Democrats trying to unseat each other II

[lpetrich]

(what "socialism" is)

An economic system where, in the main, means of production are publicly owned. It can involve direct state ownership and control of means of production or something more convoluted, like  workers' self-management, which is I think the model of socialism favored by Democratic Socialists of America. ...

"Worker self-management" seems like worker-run cooperatives, something that seems like a form of capitalism to me, even if many capitalism apologists seem to dislike it. Early in 2020 in a MLK-Day conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates, AOC stated that Jeff Bezos ought to turn Amazon into a worker-run cooperative, at least if I remember it correctly.

 

[lpetrich]

Contributions to Swing District Democrats by AOC Add Obstacle for Challengers - "The contributions also signal a retreat from the theory of change upon which Ocasio-Cortez originally ran."

Written by Eva Putzova. She ran for Congress in AZ-01 in 2020, running against Tom O’Halleran, a Republican who became a Blue Dog Democrat, and she got 41.4% of the vote.

"At the end of March, approaching the first quarter fundraising deadline, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used her Courage to Change PAC to make political contributions to dozens of Democrats who had won close races in 2020."

Including her opponent, TOH.

The contributions also signal a retreat from the theory of change upon which Ocasio-Cortez originally ran. The idea then was that progressive and populist ideas had mass appeal and could win not just in deep blue districts, but in red seats and swing districts too. That was the animating idea behind Brand New Congress and its offshoot, Justice Democrats. Do we no longer believe that?

I don't think so. It seems to me that she is supporting whoever is there. I think that it was a mistake to support incumbents who might have progressive challengers, as TOH did last year. Also, some of the recipients of this largesse have rejected these gifts, like Jared Golden ME-02.

EP notes that AOC's PAC, Courage to Change, has this stated purpose: "Contributions will be used to make early investments in progressive challengers that can even the playing field against established incumbents, and bolster progressive leaders in Congress who take difficult but righteous stands. All endorsees will embody the ideals of racial, social, economic, and environmental justice. Courage to Change will refuse all corporate PAC donations, as will our candidates."

In 2020, my anti-war heroine Rep. Barbara Lee contributed her congressional campaign money to my opponent just as Ocasio-Cortez did in 2021. Ironically, before these contributions were made, I listed both representatives as my role models on Ballotpedia’s 2019 candidate connection survey. I share many, if not most, of their policy positions but disagree with their approach to transforming the political system by supporting those who work actively against our political agenda.

I think that AOC and BL simply want Democrats in office, even centrist or conservative ones, because nearly every Democrat is better for them than nearly every Republican. But the best time in the election cycle for such Democrats is after the primaries, not early in the election cycle.

"Ocasio-Cortez’s contribution to my former opponent and the incumbent in Arizona’s 1st District has definitely had a chilling effect on me as I get closer to my decision on whether to run or not."


So AOC's gifts got attacked from both sides. Some left-wingers call her a sellout because of those gifts, and some candidates have rejected those gifts because they don't want to be associated with AOC and her positions.

 

[lpetrich]

Brand New Congress on Twitter: "Today we celebrate how 5 years of work, with over 1M hours from 3K+ vols, 70+ campaigns, got 4 progressive visionaries elected to Congress. We couldn't have done it without you! You paved the way for progressives to run -- and win. Let's keep building. (links)" / Twitter

I like to mention BNC because its founders had two very sensible ideas:

• The Presidency is not enough. Even the best President would not be very effective without a good Congress, something that they had seen an abundance of in recent years.
• Running as a third party is a recipe for failure. It's better to run one's candidates in the two major parties and compete in the primaries.

So they avoided being Presidency-only and third party, two big problems with the Green Party. I like its platform, but it has been totally ineffective in getting anyone worthwhile into office. One might even say worse than ineffective, because it has been a Presidential spoiler in 2000 and likely also in 2016.

AOC, for instance, wouldn't have gotten anywhere as a Green Party candidate. She would have had to face incumbent Joe Crowley in the general election instead of in the Democratic Party primary, and she would have been creamed there, crushed, walloped, clobbered, you name it, getting only a few percent of the vote. Many voters who would likely have agreed with her would likely have voted for Joe Crowley instead, because he was a known quantity and a fellow Democrat rather than some obscure bartender-turned-activist.

However deplorable such yellow-dog party-line voting might be, BNC was right to avoid taking it on. In fact, BNC planned to run some Republican candidates in some heavily Republican districts. BNC ran one such candidate in 2018, but he lost, and none in 2020.

