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Sellouts
the enemy within
In political movements a "sellout" is a person or group claiming to adhere to one ideology, only to follow these claims up with actions contradicting them, such as a revolutionary group claiming to fight for a particular cause, but failing to continue this upon obtaining power.
July 21, 2019
They lack ideas, courage, and competence so they find happiness riding a fence while not pissing off society's oppressors. The defend the status quo while lying about supporting progress. They are the very definition of "kind of pregnant"
Sellouts
*The real problem wasn’t the racism — it was the Trump taking ‘the Lord’s name in vain’ twice: supporter(ARTICLE BELOW)
*DEMOCRAT-BACKED CENTRIST PAC IS SUPPORTING A REPUBLICAN AGAINST A VULNERABLE SWING-DISTRICT INCUMBENT(ARTICLE BELOW)
*JOSH GOTTHEIMER WARNED DEMOCRATIC LEADERS HE HAD VOTES TO BLOCK BILL MANDATING BETTER CONDITIONS FOR CHILDREN IN DETENTION(ARTICLE BELOW)
*'An existential threat': Bernie Sanders faces mounting opposition from moderate Democrats
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*Centrist Democrats raise concerns over $15 minimum wage push
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*Blue Dogs look to move forward on infrastructure project
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*AT DEMOCRATIC RETREAT, CHIEFS OF STAFF COACHED ON SCHMOOZING WITH K STREET
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*The DNC’s New Finance Chair Embodies Everything the Left Hates About the Democratic Establishment(ARTICLE BELOW)
*2020 Democrats, Stop Helping The Right Wing
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*OBAMA’S AGRICULTURE SECRETARY, NOW WORKING FOR THE DAIRY INDUSTRY, URGES 2020 DEMOCRATS TO BE NICE TO THE DAIRY INDUSTRY(ARTICLE BELOW)
*Has Krysten Sinema become the Joe Manchin of the West?
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*NANCY PELOSI’S DRUG-PRICING TALKS WITH THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ARE ABOUT MEDIATING FIGHTS BETWEEN CORPORATE INTERESTS(ARTICLE BELOW)
*CONGRESS IS ABOUT TO BAN THE GOVERNMENT FROM OFFERING FREE ONLINE TAX FILING. THANK TURBOTAX
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*As It Stifles Primary Challengers, DCCC Takes More Money From Corporations
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*Centrist Dems Are Trying to Block a Universal $15 Minimum Wage
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*Establishment Democrats Are Undermining Medicare for All
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*EXXON, BIG PHARMA, AND WALL STREET LOBBYISTS TO HOST FUNDRAISER FOR MARK KELLY IN WASHINGTON
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*Senate Democrats Enabled the Biggest Bank Merger Since the 2008 Crash
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*“Moderate” Democrats Are Really Conservatives — and They Are Dangerous
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*Tulsi Gabbard’s Financial Disclosures Leave Out Ties To Koch-Funded Think Tank
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*House Climate Panel Democrats Got Nearly $200,000 in Fossil Fuel Industry Donations
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*Five congressional Democrats including Gabbard and Moulton likely to get primaried – From the left
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*A CORPORATE-FRIENDLY DEMOCRAT HAS BEEN STALLING PROGRESS FOR 40 YEARS. NOW A PRIMARY CHALLENGE MIGHT TAKE HIM OUT.(ARTICLE BELOW)
*VIRGINIA STATE BOARD APPROVES PERMIT FOR PIPELINE STATION IN HISTORIC AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*Centrist Democrats who lost now want to lecture progressives on how to win
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*EMAILS SHOW POLITICAL GROUP NO LABELS GAVE WORK TO FIRMS LINKED TO FOUNDER’S HUSBAND
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*Over 90% of the anti-Pelosi Democrats have voted with Trump more often than Pelosi
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*Who's Really Leading the Democratic Rebellion Against Pelosi?
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*The DC Centrist Democrat Spin Cycle
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*MICHIGAN’S DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR-ELECT PUTS BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD EXECUTIVE ON TRANSITION TEAM — AFTER THE COMPANY FUNDED HER CAMPAIGN(ARTICLE BELOW)
*Banks to target moderate Democrats, regulators if US House flips
(ARTICLE BELOW)
*Red-State Senate Democrats Are Top Recipients of Wall Street Donations
(excerpt BELOW)
cartoons(at the end)
hypocrisy, racism, and a wimpy-ass sellout democrat!!!
The real problem wasn’t the racism — it was the Trump taking ‘the Lord’s name in vain’ twice: supporter
July 20, 2019 .
By Bob Brigham - Raw Story
President Donald Trump was widely condemned after supporters at a campaign rally in West Virginia turned his racist “go back” message into a “Send Her Back” chant against one of a woman of color in Congress.
One Trump supporter in West Virginia also criticized the speech, but not for the racist targeting of Rep. Ilhan Omar.
State Senator Paul Hardesty, a Democrat, wrote to the White House to complain about Trump’s use of the word “goddamn.”
The letter was republished by the Montgomery-Herald.
“I will start by saying that I am a very conservative Democrat here in the southern West Virginia coalfields. I was a Trump supporter in 2016, and I continue to be a supporter today,” the Democratic Party lawmaker wrote to the Republican president. “I have a real appreciation of your support for the coal industry, and I thank you for that.”
“I am, however, appalled by the fact that you chose to use the Lord’s name in vain on two separate occasions when you went off the prompter during your speech,” he wrote. “I know in my heart that you are better than that.”
“During the rally Trump first used the phrase ‘goddamn’ in an anecdote he shared with the crowd about a former business rival, who has since told him he’s thriving under the Trump administration, according to the president,” the Daily Mail explained. “The second use of the term came in reference to the currently terse relations between Iran and the US, where threatened the Middle-Eastern country with military conflict should their perceived provocation continue.”
Hardesty was not the only one to take issue with Trump’s use of the word.
A user on the conservative Free Republic message board warned the Almighty will punish Trump for his language.
“This is a warning to all who think God will ‘overlook’ the act of blaspheming His name,” the user wrote. “He will not.”
“I (sic) will not matter if you are a street sweeper or the leader of the greatest republic on earth…God will drop you like a stone,” he warned.
One Trump supporter in West Virginia also criticized the speech, but not for the racist targeting of Rep. Ilhan Omar.
State Senator Paul Hardesty, a Democrat, wrote to the White House to complain about Trump’s use of the word “goddamn.”
The letter was republished by the Montgomery-Herald.
“I will start by saying that I am a very conservative Democrat here in the southern West Virginia coalfields. I was a Trump supporter in 2016, and I continue to be a supporter today,” the Democratic Party lawmaker wrote to the Republican president. “I have a real appreciation of your support for the coal industry, and I thank you for that.”
“I am, however, appalled by the fact that you chose to use the Lord’s name in vain on two separate occasions when you went off the prompter during your speech,” he wrote. “I know in my heart that you are better than that.”
“During the rally Trump first used the phrase ‘goddamn’ in an anecdote he shared with the crowd about a former business rival, who has since told him he’s thriving under the Trump administration, according to the president,” the Daily Mail explained. “The second use of the term came in reference to the currently terse relations between Iran and the US, where threatened the Middle-Eastern country with military conflict should their perceived provocation continue.”
Hardesty was not the only one to take issue with Trump’s use of the word.
A user on the conservative Free Republic message board warned the Almighty will punish Trump for his language.
“This is a warning to all who think God will ‘overlook’ the act of blaspheming His name,” the user wrote. “He will not.”
“I (sic) will not matter if you are a street sweeper or the leader of the greatest republic on earth…God will drop you like a stone,” he warned.
DEMOCRAT-BACKED CENTRIST PAC IS SUPPORTING A REPUBLICAN AGAINST A VULNERABLE SWING-DISTRICT INCUMBENT
Ryan Grim, Aída Chávez - The Intercept
7/19/19
THE POLITICAL ACTION committee affiliated with a bipartisan caucus on Capitol Hill is spending money to back a Republican challenge to Rep. Katie Hill of California, a freshman Democrat who has been an independent and at times progressive voice in the House, despite serving in a district previously held by the GOP.
Hill is what’s known as a “front-liner” in Democratic caucus politics, because she’ll face a difficult challenge to hold on to her seat in California’s 25th District. Mike Garcia, an Iraq War veteran, launched his campaign in April, and the With Honor PAC jumped in to support him that same month.
House Democratic leadership crafts its entire political and legislative strategy around protecting front-liners like Hill, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently chastised the caucus for criticizing vulnerable front-liners, suggesting they hit her instead.
That makes the support for a Republican challenger from the For Country Caucus, which includes at least 10 Democrats, fairly remarkable, particularly as House incumbents have launched a full-blown counterrevolution against the so-called Squad and the organization that backs them, Justice Democrats, accusing them of undermining the party by targeting incumbents.
Justice Democrats, which became a prominent actor in Democratic politics after helping elect Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, however, has so far not endorsed a single challenger to a front-line Democrat, even as a new centrist caucus backs a Republican against Hill. The caucus is co-chaired by California Democrat Jimmy Panetta, who was first elected in 2016 and is the son of longtime Democratic operative and former Rep. Leon Panetta. The caucus also includes Democratic Reps. Seth Moulton, Mass., Chrissy Houlahan, Pa., Gil Cisneros, Calif., Jason Crow, Colo., Jared Golden, Maine, Conor Lamb, Pa., Elaine Luria, Va., Max Rose, N.Y., and Mikie Sherrill of N.J. None of the caucus members responded to a request for comment.
In 2018 primaries, Crow, Luria, and Cisneros faced progressive primary opponents and won with the weight of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee behind them. They are now linked up with a PAC working in direct opposition to the interests of the DCCC.
The For Country Caucus is an offshoot of the With Honor PAC, and it initially planned to call itself the With Honor Caucus, according to internal emails obtained by The Intercept. Despite the name change, the caucus’s affiliation with With Honor is still widely apparent. The For Country Caucus adopted a pledge identical to one With Honor’s endorsed candidates had agreed to. An affiliated super PAC, called the With Honor Fund, was bankrolled in 2018 by billionaires Jeff Bezos, Howard Schultz, and others, and similarly focused on electing veterans to Congress.
According to FEC records, Mike Garcia, a Republican challenging Hill, has gotten more than $3,000 in in-kind assistance from the With Honor PAC. That might not sound like much, but the type of assistance is likely much more valuable than that. The help is listed as fundraising consulting, travel costs, strategic consulting, and legal services, suggesting that With Honor PAC is using its links to ultra-wealthy people to assist Garcia with fundraising. A former Naval officer, he raised just over $250,000 in his first quarter on the trail.
The With Honor PAC’s support can also give Garcia the sheen of bipartisan credibility, highly useful in a swing district. Hill won the district by 9 points after more than two decades of Republican control.
“We support veteran candidates across the country – Republicans, Democrats, and independents – who pledge to serve with integrity, civility, and courage. With Honor Fund has not endorsed any candidates for the 2020 cycle,” the PAC said in a statement.
In addition to contributing to For Country Caucus members, With Honor has also given money this cycle to the campaigns of several incumbents, including Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy; the DCCC; EMILY’s List; and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
In March, caucus members and the affiliated PACs repeatedly denied the two had anything to do with each other. In an email to The Intercept, the With Honor PAC said they hoped members have the “courage to collaborate across the aisle” and one of the ways they can do that is with a “cross partisan caucus,” adding, “we’re supportive of them doing that, but like I stated, there is no With Honor caucus.”
“The caucus is folks that focus on, among other things, working on policy that promotes public service and just members of the caucus have agreed to a civility pledge to commit to working with integrity, honesty, and drive to find common ground across the aisle. But this is not, this doesn’t have to do with With Honor,” a Panetta spokesperson said at the time. “That’s separate.”
They’re so separate, in fact, that the For Country Caucus is now featured prominently on the With Honor PAC’s website.
Hill is what’s known as a “front-liner” in Democratic caucus politics, because she’ll face a difficult challenge to hold on to her seat in California’s 25th District. Mike Garcia, an Iraq War veteran, launched his campaign in April, and the With Honor PAC jumped in to support him that same month.
House Democratic leadership crafts its entire political and legislative strategy around protecting front-liners like Hill, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently chastised the caucus for criticizing vulnerable front-liners, suggesting they hit her instead.
That makes the support for a Republican challenger from the For Country Caucus, which includes at least 10 Democrats, fairly remarkable, particularly as House incumbents have launched a full-blown counterrevolution against the so-called Squad and the organization that backs them, Justice Democrats, accusing them of undermining the party by targeting incumbents.
Justice Democrats, which became a prominent actor in Democratic politics after helping elect Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, however, has so far not endorsed a single challenger to a front-line Democrat, even as a new centrist caucus backs a Republican against Hill. The caucus is co-chaired by California Democrat Jimmy Panetta, who was first elected in 2016 and is the son of longtime Democratic operative and former Rep. Leon Panetta. The caucus also includes Democratic Reps. Seth Moulton, Mass., Chrissy Houlahan, Pa., Gil Cisneros, Calif., Jason Crow, Colo., Jared Golden, Maine, Conor Lamb, Pa., Elaine Luria, Va., Max Rose, N.Y., and Mikie Sherrill of N.J. None of the caucus members responded to a request for comment.
In 2018 primaries, Crow, Luria, and Cisneros faced progressive primary opponents and won with the weight of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee behind them. They are now linked up with a PAC working in direct opposition to the interests of the DCCC.
The For Country Caucus is an offshoot of the With Honor PAC, and it initially planned to call itself the With Honor Caucus, according to internal emails obtained by The Intercept. Despite the name change, the caucus’s affiliation with With Honor is still widely apparent. The For Country Caucus adopted a pledge identical to one With Honor’s endorsed candidates had agreed to. An affiliated super PAC, called the With Honor Fund, was bankrolled in 2018 by billionaires Jeff Bezos, Howard Schultz, and others, and similarly focused on electing veterans to Congress.
According to FEC records, Mike Garcia, a Republican challenging Hill, has gotten more than $3,000 in in-kind assistance from the With Honor PAC. That might not sound like much, but the type of assistance is likely much more valuable than that. The help is listed as fundraising consulting, travel costs, strategic consulting, and legal services, suggesting that With Honor PAC is using its links to ultra-wealthy people to assist Garcia with fundraising. A former Naval officer, he raised just over $250,000 in his first quarter on the trail.
The With Honor PAC’s support can also give Garcia the sheen of bipartisan credibility, highly useful in a swing district. Hill won the district by 9 points after more than two decades of Republican control.
“We support veteran candidates across the country – Republicans, Democrats, and independents – who pledge to serve with integrity, civility, and courage. With Honor Fund has not endorsed any candidates for the 2020 cycle,” the PAC said in a statement.
In addition to contributing to For Country Caucus members, With Honor has also given money this cycle to the campaigns of several incumbents, including Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy; the DCCC; EMILY’s List; and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
In March, caucus members and the affiliated PACs repeatedly denied the two had anything to do with each other. In an email to The Intercept, the With Honor PAC said they hoped members have the “courage to collaborate across the aisle” and one of the ways they can do that is with a “cross partisan caucus,” adding, “we’re supportive of them doing that, but like I stated, there is no With Honor caucus.”
“The caucus is folks that focus on, among other things, working on policy that promotes public service and just members of the caucus have agreed to a civility pledge to commit to working with integrity, honesty, and drive to find common ground across the aisle. But this is not, this doesn’t have to do with With Honor,” a Panetta spokesperson said at the time. “That’s separate.”
They’re so separate, in fact, that the For Country Caucus is now featured prominently on the With Honor PAC’s website.
JOSH GOTTHEIMER WARNED DEMOCRATIC LEADERS HE HAD VOTES TO BLOCK BILL MANDATING BETTER CONDITIONS FOR CHILDREN IN DETENTION
Aída Chávez, Ryan Grim - The Intercept
June 28 2019, 8:58 a.m.
ON THURSDAY, HOUSE Speaker Nancy Pelosi, boxed in by the Senate and centrist Democrats in her caucus, caved to Republicans on an emergency border funding bill. The Senate bill was put on the floor after New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat and co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, told House leaders he had the votes to scuttle a House version that mandated improved conditions for detained migrant children.
Gottheimer’s attempted power play was first reported by the Washington Post, and confirmed by The Intercept.
“In order to get resources to the children fastest, we will reluctantly pass the Senate bill,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to her colleagues Thursday afternoon. “As we pass the Senate bill, we will do so with a Battle Cry as to how we go forward to protect children in a way that truly honors their dignity and worth.” A spokesperson for Gottheimer didn’t return a request for comment. The caucus had discussed coming out against the House bill at the congressional softball game on Wednesday night, and there was dissent internally, but enough of the so-called Problem Solvers endorsed the strategy to allow it to go forward.
“The children come first,” Pelosi added. “At the end of the day, we have to make sure that the resources needed to protect the children are available. Therefore, we will not engage in the same disrespectful behavior that the Senate did in ignoring our priorities.”
On Wednesday, when asked if House Democrats would take up the Senate version of the legislation, Pelosi said no. Pelosi’s reversal came days after a searing photo, showing the bodies of a migrant father and his young daughter — Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and Angie Valeria — who drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande, sparked international outrage.
Ezra Levin, a co-founder of grassroots advocacy group Indivisible, was among the many progressive leaders to slam Democrats for buckling. Despite contentious back-and-forths between the progressive and centrist wings of the party, the House passed the unamended Senate bill on an overwhelming 305-102 vote, with 95 Democrats voting no.
The House amendment would have taken away money from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and increased protections for children, among other oversight provisions. The Senate passed its version of the $4.6 billion emergency bill on Wednesday 84-8. A vote on the House version of the spending bill was beaten in the Senate 55-37, largely along party lines, with the 2020 Democratic presidential contenders missing the vote. The Senate’s vote meant House Democrats would have had to hold out to pressure the upper chamber to accept its version, while Gottheimer’s move sapped the House’s leverage. “The quote-unquote Problem Solvers Caucus, I think, threw us under the bus and undermined our position to actually be able to negotiate,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.
“Since when did the Problem Solvers Caucus become the Child Abuse Caucus?” asked Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “Wouldn’t they want to at least fight against contractors who run deplorable facilities? Kids are the only ones who could lose today.”
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar joined Pocan in slamming the move, saying that a vote for Mitch McConnell’s border bill “is a vote to keep kids in cages and terrorize immigrant communities.”
When asked what Gottheimer’s objection to the House border bill was, Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal said it came down to “not giving as much ICE money as the Senate did.” She added that a bigger problem stemmed from the Senate Democrats putting them in a “terrible position” in the first place by voting on a bill that “does nothing to hold a rogue agency accountable for its cruelty,” doesn’t have any provisions to “ensure the money actually goes to the children,” or that “these for-profit agencies are held accountable.” She described herself as a “giant no” on the bill.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus also recommended the House vote against the Senate border spending bill, saying the Republicans “cannot force us to accept this bill, which does not provide necessary guardrails” and allows the Trump administration to “continue denying kids basic, humane care and endangering their lives.”
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez noted that the Senate didn’t even bother negotiating with the House. “We have time,” she said in a tweet. “We can stay in town. We can at LEAST add some amendments to this Senate bill. But to pass it completely unamended with no House input? That seems a bridge too far.”
The House failure led to widespread recriminations. Jayapal, Pocan, the CPC, and the CHC were blamed for urging House Democrats to pull out of negotiations with the Senate earlier this spring; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took heat for agreeing to a weak bill that left children vulnerable to abuse; Pelosi was slammed for caving; and Gottheimer’s Problem Solvers Caucus was widely derided for its unhelpful intervention. “The capitulation by the Problem Solvers and the Blue Dogs gave us no leverage here,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva, R-Ariz.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, and DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos voted in favor of the bill, while other members of leadership, including Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, and Assistant Democratic Leader Ben Ray Luján, who is running for Senate in New Mexico, voted against it.
“We need a bill that delivers funds to end the humanitarian crisis,” Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib said on Twitter. “Not funds to continue caging children & deny asylum seekers the help they need. Not funds to continue the harmful policies. If you see the Senate bill as an option, then you don’t believe in basic human rights.”
Gottheimer’s attempted power play was first reported by the Washington Post, and confirmed by The Intercept.
“In order to get resources to the children fastest, we will reluctantly pass the Senate bill,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to her colleagues Thursday afternoon. “As we pass the Senate bill, we will do so with a Battle Cry as to how we go forward to protect children in a way that truly honors their dignity and worth.” A spokesperson for Gottheimer didn’t return a request for comment. The caucus had discussed coming out against the House bill at the congressional softball game on Wednesday night, and there was dissent internally, but enough of the so-called Problem Solvers endorsed the strategy to allow it to go forward.
“The children come first,” Pelosi added. “At the end of the day, we have to make sure that the resources needed to protect the children are available. Therefore, we will not engage in the same disrespectful behavior that the Senate did in ignoring our priorities.”
On Wednesday, when asked if House Democrats would take up the Senate version of the legislation, Pelosi said no. Pelosi’s reversal came days after a searing photo, showing the bodies of a migrant father and his young daughter — Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and Angie Valeria — who drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande, sparked international outrage.
Ezra Levin, a co-founder of grassroots advocacy group Indivisible, was among the many progressive leaders to slam Democrats for buckling. Despite contentious back-and-forths between the progressive and centrist wings of the party, the House passed the unamended Senate bill on an overwhelming 305-102 vote, with 95 Democrats voting no.
The House amendment would have taken away money from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and increased protections for children, among other oversight provisions. The Senate passed its version of the $4.6 billion emergency bill on Wednesday 84-8. A vote on the House version of the spending bill was beaten in the Senate 55-37, largely along party lines, with the 2020 Democratic presidential contenders missing the vote. The Senate’s vote meant House Democrats would have had to hold out to pressure the upper chamber to accept its version, while Gottheimer’s move sapped the House’s leverage. “The quote-unquote Problem Solvers Caucus, I think, threw us under the bus and undermined our position to actually be able to negotiate,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.
“Since when did the Problem Solvers Caucus become the Child Abuse Caucus?” asked Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “Wouldn’t they want to at least fight against contractors who run deplorable facilities? Kids are the only ones who could lose today.”
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar joined Pocan in slamming the move, saying that a vote for Mitch McConnell’s border bill “is a vote to keep kids in cages and terrorize immigrant communities.”
When asked what Gottheimer’s objection to the House border bill was, Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal said it came down to “not giving as much ICE money as the Senate did.” She added that a bigger problem stemmed from the Senate Democrats putting them in a “terrible position” in the first place by voting on a bill that “does nothing to hold a rogue agency accountable for its cruelty,” doesn’t have any provisions to “ensure the money actually goes to the children,” or that “these for-profit agencies are held accountable.” She described herself as a “giant no” on the bill.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus also recommended the House vote against the Senate border spending bill, saying the Republicans “cannot force us to accept this bill, which does not provide necessary guardrails” and allows the Trump administration to “continue denying kids basic, humane care and endangering their lives.”
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez noted that the Senate didn’t even bother negotiating with the House. “We have time,” she said in a tweet. “We can stay in town. We can at LEAST add some amendments to this Senate bill. But to pass it completely unamended with no House input? That seems a bridge too far.”
The House failure led to widespread recriminations. Jayapal, Pocan, the CPC, and the CHC were blamed for urging House Democrats to pull out of negotiations with the Senate earlier this spring; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took heat for agreeing to a weak bill that left children vulnerable to abuse; Pelosi was slammed for caving; and Gottheimer’s Problem Solvers Caucus was widely derided for its unhelpful intervention. “The capitulation by the Problem Solvers and the Blue Dogs gave us no leverage here,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva, R-Ariz.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, and DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos voted in favor of the bill, while other members of leadership, including Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, and Assistant Democratic Leader Ben Ray Luján, who is running for Senate in New Mexico, voted against it.
“We need a bill that delivers funds to end the humanitarian crisis,” Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib said on Twitter. “Not funds to continue caging children & deny asylum seekers the help they need. Not funds to continue the harmful policies. If you see the Senate bill as an option, then you don’t believe in basic human rights.”
corporate boot-lickers protecting a system of oppression!!!
'An existential threat': Bernie Sanders faces mounting opposition from moderate Democrats
Lauren Gambino in Charleston
The Guardian
Fri 21 Jun 2019 01.00 EDT
Moderate Democrats have stepped up their opposition to Bernie Sanders as part of a concerted effort to isolate him from the sprawling field of otherwise “mainstream” and “electable” presidential candidates running for their party’s nomination in 2020.
Last week, Sanders delivered a searing defense of democratic socialism, setting himself apart from the rest of the Democratic party, whose opposition he said he not only anticipated but welcomed.
At a gathering of nearly 250 political moderates convened by the centrist thinktank Third Way in South Carolina this week, some of the party’s most prominent center-left voices took the bait.
“I believe a gay midwestern mayor can beat [Donald] Trump. I believe an African American senator can beat Trump. I believe a western governor, a female senator, a member of Congress, a Latino Texan or a former vice-president can beat Trump,” said Jon Cowan, president of Third Way, hours before Donald Trump formally launched his re-election campaign with a rally in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday.
“But I don’t believe a self-described democratic socialist can win.”
In speeches and on panels over the course of two sticky days in Charleston, moderate lawmakers, strategists and donors inveighed against the Vermont senator’s populist economic vision. The approach elevated a conversation that has largely taken place behind closed doors about how to thwart Sanders, who moderates believe would alienate crucial voting blocs in a general election.
“He has made it his mission to either get the nomination or to remake the party in his image as a democratic socialist,” Cowan told the Guardian. “That is an existential threat to the future of the Democratic party for the next generation.”
Sanders – who maintains his political identity as an independent– has made it clear he intends to run against the Democratic establishment as he seeks the party’s nomination. Third Way’s public criticism of the senator, days before the first presidential primary debates next week, reflects sharp new dividing lines in the battle for control of the party.
‘Anybody but Bernie’
“The cat is out of the bag,” Sanders tweeted on Wednesday, sharing a Politicostory about how Third Way’s leaders are warming to his closest ideological rival, Elizabeth Warren. “The corporate wing of the Democratic party is publicly ‘anybody but Bernie’.”
His campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, said in a statement that the party’s moderate faction had effectively “declared war on Senator Sanders” and denounced Third Way as a “Washington thinktank that takes Wall Street money.”
Sanders and his allies argue that the Democratic party’s turn toward corporatism led to Trump’s rise and that the theory of political electability advanced by Third Way and other centrists is no match for the mood of the electorate in a populist moment. At a party event in California earlier this month, the Democratic hopeful John Hickenlooper was booed by the audience for saying socialism is “not the answer”.
After more than two years of watching liberals rise, moderates again feel ascendant. Emboldened by the results of the 2018 midterm elections, which saw pragmatic Democrats win in dozens of Republican-held districts to deliver a majority in the House of Representatives, they are increasingly vocal in their disdain for socialism – and Sanders.
But the question of how to constrain Sanders is complicated. In 2016, Trump defeated a wide field of more experienced and more qualified candidates with a populist message that appealed to the right’s anti-establishment anger. In a race with a similarly large field of candidates, Sanders enters with far more advantages than Trump did: the Vermont senator is both experienced and qualified, with a dedicated following, a prodigious small-dollar fundraising operation, a developed economic platform and a populist appeal that surges when he is attacked by the political establishment he ran against to great effect in 2016.
Trump and Republicans continue to hurl the socialism label at the Democrat field. On Tuesday night, Trump warned in a speech formally launching his re-election campaign: “A vote for any Democrat in 2020 is a vote for the rise of radical socialism and the destruction of the American dream.”
None of Sanders’s 23 competitors have embraced a socialist platform. Warren, who is nipping at his heels in some recent polls, distinguishes herself as a capitalist.
Attitudes toward socialism are shifting in the US. Recent surveys have found that young people and women associate socialism with European countries rather than Soviet Russia. Yet socialism remains broadly unpopular: less than half of American voters say they would vote for a “qualified presidential candidate who is a socialist”, according to a Gallup poll released in May.
‘Who’s better on the economy?’AdvertisementThe mood at the conference vacillated from nervous optimism to nervous pessimism about Democrats’ prospects for beating Trump in 2020.
“If we don’t nominate a self-proclaimed socialist, we’ll probably be OK,” said Jen Psaki, who was White House communications director under Obama. “I hope so.”
But the former North Dakota senator Heidi Heitkamp, who lost re-election in 2018, warned that Democrats would continue to lose the White House and the US Senate unless the party makes inroads with rural voters.
“We have stopped talking to the middle of the country,” said Heitkamp, who launched One Country Project that seeks to “re-engage rural America”. “People feel like we’ve abandoned the bread-and-butter issues, and people in rural America feel it more accutely.”
Emphasizing her point, she said that if farmers from her state were asked to name the three biggest problems in rural America, “not one would say: antitrust”.
During the final panel of the day, Jim Messina, Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, predicted the 2020 election will be extremely close.
“We could be sitting on election day not knowing who will win,” he said.
‘Get off Twitter’
Several speakers urged those in the room to “get off Twitter” and venture into the real world, where far fewer Democrats are engaged in “faculty lounge debates over political ideology”.
“There is a potential that the hyper-hyper-engaged – the extremely online voters that are paying attention right now – might be able to drive the direction of the campaigns,” said Lanae Erickson, a senior vice-president at Third Way.
She presented a poll conducted by the thinktank that found only one in 10 Democratic primary voters tweet regularly. When compared with the wider Democratic electorate, this cohort of “extremely online” Democrats are far less likely to identify as moderate, are more likely to have participated in a protest and support progressives policies such as Medicare for All.
Moderates’ theory on how to win in 2020, as described by one panelist during the conference, is to appeal to the “woke and the still waking”. The best candidate, they argue, is someone who can mobilize a Democratic base that is increasingly young, diverse and liberal, while still appealing to independents, moderate Republicans and working-class voters who could decide the election.
This is not achieved with “warmed-over 1990s centrism”, said Cowan, but neither is it achieved by “1960s Nordic-style socialism”.
“Voters do not want mushy, bland, empty Democratic centrism,” Cowan said. “But that’s not who this rising generation of swing district winners are.”
On Monday evening, one of those new House members, the South Carolina congressman Joe Cunningham, welcomed the group to his district, which the 37-year-old flipped last year after decades of Republican control.
Cunningham said he did not win his race by promising Medicare for All or by demonizing Republicans. Rather, he said he won by positioning himself as a moderate who was willing to work across the aisle and occasionally buck his own party.
Like a football coach rallying his team before a game, Cunningham said Republicans who run to the right to embrace Trump are “ceding more and more middle ground”.
“There is so much middle ground to gain in 2020,” he shouted. “I say we take it!”
Last week, Sanders delivered a searing defense of democratic socialism, setting himself apart from the rest of the Democratic party, whose opposition he said he not only anticipated but welcomed.
At a gathering of nearly 250 political moderates convened by the centrist thinktank Third Way in South Carolina this week, some of the party’s most prominent center-left voices took the bait.
“I believe a gay midwestern mayor can beat [Donald] Trump. I believe an African American senator can beat Trump. I believe a western governor, a female senator, a member of Congress, a Latino Texan or a former vice-president can beat Trump,” said Jon Cowan, president of Third Way, hours before Donald Trump formally launched his re-election campaign with a rally in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday.
“But I don’t believe a self-described democratic socialist can win.”
In speeches and on panels over the course of two sticky days in Charleston, moderate lawmakers, strategists and donors inveighed against the Vermont senator’s populist economic vision. The approach elevated a conversation that has largely taken place behind closed doors about how to thwart Sanders, who moderates believe would alienate crucial voting blocs in a general election.
“He has made it his mission to either get the nomination or to remake the party in his image as a democratic socialist,” Cowan told the Guardian. “That is an existential threat to the future of the Democratic party for the next generation.”
Sanders – who maintains his political identity as an independent– has made it clear he intends to run against the Democratic establishment as he seeks the party’s nomination. Third Way’s public criticism of the senator, days before the first presidential primary debates next week, reflects sharp new dividing lines in the battle for control of the party.
‘Anybody but Bernie’
“The cat is out of the bag,” Sanders tweeted on Wednesday, sharing a Politicostory about how Third Way’s leaders are warming to his closest ideological rival, Elizabeth Warren. “The corporate wing of the Democratic party is publicly ‘anybody but Bernie’.”
His campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, said in a statement that the party’s moderate faction had effectively “declared war on Senator Sanders” and denounced Third Way as a “Washington thinktank that takes Wall Street money.”
Sanders and his allies argue that the Democratic party’s turn toward corporatism led to Trump’s rise and that the theory of political electability advanced by Third Way and other centrists is no match for the mood of the electorate in a populist moment. At a party event in California earlier this month, the Democratic hopeful John Hickenlooper was booed by the audience for saying socialism is “not the answer”.
After more than two years of watching liberals rise, moderates again feel ascendant. Emboldened by the results of the 2018 midterm elections, which saw pragmatic Democrats win in dozens of Republican-held districts to deliver a majority in the House of Representatives, they are increasingly vocal in their disdain for socialism – and Sanders.
But the question of how to constrain Sanders is complicated. In 2016, Trump defeated a wide field of more experienced and more qualified candidates with a populist message that appealed to the right’s anti-establishment anger. In a race with a similarly large field of candidates, Sanders enters with far more advantages than Trump did: the Vermont senator is both experienced and qualified, with a dedicated following, a prodigious small-dollar fundraising operation, a developed economic platform and a populist appeal that surges when he is attacked by the political establishment he ran against to great effect in 2016.
Trump and Republicans continue to hurl the socialism label at the Democrat field. On Tuesday night, Trump warned in a speech formally launching his re-election campaign: “A vote for any Democrat in 2020 is a vote for the rise of radical socialism and the destruction of the American dream.”
None of Sanders’s 23 competitors have embraced a socialist platform. Warren, who is nipping at his heels in some recent polls, distinguishes herself as a capitalist.
Attitudes toward socialism are shifting in the US. Recent surveys have found that young people and women associate socialism with European countries rather than Soviet Russia. Yet socialism remains broadly unpopular: less than half of American voters say they would vote for a “qualified presidential candidate who is a socialist”, according to a Gallup poll released in May.
‘Who’s better on the economy?’AdvertisementThe mood at the conference vacillated from nervous optimism to nervous pessimism about Democrats’ prospects for beating Trump in 2020.
“If we don’t nominate a self-proclaimed socialist, we’ll probably be OK,” said Jen Psaki, who was White House communications director under Obama. “I hope so.”
But the former North Dakota senator Heidi Heitkamp, who lost re-election in 2018, warned that Democrats would continue to lose the White House and the US Senate unless the party makes inroads with rural voters.
“We have stopped talking to the middle of the country,” said Heitkamp, who launched One Country Project that seeks to “re-engage rural America”. “People feel like we’ve abandoned the bread-and-butter issues, and people in rural America feel it more accutely.”
Emphasizing her point, she said that if farmers from her state were asked to name the three biggest problems in rural America, “not one would say: antitrust”.
During the final panel of the day, Jim Messina, Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, predicted the 2020 election will be extremely close.
“We could be sitting on election day not knowing who will win,” he said.
‘Get off Twitter’
Several speakers urged those in the room to “get off Twitter” and venture into the real world, where far fewer Democrats are engaged in “faculty lounge debates over political ideology”.
“There is a potential that the hyper-hyper-engaged – the extremely online voters that are paying attention right now – might be able to drive the direction of the campaigns,” said Lanae Erickson, a senior vice-president at Third Way.
She presented a poll conducted by the thinktank that found only one in 10 Democratic primary voters tweet regularly. When compared with the wider Democratic electorate, this cohort of “extremely online” Democrats are far less likely to identify as moderate, are more likely to have participated in a protest and support progressives policies such as Medicare for All.
Moderates’ theory on how to win in 2020, as described by one panelist during the conference, is to appeal to the “woke and the still waking”. The best candidate, they argue, is someone who can mobilize a Democratic base that is increasingly young, diverse and liberal, while still appealing to independents, moderate Republicans and working-class voters who could decide the election.
This is not achieved with “warmed-over 1990s centrism”, said Cowan, but neither is it achieved by “1960s Nordic-style socialism”.
“Voters do not want mushy, bland, empty Democratic centrism,” Cowan said. “But that’s not who this rising generation of swing district winners are.”
On Monday evening, one of those new House members, the South Carolina congressman Joe Cunningham, welcomed the group to his district, which the 37-year-old flipped last year after decades of Republican control.
Cunningham said he did not win his race by promising Medicare for All or by demonizing Republicans. Rather, he said he won by positioning himself as a moderate who was willing to work across the aisle and occasionally buck his own party.
Like a football coach rallying his team before a game, Cunningham said Republicans who run to the right to embrace Trump are “ceding more and more middle ground”.
“There is so much middle ground to gain in 2020,” he shouted. “I say we take it!”
corporate bitches trying to block progress!!!
Centrist Democrats raise concerns over $15 minimum wage push
BY CRISTINA MARCOS AND NIV ELIS - The Hill
06/14/19 06:00 AM EDT
House Democrats are moving forward with legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, despite concerns from centrist lawmakers about the impact on lower-cost areas.
Democratic leaders say they’re close to clinching the 218 votes needed to pass the bill, which they expect to bring to the floor in July.
All but 29 of the 235 Democratic lawmakers in the House have cosponsored the measure. Many of the holdouts are moderates who are concerned that a significant wage boost in a short period of time could have an unintended effect in more rural settings.
“I am concerned about the fact that $15 is an arbitrary number that means a lot more in certain parts of the country than it does another,” said Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who flipped a seat in 2018 that had been held by Republicans for years.
“I believe there are better mechanisms by which we can ensure that by providing incentives to enterprises who take better care of people,” Phillips said, adding that he was on the fence about supporting the bill.
The legislation would raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 within five years and index future increases to median wage growth.
Raising the minimum wage has been a staple of Democratic policy for years. But Congress has only voted twice in the past two decades to increase the minimum wage, and it has been stagnant at its current rate since 2009.
Many Democrats argue that raising the minimum wage is key to helping workers and reducing poverty, while also lowering dependence on government welfare programs.
But other Democrats argue that in a country as economically diverse as the United States, an across-the-board base wage doesn’t make sense.
“The minimum wage in San Francisco should probably be $30 an hour, OK? But the minimum wage in West Virginia or Arkansas is a different story,” said freshman Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (D-N.J.), whose state recently moved to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2024.
Businesses have also raised concerns about increasing labor costs in places that have a lower cost of living.
“Fifteen dollars in New York City is not the same as $15 in Oklahoma City,” said Shannon Meade, vice president of public policy at the National Restaurant Association, a group that has raised red flags about a provision in the bill to gradually move tipped workers over to the standard minimum wage.
“Raising it too soon or too high will hurt small businesses, force a reduction in hours available to work and potentially put restaurants out of business,” she said.
Van Drew acknowledged that he’s heard from business interests in his state and elsewhere that “don’t love” raising the minimum wage to $15. At the same time, he said establishing a national standard would ensure that states like his aren’t at a disadvantage if a neighboring state — Pennsylvania, in his case — has a lower minimum wage.
“There are folks in my state that feel, 'Well, gee, if we've got to put up with it, we have it already, let's compete on an equal footing and let every state have it,’” Van Drew said.
For now, Van Drew said he is leaning toward voting for the bill but wants to ensure it doesn’t negatively impact the minimum wage policies in New Jersey — concerns he has expressed to leadership.
