecided 17%
RMG Research/@USTermLimits ~ 400 LV ~ 11/14-11/21 (link)" / Twitter

It was before the FBI's raid on HC's home, and JC claims that that raid made people more interested in her. So she seems likely to win.

I looked for more polls of Democratic primary races, and I found

PollTracker on Twitter: "2022 #TX35 Democratic Primary Poll:
Greg Casar 48%
Eddie Rodriguez 20%
Rebecca Viagran 14%
@Lake_Research/@GregCasar Internal ~ 400 LV ~ 1/4-9 (link)" / Twitter
A candidate's internal poll tends to overstate the candidate, but even so, GC has an impressive margin.

PollTracker on Twitter: "2022 #MI12 Democratic Primary Poll:
Rashida Tlaib 62%
William Wild 13%
Kelly Garrett 6%
Janice Winfrey 4%
Phil Cavanagh 3%
Maureen Miller Bronsan 2%
Shanelle Jackson 0%
Other/Undecided 10%
Target Insyght/@mdpblackcaucus ~ 600 LV ~ 1/18-1/20 (link)" / Twitter
RT's previous main opponent, Brenda Jones, is nowhere in sight.

 

[lpetrich]

Progressive Jessica Cisneros Challenges Rep. Cuellar in Texas - The New York Times - "In her second run for Congress, Jessica Cisneros has moved from pitching progressive policies to attacking the incumbent Democrat, Representative Henry Cuellar."

LAREDO, Texas — Two years ago, a 26-year-old immigration lawyer named Jessica Cisneros came within 3.6 percentage points of pushing out the longtime Democratic congressman here, running aggressively on the progressive vision of the national liberals who had bankrolled her insurgent campaign.

This time around, at the ripe age of 28, she’s scorching the already brown earth of South Texas, attacking Representative Henry Cuellar not so much for his conservative policy positions, but for being what she describes as a corrupt politician — rich, out of touch with his poor constituents, and quite possibly a felon.

“We’re going after him,” Ms. Cisneros said at a picnic table outside the taqueria next to her campaign headquarters, with the confidence of a seasoned political street fighter. “Everything we’ve been doing has been very intentional.”

... he still favors Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, more liberal immigration policies and abortion rights, but those have not been her focus.

Instead, she has played up her biography and hit Mr. Cuellar hard on rising prices. She has portrayed him as a Washington insider, greasing his pockets with money from big corporations, and presented herself as embodying the struggling community he left behind.

“My medicines cost more, insurance more,” intones an older Latina in one of Ms. Cisneros’s most recent ads, as the woman sweeps the stoop of her modest house and laments that nothing has changed in Laredo. “Now it’s food and gas, but we don’t make more. If you ask me, Henry Cuellar has been in Washington too long.”

Much like AOC's legendary campaign ad back in 2018.

Jonathan Weisman on Twitter: "On her second run, @JCisnerosTX is putting aside an issues-focused run at @RepCuellar and trying an approach Democrats should notice, building a story around identity, el pueblo, us vs. a corrupt Washington elite in the guise of a conservative incumbent. (link)" / Twitter
then
Bill Neidhardt on Twitter: "How is this not an “issues-focused” run? (pic link)" / Twitter
showing a screenshot of that last paragraph I quoted, the one about stuff going up in price and how HC has been in DC for too long.

Michan Connor on Twitter: "@BNeidhardt @justicedems Because Cisneros is brown and progressive, which therefore means “woke”. They had an editorial meeting and decided" / Twitter

Noah Pierce on Twitter: "@BNeidhardt @justicedems Just but if you ignore all the things she’s saying, you can focus on the things you think she isn’t saying" / Twitter

Justice Democrats on Twitter: "Which side are you on?" / Twitter
noting
Jessica Cisneros on Twitter: "Our dreams are worth more than their money.
It's time to deliver for working families in #TX28. (pic link)" / Twitter

Showing HC's big-business supporters like ExxonMobil and Koch Industries, and stating that less than 1% of his money comes from small-dollar donations. By comparison, JC is supported by no corporate PAC's and she accepts no lobbyist money. She is supported by several progressive politicians and PAC's, like AOC, Katie Porter, Justice Democrats, and EMILY's List.

 

[lpetrich]

A Texas primary could signal Democrats’ chances in the 2022 midterms - Vox - nice article on Jessica Cisneros and the prospects for her unseating Henry Cuellar.

Noting
Progressive challengers and an FBI raid raise obstacles to Texas Democrat's reelection bid - CBS News

The Republican National Committee has made a multi-million dollar investment into "RNC Community Centers" geared towards minority communities. Three are in South Texas, including one in San Antonio and one in Laredo.

"Henry and I are pretty close friends. He does a lot of good for Laredo, he's in charge of the border. I hope he survives his primary," said Bill Young, the former Webb County Republican Chair, at a RNC Community Center event. "But– it's going to be a battle for him in the primary and in the general."

Republican candidate and businessman Ed Cabrera said a recent internal poll from his campaign conducted after the FBI raid has Cisneros up 7 points on Cuellar.

Benavides noted Republicans have been targeting rural counties.

"There's been so much that's happened since 2020 that we will, as a Democratic party, be judged by," Benavides told CBS News during an event in Zapata County. "They're looking at it as a window of opportunity. So I'm also going to be where the Republican party is at."

That's Tannya Benavides, another progressive candidate, and one with nearly no support.

The (JC) - (HC) poll numbers are+1% for before the raid and +7% after the raid, so it looks like that raid made a difference. No followup on that raid, however, from the FBI or anyone else.

The two articles, like several others, described HC as a "moderate" Democrat. He may be moderate by Congressmember standards, but he is very conservative by Democratic-Party standards. So I like to call him a conservative Democrat.

 

[lpetrich]

Marie Newman on Twitter: "We can’t settle for another corporate Democrat in the #NewIL06. I’ll keep fighting every day for strong, progressive values. (pic link)" / Twitter
showing off differences between her and Sean Casten, also running in IL-06.

Marie Newman:

• Refuses to take corporate PAC donations
• Proud supporter of climate justice and equity
• Fights to make life easier for workers and working families
• Working to make universal healthcare a reality

Sean Casten:

• Has taken $700,000 from corporations since 2019
• Former fossil-fuel CEO and lobbyist
• Said recently that "a little bit of inflation is a good thing"
• Refused to sign on to Medicare for All legislation

Ryan Grim on Twitter: "Henry Cuellar’s bot army appears to be highly active on Facebook too. On the one hand this is all pretty funny, but his home was recently raided as part of an investigation into Azerbaijani corruption and that country is particularly known for deploying these bot armies. (pix link)" / Twitter
Showing some of HC's bots' messages of support. Their names are fully capitalized, unlike their Twitter counterparts' names, but their content is essentially the same.

Some videos claiming that Azerbaijan is a big user of bot armies. So it would not be surprising if they deployed these armies to deploy their friend Henry Cuellar.

Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict - How Azerbaijan uses BOTs and Fake Social Media Profiles to spread Lies - YouTube

Explaining Azerbaijan’s Use of Bot Armies & The Online War - YouTube - "Fred Tatlyan speaks to CivilNet from Los Angeles about the cyber war and Azerbaijan’s use of bot armies and other online tactics. Fred also gives his take on how Diasporans should approach the situation." - evidently the Armenian diaspora, and Armenia and Azerbaijan don't get along very well with each other.

 

[lpetrich]

Sarah Ferris on Twitter: "TX primary is tonight! ..." / Twitter

TX primary is tonight!

So I just asked Hoyer if he stands by his endorsement of Henry Cuellar (which came the *morning* of the FBI raid), and if Dems will support him going into the general if he wins tonight.

"The answer is yes, and yes."

Hoyer: "We’ll see what happens today. I certainly stand by my endorsement.
I will certainly support him, and so will the party."

And of course, here is my dispatch from Cuellar's district about how the "King of Laredo" has been standing alone since that FBI raid

2 years ago, Pelosi AND Hoyer went to Laredo to campaign with Cuellar. This year, there's been almost no DC support.

After an FBI raid, ‘King of Laredo’ runs on his laurels - POLITICO - "Jessica Cisneros is giving nine-term Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) a tougher rematch this year. Corruption cloud or no, he still has a real chance."

While Cuellar hasn’t been charged with a crime, his D.C. colleagues have largely left him to fend for himself. The business groups that once bankrolled his campaigns have stopped lining up. He hasn’t voted in person in weeks.