 

[lpetrich]

Home - Brand New Congress - the BNC's site has been redesigned.

They list a lot of candidates from 2020 and one from the 2021 NM-01 special election: Roza Calderón CA-04, Michael Owens GA-13, Anthony Clark IL-27, Charles Booker KY-SEN, Ihssane Leckey MA-04, Mckayla Wilkes MD-05, Rashida Tlaib MI-13, Cori Bush MO-01, Zina Spezakis NJ-09, Selinda Guerrero NM-01, Shaniyat Chowdhury NY-05, Melquiades Gagarin NY-06, Isiah James NY-09, Lauren Ashcraft NY-12, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez NY-14, Tomas Ramos NY-15, Jamaal Bowman NY-16, Nick Rubando OH-05, Adrienne Bell TX-14

Nothing on whether any of them are likely to run again in 2022, and no endorsements from BNC, at least not yet. Nothing new from the Justice Democrats either.


But Amy Vilela is running for office again, running for NV-01 as she did back in 2018. She sat out the 2020 election and instead worked for other candidates, like Bernie Sanders, but she didn't do well in the 2018 election. In the Democratic Party primary back then: Steven Horsford 61.7%, Patricia Spearman 15.2%, Amy Vilela 9.2%, others 6.0%, 5.8%, 2.0%.

Amy Vilela on Twitter: "It's official! I couldn't be more excited to announce that I'm running for Congress in Las Vegas to represent #NV01 because we deserve more. Nevada deserves more. (pic link)" / Twitter
with an image file of an announcement statement.

"From Covid to climate change, politics-as-usual simply isn't working for regular people. Here in Las Vegas, we are facing record unemployment, we suffer perpetual underfunding for education we and other critical services, our housing prices are sky-rocketing a we face an unprecedented evictions crisis," Vilela said. "Our progressive movement has been organizing tirelessly from the grassroots up to address these problems and to build a more just and sustainable future. Meanwhile, our elected officials are nowhere to be seen. As an accountant, I'm ready to open the books and audit their tenure to ensure that everyone them working for the people."

Amy Vilela on Twitter: "It’s time for political leadership who will fight like lives depend on it, because they do. I know that, and I'm running for #NV01 because we deserve more. Nevada deserves more.

Join me today and become a founding donor to my 2022 campaign! (link)" / Twitter
Her campaign graphic: (handwritten) Amy Vilela (block letters) for (reverse video) Congress
The background is a blurred image of some city, likely Las Vegas

You may have heard the story about Amy’s daughter, Shalynne, who died at the hands of our nation’s profit-driven healthcare system after she was denied care because she couldn’t provide adequate proof of insurance to the local emergency room. It was a life-changing moment for Amy, who has since found purpose in fighting for justice.

Nina Turner on Twitter: "My friend and leader in the fight for Medicare for All, @amy4thepeople knows just too well how cruel our healthcare system is.

Together, we are going to make sure that healthcare is guaranteed as a human right.

Please join our fight: (links)" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

The People’s Party Opens Candidate Nominations, Will Compete For Congress In The Midterms
Seems like the People's Party is serious about being a political party, as opposed to being supporters of vanity candidates like what the Green Party seems to be. The PP plans about a dozen House candidates and maybe also a Senate candidate.

“It’s very important to the movement to run candidates who truly internalize the policies and embody the values of the People’s Party,” said Candidates Director Zeynab Day, who has helped train and support dozens of candidates, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Cori Bush. “We’re giving a real voice and choice to voters across the country. We’re fighting for a new kind of representation that will put the people before corporate interests, lobbyists and political games.”

ZD had been in Brand New Congress.

While the party is focused on electing a slate of federal candidates, nominations are also open for state and local candidates. Following candidate vetting, selection, and training, the first candidates will be announced by early summer. ...

The People’s Party has officially registered state parties and is pursuing ballot access in California, Colorado, Ohio, Maine and Oregon, with organizers working on dozens of other states. The party will have its national founding convention in the fall of this year.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC’s PAC donated over $100k to right-wing Democrat incumbents | by Justin, Unify the Left | Apr, 2021 | Medium
Contrary to the mission statement of her PAC Courage to Change, she

... in fact gave over $100,000 in campaign donations to right-wing incumbent Democrats who took corporate PAC money, including $5,000 to Ron Kind, the Wisconsin Democrat who succeeded Joe Crowley as chair of the New Democrat Coalition in 2013, according to FEC filings (link 1).

