Down in Nebraska’s Second Congressional District, Democratic U.S. House candidate Kara Eastman ran this ad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS4IakFkgrs
Universal health care? Always defend a woman’s right to choose? Boy, that kind of straight-up liberal Democratic messaging means trouble, doesn’t it?
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee thought so and backed Bluer Dog Brad Ashford, who won the seat in 2014 and served one term before getting ousted in the Trumpy woman-haters outburst. But the Second District bucked the bosses and backed the more progressive candidate in this week’s primary, giving Eastman the nomination on a close 51.4% to 48.6% vote.
Eastman’s formula for winning? Run as a Democrat:
“The Democratic base was looking for an actual Democrat who represents their values,” Eastman told The Associated Press. “For years we’ve been running conservative Democrats and seeing them lose” [Thomas Beaumont and Marc Levy, “Liberal Wins in Primaries Cheer Some Democrats, Worry Others,” AP, 2018.05.17].
Progressives like me who believe in being ourselves rather than surrendering to the conserva-Trump narrative are taking heart:
Eastman’s victory “validated the point of view that running on bold, inspiring populist ideas like Medicare for All is the way to motivate voters — both in the primary and the general,” said Adam Green, a cofounder of the Progressive Campaign Change Committee, one of the few national groups that had backed Eastman.
“If progressives like Kara are successful in the primaries,” Green argued, “Democratic chances of wining the general go way up in November” [Molly Hensley-Clancy, “A Progressive Woman Just Beat the Establishment Candidate in Nebraska. Now It’s a Test for the Left,” BuzzFeed, 2018.05.16].
Women have a right to decide the course of their own pregnancies. Americans have a right to buy into Medicare, the best health insurance program in the country. Marginalized populations have a right to live, love, and work. Americans have a right to carry guns, but that right is properly limited by “universal background checks, mandatory waiting periods, and the ban on the sale of weapons of war.” Future generations have a right to a livable planet, which we preserve by rejoining the world in the Paris Climate Accords, boosting renewable energy and cap-and-trade programs, and fighting Keystone XL. Those are things we Democrats believe in and that the current Republican powers that be are resisting. Run on those things, Democrats. Run and win.
In the endless search for the magic key that Democrats can use to unlock the hearts of white people who vote Republican, the hot new candidate is “respect.” If only they cast off their snooty liberal elitism and show respect to people who voted for Donald Trump, Democrats can win them over and take back Congress and the White House.
~ “There’s almost nothing more foolish Democrats could do than follow that advice because there’s an entire industry that’s devoted to convincing white people that liberal elitists look down on them.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/05/15/why-democrats-cant-win-the-respect-of-trump-voters/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f7fcf5a0695a
Wow, Cory, you do sound like a true Progressive!
Unfortunately, like Kara Eastman, the national Democratic party is against you. Like they did with Bernie Sanders, they will go to great ends to see you don’t get ahead.
Clyde, the DNC doesn’t know I exist. They aren’t going to any ends with regards to my campaign… though they should. They should back every Democrat in every race, Congressional, statewide, and legislative, where there’s a competitive Dem challenging a Republican.
The DNC cannot now go against Eastman. She’s their horse, and they need to ride her to victory.
Bernie said this morning that the DNC must absolutely support true progressives. His reasoning was that the near record low turnout for Hillary shows that moderate liberals don’t excite our base.
*My thinking is that Hillary was a near record poor candidate. I put “likeablility” as the most important trait a candidate can have.
No need for cap and trade. Just emit no carbon in the first place and match supply with demand.