...
But Cuellar, in a rare interview with a national reporter following last month’s FBI raid, insists that his Lone Star State supporters have not abandoned him.

“People have not brought it up to me. They know my record. They know what I’ve done,” Cuellar said by phone. “They don’t want to have somebody from outside the district tell somebody how to vote here.”

Then Cuellar made a bold prediction: that he’d end up beating Cisneros next month in his newly redrawn district by a margin bigger than he did in 2020: “I think it’s going to be much better this election.”

Then mentioning supporters of him who agree, and an internal poll that showed him winning.

But those family ties matter, too. Voters are regularly reminded of the hundreds of millions of dollars Cuellar has steered here, first as a state representative and later as congressman. He was appointed to a role in then-GOP Gov. Rick Perry’s administration. His name is emblazoned on a local elementary school, as well as a park trailhead that he helped fund in 2010.

This year alone, Cuellar is seeking $34 million in earmarks to build local health clinics, upgrade a courthouse and restore a critical bridge to Mexico.

That old-school politicking is partly what’s made him the favorite of many local leaders, even after the FBI showed up at his home. Texas Democrats’ campaign team boasts a list of 171 Cuellar endorsements, from people like Laredo’s mayor, city council members, town constables, district attorneys, police chiefs and school board leaders.

In other words, he brought home a lot of bacon. But all bacon is pork.

Yet,

Cuellar himself is mostly keeping his head down, sticking to heavy radio and TV ads. While his team said he’s knocked doors around Laredo, he had no public schedule for the entire holiday weekend of the festival. His aides turned down an in-person interview request.

Cisneros, for her part, is rallying volunteers to knock on doors in neighborhoods in both Laredo and San Antonio every day of early voting. She’s made herself abundantly available to the press and organized rallies with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

...
“He tries to say, ‘I have deep roots in Laredo,’ but then I think people also forget that — so do I,” Cisneros said. “It might not be these people that have this very important title or whatever, but their vote counts the same.”

While Cuellar didn’t march in this year’s Washington’s Birthday parade, Cisneros and her team worked the route, flyers in hand. At several points, people in the crowd jumped up to hug her or take photos.

 

[lpetrich]

The Texas primaries are now over, and the votes are almost all counted. Let's see how well the candidates did.

In TX-35 (San Antonio), Greg Casar won a big victory. 61.2% vs. 15.6%, 15.5%, 7.7%. His campaign page: Greg Casar for Congress | TX-35 | Progressive Democrat | Texas

In TX-28 (SA, Laredo), Jessica Cisneros got into the runoffs, meaning that she will be facing off with Henry Cuellar again on May 24. The vote was HC 48.4% JC 46.9%, Tannya Benavides 4.7%. JC's campaign page: Home - Jessica Cisneros for Congress | Jessica Cisneros for Congress

Who is TB? Checking on her campaign page, she seems much like JC. So she was a spoiler for JC, and if her voters all vote for JC in the runoff, JC will win. Her campaign page: Tannya for Texas

TX-37 (Austin) was a big disappointment for me. Donna Imam lost, though she lost to long-time incumbent Lloyd Doggett. The vote: LD 79.2%, DI 17.8%, others 2.0%, 1.1%. Her campaign page: Donna Imam For Congress - "Engineer for US Congress"

TX-30 (Dallas) was a bit of a disappointment. Jessica Mason, supported by Brand New Congress and some others, lost to Jasmine Crockett, supported by Elizabeth Warren and some others. The vote: JC 48.5%, Jane Hamilton 17.0%, others 7.9%, 7.7%, 5.0%, 5.0%, 3.4%, Jessica Mason 3.4%, others 1.2%. JC and JH will go into a runoff. Campaign pages: Jessica Mason For U.S Congress | This is the New Deal - Home – Jasmine For US - Jane Hope Hamilton

JM had the strongest progressive platform, JC progressive-looking but rather vague, and JH was actually close to JM.

In TX-33 (DFW), Carlos Quintanilla was defeated by incumbent Mark Veasey. His campaign page: QuintanillaforCongress - Home - a bit vague, like saying "Medicare for all (who want it)" and not championing renewable energy.

In TX-15 (S Texas E of TX-28), Michelle Vallejo went into a runoff with Ruben Ramirez: RR 28.3%, MV 20.1%, others 19.2%, 16.5%, 10.6%, 5.2%. Campaign pages: For our pueblo! - Michelle Vallejo for Congress - Ruben Ramirez for Congress | TX-15 | Texas

MV seems like a good progressive, like endorsing M4A and renewable energy, RR much more vague about healthcare and not endorsing renewable energy, but endorsing student loan forgiveness. MV goes further than him, endorsing not only SLF but also tuition-free public colleges and trade schools.

Of the incumbents who won, Veronica Escobar in TX-16 has ideology score 0.24, Mark Veasey TX-33 0.34, Lloyd Doggett TX-37 0.29. All middle-of-the-road by Democrat standards.

538's partisanship scores: TX-15: 0 -- TX-28: 7 -- TX-16: 33 -- TX-35: 38 -- TX-33, TX-37: 44 -- TX-30: 51

That should wrap it up until May 24, the day of the runoff elections.

 

[lpetrich]

Marie Newman hasn't stopped.

Marie Newman on Twitter: "#IL06 needs real climate action, not just platitudes. (pic link)" / Twitter

MARIE NEWMAN

Marie is working with her colleagues to address the climate crisis head-on with real solutions, not just platitudes.

• Introduced America's Clean Future Fund Act to create new investments in clean energy and to help us reach the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions
• Signed the No Fossil Fuel Pledge and rejects all fossil fuel, oil and gas, and corporate PAC money
• Passed a law to study and expand high speed rail right here in Chicagoland
• Worked with the rail industry and local officials to cut train delays and blockages by up to 100%
• Fighting for legislation to get us to net-zero emissions ASAP while creating good-paying American jobs

SEAN CASTEN

Sean talks the talk on the environment, but his record says something else.

• Accepted thousands of dollars from the fossil fuel industry, including Chevron, BP, and Exelon
• Called supporters of the Green New Deal "naive" and legislation meant to create jobs and achieve 100% renewable energy "pie-in- the-sky"
• Owns massive stake in a company that was cited for violating the Clean Water Act
• Lobbied Congress as CEO of a fossil fuel company

(OCRed picture)

I checked on their govtrack.us report-card ideology scores, and for 2020, SC had 0.26. It doesn't have numbers for 2021.

The latest on the scandal where MN allegedly paid someone not to run against her: Statement of the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Ethics Regarding Representative Marie Newman | House Committee on Ethics

But if Henry Cuellar's career can survive a FBI raid associated with his long history of being on the take, then her career may be able to survive this one.

 

[lpetrich]

Brand New Congress on Twitter: "THANK YOU @JessicaMasonTX. Your campaign has been an inspiration to us all. You left a mark on the movement and we know it is only the beginning. @BrandNew535 was proud to stand behind you in the race to represent #TX30 and can’t wait to see what you do next. (pic link)" / Twitter
"You built an unstopable movement. Together, we will continue fighting to build a future where all of us can thrive."

Jessica Mason for Congress on Twitter: "Our fight isn't over; it's just beginning. I want to thank all of my supporters and allies for helping me in this good fight.

Dallas will always be my home, and I will never stop fighting for the community I grew up in and the people I love. (pic link)" / Twitter

She conceded that it was an uphill battle for her, not to have a lot of corporate money supporting her. But she nevertheless got the most individual small-dollar donations.

She seems like she will continue to be an activist in favor of causes like universal healthcare and a Green New Deal.


So far in this primary season, 1 win (Greg Casar JD), 1 loss (Jessica Mason BNC), 1 runoff advancement (Jessica Cisneros both).

So far, Brand New Congress is endorsing 25 candidates, 21 new and 4 incumbents, and Justice Democrats 17 candidates, 7 new and 10 incumbents.

Back in 2020, BNC did 46: 44, 2 and BNC did 30. Also back in 2020, JD did 16: 9, 7, and in 2018, 73: 70, 3.

So BNC is scaling back by a factor of 2, while JD is about the same.

 

[lpetrich]

More on Shukri Abdirahman, a Republican who is running against Ilhan Omar for MN-05.

Muslim Army veteran running to unseat Ilhan Omar: 'I was proud to put my life on the line for America' | Fox News

SA's biography parallels IO's even more: both women spent some time in Kenyan refugee camps in their teens. Both of them are Muslim women whose families fled civil war in their homeland, Somalia.

