Nancy Pelosi is not running for reelection, and I know very little about her successor, but I do know who I would recommend that any of my reader(s) in her Bay Area district NOT vote for, Connie Chan.
Anyone endorsed by the former House Speaker can be reasonably assumed to be of like mind to Pelosi, and more of the same is a f%$#ing disaster.
Nancy Pelosi on Monday endorsed Connie Chan, a San Francisco supervisor, in the race to succeed her as the city’s representative in Congress, calling her the candidate who “stands above the rest”.
Pelosi, the first woman to serve as speaker of the House, will retire at the end of her term and had not yet weighed in on the contested primary for the San Francisco district she has held for nearly 40 years. But as early mail-in ballots trickle in ahead of the 2 June primary, Pelosi declared Chan the “leader best prepared to carry forward the fight for San Francisco in the Congress”.
………
Pelosi’s endorsement comes as polling shows Chan in a tight contest to advance to the November general election in a field that includes Scott Wiener, a Democratic state senator known for championing legislation to ramp up housing production and enshrining LGBTQ+ rights, and Saikat Chakrabarti, a former tech executive who served as Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s first chief of staff and has been an outspoken critic of Pelosi and the Democratic party leadership. Ocasio-Cortez has declined to endorse anyone in the race.
Several recent surveys show Chan effectively tied with Chakrabarti for second place, behind Wiener. Under California’s primary system, the top two contenders will advance to the November general election, regardless of party.
I still want to see him primaried, and if he suffers the fate of Tom Foley, I will not be disappointed:
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor on Friday, the latest sign that skeptical party officials are swallowing concerns about their nominee as Election Day nears.
The endorsement by Mr. Jeffries, a Brooklyn Democrat, is more meaningful than most. A national party leader, he is also one of the city’s most prominent Black politicians and has been a sharp critic of the Democratic Socialists of America, which counts Mr. Mamdani as a member.
Yeah, Jeffries is a corporate stooge with dead eyes, but he knows which way the wind is blowing.
………
The endorsement came in written form just a day before early voting is set to begin. People familiar with his thinking said that Mr. Jeffries had planned to announce the endorsement earlier but pushed it back because of the ongoing government shutdown.
Bullsh%$. He was hoping for Zamdami to have a major gaffe, or for Cuomo's opposition research to come up with something.
He endorsed because he had to endorse
………
Several high-profile New York Democrats remain uncommitted to their party’s nominee. New York’s senators — Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, and Kirsten Gillibrand — have not made endorsements in the mayor’s race and appear unlikely to. Jay Jacobs, the state party chairman, said outright that he would not endorse Mr. Mamdani, citing the candidate’s democratic socialist beliefs and sharp criticism of Israel.
Yeah, Gillibrand and Schumer should be primaried as well.
For them, "Vote blue, no matter who," only applies when corporate stooges are running.
The Democratic Party establishment (There is no Democratic Party establishment) are a bunch of cowardly incompetents who need to be fired.
It appears that the Democratic Party establishment (There is no Democratic Party establishment) has decided to succomb to the inevitable, and announce support for Zoran Mamdani.
Case in point, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who like most of the Democratic Party establishment (There is no Democratic Party establishment) see the Republicans as the opposition, and progressives as the enemy.
She had to see the writing on the wall in a big way.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York endorsed Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, on Sunday night in a guest essay in The New York Times Opinion section, providing critical support ahead of the November election.
Ms. Hochul’s endorsement, after months of deliberation, is the latest sign that Democratic leaders who have been skeptical of Mr. Mamdani’s leftist views are beginning to coalesce around him.
Ms. Hochul and Mr. Mamdani represent divergent sectors of their party. She is a moderate who recently declared herself a lover of capitalism, vowed not to raise taxes and supports Israel. He is a democratic socialist who wants higher taxes on the richest New Yorkers and is highly critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Say what you will about Kathy Hochul, but if every other possibility has been ruled out, she will do the right thing, which makes her better than, for example, Andrew Cuomo.