“So my sense is, not my absolute promise, but my sense is that I would vote for it. I just have to continue to finish that evaluation that we're going through right now,” Van Drew said.
Progressives such as Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, dispute that incremental minimum wage hikes have negative effects on businesses and employment.
“Every time we've raised the minimum wage in Wisconsin, we've had more people enter the job market and businesses have done fine,” he said.
Progressives won over some moderate Democrats with the promise of a Government Accountability Office study to measure the effects of the wage increase on businesses, Pocan said.
A senior Democratic aide said that leadership is discussing with members a number of amendments, including one that would study the impact on small businesses, as they work to clinch 218 votes.
Some Democrats have suggested allowing lower-cost parts of the country to raise the minimum wage more slowly, an approach that would be achieved by a bill Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) introduced in April.
But House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) suggested that establishing a minimum wage on a regional basis wouldn’t be feasible.
“There would be some congressional districts with three minimum wages. Some franchises would have minimum wages in different restaurants,” Scott said. “The more you think about it, the less it works.”
Even if Democrats muster the votes to pass the bill in the House, there is little chance that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would bring it up for a vote.
Democrats such as Phillips argue that if Democrats want their bill signed into law, an alternative approach is needed to win over Republicans.
“I think there's a way to build bridges with Republicans, especially business owners, who recognize that the intersection here is encouraging through incentives and and encouraging employee ownership,” he said.
In the meantime, proponents of raising the minimum wage nationally are focused on getting enough House Democrats on board for the floor vote.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), a Progressive Caucus co-chair, said there are some Democrats who aren’t co-sponsors of the bill but have committed to voting for it.
“We believe that we have the votes,” Jayapal said. “We're there, we just need to bring the bill to the floor now.”
Democratic leaders say they’re close to clinching the 218 votes needed to pass the bill, which they expect to bring to the floor in July.
All but 29 of the 235 Democratic lawmakers in the House have cosponsored the measure. Many of the holdouts are moderates who are concerned that a significant wage boost in a short period of time could have an unintended effect in more rural settings.
“I am concerned about the fact that $15 is an arbitrary number that means a lot more in certain parts of the country than it does another,” said Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who flipped a seat in 2018 that had been held by Republicans for years.
“I believe there are better mechanisms by which we can ensure that by providing incentives to enterprises who take better care of people,” Phillips said, adding that he was on the fence about supporting the bill.
The legislation would raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 within five years and index future increases to median wage growth.
Raising the minimum wage has been a staple of Democratic policy for years. But Congress has only voted twice in the past two decades to increase the minimum wage, and it has been stagnant at its current rate since 2009.
Many Democrats argue that raising the minimum wage is key to helping workers and reducing poverty, while also lowering dependence on government welfare programs.
But other Democrats argue that in a country as economically diverse as the United States, an across-the-board base wage doesn’t make sense.
“The minimum wage in San Francisco should probably be $30 an hour, OK? But the minimum wage in West Virginia or Arkansas is a different story,” said freshman Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (D-N.J.), whose state recently moved to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2024.
Businesses have also raised concerns about increasing labor costs in places that have a lower cost of living.
“Fifteen dollars in New York City is not the same as $15 in Oklahoma City,” said Shannon Meade, vice president of public policy at the National Restaurant Association, a group that has raised red flags about a provision in the bill to gradually move tipped workers over to the standard minimum wage.
“Raising it too soon or too high will hurt small businesses, force a reduction in hours available to work and potentially put restaurants out of business,” she said.
Van Drew acknowledged that he’s heard from business interests in his state and elsewhere that “don’t love” raising the minimum wage to $15. At the same time, he said establishing a national standard would ensure that states like his aren’t at a disadvantage if a neighboring state — Pennsylvania, in his case — has a lower minimum wage.
“There are folks in my state that feel, 'Well, gee, if we've got to put up with it, we have it already, let's compete on an equal footing and let every state have it,’” Van Drew said.
For now, Van Drew said he is leaning toward voting for the bill but wants to ensure it doesn’t negatively impact the minimum wage policies in New Jersey — concerns he has expressed to leadership.
“So my sense is, not my absolute promise, but my sense is that I would vote for it. I just have to continue to finish that evaluation that we're going through right now,” Van Drew said.
Progressives such as Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, dispute that incremental minimum wage hikes have negative effects on businesses and employment.
“Every time we've raised the minimum wage in Wisconsin, we've had more people enter the job market and businesses have done fine,” he said.
Progressives won over some moderate Democrats with the promise of a Government Accountability Office study to measure the effects of the wage increase on businesses, Pocan said.
A senior Democratic aide said that leadership is discussing with members a number of amendments, including one that would study the impact on small businesses, as they work to clinch 218 votes.
Some Democrats have suggested allowing lower-cost parts of the country to raise the minimum wage more slowly, an approach that would be achieved by a bill Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) introduced in April.
But House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) suggested that establishing a minimum wage on a regional basis wouldn’t be feasible.
“There would be some congressional districts with three minimum wages. Some franchises would have minimum wages in different restaurants,” Scott said. “The more you think about it, the less it works.”
Even if Democrats muster the votes to pass the bill in the House, there is little chance that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would bring it up for a vote.
Democrats such as Phillips argue that if Democrats want their bill signed into law, an alternative approach is needed to win over Republicans.
“I think there's a way to build bridges with Republicans, especially business owners, who recognize that the intersection here is encouraging through incentives and and encouraging employee ownership,” he said.
In the meantime, proponents of raising the minimum wage nationally are focused on getting enough House Democrats on board for the floor vote.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), a Progressive Caucus co-chair, said there are some Democrats who aren’t co-sponsors of the bill but have committed to voting for it.
“We believe that we have the votes,” Jayapal said. “We're there, we just need to bring the bill to the floor now.”
Blue Dogs look to move forward on infrastructure project
BY JULIE GRACE BRUFKE - The Hill
06/11/19 07:54 AM EDT
Top members of the centrist Democrat Blue Dog Coalition are holding out hope for bipartisan accomplishments on pressing infrastructure projects.
Rep. Tom O'Halleran (D-Ariz.) the group’s co-chairman for policy, and Reps. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.) and Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), the co-chairs on its task force on infrastructure and job creation, in a letter on Monday requested input from think tanks, labor, environmental groups, small business groups and the business community on regulatory reform and policy solutions.
“Earlier this year, the Blue Dog Coalition sent a letter to House Democratic leadership calling on Congress to prioritize fixing our nation's crumbling infrastructure. Our constituents sent us to Congress to deliver on our promise to fix our nation's crumbling infrastructure-no progress is not an option," the lawmaker wrote.
“Americans are tired of the partisan feuding, and they rightfully expect both the President and Congress to do their jobs—and that's to govern,” they added.
“If both parties cannot come together on a bold, bipartisan infrastructure package and a way to pay for it, then it is incumbent on Congress to focus on areas of potential agreement: addressing projects that have been paid for and continue to be held up by red tape.”
The lawmakers said they are looking for ways to streamline regulations while ensuring environmental standards are maintained, noting that they feel it’s critical to get bills to the president’s desk to fix the nation’s “crumbling infrastructure.”
“In the coming weeks and months, the Blue Dogs will explore ways we can address the most urgent projects and spur a serious, bipartisan discussion on how to improve infrastructure regulation,” they wrote.
“As we move forward with our policy process, we encourage our stakeholders, including you, to participate and send us your priorities when it comes to regulatory improvement and addressing our most urgent projects.”
The letter follows a deal in principle between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and President Trump to spend $2 trillion on infrastructure fell through earlier this year.
“This is the start of a larger policy process for the Blue Dog Coalition leading up to an announcement in the months ahead on Coalition-backed regulatory improvement policies,” a senior aide associated with the Blue Dogs told The Hill.
“The Blue Dogs believe that if both parties cannot agree on a larger infrastructure package or a way to pay for it, then Congress should focus on what it can get done – and that focuses on projects that are already paid for, adhere to important environmental standards, and yet continue to be held up by red tape.”
Rep. Tom O'Halleran (D-Ariz.) the group’s co-chairman for policy, and Reps. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.) and Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), the co-chairs on its task force on infrastructure and job creation, in a letter on Monday requested input from think tanks, labor, environmental groups, small business groups and the business community on regulatory reform and policy solutions.
“Earlier this year, the Blue Dog Coalition sent a letter to House Democratic leadership calling on Congress to prioritize fixing our nation's crumbling infrastructure. Our constituents sent us to Congress to deliver on our promise to fix our nation's crumbling infrastructure-no progress is not an option," the lawmaker wrote.
“Americans are tired of the partisan feuding, and they rightfully expect both the President and Congress to do their jobs—and that's to govern,” they added.
“If both parties cannot come together on a bold, bipartisan infrastructure package and a way to pay for it, then it is incumbent on Congress to focus on areas of potential agreement: addressing projects that have been paid for and continue to be held up by red tape.”
The lawmakers said they are looking for ways to streamline regulations while ensuring environmental standards are maintained, noting that they feel it’s critical to get bills to the president’s desk to fix the nation’s “crumbling infrastructure.”
“In the coming weeks and months, the Blue Dogs will explore ways we can address the most urgent projects and spur a serious, bipartisan discussion on how to improve infrastructure regulation,” they wrote.
“As we move forward with our policy process, we encourage our stakeholders, including you, to participate and send us your priorities when it comes to regulatory improvement and addressing our most urgent projects.”
The letter follows a deal in principle between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and President Trump to spend $2 trillion on infrastructure fell through earlier this year.
“This is the start of a larger policy process for the Blue Dog Coalition leading up to an announcement in the months ahead on Coalition-backed regulatory improvement policies,” a senior aide associated with the Blue Dogs told The Hill.
“The Blue Dogs believe that if both parties cannot agree on a larger infrastructure package or a way to pay for it, then Congress should focus on what it can get done – and that focuses on projects that are already paid for, adhere to important environmental standards, and yet continue to be held up by red tape.”
Training to be a corporate lackey!!!
AT DEMOCRATIC RETREAT, CHIEFS OF STAFF COACHED ON SCHMOOZING WITH K STREET
Ryan Grim -The Intercept
June 6 2019, 9:06 a.m
DEMOCRATIC CHIEFS OF STAFF gathered on Thursday for a retreat to hash out strategy for the coming year and orient themselves in Washington. One of the key agenda items: “How to Engage Downtown.”
“Downtown” in Washington is a reference to K Street, where the city’s lobbying industry has set up shop. Downtown is the destination for many a chief of staff in their post-congressional career, and that knowledge — as much or even more than campaign contributions — helps shape legislative strategies.
The annual retreat is hosted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Cheri Bustos, an Illinois Democrat. A spokesperson for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., referred questions on the retreat to the DCCC, which didn’t immediately respond. The Washington retreat concludes with a happy hour, at which the chiefs can “meet members of the DC Downtown Community.”
The “downtown community,” on the panel on how to engage with lobbyists, is represented at the retreat by Jonathan Smith, an Uber lobbyist and former chief of staff to a House Democrat, as well as Virgil Miller, a lobbyist with Akin Gump, a powerhouse firm in Washington.
There is no agenda item focused on how to engage with the new progressive energy in the party pushing for a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, or other sweeping reforms.
The retreat, while part management training, also included political advice of questionable value, sources there said. Fighting President Donald Trump over impeachment or immigration plays into his hands, the chiefs were told, so it’s better to stick to terrain that’s safe for Democrats, such as shoring up the Affordable Care Act and lowering drug prices. Decrying corruption in Washington, they were advised, merely breeds cynicism, which can hurt Democrats.
“Downtown” in Washington is a reference to K Street, where the city’s lobbying industry has set up shop. Downtown is the destination for many a chief of staff in their post-congressional career, and that knowledge — as much or even more than campaign contributions — helps shape legislative strategies.
The annual retreat is hosted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Cheri Bustos, an Illinois Democrat. A spokesperson for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., referred questions on the retreat to the DCCC, which didn’t immediately respond. The Washington retreat concludes with a happy hour, at which the chiefs can “meet members of the DC Downtown Community.”
The “downtown community,” on the panel on how to engage with lobbyists, is represented at the retreat by Jonathan Smith, an Uber lobbyist and former chief of staff to a House Democrat, as well as Virgil Miller, a lobbyist with Akin Gump, a powerhouse firm in Washington.
There is no agenda item focused on how to engage with the new progressive energy in the party pushing for a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, or other sweeping reforms.
The retreat, while part management training, also included political advice of questionable value, sources there said. Fighting President Donald Trump over impeachment or immigration plays into his hands, the chiefs were told, so it’s better to stick to terrain that’s safe for Democrats, such as shoring up the Affordable Care Act and lowering drug prices. Decrying corruption in Washington, they were advised, merely breeds cynicism, which can hurt Democrats.
The Democratic Establishment Sells Out!!!
The DNC’s New Finance Chair Embodies Everything the Left Hates About the Democratic Establishment
It’s not just his past criticisms of Bernie Sanders: Chris Korge has a long history of working to subvert the party’s progressive wing.
BY BRANKO MARCETIC - In These Times
JUNE 3, 2019
On May 5, Chris Korge was chosen to replace Henry Muñoz as the new finance chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Recent news reports have described Korge as a “Miami attorney” and a “top fundraiser.” Other titles Korge has carried have included “big-time lobbyist,” “retail czar” and “king of the airport lobbyists.”
Korge’s appointment has already sparked a small controversy, after a donation to Kamala Harris’
campaign and some old tweets of his that were critical of Bernie Sanders—including one claiming that the “only Bern the middle class will feel from Bernie is the pain from all the tax increases”—sparked concerns his presence in the DNC would augur a repeat of 2016 when the DNC was accused of harboring an anti-Sanders bias.
But there are other reasons Korge’s appointment may inspire concern from progressives. At a time when the DNC is attempting to shed a reputation of backing conservative candidates, engaging in pay-to-play politics and being subject to corporate influence, its new finance chairman embodies these trends.
Korge’s political influence and connections were forged through more than a decade of influence peddling in Miami-Dade County that virtually melded his political work with his and the city’s business. And while he’s not a lobbyist anymore, Korge remains a prominent businessman in the state whose fortunes depend partly on the favor of local elected officials.
Since the 1990s, Korge has been a leading fundraiser and something of a Democratic kingmaker in Florida—a crucial state for the party. Korge has used his corporate connections and fundraising power to both promote candidates and gain the ears of successive presidents. For much of that time, Korge also served as a lobbyist, using those same connections to secure lucrative deals for his clients.
Throughout much of his career, Korge's rise and influence has often been linked to the political success of Alex Penelas, a Cuban-American councilman for the Florida city of Hialeah who served as the mayor of Miami-Dade County from 1996 to 2004. (Penelas, now a lobbyist, is running for mayor again in 2020.)
Penelas is remembered today largely for the numerous allegations of corruption that dogged his time as mayor and diminished public trust in the county government, many of which centered around his relationship to Korge. Before that, Korge was one of several lobbyists who moonlit as Penelas' top fundraisers for his successful 1990 bid for county commissioner. During that campaign, Penelas pummeled his opponent for having ties to lobbyists.
Korge’s connection to Penelas quickly became a point of controversy. During a December 1991 debate among commissioners over how to dole out an extra $48 million of tax money, Penelas was accused by fellow commissioner Joe Gersten of doing Korge’s bidding when he pushed to bestow an added $350,000 a year to the Miami Arena. At the time, Korge was one of three registered lobbyists for arena managers. “If you don’t like Chris Korge, say it, for God’s sake!” Penelas shouted, according to reports. “I think the issue is, you do like Chris Korge,” Gersten replied.
In the following years, Korge lobbied for several clients working against the interests of city government and the people it represented. Korge was one of the go-to lobbyists for a number of companies that wanted to delay impending new safety standards for hurricane shutters in April 1994.
In 1995 he helped local golfing legend Charlie DeLucca secure what was described as a “sweetheart deal” and “giveaway.” The deal saw the city spend nearly $4 million to renovate the Melreese Golf Course, before handing over a 30-year lease to private developers who would pay $275,000 a year in rent, while the city paid $300,000 a year to pay for improvements. Under the deal, the city would only start making a profit off of the course after 17 years. The same year, he acted as part of, in the words of the Miami Herald, a “Dream Team of Dade lobbyists,” working to privatize the county’s water and sewer department to the chagrin of unions and the department's employees.
“The secret to becoming influential is the willingness to support something you believe in,” Korge later said. “A lot of times, people don't want to take the chance of being on someone's side.”
By the mid-1990s, Korge had acquired a reputation as one of the most politically powerful people not just in the county, but all of South Florida. Through high-priced events that brought donors together with local and other Democratic officials, Korge quickly became one of the DNC’s major fundraisers. Then-president Bill Clinton stopped by for dinner at Korge’s Pinecrest home in 1997, and Korge even stayed the night at the White House.
“There are probably a dozen dealmakers in this town, then there are 30 or 40 wannabes,” Maurice Ferre, the former mayor of Miami, later said. “The king of them all is Chris Korge.”
Korge worked to maintain his influence. Though publicly expressing ambivalence toward lobbying (“Not very much,” he replied when asked in 1998 if he liked being a lobbyist), he joined a lobbyist-led effort in 1998 to derail proposed lobbying reforms, including lobbyist disclosure requirements for companies wanting to do business with the county, which would have brought a measure of transparency to the influence peddling endemic to the county government. He later spoke out against a proposal to make County Hall lobbyists disclose how much their clients were paying them.
By this time, Korge’s relationship with Penelas—for whose successful mayoral campaign Korge had raised $2.4 million—came increasingly under scrutiny. A sworn deposition by a Penelas aide in a 1998 civil suit against the county revealed the degree to which business interests held sway in his office. The aide testified that Penelas regularly sought advice from an informal circle of friends, family, businesspeople and fundraisers, including Korge.
After former county manager Armando Vidal was fired by Penelas in 1998 over charges of corruption, Vidal claimed he had been pressured to approve a no-bid contract for gift stores and newsstands at Miami International Airport (MIA) for Sirgany/Century. Sirgany had several connections to the mayor's office, including Korge, who had not only worked in the company’s warehouse in his teens, but now counted it as a client.
The lucrative Sirgany contract—which gave the company control of 19 newsstands at MIA, or more than half of its available retail space, for another five years—became a consistent source of scandal for Penelas. A series of investigations by the Miami Herald in 1999 revealed the extent to which political cronyism dominated at MIA, centering around Korge, whom the paper described as “the airport’s unofficial retail czar.”
Korge, it turned out, counted as clients all four major concession operators at MIA, who controlled approximately 90 percent of food and shopping space at the airport, a stranglehold they’d held since 1992. When MIA had put newsstands out for bid that year, Sirgany had twice lost out in evaluations by airport staff. The Miami-Dade County Commission overruled them, with Penelas, then a commissioner, pushing for an immediate vote that ended with Sirgany scoring a 10-year deal. According to the Herald, Penelas went against staff recommendations three times to support Korge’s clients’ MIA bids.
Once Penelas won his election, Korge was known to drop references to the new mayor’s office and what it was supposedly comfortable with while pushing his clients' interests, unwittingly backed up by Penelas. “I've heard that many times, and I have expressed my displeasure on many, many occasions,” he told the Herald. Many of the deals held by Korge’s clients saw no other bidders, and one consultant for Disney complained he had spent three years trying to make inroads into the airport before giving up, concluding “that fighting Chris Korge was not worthwhile.”
Further Herald investigations in the 2000s turned the matter into yet another headache for Penelas. Dade Aviation Consultants (DAC), a Korge client that Penelas had convinced the Commission to grant a $15 million-a-year contract to in exchange for overseeing the MIA’s expansion, was found to have paid $1.3 million worth of fees to Korge and other lobbyists whom it kept on retainer. This $1.3 million was essentially public money, since DAC got its revenue from not just the contract, but landing fees paid by airlines.
DAC was being habitually shaken down by Penelas, Korge and other officials and lobbyists to pitch in money for campaigns and other causes. At one point, Penelas and Korge requested that DAC give $50,000 to the DNC. A report by the county’s Office of the Inspector General that reviewed DAC’s performance over 10 years of its contract found not only that the company had no method to record and measure its work, but that $2.9 million could have been saved every year by simply having airport staff do the same work.
The issue flared up again in 2002, when the Herald uncovered that Host Marriott Services Corp (HMSC), a Korge client that had secured a 10-year concessions contract at MIA on the condition that it operated with minority partners, had been paying those partners tens of thousands of dollars a month to pretend they were running eight restaurants. In fact, HMSC was operating all the concessions, while those involved produced records and reports falsely claiming millions of dollars worth of sales. The partners in turn kicked 10 percent of the monthly sum from HMSC to Korge, who had organized the arrangement.
“In the voluminous annals of airport sleaze, the Host Marriott deal will go down as a classic,” wrote the Herald’s Carl Hiaasen.
The case sparked a years-long joint corruption probe by the Miami-Dade Police, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office that resulted in no indictments. Miami-Dade Police Director Carlos Alvarez pulled his detectives off the case in November 2003 even as he said it was “clear-cut” that laws had been broken, charging that the U.S. Attorney was hesitant to bring charges in a case involving so many powerful political players. The case may well have helped torpedo Penelas’ bid for Senate in 2004, however, which Korge, as one of Penelas’ closest political confidantes, was involved in.
This kind of influence peddling wasn’t limited to the MIA either, as Korge’s clients appeared to miraculously beat the competition in other areas of city business. In 1999, when the Commission had to decide between a $19 million bid from BellSouth to provide pay telephone services in county facilities and a $50 million offer from AT&T, the Commission chose BellSouth, Korge’s client, even though it meant far less money for the county (BellSouth later donated generously to the Gore campaign). In 2001, the Commission rejected appeals for new bids on a government transit program, with disabled residents who relied on the service complaining the operator at the time, Korge’s client, Advanced Transportation Solutions, provided a dreadful service that regularly arrived hours late, even just to ride a few miles.
Korge’s rising political fortunes were stalled by Al Gore’s loss to George W. Bush in 2000. He chose to consolidate his influence within the Democratic Party, having spent the preceding years raising millions of dollars for both the DNC and the Gore campaign, while further ingratiating himself to the Clintons. Besides staying the night at the White House, Korge hosted then-President Bill Clinton for a viewing of the first presidential debate between Bush and Gore, and he turned his fundraising prowess to Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign.
Korge used his influence in Democratic politics, and within Florida in particular, to support and recruit centrist to conservative candidates. In 2001, he convinced former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Pete Peterson, a former fighter pilot and POW with a centrist record in Congress, to run against Jeb Bush for governor, before Peterson bowed out a few months later, citing the “war on terror.” In 2006, he backed Rod Smith in the Democratic primary for governor of Florida, who received an A rating from the NRA and had co-sponsored “stand your ground” legislation, and was opposed by environmentalists for his closeness to agribusiness.
“I told him, ‘Listen, You're wasting your time,’” Korge told the Orlando Sentinel in 2006 about meeting Smith. “But by the time he left, not only was I giving him checks and getting involved, but I was convinced that he could win the general election.”
Another figure on the receiving end of Korge’s generosity was a young Marco Rubio, who received $500 from Korge in 1999 for his campaign for state representative in the 111th district. Korge did not donate to Rubio’s Democratic opponent, Anastasia Garcia.
In 2008, Korge served as a key figure in Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, at one point raising $1 million for her in a single night. When she lost the primary, Korge became a top bundler for Barack Obama, a position he was disappointed to find came with less access than that of his relationship with the Clintons.
“I’ve had almost no communication with the White House,” he complained to the Washington Post in 2009 after raising $5.5 million for the Obama campaign.
Korge raised funds for Obama again in 2012, and most recently was involved in Andrew Gillum’s unsuccessful bid for governor in 2018. As late as March 2019, Korge and a handful of other top Democratic donors were waiting for former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who Korge has known for more than three decades, to enter the 2020 presidential contest. Like Korge, McAuliffe was a former lobbyist and major Democratic fundraiser who’s had his own brush with the law and has represented some unseemly clients. McAuliffe has praised Korge’s selection as DNC finance chair.
Despite leaving behind the lobbying game more than a decade ago, Korge has maintained a link to his past. Besides working as an attorney and real estate developer, Korge is the chairman of NewsLink, an airport concession business formed in 2004 that operates in several different airports in Florida and the Northeast, including MIA. When MIA executives urged the commission to finally open new bids for shops and restaurants in 2012, NewsLink fiercely opposed the move, with its president and CEO declaring that “this is not the time to go to public solicitation.” Ironically, Korge and NewsLink complained years later when businesses with government connections received no-bid contracts with the MIA.
In 2017, Korge, arguing that construction and train delays at MIA had led to lost revenue for NewsLink, requested a lease extension and a kiosk as compensation, a request denied by the airport. Korge did what he had always done: he took his request to the mayor’s office instead. In an earlier time, when Penelas was mayor and Korge was king of county lobbyists, it may well have been fast-tracked and approved. This time, Korge had to wait in line like everyone else.
The following year, Korge opposed county legislation that would have forced concession operators to pay a “living wage” of up to $15 an hour, despite NewsLink generating $55 million of revenue in 2016. “We couldn't pay a living wage,” he told the Miami Herald.
While Korge hasn’t been a lobbyist for some time, the appointment of someone with his history to the DNC may well rub up against the organization’s attempt to rebrand in the wake of 2016, when it faced accusations of pay-to-play and was criticized for blurring the line between public service and private enrichment.
Perhaps none of this will ultimately matter to the party’s base and voters in general as long as Korge keeps the money flowing. The real test will come in August, when the DNC votes on whether or not to keep Korge on as finance chair.
Recent news reports have described Korge as a “Miami attorney” and a “top fundraiser.” Other titles Korge has carried have included “big-time lobbyist,” “retail czar” and “king of the airport lobbyists.”
Korge’s appointment has already sparked a small controversy, after a donation to Kamala Harris’
campaign and some old tweets of his that were critical of Bernie Sanders—including one claiming that the “only Bern the middle class will feel from Bernie is the pain from all the tax increases”—sparked concerns his presence in the DNC would augur a repeat of 2016 when the DNC was accused of harboring an anti-Sanders bias.
But there are other reasons Korge’s appointment may inspire concern from progressives. At a time when the DNC is attempting to shed a reputation of backing conservative candidates, engaging in pay-to-play politics and being subject to corporate influence, its new finance chairman embodies these trends.
Korge’s political influence and connections were forged through more than a decade of influence peddling in Miami-Dade County that virtually melded his political work with his and the city’s business. And while he’s not a lobbyist anymore, Korge remains a prominent businessman in the state whose fortunes depend partly on the favor of local elected officials.
Since the 1990s, Korge has been a leading fundraiser and something of a Democratic kingmaker in Florida—a crucial state for the party. Korge has used his corporate connections and fundraising power to both promote candidates and gain the ears of successive presidents. For much of that time, Korge also served as a lobbyist, using those same connections to secure lucrative deals for his clients.
Throughout much of his career, Korge's rise and influence has often been linked to the political success of Alex Penelas, a Cuban-American councilman for the Florida city of Hialeah who served as the mayor of Miami-Dade County from 1996 to 2004. (Penelas, now a lobbyist, is running for mayor again in 2020.)
Penelas is remembered today largely for the numerous allegations of corruption that dogged his time as mayor and diminished public trust in the county government, many of which centered around his relationship to Korge. Before that, Korge was one of several lobbyists who moonlit as Penelas' top fundraisers for his successful 1990 bid for county commissioner. During that campaign, Penelas pummeled his opponent for having ties to lobbyists.
Korge’s connection to Penelas quickly became a point of controversy. During a December 1991 debate among commissioners over how to dole out an extra $48 million of tax money, Penelas was accused by fellow commissioner Joe Gersten of doing Korge’s bidding when he pushed to bestow an added $350,000 a year to the Miami Arena. At the time, Korge was one of three registered lobbyists for arena managers. “If you don’t like Chris Korge, say it, for God’s sake!” Penelas shouted, according to reports. “I think the issue is, you do like Chris Korge,” Gersten replied.
In the following years, Korge lobbied for several clients working against the interests of city government and the people it represented. Korge was one of the go-to lobbyists for a number of companies that wanted to delay impending new safety standards for hurricane shutters in April 1994.
In 1995 he helped local golfing legend Charlie DeLucca secure what was described as a “sweetheart deal” and “giveaway.” The deal saw the city spend nearly $4 million to renovate the Melreese Golf Course, before handing over a 30-year lease to private developers who would pay $275,000 a year in rent, while the city paid $300,000 a year to pay for improvements. Under the deal, the city would only start making a profit off of the course after 17 years. The same year, he acted as part of, in the words of the Miami Herald, a “Dream Team of Dade lobbyists,” working to privatize the county’s water and sewer department to the chagrin of unions and the department's employees.
“The secret to becoming influential is the willingness to support something you believe in,” Korge later said. “A lot of times, people don't want to take the chance of being on someone's side.”
By the mid-1990s, Korge had acquired a reputation as one of the most politically powerful people not just in the county, but all of South Florida. Through high-priced events that brought donors together with local and other Democratic officials, Korge quickly became one of the DNC’s major fundraisers. Then-president Bill Clinton stopped by for dinner at Korge’s Pinecrest home in 1997, and Korge even stayed the night at the White House.
“There are probably a dozen dealmakers in this town, then there are 30 or 40 wannabes,” Maurice Ferre, the former mayor of Miami, later said. “The king of them all is Chris Korge.”
Korge worked to maintain his influence. Though publicly expressing ambivalence toward lobbying (“Not very much,” he replied when asked in 1998 if he liked being a lobbyist), he joined a lobbyist-led effort in 1998 to derail proposed lobbying reforms, including lobbyist disclosure requirements for companies wanting to do business with the county, which would have brought a measure of transparency to the influence peddling endemic to the county government. He later spoke out against a proposal to make County Hall lobbyists disclose how much their clients were paying them.
By this time, Korge’s relationship with Penelas—for whose successful mayoral campaign Korge had raised $2.4 million—came increasingly under scrutiny. A sworn deposition by a Penelas aide in a 1998 civil suit against the county revealed the degree to which business interests held sway in his office. The aide testified that Penelas regularly sought advice from an informal circle of friends, family, businesspeople and fundraisers, including Korge.
After former county manager Armando Vidal was fired by Penelas in 1998 over charges of corruption, Vidal claimed he had been pressured to approve a no-bid contract for gift stores and newsstands at Miami International Airport (MIA) for Sirgany/Century. Sirgany had several connections to the mayor's office, including Korge, who had not only worked in the company’s warehouse in his teens, but now counted it as a client.
The lucrative Sirgany contract—which gave the company control of 19 newsstands at MIA, or more than half of its available retail space, for another five years—became a consistent source of scandal for Penelas. A series of investigations by the Miami Herald in 1999 revealed the extent to which political cronyism dominated at MIA, centering around Korge, whom the paper described as “the airport’s unofficial retail czar.”
Korge, it turned out, counted as clients all four major concession operators at MIA, who controlled approximately 90 percent of food and shopping space at the airport, a stranglehold they’d held since 1992. When MIA had put newsstands out for bid that year, Sirgany had twice lost out in evaluations by airport staff. The Miami-Dade County Commission overruled them, with Penelas, then a commissioner, pushing for an immediate vote that ended with Sirgany scoring a 10-year deal. According to the Herald, Penelas went against staff recommendations three times to support Korge’s clients’ MIA bids.
Once Penelas won his election, Korge was known to drop references to the new mayor’s office and what it was supposedly comfortable with while pushing his clients' interests, unwittingly backed up by Penelas. “I've heard that many times, and I have expressed my displeasure on many, many occasions,” he told the Herald. Many of the deals held by Korge’s clients saw no other bidders, and one consultant for Disney complained he had spent three years trying to make inroads into the airport before giving up, concluding “that fighting Chris Korge was not worthwhile.”
Further Herald investigations in the 2000s turned the matter into yet another headache for Penelas. Dade Aviation Consultants (DAC), a Korge client that Penelas had convinced the Commission to grant a $15 million-a-year contract to in exchange for overseeing the MIA’s expansion, was found to have paid $1.3 million worth of fees to Korge and other lobbyists whom it kept on retainer. This $1.3 million was essentially public money, since DAC got its revenue from not just the contract, but landing fees paid by airlines.
DAC was being habitually shaken down by Penelas, Korge and other officials and lobbyists to pitch in money for campaigns and other causes. At one point, Penelas and Korge requested that DAC give $50,000 to the DNC. A report by the county’s Office of the Inspector General that reviewed DAC’s performance over 10 years of its contract found not only that the company had no method to record and measure its work, but that $2.9 million could have been saved every year by simply having airport staff do the same work.
The issue flared up again in 2002, when the Herald uncovered that Host Marriott Services Corp (HMSC), a Korge client that had secured a 10-year concessions contract at MIA on the condition that it operated with minority partners, had been paying those partners tens of thousands of dollars a month to pretend they were running eight restaurants. In fact, HMSC was operating all the concessions, while those involved produced records and reports falsely claiming millions of dollars worth of sales. The partners in turn kicked 10 percent of the monthly sum from HMSC to Korge, who had organized the arrangement.
“In the voluminous annals of airport sleaze, the Host Marriott deal will go down as a classic,” wrote the Herald’s Carl Hiaasen.
The case sparked a years-long joint corruption probe by the Miami-Dade Police, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office that resulted in no indictments. Miami-Dade Police Director Carlos Alvarez pulled his detectives off the case in November 2003 even as he said it was “clear-cut” that laws had been broken, charging that the U.S. Attorney was hesitant to bring charges in a case involving so many powerful political players. The case may well have helped torpedo Penelas’ bid for Senate in 2004, however, which Korge, as one of Penelas’ closest political confidantes, was involved in.
This kind of influence peddling wasn’t limited to the MIA either, as Korge’s clients appeared to miraculously beat the competition in other areas of city business. In 1999, when the Commission had to decide between a $19 million bid from BellSouth to provide pay telephone services in county facilities and a $50 million offer from AT&T, the Commission chose BellSouth, Korge’s client, even though it meant far less money for the county (BellSouth later donated generously to the Gore campaign). In 2001, the Commission rejected appeals for new bids on a government transit program, with disabled residents who relied on the service complaining the operator at the time, Korge’s client, Advanced Transportation Solutions, provided a dreadful service that regularly arrived hours late, even just to ride a few miles.
Korge’s rising political fortunes were stalled by Al Gore’s loss to George W. Bush in 2000. He chose to consolidate his influence within the Democratic Party, having spent the preceding years raising millions of dollars for both the DNC and the Gore campaign, while further ingratiating himself to the Clintons. Besides staying the night at the White House, Korge hosted then-President Bill Clinton for a viewing of the first presidential debate between Bush and Gore, and he turned his fundraising prowess to Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign.
Korge used his influence in Democratic politics, and within Florida in particular, to support and recruit centrist to conservative candidates. In 2001, he convinced former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Pete Peterson, a former fighter pilot and POW with a centrist record in Congress, to run against Jeb Bush for governor, before Peterson bowed out a few months later, citing the “war on terror.” In 2006, he backed Rod Smith in the Democratic primary for governor of Florida, who received an A rating from the NRA and had co-sponsored “stand your ground” legislation, and was opposed by environmentalists for his closeness to agribusiness.
“I told him, ‘Listen, You're wasting your time,’” Korge told the Orlando Sentinel in 2006 about meeting Smith. “But by the time he left, not only was I giving him checks and getting involved, but I was convinced that he could win the general election.”
Another figure on the receiving end of Korge’s generosity was a young Marco Rubio, who received $500 from Korge in 1999 for his campaign for state representative in the 111th district. Korge did not donate to Rubio’s Democratic opponent, Anastasia Garcia.
In 2008, Korge served as a key figure in Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, at one point raising $1 million for her in a single night. When she lost the primary, Korge became a top bundler for Barack Obama, a position he was disappointed to find came with less access than that of his relationship with the Clintons.
“I’ve had almost no communication with the White House,” he complained to the Washington Post in 2009 after raising $5.5 million for the Obama campaign.
Korge raised funds for Obama again in 2012, and most recently was involved in Andrew Gillum’s unsuccessful bid for governor in 2018. As late as March 2019, Korge and a handful of other top Democratic donors were waiting for former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who Korge has known for more than three decades, to enter the 2020 presidential contest. Like Korge, McAuliffe was a former lobbyist and major Democratic fundraiser who’s had his own brush with the law and has represented some unseemly clients. McAuliffe has praised Korge’s selection as DNC finance chair.
Despite leaving behind the lobbying game more than a decade ago, Korge has maintained a link to his past. Besides working as an attorney and real estate developer, Korge is the chairman of NewsLink, an airport concession business formed in 2004 that operates in several different airports in Florida and the Northeast, including MIA. When MIA executives urged the commission to finally open new bids for shops and restaurants in 2012, NewsLink fiercely opposed the move, with its president and CEO declaring that “this is not the time to go to public solicitation.” Ironically, Korge and NewsLink complained years later when businesses with government connections received no-bid contracts with the MIA.
In 2017, Korge, arguing that construction and train delays at MIA had led to lost revenue for NewsLink, requested a lease extension and a kiosk as compensation, a request denied by the airport. Korge did what he had always done: he took his request to the mayor’s office instead. In an earlier time, when Penelas was mayor and Korge was king of county lobbyists, it may well have been fast-tracked and approved. This time, Korge had to wait in line like everyone else.
The following year, Korge opposed county legislation that would have forced concession operators to pay a “living wage” of up to $15 an hour, despite NewsLink generating $55 million of revenue in 2016. “We couldn't pay a living wage,” he told the Miami Herald.
While Korge hasn’t been a lobbyist for some time, the appointment of someone with his history to the DNC may well rub up against the organization’s attempt to rebrand in the wake of 2016, when it faced accusations of pay-to-play and was criticized for blurring the line between public service and private enrichment.
Perhaps none of this will ultimately matter to the party’s base and voters in general as long as Korge keeps the money flowing. The real test will come in August, when the DNC votes on whether or not to keep Korge on as finance chair.
demos to ignore for 2020!!!
2020 Democrats, Stop Helping The Right Wing
We're looking at YOU, John Hickenlooper. And YOU, Seth Moulton.
By John Amato - crooks & liars
5/30/19 6:18am
The liberal wing of the Democratic Party (which is most of it nowadays) has been demanding social justice and social change for women, for minorities, and for the working class for a long time now.
These calls, however, have been mangled by the conservative media and turned into Republican propaganda talking points, helped along by the GOP. And sometimes Democrats help.
The former Colorado Governor and current 2020 candidate John Hickenlooper is one of those giving aid and comfort to Trump and the Republicans.
“If we don't stand up and say that we Democrats don't stand for socialism, we're going to end up reelecting the worst president this country's ever had," Hickenlooper said.
Hickenlooper embraces and perpetuates the same tired Republican meme that they express on a 24-hour loop on Fox News and in the Trump administration.
If we demand health care for all, that's turned into the government running death panels and controlling your doctors.
If we ask the rich to pay their fair share, they claim we're stealing their money and giving it to the brown people and undocumented immigrants.
If we demand a raise in the minimum wage to help workers, they claim it destroys jobs and is worse for the poor.
When we ask for corporate accountability they claim it's a takeover of the American dream.
If we demand reasonable gun control laws, they claim we want to obliterate the Second Amendment.
Lies upon lies upon more lies.