Courage To Change, which alleges to back candidates who don’t take corporate PAC donations, started off the 2021–22 election cycle by giving the maximum amount to 31 candidates, almost all of whom directly received corporate PAC money, according to those candidates’ filing documents accessed through Opensecrets.

... Through 2020’s cycle, candidates like Kara Eastman & Katie Porter received boosts from CTC. However, the first candidates to get 2022 primary campaign donations from Courage To Change PAC were not AOC’s Squad sisters, but a group of 31 Democrats that skew overly corporatist.

AOC unseated Joe Crowley back in 2018.

Out of the 31 recipients of Courage To Change donations in 2021, just 6 of 31 — a measly 19.4% — cosponsor the Medicare For All bill, HR1976, currently proposed by Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Pramila Jayapal. (Interesting side note: Of the 6 CFC PAC recipients that also signed on as cosponsors for HR1976, only 3 are CPC members: Peter DeFazio, Mike Levin, & Katie Porter.) Further, taking both the 2019 and 2021 Resolution for a Green New Deal into account, only 4 of the 31 cosponsored either version of the Resolution. In fact, 21 of 31 of Courage To Change recipients in Q1 2021 for the 2022 primaries didn’t cosponsor any of three key pieces of progressive legislation: Medicare For All, the Green New Deal, or the bill to end the Yemen War.

Further, 54.8% of the recipients — 17 of 31 — received money from the New Democrat Coalition, including Ron Kind, the successor to Joe Crowley at the NDC. The former Democratic Leadership Council has made their life’s work into the corporatization of the Democratic Party & fighting the left influences within their own party, which made this a stark departure from the 2020 cycle for CTC.

...
Going one step further than this, while analyzing the 2020 campaign finance data for each of these candidates, I kept track of three specific groups of corporate PAC money that would be antithetical to the M4A/GND/End The Wars leftist ethos; namely, the fossil fuel, pharmaceutical/health insurance, and defense industries. The results are damning: 17 of 31 took money from military contractor PACs, 19 took fossil fuel PAC money, and 20 took money from the health insurance or pharmaceutical industries.

In effect, why is AOC supporting candidates on the wrong side of issues that she has championed?

 

[lpetrich]

fec.gov is back again, and I found a list of recipients of AOC's largesse. I got their ideology rankings and scores from govtrack.us (0 = most liberal, 1 = most conservative).

Carolyn Bourdeaux D-GA-07 (none), Cindy Axne D-IA-03 200 0.51, Abigail Spanberger D-VA-07 201 0.50, Ron Kind D-WI-03 204 0.50, Tom O'Halleran D-AZ-01 205 0.50, Vicente Gonzalez D-TX-15 208 0.47, Josh Harder D-CA-10 210 0.46, Jared Golden D-ME-02 211 0.46, Antonio Delgado D-NY-19 214 0.46, Colin Allred D-TX-32 217 0.44, Elaine Luria D-VA-02 220 0.44, Conor Lamb D-PA-17 224 0.42, Andy Kim D-NJ-03 225 0.42, Elissa Slotkin D-MI-08 227 0.42, Angie Craig D-MN-02 229 0.42, Susie Lee D-NV-03 231 0.41, Lizzie Pannill Fletcher D-TX-07 233 0.40, Chris Pappas D-NH-01 235 0.40, Mikie Sherill D-NJ-11 239 0.38, Lucy McBath D-GA-06 243 0.37, Kim Schrier D-WA-08 254 0.35, Matt Cartwright D-PA-08 257 0.35, Sharice Davids D-KS-03 262 0.35, Haley Stevens D-MI-11 263 0.35, Lauren Underwood D-IL-13 298 0.30, Susan Wild D-PA-07 305 0.29, Mike Levin D-CA-49 326 0.28, Peter DeFazio D-OR-04 329 0.27, Steven Horsford D-NV-01 352 0.25, Katie Porter D-CA-45 359 0.24, Jahana Hayes D-CT-05 423 0.10

For comparison ("The Squad" has *):
Ro Khanna D-CA-17 414 0.14, *Ilhan Omar D-MN-05 425 0.10, *Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-NY-14 429 0.09, *Rashida Tlaib D-MI-13 430 0.08, Pramila Jayapal D-WA-07 431 0.07, *Ayanna Pressley D-MA-07 433 0.05, Barbara Lee D-CA-13 436 0.00

From the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS),

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez funds the CIA Democrats - World Socialist Web Site
• Ocasio-Cortez says left-wing opponents of Biden’s immigration policy are doing “a profound disservice to the cause of justice” - World Socialist Web Site
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and “bad faith actors” - World Socialist Web Site
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez denounces socialists and praises Biden administration, Democratic Party - World Socialist Web Site

About the WSWS

The WSWS is the online publication of the world Trotskyist movement, the International Committee of the Fourth International, and its affiliated sections in the Socialist Equality Parties around the world. It launched publication in February 1998, and has been publishing continuously for the past 22 years.