If anything characterizes the the political career of Bill Clinton, it is his unwavering support for the corrupt Democratic Party establishment (There is no Democratic Party establishment).
While not personally corrupt, his tolerance of, and willful blindness to, corruption from people percieved as his allies.
This was the case in Arkansas, this was the case in the White House, and this was the case with the Clinton Foundation.
Unethical but legal and willfully blindness, has always been Clinton's modus operandi.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) got a Republican lawmaker to strike his comments after she accused him of trying to intimidate Democratic governors during an immigration-focused hearing.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D), Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) went before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Thursday, where Republican lawmakers railed against their states’ “sanctuary” laws.
………
“You are engaged in operations against federal government attempts to enforce federal law that I think now constitutes a threat to our national security, and you’re in violation of federal law,” Palmer said.
“That’s 100% false,” Hochul pushed back.
“And charges should be — for obstruction — should be brought against each one of you for doing this. I’ll leave that up to the Department of Justice,” Palmer said.
………
“Mr. Chair, point of order, point of order. That was a form of intimidation of the witness,” Ocasio-Cortez told Comer.
“Do you have a point of inquiry?” Comer asked.
“Yes, I have a point of inquiry,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“State your point,” Comer said.
“Raising the prospect of charges against witnesses is a form of intimidation, is it not?” the congresswoman asked.
Palmer can be heard off-mic saying he “strikes” his statement, leading Ocasio-Cortez to withdraw her question.
Making nice to Republicans is a losing proposition. We need a fighter to run in 2028 for President.
In what surely comes as a heartbreaking disappointment to Donald
Trump, Insane Clown Posse’s Violent J has endorsed In what surely comes as a heartbreaking disappointment to Donald Trump, Insane Clown Posse’s Violent J has endorsed Kamala Harris for president.
Kamala Harris for president.
Speaking with comedian Troy Iwata for a recent segment on The Daily Show, Violent J confirmed that Harris is his preferred pick for the White House,
saying “I want her to win because she’s a Democrat, and I love my mom.”
.......
Speaking about why he prefers Democrats to Republicans, Violent J explained, “My mom said the Democrats are saying less taxes on the poor, more taxes on the rich.” When asked about the taxes he pays, he enthusiastically claimed that he pays “up the fucking anus, and I’m happy about it. I pay double what they ask.”
This move is surprising,because Feinstein has not yet announced if she intends to run for reelection.
I don't think that she will, she will be 91 on election day, and there an increasing number of reports of diminished mental capacity, though the recent death of her husband Richard Blum might be a factor.
I enthusiastically endorse her, and I support her announcing before Feinstein has made a formal announcement, because she is never going to be the choice of the Democratic Party establishment (There is no Democratic Party establishment), and any formal announcement would likely be coordinated with Feinstein's preferred successor.
I have no problem whatsoever with her announcing before Feinstein did.
Porter has good progressive cred, and her take-downs people who try to feed her a line of bullshit, are beautiful to behold. (see attached videos)
I think that she would do a good job, particularly on economic issues.
Full disclosure, Dianne Feinstein is my second cousin once removed. My great grandfather, Harry Goldman, and her grandfather, Sam Goldman were brothers, though we have never met, either in person or electronically.
After picking up Nat from a hangout with a friend, and on the way home, I picked up a snack from Habib Mediterranean Market and Cafe, a nice spinach and cheese pie.
The kids got some very nice stuffed grape leaves and some za'atar spiced fries.
Additionally, I got a bottle of a very nice non-alcoholic malt beverage made in Dubai, UAE, Barbican.
Unlike many near-beers, it is not too sweet, and not too malty, and lightly hopped, which makes for an easy drink when one wants to cool down a hot day.
Shumer's "Great White Hopes" of the US Senate races this year are Amy McGrath in Kentucky and John Hickenlooper in Colorado, and things are not going well fore either of them.
