Of Course He Does

Have you ever noticed that when progressives lose a primary, they endorse the (frequently hopeless) winner, but whenever a centrist loses, they spend their time trying to extract revenge? 

Case in point, the House of Representatives' version of Joe Manchin, Kurt Schrader:

Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) got significant support from national Democrats in his campaign against primary challenger Jamie McLeod-Skinner.

But after losing to McLeod-Skinner in May, Schrader isn’t doing the party any favors.

In his first interview since his defeat, Schrader told a local television station that he believes McLeod-Skinner will lose the race for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District in November.

………

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have both pledged their full support for McLeod-Skinner, but Schrader has yet to officially endorse her.

Schrader also revealed in the interview that there is a “significant chance” he will endorse independent centrist Betsy Johnson’s gubernatorial campaign, rather than backing Democratic nominee Tina Kotek, the former speaker of the state’s House of Representatives.

………

Schrader’s remarks come on the heels of a decision to break with the party on gun safety legislation. He was one of two House Democrats to vote against a package of stricter gun regulations that included raising the legal eligibility age for purchase of a semi-automatic rifle to 21. Five Republicans voted for the whole package and 10 Republicans voted for the stand-alone bill to raise the eligibility age for purchasing long guns; Schrader did not vote for the latter, either.

Although McLeod-Skinner won by successfully portraying Schrader as an obstacle to President Joe Biden’s agenda, Schrader received Biden’s first endorsement of the midterm election cycle. The DCCC, which is House Democrats’ campaign arm, also assigned staff to help Schrader win the primary.

………

Schrader’s refusal to endorse McLeod-Skinner thus far, and his remarks, which effectively undermine her, reinforce progressives’ complaints that top Democrats are quicker to impose party discipline on the left than on centrists who disregard the party more frequently.

“It’s embarrassing that Kurt Schrader refuses to support the Democratic nominee in his district, and it’s even more shameful that Dem leaders who are so quick to criticize progressives for a lack of loyalty are willing to let this slide,” said Maya Handa, a progressive campaign strategist who most recently managed Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam’s congressional campaign.

………

But while McLeod-Skinner supports “Medicare for All” and had the support of left-wing groups like the Working Families Party, she ran on a mainstream platform of rejecting corporate PAC money, fighting to lower prescription drug prices and being a better partner for Biden. She also picked up the support of several influential labor unions and four of the district’s county Democratic parties ― an unusual feat for a primary challenger.

Rather than punishing Schrader for not being sufficiently socialist, Democratic voters in Oregon’s closed primary system appeared to reject Schrader’s effort to water down Democrats’ bill empowering Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices and his simultaneous reliance on pharmaceutical industry donations.

So the voters did not want a corrupt do-nothing in office.  What a surprise.

Kurt Schrader is the sort of candidate that the Democratic Party establishment (There is no Democratic Party establishment) tries to find, and they are shocked when voters reject him.