Bernie Sanders, the socialist Senator from Vermont, has helped promote what many people in this country truly believe are moral ways for corporate America and the federal government to enhance the lives of Americans. Many of the polls now show the American believe it’s proper to tax the rich, to guarantee healthcare as a right, to care for the elderly, and enhance the social safety net for the poor and needy.
Bernie's not calling for a socialist takeover, and neither is the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. But when conservative and right-leaning Democrats use the same agitprop to attack the left they only embolden Donald Trump and his minions, giving them cover for insipid and disgraceful attacks.
Democratic candidates do not have to denounce something they do not believe in or is a lie, however they must -- I repeat, MUST -- promote and defend values and policies that are best for the American people and not for CEOs and insanely wealthy people.
Stand strong and say it proud. We stand for social justice and there is nothing wrong with that.
These calls, however, have been mangled by the conservative media and turned into Republican propaganda talking points, helped along by the GOP. And sometimes Democrats help.
The former Colorado Governor and current 2020 candidate John Hickenlooper is one of those giving aid and comfort to Trump and the Republicans.
“If we don't stand up and say that we Democrats don't stand for socialism, we're going to end up reelecting the worst president this country's ever had," Hickenlooper said.
Hickenlooper embraces and perpetuates the same tired Republican meme that they express on a 24-hour loop on Fox News and in the Trump administration.
If we demand health care for all, that's turned into the government running death panels and controlling your doctors.
If we ask the rich to pay their fair share, they claim we're stealing their money and giving it to the brown people and undocumented immigrants.
If we demand a raise in the minimum wage to help workers, they claim it destroys jobs and is worse for the poor.
When we ask for corporate accountability they claim it's a takeover of the American dream.
If we demand reasonable gun control laws, they claim we want to obliterate the Second Amendment.
Lies upon lies upon more lies.
Bernie Sanders, the socialist Senator from Vermont, has helped promote what many people in this country truly believe are moral ways for corporate America and the federal government to enhance the lives of Americans. Many of the polls now show the American believe it’s proper to tax the rich, to guarantee healthcare as a right, to care for the elderly, and enhance the social safety net for the poor and needy.
Bernie's not calling for a socialist takeover, and neither is the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. But when conservative and right-leaning Democrats use the same agitprop to attack the left they only embolden Donald Trump and his minions, giving them cover for insipid and disgraceful attacks.
Democratic candidates do not have to denounce something they do not believe in or is a lie, however they must -- I repeat, MUST -- promote and defend values and policies that are best for the American people and not for CEOs and insanely wealthy people.
Stand strong and say it proud. We stand for social justice and there is nothing wrong with that.
OBAMA’S AGRICULTURE SECRETARY, NOW WORKING FOR THE DAIRY INDUSTRY, URGES 2020 DEMOCRATS TO BE NICE TO THE DAIRY INDUSTRY
David Dayen - the intercept
May 6 2019, 7:54 a.m.
IN A CAMPAIGN speech on Sunday at the Swine Arena in Osage, Iowa, Sen. Bernie Sanders outlined an agricultural policy rooted in breaking the power of vertically integrated farm monopolies. He called for breaking up consolidations in the pork, beef, corn, and soybean seed industries; an end to “contract farming” in which farmers raise livestock they do not own at low prices predetermined by agribusinesses; re-establishing the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration, which the Trump administration dissolved; and returning to a “price parity” system in which farmers can ensure a reasonable price above costs and supply is matched with demand.
Sanders is not alone among 2020 candidates in targeting big ag. Sen. Cory Booker’s strongest and most ambitious policy designs have been in the area of agriculture, and he introduced a moratorium and merger review bill last year. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s farm policy includes reversing mergers she says should have never been approved, like the Bayer-Monsanto deal that consolidated the seed and pesticide industry. Even former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has called modern antitrust enforcement a failure, supporting merger guidelines that encourage competition rather than the so-called consumer welfare standard.
With 30 percent of the Iowa economy tied up in agriculture, the concentration crisis seems like fertile ground for Democrats. The way of life of the independent family farmer is slowly slipping away, supplanted by mammoth agribusinesses: industrial-sized confinement lots, ruthless livestock companies and seed merchants, monoculture crops stretching for miles. These monopolists have grabbed a significant share of food profits; farmers used to earn 37 cents of every retail dollar, now down toonly 15.
Any Democrat looking to improve life for everyday Iowans, then, could highlight preventing or reversing big ag consolidation as a way to salvage rural America. Anyone, that is, except for Tom Vilsack, former Iowa governor and former President Barack Obama’s agriculture secretary. Which makes sense, because he’s a mouthpiece for the corporate dairy industry.
Vilsack was heavily recruited to run for Senate against Republican Joni Ernst in 2020, but announced earlier this year that he would take a pass. Speaking on the “Iowa Starting Line” podcast last month, he warned Democratic candidates against talking about farm monopolies. “Well, there are a substantial number of people hired and employed by those businesses here in Iowa,” Vilsack said. “So you’re essentially saying to all of those folks, you might be out of a job. That’s not to me a winning message.”
If the conversation is about lost jobs, Vilsack has it backward: Farm consolidation causes job loss, from family farmers cashing out to Bayer cutting 12,000 jobs when it merged with Monsanto.
But his message will come as a relief to his industry employers.
Vilsack is president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, joining just days after wrapping up as Obama’s agriculture secretary. The council’s members include the large corporate players who have made the dairy business a rolling disaster in America.
Prices for milk have plummeted since 2014, leading to the closure of around 4,600 dairy farms per year, a number that is expected to accelerate. The problem is a small set of monopoly purchasers. A single processor slowing purchases, as Grassland Dairy Products did in 2017, can lead to disaster. Some dairy companies have begun to include a list of suicide prevention hotlines in the envelope with farmers’ checks.
For the most part, only large factory farmers have remained viable; the average number of cows per dairy farm has doubled since 2004.
In the past, cooperatives would organize dairy farmers to protect their interests against consolidated buyers. But co-ops now include monopoly giants like Dairy Farmers of America, which “represents” 13,000 farmers producing 30 percent of the raw milk supply. As a hybrid producer and buyer, DFA can dictate terms to farmers in areas where there’s no alternative. They also own or partner with milk processors and marketers, meaning that they make more money when they keep prices to co-op members low.
DFA’s $14 billion in annual revenue rarely gets shared with its own members, unless forced. Last year, DFA paid out a $50 million class-action settlement to 9,000 farms for cornering the raw milk market and driving down prices in the Northeast, including Sanders’s state of Vermont. That followed a $140 million settlement in the Southeast in 2012.
Vilsack did disclose his affiliation at the top of the “Iowa Startling Line” interview, saying, “I work for dairy farmers and the dairy industry in the country as we try to export dairy products around the world.” But if farmers aren’t profiting from what they produce, expanded exports do little for them.
The U.S. Dairy Export Council is funded through direct grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market Access Program, a marketing fund that gave the organization $4.7 million in public dollars last year, along with the dairy “checkoff” program, in which farmers kick in 7.5 cents for every 100 pounds of milk they sell for promotional campaigns. Checkoff programs have been savaged by farm reform groups and 2020 candidates like Warren, because the money often goes to lobbying activities for big ag.
In the last available disclosure form from the U.S Dairy Export Council’s corporate parent, from 2016, Vilsack’s predecessor in the organization, Thomas Suber, earned $753,620. “I’m surprisingly more busy now than I was when I was secretary,” Vilsack noted to “Iowa Starting Line.”
In the interview, Vilsack insisted that breaking up agricultural monopolies would do nothing for farmers “because a company of the broken-up companies will hold the patent to the seed. And as long as they hold the patent, they’re going to be able to license that technology to all those other smaller companies.” He suggested reducing patent protections on seeds from 20 years to five years.
This is a fine idea; Sanders actually endorsed it in his agricultural policy speech. But it skillfully avoids anything that would affect Vilsack’s job. Seeds are not the only input on farms, and crops are not the only items raised. In his answer about farm monopolies, dairy and livestock didn’t come up.
Furthermore, Vilsack completely contradicted himself moments later in the interview by saying, “It’s not so much the input costs that these guys are worried about, it’s their lack of market opportunity.” He endorsed creating local food markets (an odd thing for the head of an export council to say), where farmers can negotiate “directly as the producer with you the consumer.” This is precisely what isn’t done by Vilsack’s employers in the dairy industry, who force prices downward in anti-competitive ways.
Not all Iowa Democrats parrot Vilsack’s corporate-friendly line. Last year, former Iowa congressional candidate J.D. Scholten nearly defeated white nationalist Steve King in a right-wing district on a platform that rested heavily on going hard at Monsanto and other monopolistic banes of rural life.
At the beginning of the Obama administration, Vilsack’s Department of Agriculture and the Justice Department convened five public workshopsaround the country to discuss agricultural and antitrust enforcement. This was seen as a prelude to real action to help farmers. It led nowhere. Enforcers declined to take action. “The Obama Justice Department looked at this and decided we would have a very difficult time getting through the process,” Vilsack said to “Iowa Starting Line.” Critics argue that the administration was simply intimidated by pushback from the industry.
For his part, Vilsack failed to finalize new rules in the initial two years that would have banned big ag retaliation against farmers and given them stronger legal tools to prevent abuse. When Republicans took over Congress in 2011, they bottled up these rules for years. Vilsack only completed them in the administration’s final days, and even then in weakened form. Because they hadn’t taken effect yet, the Trump administration swiftly nullified the rules.
Krysta Harden, Vilsack’s top deputy at the Department of Agriculture, last month also joined up with the dairy industry, running global environmental strategy at Dairy Management Inc., the parent company of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, which Vilsack runs.
Pulling rank on the 2020 field, Vilsack claimed that the fervor over agricultural monopolies stems from “folks in think tanks in urban centers who have had very little experience, if any, with rural places.” Most 2020 candidates haven’t taken Vilsack’s advice, including the junior senator from the dairy state of Vermont.
“I come from a state where agriculture is very important,” Sanders told HuffPost last month. “Literally every week another farmer is going out of business … so the answer is vigorous antitrust legislation, break them up.”
Sanders is not alone among 2020 candidates in targeting big ag. Sen. Cory Booker’s strongest and most ambitious policy designs have been in the area of agriculture, and he introduced a moratorium and merger review bill last year. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s farm policy includes reversing mergers she says should have never been approved, like the Bayer-Monsanto deal that consolidated the seed and pesticide industry. Even former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has called modern antitrust enforcement a failure, supporting merger guidelines that encourage competition rather than the so-called consumer welfare standard.
With 30 percent of the Iowa economy tied up in agriculture, the concentration crisis seems like fertile ground for Democrats. The way of life of the independent family farmer is slowly slipping away, supplanted by mammoth agribusinesses: industrial-sized confinement lots, ruthless livestock companies and seed merchants, monoculture crops stretching for miles. These monopolists have grabbed a significant share of food profits; farmers used to earn 37 cents of every retail dollar, now down toonly 15.
Any Democrat looking to improve life for everyday Iowans, then, could highlight preventing or reversing big ag consolidation as a way to salvage rural America. Anyone, that is, except for Tom Vilsack, former Iowa governor and former President Barack Obama’s agriculture secretary. Which makes sense, because he’s a mouthpiece for the corporate dairy industry.
Vilsack was heavily recruited to run for Senate against Republican Joni Ernst in 2020, but announced earlier this year that he would take a pass. Speaking on the “Iowa Starting Line” podcast last month, he warned Democratic candidates against talking about farm monopolies. “Well, there are a substantial number of people hired and employed by those businesses here in Iowa,” Vilsack said. “So you’re essentially saying to all of those folks, you might be out of a job. That’s not to me a winning message.”
If the conversation is about lost jobs, Vilsack has it backward: Farm consolidation causes job loss, from family farmers cashing out to Bayer cutting 12,000 jobs when it merged with Monsanto.
But his message will come as a relief to his industry employers.
Vilsack is president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, joining just days after wrapping up as Obama’s agriculture secretary. The council’s members include the large corporate players who have made the dairy business a rolling disaster in America.
Prices for milk have plummeted since 2014, leading to the closure of around 4,600 dairy farms per year, a number that is expected to accelerate. The problem is a small set of monopoly purchasers. A single processor slowing purchases, as Grassland Dairy Products did in 2017, can lead to disaster. Some dairy companies have begun to include a list of suicide prevention hotlines in the envelope with farmers’ checks.
For the most part, only large factory farmers have remained viable; the average number of cows per dairy farm has doubled since 2004.
In the past, cooperatives would organize dairy farmers to protect their interests against consolidated buyers. But co-ops now include monopoly giants like Dairy Farmers of America, which “represents” 13,000 farmers producing 30 percent of the raw milk supply. As a hybrid producer and buyer, DFA can dictate terms to farmers in areas where there’s no alternative. They also own or partner with milk processors and marketers, meaning that they make more money when they keep prices to co-op members low.
DFA’s $14 billion in annual revenue rarely gets shared with its own members, unless forced. Last year, DFA paid out a $50 million class-action settlement to 9,000 farms for cornering the raw milk market and driving down prices in the Northeast, including Sanders’s state of Vermont. That followed a $140 million settlement in the Southeast in 2012.
Vilsack did disclose his affiliation at the top of the “Iowa Startling Line” interview, saying, “I work for dairy farmers and the dairy industry in the country as we try to export dairy products around the world.” But if farmers aren’t profiting from what they produce, expanded exports do little for them.
The U.S. Dairy Export Council is funded through direct grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market Access Program, a marketing fund that gave the organization $4.7 million in public dollars last year, along with the dairy “checkoff” program, in which farmers kick in 7.5 cents for every 100 pounds of milk they sell for promotional campaigns. Checkoff programs have been savaged by farm reform groups and 2020 candidates like Warren, because the money often goes to lobbying activities for big ag.
In the last available disclosure form from the U.S Dairy Export Council’s corporate parent, from 2016, Vilsack’s predecessor in the organization, Thomas Suber, earned $753,620. “I’m surprisingly more busy now than I was when I was secretary,” Vilsack noted to “Iowa Starting Line.”
In the interview, Vilsack insisted that breaking up agricultural monopolies would do nothing for farmers “because a company of the broken-up companies will hold the patent to the seed. And as long as they hold the patent, they’re going to be able to license that technology to all those other smaller companies.” He suggested reducing patent protections on seeds from 20 years to five years.
This is a fine idea; Sanders actually endorsed it in his agricultural policy speech. But it skillfully avoids anything that would affect Vilsack’s job. Seeds are not the only input on farms, and crops are not the only items raised. In his answer about farm monopolies, dairy and livestock didn’t come up.
Furthermore, Vilsack completely contradicted himself moments later in the interview by saying, “It’s not so much the input costs that these guys are worried about, it’s their lack of market opportunity.” He endorsed creating local food markets (an odd thing for the head of an export council to say), where farmers can negotiate “directly as the producer with you the consumer.” This is precisely what isn’t done by Vilsack’s employers in the dairy industry, who force prices downward in anti-competitive ways.
Not all Iowa Democrats parrot Vilsack’s corporate-friendly line. Last year, former Iowa congressional candidate J.D. Scholten nearly defeated white nationalist Steve King in a right-wing district on a platform that rested heavily on going hard at Monsanto and other monopolistic banes of rural life.
At the beginning of the Obama administration, Vilsack’s Department of Agriculture and the Justice Department convened five public workshopsaround the country to discuss agricultural and antitrust enforcement. This was seen as a prelude to real action to help farmers. It led nowhere. Enforcers declined to take action. “The Obama Justice Department looked at this and decided we would have a very difficult time getting through the process,” Vilsack said to “Iowa Starting Line.” Critics argue that the administration was simply intimidated by pushback from the industry.
For his part, Vilsack failed to finalize new rules in the initial two years that would have banned big ag retaliation against farmers and given them stronger legal tools to prevent abuse. When Republicans took over Congress in 2011, they bottled up these rules for years. Vilsack only completed them in the administration’s final days, and even then in weakened form. Because they hadn’t taken effect yet, the Trump administration swiftly nullified the rules.
Krysta Harden, Vilsack’s top deputy at the Department of Agriculture, last month also joined up with the dairy industry, running global environmental strategy at Dairy Management Inc., the parent company of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, which Vilsack runs.
Pulling rank on the 2020 field, Vilsack claimed that the fervor over agricultural monopolies stems from “folks in think tanks in urban centers who have had very little experience, if any, with rural places.” Most 2020 candidates haven’t taken Vilsack’s advice, including the junior senator from the dairy state of Vermont.
“I come from a state where agriculture is very important,” Sanders told HuffPost last month. “Literally every week another farmer is going out of business … so the answer is vigorous antitrust legislation, break them up.”
Has Krysten Sinema become the Joe Manchin of the West?
Sinema’s overall voting record during her three months in the U.S. Senate has been quite centrist
ALEX HENDERSON - salon
APRIL 22, 2019 5:51PM (UTC)
The 2018 blue wave did a lot to energize the liberal/progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Unapologetically left-of-center candidates like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and Bernie Sanders ally John Fetterman became lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania. But there were many centrist Democratic victories as well in 2018; one of the biggest was Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s narrow victory over Republican Martha McSally in Arizona, where Sinema took over a U.S. Senate seat that had been in Republican hands for decades.
Sinema has a way of infuriating far-right culture warriors, who are deeply troubled by the fact that she is openly bisexual and by her fondness for wearing thigh-high boots on the Senate floor. But Sinema’s overall voting record during her three months in the Senate has been quite centrist, and if she were a politician in the U.K., she would probably fit in with the Conservative Party or be a Tory.
The 42-year-old Sinema doesn’t get really high marks from right-wing organizations, although she fares better than many other Democrats. The National Rifle Association (NRA) has given her a 33% favorability rating. The Goldwater Institute gave Sinema a 35% favorable rating in 2010, and according to FiveThirtyEight, she was voting in line with Trump 58% of the time in March—which is how often Sen. Joe Manchin (widely regarded as the most pro-Trump Democrat in the Senate) was voting with Trump. In contrast, Ocasio-Cortez was voting with Trump only 13.6% of the time.
Here are some of Sinema’s more conservative or centrist votes or positions:
1. Sinema supports Obamacare but opposes single payer or Medicare for all
Arizona Republicans and Tea Party activists in Arizona have described Sinema as “far left,” but her record doesn’t bear that out by any means. During her victory speech in November, it wasn’t Sen. Bernie Sanders who Sinema praised—but rather, the late Sen. John McCain. Sinema is liberal on social issues, including gay rights and abortion (she receives a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood). Yet in other areas, she is shaping up to be the Joe Manchin of the west.
When she was serving in the House of Representatives, Sinema voted against repealing the Affordable Care Act of 2010, a.k.a. Obamacare. She favors universal healthcare via expanding the ACA but opposes the type of single payer or Medicare-for-all programthat Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have been fighting for.
2. Sinema voted to confirm William Barr as attorney general
Many Democrats in the Senate voted against confirming Trump nominee William Barr as attorney general. But Sinema was among the Blue Dog Democrats who voted for Barr’s confirmation; others included Sen. Joe Manchin and Alabama Sen. Doug Jones.
3. Sinema voted against the Green New Deal
Sinema was among the few Democrats to vote against the Green New Deal after it was introduced by Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey. The Tucson native favors green energy, and she does not consider climate change a hoax—unlike much of the Republican Party. But Sinema has said she does not view the Green New Deal as the best way to address climate change.
4. Sinema has been criticized by net neutrality activists
In March, the pro-net neutrality group Fight for the Future criticized Sinema for not signing on to the Save the Internet Act and complained that she was “siding with corporate donors to kill net neutrality so you pay more for worse Internet.”
President Trump and his carnival barkers at Fox News often describe the Democratic Party as having moved the far left, which is nonsense. The rise of Sanders admirers like Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib doesn’t mean that the entire party is staunchly to the left, but rather, simply means that liberals and progressives now have a larger voice within the party.
The centrist Blue Dog wing of the Democratic Party hardly disappeared in the 2018 midterms. The Democratic Party is still a big tent, and judging from her voting record in 2019, Sinema is shaping up to be one of the biggest swing votes in the United States Senate.
Sinema has a way of infuriating far-right culture warriors, who are deeply troubled by the fact that she is openly bisexual and by her fondness for wearing thigh-high boots on the Senate floor. But Sinema’s overall voting record during her three months in the Senate has been quite centrist, and if she were a politician in the U.K., she would probably fit in with the Conservative Party or be a Tory.
The 42-year-old Sinema doesn’t get really high marks from right-wing organizations, although she fares better than many other Democrats. The National Rifle Association (NRA) has given her a 33% favorability rating. The Goldwater Institute gave Sinema a 35% favorable rating in 2010, and according to FiveThirtyEight, she was voting in line with Trump 58% of the time in March—which is how often Sen. Joe Manchin (widely regarded as the most pro-Trump Democrat in the Senate) was voting with Trump. In contrast, Ocasio-Cortez was voting with Trump only 13.6% of the time.
Here are some of Sinema’s more conservative or centrist votes or positions:
1. Sinema supports Obamacare but opposes single payer or Medicare for all
Arizona Republicans and Tea Party activists in Arizona have described Sinema as “far left,” but her record doesn’t bear that out by any means. During her victory speech in November, it wasn’t Sen. Bernie Sanders who Sinema praised—but rather, the late Sen. John McCain. Sinema is liberal on social issues, including gay rights and abortion (she receives a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood). Yet in other areas, she is shaping up to be the Joe Manchin of the west.
When she was serving in the House of Representatives, Sinema voted against repealing the Affordable Care Act of 2010, a.k.a. Obamacare. She favors universal healthcare via expanding the ACA but opposes the type of single payer or Medicare-for-all programthat Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have been fighting for.
2. Sinema voted to confirm William Barr as attorney general
Many Democrats in the Senate voted against confirming Trump nominee William Barr as attorney general. But Sinema was among the Blue Dog Democrats who voted for Barr’s confirmation; others included Sen. Joe Manchin and Alabama Sen. Doug Jones.
3. Sinema voted against the Green New Deal
Sinema was among the few Democrats to vote against the Green New Deal after it was introduced by Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey. The Tucson native favors green energy, and she does not consider climate change a hoax—unlike much of the Republican Party. But Sinema has said she does not view the Green New Deal as the best way to address climate change.
4. Sinema has been criticized by net neutrality activists
In March, the pro-net neutrality group Fight for the Future criticized Sinema for not signing on to the Save the Internet Act and complained that she was “siding with corporate donors to kill net neutrality so you pay more for worse Internet.”
President Trump and his carnival barkers at Fox News often describe the Democratic Party as having moved the far left, which is nonsense. The rise of Sanders admirers like Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib doesn’t mean that the entire party is staunchly to the left, but rather, simply means that liberals and progressives now have a larger voice within the party.
The centrist Blue Dog wing of the Democratic Party hardly disappeared in the 2018 midterms. The Democratic Party is still a big tent, and judging from her voting record in 2019, Sinema is shaping up to be one of the biggest swing votes in the United States Senate.
NANCY PELOSI’S DRUG-PRICING TALKS WITH THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ARE ABOUT MEDIATING FIGHTS BETWEEN CORPORATE INTERESTS
David Dayen
April 22 2019, 4:30 a.m.
A LOBBYIST FOR the hospital and insurance industries, as well as pharmacy benefit manager middlemen who negotiate with drug companies for discounts, is among the small handful of policy experts advising House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on her drug-pricing legislation strategy. The lobbyist, Lauren Aronson, has been working closely with top Pelosi policy aide Wendell Primus and in consultation with the Trump administration to find a drug-pricing compromise solution.
Stat News first reported Aronson’s role in drug-pricing talks, which The Intercept was able to confirm. Aronson was previously a health policy adviser to Rahm Emanuel when he served in the House of Representatives.
“Our office meets with a wide variety of people, and Aronson is not involved in drafting Democrats’ prescription drug legislation,” said Pelosi spokesperson Henry Connelly.
While it’s in the short-term interest of insurance payers and providers to lower the cost of prescription drugs, the marriage of convenience could have its limits. Democrats from former President Barack Obama to 2020 hopeful Bernie Sanders have expressed support for interventions in the private insurance industry, from public insurance options to a Medicare for All system that abolishes insurers entirely. The House’s most powerful Democrat teaming up with insurers on drug prices may make it harder to consider more aggressive changes down the road.
Already, the House has taken the side of pharmacy benefit managers in a dispute with the Trump administration over drug company rebates. One of Aronson’s clients is the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, the leading trade group for pharmacy benefit managers.
The situation reveals a familiar dynamic in Washington, where political parties don’t debate each other on policy as much as they mediate fights between corporate interests. Almost everything on drug pricing coming out of the Trump administration, whose Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar was the president of drug company Eli Lilly, attacks pharmacy benefit managers and hospitals to the benefit of drug companies; almost everything coming out of the speaker’s office attacks drug companies to the benefit of pharmacy benefit managers and hospitals.
Aronson, the health industry lobbyist, worked at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and as policy director for the White House Office of Health Reform under Obama, where Emanuel served as chief of staff in 2009 and 2010.
In 2015, Aronson shifted to K Street, working for the powerful firm Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, where she is “uniquely equipped to help health clients achieve policy and political objectives,” according to the company’s website. Aronson is also the executive director of the Campaign for Sustainable Drug Pricing, or CSRxP, which describes itself as “a broad-based coalition of leaders — physicians, nurses, hospitals, consumers, health plans, PBMs, pharmacists, and businesses — promoting bipartisan, market-based solutions to lower drug prices in America.”
Members of the CSRxP are mostly large corporations and trade groups, including the American Hospital Association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, the American College of Physicians, and the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association. Hospital groups Ascension and Kaiser Permanente, insurance companies Anthem and Blue Cross Blue Shield, and pharmacy benefit managers CVS Health and Prime Therapeutics are also part of the coalition.
In a statement, CSRxP spokesperson Jon Conradi said, “Ms. Aronson and the CSRxP team have, and will continue to, work with Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to advance policies that hold Big Pharma accountable for their egregious pricing practices that are fleecing American consumers.”
As The Intercept has reported, Primus has been developing a policy since February, through which Medicare and drugmakers would submit prices for certain high-priced drugs, and a third-party arbitrator would select one of the two prices, or choose a third based on their own research.
Aronson is part of a team of policy experts developing the legislation. Others include Harvard professor Richard Frank, an Obama administration veteran who co-authored a Health Affairs studyintroducing the arbitration concept in 2008, and Johns Hopkins professor Gerard Anderson. These three have discussed the matter with Trump administration officials. Primus has expressed a desire to find a drug-pricing solution that President Donald Trump would sign.
Sources indicate that Frank Pallone, D-N.J., chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, would likely carry the arbitration bill.
House progressives have criticized the concept, because it hands over pricing decisions to an unaccountable and opaque third party.
Many have gotten behind legislation from Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, to require Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies, and if firms refused to reduce prices of a drug, to authorize compulsory licensing of that drug to generic manufacturers. That bill has 122 co-sponsors, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has been pushing a related idea around direct public manufacturing of generic drugs. Pharmaceutical lobbyists appear to be more comfortable with arbitration.
A third solution has emerged from the Center for American Progress’s health policy adviser Topher Spiro, who attended one meeting with Primus and other experts before the election but then broke with the group. He is working with House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal, D-Mass., on a bill that would negotiate directly with drug companies, enforced with an excess profit tax on any price increase beyond the current rate of medical inflation. “This would be much broader than the Doggett bill,” said a CAP spokesperson, saying that it would apply to all payers of drugs used by Medicare. “We’ve had productive discussions with the groups, Rep. Neal’s office, Rep. Doggett’s office, and Speaker Pelosi’s office in an attempt to find a bold, comprehensive solution that can lower drug prices for all Americans,” the CAP spokesperson added.
Connelly, Pelosi’s spokesperson, responded to questions about the drug-pricing negotiations by saying, “We’re continuing to incorporate feedback and ideas from members and stakeholders about how we can develop the toughest possible bill.”
HOUSE DEMOCRATS AND outside groups have sparred over the disparate options, behind the scenes and in public, which has led to fears that nothing will emerge on what was seen as the most promising avenue for bipartisan legislation in this Congress.
Drug company CEOs testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on April 10, and while lobbyists were pleased that there was no gotcha moment to point to like the infamous tobacco industry hearings in the 1990s, lobbyists were concerned that the CEOs were so compliant that members of Congress gained leverage over negotiations. There’s also an exploitable split between U.S.-owned drugmakers, who oppose any regulation on drug prices, and European-owned firms, who are more comfortable with it.
But while the environment is fertile for some solution, the intra-Democratic debate could frustrate any resolution. Policymakers see a narrow window to get something done before the 2020 elections take over. With several Democratic candidates eager to back legislation lowering drug prices, there’s concern that Trump won’t sign something his potential challengers want, and on the other side, Democrats may not want to give Trump a victory to kick off his re-election campaign.
Meanwhile, the role of the corporate coalition Aronson heads in the negotiations may be coloring Pelosi and Primus’s positions on other health-related policies. For example, House Democratic leadership has publicly rejected a proposed Health and Human Services rule to eliminate the legal kickbacks that pharmacy benefit managers get from negotiating rebates with drug companies.
Primus and Pelosi have said that removing rebates would not bring list prices for prescription drugs down an equivalent amount, and they’ve cited estimates from the Center on Medicare and Medicaid Services’sOffice of the Actuary suggesting higher consumer prices and government costs from the rebate rule. An HHS study from the data analysis firm Milliman found a far broader possible range of outcomes, from $135 billion in costs to consumers and government to $188 billion in savings.
“A plan that merely trusts Pharma to lower its prices hasn’t worked before, and it won’t work now,” said Connelly.
Of course, resisting the administration’s moves on rebates mirrors the position of the pharmacy benefit managers, one of Aronson’s key clients. Supporters of the HHS rule believe that ending rebates will change the business model for pharmacy benefit managers and control the misaligned incentives that lead to high list prices. Connelly noted that, in the context of drug price reform, “PBMs are going to have to step up too.”
The three leading pharmacy benefit managers that control the lion’s share of the market — CVS, Express Scripts, and OptumRx — have all merged or are merging with insurance companies (CVS with Aetna, Express Scripts with Cigna, and OptumRx with UnitedHealth). So siding with PBMs is effectively equivalent to siding with insurance companies, which are obviously the main obstacle (along with hospitals) to any expansion of Medicare or public insurance option in health markets.
Primus has also repeatedly downplayed support among the House leadership for a Medicare for All-style single-payer program, including in a presentation to insurance executives from Blue Cross Blue Shield. That company is also a member of Aronson’s Campaign for Sustainable Drug Pricing. Primus told the insurance executives, as the The Intercept previously reported, that Democratic leadership in the House would not be backing Medicare for All, but wanted help from insurance companies taking on pharmaceutical prices.
The Partnership for America’s Health Care Future has been running attack ads against Democratic single-payer supporters. That group has many coalition members in common with the Campaign for Sustainable Drug Pricing, including the American Hospital Association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, Ascension, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the Federation of American Hospitals.
The Affordable Care Act also had the backing of stakeholder industries, and while it expanded coverage for millions of Americans, it was always seen as an incremental and not comprehensive fix to a broken system, as evidenced by Democrats running on improving health care in the 2018 midterms. Former Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin referred to it as a “starter home.” With a hospital and insurance company lobbyist working closely with the speaker’s office, it’s difficult to see how that starter home will be allowed to build an addition.
Stat News first reported Aronson’s role in drug-pricing talks, which The Intercept was able to confirm. Aronson was previously a health policy adviser to Rahm Emanuel when he served in the House of Representatives.
“Our office meets with a wide variety of people, and Aronson is not involved in drafting Democrats’ prescription drug legislation,” said Pelosi spokesperson Henry Connelly.
While it’s in the short-term interest of insurance payers and providers to lower the cost of prescription drugs, the marriage of convenience could have its limits. Democrats from former President Barack Obama to 2020 hopeful Bernie Sanders have expressed support for interventions in the private insurance industry, from public insurance options to a Medicare for All system that abolishes insurers entirely. The House’s most powerful Democrat teaming up with insurers on drug prices may make it harder to consider more aggressive changes down the road.
Already, the House has taken the side of pharmacy benefit managers in a dispute with the Trump administration over drug company rebates. One of Aronson’s clients is the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, the leading trade group for pharmacy benefit managers.
The situation reveals a familiar dynamic in Washington, where political parties don’t debate each other on policy as much as they mediate fights between corporate interests. Almost everything on drug pricing coming out of the Trump administration, whose Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar was the president of drug company Eli Lilly, attacks pharmacy benefit managers and hospitals to the benefit of drug companies; almost everything coming out of the speaker’s office attacks drug companies to the benefit of pharmacy benefit managers and hospitals.
Aronson, the health industry lobbyist, worked at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and as policy director for the White House Office of Health Reform under Obama, where Emanuel served as chief of staff in 2009 and 2010.
In 2015, Aronson shifted to K Street, working for the powerful firm Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, where she is “uniquely equipped to help health clients achieve policy and political objectives,” according to the company’s website. Aronson is also the executive director of the Campaign for Sustainable Drug Pricing, or CSRxP, which describes itself as “a broad-based coalition of leaders — physicians, nurses, hospitals, consumers, health plans, PBMs, pharmacists, and businesses — promoting bipartisan, market-based solutions to lower drug prices in America.”
Members of the CSRxP are mostly large corporations and trade groups, including the American Hospital Association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, the American College of Physicians, and the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association. Hospital groups Ascension and Kaiser Permanente, insurance companies Anthem and Blue Cross Blue Shield, and pharmacy benefit managers CVS Health and Prime Therapeutics are also part of the coalition.
In a statement, CSRxP spokesperson Jon Conradi said, “Ms. Aronson and the CSRxP team have, and will continue to, work with Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to advance policies that hold Big Pharma accountable for their egregious pricing practices that are fleecing American consumers.”
As The Intercept has reported, Primus has been developing a policy since February, through which Medicare and drugmakers would submit prices for certain high-priced drugs, and a third-party arbitrator would select one of the two prices, or choose a third based on their own research.
Aronson is part of a team of policy experts developing the legislation. Others include Harvard professor Richard Frank, an Obama administration veteran who co-authored a Health Affairs studyintroducing the arbitration concept in 2008, and Johns Hopkins professor Gerard Anderson. These three have discussed the matter with Trump administration officials. Primus has expressed a desire to find a drug-pricing solution that President Donald Trump would sign.
Sources indicate that Frank Pallone, D-N.J., chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, would likely carry the arbitration bill.
House progressives have criticized the concept, because it hands over pricing decisions to an unaccountable and opaque third party.
Many have gotten behind legislation from Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, to require Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies, and if firms refused to reduce prices of a drug, to authorize compulsory licensing of that drug to generic manufacturers. That bill has 122 co-sponsors, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has been pushing a related idea around direct public manufacturing of generic drugs. Pharmaceutical lobbyists appear to be more comfortable with arbitration.
A third solution has emerged from the Center for American Progress’s health policy adviser Topher Spiro, who attended one meeting with Primus and other experts before the election but then broke with the group. He is working with House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal, D-Mass., on a bill that would negotiate directly with drug companies, enforced with an excess profit tax on any price increase beyond the current rate of medical inflation. “This would be much broader than the Doggett bill,” said a CAP spokesperson, saying that it would apply to all payers of drugs used by Medicare. “We’ve had productive discussions with the groups, Rep. Neal’s office, Rep. Doggett’s office, and Speaker Pelosi’s office in an attempt to find a bold, comprehensive solution that can lower drug prices for all Americans,” the CAP spokesperson added.
Connelly, Pelosi’s spokesperson, responded to questions about the drug-pricing negotiations by saying, “We’re continuing to incorporate feedback and ideas from members and stakeholders about how we can develop the toughest possible bill.”
HOUSE DEMOCRATS AND outside groups have sparred over the disparate options, behind the scenes and in public, which has led to fears that nothing will emerge on what was seen as the most promising avenue for bipartisan legislation in this Congress.
Drug company CEOs testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on April 10, and while lobbyists were pleased that there was no gotcha moment to point to like the infamous tobacco industry hearings in the 1990s, lobbyists were concerned that the CEOs were so compliant that members of Congress gained leverage over negotiations. There’s also an exploitable split between U.S.-owned drugmakers, who oppose any regulation on drug prices, and European-owned firms, who are more comfortable with it.
But while the environment is fertile for some solution, the intra-Democratic debate could frustrate any resolution. Policymakers see a narrow window to get something done before the 2020 elections take over. With several Democratic candidates eager to back legislation lowering drug prices, there’s concern that Trump won’t sign something his potential challengers want, and on the other side, Democrats may not want to give Trump a victory to kick off his re-election campaign.
Meanwhile, the role of the corporate coalition Aronson heads in the negotiations may be coloring Pelosi and Primus’s positions on other health-related policies. For example, House Democratic leadership has publicly rejected a proposed Health and Human Services rule to eliminate the legal kickbacks that pharmacy benefit managers get from negotiating rebates with drug companies.
Primus and Pelosi have said that removing rebates would not bring list prices for prescription drugs down an equivalent amount, and they’ve cited estimates from the Center on Medicare and Medicaid Services’sOffice of the Actuary suggesting higher consumer prices and government costs from the rebate rule. An HHS study from the data analysis firm Milliman found a far broader possible range of outcomes, from $135 billion in costs to consumers and government to $188 billion in savings.
“A plan that merely trusts Pharma to lower its prices hasn’t worked before, and it won’t work now,” said Connelly.
Of course, resisting the administration’s moves on rebates mirrors the position of the pharmacy benefit managers, one of Aronson’s key clients. Supporters of the HHS rule believe that ending rebates will change the business model for pharmacy benefit managers and control the misaligned incentives that lead to high list prices. Connelly noted that, in the context of drug price reform, “PBMs are going to have to step up too.”
The three leading pharmacy benefit managers that control the lion’s share of the market — CVS, Express Scripts, and OptumRx — have all merged or are merging with insurance companies (CVS with Aetna, Express Scripts with Cigna, and OptumRx with UnitedHealth). So siding with PBMs is effectively equivalent to siding with insurance companies, which are obviously the main obstacle (along with hospitals) to any expansion of Medicare or public insurance option in health markets.
Primus has also repeatedly downplayed support among the House leadership for a Medicare for All-style single-payer program, including in a presentation to insurance executives from Blue Cross Blue Shield. That company is also a member of Aronson’s Campaign for Sustainable Drug Pricing. Primus told the insurance executives, as the The Intercept previously reported, that Democratic leadership in the House would not be backing Medicare for All, but wanted help from insurance companies taking on pharmaceutical prices.
The Partnership for America’s Health Care Future has been running attack ads against Democratic single-payer supporters. That group has many coalition members in common with the Campaign for Sustainable Drug Pricing, including the American Hospital Association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, Ascension, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the Federation of American Hospitals.
The Affordable Care Act also had the backing of stakeholder industries, and while it expanded coverage for millions of Americans, it was always seen as an incremental and not comprehensive fix to a broken system, as evidenced by Democrats running on improving health care in the 2018 midterms. Former Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin referred to it as a “starter home.” With a hospital and insurance company lobbyist working closely with the speaker’s office, it’s difficult to see how that starter home will be allowed to build an addition.
screwing the taxpayer again!!!
Congress Is About to Ban the Government From Offering Free Online Tax Filing. Thank TurboTax.