The largest papers in the state endorsed her primary opponent Charles Booker, as has Alison Lundergan Grimes, who is part of the Democratic Party aristocracy in the state. (Useless, but all aristocracy is useless)
I'm thinking that her deer in the headlights performance when asked about police protests in the last debate which was lame beyond belief: (See vid)
Remember Amy McGrath? Maybe you do. In 2018, the Kentucky Democrat was briefly famous for a viral campaign ad and an ultimately doomed campaign to represent her state’s Sixth Congressional District. A moderate and a former Marine fighter pilot, McGrath is the apotheosis of a particular Democratic electoral strategy: to win in a conservative state, dispatch a veteran with lukewarm politics. That strategy didn’t put McGrath in the House in 2018. But two years later, Senate Democrats tried it again, pitting McGrath against a top prize: Mitch McConnell.
Now she might be lucky to win her primary race.
McGrath faces a robust challenge from Charles Booker, the youngest Black legislator in the Kentucky House of Representatives. Booker has run to her left, and while McGrath holds a major fundraising advantage, Booker is gaining significant momentum ahead of the primary on June 23. Two of the state’s largest newspapers have endorsed him, and on Tuesday, Booker earned another major supporter. Alison Lundergan Grimes, who challenged McConnell in 2014, endorsed him over McGrath.
— Alison Lundergan Grimes (@AlisonForKY) June 16, 2020
The Grimes endorsement might be the clearest sign yet that McGrath is in real trouble. Booker already had the backing of a number of progressive politicians and groups, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, but Grimes is no leftist. She’s firmly part of the Kentucky Democratic Establishment, which makes her endorsement something of a surprise — and an unignorable vote of no confidence in McGrath. The retired Marine is backed by the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, but locals are less convinced.
Democrats’ best pickup opportunity in their battle for the majority in the U.S. Senate has suddenly been complicated by not one but two unforced errors from their star candidate in Colorado, former governor John Hickenlooper. But it’s not clear whether either or both are enough to turn the tide of the race in favor of Republicans. The two controversies:
An independent ethics commission in Colorado said Hickenlooper violated state law on gifts when he was governor in 2018 by accepting rides on a private jet and, separately, in a Maserati limousine.
He appeared to compare a job as a political scheduler to the slave trade, in 2014 comments that were unearthed Monday. His campaign immediately apologized for them. “Imagine an ancient slave ship,” he said, “with the guy with the whip, and you’re rowing. We elected officials are the ones that are rowing.”
………
The first controversy carries a more immediate impact for Hickenlooper. The commission, which was set up as part of an anti-graft law Colorado voters approved more than a decade ago, fined him almost $3,000 for the luxury rides as he was traveling as governor. The commission also held him in contempt for not showing up for the first day of video hearings even though he was subpoenaed.
………
Hickenlooper’s most immediate contest is a June 30 primary. He’s facing Andrew Romanoff, a former Colorado House speaker, who has his supporters but is not seen as a major threat to Hickenlooper. Romanoff is campaigning on Hickenlooper’s left in support of Medicare-for-all and the Green New Deal and has the support of some younger, liberal activists. (But no endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or his liberal allies in Congress.)
That may still be the case, given how late Hickenlooper’s ethics violation is coming in the primary and how much Hickenlooper has been billed as the best candidate to beat Gardner among Democrats. Romanoff is trying to leverage Hickenlooper’s ethics troubles to reverse that narrative. “He represents a threat we cannot afford,” Romanoff told The Washington Post recently.
I am not sure how much Romanoff is a long shot. Romanoff won the Democratic Party endorsement at the state convention, though that does not count for much in the primary.
DISTRICT 16 (northern parts of the Bronx and southern half of Westchester County, including Mt. Vernon, Yonkers, New Rochelle and Rye): The current representative — Eliot Engel — has been in Congress since 1989, and his connections to the district seem to have frayed.
He was criticized for not returning home even as the coronavirus raged through communities he represents, particularly New Rochelle. When he did return for this race, he was caught on a hot mic pushing for a chance to speak during a protest rally, saying, “If I didn’t have a primary, I wouldn’t care.”