 

[Harry Bosch]

More on Shukri Abdirahman, a Republican who is running against Ilhan Omar for MN-05.

Muslim Army veteran running to unseat Ilhan Omar: 'I was proud to put my life on the line for America' | Fox News

SA's biography parallels IO's even more: both women spent some time in Kenyan refugee camps in their teens. Both of them are Muslim women whose families fled civil war in their homeland, Somalia.

I wonder if Shurki would support aid for Ukraine?

 

[lpetrich]

I wonder if Shurki would support aid for Ukraine?

No idea. One can research what she's said and written, like in her Twitter feed.

Federal judge, among others, says she never signed petition for 12th District House candidate Steve Irwin | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A federal judge is among the more than 1,000 people whose names and signatures appear on a petition in support of 12th Congressional District candidate Steve Irwin.

But this judge, and a number of other people whose names appear on the petition, say they did not sign Mr. Irwin’s petitions — potentially calling Mr. Irwin’s candidacy into question.

Federal Western District judge Cathy Bissoon and at least five other people who live on the street that the judge lives on. One of them is not registered to vote and another said that her husband's name is misspelled on it.

"These alleged forgeries could call Mr. Irwin’s candidacy into question, with at least one other Democratic candidate considering waging a challenge to his petitions."

Running against him is Summer Lee, a PA state legislator and activist who is supported by the Justice Democrats, among others.

 

[lpetrich]

Salem Snow (@Salem4Congress) / Twitter
Socialist in Philly running for congress in PA’s poorest district (PA02). Proud Roma. Will be PA’s first congressperson! (He/him) BLM

Salem Snow on Twitter: " I am officially withdrawing my candidacy for PA’s 2nd congressional district.

We needed to collect 1000 valid signatures to get on the ballot and the PA Supreme Court shortened our window to collect signatures by almost a week. We came up 103 valid signatures short." / Twitter
Then describing how his candidacy is a grassroots one, and one without the resources of establishment candidates. Nevertheless, he says, his candidacy was targeted by party leaders and dark-money PAC's.

 

[lpetrich]

Assault Allegations Vanished From Potential Cori Bush Challenger’s Wikipedia Page

SOMEWHERE IN THE Missouri Office of Administration building, someone has been scrubbing a state senator’s Wikipedia page. Democrat Steven Roberts, who represents Missouri’s 5th Senate District, is a member of the Missouri Air National Guard, a commissioned U.S. Air Force officer, and the youngest Black state senator in state history. He has also been accused by at least two women of sexual assault. But if you looked at his Wikipedia page during February, you might not know that. An unidentified editor, logging on from an IP address located in the Office of Administration building, repeatedly stripped the allegations from Roberts’s page.

Roberts — who has reportedly been mulling a primary challenge against Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo. — was first elected to the state House of Representatives in November 2016.

Then the details.

But on February 7, someone deleted all mention of those alleged incidents from SR's page. That was done in four deletions from a user only known from an IP address at the Office of Administration building across the street from the Senate building at the Missouri Capitol complex.

Then on February 28, a user called MOFacts with a hidden IP address repeated those deletions after their content had been restored. “Sources behind paywall and unable to be verified. Please use public sources for verification.”

Another user claimed that MOFacts added “a bunch of favorable information” on February 14 and later deleted “information on the Wiki page for Steve Roberts that was not favorable (multiple sexual assault allegations).”

A Wikipedia edit war, one of many that that site has had over its existence.

Asked about whether Roberts plans to primary Bush, Hawkins said the state senator was focused on the current legislative session, “his leadership duties as the Democratic Whip and commitment to serving in the US armed forces during this time of crisis.

...
When Bush beat the two-decade incumbent Rep. William Lacy Clay in 2020, her election added a leader from 2014 protests in Ferguson to the House’s growing progressive Squad. Now she is facing at least two challengers in her first primary as an incumbent, and if Roberts files, she’ll face a third.

Roberts would be the highest-profile candidate yet to challenge Bush.

 

[Derec]

Nevertheless, he says, his candidacy was targeted by party leaders and dark-money PAC's.

Sure, it's always some shadowy cabal's fault.
Btw, his campaign website is still up, but his about page does not give much detail about his educational or professional background. But at least we know he has a hairless cat named Chicken. Important things.

 

[lpetrich]

Corporate PACs Save Face by Claiming Worker Power

CORPORATE PACS ARE having a public relations crisis.

Four years ago, a quickly successful effort led by the liberal advocacy group End Citizens United sparked a national conversation about the corrupting influence of money. More than 200 Democratic congressional candidates in the 2018 cycle — including big names like Beto O’Rourke and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — swore off contributions from corporate political action committees, which represent big businesses from chain retailers to defense contractors. Even though corporate PAC dollars make up only a tiny fraction of the donations sloshing around American politics, advocates maintained that the gesture signaled a clear commitment to campaign finance reform — and the pressure seemed to work. By the start of 2021, one-fifth of Democratic lawmakers were refusing corporate PAC money.

It would be interesting to find out how many Republicans are now also doing that. Democrats have been using a site called actblue to collect donations, and Republicans have created an imitation, winred.

So they are now trying to present themselves as the voice of their paymasters' underlings.

“Candidates can run the kind of campaign they want, but what happens when they reject contributions from employee-funded #PACs?” asked the group, called the National Association of Business Political Action Committees, in a 2020 tweet. “It sends the message to American workers that their voices aren’t valid simply b/c of the way they choose to give.” In another blast, the NABPAC said pledges against corporate PACs deny “millions of #AmericanWorkers their voice.”

However,

“This is all branding; there have been no regulatory changes,” said Sarah Bryner, research director for the Center for Responsive Politics. “The vast majority of donations come from executives, lobbyists, shareholders, high-ranking people, and their family members.”

Indeed, corporate political activity is often at odds with the interests of workers, like when a PAC representing restaurant chains donated tens of thousands of dollars to fight efforts to raise the minimum wage, or when Apple fought legislation to stop forced labor in China, or when Murray Energy lobbied the Trump administration to roll back mine safety regulations. In the 2020 election cycle, half of Facebook’s PAC spending went to Republicans, while 98 percent of Facebook employee contributions went to Democrats.

All of this is happening in the backdrop of rising political coercion in the workplace. Political scientist Alexander Hertel-Fernandez has been tracking the ways that companies, post-Citizens United, can compel their workers to participate in politics as a condition of employment and fire them for refusing. One survey he led in 2015 found that up to 25 percent of employees — or 29 to 39 million Americans — had received some political contact at work, and 46 percent of managers reported that they had mobilized workers into politics during that period.

This "employee PAC" scam has allowed some Democrats to start taking corporate PAC money again, like Cindy Axne IA 0.51 and Elaine Luria VA 0.44. I've included their govtrack.us 2020 ideology scores to show where they are at (liberal = 0, conservative = 1).

 

[lpetrich]

Oregon Rep. Kurt Schrader Is Campaigning Against Himself

WITH LOCAL OREGON DEMOCRATS ENDORSING HIS CHALLENGER, REP. KURT SCHRADER STARTS CAMPAIGNING AGAINST HIMSELF

Schrader’s new ads claim that he’s a champion of Democratic priorities. Local county parties went out of their way to endorse his challenger.

Endorsement Position Paper from Special Committee - DocumentCloud
Listing a lot of votes against Democratic Party priorities in a variety of things, like the minimum wage, a pro-union bill, COVID-19 relief like the American Rescue Plan, renewable-energy development, and the like. Also noting his acceptance of big-business PAC money.

He also was found guilty of violating a conflict-of=interest law on stock transactions, he called the second impeachment of Donald Trump a "lynching", and not only does he not live anywhere near his district, preferring DC, NY, and MD, he seldom visits it.

His govtrack.us ideology score is 0.45. Not surprising.

In the words of the Clackamas County Democrats, Schrader’s record reflects a representative who serves “the rich and powerful,” not one who works “to protect the disenfranchised, the environment, or our democracy.” With recent internal polling first reported by Politico showing Schrader and McLeod-Skinner in a dead heat, Schrader’s ad blitz indicates that he is hoping to spin his record to address the growing discontent of his constituents.

“I’ve spent my time in Congress fighting for the people of Oregon — from passing critical bills that support families, schools and small businesses through the COVID-19 crisis, to championing legislation that lowers the cost of prescription drugs, fights against dark money in politics, and cleans up corruption in Washington,” Schrader wrote in a statement provided to The Intercept. “These are the issues Oregonians tell me they need addressed, and I have delivered real results.”