About the ICFI the International Committee of the Fourth International

The World Socialist Web Site is published by the International Committee of the Fourth International, the World Party of Socialist Revolution founded by Leon Trotsky. Its aim is to unite the international working class, on the basis of a socialist and internationalist program, to put an end to the capitalist system and establish socialism on a world scale.

I was most amused by

The International Committee was founded 15 years later, in November 1953, to defend the Fourth International against an opportunist and revisionist current, known as Pabloism, that sought to liquidate the Fourth International into the parties and organizations controlled by Stalinism, social democracy and bourgeois nationalism. The struggle against Pabloism within the Fourth International spanned more than three decades. It was brought to a conclusion in 1986 with the defeat of the opportunists by the orthodox Trotskyists of the International Committee.

Not surprisingly, AOC seems like a right-winger to them. Like in Ocasio-Cortez and fellow “progressives” supply votes to reelect Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House - World Socialist Web Site

 

[lpetrich]

Under "Report Cards" at Members of the United States Congress - GovTrack.us I checked on the ideology scores of supplanted Democratic incumbents.

• NY-14 - Joe Crowley 336 0.30 - AOC 429 0.09
• MA-07 - Michael Capuano 383 0.24 - Ayanna Pressley 433 0.05
• NY-16 - Eliot Engel 374 0.22
• NY-17 - Nita Lowey (ret) 319 0.28
• IL-03 - Dan Lipinski 230 0.41
• MO-01 - Lacy Clay 343 0.26

Out of 436 House members counted.

Ideology scores by party and chamber:

• House
  • R: 218 0.44 - 1 1.00
  • D: 436 0.00 - 150 0.64
• House
  • R: 55 0.57 - 1 1.00
  • D: 100 0.00 - 47 0.68

The most liberal one is Bernie Sanders I-VT, and I counted him as an honorary Democrat. The most conservative Democrats back in the 116th Congress were Kyrsten Sinema AZ, Doug Jones AL, and Tim Manchin WV.

 

[Derec]

"Worker self-management" seems like worker-run cooperatives, something that seems like a form of capitalism to me, even if many capitalism apologists seem to dislike it.

Worker self-management generally refers to a government enforcing it for (most) companies in its jurisdiction. It is thus a form of socialism (in fact, it is the form of socialism practiced in Titoist Yugoslavia) and is very different than voluntary arrangement to form an employee-owned co-op.

As I said, from their website, DSA is favoring that form of collective ownership of means of production.

Early in 2020 in a MLK-Day conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates,

He is the guy who wants to take money from white people and give it to people with his skin color.
Not very impressed by that racist grifter!

AOC stated that Jeff Bezos ought to turn Amazon into a worker-run cooperative, at least if I remember it correctly.

Government (AOC is in the government) expropriating business owners and turning them into worker-cooperatives is socialism.

 

[lpetrich]

NRCC adds 10 Democrats to target list after release of census tally - Roll Call - "All members are from states due to lose House seats"
These 47 House Democrats are on the GOP’s target list for 2022 - Roll Call - "Members in districts Biden lost or facing redistricting on list"