His main challenger is Jamaal Bowman, an educator for more than 20 years and a fierce advocate for public schools. Mr. Bowman helped found a public middle school in the Bronx, the Cornerstone Academy for Social Action, and promises to work for all of the district, including sections he says have been neglected during Mr. Engel’s time in Congress.
Mr. Bowman says he wants to see the United States adopt a kind of Marshall Plan for climate change, jobs, housing and education. “We need political imagination,” he said. In a district that needs new energy, Mr. Bowman will bring it.
It's important to remember that primary challenges are important even when they fail, and a relatively low success rate is a given.
Dan Lipinski has already been taken out this election cycle, and if Engel is taken down, it will put fear in the hearts of a lot of Democratic Party incumbents.
Given Biden's long history of sucking up to banks, racists, and sexual harassers, and the carceral state, this should surprise no one.
Political organizations do not vote, and, "But Donald Trump," is not a reason to contradict one's stated values.
Of course, this non-endorsement will be used to blame the left, when Biden loses, because an honest account of the incompetence and corruption of the Democratic Party establishment (There is no Democratic Party establishment) would result in too many nepotism hires having to find honest work.
Following the withdrawal of Bernie Sanders from the presidential race, our country has lost the only viable Presidential candidate advocating the comprehensive reform we need to address this pandemic head-on. Sanders’s exit leaves Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. His differences with Sanders and the broader left could not be starker, as was recently made clear when he committed to vetoing Medicare for All, Sanders’s signature legislative priority. Biden’s recent, disgraceful embrace of anti-Chinese xenophobia in his general election campaign, and credible allegations against him, are dangerous examples of how corporate Democrats continue to fail at stopping the ugly advance of far-right politics, racism, and misogyny. The Democratic Socialists of America will not be endorsing Biden. We fully agree with Senator Sanders that taking on the reactionary, racist, and nationalist right wing represented by Donald Trump is imperative for the survival of millions of working-class people across the country and the world. We believe that the only way to beat the radical right once and for all is through a socialist movement that draws millions of disillusioned working-class people, here and abroad, into the political arena. We will continue to welcome the millions of people who supported Bernie’s platform and are looking for a political home. We also recognize this moment to strategically strengthen our movements and power. We will fight like hell against the Trump agenda by running pressure campaigns, engaging in mutual aid, helping to build strong, democratic unions, building coalitions with those organizing against capitalism, acting in solidarity with immigrants and incarcerated people against deportation and detention, working to protect tenants and unhoused people, organizing to expand voting rights, locations, and the right to vote by mail. We will demand COVID relief that addresses inequality through a lens of reparations, push for an end to sanctions that are killing millions and fuel militarism in many parts of the world, and will back democratic socialist candidates at the grassroots level. That’s because we know that politics does not begin every four years with a national election: when we get organized, we become the agents of the change that will win the better world the working class desires and deserves.
Were the DSA to engage in obvious hypocrisy by endorsing Biden, it would damage the DSA, and Biden would get nothing from it.
"Vote for the slightly less awful rapist," is a political strategy that would destroy DSA.
In an interview with The Intercept published Thursday, philosopher Cornel West endorsed Bernie Sanders’ bid for the White House.
West, who endorsed Sanders in 2016 and campaigned for him, explained that the Vermont senator fulfils “Martin Luther King-like” criteria when it comes to issues of race, war, materialism, and poverty.
“And this is the first time I’ve had a chance to publicly endorse him again, but yes, indeed. I’ll be in his corner that we’re going to win this time,” he said, adding, “my dear brother Bernie stands shoulders above any of the other candidates running in the Democratic primary when it comes to that Martin Luther King-like standards or criteria.”
Bernie Sanders is often accused by his opponents — despite his activist past and lifelong dedication to civil rights — of having a “problem” with black voters. But according to Cornel West that will be a non-issue in 2020.
In 2016 Sanders was facing two major issues: The “Clinton machine” and lack of name recognition. Since then, African Americans have “had the chance to discover” who Bernie Sanders really is, according to the philosopher, and this is now reflected in the polls.