A bill supported by Democrats and Republicans would make permanent a program that bars the IRS from ever developing its own online tax filing service.
by Justin Elliott - pro publica
April 9, 5 a.m. EDT
Just in time for Tax Day, the for-profit tax preparation industry is about to realize one of its long-sought goals. Congressional Democrats and Republicans are moving to permanently bar the IRS from creating a free electronic tax filing system.
Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., passed the Taxpayer First Act, a wide-ranging bill making several administrative changes to the IRS that is sponsored by Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Mike Kelly, R-Pa.
In one of its provisions, the bill makes it illegal for the IRS to create its own online system of tax filing. Companies like Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, and H&R Block have lobbied for years to block the IRS from creating such a system. If the tax agency created its own program, which would be similar to programs other developed countries have, it would threaten the industry’s profits.
“This could be a disaster. It could be the final nail in the coffin of the idea of the IRS ever being able to create its own program,” said Mandi Matlock, a tax attorney who does work for the National Consumer Law Center.
Experts have long argued that the IRS has failed to make filing taxes as easy and cheap as it could be. In addition to a free system of online tax preparation and filing, the agency could provide people with pre-filled tax forms containing the salary data the agency already has, as ProPublica first reported on in 2013.
The Free File Alliance, a private industry group, says 70% of American taxpayers are eligible to file for free. Those taxpayers, who must make less than $66,000, have access to free tax software provided by the companies. But just 3% of eligible U.S. taxpayers actually use the free program each year. Critics of the program say that companies use it as a cross-marketing tool to upsell paid products, that they have deliberately underpromoted the free option and that it leaves consumer data open to privacy breaches.
The congressional move would codify the status quo. Under an existing memorandum of understanding with the industry group, the IRS pledges not create its own online filing system and, in exchange, the companies offer their free filing services to those below the income threshold.
One member of the Free File Alliance explicitly told shareholders that the IRS “developing software or other systems to facilitate tax return preparation … may present a continued competitive threat to our business for the foreseeable future.”
The IRS’ deal with the Free File Alliance is regularly renegotiated and there have been repeated, bipartisan efforts in Congress to put the deal into law.
Those efforts have been fueled by hefty lobbying spending and campaign contributions by the industry. Intuit and H&R Block last year poured a combined $6.6 million into lobbying related to the IRS filing deal and other issues. Neal, who became Ways and Means chair this year after Democrats took control of the House, received $16,000 in contributions from Intuit and H&R Block in the last two election cycles.
Neal, who describes himself as a longtime champion of the existing Free File program, has argued that it would “would help low- and moderate-income taxpayers.”
Free File Alliance Executive Director Tim Hugo called it “a great idea when you can provide a great product — free tax returns — to Americans at no cost to the federal government.” An H&R Block spokesperson said the company believes “Free File should be the subject of ongoing improvement, and we are committed to working with all parties to strengthen and improve Free File on behalf of the American taxpayer.”
Spokespeople for Neal, Lewis and Kelly did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the provision. A companion Senate bill with the same provision has been introduced by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
While efforts to make the IRS’ deal with the tax preparation industry permanent have fizzled in the past, critics are particularly worried this year. The Taxpayer First Act also includes a provision that would restrict the IRS’ use of private debt collectors to those above a certain income. A Wyden spokesperson said the current bill is a “bipartisan, bicameral compromise so it includes priorities of both chairmen and ranking members.” Wyden “supports giving the IRS the resources it needs to offer more services to taxpayers,” the spokesperson added.
Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., passed the Taxpayer First Act, a wide-ranging bill making several administrative changes to the IRS that is sponsored by Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Mike Kelly, R-Pa.
In one of its provisions, the bill makes it illegal for the IRS to create its own online system of tax filing. Companies like Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, and H&R Block have lobbied for years to block the IRS from creating such a system. If the tax agency created its own program, which would be similar to programs other developed countries have, it would threaten the industry’s profits.
“This could be a disaster. It could be the final nail in the coffin of the idea of the IRS ever being able to create its own program,” said Mandi Matlock, a tax attorney who does work for the National Consumer Law Center.
Experts have long argued that the IRS has failed to make filing taxes as easy and cheap as it could be. In addition to a free system of online tax preparation and filing, the agency could provide people with pre-filled tax forms containing the salary data the agency already has, as ProPublica first reported on in 2013.
The Free File Alliance, a private industry group, says 70% of American taxpayers are eligible to file for free. Those taxpayers, who must make less than $66,000, have access to free tax software provided by the companies. But just 3% of eligible U.S. taxpayers actually use the free program each year. Critics of the program say that companies use it as a cross-marketing tool to upsell paid products, that they have deliberately underpromoted the free option and that it leaves consumer data open to privacy breaches.
The congressional move would codify the status quo. Under an existing memorandum of understanding with the industry group, the IRS pledges not create its own online filing system and, in exchange, the companies offer their free filing services to those below the income threshold.
One member of the Free File Alliance explicitly told shareholders that the IRS “developing software or other systems to facilitate tax return preparation … may present a continued competitive threat to our business for the foreseeable future.”
The IRS’ deal with the Free File Alliance is regularly renegotiated and there have been repeated, bipartisan efforts in Congress to put the deal into law.
Those efforts have been fueled by hefty lobbying spending and campaign contributions by the industry. Intuit and H&R Block last year poured a combined $6.6 million into lobbying related to the IRS filing deal and other issues. Neal, who became Ways and Means chair this year after Democrats took control of the House, received $16,000 in contributions from Intuit and H&R Block in the last two election cycles.
Neal, who describes himself as a longtime champion of the existing Free File program, has argued that it would “would help low- and moderate-income taxpayers.”
Free File Alliance Executive Director Tim Hugo called it “a great idea when you can provide a great product — free tax returns — to Americans at no cost to the federal government.” An H&R Block spokesperson said the company believes “Free File should be the subject of ongoing improvement, and we are committed to working with all parties to strengthen and improve Free File on behalf of the American taxpayer.”
Spokespeople for Neal, Lewis and Kelly did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the provision. A companion Senate bill with the same provision has been introduced by Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
While efforts to make the IRS’ deal with the tax preparation industry permanent have fizzled in the past, critics are particularly worried this year. The Taxpayer First Act also includes a provision that would restrict the IRS’ use of private debt collectors to those above a certain income. A Wyden spokesperson said the current bill is a “bipartisan, bicameral compromise so it includes priorities of both chairmen and ranking members.” Wyden “supports giving the IRS the resources it needs to offer more services to taxpayers,” the spokesperson added.
As It Stifles Primary Challengers, DCCC Takes More Money From Corporations
BY Alex Kotch & Andrew Perez, Sludge - truthout
PUBLISHED April 8, 2019
Corporate lobbyists are raising an increasing amount of money for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) at a time when the House Democrats’ campaign arm is taking fire from the left for its effort to freeze out primary challengers.
Progressives have roundly criticized the DCCC for its plan to not conduct business with political vendors that work for candidates who plan to challenge incumbent Democrats. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said the new policy could have prevented him from winning his congressional seat. Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said the DCCC’s vendor policy would empower lobbyists because “voters will have one less avenue to pursue change.”
The DCCC raised nearly $19 million in the first two months of this year, more money than it had raised by this point last election cycle, and the committee is relying more heavily on corporate lobbyists to collect checks. Lobbyists whose clients include health care, oil, gas, and coal interests, raised almost $440,000 for the DCCC in January and February, Federal Election Commission records show. Many of their clients oppose progressive priorities like a “Medicare for All” health-care system or a Green New Deal to mitigate climate change.
“I do not take money from corporations, PACs, or lobbyists,” Khanna said in an email on Tuesday. “The DCCC should not, either.”
A DCCC spokesperson did not respond to questions from MapLight and Sludge, nor did any of the committee’s lobbyist bundlers.
In February 2016, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) quietly reversed an Obama-era ban on contributions from federal lobbyists and political action committees. Lobbyists raised roughly $100,000 for the DCCC in 2015-16, before raising close to $1.9 million for the committee during the 2018 election cycle. This year, led by centrist Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, the DCCC has already received almost as much money via donations bundled by corporate lobbyists than in all of 2017.
Fighting Single-Payer
While most of the Democratic presidential primary candidates support Medicare for All, and 108 House Democrats have signed on to single-payer legislation, the party’s congressional leaders have resisted calls for sweeping changes to the nation’s health-care system. They have instead pushed for improvements to the Affordable Care Act — the 2010 health-care law — and lower drug prices. In February, the Intercept reported that a top aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had detailed party leaders’ objections to Medicare for All in a meeting with health insurance executives.
The Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, a coalition of health-care companies and trade organizations opposed to Medicare for All, has sent frequent emails highlighting critical comments made by Pelosi and Bustos. On Monday, they distributed a memo noting that Bustos recently said the “price tag for Medicare for all is a little scary,” while Pelosiasked, “How’s it gonna be paid for?”
As Democratic House leaders undermine the left’s push for universal health care, lobbyists representing major health insurance and pharmaceutical companies have been flooding the DCCC with cash. All six corporate lobbyists who have bundled donations for the DCCC this year represent at least one health-care business or trade organization.
Vic Fazio, a former California Democratic congressman and senior advisor at Akin Gump, and John Michael Gonzalez of Peck Madigan Jones have lobbied for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the nation’s largest pharmaceutical trade association. Fazio has also lobbied for Gilead Sciences, a company that has earned billions of dollars from sales of a drug based on government research to prevent HIV infection. Fazio has raised $73,500 for the DCCC this year; Gonzalez has bundled $30,500.
Steve Elmendorf, a founder and partner at Subject Matter, has collected $82,000 for the DCCC since the start of 2019.
He has represented the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and the Federation of American Hospitals. PhRMA, BIO, and the federation are members of the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, the coalition working to defeat Medicare for All. Elmendorf has also lobbied for health insurer UnitedHealth Group.
David Thomas, a partner at Mehlman Castagnetti, raised $30,000 for the DCCC in January. He has lobbied for at least five members of the partnership: America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the health insurance industry’s top trade organization; the Association of Accessible Medicines, a trade group for generic drugmakers; the American Medical Association, a physician trade group; health insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield; and Ascension Health, a Catholic nonprofit health provider.
Until November, Thomas lobbied on taxes and banking regulations for the Job Creators Network, a conservative nonprofit linked to billionaire GOP donor Charles Koch that recently purchased billboard ads attacking Ocasio-Cortez.
Zach Pfister, policy director at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, has raised more than $180,000 for the DCCC so far this year. He haslobbiedfor AbbVie, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, on issues related to the government’s Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. His firm has also worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield. Invariant CEO Heather Podesta, who has raised $38,500 for the DCCC this year, has lobbied on Medicare Part D for British pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline.
Promoting Fossil Fuel Interests
Democrats are also divided over the best approach to mitigate climate change. Although most progressives support Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal plan, others favor less ambitious measures such as a carbon tax or carbon-capture technology.
The DCCC’s lobbyist bundlers represent major fossil fuel interests. Elmendorf, of Subject Matter, has lobbied for oil company BP America and General Electric, which operates an oil and gas division. Thomas, of Mehlman Castagnetti, has lobbied for the Edison Electric Institute, a trade organization for utility companies, as well as the oil company Chevron. Podesta has lobbied on natural gas pipelines for NextEra Energy, which is the second-largest American producer of electric power from natural gas and has billions of dollars invested in shale gas production and pipelines. Gonzalez recently lobbied Congress on behalf of Entergy, an electric utility that uses coal and natural gas to produce power.
While the DCCC is trying to keep its vendors from aiding primary challengers, there has been no such push to prevent its consultants from advising corporate clients, whose goals are often at odds with much of the Democratic Party. Global Strategy Group,
which conducted polls for the DCCC last cycle, has worked with the health insurance lobby AHIP. The firm was also a consultant for the coalition that successfully defeated a single-payer ballot measure in Colorado in 2016.
SKDKnickerbocker, a media firm that’s worked for the DCCC, has provided public affairs support for controversial corporate mergers like the one between AT&T and Time Warner. Perkins Coie, a law firm that works with the DCCC and other major Democratic Party political groups, has counseled unnamed financial institutions.
Progressives have roundly criticized the DCCC for its plan to not conduct business with political vendors that work for candidates who plan to challenge incumbent Democrats. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said the new policy could have prevented him from winning his congressional seat. Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said the DCCC’s vendor policy would empower lobbyists because “voters will have one less avenue to pursue change.”
The DCCC raised nearly $19 million in the first two months of this year, more money than it had raised by this point last election cycle, and the committee is relying more heavily on corporate lobbyists to collect checks. Lobbyists whose clients include health care, oil, gas, and coal interests, raised almost $440,000 for the DCCC in January and February, Federal Election Commission records show. Many of their clients oppose progressive priorities like a “Medicare for All” health-care system or a Green New Deal to mitigate climate change.
“I do not take money from corporations, PACs, or lobbyists,” Khanna said in an email on Tuesday. “The DCCC should not, either.”
A DCCC spokesperson did not respond to questions from MapLight and Sludge, nor did any of the committee’s lobbyist bundlers.
In February 2016, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) quietly reversed an Obama-era ban on contributions from federal lobbyists and political action committees. Lobbyists raised roughly $100,000 for the DCCC in 2015-16, before raising close to $1.9 million for the committee during the 2018 election cycle. This year, led by centrist Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, the DCCC has already received almost as much money via donations bundled by corporate lobbyists than in all of 2017.
Fighting Single-Payer
While most of the Democratic presidential primary candidates support Medicare for All, and 108 House Democrats have signed on to single-payer legislation, the party’s congressional leaders have resisted calls for sweeping changes to the nation’s health-care system. They have instead pushed for improvements to the Affordable Care Act — the 2010 health-care law — and lower drug prices. In February, the Intercept reported that a top aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had detailed party leaders’ objections to Medicare for All in a meeting with health insurance executives.
The Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, a coalition of health-care companies and trade organizations opposed to Medicare for All, has sent frequent emails highlighting critical comments made by Pelosi and Bustos. On Monday, they distributed a memo noting that Bustos recently said the “price tag for Medicare for all is a little scary,” while Pelosiasked, “How’s it gonna be paid for?”
As Democratic House leaders undermine the left’s push for universal health care, lobbyists representing major health insurance and pharmaceutical companies have been flooding the DCCC with cash. All six corporate lobbyists who have bundled donations for the DCCC this year represent at least one health-care business or trade organization.
Vic Fazio, a former California Democratic congressman and senior advisor at Akin Gump, and John Michael Gonzalez of Peck Madigan Jones have lobbied for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the nation’s largest pharmaceutical trade association. Fazio has also lobbied for Gilead Sciences, a company that has earned billions of dollars from sales of a drug based on government research to prevent HIV infection. Fazio has raised $73,500 for the DCCC this year; Gonzalez has bundled $30,500.
Steve Elmendorf, a founder and partner at Subject Matter, has collected $82,000 for the DCCC since the start of 2019.
He has represented the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and the Federation of American Hospitals. PhRMA, BIO, and the federation are members of the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, the coalition working to defeat Medicare for All. Elmendorf has also lobbied for health insurer UnitedHealth Group.
David Thomas, a partner at Mehlman Castagnetti, raised $30,000 for the DCCC in January. He has lobbied for at least five members of the partnership: America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the health insurance industry’s top trade organization; the Association of Accessible Medicines, a trade group for generic drugmakers; the American Medical Association, a physician trade group; health insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield; and Ascension Health, a Catholic nonprofit health provider.
Until November, Thomas lobbied on taxes and banking regulations for the Job Creators Network, a conservative nonprofit linked to billionaire GOP donor Charles Koch that recently purchased billboard ads attacking Ocasio-Cortez.
Zach Pfister, policy director at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, has raised more than $180,000 for the DCCC so far this year. He haslobbiedfor AbbVie, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, on issues related to the government’s Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. His firm has also worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield. Invariant CEO Heather Podesta, who has raised $38,500 for the DCCC this year, has lobbied on Medicare Part D for British pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline.
Promoting Fossil Fuel Interests
Democrats are also divided over the best approach to mitigate climate change. Although most progressives support Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal plan, others favor less ambitious measures such as a carbon tax or carbon-capture technology.
The DCCC’s lobbyist bundlers represent major fossil fuel interests. Elmendorf, of Subject Matter, has lobbied for oil company BP America and General Electric, which operates an oil and gas division. Thomas, of Mehlman Castagnetti, has lobbied for the Edison Electric Institute, a trade organization for utility companies, as well as the oil company Chevron. Podesta has lobbied on natural gas pipelines for NextEra Energy, which is the second-largest American producer of electric power from natural gas and has billions of dollars invested in shale gas production and pipelines. Gonzalez recently lobbied Congress on behalf of Entergy, an electric utility that uses coal and natural gas to produce power.
While the DCCC is trying to keep its vendors from aiding primary challengers, there has been no such push to prevent its consultants from advising corporate clients, whose goals are often at odds with much of the Democratic Party. Global Strategy Group,
which conducted polls for the DCCC last cycle, has worked with the health insurance lobby AHIP. The firm was also a consultant for the coalition that successfully defeated a single-payer ballot measure in Colorado in 2016.
SKDKnickerbocker, a media firm that’s worked for the DCCC, has provided public affairs support for controversial corporate mergers like the one between AT&T and Time Warner. Perkins Coie, a law firm that works with the DCCC and other major Democratic Party political groups, has counseled unnamed financial institutions.
Centrist Dems Are Trying to Block a Universal $15 Minimum Wage
Ilana Novick - Blogger / Editorial Assistant - truthdig
4/4/7
A House bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour from $7.25 by 2024 passed a key committee vote in March. The move, as NPR.org reported at the time, “is a sign of broader political momentum for the minimum wage issue,” one that is supported by multiple Democratic presidential candidates, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
As the bill heads to a potential floor vote, however, over a dozen centrist Democrats are pushing a new plan, which would permit lower hourly wages in regional areas, with a longer lead time. The competing visions for the minimum wage, Sarah Ferris writes in Politico, are “threatening to broaden the rift between the party’s progressive and moderate members.”
Democratic opponents to $15, led by Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama, introduced the Paying Hourly Americans Stronger Earnings (PHASE)-in $15 Wage Act, which would create a “regional” minimum wage, which would allow smaller cities and rural areas to base any minimum wage increases on the local cost of living instead of a $15 national floor. The bill, according to a statement from Sewell’s office, would group census-designated Metropolitan Statistical Areas into five tiers, using Regional Price Parities (RPP) data that would determine the minimum wage for the regions’ cost of living.
Supporters of the bill include Lucy McBath of Georgia and Dean Phillips of Minnesota. Phillips is a small-business owner who, despite paying his own employees at least $15 an hour, says it’s not a “one-size-fits-all wage.”
An aide to a House member who supports the regional bill told Ferris that “more than doubling the wage over five years is going to result in lost jobs,” and “A lot of people would prefer to have a $10 wage than no job.”
Thirteen Democrats support Sewell’s plan, which, Ferris explains, “would dramatically slow the wage hikes in hundreds of smaller cities from Cincinnati to St. Louis compared to metropolis areas like San Francisco and New York.”
Opponents of the (PHASE)-in $15 Wage Act argue that the bill betrays the same promises made during the 2018 midterm elections that helped Democrats win a majority in the House. “We want to pass a full $15 minimum wage bill. Not a regional bill. We’re very clear about that,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal told Politico, adding, “Being in Congress means leading, and we need to lead on minimum wage.”
House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott, D-Va., author of the $15 minimum wage bill that passed the committee, also objected to the idea of a regional bill, telling Politico, “We don’t have differentiated payments for Social Security.”
According to a statement from the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive research organization, the bill “would do little more than lock in low wages for millions of workers in parts of the country where large national employers pay as little as they can get away with.”
The organization estimates that 21% of low-wage workers in regions that would be exempt from a $15 minimum wage would receive just $11.50 per hour by 2024; an additional 22% would get just $12.10 by the same year.
Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus are, as Ferris writes, “prepared to wield the power of the 96-member caucus to ensure their full $15-an-hour proposal reaches the floor.”
At least one poll suggests they have public opinion on their side. A January survey from The Hill-HarrisX showed 55% of registered voters support a $15 an hour minimum wage. Even 70% of the Republicans surveyed said the minimum wage should be higher than the current level of $7.25, though just 36% agreed it should go up to $15.
Neither Scott’s nor Sewell’s bills are currently scheduled for a floor vote.
As the bill heads to a potential floor vote, however, over a dozen centrist Democrats are pushing a new plan, which would permit lower hourly wages in regional areas, with a longer lead time. The competing visions for the minimum wage, Sarah Ferris writes in Politico, are “threatening to broaden the rift between the party’s progressive and moderate members.”
Democratic opponents to $15, led by Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama, introduced the Paying Hourly Americans Stronger Earnings (PHASE)-in $15 Wage Act, which would create a “regional” minimum wage, which would allow smaller cities and rural areas to base any minimum wage increases on the local cost of living instead of a $15 national floor. The bill, according to a statement from Sewell’s office, would group census-designated Metropolitan Statistical Areas into five tiers, using Regional Price Parities (RPP) data that would determine the minimum wage for the regions’ cost of living.
Supporters of the bill include Lucy McBath of Georgia and Dean Phillips of Minnesota. Phillips is a small-business owner who, despite paying his own employees at least $15 an hour, says it’s not a “one-size-fits-all wage.”
An aide to a House member who supports the regional bill told Ferris that “more than doubling the wage over five years is going to result in lost jobs,” and “A lot of people would prefer to have a $10 wage than no job.”
Thirteen Democrats support Sewell’s plan, which, Ferris explains, “would dramatically slow the wage hikes in hundreds of smaller cities from Cincinnati to St. Louis compared to metropolis areas like San Francisco and New York.”
Opponents of the (PHASE)-in $15 Wage Act argue that the bill betrays the same promises made during the 2018 midterm elections that helped Democrats win a majority in the House. “We want to pass a full $15 minimum wage bill. Not a regional bill. We’re very clear about that,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal told Politico, adding, “Being in Congress means leading, and we need to lead on minimum wage.”
House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott, D-Va., author of the $15 minimum wage bill that passed the committee, also objected to the idea of a regional bill, telling Politico, “We don’t have differentiated payments for Social Security.”
According to a statement from the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive research organization, the bill “would do little more than lock in low wages for millions of workers in parts of the country where large national employers pay as little as they can get away with.”
The organization estimates that 21% of low-wage workers in regions that would be exempt from a $15 minimum wage would receive just $11.50 per hour by 2024; an additional 22% would get just $12.10 by the same year.
Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus are, as Ferris writes, “prepared to wield the power of the 96-member caucus to ensure their full $15-an-hour proposal reaches the floor.”
At least one poll suggests they have public opinion on their side. A January survey from The Hill-HarrisX showed 55% of registered voters support a $15 an hour minimum wage. Even 70% of the Republicans surveyed said the minimum wage should be higher than the current level of $7.25, though just 36% agreed it should go up to $15.
Neither Scott’s nor Sewell’s bills are currently scheduled for a floor vote.
Establishment Democrats Are Undermining Medicare for All
BY
Michael Corcoran, Truthout
PUBLISHED
March 17, 2019
The Democratic establishment — deep in the pockets of the health industry — wanted to make sure any blue wave election in 2018 would help sink, rather than support, the growing movement for a single-payer health care system. The recent decline in co-sponsors of the House Medicare for All legislation is, in part, a byproduct of this strategy and a reminder of the great obstacles corporate Democrats have put in front of the single-payer movement.
In 2018, there were 124 cosponsors for the Medicare for All bill in the House (then H.R. 676), representing 66 percent of the Democratic Caucus. This was celebrated widely as a high-water mark for the legislation. So was the release of Bernie Sanders’s Medicare for All bill in the Senate, which also got a record 16 co-sponsors, including prominent Democrats who are running for president.
Given that the Democrats gained 35 seats in the 2018 midterm and Medicare for All has been polling extremely high among Democratic voters — a survey by Reuters from August 2018 showed around 85 percent of Democrats supported the policy — many were hopeful that the number of cosponsors would rise even higher in the current Congress.
Despite this hope, when Rep. Pramila Jayapal introduced the new flagship Medicare for All bill (H.R. 1384), the amount of co-sponsors decreasedconsiderably to 106, down to 47 percent of the caucus. So why, if Democratic voters are moving left on health care, is this not reflected in Congress? Where did all the co-sponsors go?
A Truthout analysis shows the primary reasons for this decline are: 1) incumbents who once supported Medicare for All who have defected, and 2) a largely disappointing freshman class.
The most well-known faces of the freshman class are progressives, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, thanks to their ambitious proposals and popular support. This might give the impression to the public that this is reflective of the whole class. The majority of the newest House Democrats, however, were shaped strongly by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the New Democratic Coalition. About 71 percent (42 of 59) of freshman House members declined to co-sponsor the legislation. Some freshman candidates who ran on the issue during the campaign, like Harley Rouda of California, still declined to co-sponsor Jayapal’s bill.
In happier news for the movement, three incumbent Democrats decided to co-sponsor Medicare for All for the first time: Reps. Joseph Kennedy and William Keating of Massachusetts, and Susan Wild of Pennsylvania. However, 29 of the Democrats who were previously co-sponsors have defected this year. Why are Medicare for All’s congressional supporters backing out?
Incumbent Democrats Turning Away
It is much less courageous for members of Congress to co-sponsor legislation that has no chance of passing. So last year, as members of Congress quickly signed on to H.R. 676 some suspicious names appeared on the list (like Joseph Crowley, who had never hinted at support for the policy until he faced Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the primary). In the minority, they could add their names while, behind closed doors, giving viable explanations to donors: “Don’t worry, it has no chance of passing — I am just getting re-elected.”
Now that Democrats control the House, this calculus changes for many. Sure enough, 29 incumbents who previously co-sponsored H.R. 676 have failed to co-sponsor the newer bill, which recently was made stronger to include long-term care for elderly and disabled Americans. Among these defectors are Reps. Elijah Cummings, Hakeem Jeffries and Marcy Kaptur.
“It’s another painful but important lesson about the limits of politely pushing elected officials to the left,” writes Alex Panagiotopoulos, who analyzed the defections. “Just because they co-sponsor or promise to support legislation doesn’t mean [they will] expend any political capital to make it happen.”
Adam Gaffney, president of Physicians for a National Health Program, told Truthout that the most important thing is to keep pressuring candidates to support the legislation.
“The movement has been putting pressure on Democrats [that] don’t support it, this kind of work must continue,” he said. (Gaffney recently impressed many with his stirring defense of Medicare for All on Fox Business News.)
Buying the Blue Wave: Why the Freshman Class Is Largely Unsupportive of Single-Payer
When people think of the freshman class of Democrats, the most recognizable names tend to be Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. This makes sense, as they are pushing popular policies — and are constantly attacked by Republicans.
These strong voices of dissent, however, are in the minority in the new Congress. By and large, the freshman class of House Democrats has refused to support single-payer in practice. Of the 59 freshman Democrats elected to Congress this year, only 17 of them (a woeful 29 percent) co-sponsored H.R. 1834.
This was not by chance. It can be traced to the Democratic National Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the corporatist New Democratic Coalition in the House (and its affiliated NewDemPAC). Long before the 2018 midterms were underway, Democratic Party power brokers and fundraisers were militant in trying to keep prospective members of Congress in line going into the 2018 election. This included pleading with new candidates not to support single-payer or, as The Intercept reported with corroborating audio, trying to bully progressives out of the races altogether, depriving voters of a chance to weigh in. Establishment Democrats’ goal was, as Politico reported, to “neutralize the threat” of single-payer.
“Democratic voters want single payer health care. But don’t expect to hear Democratic candidates talk about it,” the report said. “To avoid divisive intraparty fights that drive candidates left — only to be attacked by Republicans for favoring socialized medicine — the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee warned aspirants last year about the political liabilities of endorsing ‘single-payer.’”
Until the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016, single-payer was not recognized by most media and politicians as a mainstream proposal (despite its popularity among the public). Sanders energized the movement, putting powerful Democrats and industry stakeholders on guard.
Surely, the leadership of the New Democratic Coalition and similarly minded organizations chalk this up to another victory for the “vital center.” They, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, argue the voters aren’t “ready” for single-payer, despite its massive popularity. This is a rather dubious interpretation, however, given that the DCCC deprived many voters of a chance to vote for a single-payer candidate in their district. Candidates were hand-picked by party officials in many instances, as the Hoyer tape proved.
When seeking candidates in 2018, the DCCC embraced the centrist/corporate Third Way agenda. The New Democratic Coalition, which preaches free markets and is funded largely by Wall Street, endorsed 27 candidates in the 2018 primary. The DCCC, the primary fundraising institution for the House, endorsed 25 of these 27 candidatesvia its Red to Blue list. This provided money, support, opposition research and more, giving these candidates a huge advantage in the primaries. As a result, candidates supporting single-payer found themselves being thwarted, attacked and outspent by their own party leaders, who were defying the wishes of most of their base.
“The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee unleashed a scorched-earth campaign against [House candidate Laura Moser of Texas],” reported Vox, “releasing an opposition memo highlighting past statements Moser made seemingly denigrating her home state.”
Moser, a single-payer supporter, lost to the DCCC’s choice, Lizzy Fletcher, in the primary. Fletcher won the seat and failed to co-sponsor the new Medicare for All bill.
By contrast, the DCCC did not support any of the same House candidates endorsed by the Bernie Sanders-founded organization, Our Revolution, which endorses candidates with a range of progressive views on single-payer and beyond.
The New Democratic Coalition saw 16 of its endorsed candidates win in 2018. Of these 16 candidates, only three co-sponsored the Medicare for All bill in the House. Had the DCCC not gone so far out of its way to oppose single-payer supporters, the outcome may have been quite different. Had they embraced single-payer, the amount of co-sponsors could have risen considerably.
“The problem we have is actually with the Democrats,” said Jessica Early, a nurse practitioner and health care justice organizer, in a 2017 interview with Truthout. “We know how Republicans are going to vote on this issue. The obstacle we face is getting Democrats who will support us into office.”
Can New Democrats Derail Single-Payer?
The term “New Democrats” refers to an ideological and strategic movement that argues the U.S. is fundamentally a center-right country and the Democrats must embrace this — and corporate donors — to win elections. During the 1990s it was the most powerful wing of the party: Bill and Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Joe Lieberman and most of the party’s top names were on board. The New Democrats boasted about helping pass the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, which added work requirements to cash and food assistance and was supported mostly by Republicans in Congress. The organization was also hostile to candidates who tried to run as progressives, such as Howard Dean and Ned Lamont in 2004 and 2006 respectively.
This kind of thinking has, for the most part, fallen out of favor: There is virtually no grassroots support for “centrist” moderation. It is a doctrinal assumption, however, made by much of the dominant media, that proposals like single-payer will hurt Democrats in the general election, or in districts that President Trump won in 2016. Third Way, which is run largely by hedge fund managers, advanced this theory in its Winning on Health Care memo in 2016.
“A national debate over single payer is what Republicans want since it would turn health care from a winning Democratic issue into a losing one,” Third Way pleaded.
Many advocates, however, say a national debate over single-payer is exactly what the Democrats – and the United States more generally – need to be having.
“This is a winning issue for the American people and for the Democrats,” Gaffney said. “Now we have to get it done.”
In 2018, there were 124 cosponsors for the Medicare for All bill in the House (then H.R. 676), representing 66 percent of the Democratic Caucus. This was celebrated widely as a high-water mark for the legislation. So was the release of Bernie Sanders’s Medicare for All bill in the Senate, which also got a record 16 co-sponsors, including prominent Democrats who are running for president.
Given that the Democrats gained 35 seats in the 2018 midterm and Medicare for All has been polling extremely high among Democratic voters — a survey by Reuters from August 2018 showed around 85 percent of Democrats supported the policy — many were hopeful that the number of cosponsors would rise even higher in the current Congress.
Despite this hope, when Rep. Pramila Jayapal introduced the new flagship Medicare for All bill (H.R. 1384), the amount of co-sponsors decreasedconsiderably to 106, down to 47 percent of the caucus. So why, if Democratic voters are moving left on health care, is this not reflected in Congress? Where did all the co-sponsors go?
A Truthout analysis shows the primary reasons for this decline are: 1) incumbents who once supported Medicare for All who have defected, and 2) a largely disappointing freshman class.
The most well-known faces of the freshman class are progressives, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, thanks to their ambitious proposals and popular support. This might give the impression to the public that this is reflective of the whole class. The majority of the newest House Democrats, however, were shaped strongly by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the New Democratic Coalition. About 71 percent (42 of 59) of freshman House members declined to co-sponsor the legislation. Some freshman candidates who ran on the issue during the campaign, like Harley Rouda of California, still declined to co-sponsor Jayapal’s bill.
In happier news for the movement, three incumbent Democrats decided to co-sponsor Medicare for All for the first time: Reps. Joseph Kennedy and William Keating of Massachusetts, and Susan Wild of Pennsylvania. However, 29 of the Democrats who were previously co-sponsors have defected this year. Why are Medicare for All’s congressional supporters backing out?
Incumbent Democrats Turning Away
It is much less courageous for members of Congress to co-sponsor legislation that has no chance of passing. So last year, as members of Congress quickly signed on to H.R. 676 some suspicious names appeared on the list (like Joseph Crowley, who had never hinted at support for the policy until he faced Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the primary). In the minority, they could add their names while, behind closed doors, giving viable explanations to donors: “Don’t worry, it has no chance of passing — I am just getting re-elected.”
Now that Democrats control the House, this calculus changes for many. Sure enough, 29 incumbents who previously co-sponsored H.R. 676 have failed to co-sponsor the newer bill, which recently was made stronger to include long-term care for elderly and disabled Americans. Among these defectors are Reps. Elijah Cummings, Hakeem Jeffries and Marcy Kaptur.
“It’s another painful but important lesson about the limits of politely pushing elected officials to the left,” writes Alex Panagiotopoulos, who analyzed the defections. “Just because they co-sponsor or promise to support legislation doesn’t mean [they will] expend any political capital to make it happen.”
Adam Gaffney, president of Physicians for a National Health Program, told Truthout that the most important thing is to keep pressuring candidates to support the legislation.
“The movement has been putting pressure on Democrats [that] don’t support it, this kind of work must continue,” he said. (Gaffney recently impressed many with his stirring defense of Medicare for All on Fox Business News.)
Buying the Blue Wave: Why the Freshman Class Is Largely Unsupportive of Single-Payer
When people think of the freshman class of Democrats, the most recognizable names tend to be Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. This makes sense, as they are pushing popular policies — and are constantly attacked by Republicans.
These strong voices of dissent, however, are in the minority in the new Congress. By and large, the freshman class of House Democrats has refused to support single-payer in practice. Of the 59 freshman Democrats elected to Congress this year, only 17 of them (a woeful 29 percent) co-sponsored H.R. 1834.
This was not by chance. It can be traced to the Democratic National Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the corporatist New Democratic Coalition in the House (and its affiliated NewDemPAC). Long before the 2018 midterms were underway, Democratic Party power brokers and fundraisers were militant in trying to keep prospective members of Congress in line going into the 2018 election. This included pleading with new candidates not to support single-payer or, as The Intercept reported with corroborating audio, trying to bully progressives out of the races altogether, depriving voters of a chance to weigh in. Establishment Democrats’ goal was, as Politico reported, to “neutralize the threat” of single-payer.
“Democratic voters want single payer health care. But don’t expect to hear Democratic candidates talk about it,” the report said. “To avoid divisive intraparty fights that drive candidates left — only to be attacked by Republicans for favoring socialized medicine — the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee warned aspirants last year about the political liabilities of endorsing ‘single-payer.’”
Until the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016, single-payer was not recognized by most media and politicians as a mainstream proposal (despite its popularity among the public). Sanders energized the movement, putting powerful Democrats and industry stakeholders on guard.
Surely, the leadership of the New Democratic Coalition and similarly minded organizations chalk this up to another victory for the “vital center.” They, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, argue the voters aren’t “ready” for single-payer, despite its massive popularity. This is a rather dubious interpretation, however, given that the DCCC deprived many voters of a chance to vote for a single-payer candidate in their district. Candidates were hand-picked by party officials in many instances, as the Hoyer tape proved.
When seeking candidates in 2018, the DCCC embraced the centrist/corporate Third Way agenda. The New Democratic Coalition, which preaches free markets and is funded largely by Wall Street, endorsed 27 candidates in the 2018 primary. The DCCC, the primary fundraising institution for the House, endorsed 25 of these 27 candidatesvia its Red to Blue list. This provided money, support, opposition research and more, giving these candidates a huge advantage in the primaries. As a result, candidates supporting single-payer found themselves being thwarted, attacked and outspent by their own party leaders, who were defying the wishes of most of their base.
“The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee unleashed a scorched-earth campaign against [House candidate Laura Moser of Texas],” reported Vox, “releasing an opposition memo highlighting past statements Moser made seemingly denigrating her home state.”
Moser, a single-payer supporter, lost to the DCCC’s choice, Lizzy Fletcher, in the primary. Fletcher won the seat and failed to co-sponsor the new Medicare for All bill.
By contrast, the DCCC did not support any of the same House candidates endorsed by the Bernie Sanders-founded organization, Our Revolution, which endorses candidates with a range of progressive views on single-payer and beyond.
The New Democratic Coalition saw 16 of its endorsed candidates win in 2018. Of these 16 candidates, only three co-sponsored the Medicare for All bill in the House. Had the DCCC not gone so far out of its way to oppose single-payer supporters, the outcome may have been quite different. Had they embraced single-payer, the amount of co-sponsors could have risen considerably.
“The problem we have is actually with the Democrats,” said Jessica Early, a nurse practitioner and health care justice organizer, in a 2017 interview with Truthout. “We know how Republicans are going to vote on this issue. The obstacle we face is getting Democrats who will support us into office.”
Can New Democrats Derail Single-Payer?
The term “New Democrats” refers to an ideological and strategic movement that argues the U.S. is fundamentally a center-right country and the Democrats must embrace this — and corporate donors — to win elections. During the 1990s it was the most powerful wing of the party: Bill and Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Joe Lieberman and most of the party’s top names were on board. The New Democrats boasted about helping pass the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, which added work requirements to cash and food assistance and was supported mostly by Republicans in Congress. The organization was also hostile to candidates who tried to run as progressives, such as Howard Dean and Ned Lamont in 2004 and 2006 respectively.
This kind of thinking has, for the most part, fallen out of favor: There is virtually no grassroots support for “centrist” moderation. It is a doctrinal assumption, however, made by much of the dominant media, that proposals like single-payer will hurt Democrats in the general election, or in districts that President Trump won in 2016. Third Way, which is run largely by hedge fund managers, advanced this theory in its Winning on Health Care memo in 2016.
“A national debate over single payer is what Republicans want since it would turn health care from a winning Democratic issue into a losing one,” Third Way pleaded.
Many advocates, however, say a national debate over single-payer is exactly what the Democrats – and the United States more generally – need to be having.
“This is a winning issue for the American people and for the Democrats,” Gaffney said. “Now we have to get it done.”
EXXON, BIG PHARMA, AND WALL STREET LOBBYISTS TO HOST FUNDRAISER FOR MARK KELLY IN WASHINGTON
Akela Lacy - the intercept
March 12 2019, 9:52 a.m.
ARIZONA SENATE CANDIDATE Mark Kelly will appear later this month at a high-dollar fundraiser in Washington, D.C. hosted by one of the city’s top corporate lobbying firms. The K Street firm represents major fossil fuel companies, including Exxon Mobil and Chevron; Wall Street banks such as JPMorgan Chase; defense industry giant Lockheed Martin; and the lobby group PhRMA.