Here are the numbers:
AZ-01 Tom O’Halleran * 205 0.50 3.2, AZ-02 Ann Kirkpatrick . 255 0.35 10.2, CA-03 John Garamendi . 276 0.33 9.4, CA-07 Ami Bera . 242 0.38 13.2, CA-10 Josh Harder * 210 0.46 10.4, CA-16 Jim Costa . 226 0.42 18.8, CA-36 Raul Ruiz . 249 0.36 20.6, CA-45 Katie Porter * 359 0.24 7.0, CA-49 Mike Levin * 326 0.28 6.2, CT-05 Jahana Hayes * 423 0.10 11.6, FL-07 Stephanie Murphy . 212 0.46 12.1, FL-13 Charlie Crist . 264 0.34 6.0, GA-06 Lucy McBath * 243 0.37 9.2, GA-07 Carolyn Bourdeaux * -- -- 2.8, IA-03 Cindy Axne * 200 0.51 1.4, IL-03 Marie Newman . -- -- 12.8, IL-06 Sean Casten . 339 0.26 7.4, IL-14 Lauren Underwood * 298 0.30 1.4, IL-17 Cheri Bustos . 246 0.37 4.0, KS-03 Sharice Davids * 262 0.35 10.0, ME-02 Jared Golden * 211 0.46 6.0, MI-05 Dan Kildee . 302 0.30 12.7, MI-08 Elissa Slotkin * 227 0.42 3.6, MI-11 Haley Stevens * 263 0.35 2.4, MN-02 Angie Craig * 229 0.42 2.2, MN-03 Dean Phillips . 194 0.54 11.2, NC-02 Deborah K. Ross . -- -- 28.2, NH-01 Chris Pappas * 235 0.40 5.1, NJ-03 Andy Kim * 225 0.42 7.7, NJ-05 Josh Gottheimer . 150 0.64 7.6, NJ-07 Tom Malinowski . 252 0.36 1.2, NJ-11 Mikie Sherrill * 239 0.38 6.6, NV-03 Susie Lee * 231 0.41 3.0 2.5, NV-04 Steven Horsford * 352 0.25 4.9, NY-03 Tom Suozzi . 267 0.34 12.5, NY-04 Kathleen Rice . 228 0.42 13.1, NY-18 Sean Patrick Maloney . 304 0.30 12.5, NY-19 Antonio Delgado * 214 0.46 11.6, NY-20 Paul Tonko . 312 0.29 22.4, NY-25 Joseph D. Morelle . 322 0.28 20.2, NY-26 Brian Higgins . 125 0.67 41.2, OH-13 Tim Ryan . 260 0.35 7.6, OR-04 Peter A. DeFazio * 329 0.27 5.3, OR-05 Kurt Schrader . 216 0.45 6.8, PA-06 Chrissy Houlahan . 232 0.41 12.2, PA-07 Susan Wild * 305 0.29 3.8, PA-08 Matt Cartwright * 257 0.35 3.6, PA-17 Conor Lamb * 224 0.42 2.2, TX-07 Lizzie Fletcher * 233 0.40 3.3, TX-15 Vicente Gonzalez * 208 0.47 2.9, TX-28 Henry Cuellar . 178 0.57 19.3, TX-32 Colin Allred * 217 0.44 6.0, TX-34 Filemon Vela . 240 0.38 13.6, VA-02 Elaine Luria * 220 0.44 5.7, VA-07 Abigail Spanberger * 201 0.50 1.8, WA-08 Kim Schrier * 254 0.35 3.6, WI-03 Ron Kind * 204 0.50 2.6

District, candidate, whether AOC donated to them, rank in ideology score, ideology score itself, margin of victory

There are some squeaker victories in this list, but not many.

 

[lpetrich]

Amy Vilela on Twitter: "We're officially launching our first campaign video! ..." / Twitter

We're officially launching our first campaign video!

In it, I talk about the struggle—the struggle I’ve faced throughout my life and that so many others across Las Vegas and the country face every single day.

It's time to elect leaders who have experienced the struggle, and who will bring that experience with them in everything they do while serving and representing us in Washington, D.C.

Amy Vilela - Ballotpedia lists her as running in NV-01. She ran in NV-04 back in 2018. Her campaign literature is short of mentions of her district, though her Twitter signature mentions #NV01.

 

[lpetrich]

Checking on Sunrise Movement - We Are The Climate Revolution it currently endorses Nina Turner and also some candidates for VA Gov and Lt Gov.


Brand New Congress on Twitter: "Thank you, @doctorow! We've got some exciting candidate announcements coming very soon. If you can pitch in, please click below!" / Twitter
But nothing new at Home - Brand New Congress

I then checked on Official BNC Nomination Form
"Please do not nominate yourself. It's important that nominations come from members of the community."

It has a sizable list of possible parties: Democrat, Democratic Socialist, Green, Independent, Libertarian, Progressive Democrat, Republican, Socialist, Working Families, Other

One can run for the US House or the US Senate, and BNC wants which House district or which state, as appropriate. BNC does not do state or local offices.

Relationship with nominee: Family, Friend, Supervisor, Coworker/Colleague, No personal relationship, Other
So one can nominate an employee.

Ages can be 25 - 35, 35 - 50, 50 - 65, 65+, unknown

Gender identities can be Female/Woman, Genderqueer/Gender nonconforming, Male/Men, Non-Binary, TransFemale/TransWoman, TransMale/TransMan, Decline to Answer

Also available: "Nominee LGBTQ+ Identity is Not Listed (Please Add Below)"

Might be fun to see the answer for Maebe A. Girl.