I find the endorsement a big over the top ("Martin Luther King-like standards"), but considering the alternatives, his endorsement is not surprising.
The most important choice facing New York voters this fall is whom they will pick as their next state attorney general. The office could be the last line of defense against an antidemocratic president, a federal government indifferent to environmental and consumer protection and a state government in which ethics can seem a mere inconvenience. Even in the best of times the office plays a critical role, policing fraud on Wall Street and ensuring enforcement of state and federal laws, from regulating the financial system to preventing employment discrimination. Its influence is felt across the nation. These are not the best of times. With the right leadership, the office could serve as a firewall if President Trump pardons senior aides, dismisses the special counsel, Robert Mueller, or attacks the foundations of state power. Only a handful of American institutions are equipped to resist such assaults on constitutional authority, and the New York attorney general’s office, with 650 lawyers and a history of muscular law enforcement, is one of them. The next attorney general will have a full docket in New York as well. Albany has long been a chamber of ethical horrors. In March, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s former senior aide Joseph Percoco was convicted on corruption charges. In May, former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, was also convicted of corruption. In July, the former Republican Senate majority leader, Dean Skelos, was convicted of bribery, extortion and conspiracy. Prosecutors said he used his office to pressure businesses to pay his son $300,000 for no-show jobs. The same month, Alain Kaloyeros, a key figure behind Mr. Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion” economic initiative, was convicted in a bid-rigging scheme. ……… From a refreshingly strong field competing in the Democratic primary, to be held on Sept. 13, the best candidate is Zephyr Teachout, an independent-minded lawyer unusually well prepared to curb abuses of power and restore integrity and pride to this office. Ms. Teachout waged a strong primary challenge against Mr. Cuomo four years ago, lending her additional credibility and distance from a governor who remains all too cozy with the donors, contractors, union leaders and influence peddlers who dominate Albany and beyond. ……… New York needs a great lawyer. We believe that Democrats who are seeking a means of standing up to the Trump presidency and graft in Albany can find in Ms. Teachout their most effective champion for democracy and civil rights, good government and the environment, workers’ rights, fair housing and gender equality.
(emphasis mine)
I think that part of the reason for this endorsement is the above not-so-subtle diss of Cuomo as well.
I think that if Teachout ends up AG, she will have a remarkably hostile relationship with the Governor, and that's a good thing.
Billionaire industrialist Charles Koch, a key source of financing for conservative Republican causes along with his brother, said Democrat Hillary Clinton might make a better president than the candidates in the Republican field.
Koch, in an interview to air on Sunday on ABC's "This Week" program, said that in some respects Bill Clinton had been a better president than George W. Bush, who Koch said had increased government spending. Then when asked if Hillary Clinton would be a better president than the Republicans currently running, he said, "It's possible, it's possible."
Not a big surprise.
After all, Hillary is arguably the best Republican in the race.
She's never held elective office, so there's not a whole bunch of record to go after, but she has taken a lot of energy money, including over $100,000.00 from fracking interests, and she's trying to run as an environmentalist.
So, it's clear that she thinks that you fool enough people for long enough to get into office, and her dismal performance in the gubernatorial primary 2 years ago does not bode well for her ability as a campaigner, so no, just no.
While
President Barack Obama won’t tell us who he will be supporting in the
general election, one candidate he has fully endorsed is Democratic
National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Wasserman
Schultz is currently running for her life in Florida against the first
Democratic congressional opponent she has faced during her time in the
House. Opponent Tim Canova is running on the idea that Wasserman Schultz
is far too corrupt and indebted to Wall Street to effectively represent
the people of her district. Canova has endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders
and has been backed by some of the same groups that Sanders is. President Obama does not often endorse candidates in House primaries, so his support for Wasserman Schultz is telling.