Kelly’s fundraiser with the corporate lobbying behemoth comes as he launched his campaign on the back of a pledge not to accept corporate PAC donations. Indeed, the invitation to the fundraiser, obtained by The Intercept, specifies that attendees should not pay with corporate PAC checks.
Instead, those lobbyists will be asked to pay with personal checks, meaning that disclosure records will not reflect any contributions from drug makers, banks, or any other clients associated with the lobbying firm, Capitol Counsel.
The firm also represents Walmart, the NFL, Comcast, the American Health Care Association, the Health Care Service Corporation, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, Edison Electric Institute, the National Business Aviation Association, and the Internet and Television Association.
The fundraiser comes as the old way of doing politics through big-money fundraising is colliding with a new model based on small donors. But the new paradigm has yet to fully take hold, which is leading candidates to try to mold the old approach to fit the new anti-corporate money mood.
Kelly clearly recognizes the salience of political corruption as an issue and criticized corporate influence in politics as part of his launch video, saying that “partisanship and polarization and gerrymandering and corporate money have ruined our politics.”
“This campaign is about the people of Arizona, not corporate PACs and the mess they’ve created in Washington,” Kelly is quoted as saying on his campaign website. “I won’t take a dime of corporate PAC money, and I’ll only answer to Arizonans.”
But the K Street fundraiser is just one link with corporate money that remains intact. Kelly on Monday spoke at the corporate-funded SHARE Technology Exchange expo in Phoenix, which describes itself as “the largest convergence of enterprise IT professionals.” Both Broadcom and IBM — whose executives will speak at the conference later this week — are the event’s top sponsors, alongside Dell EMC, Hitachi, Rocket Software, and others.
Democrats, once close allies with big tech, have begun to view the industry more skeptically, as a handful of firms have increasingly come to dominate the field. It is unusual for a candidate to continue to give paid corporate speeches after the launch of a campaign, as it allows companies to give directly to the individual, rather than support the person’s campaign by going through a Super PAC or the firm’s corporate PAC.
Broadcom has faced international and congressional scrutiny in recent years for a series of merger attempts that alarmed antitrust advocates — one of which President Donald Trump blocked. Bain Capital, the famed private equity firm known for chewing up and spitting out smaller companies, orchestrating tax-evasion schemes, and buying out a for-profit hospital chain, last year bought a majority stake in Rocket Software. The Securities and Exchange Commission in 2015 brought charges against Japanese conglomerate Hitachi for making improper payments to the African National Congress’s investment company and subsequently securing contracts to construct two power plants. Hitachi paid $19 million to settle the charges.
Kelly’s campaign told The Intercept that his previous speeches were a way to make ends meet in the wake of the assassination attempt on his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords. His campaign spokesperson, Jacob Peters, said Kelly would keep engagements he’d already committed to, but wouldn’t be adding any others. And Peters pointed out that the content of Kelly’s speeches is always pretty much the same: detailing his experiences as an astronaut and his and Giffords’s journey after the 2011 shooting. The campaign said Kelly does not discuss policy or his campaign at the speeches.
Peters told The Intercept that Kelly’s lobbyist-hosted fundraiser “is not a paid speech,” and that the SHARE engagement was a prior commitment.
The Intercept previously reported that Kelly has given paid speeches to the likes of Goldman Sachs, the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit, and opioid giant AmerisourceBergen.
The fundraiser, scheduled for March 26 in Washington, D.C., is being co-hosted by Capitol Counsel’s Jenn Fogel-Bublick, Drew Goesl, Josh Kardon, Ethan Pittleman, as well as Andy Rosenberg of Thorn Run Partners.
Fogel-Bublick served as counsel to the Senate Banking Committee and worked with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She was formerly the legislative director at the National Low Income Housing Coalition and former executive vice president of McBee Strategic (now Signal Group). Her clients at Capitol Counsel include the National Low Income Housing Coalition, JPMorgan Chase, Planned Parenthood, and SunTrust Bank.
As a chief of staff for former Arkansas Democratic Rep. Mike Ross, Goesl worked to advance the legislative priorities of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition, which Ross chaired. He was also communications director for former Arkansas Democratic Rep. Blanche Lincoln. In his role at Capitol Counsel, he has worked to permanently decrease taxes on capital gains and dividends. He also worked to help pass Congress’s 2017 tax reform bill. He’s represented Merck, Las Vegas Sands, PhRMA, and Comcast, among others.
Kardon, former senior vice president at the Capitol Hill Consulting Group, was previously chief of staff to former California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, served as her legislative director, and advised her on energy and environmental issues. He served as chief of staff to Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, directed subcommittee staff under former Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers, and was Oregon chair for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. Among the companies he’s represented are Exxon Mobil, Walmart, and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Pittleman was formerly a policy adviser to Oregon Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader, a Blue Dog co-chair, and deputy director of federal affairs for former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber. His current clients include the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the American Health Care Association.
Rosenberg was previously a Hill staffer for the Senate HELP Committee and worked on former Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Kennedy’s personal staff. He co-founded and was a senior adviser to Draft Obama, a grassroots organization that encouraged Barack Obama to run for president, which is now setting its sights on his wife, Michelle. He also consulted for the Democratic National Committee on election law and coordinated the DNC’s 2004 Philadelphia-area Voter Protection Initiative. Rosenberg advised John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign on health care and policy in the Middle East. In 2004, he also ran for Congress in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District. His clients at Thorn Run include GlaxoSmithKline, the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, Novartis AG, and Partnership for Part D Access.
Kelly will likely face a primary challenge from Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego in the 2020 race for the seat currently held by Republican Sen. Martha McSally. She was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Jon Kyl, who took Sen. John McCain’s place after his death. The race sets up an opportunity for Arizona to be represented by two Democratic senators for the first time in over 60 years.
As progressive candidates across the country demonstrate that they can win, with or without help from establishment Democrats, many have sworn off corporate PAC money and adopted stances to appeal to voters disenchanted with the status quo. But signing a pledge is one thing. Cutting off corporate influence altogether is another, particularly in Kelly’s case.
The state has moved further left in recent years, and Kelly has taken note, campaigning on combating climate change and lowering prescription drug prices, as well as universal health care coverage. Kelly has also made gun control a priority since the assassination attempt on Giffords. And he says he’ll continue that push should he reach the Senate. Gallego has made a name for himself in Congress by advocating for Medicare for All and protection for Dreamers, among other progressive policies. Gallego himself has taken $763,849 in corporate PAC donations over the course of his career. He told The Intercept that his team hadn’t yet discussed whether his campaign would continuing accepting those contributions should he run for Senate.
Kelly’s fundraiser with the corporate lobbying behemoth comes as he launched his campaign on the back of a pledge not to accept corporate PAC donations. Indeed, the invitation to the fundraiser, obtained by The Intercept, specifies that attendees should not pay with corporate PAC checks.
Instead, those lobbyists will be asked to pay with personal checks, meaning that disclosure records will not reflect any contributions from drug makers, banks, or any other clients associated with the lobbying firm, Capitol Counsel.
The firm also represents Walmart, the NFL, Comcast, the American Health Care Association, the Health Care Service Corporation, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, Edison Electric Institute, the National Business Aviation Association, and the Internet and Television Association.
The fundraiser comes as the old way of doing politics through big-money fundraising is colliding with a new model based on small donors. But the new paradigm has yet to fully take hold, which is leading candidates to try to mold the old approach to fit the new anti-corporate money mood.
Kelly clearly recognizes the salience of political corruption as an issue and criticized corporate influence in politics as part of his launch video, saying that “partisanship and polarization and gerrymandering and corporate money have ruined our politics.”
“This campaign is about the people of Arizona, not corporate PACs and the mess they’ve created in Washington,” Kelly is quoted as saying on his campaign website. “I won’t take a dime of corporate PAC money, and I’ll only answer to Arizonans.”
But the K Street fundraiser is just one link with corporate money that remains intact. Kelly on Monday spoke at the corporate-funded SHARE Technology Exchange expo in Phoenix, which describes itself as “the largest convergence of enterprise IT professionals.” Both Broadcom and IBM — whose executives will speak at the conference later this week — are the event’s top sponsors, alongside Dell EMC, Hitachi, Rocket Software, and others.
Democrats, once close allies with big tech, have begun to view the industry more skeptically, as a handful of firms have increasingly come to dominate the field. It is unusual for a candidate to continue to give paid corporate speeches after the launch of a campaign, as it allows companies to give directly to the individual, rather than support the person’s campaign by going through a Super PAC or the firm’s corporate PAC.
Broadcom has faced international and congressional scrutiny in recent years for a series of merger attempts that alarmed antitrust advocates — one of which President Donald Trump blocked. Bain Capital, the famed private equity firm known for chewing up and spitting out smaller companies, orchestrating tax-evasion schemes, and buying out a for-profit hospital chain, last year bought a majority stake in Rocket Software. The Securities and Exchange Commission in 2015 brought charges against Japanese conglomerate Hitachi for making improper payments to the African National Congress’s investment company and subsequently securing contracts to construct two power plants. Hitachi paid $19 million to settle the charges.
Kelly’s campaign told The Intercept that his previous speeches were a way to make ends meet in the wake of the assassination attempt on his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords. His campaign spokesperson, Jacob Peters, said Kelly would keep engagements he’d already committed to, but wouldn’t be adding any others. And Peters pointed out that the content of Kelly’s speeches is always pretty much the same: detailing his experiences as an astronaut and his and Giffords’s journey after the 2011 shooting. The campaign said Kelly does not discuss policy or his campaign at the speeches.
Peters told The Intercept that Kelly’s lobbyist-hosted fundraiser “is not a paid speech,” and that the SHARE engagement was a prior commitment.
The Intercept previously reported that Kelly has given paid speeches to the likes of Goldman Sachs, the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit, and opioid giant AmerisourceBergen.
The fundraiser, scheduled for March 26 in Washington, D.C., is being co-hosted by Capitol Counsel’s Jenn Fogel-Bublick, Drew Goesl, Josh Kardon, Ethan Pittleman, as well as Andy Rosenberg of Thorn Run Partners.
Fogel-Bublick served as counsel to the Senate Banking Committee and worked with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She was formerly the legislative director at the National Low Income Housing Coalition and former executive vice president of McBee Strategic (now Signal Group). Her clients at Capitol Counsel include the National Low Income Housing Coalition, JPMorgan Chase, Planned Parenthood, and SunTrust Bank.
As a chief of staff for former Arkansas Democratic Rep. Mike Ross, Goesl worked to advance the legislative priorities of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition, which Ross chaired. He was also communications director for former Arkansas Democratic Rep. Blanche Lincoln. In his role at Capitol Counsel, he has worked to permanently decrease taxes on capital gains and dividends. He also worked to help pass Congress’s 2017 tax reform bill. He’s represented Merck, Las Vegas Sands, PhRMA, and Comcast, among others.
Kardon, former senior vice president at the Capitol Hill Consulting Group, was previously chief of staff to former California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, served as her legislative director, and advised her on energy and environmental issues. He served as chief of staff to Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, directed subcommittee staff under former Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers, and was Oregon chair for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. Among the companies he’s represented are Exxon Mobil, Walmart, and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Pittleman was formerly a policy adviser to Oregon Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader, a Blue Dog co-chair, and deputy director of federal affairs for former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber. His current clients include the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the American Health Care Association.
Rosenberg was previously a Hill staffer for the Senate HELP Committee and worked on former Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Kennedy’s personal staff. He co-founded and was a senior adviser to Draft Obama, a grassroots organization that encouraged Barack Obama to run for president, which is now setting its sights on his wife, Michelle. He also consulted for the Democratic National Committee on election law and coordinated the DNC’s 2004 Philadelphia-area Voter Protection Initiative. Rosenberg advised John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign on health care and policy in the Middle East. In 2004, he also ran for Congress in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District. His clients at Thorn Run include GlaxoSmithKline, the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, Novartis AG, and Partnership for Part D Access.
Kelly will likely face a primary challenge from Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego in the 2020 race for the seat currently held by Republican Sen. Martha McSally. She was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Jon Kyl, who took Sen. John McCain’s place after his death. The race sets up an opportunity for Arizona to be represented by two Democratic senators for the first time in over 60 years.
As progressive candidates across the country demonstrate that they can win, with or without help from establishment Democrats, many have sworn off corporate PAC money and adopted stances to appeal to voters disenchanted with the status quo. But signing a pledge is one thing. Cutting off corporate influence altogether is another, particularly in Kelly’s case.
The state has moved further left in recent years, and Kelly has taken note, campaigning on combating climate change and lowering prescription drug prices, as well as universal health care coverage. Kelly has also made gun control a priority since the assassination attempt on Giffords. And he says he’ll continue that push should he reach the Senate. Gallego has made a name for himself in Congress by advocating for Medicare for All and protection for Dreamers, among other progressive policies. Gallego himself has taken $763,849 in corporate PAC donations over the course of his career. He told The Intercept that his team hadn’t yet discussed whether his campaign would continuing accepting those contributions should he run for Senate.
Senate Democrats Enabled the Biggest Bank Merger Since the 2008 Crash
BY
Sam Knight, Truthout
PUBLISHED
March 10, 2019
When Senate Democrats teamed up with Republicans last year to pass banking deregulation, they went all in, parroting conservative talking points about running to the rescue of Main Street. More than half of the Democrats who backed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S.2155) invoked “credit unions and small banks” when explaining their vote.
Less than nine months after it was signed into law, however, the legislation has already paved the way for the largest bank merger since the 2008 financial crisis — the proposed purchase of SunTrust by BB&T. Their integration would create the sixth-largest bank in the country.
Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of campaign donations last election cycle from those two banks to Senate Democrats went to supporters of “regulatory relief,” according to campaign finance disclosures aggregated by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Individuals and entities related to BB&T gave $10,331 to Senate Democrats; 93 percent of that went to supporters of S.2155. SunTrust affiliates gave $39,762 to Senate Democrats, 97.3 percent of which went to backers of the bill. The majority of the money came from the firms’ political action committees, not from employees.
Members of the Senate Democratic caucus who mentioned “small banks and credit unions” to boost S.2155 included Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), Mark Warner (D-Virginia), Tom Carper (D-Delaware), Chris Coons (D-Delaware), Jon Tester (D-Montana), Gary Peters (D-Michigan), Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), Doug Jones (D-Alabama) and Angus King (I-Maine); and ex-Senators Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota). Together, they and other Democrats joined with Republicans to give the legislation filibuster-proof support in the Senate. Initial co-sponsors also included Senators Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) and ex-Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri).
Notable among lawmakers still serving: Senator Manchin received $5,000 tied to SunTrust; Senator Tester got $2,005. Senators Kaine and Warner each received $1,800 and $1,000 respectively. Meanwhile, Senator Jones received $6,755 from BB&T-related entities and individuals; Sentor Manchin received $1,100. Senators Carper and Kaine were each given $1,000 and $555 respectively.
According to lobbying disclosure forms, S.2155 was hugely important to both SunTrust and BB&T. Filings mention the bill as the only piece of legislation that crossed the desk of BB&T’s legislative affairs team in 2018. SunTrust lobbyists mentioned S.2155 in half of their disclosuresfrom last year.
As its boosters claimed, the legislation did change certain rules governing smaller firms, whether or not one considers that a positive attribute of banking legislation. Some relief contained in S.2155, for example, involved exemptions for smaller banks from rules against speculation with federally insured deposits. Other provisions gave smaller banks an out from requirements forcing them to report data collected to combat racial discrimination in mortgage lending.
But S.2155 also relaxed rules on some of the largest depository institutions in the country — by tweaking Dodd-Frank reforms passed in 2010 to head off future meltdowns. One section forces the Federal Reserve to customize rules for banks with more than $100 billion in assets, rather than merely giving the central bank the option to tailor the rules, as had been previously allowed. The law also loosened a set of enhanced regulations on banks with assets between $50 billion and $250 billion — some of the largest institutions in the country.
As noted by The Intercept, this gave both SunTrust and BB&T extra resources and wiggle room to focus on hashing out merger plans. Forbessaid the changes would save impacted banks “millions in regulatory compliance costs.” BB&T and SunTrust respectively have about $220 billion and $210 billion in assets.
While S.2155 was making its way through Congress, supporters said that the bill didn’t strip authority from regulators, claiming it merely provided the federal government with more discretion to use its power. Critics like Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) noted that the Trump administration has shown little interest in overseeing the financial sector, and that the statutory changes will invite more neglect, particularly at the Fed, which oversees merger proposals alongside the Justice Department Antitrust Division.
In response to the BB&T-SunTrust merger proposal, Senator Warren released Fed data and analysis showing that the central bank increasingly waves through merger approvals. Between 2006 and 2017, the Fed approved 86.8 percent of all proposed bank acquisitions. By the tail end of that time frame, the approval rate rose to more than 89 percent, reaching above 94 percent after Trump took office. The most recent data show the Fed greenlighting “94.4 percent of mergers in the first half of 2018,” Warren noted.
When Warren brought up the issue during a congressional hearing on February 26, Fed Chair Jerome Powell replied by pointing out that the approval rate doesn’t account for withdrawn applications. But the senator had criticized withdrawals too, noting they suggest that there are inappropriate interactions between the Fed, a neutral government arbiter, and private-sector actors with business before it.
“Is this one just going to be another rubber stamp?” she asked Powell, of the BB&T-SunTrust merger. “You’ve already made the decision behind closed doors before the public gets a chance to weigh in?”
Powell denied the charge, saying the Fed will “conduct a very fair, open and transparent process.” He said the central bank has not even received the merger application yet. Warren replied the Fed would likely create “yet another too-big-to-fail bank” after it did receive the paperwork.
When BB&T and SunTrust announced their proposed merger last month, the two firms said it would enable them to invest in technology and collectively save $1.6 billion through “net cost synergies.” One critic described this claim as PR-fluff for “layoffs.” Bartlett Naylor, a financial expert at consumer watchdog Public Citizen, also predicted that the merger would bring more market concentration at a time when half of Americans’ checking accounts are already controlled by four banks (Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup).
“If the business case for this merger is premised on expanding market share to raise fees and rates — that harms consumers,” Naylor said. He added that policymakers should take the opportunity “to examine when banks become too big, as this won’t be the last proposed major deal.”
Less than nine months after it was signed into law, however, the legislation has already paved the way for the largest bank merger since the 2008 financial crisis — the proposed purchase of SunTrust by BB&T. Their integration would create the sixth-largest bank in the country.
Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of campaign donations last election cycle from those two banks to Senate Democrats went to supporters of “regulatory relief,” according to campaign finance disclosures aggregated by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Individuals and entities related to BB&T gave $10,331 to Senate Democrats; 93 percent of that went to supporters of S.2155. SunTrust affiliates gave $39,762 to Senate Democrats, 97.3 percent of which went to backers of the bill. The majority of the money came from the firms’ political action committees, not from employees.
Members of the Senate Democratic caucus who mentioned “small banks and credit unions” to boost S.2155 included Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), Mark Warner (D-Virginia), Tom Carper (D-Delaware), Chris Coons (D-Delaware), Jon Tester (D-Montana), Gary Peters (D-Michigan), Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), Doug Jones (D-Alabama) and Angus King (I-Maine); and ex-Senators Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota). Together, they and other Democrats joined with Republicans to give the legislation filibuster-proof support in the Senate. Initial co-sponsors also included Senators Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) and ex-Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri).
Notable among lawmakers still serving: Senator Manchin received $5,000 tied to SunTrust; Senator Tester got $2,005. Senators Kaine and Warner each received $1,800 and $1,000 respectively. Meanwhile, Senator Jones received $6,755 from BB&T-related entities and individuals; Sentor Manchin received $1,100. Senators Carper and Kaine were each given $1,000 and $555 respectively.
According to lobbying disclosure forms, S.2155 was hugely important to both SunTrust and BB&T. Filings mention the bill as the only piece of legislation that crossed the desk of BB&T’s legislative affairs team in 2018. SunTrust lobbyists mentioned S.2155 in half of their disclosuresfrom last year.
As its boosters claimed, the legislation did change certain rules governing smaller firms, whether or not one considers that a positive attribute of banking legislation. Some relief contained in S.2155, for example, involved exemptions for smaller banks from rules against speculation with federally insured deposits. Other provisions gave smaller banks an out from requirements forcing them to report data collected to combat racial discrimination in mortgage lending.
But S.2155 also relaxed rules on some of the largest depository institutions in the country — by tweaking Dodd-Frank reforms passed in 2010 to head off future meltdowns. One section forces the Federal Reserve to customize rules for banks with more than $100 billion in assets, rather than merely giving the central bank the option to tailor the rules, as had been previously allowed. The law also loosened a set of enhanced regulations on banks with assets between $50 billion and $250 billion — some of the largest institutions in the country.
As noted by The Intercept, this gave both SunTrust and BB&T extra resources and wiggle room to focus on hashing out merger plans. Forbessaid the changes would save impacted banks “millions in regulatory compliance costs.” BB&T and SunTrust respectively have about $220 billion and $210 billion in assets.
While S.2155 was making its way through Congress, supporters said that the bill didn’t strip authority from regulators, claiming it merely provided the federal government with more discretion to use its power. Critics like Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) noted that the Trump administration has shown little interest in overseeing the financial sector, and that the statutory changes will invite more neglect, particularly at the Fed, which oversees merger proposals alongside the Justice Department Antitrust Division.
In response to the BB&T-SunTrust merger proposal, Senator Warren released Fed data and analysis showing that the central bank increasingly waves through merger approvals. Between 2006 and 2017, the Fed approved 86.8 percent of all proposed bank acquisitions. By the tail end of that time frame, the approval rate rose to more than 89 percent, reaching above 94 percent after Trump took office. The most recent data show the Fed greenlighting “94.4 percent of mergers in the first half of 2018,” Warren noted.
When Warren brought up the issue during a congressional hearing on February 26, Fed Chair Jerome Powell replied by pointing out that the approval rate doesn’t account for withdrawn applications. But the senator had criticized withdrawals too, noting they suggest that there are inappropriate interactions between the Fed, a neutral government arbiter, and private-sector actors with business before it.
“Is this one just going to be another rubber stamp?” she asked Powell, of the BB&T-SunTrust merger. “You’ve already made the decision behind closed doors before the public gets a chance to weigh in?”
Powell denied the charge, saying the Fed will “conduct a very fair, open and transparent process.” He said the central bank has not even received the merger application yet. Warren replied the Fed would likely create “yet another too-big-to-fail bank” after it did receive the paperwork.
When BB&T and SunTrust announced their proposed merger last month, the two firms said it would enable them to invest in technology and collectively save $1.6 billion through “net cost synergies.” One critic described this claim as PR-fluff for “layoffs.” Bartlett Naylor, a financial expert at consumer watchdog Public Citizen, also predicted that the merger would bring more market concentration at a time when half of Americans’ checking accounts are already controlled by four banks (Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup).
“If the business case for this merger is premised on expanding market share to raise fees and rates — that harms consumers,” Naylor said. He added that policymakers should take the opportunity “to examine when banks become too big, as this won’t be the last proposed major deal.”
op - ed: “Moderate” Democrats Are Really Conservatives — and They Are Dangerous
BY
William Rivers Pitt, Truthout
PUBLISHED
March 5, 2019
If I hear the word “moderate” used one more time to describe Blue Dog House Democrats who keep voting with Republicans, or any other non-Republican who actively supports today’s Republican Party, it is entirely possible I will eat my teeth. The term “Blue Dog” is a metaphor for a dog straining so hard on its leash that it has turned blue from lack of oxygen; the dog is a right-leaning Democrat, and the leash represents its tenuous party affiliation. These people are conservatives — period, end of file — who hide behind the “moderate” label even as they undermine policies Democrats have hewed to for half a century.
They are able to do this, thanks in no small part to the committed care and feeding of big-paper/big-network reporters, editorialists and producers, many of whom haven’t entertained a new idea since Windows 3.1 was the hot new thing. A recent spirited meeting of House Democrats gave these media types yet another chance to strut their fogbound stuff even as they gave cover to their “moderate” friends who, if you believe the mainstream stenographers out there, have it all figured out.
Their fallback tactic is ease: Inaccurate labeling stands in substitution for analysis because it is easier, tropes outmatch facts because they are easier, and lies from “important people” are not simply allowed to stand, but to flourish. Why? Because it is easier.
“House Democrats exploded in recriminations Thursday over moderates bucking the party, with liberal Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez threatening to put those voting with Republicans ‘on a list’ for a primary challenge,” reads the opening line of last week’s febrific Washington Post article on the Democrats’ meeting, only the most recent example of the practice.
There are 137 words in the first four paragraphs of that thoroughly frantic report, a bunch of which clearly strive to become lit sticks of dynamite in the next life. Exploded! Moderates bucking the party! Threatening! On a list! Primary challenge! Frustrated! Lashed out! Pressured! Unquestioned media superstar! Upped the ante! Admonishing! Liberal activists! Unseat! On a list, again! Would that I had pearls to clutch.
“Unquestioned media superstar” takes the biscuit in paragraph three, however. The term refers to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez while simultaneously dismissing her intelligence, skills, passion, wit, will and political savvy by turning her into another bit of TV fluff that will only be popular until the next big hot-minute celebrity comes along. She is bigger than that by many long miles, and those who can’t or won’t acknowledge that are setting themselves up for one hell of a surprise.
What was this House Democrats’ meeting about, anyway? Why were Democrats “exploding” over “moderates’” behavior? The meeting centered around the use and misuse of a legislative maneuver called a “motion to recommit.” It allows the minority party to add amendments to a bill just before it is brought to a vote. The rule exists to keep the majority party from wielding unlimited legislative power, and is something each party protects for the day when they find themselves in the minority. Ever since the Democrats took control of the House, Republicans have been using the rule to stick abrasive nonsense amendments to important bills.
“On Wednesday,” reports Paul Blest for Splinter News, “the House passed a major gun control bill that is sure to die in the Senate, but which laid down an important marker of the party’s priorities. Before that, however, a Republican amendment to the bill that would notify ICE when an undocumented person buys a gun was offered up and shockingly passed, due in part to the votes of 26 House Democrats — many of them members of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition caucus. This wasn’t a trade for ‘bipartisanship.’ Only eight Republicans voted for the final bill itself. Twenty-six Democrats just gave them a racist amendment for free.”
Speaker Pelosi, who ran the “explosive” meeting, was in high dudgeon and for good reason. In the eight years the GOP held the majority in that chamber, the Democrats were unable to pass a single “motion to recommit” because there were never enough Republican votes to help them do it. Since January, and because of these Blue Dog “moderates,” minority House Republicans have already managed to get two stapled to legislation. “Vote no,” admonished Pelosi, “just vote no, because the fact is, a vote yes is to give leverage to the other side.”
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez wasn’t messing around, either. “When activists ask her why she had to vote for a gun safety bill that also further empowers an agency that forcibly injects kids with psychotropic drugs,” said Ocasio-Cortez spokesman Corbin Trent about the meeting described in the Washington Post article, “they’re going to want a list of names and she’s going to give it to them.” At the conclusion of the meeting, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez herself said, “I think it is an extension of Trump’s tactics into the House, and we cannot legitimatize it and we cannot allow for it and we cannot support it.”
While it is gratifying that enough conservative Democrats won in 2018 to alter the balance of power in the House, that altered balance is utterly meaningless if the Republicans are still allowed to call the shots. House Republicans wanted to jam the words “illegal immigrants” into a Democratic gun bill as a means of putting a tack on Speaker Pelosi’s chair, and the Blue Dogs were their willing dupes.
The background checks legislation passed by the House last week was the most important bill on the gun violence crisis passed by that chamber in decades. There has already been a vote on the Green New Deal, and there will be more to come on equally important Democratic priorities. These Blue Dogs need to wise up on a tactical level, or they are going to find out what life is like on the back bench with no committee assignments and a primary opponent who has Ocasio-Cortez on speed dial.
In the meantime, can we please dispense with the notion that these Blue Dog types are “moderates”? If they vote with conservatives, they are conservatives.
Politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are not part of some far-out faction to be marginalized by the puddle-minded media; they are the moderate Democrats. The clear-sighted policies they espouse — addressing the immediate threats of climate change, gun violence and wildly expensive health care to name but a few — are deeply pragmatic necessities.
Furthermore, these policies are all wildly popular with voters on both sides of the ideological spectrum, and can be paid for with an adjustment of our national priorities. The F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft is expected to cost at least $1.5 trillion before all is said and done. I can think of a few coastal cities which could use that money to stave off the ocean, which is coming, whether we like it or not. It’s either that, or the “conservatives” can try to bail the onrushing tides out of the boulevards with the alms bowls they usually fill with oil and coal dollars. The choice has become that stark.
It is time for the Blue Dogs and their media pals to get with the program and stop hiding behind meaningless labels and discredited tropes. The avalanche has begun, and the pebbles are taking the ride whether they like it or not. If they want to be on the right, they can try being on the right side of history, if there is anyone left to write it.
They are able to do this, thanks in no small part to the committed care and feeding of big-paper/big-network reporters, editorialists and producers, many of whom haven’t entertained a new idea since Windows 3.1 was the hot new thing. A recent spirited meeting of House Democrats gave these media types yet another chance to strut their fogbound stuff even as they gave cover to their “moderate” friends who, if you believe the mainstream stenographers out there, have it all figured out.
Their fallback tactic is ease: Inaccurate labeling stands in substitution for analysis because it is easier, tropes outmatch facts because they are easier, and lies from “important people” are not simply allowed to stand, but to flourish. Why? Because it is easier.
“House Democrats exploded in recriminations Thursday over moderates bucking the party, with liberal Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez threatening to put those voting with Republicans ‘on a list’ for a primary challenge,” reads the opening line of last week’s febrific Washington Post article on the Democrats’ meeting, only the most recent example of the practice.
There are 137 words in the first four paragraphs of that thoroughly frantic report, a bunch of which clearly strive to become lit sticks of dynamite in the next life. Exploded! Moderates bucking the party! Threatening! On a list! Primary challenge! Frustrated! Lashed out! Pressured! Unquestioned media superstar! Upped the ante! Admonishing! Liberal activists! Unseat! On a list, again! Would that I had pearls to clutch.
“Unquestioned media superstar” takes the biscuit in paragraph three, however. The term refers to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez while simultaneously dismissing her intelligence, skills, passion, wit, will and political savvy by turning her into another bit of TV fluff that will only be popular until the next big hot-minute celebrity comes along. She is bigger than that by many long miles, and those who can’t or won’t acknowledge that are setting themselves up for one hell of a surprise.
What was this House Democrats’ meeting about, anyway? Why were Democrats “exploding” over “moderates’” behavior? The meeting centered around the use and misuse of a legislative maneuver called a “motion to recommit.” It allows the minority party to add amendments to a bill just before it is brought to a vote. The rule exists to keep the majority party from wielding unlimited legislative power, and is something each party protects for the day when they find themselves in the minority. Ever since the Democrats took control of the House, Republicans have been using the rule to stick abrasive nonsense amendments to important bills.
“On Wednesday,” reports Paul Blest for Splinter News, “the House passed a major gun control bill that is sure to die in the Senate, but which laid down an important marker of the party’s priorities. Before that, however, a Republican amendment to the bill that would notify ICE when an undocumented person buys a gun was offered up and shockingly passed, due in part to the votes of 26 House Democrats — many of them members of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition caucus. This wasn’t a trade for ‘bipartisanship.’ Only eight Republicans voted for the final bill itself. Twenty-six Democrats just gave them a racist amendment for free.”
Speaker Pelosi, who ran the “explosive” meeting, was in high dudgeon and for good reason. In the eight years the GOP held the majority in that chamber, the Democrats were unable to pass a single “motion to recommit” because there were never enough Republican votes to help them do it. Since January, and because of these Blue Dog “moderates,” minority House Republicans have already managed to get two stapled to legislation. “Vote no,” admonished Pelosi, “just vote no, because the fact is, a vote yes is to give leverage to the other side.”
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez wasn’t messing around, either. “When activists ask her why she had to vote for a gun safety bill that also further empowers an agency that forcibly injects kids with psychotropic drugs,” said Ocasio-Cortez spokesman Corbin Trent about the meeting described in the Washington Post article, “they’re going to want a list of names and she’s going to give it to them.” At the conclusion of the meeting, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez herself said, “I think it is an extension of Trump’s tactics into the House, and we cannot legitimatize it and we cannot allow for it and we cannot support it.”
While it is gratifying that enough conservative Democrats won in 2018 to alter the balance of power in the House, that altered balance is utterly meaningless if the Republicans are still allowed to call the shots. House Republicans wanted to jam the words “illegal immigrants” into a Democratic gun bill as a means of putting a tack on Speaker Pelosi’s chair, and the Blue Dogs were their willing dupes.
The background checks legislation passed by the House last week was the most important bill on the gun violence crisis passed by that chamber in decades. There has already been a vote on the Green New Deal, and there will be more to come on equally important Democratic priorities. These Blue Dogs need to wise up on a tactical level, or they are going to find out what life is like on the back bench with no committee assignments and a primary opponent who has Ocasio-Cortez on speed dial.
In the meantime, can we please dispense with the notion that these Blue Dog types are “moderates”? If they vote with conservatives, they are conservatives.
Politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are not part of some far-out faction to be marginalized by the puddle-minded media; they are the moderate Democrats. The clear-sighted policies they espouse — addressing the immediate threats of climate change, gun violence and wildly expensive health care to name but a few — are deeply pragmatic necessities.
Furthermore, these policies are all wildly popular with voters on both sides of the ideological spectrum, and can be paid for with an adjustment of our national priorities. The F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft is expected to cost at least $1.5 trillion before all is said and done. I can think of a few coastal cities which could use that money to stave off the ocean, which is coming, whether we like it or not. It’s either that, or the “conservatives” can try to bail the onrushing tides out of the boulevards with the alms bowls they usually fill with oil and coal dollars. The choice has become that stark.
It is time for the Blue Dogs and their media pals to get with the program and stop hiding behind meaningless labels and discredited tropes. The avalanche has begun, and the pebbles are taking the ride whether they like it or not. If they want to be on the right, they can try being on the right side of history, if there is anyone left to write it.
Tulsi Gabbard’s Financial Disclosures Leave Out Ties To Koch-Funded Think Tank
The Hawaii congresswoman, who’s running as a Democrat for president, sits on a foreign policy advisory council for the Catholic University of America.
By Nick Grube - honolulu civil beat
3/1/19
WASHINGTON — Here’s something you might not know about U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: She’s an advisor to a Charles Koch-funded foreign policy think tank based at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
One of the reasons that’s a surprise is because it’s nowhere to be found on her latest financial disclosure form.
The revelation comes in a new report from Sludge, an investigative news site that tracks money in politics, that highlights the Koch connection to the university’s Center for the Study of Statesmanship. The center was founded in 2017 through a $2.35 million grant from the billionaire’s foundation.
Gabbard, who’s running for president in the Democratic primary, is one of a dozen advisors to the center with strong ties to the Charles and David Koch network — which the author calls “The Kochtopus.”
The billionaire brothers have used their wealth to reshape American politics by pushing far-right, libertarian policies through the use of campaign donations and dark money.
They also spent millions trying to infuse their ideas into institutions of higher learning, from Catholic University to Florida State and George Mason.
As the article points out, Gabbard’s affiliation with the Koch-funded Center for the Study of Statesmanship might seem odd given her public pronouncements about swearing off donations from political action committees and the need to overturn Citizens United.
But the center’s viewpoint also appears to align with Gabbard’s anti-interventionist viewpoints that revolve around keeping the U.S. out of regime-change wars.
“Gabbard, a military veteran, has often opposed U.S. engagement in overseas conflicts, including in war-torn Syria, so she is not out of place among anti-interventionists,” the article says.
“But for a Democrat — especially a 2016 Bernie Sanders surrogate who has progressive views on campaign finance reform and single-payer health care — to accept a position at a think tank funded by Koch and staffed with several Koch-linked individuals is unusual.”
Gabbard’s congressional spokeswoman Lauren McIlvaine defended her boss’ affiliation with the center in a statement to Sludge. McIlvaine also highlighted the fact that Gabbard is a member of the Hawaii Army National Guard and has served two tours of duty in the Middle East.
“The mission of CSS is aligned with the work that she has dedicated herself to, which is why she agreed to serve on their Council of Advisors,” McIlvaine said.
But it’s the financial disclosure omission that sticks out.
Gabbard’s financial disclosure from 2017 — which is the most recent one available — shows that the congresswoman held positions within three organizations: The Sanders Institute, the Healthy Hawaii Coalition and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum Profile in Courage Award Committee.
The congresswoman was on the advisory council in 2017.
According to the House Committee on Ethics financial disclosure guideline, members must report any positions they held with organizations, including educational institutions, regardless of whether they received compensation. The guidelines, however, do provide an exemption for honorary positions.
Civil Beat asked Gabbard’s office for an explanation as to why the congresswoman didn’t include the position on her 2017 financial disclosure, but did not receive a response.
This wouldn’t be the first time Gabbard has been caught for not filling out her forms correctly.
In January 2017, Gabbard and her husband, Abraham Williams, travelled to Lebanon and Syria as part of what she described as a secret “fact-finding” mission.
While in Syria she met with the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, a dictator who has been accused by both the U.S. and others in the international community of using chemical weapons against his own people.
The congresswoman was harshly rebuked when she returned by both the left and the right for meeting with Assad. She also initially refused to disclose who paid for her visit.
It was later revealed that Gabbard travelled to Syria with Dennis Kucinich, a former congressman from Ohio, and two brothers, Elie and Bassam Khawam, who said they funded the trip even though it was officially sponsored by the nonprofit, AACCESS-Ohio.
The Khawams have been described in various news articles as supporters of the Assad regime.
Gabbard did not initially disclose to the House Ethics Committee details of her trip to Syria, and after the controversy became public, amended her official travel disclosures. Amid the backlash, Gabbard also said she would reimburse all the costs of her visit.
Like Gabbard, Kucinich is also a member of the Center for the Study of Statesmanship Council of Advisors.
One of the reasons that’s a surprise is because it’s nowhere to be found on her latest financial disclosure form.
The revelation comes in a new report from Sludge, an investigative news site that tracks money in politics, that highlights the Koch connection to the university’s Center for the Study of Statesmanship. The center was founded in 2017 through a $2.35 million grant from the billionaire’s foundation.
Gabbard, who’s running for president in the Democratic primary, is one of a dozen advisors to the center with strong ties to the Charles and David Koch network — which the author calls “The Kochtopus.”
The billionaire brothers have used their wealth to reshape American politics by pushing far-right, libertarian policies through the use of campaign donations and dark money.
They also spent millions trying to infuse their ideas into institutions of higher learning, from Catholic University to Florida State and George Mason.
As the article points out, Gabbard’s affiliation with the Koch-funded Center for the Study of Statesmanship might seem odd given her public pronouncements about swearing off donations from political action committees and the need to overturn Citizens United.
But the center’s viewpoint also appears to align with Gabbard’s anti-interventionist viewpoints that revolve around keeping the U.S. out of regime-change wars.
“Gabbard, a military veteran, has often opposed U.S. engagement in overseas conflicts, including in war-torn Syria, so she is not out of place among anti-interventionists,” the article says.