Race/Ethnicity can be some combination of American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Asian Indian, Black and/or African American, Caribbean, Chinese, Hispanic and/or Latinx, Japanese, Korean, Mexican and/or Chicano/a, Middle Eastern, Multiracial, North African, Puerto Rican, Native Hawalian/Pacific Islander, White and/or Caucasian, Prefer Not to Respond

 

[lpetrich]

The questionnaire asks about the nominee's website, Facebook URL, LinkedIn URL, Instagram URL, and Twitter handle, if any.

How Long has Nominee Lived in District? < 1 yr, 1 - 5 yrs, > 5 yrs, Unknown
I don't think that BNC wants any carpetbaggers.

Career is a sizable list: Activist/Community Organizer, Agriculture/Food/Natural Resources, Arts/Entertainment, Caregiver, Construction/Industrial, Creative/Design/Media, Education, Environmental Science, Finance/Business, Health/Medicine/Nursing/Wellness, Hospitality/Tourism/Service Industry, Law, Military, Non-Profits, Politics/Public Service, Public Safety/Corrections/Security, Religious Organization, Science/Technology/Engineering/Math, Social Services, Transportation/Distribution/Logistics, Volunteer/Organizing, Other

Has the nominee run before? No (Nominee has not run before), Yes (sizable list), Unknown

Under "Yes": Lost Local or State Race, Won Local Office, Won State Office, Lost Congressional Race, Lost Congressional Race with 40% or greater votes, Won Congressional Race

Does Nominee Refuse Corporate PAC Money? Yes, No, Unknown
Doubtful that BNC will like anyone who likes corporate PAC money, even money from PAC's funded by greentech companies.

Also asked about support for Medicare for All, Green New Deal, Criminal Justice Reform

Which Progressive Policies Does Nominee Support? Any of a big list: Abolish ICE, Affordable Housing, Cancel College Debt, DACA, Empower Tribal Nations, End Private Prisons and Detention Centers, End School-to-Prison Pipeline, Equality Act, Equal Pay for Equal Work, Free College, Gun Safety, Immigration Reform, Legalizing Marijuana, LGBTQIA Equality, Police Reform, Racial Justice, Reparations, Reproductive Rights, Trans Rights, Universal Childcare, Women's Rights, Other Progressive Policies

Why is this Nominee a Good Fit for Congress? "Please summarize in detail"

Is Nominee an Activist or Organizer? (Very / Some / No demonstrable involvement) in community

Share any notable Articles, Blogs, Videos, or Media Appearances by Nominee. (URL's)

Finally, the incumbent name, website, and party (Republican, Democrat, Independent, other)

 

[lpetrich]

It was hard to find anything in BNC's new site about who runs that org. But under Media - Brand New Congress I found Brand New Congress on Instagram: “Please join us in celebrating Adrienne Bell (@adrbelltx ) as our new Executive Director! An educator and two-time Democratic Nominee for TX14 (2018 and 2020), Adrienne has been with BNC since the beginning as one of our very first endorsed candidates. Her leadership and advocacy across a host of progressive policies make her the perfect fit to lead our movement forward! #welcome #brandnewcongress …” - Mar 31
So Robb Ryerse is no longer the Executive Director of BNC. He ran for Congress in 2018 as a Republican, though he lost the party's primary.

I checked his Twitter feed and he makes no mention of that. Instead,
Robb Ryerse on Twitter: "Woo Pig" / Twitter
and then a lot of tweets about campaigning. Too much for me to quote, though I like these ones:

Robb Ryerse on Twitter: "Here’s something people don’t talk about very much re why regular people don’t (or can’t) run for office - they have a day job. In the church world, we have a word for this - bivocational. Until you’ve done it, you have no idea how hard it is to be a bivocational candidate." / Twitter

Robb Ryerse on Twitter: "What do Mitt Romney, Bernie Sanders, Mike Huckabee, and Cori Bush all have in common? (pic link)" / Twitter
(They lost the first time they ran)

Robb Ryerse on Twitter: "Lesson from my 2018 campaign: Have something for volunteers to do. When I first launched, 50 people immediately wanted to help. I got excited. They got excited. But I wasn’t prepared, and a lot of the excitement fizzled. If I were to do it again, I would do it differently." / Twitter
Good sense of humility about mismangement.