Is he trying to get AOC's endorsement?

"ONE OF SCHRADER’S highest-profile conflicts with the party came in September, when Schrader was one of three House Democrats who voted to block a measure allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices in favor of a much narrower reform that would allow Medicare to negotiate only a few drugs and therefore result in only a fraction of the cost savings."

"Schrader — who used a family fortune largely composed of pharmaceutical profits to fund his first congressional race — was heavily criticized following the vote, which he explained by pointing to dissent in the Senate."

He's one of the top takers of pharm money in Congress, and he takes a lot of big-business money. Will he use the Francis Bacon defense? "Sure I took those bribes, but I didn't let them influence me."

 

[lpetrich]

AOC backed pol had affair with her high school teacher

Immigration lawyer Jessica Cisneros, 28, apparently began sleeping with former teacher John Balli in 2011, when she was an 18-year-old college student and he was 40.

“Happy 3! <3,” Cisneros emailed Balli in September 2014. “9.10.11-9.10.14 ”

The next year, about 11 months after Balli married another woman, Cisneros sent him a lengthy, emotional email in which she bemoaned their breakup, which apparently came at his insistence.

“You’ve been such a big part of my life for the past 7 years, John,” she wrote.

“I’ll miss you making love to me. I’ll miss your kisses, cuddles, and snores…You were my first and my one and only, John. I’ll miss thinking I’m your one and only too.”

Nevertheless, JB got JC started in politics by recommending her to the Justice Democrats. JD, like BNC, works on a nomination system, where someone has to recommend you for running for office. This is a way of screening out anyone too egotistical.

When Cisneros first ran against her old boss in 2019, she said that Balli — who now works as a lawyer — had been her mentor at Early College High School in Laredo, Texas.

Cisneros also credited Balli for nominating her to run with the backing of the ultra-liberal “Justice Democrats,” whose ranks include Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow “Squad” members.

“He’s believed in me so much, and even through college, through law school, he’s just been there and has such a big impact on me, like so many educators here,” she told the Laredo Morning Times back then.

Meet Jessica Cisneros, the 26-year-old Laredo attorney running against Cuellar in Congress - June 14, 2019
That was for her first run.

What a scandal.

 

[Derec]

Reminds me of Kamala Harris sleeping with Willie Brown for career advancement. Except she was quite a bit older when she did it than JC.

 

[lpetrich]

This Texas City’s Water Crisis Is Shaping A Democratic Congressional Primary | HuffPost Latest News - "Jessica Cisneros, a progressive challenging Rep. Henry Cuellar (D), argues that Laredo’s water infrastructure should have improved more during Cuellar’s tenure."

That's an argument that AOC had made when she was running for office the first time. Joe Crowley was a big moneybags in the Democratic Party, and he got nicknamed "King of Queens".

Days before Texas’ Democratic primary elections on March 1, congressional candidate Jessica Cisneros was shuttling back and forth to a friend’s house to shower and draw water for cooking.

An estimated 125,000 Laredo residents had to boil their tap water for 13 days after the city’s main water line ruptured in late February. Cisneros and her family were part of a smaller subset of residents whose water was shut off completely for five days.

Laredo has issued a water boil notice six times since September 2019 for some or all residents because the local government was unable to guarantee the water’s safety.

Not surprisingly, JC has made a big issue out of these water-supply failures.

“He’s had 17, 18 years to show the improvements in the community that he’s been able to accomplish in his tenure,” Cisneros told HuffPost. “But we don’t even have water here.”

...
Although the federal government is obviously not responsible for Laredo’s water infrastructure, a core component of Cuellar’s pitch to voters is that his seat on the House Appropriations Committee has brought the struggling district a steady flow of much-needed federal dollars, she noted.

“Where’s that money going to?” Cisneros asked. “Because half of the city of Laredo didn’t have running water” as voters were casting ballots in Cuellar’s reelection race.

In response,

“Congressman Cuellar not only has secured hundreds of millions of dollars to address the Laredo water issue, but has worked with the City directly to apply for eligible funding,” Cuellar said in a statement. “Congressman Cuellar will continue to be in constant contact with the Mayor and the City to work hand in hand to solve this local issue.”

Cisneros has also sought to connect Laredo’s water struggles to Cuellar’s record of siding with the fossil-fuel industry against clean water regulation. ...

Asked why Cuellar’s support for a bill that only affected coal-mining regions was relevant to his record in Texas’ 28th, Cisneros told HuffPost it spoke to his callous approach to clean drinking water overall.

“If he’s willing to sell out the basic needs of those communities — drinkable, safe water — what would he do for this area as well?” she said.

Just like Joe Crowley, "King of Queens":

Not just an ordinary federal lawmaker, Cuellar’s roots in Laredo run so deep that he is sometimes called the “King of Laredo.” His brother Martin is the longtime sheriff of Webb County, where Laredo is located, and his sister Rosie served as county tax assessor.

 

[lpetrich]

More on Jason Mariner, who ran as a Republican against Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick in FL-20

Exclusive: Ex-felon who won Republican CD20 Primary never applied for right to hold political office

'I guess I trusted the system a little too much.'

The winning Republican in this week’s congressional Primary in South Florida is a former felon who did not go through the state’s process to restore his civil rights after imprisonment, interviews and records show.

That step is required under Florida law for a candidate to hold political office.

He is a selt-described "America First" conservative.

Mariner had served roughly two years total in the Palm Beach County Jail over 2007 and 2012 on charges that included felony theft, burglary, cocaine possession, obstruction and violently resisting arrest, records show. He was open during his campaign about his criminal background, telling voters, “Before running for Congress, I ran from the law.” He also promised he will be tough on crime.

...
Mariner confirmed Thursday in an interview he did not go through the process to restore his right to hold office. “No, nothing,” he said. He said later he was confident he was a lawful candidate. “No, it’s not going to be an issue,” he said.

...
“As I am not an attorney or official in state government, it is not really my place to answer your legal or procedural questions about Florida law, applicable scenarios, etc., or advise you legally,” he said in an email.

Jason Mariner's criminal record at an official site: Inmate Release Information Detail

 

[lpetrich]

Primary election dates for which states, with maximum number of endorsements from the PAC's that I am tracking. A - means no candidates, and a -R means a runoff election.

Date	States w/ Max Endorse
Mar 1	TX 15
May 3	IN 1, OH 9
May 10	NE 2, WV -
May 17	ID -, KY 4, NC 11, OR 7, PA 7
May 24	AL 1, AR 0, GA 2, TX-R 15
Jun 7	CA 5, IA -, MS -, MT 2, NJ 3, nM 1, SD -
Jun 14	ME -, NV 2, ND -, SC -
Jun 21	DC 1, VA 3, AL-R 1, AR-R 0, GA-R 2
Jun 28	CO 4, IL 6, NY 9, OK 0, UT 0, MS-R -, SC-R -
Jul 19	MD 3
Jul 26	NC-R 11
Aug 2	AZ 2, KS -, MI 7, MO 7, WA 5
Aug 4	TN 6
Aug 9	CT 1, MN 6, VT 1, WI 8
Aug 13	HI 2
Aug 16	AK -, WY -
Aug 23	FL 4, OK-R 0
Sep 6	MA 4
Sep 13	DE -, NH -, RI 1
Nov 8	LA -

 

[lpetrich]

Nina Turner is trying again, and she thinks that redistricting has given her more of a chance of success. Her opponent, now incumbent, Shontel Brown, is again in the pay of big-money donors and PAC's.

An Oil Billionaire Is Trying to Crush Nina Turner in Ohio
also
Oil Mogul Bankrolls Attempt To Buy Democratic Primary

One month after Samson Energy mogul Stacy Schusterman poured $2 million into Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) PAC, the group purchased TV ads starting Monday to boost Representative Shontel Brown (D-OH) in her primary campaign rematch against former Ohio state senator Nina Turner in a newly redrawn Cleveland congressional district. The primary election date is May 3.

Last year, DMFI PAC spent $1.9 million attacking Turner and promoting Brown, helping the latter win the seat in a special election. The group also spent $1.4 million attacking Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during his 2020 presidential campaign.