“But for a Democrat — especially a 2016 Bernie Sanders surrogate who has progressive views on campaign finance reform and single-payer health care — to accept a position at a think tank funded by Koch and staffed with several Koch-linked individuals is unusual.”
Gabbard’s congressional spokeswoman Lauren McIlvaine defended her boss’ affiliation with the center in a statement to Sludge. McIlvaine also highlighted the fact that Gabbard is a member of the Hawaii Army National Guard and has served two tours of duty in the Middle East.
“The mission of CSS is aligned with the work that she has dedicated herself to, which is why she agreed to serve on their Council of Advisors,” McIlvaine said.
But it’s the financial disclosure omission that sticks out.
Gabbard’s financial disclosure from 2017 — which is the most recent one available — shows that the congresswoman held positions within three organizations: The Sanders Institute, the Healthy Hawaii Coalition and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum Profile in Courage Award Committee.
The congresswoman was on the advisory council in 2017.
According to the House Committee on Ethics financial disclosure guideline, members must report any positions they held with organizations, including educational institutions, regardless of whether they received compensation. The guidelines, however, do provide an exemption for honorary positions.
Civil Beat asked Gabbard’s office for an explanation as to why the congresswoman didn’t include the position on her 2017 financial disclosure, but did not receive a response.
This wouldn’t be the first time Gabbard has been caught for not filling out her forms correctly.
In January 2017, Gabbard and her husband, Abraham Williams, travelled to Lebanon and Syria as part of what she described as a secret “fact-finding” mission.
While in Syria she met with the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, a dictator who has been accused by both the U.S. and others in the international community of using chemical weapons against his own people.
The congresswoman was harshly rebuked when she returned by both the left and the right for meeting with Assad. She also initially refused to disclose who paid for her visit.
It was later revealed that Gabbard travelled to Syria with Dennis Kucinich, a former congressman from Ohio, and two brothers, Elie and Bassam Khawam, who said they funded the trip even though it was officially sponsored by the nonprofit, AACCESS-Ohio.
The Khawams have been described in various news articles as supporters of the Assad regime.
Gabbard did not initially disclose to the House Ethics Committee details of her trip to Syria, and after the controversy became public, amended her official travel disclosures. Amid the backlash, Gabbard also said she would reimburse all the costs of her visit.
Like Gabbard, Kucinich is also a member of the Center for the Study of Statesmanship Council of Advisors.
House Climate Panel Democrats Got Nearly $200,000 in Fossil Fuel Industry Donations
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named nine Democrats to the new committee on Thursday.
PAUL BLUMENTHAL AND ALEXANDER C. KAUFMAN - mother jones
FEBRUARY 9, 2019 6:00 AM
The nine Democrats selected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to serve on the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis received a combined $198,000 from fossil fuel industry political action committees in the 2018 election cycle.
The majority of the donations went to Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), who raised $117,000 from PACs connected to oil, gas, mining and electric utility corporations. Those donations constituted 6 percent of all contributions raised by Lujan. The rest of the appointees received scant funds from fossil fuel PACs. The data comes from the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit that classifies campaign donations by industry.
Pelosi appointed the nine members to the committee on Thursday. Democrats created the select committee after winning control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 elections. It is tasked with coming up with policies to respond to man-made climate change.
Fundraising from the fossil fuel industry has been a flashpoint in the debate over the committee’s creation. Activists have pressed members to reject all fossil fuel money as a sign that they are independent from an industry that has worked hard to suppress climate science and deny any action to forestall disaster.
“That’s $200,000 of potential conflict of interest on an issue of grave concern,” said David Turnbull, a spokesman for the coalition of groups that oversee the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge. “If you’re going to be talking about the critical issue of climate change, you need to rid yourself of the influence of the fossil fuel industry.”
Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) was the only member named to the committee who has signed pledges promising not to raise money from corporate PACs or the fossil fuel industry. Prior to signing the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge, he did receive $1,500 from the National Association of Truck Stop Owners, a trade group that lobbies on behalf of highway gas stations for truckers.
Two members—freshman Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.)—received just $1,000, the Center for Responsive Politics data showed. But a spokeswoman for Neguse said the congressman turned down that September donation from the South Dakota-based coal-fired utility Black Hills Corp. She said Neguse “will take the pledge.”
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), the select committee’s chairwoman, said in December she would consider taking the pledge, but Turnbull confirmed her office has not yet made any commitments. A Castor spokesman said she “will not accept contributions from the fossil fuel industry.” Last month, Castor divested shares of a mutual fund with fossil fuel utility holdings after the watchdog site Sludge reported she and her husband had up to $100,000 in investments in the fund.
Committee Democrats may not have raised huge sums from fossil fuel industry PACs, but a few of them have collected significant contributions from corporate donors. Lujan raised $1.1 million from business and industry PACs—more than half of all the money he raised in the 2018 election cycle. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Donald McEachin (D-Va.) and Castor all raised more than $300,000 apiece from corporate PACs in the last election.
“My values and voting record are clear,” Lujan said in a statement to HuffPost. “I’ve been battling climate change and advocating for the generation of renewable resources and energy efficiency since my time as the Chairman of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, before I was a Member of Congress. I respect and recognize New Mexico’s long history as an energy state, that is why, throughout my career, I have fought to ensure that New Mexico is a leader in our clean energy future.”
A spokeswoman for Bonamici said the “congresswoman generally does not sign pledges but has never taken money from big oil.”
The announcement Thursday of the panel’s additional members came just hours after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) released a resolution outlining the core pillars of a so-called Green New Deal, an unprecedented national plan to scale down greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade.
At a press conference announcing the resolution, Ocasio-Cortez said Pelosi invited her to join the select committee, but she turned it down.
“This is not a snub,” the congresswoman said, noting that three members of the panel were standing beside her at the event.
Late last year, Ocasio-Cortez launched an aggressive bid to replace the climate panel with a select committee on a Green New Deal. She garnered support from roughly 40 House Democrats. But Pelosi rejected the plan, tapping Castor in December to lead original select committee.
At the time, Castor declined to call for a rule barring members who accepted fossil fuel money from serving on the panel. Ocasio-Cortez panned the congresswoman in a tweet, comparing “loading a climate committee” with fossil fuel money to “letting foxes in the henhouse.”
“For young people, climate change is bigger than election or re-election,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “It’s life or death.”
The majority of the donations went to Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), who raised $117,000 from PACs connected to oil, gas, mining and electric utility corporations. Those donations constituted 6 percent of all contributions raised by Lujan. The rest of the appointees received scant funds from fossil fuel PACs. The data comes from the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit that classifies campaign donations by industry.
Pelosi appointed the nine members to the committee on Thursday. Democrats created the select committee after winning control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 elections. It is tasked with coming up with policies to respond to man-made climate change.
Fundraising from the fossil fuel industry has been a flashpoint in the debate over the committee’s creation. Activists have pressed members to reject all fossil fuel money as a sign that they are independent from an industry that has worked hard to suppress climate science and deny any action to forestall disaster.
“That’s $200,000 of potential conflict of interest on an issue of grave concern,” said David Turnbull, a spokesman for the coalition of groups that oversee the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge. “If you’re going to be talking about the critical issue of climate change, you need to rid yourself of the influence of the fossil fuel industry.”
Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) was the only member named to the committee who has signed pledges promising not to raise money from corporate PACs or the fossil fuel industry. Prior to signing the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge, he did receive $1,500 from the National Association of Truck Stop Owners, a trade group that lobbies on behalf of highway gas stations for truckers.
Two members—freshman Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.)—received just $1,000, the Center for Responsive Politics data showed. But a spokeswoman for Neguse said the congressman turned down that September donation from the South Dakota-based coal-fired utility Black Hills Corp. She said Neguse “will take the pledge.”
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), the select committee’s chairwoman, said in December she would consider taking the pledge, but Turnbull confirmed her office has not yet made any commitments. A Castor spokesman said she “will not accept contributions from the fossil fuel industry.” Last month, Castor divested shares of a mutual fund with fossil fuel utility holdings after the watchdog site Sludge reported she and her husband had up to $100,000 in investments in the fund.
Committee Democrats may not have raised huge sums from fossil fuel industry PACs, but a few of them have collected significant contributions from corporate donors. Lujan raised $1.1 million from business and industry PACs—more than half of all the money he raised in the 2018 election cycle. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Donald McEachin (D-Va.) and Castor all raised more than $300,000 apiece from corporate PACs in the last election.
“My values and voting record are clear,” Lujan said in a statement to HuffPost. “I’ve been battling climate change and advocating for the generation of renewable resources and energy efficiency since my time as the Chairman of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, before I was a Member of Congress. I respect and recognize New Mexico’s long history as an energy state, that is why, throughout my career, I have fought to ensure that New Mexico is a leader in our clean energy future.”
A spokeswoman for Bonamici said the “congresswoman generally does not sign pledges but has never taken money from big oil.”
The announcement Thursday of the panel’s additional members came just hours after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) released a resolution outlining the core pillars of a so-called Green New Deal, an unprecedented national plan to scale down greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade.
At a press conference announcing the resolution, Ocasio-Cortez said Pelosi invited her to join the select committee, but she turned it down.
“This is not a snub,” the congresswoman said, noting that three members of the panel were standing beside her at the event.
Late last year, Ocasio-Cortez launched an aggressive bid to replace the climate panel with a select committee on a Green New Deal. She garnered support from roughly 40 House Democrats. But Pelosi rejected the plan, tapping Castor in December to lead original select committee.
At the time, Castor declined to call for a rule barring members who accepted fossil fuel money from serving on the panel. Ocasio-Cortez panned the congresswoman in a tweet, comparing “loading a climate committee” with fossil fuel money to “letting foxes in the henhouse.”
“For young people, climate change is bigger than election or re-election,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “It’s life or death.”
Five congressional Democrats including Gabbard and Moulton likely to get primaried – From the left
David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement - raw story
30 JAN 2019 AT 09:47 ET
Progressive Democrats are wasting no time in cleaning house – in this case the House of Representatives – of members of their own party some think are too conservative or don’t represent the party well.
The Hill reports that among them is Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts. Congressman Moulton was once a rising star, when he was elected in 2014. But the 40-year old former Marine Corps decorated officer angered many with his multi-year war against then-former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Now that she has regained the gavel and won several major battles in a few short weeks against President Trump, Moulton is persona non grata to many in the Democratic Party
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is also in trouble. Her 2017 meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad raised eyebrows and drew the ire of Democrats and Republicans alike. More recently, her previous anti-LGBTQ activism has drawn anger and fire. And just this week news that her just-launched campaign for president is already disintegrating leaves her ripe for attack.
Conservative Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas also makes The Hill’s report. Cuellar has voted for anti-abortion legislation, voted to constitutionally define marriage as between one man and one woman only, and even campaigned for a Republican.
Another conservative Democrat, Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois, to some is a Democrat in name only. He is anti-LGBTQ. Lipinski in 2014 voted to reaffirm DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 that banned the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. The Supreme Court later struck down a key portion of the law.
Lipinski is also opposed to same-sex marriage, ObamaCare, the DREAM Act, and abortion rights. He was an original co-sponsor of the religious right’s First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), a bill that allows discrimination by people claiming their sincerely held religious views do not permit them to do business with LGBT people or same-sex couples.
Also making The Hill’s list is Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts. In Congress since 2001, Lynch is rated as a “a Populist-Leaning Liberal” by OnTheIssues, which tracks positions of all federal lawmakers and other politicians. Lynch opposed Nancy Pelosi as Speaker. The Hill reports video game developer Brianna Wu, who almost beat Lynch last year, will challenge him again in 2020.
RELATED: THE LIST: HERE ARE THE 16 HOUSE DEMOCRATS (INCLUDING 14 MEN) WHO SIGNED A LETTER OPPOSING PELOSI AS SPEAKER
The Hill reports that among them is Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts. Congressman Moulton was once a rising star, when he was elected in 2014. But the 40-year old former Marine Corps decorated officer angered many with his multi-year war against then-former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Now that she has regained the gavel and won several major battles in a few short weeks against President Trump, Moulton is persona non grata to many in the Democratic Party
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is also in trouble. Her 2017 meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad raised eyebrows and drew the ire of Democrats and Republicans alike. More recently, her previous anti-LGBTQ activism has drawn anger and fire. And just this week news that her just-launched campaign for president is already disintegrating leaves her ripe for attack.
Conservative Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas also makes The Hill’s report. Cuellar has voted for anti-abortion legislation, voted to constitutionally define marriage as between one man and one woman only, and even campaigned for a Republican.
Another conservative Democrat, Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois, to some is a Democrat in name only. He is anti-LGBTQ. Lipinski in 2014 voted to reaffirm DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 that banned the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. The Supreme Court later struck down a key portion of the law.
Lipinski is also opposed to same-sex marriage, ObamaCare, the DREAM Act, and abortion rights. He was an original co-sponsor of the religious right’s First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), a bill that allows discrimination by people claiming their sincerely held religious views do not permit them to do business with LGBT people or same-sex couples.
Also making The Hill’s list is Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts. In Congress since 2001, Lynch is rated as a “a Populist-Leaning Liberal” by OnTheIssues, which tracks positions of all federal lawmakers and other politicians. Lynch opposed Nancy Pelosi as Speaker. The Hill reports video game developer Brianna Wu, who almost beat Lynch last year, will challenge him again in 2020.
RELATED: THE LIST: HERE ARE THE 16 HOUSE DEMOCRATS (INCLUDING 14 MEN) WHO SIGNED A LETTER OPPOSING PELOSI AS SPEAKER
A CORPORATE-FRIENDLY DEMOCRAT HAS BEEN STALLING PROGRESS FOR 40 YEARS. NOW A PRIMARY CHALLENGE MIGHT TAKE HIM OUT.
Akela Lacy - the intercept
January 26 2019, 5:56 a.m.
A NEW COURT-MANDATED redistricting in Virginia has put Democrats in a prime position to retake both chambers of the state legislature in November 2019 elections for the first time since 1995. But there could still be one major obstacle standing in the way of the party enacting a bottled-up progressive agenda: Democratic Senate Minority Leader Dick Saslaw, a 39-year incumbent with a corporate-friendly voting record and close ties to the state’s dominant power company. As long as Saslaw remains the party’s Senate boss, little can get done without his acquiescence. But for the first time since he was elected senator, he’s facing a primary challenge.
Saslaw has stymied progressive efforts to push an anti-corporate agenda in the state, voting against bills that would lead to substantive regulation of the state’s two electric monopolies, and speaking out against campaign finance reform and increased ethics and transparency regulations. Yasmine Taeb, an American-Muslim human rights lawyer who immigrated to the United States from Iran as a child, launched her primary challenge to Saslaw in September — and she’s going after his ties to Dominion Energy,
Virginia’s biggest private-industry political donor. The company gives heavily to both Democrats and Republicans, but Saslaw is its top recipient in the General Assembly and one of its biggest advocates in Richmond.
Taeb moved into the 35th District with the specific aim of unseating Saslaw, who has been in office longer than she’s been alive. Her first foray into politics was in 2014, when she made a bid for the Virginia House of Delegates and received fewer than 100 votes. She’s running on a platformthat includes a $15 minimum wage, no corporate PAC donations, and “Medicare for All.” But she’s also focused on stemming Dominion’s influence in the state, fighting to stop the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines.
“My opponent has not faced a primary challenger since 1979. As a result, he has become severely misaligned with the values of our district, the most liberal in the Commonwealth,” Taeb told The Intercept. “I want to be a state senator who actually represents our district — one who stands with our working families rather than union busting employers; one who will fight to end Dominion’s control over our legislators rather than serving it; and one who embodies the diversity of our district rather than slowing down racial justice efforts.”
Her opposition to Saslaw comes amid changes to state and local governments around the country. Democrats flipped more than 300 state House and Senate seats and six state legislative chambers last year. Seven states now have Democratic trifectas, meaning that the party controls the governorship and both chambers in the state legislature. Progressives are more likely to be able to pass policies like a higher minimum wage or eliminating cash bail on the state level than in Congress.
“There are increasingly two visions for Democratic politics in Virginia,” said Brennan Gilmore, executive director of Clean Virginia, a group advocating for stronger regulation of the state’s monopoly utilities and an end to two decades of manipulating legislation in their favor. “There’s the old-school Virginia Way, corporate friendly, pay to play, and then a new wave of legislators — many freshmen from last year, but a number of longtime incumbents as well — who are running on transparency and independence, putting constituent interests above special interests.”
The new lawmakers are not taking Dominion money, Gilmore said. “As the worst paragon of that old system of corporate cronyism, Dominion has become the key signal of a much broader push against the status quo. And no one represents the old school — or has done Dominion’s bidding — as much as Dick Saslaw.”
Virginia Democrats are angling to win control of the state legislature in 2019, and Saslaw’s re-election would make him the likely majority leader. A Democratic majority would make passing progressive legislationpossible, but activists in the state worry that Saslaw, who has arguedagainst proposals to strengthen campaign finance and ethics laws, would get in the way of that. Taeb is hoping that she can mobilize voters in their increasingly progressive district — which Saslaw helped redraw in 2011 — against him by highlighting his cozy, mutually beneficial relationship with Dominion ahead of the June 11 primary election.
DOMINION IS KNOWN for helping to write legislation in its favor. The Richmond Times-Dispatch in 2017 ran a four-part series that found Dominion exerting significant influence to gradually gut the power of the State Corporation Commission, the regulatory agency tasked with overseeing the company’s dealings. The assembly last year passed a billthat further weakened the SCC’s ratepayer protections.
Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has described the relationship between the state legislature and the utility as “cronyism.”
“Dominion Energy is the strongest lobbying entity in Virginia, and that’s very evident in the fact that we’ve, for several years now, had legislation that further hurt ratepayers,” Delegate Sam Rasoul told The Intercept. “Objectively now, even Dominion agrees that it has overcharged ratepayers.”
Saslaw has consistently opposed bills pushing energy and spending efficiency, introducing and supporting Dominion-advised bills to allow the public utility to double-charge consumers and keep the excess profits, freeze electricity rates, and keep the SCC from regularly reviewing those rates. Saslaw is also known, according to a Democratic state legislator who spoke to The Intercept on the condition of anonymity given his relationship with the senator, for reprimanding individual members of the assembly for trying to amend Dominion-sponsored bills. According to local activist and Fairfax County Democratic Committee Member Stephen Spitz, who is volunteering with Taeb’s campaign, Saslaw is famous for scolding his colleagues for trying to rein in the company and going on unsolicited tangents singing its praises. Dominion, in turn, contacts Saslaw when it’s in trouble.
Saslaw’s campaign has raised just shy of $600,000 this cycle, including $22,500 from the Dominion Employees PAC, formerly known as Dominion Energy PAC. He’s also accepted donations from PACs associated with the weapons manufacturer, Raytheon, and controversial car-title lenders, which he’s been bashed for supporting. Taeb’s campaign, meanwhile, has raised just over $70,000. Fifty-thousand dollars of that came from Sonjia Smith, a longtime area Democratic donor who is married to Michael D. Bills, a billionaire investor who started an initiative to support candidates who refused to take money from Dominion.
The incumbent’s campaign manager, Andrew Whitley, said Saslaw respects candidates who have sworn off Dominion money, but he will continue to take money from the utility. “As the leader of the caucus, his main goal in 2019 is to take back the majority,” Whitley told The Intercept. “And of course, making that happen means that making sure that our campaigns have the resources to be successful. So yes, he does take contributions from Dominion, and he takes them with the goal of making Virginia more progressive and helping us take back the Senate.”
Whitley said that Saslaw’s voting record, and his endorsements by the League of Conservation Voters and advocates for solar, disprove the notion that Dominion’s donations have bought influence. “The senator has voted on initiatives that have been against Dominion’s influence,” Whitley said. He did not specify what initiatives those were.
Virginia is one of only six states that allow unlimited corporate contributions to state campaigns. Republicans Sen. Frank Wagner and Delegate Terry Kilgore are other lawmakers who have received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the utility giant while in office. Wagner in 2015 sponsored a controversial rate-freeze bill, which he authored and passed with help from Dominion, that locked in rates for the utility and allowed it to overcharge consumers by estimates of up to $425 million.
Following public outcry over that legislation, Saslaw and Wagner co-sponsored another bill last year that they said was meant to right the wrongs of the rate-freeze bill. Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring publicly denounced that bipartisan, pro-Dominion bill for double-charging clients and installing inadequate consumer protections. The state Senate killed another bill introduced by Democratic Sen. Chap Petersen that would have more abruptly lifted the rate freeze and pursued the Wagner-Saslaw measure, which was more favorable to utilities instead. It was eventually approved and signed into law last March.
This year, Rasoul and Rep. Alfonso H. Lopez are co-sponsoring an omnibus bill that would reinstate biannual reviews of Dominion rates by the SCC and increase the amount of over-earnings the company must refund to consumers. It is unclear whether the bill will have enough support to pass.
“It’ll be difficult for it to pass as it comes through the powerful Commerce and Labor committee,” Rasoul said. But, he said, pledges by Democratic candidates, as well as the attorney general and the lieutenant governor, not to take money from Dominion are a good sign. “The bar has definitely been elevated, that you need to be on the right side of this in order to be a candidate.”
Some Democrats think it’s important to balance skepticism of corporate donations with the risk of losing elections. “If we were not to take money, and Republicans still take money, and Democrats lose, there’s a part of me that would regret seeing that,” said Peg Winningham, chair of the Falls Church Democratic Committee. “But I absolutely think that Virginia should have a lot stricter controls on campaign donations.”
IN ADDITION TO his ties to Dominion, Saslaw’s critics have also turned their attention to the senator’s past comments that, they say, show he is out of step with an increasingly diverse Democratic Party.
In September, Saslaw was at George Mason University for a senatorial debate between Tim Kaine and Corey Stuart. In a conversation with a group of people at that event, Saslaw suggested that voters in the 38th District would not vote for Taeb given that his district is majority white, according to two people with knowledge of the conversation.
Saslaw said Taeb “‘can’t win in a district like this,’ and then he went off spouting all these facts about his district,” said one person who was there, requesting anonymity because of their relationship with the senator. Saslaw pointed out that the district is “60 percent white, it was some percentage of older Virginians, it was some percentage of Christians,” the source said. “Basically the message I interpreted was that someone like Yasmine, who’s a diverse candidate and a young candidate, couldn’t win in the district.”
Taeb
Whitley, Saslaw’s spokesperson, said the conversation could not have happened because Saslaw didn’t have time to speak to people on the margins of the debate, dismissing it as a “he-said-she-said” scenario.
Saslaw has previously been accused of being skeptical that a Muslim candidate could win. When Atif Qarni, now Virginia’s secretary of education, was running for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2015, he wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that state Democrats warned him not to proceed with his campaign because, as a Muslim, he couldn’t win. Responding to a Facebook post criticizing the article, Qarni named Saslaw in relation to the challenges he faced securing funding as a Muslim candidate. “There was bias in this race. Religion was brought up,” Qarni wrote in a comment. “I brought up these concerns with several people–including some people you know well, but the typical response, was ‘this is politics’. People are too afraid to stand up to people like Dick Saslaw.”
In a 2015 meeting of the Mason District Democratic Committee, Saslaw opposed a proposal to change the name of the Jeb Stuart High School, which was named after a Confederate army general. He described the name-change effort as being overly politically correct and suggested that it would lead to a slippery slope, with calls to change the name of Virginia schools and landmarks named after Confederate leaders, according to Spitz; David Jonas, a Mason District Democrat; Sean Barnett, a Fairfax County Democrat; and two local Democrats who asked for anonymity given their working relationship with the senator, who were all at the meeting. (Barnett has endorsed Taeb for state senator.)
Though Saslaw originally opposed changing the name of Stuart High, he appeared this year at a fundraiser supporting the school board’s move. He also donated to the private fundraising efforts to support the change. The school is now called Justice High School.
Jessica Swanson, a Mason District Democrat, told The Intercept that she is extremely grateful for the senator’s $1,500 contribution to the name-change effort. She was at the 2015 meeting and said she doesn’t remember what, if anything, Saslaw said about it at the time.
Three years earlier, Saslaw had cut his sponsorship of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee’s annual dinner, after members changed the event’s name from the Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner — after the slave-owning presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson — to instead honor Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, according to Spitz and another person familiar with the matter. In 2014, the name of the dinner was changed back to Jefferson-Jackson, and Saslaw resumed his support.
Willingham, chair of the Falls Church Democratic Committee who has worked with Saslaw, said she’s “never heard him say a bigoted word.” She knows Taeb as well and hasn’t endorsed either candidate.
In response to questions about Saslaw’s comments on Taeb and the school’s name change, Whitley said talking about these claims does a disservice to both candidates. “We also do a disservice to the constituents and to the party in general by having this kind of conversation,” he said.
Saslaw has stymied progressive efforts to push an anti-corporate agenda in the state, voting against bills that would lead to substantive regulation of the state’s two electric monopolies, and speaking out against campaign finance reform and increased ethics and transparency regulations. Yasmine Taeb, an American-Muslim human rights lawyer who immigrated to the United States from Iran as a child, launched her primary challenge to Saslaw in September — and she’s going after his ties to Dominion Energy,
Virginia’s biggest private-industry political donor. The company gives heavily to both Democrats and Republicans, but Saslaw is its top recipient in the General Assembly and one of its biggest advocates in Richmond.
Taeb moved into the 35th District with the specific aim of unseating Saslaw, who has been in office longer than she’s been alive. Her first foray into politics was in 2014, when she made a bid for the Virginia House of Delegates and received fewer than 100 votes. She’s running on a platformthat includes a $15 minimum wage, no corporate PAC donations, and “Medicare for All.” But she’s also focused on stemming Dominion’s influence in the state, fighting to stop the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines.
“My opponent has not faced a primary challenger since 1979. As a result, he has become severely misaligned with the values of our district, the most liberal in the Commonwealth,” Taeb told The Intercept. “I want to be a state senator who actually represents our district — one who stands with our working families rather than union busting employers; one who will fight to end Dominion’s control over our legislators rather than serving it; and one who embodies the diversity of our district rather than slowing down racial justice efforts.”
Her opposition to Saslaw comes amid changes to state and local governments around the country. Democrats flipped more than 300 state House and Senate seats and six state legislative chambers last year. Seven states now have Democratic trifectas, meaning that the party controls the governorship and both chambers in the state legislature. Progressives are more likely to be able to pass policies like a higher minimum wage or eliminating cash bail on the state level than in Congress.
“There are increasingly two visions for Democratic politics in Virginia,” said Brennan Gilmore, executive director of Clean Virginia, a group advocating for stronger regulation of the state’s monopoly utilities and an end to two decades of manipulating legislation in their favor. “There’s the old-school Virginia Way, corporate friendly, pay to play, and then a new wave of legislators — many freshmen from last year, but a number of longtime incumbents as well — who are running on transparency and independence, putting constituent interests above special interests.”
The new lawmakers are not taking Dominion money, Gilmore said. “As the worst paragon of that old system of corporate cronyism, Dominion has become the key signal of a much broader push against the status quo. And no one represents the old school — or has done Dominion’s bidding — as much as Dick Saslaw.”
Virginia Democrats are angling to win control of the state legislature in 2019, and Saslaw’s re-election would make him the likely majority leader. A Democratic majority would make passing progressive legislationpossible, but activists in the state worry that Saslaw, who has arguedagainst proposals to strengthen campaign finance and ethics laws, would get in the way of that. Taeb is hoping that she can mobilize voters in their increasingly progressive district — which Saslaw helped redraw in 2011 — against him by highlighting his cozy, mutually beneficial relationship with Dominion ahead of the June 11 primary election.
DOMINION IS KNOWN for helping to write legislation in its favor. The Richmond Times-Dispatch in 2017 ran a four-part series that found Dominion exerting significant influence to gradually gut the power of the State Corporation Commission, the regulatory agency tasked with overseeing the company’s dealings. The assembly last year passed a billthat further weakened the SCC’s ratepayer protections.
Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has described the relationship between the state legislature and the utility as “cronyism.”
“Dominion Energy is the strongest lobbying entity in Virginia, and that’s very evident in the fact that we’ve, for several years now, had legislation that further hurt ratepayers,” Delegate Sam Rasoul told The Intercept. “Objectively now, even Dominion agrees that it has overcharged ratepayers.”
Saslaw has consistently opposed bills pushing energy and spending efficiency, introducing and supporting Dominion-advised bills to allow the public utility to double-charge consumers and keep the excess profits, freeze electricity rates, and keep the SCC from regularly reviewing those rates. Saslaw is also known, according to a Democratic state legislator who spoke to The Intercept on the condition of anonymity given his relationship with the senator, for reprimanding individual members of the assembly for trying to amend Dominion-sponsored bills. According to local activist and Fairfax County Democratic Committee Member Stephen Spitz, who is volunteering with Taeb’s campaign, Saslaw is famous for scolding his colleagues for trying to rein in the company and going on unsolicited tangents singing its praises. Dominion, in turn, contacts Saslaw when it’s in trouble.
Saslaw’s campaign has raised just shy of $600,000 this cycle, including $22,500 from the Dominion Employees PAC, formerly known as Dominion Energy PAC. He’s also accepted donations from PACs associated with the weapons manufacturer, Raytheon, and controversial car-title lenders, which he’s been bashed for supporting. Taeb’s campaign, meanwhile, has raised just over $70,000. Fifty-thousand dollars of that came from Sonjia Smith, a longtime area Democratic donor who is married to Michael D. Bills, a billionaire investor who started an initiative to support candidates who refused to take money from Dominion.
The incumbent’s campaign manager, Andrew Whitley, said Saslaw respects candidates who have sworn off Dominion money, but he will continue to take money from the utility. “As the leader of the caucus, his main goal in 2019 is to take back the majority,” Whitley told The Intercept. “And of course, making that happen means that making sure that our campaigns have the resources to be successful. So yes, he does take contributions from Dominion, and he takes them with the goal of making Virginia more progressive and helping us take back the Senate.”
Whitley said that Saslaw’s voting record, and his endorsements by the League of Conservation Voters and advocates for solar, disprove the notion that Dominion’s donations have bought influence. “The senator has voted on initiatives that have been against Dominion’s influence,” Whitley said. He did not specify what initiatives those were.
Virginia is one of only six states that allow unlimited corporate contributions to state campaigns. Republicans Sen. Frank Wagner and Delegate Terry Kilgore are other lawmakers who have received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the utility giant while in office. Wagner in 2015 sponsored a controversial rate-freeze bill, which he authored and passed with help from Dominion, that locked in rates for the utility and allowed it to overcharge consumers by estimates of up to $425 million.
Following public outcry over that legislation, Saslaw and Wagner co-sponsored another bill last year that they said was meant to right the wrongs of the rate-freeze bill. Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring publicly denounced that bipartisan, pro-Dominion bill for double-charging clients and installing inadequate consumer protections. The state Senate killed another bill introduced by Democratic Sen. Chap Petersen that would have more abruptly lifted the rate freeze and pursued the Wagner-Saslaw measure, which was more favorable to utilities instead. It was eventually approved and signed into law last March.
This year, Rasoul and Rep. Alfonso H. Lopez are co-sponsoring an omnibus bill that would reinstate biannual reviews of Dominion rates by the SCC and increase the amount of over-earnings the company must refund to consumers. It is unclear whether the bill will have enough support to pass.
“It’ll be difficult for it to pass as it comes through the powerful Commerce and Labor committee,” Rasoul said. But, he said, pledges by Democratic candidates, as well as the attorney general and the lieutenant governor, not to take money from Dominion are a good sign. “The bar has definitely been elevated, that you need to be on the right side of this in order to be a candidate.”
Some Democrats think it’s important to balance skepticism of corporate donations with the risk of losing elections. “If we were not to take money, and Republicans still take money, and Democrats lose, there’s a part of me that would regret seeing that,” said Peg Winningham, chair of the Falls Church Democratic Committee. “But I absolutely think that Virginia should have a lot stricter controls on campaign donations.”
IN ADDITION TO his ties to Dominion, Saslaw’s critics have also turned their attention to the senator’s past comments that, they say, show he is out of step with an increasingly diverse Democratic Party.
In September, Saslaw was at George Mason University for a senatorial debate between Tim Kaine and Corey Stuart. In a conversation with a group of people at that event, Saslaw suggested that voters in the 38th District would not vote for Taeb given that his district is majority white, according to two people with knowledge of the conversation.
Saslaw said Taeb “‘can’t win in a district like this,’ and then he went off spouting all these facts about his district,” said one person who was there, requesting anonymity because of their relationship with the senator. Saslaw pointed out that the district is “60 percent white, it was some percentage of older Virginians, it was some percentage of Christians,” the source said. “Basically the message I interpreted was that someone like Yasmine, who’s a diverse candidate and a young candidate, couldn’t win in the district.”
Taeb
Whitley, Saslaw’s spokesperson, said the conversation could not have happened because Saslaw didn’t have time to speak to people on the margins of the debate, dismissing it as a “he-said-she-said” scenario.
Saslaw has previously been accused of being skeptical that a Muslim candidate could win. When Atif Qarni, now Virginia’s secretary of education, was running for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2015, he wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that state Democrats warned him not to proceed with his campaign because, as a Muslim, he couldn’t win. Responding to a Facebook post criticizing the article, Qarni named Saslaw in relation to the challenges he faced securing funding as a Muslim candidate. “There was bias in this race. Religion was brought up,” Qarni wrote in a comment. “I brought up these concerns with several people–including some people you know well, but the typical response, was ‘this is politics’. People are too afraid to stand up to people like Dick Saslaw.”
In a 2015 meeting of the Mason District Democratic Committee, Saslaw opposed a proposal to change the name of the Jeb Stuart High School, which was named after a Confederate army general. He described the name-change effort as being overly politically correct and suggested that it would lead to a slippery slope, with calls to change the name of Virginia schools and landmarks named after Confederate leaders, according to Spitz; David Jonas, a Mason District Democrat; Sean Barnett, a Fairfax County Democrat; and two local Democrats who asked for anonymity given their working relationship with the senator, who were all at the meeting. (Barnett has endorsed Taeb for state senator.)
Though Saslaw originally opposed changing the name of Stuart High, he appeared this year at a fundraiser supporting the school board’s move. He also donated to the private fundraising efforts to support the change. The school is now called Justice High School.
Jessica Swanson, a Mason District Democrat, told The Intercept that she is extremely grateful for the senator’s $1,500 contribution to the name-change effort. She was at the 2015 meeting and said she doesn’t remember what, if anything, Saslaw said about it at the time.
Three years earlier, Saslaw had cut his sponsorship of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee’s annual dinner, after members changed the event’s name from the Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner — after the slave-owning presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson — to instead honor Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, according to Spitz and another person familiar with the matter. In 2014, the name of the dinner was changed back to Jefferson-Jackson, and Saslaw resumed his support.
Willingham, chair of the Falls Church Democratic Committee who has worked with Saslaw, said she’s “never heard him say a bigoted word.” She knows Taeb as well and hasn’t endorsed either candidate.
In response to questions about Saslaw’s comments on Taeb and the school’s name change, Whitley said talking about these claims does a disservice to both candidates. “We also do a disservice to the constituents and to the party in general by having this kind of conversation,” he said.
demo governor sells out people who elected him!!!
Virginia State Board Approves Permit for Pipeline Station In Historic African-American Community
By Associated Press - atlanta black star
January 10, 2019
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A state board in Virginia approved a contentious plan Tuesday to build a natural gas pipeline station in a historic African-American community, prompting angry shouts of “shame” from more than 200 opponents.
The State Air Pollution Control Board voted 4-0 in favor of a key permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would run 600 miles (965 kilometers) and carry fracked natural gas from West Virginia into Virginia and North Carolina.
Some opponents of the project hissed, coughed and shouted during the meeting. Fifteen people were removed by state police, and one woman was charged with trespassing after she laid down on the floor and refused to comply with police verbal commands to leave.
The proposed site for the compressor station is in Union Hill, an unincorporated community founded by freed slaves. The community is in rural Buckingham County, about an hour’s drive west of Richmond.
Opponents are concerned that exhaust from the 54,000-horsepower compressor station would hurt low-income and elderly residents living nearby. Supporters say it will boost development.
The station would be built on 15 acres (6 hectares) of a 70-acre (28-hectare) site, and the rest of the property left undisturbed, according to Dominion Energy, the pipeline’s lead developer. Compressor stations are used to power interstate natural gas pipelines, moving gas through the system.
Paul Wilson, pastor of two Baptist churches near the proposed site, said opponents will keep fighting. He didn’t elaborate on whether they would take legal action.
“We’re looking at all of our avenues,” he said after the vote. “It’s a long way from over. I think Dominion wants to wear people down. But that’s not going to happen.”
Dominion spokesman Karl Neddenien acknowledged in a statement after the vote that it will “have to continue building trust in the community.” He said the project’s backers are making investments in a new community center and rescue squad “but it will not end there.”
Neddenien said most air emissions at the station will be 50 to 80 percent lower than at any other compressor station in Virginia.
The air pollution permit has become a flashpoint in the yearslong fight over the pipeline.
Supporters say it’s needed to help boost the supply of natural gas. Opponents say it is an unnecessary fossil fuel infrastructure project that tramples on land rights and hurts the environment.
With a current pricetag of $6.5 billion to $7.0 billion, the pipeline has recently suffered significant legal setbacks, including a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last month throwing out a permit for the pipeline to cross two national forests, including parts of the Appalachian Trail. Dominion has suspended all project construction and said it plans to appeal the ruling.
John Laury, who lives less than a mile (kilometer) from where the compressor station would be built, said he doesn’t believe assurances from Dominion or state regulators that emissions from the station would not hurt residents’ health or the environment.
“I challenge them to come live in the community with us, to breathe this air, drink this water,” said Laury, 74.
Mike Dowd, the state Department of Environmental Quality’s Air Director, said the department reviewed compressor station permits from around the country and scrutinized pollution control technology.
He said the station will “set a new national standard that all future compressor stations will have to meet across the country.”
Gov. Ralph Northam angered environmentalists and minority groups when he replaced two members of the pollution control board after it delayed a scheduled vote in November.
Northam, a Democrat, said the move was unrelated to the compressor station vote and that members were replaced because their terms had expired.
Two new members didn’t vote Tuesday, nor did a third member who cited a conflict of interest.
Board member William Ferguson said at the hearing that there’s a real need for the pipeline, particularly in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region.(I guess they never heard of solar power!!!)
“The region needs the energy; the state needs the energy,” he said.
His comments prompted a woman to shout: “How much is Dominion paying you?”
Some opponents held pieces of paper with a blown-up photo of the governor’s face and the words “foul” or “shut it down.”
Northam has said he’s agnostic on how the board votes.
“As far as the pipeline … there’s not a lot of middle road on that issue,” Northam said in a recent radio interview. “I’ve tried to be as fair as I can.”
After the board approved the permit, some of the opponents overturned their chairs.
Charles Strickler, a retired dentist, predicted that opponents will not give up their fight.
“I think there are going to be people in front of bulldozers for the pipeline getting arrested,” he said.
The State Air Pollution Control Board voted 4-0 in favor of a key permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would run 600 miles (965 kilometers) and carry fracked natural gas from West Virginia into Virginia and North Carolina.
Some opponents of the project hissed, coughed and shouted during the meeting. Fifteen people were removed by state police, and one woman was charged with trespassing after she laid down on the floor and refused to comply with police verbal commands to leave.