Robb Ryerse on Twitter: "“We may not be able to out-spend our opponents. But we can put-organize them.” @AOC said this in 2017. Prophetic. (pic link)" / Twitter

Robb Ryerse on Twitter: "If there was a cable channel of just @katieporteroc and @AOC asking committee questions ... take my money." / Twitter
then
Rep. Katie Porter on Twitter: "Big Pharma says they need to charge astronomical prices to pay for research and development. Yet, the amount they spend on manipulating the market to enrich shareholders completely eclipses what's spent on R&D. Today, I confronted a CEO about the industry's lies, with visuals (vid link)" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Robb Ryerse | Blog has some stuff on campaigning.

5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Run for Office (in the 2022 Elections)

1. Do you really want to do this?
2. Is your family on board?
3. How will this impact your day job?
4. Are you a good fit for your community?
   • Are people like you underrepresented by your current elected officials?
   • Do you have deep roots in your community?
   • Do the issues that matter to you matter to most of the people you’d represent?
   • Have you lived in your area long enough?
   • Will others rally around your campaign?
   • Do you have the experience and ideas necessary for the position you’re running for?
5. What’s holding you back?

How Covid-19 Changed Political Campaigns Forever
About digital organizing,

Political organizing is the art and science of building personal relationships with people. These relationships can be leveraged to raise funds, recruit volunteers, and turn out voters. Digital organizing is using technology tools to accomplish all of this online. Covid-19 took away the tools of traditional political organizing - knocking on doors, clipboards, weekly gatherings. The campaigns that were successful in 2020 were able to use technology tools to do this same work.

Digital campaigning is different. "Examples of digital campaigning are going live on Facebook to talk about an issue, running targeted and retargeted ads, and having a quality website."

The Top 3 Reasons Why First-Time Candidates Lose

1. The System Is (kind of) Rigged
   • One candidate I know was fired from her job because her well-connected opponent pulled strings with the owners of the company for which she worked.
   • A candidate in Illinois faced a costly legal battle over the signatures he collected to be on the ballot. He won the court case but spent most of his campaign budget doing so, leaving him in a terrible position to continue his run for office.
   • A first-time candidate in Florida was encouraged by the local police not to hold any campaign events after they received threats of violence from an “anonymous” tip.
   • Candidates across the country have been denied equal access to voter information and data from state political parties when they challenged incumbents in primaries.
2. Fundraising
3. Political Inexperience

The first two are related to being unknown. If nobody knows why you are, then why might anyone want to support you? Being unknown also means being short on social clout, thus the first difficulty. Without it, one is vulnerable to bullying like what was described, though with it, these same bullies might consider your rear end very kissable.

The Top 3 Reasons Why First-Time Candidates Win

1. Be Yourself. "Voters want authenticity in their leaders. Be your authentic self. Don’t pander for votes. Don’t tell people what you think they want to hear. Be honest. Be true to yourself. Authenticity has a magnetic force all its own that will draw voters to you."
2. Fundraising, Seriously Fundraise. It takes believing in yourself, courage, and consistency (set aside some time each day for fundraising).
3. Out-Organize Your Opponent. AOC in 2017: “We may not be able to out-spend our opponents, but we can out-organize them.”

 

[lpetrich]

First-Time Candidates Are Freaking Out about Fundraising (with good reason)

1. Commit to Fundraising
2. Invest in Tools to Help You. Compliance with FEC regs, Platform (ActBlue, ...), Customer Relationship Management systems...
3. You’ve Got to Dial for Dollars
4. You Need an Email Program. Collect e-mail addresses, e-mail regularly, vary your message.
5. Know Your Goal: The Campaign Budget Template

About the fourth one, one ought to be honest about what one's doing.

This Is Why Social Media Can Make or Break Your Campaign (for first-time candidates)

1. Your Voice. In general, be yourself. If you are funny, be funny. If you like details, go into detail. But don't be sarcastic very often.
2. Numbers. Having a big social-media following is not the same as campaigning.
3. Trolls
4. Memes
5. Double-Check Your Personal Social Accounts. Even if that means deleting some old posts.
6. The Platforms: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Clubhouse

For Facebook, create a page for one's campaign. Twitter is more of a conversation than a megaphone. Instagram is for images. LinkedIn not very good for campaigning if one has a day job. Clubhouse is audio-only.

4 Unexpected Obstacles First-Time Candidates Face

1. Imposter Syndrome
2. Worrying About Other People’s Feelings
3. General Anxiety
4. Emotional Rollercoaster

 

[lpetrich]

The Issues That Will Make You Connect with Voters

1. What issues matter to you?
2. What issues matter to your voters?
3. What are within the purview of the office you seek?
4. Writing Your Platform
   • 1000 words - for a website: "several paragraphs with examples and anecdotes"
   • 100 words - for social media and voter guides: "a paragraph that focuses on the facts"
   • 10 words - memorize it and be able to answer questions about it: "a sentence"
   • 5 words - for graphics and slogans: "a phrase"

That last one reminds me of Gary Hart back in 1984. He started out making long, detailed descriptions of his positions, but when it became evident that that didn't grab people very much, he switched to "new ideas". Sen. Gary Hart ran for President back in 1984.