Turner, who cochaired Senator Sanders’s 2020 campaign, has been campaigning for a Green New Deal and pressing the Biden administration to ban fracking. Brown has declined to cosponsor some of House Democrats’ most high-profile climate legislation, including the Climate Emergency Act — even after United Nations scientists’ recent dire warning about the crisis.

While Brown’s campaign website says she supports “the principles laid out in the Green New Deal,” she has not cosponsored the measure in Congress.

...
The race has also drawn pro-Brown spending from a billionaire whose fortune came from the cryptocurrency industry, which has become a significant driver of carbon emissions.

 

[lpetrich]

So This Is Pramila Jayapal’s Strategy - "The Congressional Progressive Caucus’ refusal to back Nina Turner may be in line with the rest of Jayapal’s strategy."

The campaign apparatus representing Washington, D.C.’s most prominent progressive lawmakers on Wednesday spurned Nina Turner, one of the highest-profile progressive candidates in the country.

The group, the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, has painted the decision as a pro forma one. But progressive lawmakers are now intervening in a hotly contested House race to back a corporate-aligned Democrat over a progressive candidate who co-chaired Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and who the party’s conservative wing set out to destroy last year.

Pro forma or not, the refusal to endorse Turner may be the logical endpoint of where progressive leader Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) has led her caucus over the past year — prioritizing inside-game strategies and fealty to Democratic Party norms, even when such tactics conflict with progressive goals.

...
Brown joined the CPC when she took office in January, after defeating Turner in a primary battle in which Brown racked up support from the fossil fuel-funded, pro-Israel DMFI PAC (support she requested), Ohio Republicans, and a contractor that she had awarded $17 million to as a city councilor, a potential tit-for-tat that resulted in an ethics probe.

After Turner aired an advertisement touting her support for Medicare for All, corporate lobbyists — including those representing Big Pharma — held a fundraiser for Brown, and the anti-Medicare for All lawmaker Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) intervened to support her campaign.

DMFI PAC and the corporatist dark money group Third Way spent $2.4 million promoting Brown and opposing Turner.

I checked on how much overlap the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the New Democrat Coalition have. Caucus Members | Congressional Progressive Caucus and Members | New Democrat Coalition

I count 98 members of both caucuses and 18 who are members of both: Adam Smith WA-09 0.18, André Carson IN-07 0.12, Brenda Lawrence MI-14 0.19, Brendan Boyle PA-02 0.30, Darren Soto FL-09 0.28, Don Beyer VA-08 0.25, Donald Norcross NJ-01 0.35, Jimmy Panetta CA-20 0.33, Joe Morelle NY-25 0.28, Juan Vargas CA-51 0.24, Lisa Blunt Rochester DE-01 0.30, Lori Trahan MA-03 0.26, Madeleine Dean PA-04 0.26, Nikema Williams GA-05 -, Sara Jacobs CA-53 -, Shontel Brown OH-11 -, Steven Horsford NV-04 0.25, Veronica Escobar TX-16 0.24

I've added the govtrack.us ideology scores for 2019-20 -- I've thought of collecting the ideology scores for every member of these two caucuses.

 

[lpetrich]

Crypto PACs Create New Obstacle for Progressive Candidates - "Progressives are confronting a new obstacle as big spending from the crypto industry reshapes the electoral calculus."

Like in OH-11, supporting Shontel Brown over Nina Turner

A super PAC bankrolled by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, Protect Our Future, has already spent more than $1 million backing Brown, according to Federal Election Commission reports. And this week, the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC endorsed Brown after having backed Turner last year.

In Oregon’s newly drawn 6th District, a handful of local candidates were vying for the nomination before Carrick Flynn barreled into the race with an ungodly amount of support from Bankman-Fried’s super PAC.

So far, the super PAC backing Flynn has dropped some $6 million on the sleepy race, followed by a startling $1 million cash infusion on the part of House Majority PAC, the super PAC linked to House Democrats themselves. In the process, they have undercut multiple progressive candidates — three of them women of color — with deep roots in the area and political bases of support that would make them formidable general election opponents. (House Majority PAC did not respond to a request for comment.)

Andrea Salinas on Twitter: "I have put out the following statement along with five other Democratic candidates in the OR-06 race in response to House Majority PAC’s nearly $1 million ad buy. We are united in our condemnation of this unprecedented and inappropriate attempt to influence Oregon voters. #OR06 (pic link)" / Twitter
OR-06 Dem candidates Andrea Salinas, Kathleen Harder, Teresa Alonso Leon, Loretta Smith, Cody Reynolds, and Matt West:

We strongly condemn House Majority PAC's unprecedented and inappropriate decision to spend nearly a million dollars in this Democratic primary. House Majority PAC - House Democratic leadership's Super PAC, allegedly tasked with holding Republicans accountable and electing Democrats to Congress should not be spending resources to divide Democrats.

This is a highly competitive Democratic primary with many strong candidates. The field includes four women - three of which are women of color d two men who all have substantive experience working in the legislature, local office, science, the military, and healthcare. This effort by the political arm of the Democratic establishment to buy this race for one candidate is a slap in the face to every Democratic voter and volunteer in Oregon - and is especially concerning in a year when all resources must go to protecting the Democratic majority.

Carrick Flynn, the candidate receiving this financial support, has already benefited from nearly $5 million in support from cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, at a time when the cryptocurrency industry seeks to increase its influence in Washington. House Majority PAC's troubling decision to meddle in a Democratic primary in support of this candidate begs the question: With so much needed to defend the House, how can they afford involvement in a primary? Why is this happening? Where is this money coming from? And what does its source want in exchange?

 

[lpetrich]

So much crypto is flooding into campaigns that the surge in Oregon’s 6th threatens to wash out a crypto bro already running in the race. Cody Reynolds explained to Willamette Week that after four previously failed attempts at federal office, he developed a new strategy and set out to work in the crypto world, hoping to translate new wealth into political power. “Before, I naively thought I could do that with ideas and passion,” Reynolds said, “but the political system is no longer a marketplace of ideas. It’s also about reach and money.” Reynolds loaned his new campaign $2 million to get off the ground.

After noting Citizens United and large amounts of money going into politics,

Some have run the gauntlet by simply saying yes to the crypto agenda. State Rep. Jasmine Crockett, running in a Texas district to replace Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, had no history as either an outspoken advocate for crypto or an opponent of regulation but facing the question in the campaign, she sided with the policy positions favored by crypto PACs. The two major crypto super PACs came in with $1 million each, helping to put her over the top.

Protect Our Future PAC, the one linked to Bankman-Fried, has also spent $2 million boosting Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath in her member-on-member contest forced by redistricting. The PAC is also backing Nikki Budzinski in Illinois and has endorsed New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, a crypto supporter.

One of the most outspoken Democratic critics of crypto in Congress is California Rep. Brad Sherman. This cycle, he’s being challenged by Aarika Rhodes, a school teacher organizing her entire campaign around the defense of crypto and opposition to Sherman’s critical approach, and has drawn support from crypto advocates. Whether the spending against Sherman will unseat him or not, other incumbents and challengers are observing the dynamic: Opposition to crypto risks an onslaught from the industry, and support of crypto invites a tsunami of supportive spending.

The article then described how there is no counterbalancing anti-crypto lobby, meaning that the crypto lobby is like many other lobbies, without opposition focused on it. That enables such lobbies to get much of what they want.

Author Ryan Grim then described how Democrats got in bed with the banking industry when they got into big-money corporate funding in the 1980's. Associating with car-industry executives would piss off labor unions, and associating with polluting industries would piss off environmentalists, but bankers seemed safe, at least at first.

 

[lpetrich]

Not just OR-06, but also OR-04:

Doyle Canning on Twitter: "Democrats who cuddle with crypto billionaires aren’t in this for Oregon. Ending Citizens United big dark money politics #CantWait" / Twitter
noting
Nick Cunningham on Twitter: "Crypto superpac dropping $174k in Oregon's 4th district to support @ValHoyle against @Canning4Oregon (link)" / Twitter
and
Nick Cunningham on Twitter: "@Ecosozialismus @ValHoyle @Canning4Oregon and fossil fuel corporations (link)" / Twitter

202204069495953943.pdf at fec.gov: contribution by Web3 Forward in support of Val Hoyle's campaign: $165,000

In a Contested Oregon Primary Race, Democrats Back Candidate Taking Fossil Fuel Money - DeSmog - "Rather than back a progressive climate champion, a retiring congressman throws his weight behind a candidate who has taken campaign cash from Jordan Cove LNG."