The proposed site for the compressor station is in Union Hill, an unincorporated community founded by freed slaves. The community is in rural Buckingham County, about an hour’s drive west of Richmond.
Opponents are concerned that exhaust from the 54,000-horsepower compressor station would hurt low-income and elderly residents living nearby. Supporters say it will boost development.
The station would be built on 15 acres (6 hectares) of a 70-acre (28-hectare) site, and the rest of the property left undisturbed, according to Dominion Energy, the pipeline’s lead developer. Compressor stations are used to power interstate natural gas pipelines, moving gas through the system.
Paul Wilson, pastor of two Baptist churches near the proposed site, said opponents will keep fighting. He didn’t elaborate on whether they would take legal action.
“We’re looking at all of our avenues,” he said after the vote. “It’s a long way from over. I think Dominion wants to wear people down. But that’s not going to happen.”
Dominion spokesman Karl Neddenien acknowledged in a statement after the vote that it will “have to continue building trust in the community.” He said the project’s backers are making investments in a new community center and rescue squad “but it will not end there.”
Neddenien said most air emissions at the station will be 50 to 80 percent lower than at any other compressor station in Virginia.
The air pollution permit has become a flashpoint in the yearslong fight over the pipeline.
Supporters say it’s needed to help boost the supply of natural gas. Opponents say it is an unnecessary fossil fuel infrastructure project that tramples on land rights and hurts the environment.
With a current pricetag of $6.5 billion to $7.0 billion, the pipeline has recently suffered significant legal setbacks, including a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last month throwing out a permit for the pipeline to cross two national forests, including parts of the Appalachian Trail. Dominion has suspended all project construction and said it plans to appeal the ruling.
John Laury, who lives less than a mile (kilometer) from where the compressor station would be built, said he doesn’t believe assurances from Dominion or state regulators that emissions from the station would not hurt residents’ health or the environment.
“I challenge them to come live in the community with us, to breathe this air, drink this water,” said Laury, 74.
Mike Dowd, the state Department of Environmental Quality’s Air Director, said the department reviewed compressor station permits from around the country and scrutinized pollution control technology.
He said the station will “set a new national standard that all future compressor stations will have to meet across the country.”
Gov. Ralph Northam angered environmentalists and minority groups when he replaced two members of the pollution control board after it delayed a scheduled vote in November.
Northam, a Democrat, said the move was unrelated to the compressor station vote and that members were replaced because their terms had expired.
Two new members didn’t vote Tuesday, nor did a third member who cited a conflict of interest.
Board member William Ferguson said at the hearing that there’s a real need for the pipeline, particularly in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region.(I guess they never heard of solar power!!!)
“The region needs the energy; the state needs the energy,” he said.
His comments prompted a woman to shout: “How much is Dominion paying you?”
Some opponents held pieces of paper with a blown-up photo of the governor’s face and the words “foul” or “shut it down.”
Northam has said he’s agnostic on how the board votes.
“As far as the pipeline … there’s not a lot of middle road on that issue,” Northam said in a recent radio interview. “I’ve tried to be as fair as I can.”
After the board approved the permit, some of the opponents overturned their chairs.
Charles Strickler, a retired dentist, predicted that opponents will not give up their fight.
“I think there are going to be people in front of bulldozers for the pipeline getting arrested,” he said.
a scam group protecting the status quo!!!
EMAILS SHOW POLITICAL GROUP NO LABELS GAVE WORK TO FIRMS LINKED TO FOUNDER’S HUSBAND
Rachel M. Cohen, Ryan Grim - the intercept
December 19 2018, 6:09 a.m.
NO LABELS, A group that works to elect centrist candidates from both parties, has been grappling internally with conflicts of interest tied to its use of political consulting firms linked to the group’s leadership, according to documents and email correspondence obtained by The Intercept.
It’s been a rough few weeks of public scrutiny for No Labels. A Daily Beastinvestigation published earlier this month revealed that despite the group’s professed interest in reducing partisanship, it had solicited money from wealthy, partisan donors, many of them from the world of finance, on both sides of the political spectrum, and had considered making Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi a “bogeyman.”
The group was also in the news because the No Labels-backed House Problem Solvers Caucus, comprised of 24 Democrats and 24 Republicans, was organizing to block Pelosi’s bid for speaker of the House unless she agreed to a series of their proposed legislative reforms. The Democratic chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus is New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a protégé of Mark Penn, who urged Hillary Clinton to attack Barack Obama as un-American in the 2008 presidential primary. As The Intercept previously reported, Penn, a longtime partisan and the husband of No Labels’s head Nancy Jacobson, is closely involved with the group’s work.
Jacobson pushed back on Daily Beast questions about Penn’s involvement in No Labels as “shameful and sexist.” She asked if a man were running the organization, would reporters still suggest — “based on little to no evidence — that his spouse is serving as the puppet master behind the scenes?”
Emails obtained by The Intercept show Jacobson consulting her husband on No Labels decision-making, and Penn himself executing strategy for No Labels campaigns. This past May, for instance, when discussing ad buys for the congressional race in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley district (No Labels backed John Morganelli, an anti-choice, pro-Trump Democrat who lost the primary to Susan Wild), Jacobson looped her husband in on discussions and said, “Mark penn can you advise?” Penn was similarly asked to weigh in on ad spending and strategy on behalf of Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., whom No Labels backed in a primary race.
The Intercept confirmed the authenticity of the emails with three sources who previously worked with No Labels.
A lawsuit filed in September by the political consulting firm Applecart alleged that No Labels shorted them on millions of dollars, and terminated their relationship to hire consultants with financial ties to Jacobson and Penn. No Labels maintains that Applecart’s performance was unsatisfactory. Dan Webb, an attorney representing political organizations allied with No Labels, provided The Intercept a statement on behalf of the group. “No Labels is currently in litigation with Applecart, which limits what we can say at this time. Having botched their work for the PACs, Applecart is attempting to spin a false narrative in an effort to harm the PACs and No Labels,” he said.
In 2015, Penn founded Stagwell Group, a private-equity firm that soon bought Democratic consultancy firm SKDKnickerbocker. Stagwell also purchased a polling firm, Harris, and a minority stake in the Republican consulting company, Targeted Victory. Penn remains president and managing partner at Stagwell.
No Labels has employed the services of Harris for polling and uses Victory Passport, an affiliate of Targeted Victory, for its online fundraising. Emails show SKDK’s Andrew Shipley and Bill Knapp also working with No Labels — and Penn directly — on television ads in the 2018 primary season, though SKDK maintains that the company did not work with No Labels on anything.
One email Shipley sent in March to Jacobson, Penn, and others has the subject line “Tentative Media Buy” and is addressed to “Mark and team.”
Another March email cited Shipley as having worked on a television ad for Lipinski, though Jacobson replied that “SKDK was conflicted out” — suggesting that Shipley had either stopped at some point or been removed at the beginning.
In an earlier exchange from February, Jacobson emailed Penn for his advice on how to spend money in the Lipinski race. “Do you have a position if we should spend more?”
“My position is you need to add cable from here to election,” Penn told her.
Jacobson responded by saying that No Labels currently had no plans for cable, but she brought other members of the team into the email exchange to ask if they could trim their budgets so that Penn’s strategy could be executed.
Two days later, emails between Jacobson, Penn, and Knapp show Knapp explaining that SKDK couldn’t work on an ad for Lipinski because his company had clients on the other side of the contest: NARAL and Planned Parenthood were major SKDK clients backing primary challenger Marie Newman. Human Rights Campaign was also heavily involved in backing Newman and has been a client of SKDK.
He offered to refer the work to a separate consulting firm, 2k Strategies, owned by a former SKDK employee, but remain involved. “I would/could be on a first organizing call and will bird dog the creative to make sure it’s right,” Knapp told them on February 26.
Penn clearly believed that he was working with Knapp on the Lipinski project. Later that day, he emailed Jacobson, “Tomorrow cleared to get the ad done with bills [sic] team.”
By March 3, things were moving, and No Labels had budgeted $408,000 for an ad buy, which Knapp, with Shipley copied on the chain, was put in charge of placing. “You are scoping the buy and I’ll then decide who to use based on which one I like better,” Penn wrote to Knapp.
On March 5, Shipley wrote back to “Mark and team” with the news that “we had to go with a new buyer since two of our buyers are conflicted out between the race [and] the IE.”
Shipley on March 7 noted that a $21,000 bill for work to Penn and Jacobson was on its way. “And we have a production bill coming shortly for about 21k,” he wrote.
Knapp told The Intercept that he offered to help as a volunteer and did so by connecting Jacobson to a different media consultant. “We decided as a firm to not work for Lapinski [sic] directly or through any third party organization/group,” he wrote in an email. “We also long ago decided as a firm not work [sic] for No Labels. Nancy is a long time friend and I sometimes look at scripts and help her, but I don’t work for her organization. We didn’t work on the race as a firm, we did not produce an ad for Lapinski [sic] and we have never worked for No Labels.” He said that the vendor erroneously sent the invoice to SKDK, so Shipley simply forwarded it to No Labels, but no money changed hands.
Newman’s challenge to Lipinski — who is anti-choice, opposed to marriage equality, hostile to immigration, and against a $15 an hour minimum wage — was the first high-profile insurgent primary of the 2018 cycle, and she had the broad support of major progressive groups. No Labels spent more than $1 million and made the difference in the race, in the assessment of operatives who worked on both sides. On Election Day on March 21, Lipinski narrowly beat Newman by just over 2,000 votes.
Officials with SKDK also got involved in the Pennsylvania race. An email on May 7 shows Shipley working on a No Labels ad for that contest, with Shipley writing, “We are working on the edit and graphics and plan to have something to share later this afternoon. In terms of a voiceover, do you have a preference of male versus female. My original thinking was going with the white male.”
Later that day, Shipley forwarded a script to No Labels. “Can we confirm this being [sic] paid for by United for Progress,” he asked, referring to a No Labels Super PAC. A No Labels consultant replied that, in fact, it was being funded by a different one, called “United Together.”
Shipley did not return a request for comment, but Knapp said that Shipley shared with him The Intercept’s inquiry and that SKDK did not work on the Pennsylvania race. “Ship knows Nancy and connected the media consultant with our production facilities and Shipley helped coordinate that,” Knapp said. “My recollection was it was a positive ad. Again, we didn’t do the race and did not make money doing the race.”
ADDITIONAL EMAILS AND documents reviewed by The Intercept point to other potential conflicts of interest involving No Labels and Penn’s Stagwell Group.
In August 2017, Jacobson sent an email to No Labels staff, saying, “For republican races would like to use targeted victory.” Targeted Victory is the firm part-owned by Penn’s Stagwell Group.
On April 10, 2018, back when No Labels was still working with Applecart, Jacobson sent an email to an Applecart consultant, copying Targeted Victory CEO Zac Moffatt and wrote, “Matt you are using targeted victory for digital ads for Republicans right?”
And in late March, according to an email reviewed by The Intercept, a representative for a No Labels donor expressed concern over the organization having “perceived or potential” conflicts of interest. They urged Jacobson to disclose potential conflicts to the No Labels governing board. “We believe that all Governing Board members need to be aware of the situation in order to prevent any misunderstanding and confusion going forward,” they wrote.
No Labels then worked to prepare a list of potential conflicts. In an email dated April 13, Jacobson noted that No Labels is “no longer using targeted victory” and suggested leaving that company off its disclosure list. “Why open the door?” she asked.
In a memo prepared for the No Labels’s governing board, the group outlines business it did with Marlin Strategies, which is run by a former SKDK staffer, and Schule Media, which was referred to No Labels by SKDK. The memo says, “Mark Penn wrote and advised on the [Marlin Strategies] TV ad” but “did so pro bono.” With regards to Targeted Victory, No Labels disclosed just that the company worked on the Lipinski race.
The memo also listed business No Labels did with Rising Tide Interactive, a Democratic digital advertising firm founded by Eli Kaplan, the fiancé (and now husband) of No Labels’ vice president and chief of staff, Sasha Borowsky. Borowsky worked at No Labels from 2012 until this past October.
Mark Penn did not respond to questions about the specific nature of the work he has done for No Labels on a paid or unpaid basis, and whether he has recommended that No Labels work with any companies in which he has a vested financial interest.
It’s been a rough few weeks of public scrutiny for No Labels. A Daily Beastinvestigation published earlier this month revealed that despite the group’s professed interest in reducing partisanship, it had solicited money from wealthy, partisan donors, many of them from the world of finance, on both sides of the political spectrum, and had considered making Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi a “bogeyman.”
The group was also in the news because the No Labels-backed House Problem Solvers Caucus, comprised of 24 Democrats and 24 Republicans, was organizing to block Pelosi’s bid for speaker of the House unless she agreed to a series of their proposed legislative reforms. The Democratic chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus is New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a protégé of Mark Penn, who urged Hillary Clinton to attack Barack Obama as un-American in the 2008 presidential primary. As The Intercept previously reported, Penn, a longtime partisan and the husband of No Labels’s head Nancy Jacobson, is closely involved with the group’s work.
Jacobson pushed back on Daily Beast questions about Penn’s involvement in No Labels as “shameful and sexist.” She asked if a man were running the organization, would reporters still suggest — “based on little to no evidence — that his spouse is serving as the puppet master behind the scenes?”
Emails obtained by The Intercept show Jacobson consulting her husband on No Labels decision-making, and Penn himself executing strategy for No Labels campaigns. This past May, for instance, when discussing ad buys for the congressional race in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley district (No Labels backed John Morganelli, an anti-choice, pro-Trump Democrat who lost the primary to Susan Wild), Jacobson looped her husband in on discussions and said, “Mark penn can you advise?” Penn was similarly asked to weigh in on ad spending and strategy on behalf of Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., whom No Labels backed in a primary race.
The Intercept confirmed the authenticity of the emails with three sources who previously worked with No Labels.
A lawsuit filed in September by the political consulting firm Applecart alleged that No Labels shorted them on millions of dollars, and terminated their relationship to hire consultants with financial ties to Jacobson and Penn. No Labels maintains that Applecart’s performance was unsatisfactory. Dan Webb, an attorney representing political organizations allied with No Labels, provided The Intercept a statement on behalf of the group. “No Labels is currently in litigation with Applecart, which limits what we can say at this time. Having botched their work for the PACs, Applecart is attempting to spin a false narrative in an effort to harm the PACs and No Labels,” he said.
In 2015, Penn founded Stagwell Group, a private-equity firm that soon bought Democratic consultancy firm SKDKnickerbocker. Stagwell also purchased a polling firm, Harris, and a minority stake in the Republican consulting company, Targeted Victory. Penn remains president and managing partner at Stagwell.
No Labels has employed the services of Harris for polling and uses Victory Passport, an affiliate of Targeted Victory, for its online fundraising. Emails show SKDK’s Andrew Shipley and Bill Knapp also working with No Labels — and Penn directly — on television ads in the 2018 primary season, though SKDK maintains that the company did not work with No Labels on anything.
One email Shipley sent in March to Jacobson, Penn, and others has the subject line “Tentative Media Buy” and is addressed to “Mark and team.”
Another March email cited Shipley as having worked on a television ad for Lipinski, though Jacobson replied that “SKDK was conflicted out” — suggesting that Shipley had either stopped at some point or been removed at the beginning.
In an earlier exchange from February, Jacobson emailed Penn for his advice on how to spend money in the Lipinski race. “Do you have a position if we should spend more?”
“My position is you need to add cable from here to election,” Penn told her.
Jacobson responded by saying that No Labels currently had no plans for cable, but she brought other members of the team into the email exchange to ask if they could trim their budgets so that Penn’s strategy could be executed.
Two days later, emails between Jacobson, Penn, and Knapp show Knapp explaining that SKDK couldn’t work on an ad for Lipinski because his company had clients on the other side of the contest: NARAL and Planned Parenthood were major SKDK clients backing primary challenger Marie Newman. Human Rights Campaign was also heavily involved in backing Newman and has been a client of SKDK.
He offered to refer the work to a separate consulting firm, 2k Strategies, owned by a former SKDK employee, but remain involved. “I would/could be on a first organizing call and will bird dog the creative to make sure it’s right,” Knapp told them on February 26.
Penn clearly believed that he was working with Knapp on the Lipinski project. Later that day, he emailed Jacobson, “Tomorrow cleared to get the ad done with bills [sic] team.”
By March 3, things were moving, and No Labels had budgeted $408,000 for an ad buy, which Knapp, with Shipley copied on the chain, was put in charge of placing. “You are scoping the buy and I’ll then decide who to use based on which one I like better,” Penn wrote to Knapp.
On March 5, Shipley wrote back to “Mark and team” with the news that “we had to go with a new buyer since two of our buyers are conflicted out between the race [and] the IE.”
Shipley on March 7 noted that a $21,000 bill for work to Penn and Jacobson was on its way. “And we have a production bill coming shortly for about 21k,” he wrote.
Knapp told The Intercept that he offered to help as a volunteer and did so by connecting Jacobson to a different media consultant. “We decided as a firm to not work for Lapinski [sic] directly or through any third party organization/group,” he wrote in an email. “We also long ago decided as a firm not work [sic] for No Labels. Nancy is a long time friend and I sometimes look at scripts and help her, but I don’t work for her organization. We didn’t work on the race as a firm, we did not produce an ad for Lapinski [sic] and we have never worked for No Labels.” He said that the vendor erroneously sent the invoice to SKDK, so Shipley simply forwarded it to No Labels, but no money changed hands.
Newman’s challenge to Lipinski — who is anti-choice, opposed to marriage equality, hostile to immigration, and against a $15 an hour minimum wage — was the first high-profile insurgent primary of the 2018 cycle, and she had the broad support of major progressive groups. No Labels spent more than $1 million and made the difference in the race, in the assessment of operatives who worked on both sides. On Election Day on March 21, Lipinski narrowly beat Newman by just over 2,000 votes.
Officials with SKDK also got involved in the Pennsylvania race. An email on May 7 shows Shipley working on a No Labels ad for that contest, with Shipley writing, “We are working on the edit and graphics and plan to have something to share later this afternoon. In terms of a voiceover, do you have a preference of male versus female. My original thinking was going with the white male.”
Later that day, Shipley forwarded a script to No Labels. “Can we confirm this being [sic] paid for by United for Progress,” he asked, referring to a No Labels Super PAC. A No Labels consultant replied that, in fact, it was being funded by a different one, called “United Together.”
Shipley did not return a request for comment, but Knapp said that Shipley shared with him The Intercept’s inquiry and that SKDK did not work on the Pennsylvania race. “Ship knows Nancy and connected the media consultant with our production facilities and Shipley helped coordinate that,” Knapp said. “My recollection was it was a positive ad. Again, we didn’t do the race and did not make money doing the race.”
ADDITIONAL EMAILS AND documents reviewed by The Intercept point to other potential conflicts of interest involving No Labels and Penn’s Stagwell Group.
In August 2017, Jacobson sent an email to No Labels staff, saying, “For republican races would like to use targeted victory.” Targeted Victory is the firm part-owned by Penn’s Stagwell Group.
On April 10, 2018, back when No Labels was still working with Applecart, Jacobson sent an email to an Applecart consultant, copying Targeted Victory CEO Zac Moffatt and wrote, “Matt you are using targeted victory for digital ads for Republicans right?”
And in late March, according to an email reviewed by The Intercept, a representative for a No Labels donor expressed concern over the organization having “perceived or potential” conflicts of interest. They urged Jacobson to disclose potential conflicts to the No Labels governing board. “We believe that all Governing Board members need to be aware of the situation in order to prevent any misunderstanding and confusion going forward,” they wrote.
No Labels then worked to prepare a list of potential conflicts. In an email dated April 13, Jacobson noted that No Labels is “no longer using targeted victory” and suggested leaving that company off its disclosure list. “Why open the door?” she asked.
In a memo prepared for the No Labels’s governing board, the group outlines business it did with Marlin Strategies, which is run by a former SKDK staffer, and Schule Media, which was referred to No Labels by SKDK. The memo says, “Mark Penn wrote and advised on the [Marlin Strategies] TV ad” but “did so pro bono.” With regards to Targeted Victory, No Labels disclosed just that the company worked on the Lipinski race.
The memo also listed business No Labels did with Rising Tide Interactive, a Democratic digital advertising firm founded by Eli Kaplan, the fiancé (and now husband) of No Labels’ vice president and chief of staff, Sasha Borowsky. Borowsky worked at No Labels from 2012 until this past October.
Mark Penn did not respond to questions about the specific nature of the work he has done for No Labels on a paid or unpaid basis, and whether he has recommended that No Labels work with any companies in which he has a vested financial interest.
Over 90% of the anti-Pelosi Democrats have voted with Trump more often than Pelosi
10 of these 11 incumbent Democrats have supported Trump's agenda more frequently than the former House Speaker.
FRANK DALE - thinkprogress
NOV 21, 2018, 8:00 AM
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is likely to become Speaker of the House for the second time when the new Democratic majority is seated in January.
There is one obstacle in Pelosi’s way: A much-publicized bid, mounted by a breakaway group of Democrats seeking to end Pelosi’s reign as leader of the House Democrats, a position she has held since 2003. Their effort, however, met a setback on Tuesday when Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH), who was at one point put forward as this opposition group’s choice to repeal and replace Pelosi, announced she would be backing Pelosi instead.
The anti-Pelosi faction has not come up with an alternative to Fudge since the Ohio Congresswoman made her decision.
On Monday, a long-rumored letter of Democratic opposition to Pelosi, who has served in Congress since 1987, was released with the signatures of 16 House Democrats.
Of those 16, only 11 are currently serving in Congress. The remaining five include three Democrats who were just elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in the recent midterm elections, and two other Democrats hoping to join this freshman class of lawmakers, whose races had not yet been called at the time of this writing.
Of the 11 who are currently serving, 10 have voted with President Donald Trump more frequently than Pelosi, who was recently rated as one of the most progressive members of the House by Mother Jones.
According to FiveThirtyEight’s congressional Trump tracker, Pelosi has voted with the Republican president 19.3 percent of the time.
Here are how the House Democrats who oppose her stack up.
Rep. Jim Cooper (TN): 38 percent
Cooper represents the 5th congressional district that contains Nashville, a reliably Democratic D+7 area per the Cook Partisan Voting Index, which “measures how each district performs at the presidential level compared to the nation as a whole.”
Despite this, the nine-term congressman has supported Trump’s policies nearly 40 percent of the time, including backing “Kate’s Law” to increase penalties for undocumented immigrants who re-enter the U.S. and a failed push to add a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.
Rep. Kurt Schrader (OR): 31.5 percent
Schrader represents the 5th congressional district on the state’s central coast, in which voters supported Trump in 2016 after backing President Barack Obama in 2012 and 2008.
The six-term congressman has voted with the GOP president almost a third of the time, including on bills to roll back financial regulations put in place after the Great Recession and make conceal-carry gun permits legal across state lines.
Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA): 30 percent
Lynch has supported Trump’s agenda almost a third of the time despite representing the 8th congressional district near Boston that favors Democrats by double-digits (D+10) in Cook’s ratings.
The nine-term congressman voted for “Kate’s Law” and the bill supporting ICE.
Rep. Kathleen Rice (NY): 28.9 percent
Rice represents the D+4 4th congressional district on Long Island. The two-term congresswoman has voted with Trump nearly 30 percent of the time.
Rice supported the effort to roll back Dodd-Frank regulations put in place after the Great Recession. She also voted present on the pro-ICE bill.
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO): 27.2 percent
Perlmutter’s 7th congressional district near Denver is rated as a safe D+6 area by Cook.
However, the seven-term congressman has supported Trump over a quarter of the time, including backing the GOP’s omnibus spending bill. He also voted present on the pro-ICE bill.
Rep. Filemón Vela (TX): 23.6 percent
Vela represents the heavily-Hispanic 34th congressional district that contains Corpus Christi and is rated as D+10 by Cook.
Despite this, the four-term congressman has supported Trump’s agenda nearly a quarter of the time, also backing the rollback of Dodd-Frank financial regulations.
Rep. Bill Foster (IL): 22 percent
Foster’s 11th congressional district, which includes Joliet, is rated as D+9 by Cook.
But the five-term congressman has voted in line with Trump 22 percent of the time, also backing the repeal of Dodd-Frank financial regulations. Foster voted present on the pro-ICE bill.
Rep. Seth Moulton (MA): 22 percent
Moulton, who represents the D+6 6th congressional district north of Boston, has been the most outspoken Democrat in opposition to Pelosi’s leadership.
The three-term congressman has supported Trump’s agenda 22 percent of the time, including the Republican omnibus bill. Moulton also voted present on the pro-ICE resolution.
Rep. Tim Ryan (OH): 21.7 percent
Ryan, who unsuccessfully challenged Pelosi for House Minority Leader after the 2016 election, is in the safe D+7 13th congressional district that contains Youngstown.
However, the nine-term congressman has supported Trump’s policies nearly 22 percent of the time, including backing the GOP omnibus bill. Ryan also voted present on the pro-ICE resolution.
Rep. Brian Higgins (NY): 20.9 percent
Higgins represents Buffalo and Niagara Falls in the 26th congressional district. Though it’s rated as a D+11 area by Cook, the district supported Trump in 2016 after backing Obama in 2012 and 2008.
The eight-term congressman has voted in line with Trump just under 21 percent of the time, including supporting “Kate’s Law” and the GOP omnibus bill. Higgins also voted present on the pro-ICE resolution.
Rep. Linda Sánchez (CA): 14.4 percent
Sánchez is the only Democrat on this list who has backed Trump’s policies less frequently than Pelosi.
The nine-term congresswoman, who represents the D+17 38th congressional district near Los Angeles, voted present on the bill to support ICE.
Per FiveThirtyEight, the current House Democrats who have been the least-supportive of Trump are New Jersey’s Bonnie Watson Coleman (6.5 percent), California’s Barbara Lee (7.7 percent), and Arizona’s Raúl Grijalva (8.6 percent).
There is one obstacle in Pelosi’s way: A much-publicized bid, mounted by a breakaway group of Democrats seeking to end Pelosi’s reign as leader of the House Democrats, a position she has held since 2003. Their effort, however, met a setback on Tuesday when Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH), who was at one point put forward as this opposition group’s choice to repeal and replace Pelosi, announced she would be backing Pelosi instead.
The anti-Pelosi faction has not come up with an alternative to Fudge since the Ohio Congresswoman made her decision.
On Monday, a long-rumored letter of Democratic opposition to Pelosi, who has served in Congress since 1987, was released with the signatures of 16 House Democrats.
Of those 16, only 11 are currently serving in Congress. The remaining five include three Democrats who were just elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in the recent midterm elections, and two other Democrats hoping to join this freshman class of lawmakers, whose races had not yet been called at the time of this writing.
Of the 11 who are currently serving, 10 have voted with President Donald Trump more frequently than Pelosi, who was recently rated as one of the most progressive members of the House by Mother Jones.
According to FiveThirtyEight’s congressional Trump tracker, Pelosi has voted with the Republican president 19.3 percent of the time.
Here are how the House Democrats who oppose her stack up.
Rep. Jim Cooper (TN): 38 percent
Cooper represents the 5th congressional district that contains Nashville, a reliably Democratic D+7 area per the Cook Partisan Voting Index, which “measures how each district performs at the presidential level compared to the nation as a whole.”
Despite this, the nine-term congressman has supported Trump’s policies nearly 40 percent of the time, including backing “Kate’s Law” to increase penalties for undocumented immigrants who re-enter the U.S. and a failed push to add a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.
Rep. Kurt Schrader (OR): 31.5 percent
Schrader represents the 5th congressional district on the state’s central coast, in which voters supported Trump in 2016 after backing President Barack Obama in 2012 and 2008.
The six-term congressman has voted with the GOP president almost a third of the time, including on bills to roll back financial regulations put in place after the Great Recession and make conceal-carry gun permits legal across state lines.
Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA): 30 percent
Lynch has supported Trump’s agenda almost a third of the time despite representing the 8th congressional district near Boston that favors Democrats by double-digits (D+10) in Cook’s ratings.
The nine-term congressman voted for “Kate’s Law” and the bill supporting ICE.
Rep. Kathleen Rice (NY): 28.9 percent
Rice represents the D+4 4th congressional district on Long Island. The two-term congresswoman has voted with Trump nearly 30 percent of the time.
Rice supported the effort to roll back Dodd-Frank regulations put in place after the Great Recession. She also voted present on the pro-ICE bill.
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO): 27.2 percent
Perlmutter’s 7th congressional district near Denver is rated as a safe D+6 area by Cook.
However, the seven-term congressman has supported Trump over a quarter of the time, including backing the GOP’s omnibus spending bill. He also voted present on the pro-ICE bill.
Rep. Filemón Vela (TX): 23.6 percent
Vela represents the heavily-Hispanic 34th congressional district that contains Corpus Christi and is rated as D+10 by Cook.
Despite this, the four-term congressman has supported Trump’s agenda nearly a quarter of the time, also backing the rollback of Dodd-Frank financial regulations.
Rep. Bill Foster (IL): 22 percent
Foster’s 11th congressional district, which includes Joliet, is rated as D+9 by Cook.
But the five-term congressman has voted in line with Trump 22 percent of the time, also backing the repeal of Dodd-Frank financial regulations. Foster voted present on the pro-ICE bill.
Rep. Seth Moulton (MA): 22 percent
Moulton, who represents the D+6 6th congressional district north of Boston, has been the most outspoken Democrat in opposition to Pelosi’s leadership.
The three-term congressman has supported Trump’s agenda 22 percent of the time, including the Republican omnibus bill. Moulton also voted present on the pro-ICE resolution.
Rep. Tim Ryan (OH): 21.7 percent
Ryan, who unsuccessfully challenged Pelosi for House Minority Leader after the 2016 election, is in the safe D+7 13th congressional district that contains Youngstown.
However, the nine-term congressman has supported Trump’s policies nearly 22 percent of the time, including backing the GOP omnibus bill. Ryan also voted present on the pro-ICE resolution.
Rep. Brian Higgins (NY): 20.9 percent
Higgins represents Buffalo and Niagara Falls in the 26th congressional district. Though it’s rated as a D+11 area by Cook, the district supported Trump in 2016 after backing Obama in 2012 and 2008.
The eight-term congressman has voted in line with Trump just under 21 percent of the time, including supporting “Kate’s Law” and the GOP omnibus bill. Higgins also voted present on the pro-ICE resolution.
Rep. Linda Sánchez (CA): 14.4 percent
Sánchez is the only Democrat on this list who has backed Trump’s policies less frequently than Pelosi.
The nine-term congresswoman, who represents the D+17 38th congressional district near Los Angeles, voted present on the bill to support ICE.
Per FiveThirtyEight, the current House Democrats who have been the least-supportive of Trump are New Jersey’s Bonnie Watson Coleman (6.5 percent), California’s Barbara Lee (7.7 percent), and Arizona’s Raúl Grijalva (8.6 percent).
The DC Centrist Democrat Spin Cycle
The votes aren’t even done being counted yet, but the classic post-election spin cycle from the Wall Street wing of the Democratic Party is already in full gear. Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum are still fighting for their lives in razor-thin margin elections, but you can just feel the excitement about their losses from the Third Way types, whose public pronouncements already assume they have lost.
By Mike Lux - crooks & liars
11/12/18 8:00pm
The votes aren’t even done being counted yet, but the classic post-election spin cycle from the Wall Street wing of the Democratic Party is already in full gear. Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum are still fighting for their lives in razor-thin margin elections, but you can just feel the excitement about their losses from the Third Way types, whose public pronouncements already assume they have lost.
I have seen this kind of post-election spin after every election since 1994: if Democrats have a bad year, it’s because we moved too far left. If we have a good year like this one, it’s because of the noble centrists who prevailed -- and they’ll pick over the bones of any progressive Democrat who didn’t win and point with glee saying, “See! See! They got beat!” It is especially galling given that some of these races aren’t even over. (I guess at least it’s better than actively trying to beat progressive Democrats as Third Way has been known to do over the years, like when they attacked Elizabeth Warren as being anti-business when she was in the heat of a tough 2012 Senate race to defeat popular incumbent Scott Brown.)
There’s a couple of articles out where this spin is in overdrive, here, and here. The official line is that the progressive Democrats who won primaries (defined a certain kind of way that fits the spin) didn’t win a single general election race they were involved in and didn’t turn a single Republican district to Democrat.
These kinds of spin games have to be put to rest. I think it’s important to make the following points about some of the goofy things in these articles:
1. Not all of the progressives on the Wall Street Dems’ list have lost. Gillum, along with centrist white guy Senator Bill Nelson whose number of votes and margin are almost identical, are in the midst of recounts, in case you hadn’t noticed. Two of the closest elections in Florida history, and Florida has had its share of close ones, as you may recall. Not all of the votes are counted in Georgia either, and the race might go to runoff. Not all the votes have been counted in Katie Porter’s race in California, either. Guys (because most of the people putting out this BS are indeed men), please don’t dance on the graves of these outstanding Democrats until their races are over. Progressives aren’t sitting around rooting for Kyrsten Sinema to lose because she’s a moderate.
2. The list of progressives who won primaries is a lot longer than the nine people the corporate Dems are crowing about who lost, and tons of them are winning. Brilliant progressive Xochitl Torres Small won a very Republican Congressional seat in New Mexico after winning the primary; progressive star Colin Allred won a tough primary and went on to defeat incumbent Pete Sessions in Texas; Antonio Delgado won a very tough primary in NY-19, and went on to win in a very tough rural district against incumbent John Faso; Mike Levin became the Democrat in California’s strange jungle primary system, beating several other strong Democrats and then winning in what had been the Republican House district of Darrell Issa for many years. Katie Hill in California ran on a strong progressive agenda to beat incumbent Steve Knight, winning a tough Southern California district. I’ll stop at five examples, but there are a great many more than the carefully handpicked list from the Third Way types. All of these were candidates helped in the primaries by many different progressive groups and activists. They generated enormous enthusiasm among progressive netroots donors across the country, and ran unapologetically on a strong progressive agenda in their campaigns.
3. Most of the candidates who ran in competitive races, and most who won, supported major elements of the progressive populist economic agenda. You can look it up!: most of the congressional candidates who won Republican seats supported some combination of Medicare For All or a major Medicare expansion, an expansion of Social Security benefits, a $15 minimum wage, doing something big about student debt, major new taxes on the wealthy and Wall Street banks, and/or major new initiatives on climate change. Given that the Third Way's historic agenda is cutting Social Security benefits, opposing Medicare For All, lessening regulations on Wall Street, and instituting a minimum wage much lower than $15, the incoming class of Democrats were not what you'd call a bunch of Third Way types.
4. Anyone who thinks that the typical cautious centrist campaigns of the past would have run some of these races is smoking something far more potent than marijuana. Whoever won the Democratic primary to run against Governor Larry Hogan in Maryland was almost certain to lose, as he was one of the most popular governors in the country. In Arizona, Governor Ducey was always heavily favored. In Texas, no Democrat running statewide had come anywhere near as close as Beto in 24 years, almost all losing by double digits. Florida and Georgia have not had Democratic governors in 20 years. All of those losses by progressives that the centrist Democrats are so delighted to cite (and as noted some are yet to be declared losses) were in very tough races, that most politicos considered longshots from the beginning of the cycle.
I would add that no serious political observer can make the case that duller, more centrist, white candidates could have turned out as many African-American, Latinx, or young voters as Gillum, Beto, or Abrams, who lit a fire in those communities. Democrats are not going to win in tough places like these without an incredibly high turnout of our base.
5. The centrist Democratic strategy didn't do so well in those red states. In red state Senate races where centrist Democrats worked hard to distance themselves from progressives and the party, we had a pretty lousy track record. Manchin pulled it off, but he is a pretty unique figure in modern American politics -- and he sure was unique in this election, as he was the only centrist who survived. Donnelly in Indiana, McCaskill in Missouri, and Bredesen in Tennessee all did worse than their margin-of-error polling average throughout the campaign, losing by 7, 6, and 11 points respectively. By my book, that's a lot. Meanwhile, Heitkamp in North Dakota, to whom I do give a lot of credit for bravely and strongly opposing Kavanaugh and for not giving in to the temptation to join Trump's race baiting as Donnelly and McCaskill did, nevertheless did run as a pretty centrist Democrat. She also lost by double digits, although she had not been close in the polls for a while.
Some will argue that Montana Senator Jon Tester, who won, ran as a more conservative Democrat, but I did not see it that way. Tester finds ways to emphasizes his pragmatism in getting bipartisan bills passed that Trump could sign, but he describes himself as a "Montana Democrat," someone who is proud of being a Democrat, but is tied to the culture and independence of Montana. A long-time friend of his who is from Montana told me that he even has been known to describe himself as a progressive in public from time to time. He didn't play any of the signaling games in culture-war politics that Donnelly and McCaskill did, either.
6. Tammy Baldwin and Sherrod Brown. The two Democrats who won from states that Trump won in 2016 that the Third Way types avoid talking about at all costs are Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown. Their stories in the 2018 cycle are very inconvenient for the ‘Progressives Can't Win’ narrative. They are two of the most progressive and populist people in the U.S. Senate. Both of them were initially very high on the Republican target lists for this cycle. In fact, Tammy Baldwin had more spent against her in 2017 than any other Senate incumbent. But neither of them moved to the center at all or got the least bit mealy-mouthed in voting and speaking out for progressive issues or values. They both were able to establish strong early leads and won going away.
I want to say a special word about Sherrod Brown, who has been one of my favorite senators for as long as he's been here. One of the aforementioned articles talked dismissively about Brown with his populist message only winning by six. The author made it sound like his message didn't work very well, which has to be the single dumbest thing I've read (outside of Trump quotes) since the election. First of all, a margin of six points is a pretty sizable win in any contested state, especially in a red-state like Ohio. Sherrod is the only Ohio Democrat to win a statewide race since 2006. Trump had close to a double-digit win. This year, there was a criminal justice reform ballot measure that Republicans put a lot of money into attacking that was a big drag on the Democrats running. But Sherrod Brown showed how a progressive populist message focused on working people can still win in red America.
The reason all of this is important to lay out is that the DC centrists are working hard to build the case that a progressive candidate and message cannot win the presidential race in 2020. Let me disabuse you of that misguided notion: our best chance by far is for a presidential candidate that is a strong progressive, willing to take on Wall Street, the health insurance and pharmaceutical companies, Big Oil, and other big monopolistic corporations who are dominating our economy and threatening the American dream for working families. Sherrod Brown won in Ohio when no other Democrat could; Beto O'Rourke and Stacey Abrams did better than any other statewide candidates have done in a generation; strong progressives won in dozens of tough districts all over the country, and came close in many more; and Andrew Gillum is a hare's breath away from becoming the first Florida governor in a generation.
Have progressive candidates solved all the challenges of the modern era in terms of winning elections? Of course not. But the formula of genuinely reaching out to working folks of all races and religions, getting young people excited about politics again, and telling the story of how Wall Street and big monopolies need to be tamed again is a formula than is going to win us far more elections than the Third Way agenda of cuddling up to the big banks and cutting Social Security benefits. At the end of the day, what Democrats need to do is to reject the false choices that have plagued our party for the last generation: we don't have to choose between white working class and rural voters and firing up our base; we don't have to choose between advocating for fairness and advocating for economic growth. We win with a message that inspires and motivates Democrats and progressive activists and voters, and appeals to those working class and rural folks in the middle at the same damn time.