Volunteers Will Make You Successful (as a first-time candidate)

1. Have some onboarding and training
2. Have some consistent method of communication
3. Have something for them to do
4. Have some way to make it fun
5. Have some gratitude

This Is Why You Need a Powerful Stump Speech (for beginners)

1. Introduce Yourself
2. Answer the Question - Why Am I Running for Office?
3. Answer the Question - Why Should People Support You?
4. Answer the Question - What Can Supporters Do Right Now to Help?
5. Length - 5 to 8 minutes
6. Stories - tell some anecdotes, but keep them related to your campaign
7. Your Opponent - make your campaign about you, not your opponent

 

[lpetrich]

I checked on Nominate - Justice Democrats and I'd have to enter some info about myself before I can continue.

But it states "Please don't nominate yourself, we want to hear from supporters first." Much like BNC.

Checking on the Nominations FAQ page, I find

Who Is Supposed To Submit Nominations?

Justice Democrats believes that for a leader to truly represent their community they should be an integral part of that community. We are trying to find nominees who work and live in their districts, who choose to devote their lives to helping people, who look like the people in their district, and are proud to live a life similar to their neighbors. A lot of times, those future leaders aren’t seeking the spotlight, and only people in the district know how incredible they really are.

No new nominations from JD at this time.

I've found this:
Justice Republicans (@JusticeRepubs) / Twitter "Working to build a Republican Party for the American working class, not corporate donors! Working hard to ensure a bipartisan Squad with Justice Repubs on it!"

But no site and no organizing that I could find.

 

[Rhea]

The Issues That Will Make You Connect with Voters

1. What issues matter to you?
2. What issues matter to your voters?
3. What are within the purview of the office you seek?
4. Writing Your Platform
   • 1000 words - for a website: "several paragraphs with examples and anecdotes"
   • 100 words - for social media and voter guides: "a paragraph that focuses on the facts"
   • 10 words - memorize it and be able to answer questions about it: "a sentence"
   • 5 words - for graphics and slogans: "a phrase"

That last one reminds me of Gary Hart back in 1984. He started out making long, detailed descriptions of his positions, but when it became evident that that didn't grab people very much, he switched to "new ideas". Sen. Gary Hart ran for President back in 1984.

Volunteers Will Make You Successful (as a first-time candidate)

1. Have some onboarding and training
2. Have some consistent method of communication
3. Have something for them to do
4. Have some way to make it fun
5. Have some gratitude

This Is Why You Need a Powerful Stump Speech (for beginners)

1. Introduce Yourself
2. Answer the Question - Why Am I Running for Office?
3. Answer the Question - Why Should People Support You?
4. Answer the Question - What Can Supporters Do Right Now to Help?
5. Length - 5 to 8 minutes
6. Stories - tell some anecdotes, but keep them related to your campaign
7. Your Opponent - make your campaign about you, not your opponent

That’s a very decent list. A good starting point.

 

[lpetrich]

Gary Hart switched from too long to too short, it seems.

An ‘Army of 16-Year-Olds’ Takes On the Democrats - The New York Times
After mentioning how they helped Ed Markey defeat Joe Kennedy III last year,

But the Markeyverse carried out a devastating political maneuver, firmly fixing the idea of Senator Markey as a left-wing icon and Representative Kennedy as challenging him from the right. They carried out ambitious digital organizing, using social media to conjure up an in-person work force — “an army of 16-year-olds,” as one political veteran put it, who can “do anything on the internet.”

They are viewed apprehensively by many in Massachusetts’ Democratic establishment, who say that they smear their opponents and are never held accountable; that they turn on their allies at the first whiff of a scandal; and that they are attacking Democrats in a coordinated effort to push the whole party to the left, much as the Tea Party did, on the right, to the Republicans.

Then about a 17-year-old campaigner.

Both of his candidates lost, but narrowly, and he said he had learned something bigger: Outside of major cities, Massachusetts Democrats are not running sophisticated grass-roots campaigns.

“It’s this lax culture of ‘Who do you know?’” he said. “A lot of the state has never really seen any type of campaign political structure.”

Then about some of these young activists' opposition research.