Late last year, U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) announced his retirement from Oregon’s 4th District, opening up a seat that he held for more than three decades. He’s earned a reputation in Congress as a champion of transportation and climate policy: He was one of the original cosponsors of the Green New Deal in 2019, and most recently, he helped craft the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was signed into law last year, and also helped shepherd President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda through the House of Representatives, before it ran aground in the Senate.

Within hours of DeFazio making his retirement public, Val Hoyle announced her intention to seek his seat. He quickly endorsed her. Hoyle served as a representative in Oregon’s legislature from 2009 to 2017 and is currently the state Labor Commissioner. She quickly consolidated the backing of powerful Democrats, with U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) endorsing her in late January.

But at a time when the climate emergency is worsening and the Democrats’ climate agenda is sputtering, DeFazio’s anointed successor for his relatively safe Democratic seat is a candidate who has a long record of supporting Jordan Cove, the now-defunct liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project that southern Oregonians battled for more than 15 years.

A natural-gas pipeline would run to there, and a port for LNG carrier ships would be there. LNG = liquefied natural gas.

Then going into the history of Val Hoyle accepting campaign donations from the project's managers, all the way back to when VH was a state representative.

To be sure, Hoyle is a strong ally of the building trades, and has the backing of labor groups. Labor PACs, including Building Trades PAC, have routinely donated to her various campaigns, and unions supported Jordan Cove for the hope of new construction jobs.

But her vocal support for Jordan Cove, and her acceptance of campaign contributions from the company, sets her apart from other Democrats in the state, including two who have endorsed her: Merkley announced his opposition to the project in 2017 and DeFazio waffled on it for years but ultimately came out against it in 2019.

While Jordan Cove had support from unions, it was widely opposed by a broad coalition of southern Oregonians that spanned the political spectrum.

 

[lpetrich]

In a Contested Oregon Primary Race, Democrats Back Candidate Taking Fossil Fuel Money - DeSmog
That article then got into Doyle Canning and her history of anti-fossil-fuel activism, including opposition to the Jordan Cove project. She lost big to incumbent Peter DeFazio, but PDF's retirement gives her more of a chance.

Then a section, "Climate Champion vs. ‘Electability’"

After mentioning the TX-28 race between progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros and fossil-fuel-donation-taking incumbent Henry Cuellar,

In the Oregon race, the battle lines are perhaps a bit less stark, but the underlying dynamics are similar. The corporate-backed New Democrat Coalition, which takes donations from Wall Street banks and private equity firms, as well as oil companies, including BP and Chevron, is throwing its support behind Hoyle. Climate activists are backing Canning.

“[Canning has] been a leader in this movement for decades. And we trust her to fight for us in the halls of Congress,” Aeron Lerch, an activist with Sunrise Eugene, a climate justice organization, told DeSmog. “Val Hoyle took thousands of dollars from the fossil fuel corporation behind Jordan Cove. And that shows where her loyalties are. We need someone who has been consistent on this issue.”

“The question for the 4th District is what kind of freshwoman do you want to send to Congress? Who you ally with, and caucus with, and are backed by in this election, tells you a lot about where you’re going to land when the going gets tough inside the building,” Canning told DeSmog. “I signed the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge. I have the backing of the Sunrise movement. I’m going to be caucusing with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, no question. I’m pretty clear about that.”

When speaking with DeSmog about why he endorsed Hoyle, DeFazio immediately turned to the “electability” argument. “We need someone who can win. Val has been elected in a purple state legislative district,” he said. “I don’t want Alex Skarlatos to win the race. He’s a climate denier. He’s a Trump acolyte,” he added, referring to the presumed Republican candidate. DeFazio also disputed the notion that the seat is in safe Democratic hands.

But Canning pointed to the recent redistricting process, which made the 4th District more Democratic than it was before, saying that this change undercuts the importance of the “electability” argument. Nevertheless, she said that in a tough mid-term election when Democratic enthusiasm is down, the most electable candidate is the one who can fire up voters.

“We beat Jordan Cove. This is the district that built a movement from the bottom up, out of nothing, with no support from the political establishment, and beat back a $15 billion fossil fuel company,” Canning said. “People haven’t forgotten about who was on our side when the going was pretty tough.”

 

[Derec]

In a Contested Oregon Primary Race, Democrats Back Candidate Taking Fossil Fuel Money - DeSmog

So? We still need fossil fuels, and large quantities of them, and will for at least a couple more decades. And natural gas is the least polluting fossil fuel there is.

 

[Derec]

Democratic critics of crypto in Congress is California Rep. Brad Sherman. This cycle, he’s being challenged by Aarika Rhodes, a school teacher organizing her entire campaign around the defense of crypto and opposition to Sherman’s critical approach, and has drawn support from crypto advocates.

She is in favor of GND and other far lefty things but is also a crypto sis. I hope she loses. Crypto is a boondogle and a very environmentally destructive one.

 

[Derec]

An Oil Billionaire Is Trying to Crush Nina Turner in Ohio

Really? You are quoting fucking Jacobin?
In reality, we need oil. Even if we moved as fast as possible toward a post-oil future, we will need oil.
Let's say US bans sales of new gasoline or diesel cars and light trucks in 2035. EVs are ~2-3% of new cars, so any timetable sooner than that is unlikely to be feasible. Modern cars can last 15 years or more even with moderate use (at 15k miles per year, 15 years gets you 225k, and there are plenty of cars and light trucks that exceed that). That means that there will be a significant number of oil-fueled cars on the road until 2050 or so. A quick exit from oil is not feasible.

Oil Mogul Bankrolls Attempt To Buy Democratic Primary

I get that would not be their headline if an anti-oil mogul (e.g. Tom Steyer) had bankrolled Nina Turner's campaign.

One month after Samson Energy mogul Stacy Schusterman poured $2 million into Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) PAC,

He supports Israel too? Oil and Israel? What is he, Satan himself?

Turner, who cochaired Senator Sanders’s 2020 campaign, has been campaigning for a Green New Deal and pressing the Biden administration to ban fracking.

Green New Deal is a badly thought out fauxgressive circle jerk, a minority of which even concerns climate.
Banning fracking would be a singularly bad policy. Fracking is responsible for about half the oil and 2/3 of natural gas we produce in this country. Banning it would seriously undermine US energy supplies.
Had European countries not stupidly banned fracking, but had embraced it instead, they would not be dependent on Russian gas today.

Brown has declined to cosponsor some of House Democrats’ most high-profile climate legislation, including the Climate Emergency Act — even after United Nations scientists’ recent dire warning about the crisis.

What exactly would this act do?

 

[lpetrich]

Doyle Canning on Twitter: "This lapsed Catholic turned Unitarian just might show up for this. #PrayForUkraine" / Twitter
noting
Pope Francis on Twitter: "I invite everyone to make this coming 2nd March, Ash Wednesday, a Day of Fasting for Peace: let believers dedicate themselves intensively to prayer and fasting. May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war." / Twitter

Doyle Canning on Twitter: "Tremendously grateful for the Easter Sunday service at @UUEugene this morning. Let us roll back the rock, the darkness of the tomb is no place to stay. Let the resurrection renew us and fill our hearts with commitment to protecting all of Creation. Rejoice! #HappyEaster (pic link)" / Twitter

UU Eugene (@UUEugene) / Twitter - "Empowered by love, we transform ourselves and serve our world. The Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene invites you to join us for worship at 10am on Sunday."


Doyle Canning on Twitter: "#EarthDay Sunday at @UUEugene (pic link)" / Twitter

Doyle Canning on Twitter: "Oh just me working on my sermon for Earth Day and looking at the latest citation from the climate observatory in Mona Loa (420 ppm) and having a #DontLookUp style panic attack at my desk. The comet is within our line of sight. #ClimateCantWait (pic link)" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Continuing: the OH-11 Nina Turner vs. Shontel Brown drama llama.

Latest Newsletter - Punchbowl News - current as of this writing, will likely go into the archive in a few days.

Ohio rematch divides progressives, sparks backlash

The Congressional Progressive Caucus’ endorsement of Ohio Rep. Shontel Brown, who’s again facing off against liberal Nina Turner Tuesday, has prompted fierce backlash from liberal groups. And in the Capitol, it has also sparked new conversations within CPC leadership over whether they should change their endorsement policies to better reflect the constituencies in the left-leaning caucus.

Brown’s endorsement represents another chapter in the proxy war between establishment Democrats and progressives as they struggle over the party’s direction during the Biden era. CPC members – like the broader Democratic Party – are wrestling with key questions: How big should their tent be? And who gets to be in it?