I have seen this kind of post-election spin after every election since 1994: if Democrats have a bad year, it’s because we moved too far left. If we have a good year like this one, it’s because of the noble centrists who prevailed -- and they’ll pick over the bones of any progressive Democrat who didn’t win and point with glee saying, “See! See! They got beat!” It is especially galling given that some of these races aren’t even over. (I guess at least it’s better than actively trying to beat progressive Democrats as Third Way has been known to do over the years, like when they attacked Elizabeth Warren as being anti-business when she was in the heat of a tough 2012 Senate race to defeat popular incumbent Scott Brown.)
There’s a couple of articles out where this spin is in overdrive, here, and here. The official line is that the progressive Democrats who won primaries (defined a certain kind of way that fits the spin) didn’t win a single general election race they were involved in and didn’t turn a single Republican district to Democrat.
These kinds of spin games have to be put to rest. I think it’s important to make the following points about some of the goofy things in these articles:
1. Not all of the progressives on the Wall Street Dems’ list have lost. Gillum, along with centrist white guy Senator Bill Nelson whose number of votes and margin are almost identical, are in the midst of recounts, in case you hadn’t noticed. Two of the closest elections in Florida history, and Florida has had its share of close ones, as you may recall. Not all of the votes are counted in Georgia either, and the race might go to runoff. Not all the votes have been counted in Katie Porter’s race in California, either. Guys (because most of the people putting out this BS are indeed men), please don’t dance on the graves of these outstanding Democrats until their races are over. Progressives aren’t sitting around rooting for Kyrsten Sinema to lose because she’s a moderate.
2. The list of progressives who won primaries is a lot longer than the nine people the corporate Dems are crowing about who lost, and tons of them are winning. Brilliant progressive Xochitl Torres Small won a very Republican Congressional seat in New Mexico after winning the primary; progressive star Colin Allred won a tough primary and went on to defeat incumbent Pete Sessions in Texas; Antonio Delgado won a very tough primary in NY-19, and went on to win in a very tough rural district against incumbent John Faso; Mike Levin became the Democrat in California’s strange jungle primary system, beating several other strong Democrats and then winning in what had been the Republican House district of Darrell Issa for many years. Katie Hill in California ran on a strong progressive agenda to beat incumbent Steve Knight, winning a tough Southern California district. I’ll stop at five examples, but there are a great many more than the carefully handpicked list from the Third Way types. All of these were candidates helped in the primaries by many different progressive groups and activists. They generated enormous enthusiasm among progressive netroots donors across the country, and ran unapologetically on a strong progressive agenda in their campaigns.
3. Most of the candidates who ran in competitive races, and most who won, supported major elements of the progressive populist economic agenda. You can look it up!: most of the congressional candidates who won Republican seats supported some combination of Medicare For All or a major Medicare expansion, an expansion of Social Security benefits, a $15 minimum wage, doing something big about student debt, major new taxes on the wealthy and Wall Street banks, and/or major new initiatives on climate change. Given that the Third Way's historic agenda is cutting Social Security benefits, opposing Medicare For All, lessening regulations on Wall Street, and instituting a minimum wage much lower than $15, the incoming class of Democrats were not what you'd call a bunch of Third Way types.
4. Anyone who thinks that the typical cautious centrist campaigns of the past would have run some of these races is smoking something far more potent than marijuana. Whoever won the Democratic primary to run against Governor Larry Hogan in Maryland was almost certain to lose, as he was one of the most popular governors in the country. In Arizona, Governor Ducey was always heavily favored. In Texas, no Democrat running statewide had come anywhere near as close as Beto in 24 years, almost all losing by double digits. Florida and Georgia have not had Democratic governors in 20 years. All of those losses by progressives that the centrist Democrats are so delighted to cite (and as noted some are yet to be declared losses) were in very tough races, that most politicos considered longshots from the beginning of the cycle.
I would add that no serious political observer can make the case that duller, more centrist, white candidates could have turned out as many African-American, Latinx, or young voters as Gillum, Beto, or Abrams, who lit a fire in those communities. Democrats are not going to win in tough places like these without an incredibly high turnout of our base.
5. The centrist Democratic strategy didn't do so well in those red states. In red state Senate races where centrist Democrats worked hard to distance themselves from progressives and the party, we had a pretty lousy track record. Manchin pulled it off, but he is a pretty unique figure in modern American politics -- and he sure was unique in this election, as he was the only centrist who survived. Donnelly in Indiana, McCaskill in Missouri, and Bredesen in Tennessee all did worse than their margin-of-error polling average throughout the campaign, losing by 7, 6, and 11 points respectively. By my book, that's a lot. Meanwhile, Heitkamp in North Dakota, to whom I do give a lot of credit for bravely and strongly opposing Kavanaugh and for not giving in to the temptation to join Trump's race baiting as Donnelly and McCaskill did, nevertheless did run as a pretty centrist Democrat. She also lost by double digits, although she had not been close in the polls for a while.
Some will argue that Montana Senator Jon Tester, who won, ran as a more conservative Democrat, but I did not see it that way. Tester finds ways to emphasizes his pragmatism in getting bipartisan bills passed that Trump could sign, but he describes himself as a "Montana Democrat," someone who is proud of being a Democrat, but is tied to the culture and independence of Montana. A long-time friend of his who is from Montana told me that he even has been known to describe himself as a progressive in public from time to time. He didn't play any of the signaling games in culture-war politics that Donnelly and McCaskill did, either.
6. Tammy Baldwin and Sherrod Brown. The two Democrats who won from states that Trump won in 2016 that the Third Way types avoid talking about at all costs are Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown. Their stories in the 2018 cycle are very inconvenient for the ‘Progressives Can't Win’ narrative. They are two of the most progressive and populist people in the U.S. Senate. Both of them were initially very high on the Republican target lists for this cycle. In fact, Tammy Baldwin had more spent against her in 2017 than any other Senate incumbent. But neither of them moved to the center at all or got the least bit mealy-mouthed in voting and speaking out for progressive issues or values. They both were able to establish strong early leads and won going away.
I want to say a special word about Sherrod Brown, who has been one of my favorite senators for as long as he's been here. One of the aforementioned articles talked dismissively about Brown with his populist message only winning by six. The author made it sound like his message didn't work very well, which has to be the single dumbest thing I've read (outside of Trump quotes) since the election. First of all, a margin of six points is a pretty sizable win in any contested state, especially in a red-state like Ohio. Sherrod is the only Ohio Democrat to win a statewide race since 2006. Trump had close to a double-digit win. This year, there was a criminal justice reform ballot measure that Republicans put a lot of money into attacking that was a big drag on the Democrats running. But Sherrod Brown showed how a progressive populist message focused on working people can still win in red America.
The reason all of this is important to lay out is that the DC centrists are working hard to build the case that a progressive candidate and message cannot win the presidential race in 2020. Let me disabuse you of that misguided notion: our best chance by far is for a presidential candidate that is a strong progressive, willing to take on Wall Street, the health insurance and pharmaceutical companies, Big Oil, and other big monopolistic corporations who are dominating our economy and threatening the American dream for working families. Sherrod Brown won in Ohio when no other Democrat could; Beto O'Rourke and Stacey Abrams did better than any other statewide candidates have done in a generation; strong progressives won in dozens of tough districts all over the country, and came close in many more; and Andrew Gillum is a hare's breath away from becoming the first Florida governor in a generation.
Have progressive candidates solved all the challenges of the modern era in terms of winning elections? Of course not. But the formula of genuinely reaching out to working folks of all races and religions, getting young people excited about politics again, and telling the story of how Wall Street and big monopolies need to be tamed again is a formula than is going to win us far more elections than the Third Way agenda of cuddling up to the big banks and cutting Social Security benefits. At the end of the day, what Democrats need to do is to reject the false choices that have plagued our party for the last generation: we don't have to choose between white working class and rural voters and firing up our base; we don't have to choose between advocating for fairness and advocating for economic growth. We win with a message that inspires and motivates Democrats and progressive activists and voters, and appeals to those working class and rural folks in the middle at the same damn time.
MICHIGAN’S DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR-ELECT PUTS BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD EXECUTIVE ON TRANSITION TEAM — AFTER THE COMPANY FUNDED HER CAMPAIGN
Zaid Jilani - the intercept
November 9 2018, 7:41 a.m.
WHEN FORMER MICHIGAN Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer faced a populist, progressive rival in the state’s Democratic gubernatorial primary earlier this year, she had a little help from her health insurance industry friends.
Whitmer was hosted at a fundraiser thrown by lobbyists for Blue Cross Blue Shield. She netted $144,000 during a single day at the event.
The company’s interest in the race came as no surprise, as Whitmer’s chief rival, former Detroit public health chief Abdul El-Sayed, was campaigning on establishing a statewide single-payer health care system. Essentially, he was running to put the company out of business.
But it appears that Blue Cross Blue Shield gained more than just the defeat of single payer. This week, Whitmer won the governor’s mansion, putting the state back in the Democratic column. She quickly announced the composition of her transition team.
One of the “honorary co-chairs” is Daniel Loepp, the president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
In a 2015 interview, Whitmer credited Loepp with being the first person to suggest that she enter politics, back when he worked in the state legislature.
During the campaign, Gretchen Whitmer — whose father is Richard Whitmer, formerly the head of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan — was defensive against criticisms that she was too close to the health insurance giant. “It’s extremely sexist to say that a woman is beholden to her father’s former employer,” she told CNN.
The governor-elect’s team did not respond to a request for comment. Though Whitmer ran to the right of El-Sayed, her platform was still broadly progressive and pro-labor.
Whitmer’s transition team isn’t the only one bringing corporate interests onboard post-election. In Georgia, Republican Brian Kemp has declared victory, despite an ongoing legal effort by his Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams to chase down enough provisional and absentee ballots to take the race to a run-off.
Kemp announced Thursday that his transition team would be led by David Dove, Kemp’s former legal counsel and chief of staff. More recently, Dove was added to the new lobbying arm of the litigation and regulatory law firm Robbins Ross Alloy Belinfante Littlefield LLC.
The newly minted Robbins Government Relations Group opened October 2, just over a month before the election. In an interview with a legal publication, partner Josh Belinfante explained why the firm decided to open a lobbying arm. He emphasized the potential to influence regulations.
“A lot of our clients’ problems can be resolved through the legislative branch more easily and effectively than through the judicial branch,” Belinfante said. “Or our clients may have a win in the judicial branch that may need to be protected in the legislature — particularly clients who are highly regulated, and particularly when legislation or regulations pass that govern what they do.”
According to disclosures, Dove is not currently registered to lobby. But presumably, the firm’s clients now have a chain of communication to the man responsible for staffing the next governor’s mansion. The Intercept reached out to the firm and to Dove to ask if he would be taking a leave of absence while serving on the transition team, but they have not yet responded.
Whitmer was hosted at a fundraiser thrown by lobbyists for Blue Cross Blue Shield. She netted $144,000 during a single day at the event.
The company’s interest in the race came as no surprise, as Whitmer’s chief rival, former Detroit public health chief Abdul El-Sayed, was campaigning on establishing a statewide single-payer health care system. Essentially, he was running to put the company out of business.
But it appears that Blue Cross Blue Shield gained more than just the defeat of single payer. This week, Whitmer won the governor’s mansion, putting the state back in the Democratic column. She quickly announced the composition of her transition team.
One of the “honorary co-chairs” is Daniel Loepp, the president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
In a 2015 interview, Whitmer credited Loepp with being the first person to suggest that she enter politics, back when he worked in the state legislature.
During the campaign, Gretchen Whitmer — whose father is Richard Whitmer, formerly the head of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan — was defensive against criticisms that she was too close to the health insurance giant. “It’s extremely sexist to say that a woman is beholden to her father’s former employer,” she told CNN.
The governor-elect’s team did not respond to a request for comment. Though Whitmer ran to the right of El-Sayed, her platform was still broadly progressive and pro-labor.
Whitmer’s transition team isn’t the only one bringing corporate interests onboard post-election. In Georgia, Republican Brian Kemp has declared victory, despite an ongoing legal effort by his Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams to chase down enough provisional and absentee ballots to take the race to a run-off.
Kemp announced Thursday that his transition team would be led by David Dove, Kemp’s former legal counsel and chief of staff. More recently, Dove was added to the new lobbying arm of the litigation and regulatory law firm Robbins Ross Alloy Belinfante Littlefield LLC.
The newly minted Robbins Government Relations Group opened October 2, just over a month before the election. In an interview with a legal publication, partner Josh Belinfante explained why the firm decided to open a lobbying arm. He emphasized the potential to influence regulations.
“A lot of our clients’ problems can be resolved through the legislative branch more easily and effectively than through the judicial branch,” Belinfante said. “Or our clients may have a win in the judicial branch that may need to be protected in the legislature — particularly clients who are highly regulated, and particularly when legislation or regulations pass that govern what they do.”
According to disclosures, Dove is not currently registered to lobby. But presumably, the firm’s clients now have a chain of communication to the man responsible for staffing the next governor’s mansion. The Intercept reached out to the firm and to Dove to ask if he would be taking a leave of absence while serving on the transition team, but they have not yet responded.
Banks to target moderate Democrats, regulators if US House flips
Reuters - raw story
03 NOV 2018 AT 08:30 ET
Financial industry lobbyists say they will focus their efforts on moderate Democrats and regulatory agencies if Democrats take control of the House of Representatives after next week’s congressional elections.
The Nov. 6 vote could result in Democratic Representative Maxine Waters, a fierce bank critic, taking over as the next chair of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, which helps set the nation’s financial policy and oversight agenda.
Yet despite her rhetoric, financial lobbyists say Waters has a track record of working across the aisle and believe there are bipartisan areas on data privacy, bank secrecy and capital formation where they still hope to gain ground under her leadership.
“Congresswoman Waters has shown a streak for consensus-building throughout her career on House Financial Services, particularly on small business capital formation issues which really matter to our group,” said Chris Iacovella, chief executive of the American Securities Association, a group representing regional broker dealers.
Waters, in a statement to Reuters, said: “I look forward to continuing to work with Members on both sides of the aisle on sensible solutions to benefit hardworking Americans and strengthen our nation’s economy.”
If Democrats take the House by a thin margin, as many polls predict, their majority will rely on moderate Democrats who will want to show voters, and the industry, that they can be productive.
Financial lobbyists said they believe those lawmakers, including New York’s Carolyn Maloney, Georgia’s David Scott and Connecticut’s Jim Himes, can be influenced to push bipartisan issues.
The Financial Services Committee has long been a critical panel for lawmakers from both parties to attract campaign funds from Wall Street. Its members will not want to jeopardize that, lobbyists say, and the flow of cash has jumped this year as the industry looks to rebuild bipartisan support it enjoyed before the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
“The folks who have the most power are the moderates who will swing those votes in either direction and they will be very important in the next congress,” said Paul Merski, executive vice president at the Independent Community Bankers of America.
Congressmen Himes and Scott did not respond to requests for to comment, while Congresswoman Maloney said she wanted to remain focused on putting consumers first.
“OPEN DOOR”
Waters, 80, has served in Congress representing a Los Angeles district since 1991. With the gavel in reach, she has been quietly pushing her bipartisan credentials and is promising an “open door policy” to all parties.
Most recently, she worked with Republicans to craft a bill to help companies raise capital. She also worked across the aisle to help pass reauthorizations of the Export-Import Bank and Flood Insurance programs, which are critical for lenders and insurers.
On the Republican side, the two front-runners to lead the committee, North Carolina’s Patrick McHenry and Missouri’s Blaine Luetkemeyer, told Reuters they were prepared to collaborate with Waters.
McHenry, currently the committee’s vice chair, has previously worked with her on crowdfunding and business innovation bills, he noted in an interview.
“While we largely disagree on approach, we still have areas where we can build some consensus,” he added.
One of the more contentious areas of Waters’ anticipated agenda could be her deploying the chair’s subpoena power to step up oversight of banks, regulators and President Donald Trump personally.
Extensive documentation requests and congressional hearings could tie-up staff and slow work on the regulatory front.
But lobbyists stressed that key rule changes – involving the relaxation of stress tests, proprietary trading, derivatives and liquidity rules – were already in progress and in some cases mandated by laws Congress passed this year.
James Ballentine, chief lobbyist for the American Bankers Association, Washington’s largest bank group, said he was “realistically optimistic” about a Waters chair and did not expect the regulators’ agenda to change.
“They absolutely should take input from members of Congress. But ultimately they have to make the decision,” he said.
The Nov. 6 vote could result in Democratic Representative Maxine Waters, a fierce bank critic, taking over as the next chair of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, which helps set the nation’s financial policy and oversight agenda.
Yet despite her rhetoric, financial lobbyists say Waters has a track record of working across the aisle and believe there are bipartisan areas on data privacy, bank secrecy and capital formation where they still hope to gain ground under her leadership.
“Congresswoman Waters has shown a streak for consensus-building throughout her career on House Financial Services, particularly on small business capital formation issues which really matter to our group,” said Chris Iacovella, chief executive of the American Securities Association, a group representing regional broker dealers.
Waters, in a statement to Reuters, said: “I look forward to continuing to work with Members on both sides of the aisle on sensible solutions to benefit hardworking Americans and strengthen our nation’s economy.”
If Democrats take the House by a thin margin, as many polls predict, their majority will rely on moderate Democrats who will want to show voters, and the industry, that they can be productive.
Financial lobbyists said they believe those lawmakers, including New York’s Carolyn Maloney, Georgia’s David Scott and Connecticut’s Jim Himes, can be influenced to push bipartisan issues.
The Financial Services Committee has long been a critical panel for lawmakers from both parties to attract campaign funds from Wall Street. Its members will not want to jeopardize that, lobbyists say, and the flow of cash has jumped this year as the industry looks to rebuild bipartisan support it enjoyed before the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
“The folks who have the most power are the moderates who will swing those votes in either direction and they will be very important in the next congress,” said Paul Merski, executive vice president at the Independent Community Bankers of America.
Congressmen Himes and Scott did not respond to requests for to comment, while Congresswoman Maloney said she wanted to remain focused on putting consumers first.
“OPEN DOOR”
Waters, 80, has served in Congress representing a Los Angeles district since 1991. With the gavel in reach, she has been quietly pushing her bipartisan credentials and is promising an “open door policy” to all parties.
Most recently, she worked with Republicans to craft a bill to help companies raise capital. She also worked across the aisle to help pass reauthorizations of the Export-Import Bank and Flood Insurance programs, which are critical for lenders and insurers.
On the Republican side, the two front-runners to lead the committee, North Carolina’s Patrick McHenry and Missouri’s Blaine Luetkemeyer, told Reuters they were prepared to collaborate with Waters.
McHenry, currently the committee’s vice chair, has previously worked with her on crowdfunding and business innovation bills, he noted in an interview.
“While we largely disagree on approach, we still have areas where we can build some consensus,” he added.
One of the more contentious areas of Waters’ anticipated agenda could be her deploying the chair’s subpoena power to step up oversight of banks, regulators and President Donald Trump personally.
Extensive documentation requests and congressional hearings could tie-up staff and slow work on the regulatory front.
But lobbyists stressed that key rule changes – involving the relaxation of stress tests, proprietary trading, derivatives and liquidity rules – were already in progress and in some cases mandated by laws Congress passed this year.
James Ballentine, chief lobbyist for the American Bankers Association, Washington’s largest bank group, said he was “realistically optimistic” about a Waters chair and did not expect the regulators’ agenda to change.
“They absolutely should take input from members of Congress. But ultimately they have to make the decision,” he said.
Red-State Senate Democrats Are Top Recipients of Wall Street Donations
BY
Michael Corcoran, Truthout
PUBLISHED
November 2, 2018
Top recipients of donations from finance: Senators.
SHOT FROM CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS
|
Citi Group, which lobbied heavily for the Dodd-Frank repeal, donated more to Heidi Heitkamp than anyone else in the Senate in 2018.
CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS
|
Senate Democrats who helped roll back Obama-era financial regulations make up most of the top recipients of Wall Street donations this election cycle, according to a Truthout analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics.
Wall Street donors have been lavishing the Democrats in the Senate with far more money than their GOP colleagues. The top six recipients (and nine of the top 10) of Wall Street money in 2018 among senators are Democrats. Of the top 20 Senate candidates to receive donations from Wall Street this cycle, 17 are Democrats, up from six in the last midtermin 2014, and five in 2016.
The average amount collected by Senate Democrats is $895,000 vs. $368,000 for Republicans. Wall Street has donated nearly $43 million to Senate Democrats, compared with only $19 million for Republicans — a noticeable departure from typical election years, where (with one exception) donations are about even or trend Republican.
“Wall Street acts in its self-interest. [Donors] want to be friendly with whoever gets the gavel,” said Aaron Scherb, legislative director of Common Cause, in an interview with Truthout. “There are a lot of Democratic incumbents and incumbents usually win.”
There are several variables that can account for these trends, some more sinister than others: Democrats are defending many more seats and incumbents have a large financial advantage. Democrats also have been aggressive and successful in their fundraising.
Further, Wall Street is actually a little skittish about Trump: They support most of his agenda on taxes, but fear his unpredictability, complete disregard for presidential norms and his advocacy for tariffs. Many want to elect Democrats to “serve as a check” on Trump, as one Democratic fundraiser told The New York Times.
One trend that should not be ignored is that the Democrats who are getting the most money are, by and large, the ones who have embraced the Wall Street agenda during the first two years of Trump’s presidency. Seventeen Democrats helped repeal portions of Obama-era Dodd-Frank legislation by voting with Republicans on the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection bill (hereafter “Dodd-Frank repeal”).
(Note: Sen. Angus King of Maine is an independent who caucuses with the Democrats. He is counted as a Democrat in this analysis)
Nine Democrats also crossed party lines to appoint Goldman Sach’s bailout attorney Jay Clayton to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission. This was despite opposition from most Democrats who lamented his connection to Goldman, whose exploitation of the 2008 economic crisis is infamous. Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of 37 Senators to oppose his confirmation, said he “embodies the greed that nearly wrecked our economy.”
The party’s dependence on Wall Street money is not new, although it is increasingly pervasive. This ongoing and growing relationship between the party and private capital raises important questions about electoral strategy, the direction of the party (especially as social democrats attempt to wrest control of it from the establishment), and the increasingly troublesome role of money in politics.
While the mainstream media do cover fundraising, they often do it to gauge a candidate’s chances. The potential impacts of political donations on policymaking are rarely discussed on cable television. These media companies themselves are owned by parent companies that benefit dramatically from this influx of cash as well — to buy influence and profit off record-breaking political advertising spending. In March, Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote an op-ed for the Guardian making a similar point:
How often has ABC, CBS or NBC discussed the role that the Koch brothers and other billionaires play in creating a political system which allows the rich and the powerful to significantly control elections and the legislative process in Congress? Sadly, the answer to these questions is: almost never. The corporate media has failed to let the American people fully understand the economic forces shaping their lives…
Wall Street’s Allies in the Democratic Party
After his inauguration, Trump promised to “do a big number” on Dodd-Frank, the law passed by Obama and the 1111th Congress in response to the economic crisis of 2008. The law attempted to lessen the amount of risk banks could take, and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is supposed to protect consumers from the products of finance, an industry fraught with bad-faith lending.
In May, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank repeal and did so with the help of 17 Senate Democrats. These “moderate” Democrats were thanked for this in ads from groups like the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity.
Citigroup, as The Intercept reported, was especially active in lobbying for the bill. Heitkamp of North Dakota received more money from Citigroup than any other Senator, followed closely by Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, both of whom voted for the repeal.
In fact, many of these Democrats did not just vote for the repeal but promoted it as a victory for bipartisanship and consumers. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp was a co-author of this bill and stood next to Trump at the signing ceremony. Heitkamp has received about $2.3 million from the industry, the fifth most of all senators, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
So proud of her role in the bill, she retweeted and republished The Wall Street Journal’s article praising the “roll back” of banking regulations as a victory for Trump and community banks.
Another name that appears at or near the top of nearly every sector in the finance industry – hedge funds, commercial banking, securities — is Claire McCaskill, a two-term senator from Missouri. She has received $4.3 million (and counting) from stock-jobbers, hedge funds, commercial banks — more than any member of (or candidate for) Congress. Her fundraising is outpacing that of her opponent in the tight Senate race in Missouri.
McCaskill voted for the Dodd-Frank repeal and was one of 10 Democratsto confirm Clayton. McCaskill released a press release saying she “helped shape” the financial repeal bill, selling the Dodd-Frank repeal vote as a win for consumers
Sen. Jon Tester of Montana is the third highest recipient of industry dollars. Goldman Sachs has given more to him than any other candidate this cycle. He also voted in lockstep with Trump and Wall Street on numerous occasions, including on the Dodd-Frank repeal and to confirm Clayton. He was rewarded for his loyalty by the American Bankers Association and the Montana Bankers Association, which together produced an ad to support his campaign.
These are just three examples of Democrats getting uncomfortably close with titans of private capital. The problem is an institutional one, however. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, for instance,has raised money from financial interests such as the Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Association of Realtors, Experian, Navient, National Venture Capital Association, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
Among those 17 Democrats who voted to repeal Dodd-Frank, the average amount of Wall Street contributions is (as of data available on November 1, 2018) about $1.4 million, substantially more than the average Democrat ($944,500) and many times more than the average Senate Republican ($377,000). Of the 13 co-sponsors, the average is about $1.5 million.
Among the 10 Democrats who voted to confirm Jay Clayton, the Goldman bailout lawyer who Trump appointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the average was $1.6 million. Not a single Democrat who voted for Clayton voted against the financial regulation rollback, further demonstrating how aligned this sect of the party is on finance.
The fundraising discrepancy has frustrated the GOP. The largest Republican recipient of money from the industry is Sen. Dean Heller with $2.2 million, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz, who, with $1.6 million, is in 13th place among senators.
Despite being an incumbent, Cruz lags his challenger, Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas, who has collected $3.3 million. In fact, if you expand the list of recipients to Senate candidates, the numbers are more lopsided. O’Rourke has collected more than all but four senators and the pace of his fundraising overall is record-breaking. He collected $38.1 million in one quarter.
Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who is running a “centrist” campaign in a tight race to fill Jeff Flake’s seat in Arizona, ranks 7th with about $2.2 million in money from finance, outraising not only her opponent but every member of the GOP in Congress.
Does Wooing Wall Street Help Win Elections?
The degree to which Democrats are relying on Wall Street is worrisome and has been for a long time. While some long for the days of President Obama, people forget that he raised more money from finance than any candidate in history at the time of his first presidential campaign. Hillary Clinton’s relationship to Wall Street was a big vulnerability as well. Her paid speeches to Goldman Sachs, for instance, gave her problems with the left.
When Bernie Sanders raised the issue in debates, it might have been the most visible debate about the role of money in politics in US history. Now, the debate continues to rage on.
“There’s no way that any vote in a red state or a blue state that supports Wall Street like this is a benefit at the polls,” Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America, a progressive organization that raises money for candidates, told The Hill.
Progressives cite compelling statistics from a Public Policy Polling survey from February.
“… voters strongly support regulating Wall Street, oppose [the Dodd-Frank repeal] … and are inclined to punish politicians who support the measure,” the survey said. “This issue has the potential to move votes in this fall’s midterm election. 65 percent of voters are less likely to vote for a member of Congress who supports a bill weakening oversight of many of the country’s largest banks …”
It may well be true that voting for Wall Street doesn’t endear politicians to voters. Polling shows deep distrust over Wall Street. The problem is that these politicians don’t seem to care.
Whatever damage is done by voting with Wall Street seems to be a cost these Democrats are willing to pay. Voting for Wall Street may not endear a candidate to voters, but millions of dollars in advertising and PAC money? Those can help candidates win, especially when they already have all the advantages of an incumbent in a legislative body designed to curb democracy.
Senate.gov: “Was a Senate Really Necessary?”“The evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy,” Elbridge Gerry said at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, held in private with no press present among 55 wealthy elites. “The people do not want virtue but are the dupes of pretended patriots.”
It was this line of thinking that led the founders to create a body that voters could not turn over in one election (at least not more than one-third of it). In fact, initially voters did not choose senators at all; they were chosen by state legislatures until 1913 and the ratification of the 17thAmendment.
If distancing politicians from the will of the public was a goal of the founders – and it was – the Senate has proved to be an effective vehicle for that change. This helps explain why Republicans supported a Senate health care bill in 2017 that had the support of only 12 percent of the public, according to a USA Today poll. “[James] Madison clearly recognized the need for a smaller, more deliberative body in the legislative branch to cool the passions and control the urges of democratic masses,” notes the US Senate website, rather candidly. Appropriately, this essay starts off with “Was a Senate really necessary?” That is, indeed, a discussion worth having.
A Public Awakening
The good news is that Americans are more aware of these issues than ever before, Scherb said.
“In recent years, people are paying attention [to] the role of money in politics more and more,” he told Truthout. “People understand that money has too much influence.”
More than that, he says, are that more candidates are starting to shun corporate PAC money. As one PBS headline noted, there has been a recent “Rise of the Anti-PAC Democrat.” Two-thirds of Americans, according to a May 2018 Pew poll, support laws to limit money in politics. The support for these reforms is bipartisan, Pew reports.
If senators feel more pressure to court corporate donors than voters, public opinion won’t count for much. While Democrats badly want to retake Congress next session, it is worrisome that so many prospective members of the 116th Congress are so dependent on Wall Street money for political survival.
If voters and citizens wish to see this change, they will need to stop electing politicians who represent Wall Street. Only when politicians feel the sting from their shady relationship with corporate donors will they feel compelled to change.
Wall Street donors have been lavishing the Democrats in the Senate with far more money than their GOP colleagues. The top six recipients (and nine of the top 10) of Wall Street money in 2018 among senators are Democrats. Of the top 20 Senate candidates to receive donations from Wall Street this cycle, 17 are Democrats, up from six in the last midtermin 2014, and five in 2016.
The average amount collected by Senate Democrats is $895,000 vs. $368,000 for Republicans. Wall Street has donated nearly $43 million to Senate Democrats, compared with only $19 million for Republicans — a noticeable departure from typical election years, where (with one exception) donations are about even or trend Republican.
“Wall Street acts in its self-interest. [Donors] want to be friendly with whoever gets the gavel,” said Aaron Scherb, legislative director of Common Cause, in an interview with Truthout. “There are a lot of Democratic incumbents and incumbents usually win.”
There are several variables that can account for these trends, some more sinister than others: Democrats are defending many more seats and incumbents have a large financial advantage. Democrats also have been aggressive and successful in their fundraising.
Further, Wall Street is actually a little skittish about Trump: They support most of his agenda on taxes, but fear his unpredictability, complete disregard for presidential norms and his advocacy for tariffs. Many want to elect Democrats to “serve as a check” on Trump, as one Democratic fundraiser told The New York Times.
One trend that should not be ignored is that the Democrats who are getting the most money are, by and large, the ones who have embraced the Wall Street agenda during the first two years of Trump’s presidency. Seventeen Democrats helped repeal portions of Obama-era Dodd-Frank legislation by voting with Republicans on the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection bill (hereafter “Dodd-Frank repeal”).
(Note: Sen. Angus King of Maine is an independent who caucuses with the Democrats. He is counted as a Democrat in this analysis)
Nine Democrats also crossed party lines to appoint Goldman Sach’s bailout attorney Jay Clayton to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission. This was despite opposition from most Democrats who lamented his connection to Goldman, whose exploitation of the 2008 economic crisis is infamous. Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of 37 Senators to oppose his confirmation, said he “embodies the greed that nearly wrecked our economy.”
The party’s dependence on Wall Street money is not new, although it is increasingly pervasive. This ongoing and growing relationship between the party and private capital raises important questions about electoral strategy, the direction of the party (especially as social democrats attempt to wrest control of it from the establishment), and the increasingly troublesome role of money in politics.
While the mainstream media do cover fundraising, they often do it to gauge a candidate’s chances. The potential impacts of political donations on policymaking are rarely discussed on cable television. These media companies themselves are owned by parent companies that benefit dramatically from this influx of cash as well — to buy influence and profit off record-breaking political advertising spending. In March, Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote an op-ed for the Guardian making a similar point:
How often has ABC, CBS or NBC discussed the role that the Koch brothers and other billionaires play in creating a political system which allows the rich and the powerful to significantly control elections and the legislative process in Congress? Sadly, the answer to these questions is: almost never. The corporate media has failed to let the American people fully understand the economic forces shaping their lives…
Wall Street’s Allies in the Democratic Party
After his inauguration, Trump promised to “do a big number” on Dodd-Frank, the law passed by Obama and the 1111th Congress in response to the economic crisis of 2008. The law attempted to lessen the amount of risk banks could take, and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is supposed to protect consumers from the products of finance, an industry fraught with bad-faith lending.
In May, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank repeal and did so with the help of 17 Senate Democrats. These “moderate” Democrats were thanked for this in ads from groups like the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity.
Citigroup, as The Intercept reported, was especially active in lobbying for the bill. Heitkamp of North Dakota received more money from Citigroup than any other Senator, followed closely by Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, both of whom voted for the repeal.
In fact, many of these Democrats did not just vote for the repeal but promoted it as a victory for bipartisanship and consumers. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp was a co-author of this bill and stood next to Trump at the signing ceremony. Heitkamp has received about $2.3 million from the industry, the fifth most of all senators, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
So proud of her role in the bill, she retweeted and republished The Wall Street Journal’s article praising the “roll back” of banking regulations as a victory for Trump and community banks.
Another name that appears at or near the top of nearly every sector in the finance industry – hedge funds, commercial banking, securities — is Claire McCaskill, a two-term senator from Missouri. She has received $4.3 million (and counting) from stock-jobbers, hedge funds, commercial banks — more than any member of (or candidate for) Congress. Her fundraising is outpacing that of her opponent in the tight Senate race in Missouri.
McCaskill voted for the Dodd-Frank repeal and was one of 10 Democratsto confirm Clayton. McCaskill released a press release saying she “helped shape” the financial repeal bill, selling the Dodd-Frank repeal vote as a win for consumers
Sen. Jon Tester of Montana is the third highest recipient of industry dollars. Goldman Sachs has given more to him than any other candidate this cycle. He also voted in lockstep with Trump and Wall Street on numerous occasions, including on the Dodd-Frank repeal and to confirm Clayton. He was rewarded for his loyalty by the American Bankers Association and the Montana Bankers Association, which together produced an ad to support his campaign.
These are just three examples of Democrats getting uncomfortably close with titans of private capital. The problem is an institutional one, however. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, for instance,has raised money from financial interests such as the Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Association of Realtors, Experian, Navient, National Venture Capital Association, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
Among those 17 Democrats who voted to repeal Dodd-Frank, the average amount of Wall Street contributions is (as of data available on November 1, 2018) about $1.4 million, substantially more than the average Democrat ($944,500) and many times more than the average Senate Republican ($377,000). Of the 13 co-sponsors, the average is about $1.5 million.
Among the 10 Democrats who voted to confirm Jay Clayton, the Goldman bailout lawyer who Trump appointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the average was $1.6 million. Not a single Democrat who voted for Clayton voted against the financial regulation rollback, further demonstrating how aligned this sect of the party is on finance.
The fundraising discrepancy has frustrated the GOP. The largest Republican recipient of money from the industry is Sen. Dean Heller with $2.2 million, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz, who, with $1.6 million, is in 13th place among senators.
Despite being an incumbent, Cruz lags his challenger, Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas, who has collected $3.3 million. In fact, if you expand the list of recipients to Senate candidates, the numbers are more lopsided. O’Rourke has collected more than all but four senators and the pace of his fundraising overall is record-breaking. He collected $38.1 million in one quarter.
Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who is running a “centrist” campaign in a tight race to fill Jeff Flake’s seat in Arizona, ranks 7th with about $2.2 million in money from finance, outraising not only her opponent but every member of the GOP in Congress.
Does Wooing Wall Street Help Win Elections?
The degree to which Democrats are relying on Wall Street is worrisome and has been for a long time. While some long for the days of President Obama, people forget that he raised more money from finance than any candidate in history at the time of his first presidential campaign. Hillary Clinton’s relationship to Wall Street was a big vulnerability as well. Her paid speeches to Goldman Sachs, for instance, gave her problems with the left.
When Bernie Sanders raised the issue in debates, it might have been the most visible debate about the role of money in politics in US history. Now, the debate continues to rage on.
“There’s no way that any vote in a red state or a blue state that supports Wall Street like this is a benefit at the polls,” Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America, a progressive organization that raises money for candidates, told The Hill.
Progressives cite compelling statistics from a Public Policy Polling survey from February.
“… voters strongly support regulating Wall Street, oppose [the Dodd-Frank repeal] … and are inclined to punish politicians who support the measure,” the survey said. “This issue has the potential to move votes in this fall’s midterm election. 65 percent of voters are less likely to vote for a member of Congress who supports a bill weakening oversight of many of the country’s largest banks …”
It may well be true that voting for Wall Street doesn’t endear politicians to voters. Polling shows deep distrust over Wall Street. The problem is that these politicians don’t seem to care.
Whatever damage is done by voting with Wall Street seems to be a cost these Democrats are willing to pay. Voting for Wall Street may not endear a candidate to voters, but millions of dollars in advertising and PAC money? Those can help candidates win, especially when they already have all the advantages of an incumbent in a legislative body designed to curb democracy.
Senate.gov: “Was a Senate Really Necessary?”“The evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy,” Elbridge Gerry said at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, held in private with no press present among 55 wealthy elites. “The people do not want virtue but are the dupes of pretended patriots.”
It was this line of thinking that led the founders to create a body that voters could not turn over in one election (at least not more than one-third of it). In fact, initially voters did not choose senators at all; they were chosen by state legislatures until 1913 and the ratification of the 17thAmendment.
If distancing politicians from the will of the public was a goal of the founders – and it was – the Senate has proved to be an effective vehicle for that change. This helps explain why Republicans supported a Senate health care bill in 2017 that had the support of only 12 percent of the public, according to a USA Today poll. “[James] Madison clearly recognized the need for a smaller, more deliberative body in the legislative branch to cool the passions and control the urges of democratic masses,” notes the US Senate website, rather candidly. Appropriately, this essay starts off with “Was a Senate really necessary?” That is, indeed, a discussion worth having.
A Public Awakening
The good news is that Americans are more aware of these issues than ever before, Scherb said.
“In recent years, people are paying attention [to] the role of money in politics more and more,” he told Truthout. “People understand that money has too much influence.”
More than that, he says, are that more candidates are starting to shun corporate PAC money. As one PBS headline noted, there has been a recent “Rise of the Anti-PAC Democrat.” Two-thirds of Americans, according to a May 2018 Pew poll, support laws to limit money in politics. The support for these reforms is bipartisan, Pew reports.
If senators feel more pressure to court corporate donors than voters, public opinion won’t count for much. While Democrats badly want to retake Congress next session, it is worrisome that so many prospective members of the 116th Congress are so dependent on Wall Street money for political survival.
If voters and citizens wish to see this change, they will need to stop electing politicians who represent Wall Street. Only when politicians feel the sting from their shady relationship with corporate donors will they feel compelled to change.
Demo Sellouts are reliable votes!!!
third way and corporate democrats
anti-aca democrats
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