,,,
In an interview, Jayapal defended the Brown endorsement, describing her as a progressive member “in good standing for four months” who met all the qualifications laid out by the CPC. Jayapal also noted that even with the endorsement, the CPC’s campaign arm hasn’t put any money into the race.

Jayapal denied this had anything to do with her future leadership goals. But she did confirm discussions within the CPC – particularly at a members-only executive board meeting last week – about changing its endorsement rules going forward.

So the CPC was following its usual procedures, it seems.

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who co-chairs the CPC PAC, defended the process for considering endorsements, saying that CPC members are expected to cosponsor priority bills, vote with the caucus and regularly participate in its meetings – all things Brown has done. “If an incumbent is in good standing, which she is, then we have criteria that we’ve never had as stringent as this session,” Pocan said.

I saw a TV-news interview with him about this issue, where he said that SB and NT are both great candidates.

Then discussing Rep. Danny K. Davis, a long-time incumbent in IL-07, who is facing a progressive challenger, Kina Collins. He dropped out because he couldn't pay the membership dues, and he is considering re-joining again.

Seems a bit like AOC vs. Joe Crowley again. Or Jamaal Bowman vs. Eliot Engel. Or Cori Bush vs. Lacy Clay.

 

[lpetrich]

Tezlyn Figaro on Twitter: "@repmarkpocan just made it crystal clear on @MSNBC that not ONE member (out of approximately 100 members) from the @USProgressives was against Shontel Brown over @ninaturner TBC this includes #TheSquad ….if this is NOT true SQUAD then feel free to speak up. (vid link)" / Twitter

Progressives challenge Ohio candidate's credentials - another article about this drama llama.

Progressive Caucus goes full "PINO": Why dumping Nina Turner is a turning point | Salon.com - "In endorsing centrist incumbent over Bernie Sanders ally, Congressional Progressive Caucus finally loses the plot"

PINO = Progressive in Name Only. Suggests pine trees to me.

While the caucus' endorsement of Brown is a bellwether event, it is not an isolated incident. After a long history of backing down rather than using its leverage (as when it abandoned its demand, back in 2009, that a "public option" be part of the Affordable Care Act), the Progressive Caucus appeared to wield some real clout during the early months of the Biden presidency. Most importantly, its leaders insisted that it would not support last year's bipartisan infrastructure bill unless that moved through Congress in tandem with the Build Back Better legislation, which was proposed by President Biden with major input from Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Build Back Better was crucial for economic and social justice as well as for substantively addressing the climate emergency. For a while, it seemed that the Progressive Caucus, under the leadership of Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was holding firm on the necessity of passing Build Back Better along with the infrastructure measure. That linkage was crucial because Senate obstructionist Joe Manchin badly wanted the infrastructure bill signed into law but was hostile to Build Back Better.

The Progressive Caucus leadership vowed not to back down. And then it caved, opting to wave the infrastructure bill through the House. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was concise when she said: "I'm a No. This is bullshit."

Other members of the expanded Squad — including Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Cori Bush of Missouri, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Jamaal Bowman of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts — also voted against the stand-alone infrastructure measure (and took plenty of abuse as a result).

Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Bush, Tlaib, Bowman and Pressley saw what was coming, as a result of the caucus' surrender. The infrastructure bill got through Congress, and Biden signed it on Nov. 15. Progressives immediately lost all leverage on Build Back Better — and it died.

Then noting
Meet The PINOs: "Progressive In Name Only" - Progressive Hub - "These Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Often Act More Like Corporate Centrists—And Many Deserve Primary Challenges"

Our examination of key votes, campaign donations, congressional testimony, and other records shows that many members of the caucus are “progressives in name only”—PINOs. On core progressive policies like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, cutting military spending, robust civil liberties, and more, these caucus members function more like corporate centrists—opposing significant challenges to the status quo and protecting corporate power along with endless war.

Several of these PINOs refused to cosponsor a resolution from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling for a Green New Deal; failed to cosponsor Rep. Jayapal’s Medicare for All legislation; voted for huge unnecessary military spending increases; and opposed amendments by Reps. Mark Pocan and Ocasio-Cortez for a modest 10 percent reduction in the military budget (a proposal which, in Bernie Sanders’ Senate version last year, would have redirected $74 billion to poor and working-class communities).

Weighing factors including votes, the political hue of members’ districts (e.g., red, blue, or purple), and length of service in Congress—see Methodology below—we identified six especially problematic PINOs who are not living up to their progressive pretenses: Reps. Madeleine Dean (PA-4), Donald Norcross (NJ-1), Joe Morelle (NY-25), Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-at large).

 

[lpetrich]

From that progressivehub article, with govtrack.us ideology scores added.

Our “Top” Six: Will a Strong Progressive Please Primary These PINOs Soon?

Madeleine Dean (PA-4. D+9): 100% 0.26, Donald Norcross (NJ-1. D+11): 90% 0.35, Jimmy Panetta (CA-20. D+23): 80% 0.33, Joe Morelle (NY-25. D+8): 80% 0.28, Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-at-large. D+6): 80% 0.30, Brenda Lawrence (MI-14. D+29): 75% 0.19

On the Bubble: Three PINOs in Swing Districts

Steven Horsford (NV-4. D+1): 90% 0.25, Darren Soto (FL-9. D+3): 80% 0.28, Andy Kim (NJ-3. R+3): 80% 0.42

Dishonorable Mention

Sylvia Garcia (TX-29. D+19): 70% 0.20, Dwight Evans (PA-3. D+41): 65% 0.22, Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40. D+31): 60% 0.17, Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-5. D+13): 60% 0.19, Lois Frankel (FL-21. D+8): 60% 0.30, Mike Levin (CA-49. D+4): 60% 0.28, Matt Cartwright (PA-8. R+5): 60% 0.35

On Our Radar

Brad Sherman (CA-30) 0.34, Veronica Escobar (TX-16) 0.24, Andre Carson (IN-7) 0.12.

Most of them are more conservative than the median for the Congressional Progressive Caucus: 0.20. Not surprisingly, some of them are also members of the more conservative New Democrat Coalition, with median 0.34.

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorses Nina Turner in a rematch for an Ohio House seat

“Nina is exactly the kind of progressive leader we need more of in Congress,” read a fund-raising email from Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s team that was released widely Monday evening, on the eve of the primary, and was first reported by The New York Times. “She will be a powerful voice for policies that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of working people across this country — like Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, and a Green New Deal.”

For her part, Ms. Brown has been endorsed by President Biden and has campaigned in recent days with high-ranking party officials including Representatives James E. Clyburn and Hakeem Jeffries.

“Shontel Brown is about results, not insults,” Mr. Jeffries said in a video. “She is about bringing people together, not tearing folks apart.”

NT appreciated that.

Nina Turner on Twitter: "I’m proud to have @AOC’s endorsement.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is a leader in the fight for climate justice, workers rights and building a multi-generational, multi-racial working-class democracy.

Together we will change what is possible in our political system. Thank you, sister (pic link)" / Twitter

 

[Harry Bosch]

Tezlyn Figaro on Twitter: "@repmarkpocan just made it crystal clear on @MSNBC that not ONE member (out of approximately 100 members) from the @USProgressives was against Shontel Brown over @ninaturner TBC this includes #TheSquad ….if this is NOT true SQUAD then feel free to speak up. (vid link)" / Twitter

Progressives challenge Ohio candidate's credentials - another article about this drama llama.

Progressive Caucus goes full "PINO": Why dumping Nina Turner is a turning point | Salon.com - "In endorsing centrist incumbent over Bernie Sanders ally, Congressional Progressive Caucus finally loses the plot"

PINO = Progressive in Name Only. Suggests pine trees to me.

While the caucus' endorsement of Brown is a bellwether event, it is not an isolated incident. After a long history of backing down rather than using its leverage (as when it abandoned its demand, back in 2009, that a "public option" be part of the Affordable Care Act), the Progressive Caucus appeared to wield some real clout during the early months of the Biden presidency. Most importantly, its leaders insisted that it would not support last year's bipartisan infrastructure bill unless that moved through Congress in tandem with the Build Back Better legislation, which was proposed by President Biden with major input from Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Build Back Better was crucial for economic and social justice as well as for substantively addressing the climate emergency. For a while, it seemed that the Progressive Caucus, under the leadership of Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was holding firm on the necessity of passing Build Back Better along with the infrastructure measure. That linkage was crucial because Senate obstructionist Joe Manchin badly wanted the infrastructure bill signed into law but was hostile to Build Back Better.

The Progressive Caucus leadership vowed not to back down. And then it caved, opting to wave the infrastructure bill through the House. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was concise when she said: "I'm a No. This is bullshit."

Other members of the expanded Squad — including Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Cori Bush of Missouri, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Jamaal Bowman of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts — also voted against the stand-alone infrastructure measure (and took plenty of abuse as a result).

Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Bush, Tlaib, Bowman and Pressley saw what was coming, as a result of the caucus' surrender. The infrastructure bill got through Congress, and Biden signed it on Nov. 15. Progressives immediately lost all leverage on Build Back Better — and it died.

Then noting
Meet The PINOs: "Progressive In Name Only" - Progressive Hub - "These Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Often Act More Like Corporate Centrists—And Many Deserve Primary Challenges"

Our examination of key votes, campaign donations, congressional testimony, and other records shows that many members of the caucus are “progressives in name only”—PINOs. On core progressive policies like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, cutting military spending, robust civil liberties, and more, these caucus members function more like corporate centrists—opposing significant challenges to the status quo and protecting corporate power along with endless war.

Several of these PINOs refused to cosponsor a resolution from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling for a Green New Deal; failed to cosponsor Rep. Jayapal’s Medicare for All legislation; voted for huge unnecessary military spending increases; and opposed amendments by Reps. Mark Pocan and Ocasio-Cortez for a modest 10 percent reduction in the military budget (a proposal which, in Bernie Sanders’ Senate version last year, would have redirected $74 billion to poor and working-class communities).

Weighing factors including votes, the political hue of members’ districts (e.g., red, blue, or purple), and length of service in Congress—see Methodology below—we identified six especially problematic PINOs who are not living up to their progressive pretenses: Reps. Madeleine Dean (PA-4), Donald Norcross (NJ-1), Joe Morelle (NY-25), Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-at large).

Oh gawd. Now they are called Pinos?! We are going to get so killed in November! The religious right must just be laughing their asses off at how the left is just self-imploding.

 

[Derec]

NT appreciated that.

AOC waited until the eve of the primary to endorse NT. Should have saved her breath. NT lost. Again. Bigly.

 

[Derec]

Oh gawd. Now they are called Pinos?! We are going to get so killed in November! The religious right must just be laughing their asses off at how the left is just self-imploding.

 

[Derec]

From that progressivehub article, with govtrack.us ideology scores added.
Our “Top” Six: Will a Strong Progressive Please Primary These PINOs Soon?

That's ideological purity for you.

Most of them are more conservative than the median for the Congressional Progressive Caucus: 0.20.

Well, unless they all have the same score, any collection will have half its members be above the median. That's how medians work.
This desire to excommunicate members because their progressivism is not pure enough is very self-defeating.

 

[lpetrich]

This is what Nina Turner was up against:
Biden endorses Shontel Brown against Nina Turner | The Hill

“Shontel Brown has been an ardent advocate for the people of Ohio and a true partner in Congress. We need leaders like Shontel to help continue the fight to respond to this pandemic, lower costs for working families, and rebuild the middle class,” Biden wrote. “Shontel is committed to building a better America. I am proud to endorse Shontel Brown for Ohio’s 11th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.”

He may have been irked by what she once said:

“It’s like saying to somebody, ‘You have a bowl of shit in front of you, and all you’ve got to do is eat half of it instead of the whole thing.’ It’s still shit,” Turner, who was co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) presidential campaign at the time, told The Atlantic.

House Democratic Whip James Clyburn D-SC also endorsed SB.

“Shontel made it very clear that she was a Joe Biden supporter,” he told The Hill on Friday. “And her opponent made it very clear that she was a Joe Biden opponent.”

 

[lpetrich]

As to why The Squad was a no-show this time around, Cenk Uygur said in a TYT broadcast the night of the election that it is a "fact" that Squad members had been "threatened". In an interview at Status Coup, Nina Turner herself also claimed that.

Though AOC endorsed NT the night before the election and a Cori Bush staffer claims that CB voted against endorsing Shontel Brown.

Progressives, “Massively Outgunned,” Ditched Nina Turner - "Justice Democrats blamed pro-Israel super PACs run by DMFI and AIPAC for its decision to stay out of the rematch with Ohio Rep. Shontel Brown."

Justice Democrats, the group that has launched several progressive members of Congress, said it’s being “massively outgunned” by Republican donors giving millions to attack progressive candidates in several competitive races. One of those was Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Ohio’s 11th District, where incumbent Rep. Shontel Brown won with 66 percent of the vote. The defeat of Nina Turner, the former co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign, deals a repetitive blow to progressives who backed her run — the second Turner waged against Brown in nine months.

“Nina is a giant in the progressive movement and we’re proud to have gone all in for her campaign last year,” Justice Democrats said in a statement. “The reality is our organization has to be strategic about our priorities as we are getting massively outgunned by Republican donors funneling millions to SuperPACs like AIPAC [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee] and DMFI [Democratic Majority for Israel] against our existing candidates.”

...
Several prominent CPC members who backed Turner’s race last cycle — including Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.; Whip Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Deputy Whip Cori Bush, D-Mo.; and Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y.; and Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y. — did not make endorsements in the race this year. The caucus, which has endorsed more than 20 incumbents so far, is reportedly reviewing its endorsement process after backlash over its endorsement of Brown.

...
The race has been characterized by relative inaction by national figures on the left — either in spite or because of the coalescing of power and resources behind Brown by the Democratic establishment. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and President Joe Biden backed Brown, while Turner’s former boss, Sanders, endorsed the challenger. On Monday, just hours before polls opened, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., backed Turner.

One has to ask why the Democratic leadership was so desperate to protect Shontel Brown. She's not a long-time incumbent, and she is not anywhere close to being in the party leadership.

 

[lpetrich]

Why Big Money Is Pouring Into A Safe Democratic Seat In North Carolina | HuffPost Latest News - "National groups’ efforts to buoy Valerie Foushee – and sink Nida Allam – are angering local progressives."

If elected, the 28-year-old Allam, an observant Muslim, would be the youngest woman ever elected to Congress and its first Pakistani-American member.

Thanks in part to her status as a dyed-in-the-wool progressive who got her start in politics working for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential race, Allam announced another banner fundraising quarter on April 1 that put her well ahead of her top two competitors, state Sen. Valerie Foushee and “American Idol” singer-turned-activist Clay Aiken. An April 8 endorsement from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) added to Allam’s momentum.

Then the dam burst. Foushee picked up a flood of influential endorsements, donations and super PAC investments that have upended the dynamics of the race in a solid Democratic district where the May 17 primary is the only contest that matters.

The influx of big national money into the race for an open progressive seat that includes Durham and Chapel Hill speaks as much to fears of Allam’s ascent as it does to Foushee’s strengths.

...
The drumbeat of good news for Foushee has picked up steadily in the past two weeks. The deep-pocketed EMILY’s List, which supports female candidates who back abortion rights, endorsed Foushee on April 11; the Congressional Black Caucus PAC lent her its blessing two days later.

When Foushee revealed her first-quarter fundraising on April 15, she disclosed that the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the famously influential pro-Israel lobby, had bundled more than half of her $320,000 haul.

...
Last week, Protect Our Future, a super PAC funded by a cryptocurrency billionaire who claims to be motivated by an interest in improving the country’s pandemic preparedness, also began spending heavily on Foushee’s behalf. The group has spent more than $830,000 bolstering her, with the vast majority of it on television.

Weird. What's going on here?

 

[Derec]

Why Big Money Is Pouring Into A Safe Democratic Seat In North Carolina | HuffPost Latest News - "National groups’ efforts to buoy Valerie Foushee – and sink Nida Allam – are angering local progressives."

Weird. What's going on here?

Not weird at all. The moderates are trying to stop an extremist candidate.
What is weird is how disproportionally many religiously conservative Muslims are in the ranks of the fauxgressive wing of the Democratic Party.

 

[Derec]

As to why The Squad was a no-show this time around, Cenk Uygur said in a TYT broadcast the night of the election that it is a "fact" that Squad members had been "threatened". In an interview at Status Coup, Nina Turner herself also claimed that.

LMAO. Threatened with what? Did the "establishment" send Vinny the Squid to threaten to break the squaddies' knees if they endorse NT?