Last week, the Florida Democratic Party — and Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz — took some serious heat after it banned upstart congressional candidate Tim Canova from using the party's voter data files, which help candidates research and contact supporters. But the Florida Democratic Party reversed its decision yesterday, party spokesperson Max Steele has confirmed to New Times.
Improbably, this was the second voter-data scandal to ensnare Wasserman Schultz this election cycle. In December, Wasserman Schultz, acting as chair of the Democratic National Committee, temporarily banned Bernie Sanders from accessing the DNC's voter data files after his campaign staffer was caught hacking into Hillary Clinton's campaign data. (The information allows candidates to research and contact potential supporters in their area.) But the move backfired, and Wasserman Schultz has since been accused of intentionally trying to sink Sanders' chances at the presidency. Sanders sued, the move was overturned, and critics across the country have called for her ouster. She's had a bad few months.
In something of a twist, Canova, who once advised Sanders on Wall Street reform, then said he had also been denied access to that very same data. This was due to a Florida Democratic Party rule, instituted in 2010, which bans candidates running against incumbents from using the information. In an interview, Canova called the rule "undemocratic" and said the party was acting to protect Wasserman Schultz.
The party did not offer data access "to candidates challenging incumbent members of Florida’s Democratic congressional delegation," Steele told New Times earlier this month. "This policy has been applied uniformly across the board since 2010. We stand with our incumbent members of Congress, and we’re proud of the job they do representing the people of Florida. The Voter File is proprietary software created and owned by the Democratic National Committee that is maintained and operated by the Florida Democratic Party here in state."
………
After Canova put up a fight, the Florida Democratic Party reconsidered how Canova's case looked to the outside world, Steele says. The party made the choice today to give Canova, and only Canova, access to the file.
"Given the unique circumstances of having an incumbent member of Congress who is also the DNC chair who is being challenged by a Democrat (a situation that as you can imagine has never arisen), the FDP has decided to grant Mr. Canova access to the Voter File," Steele said via email. The file will cost $3,500 to access.
Steele reiterated that this will be a one-time policy change: "Given the dual nature of an incumbent who is also a national party chair, we’ve decided to grant Mr. Canova access to avoid any appearance of favoritism," he said. Other candidates who run against incumbents will be out of luck.
As an aside, they would not have done this, or at least not have done this so soon, unless there was a significant amount of loathing directed towards Wasserman Schultz in the state party.
Ben Carson, the former pediatric neurosurgeon who dropped out of the Republican presidential race last week, endorsed Donald Trump on Friday, praising his "guts" and "energy." "There are two different Donald Trumps," Carson said at the billionaire's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. "There's the one you see on the stage and there's the one who is very cerebral, sits there and considers things very carefully. You can have a very good conversation with him. That's the Donald Trump that you're going to start seeing more and more of." Trump agreed with that assessment. "I probably do agree. There's the public version … it seems to have worked over my lifetime," he said. "I think it's different than the personal one." Moments later, though, Trump seemed to reject that idea. "I don't think there are two Donald Trumps. I think there's one Donald Trump," he said.
This is aa whole world of mental dysfunction, as would be anticipated by putting Donald Trump and Ben Carson together.
The frightening thing is that one of them is the odds on favorite for the Republican nomination.
This blog is a place to put my stream of consciousness thoughts about life, politics, technology, and cats.
It's a posting ground for my more-or-less annual personal newsletter, 40 Years in the Desert.(PDF's available at link)
I find that if I wait until year's end I miss stuff from earlier in the year.
40 Years is put out the old fashioned way, it's printed out on ledger sized paper with 4 pages and mailed to people, total circulation of about 100.
I'm just not the holiday card kind of guy.
A warning, if you comment here, I may use it in my paper publication.
You will get credit, and if I can get your postal adress, you will get at least the issue where you are quoted (probably a lot more, I rarely trim my list).
If someone actually wants to pay for an issue...I don't know, I guess a buck, but you can get the PDF's free.
I intend to post at least a couple of times a week,
Privacy Policy
I reserve the right to use any comments in my (paper) newsletter. Also, I will make an attempt to contact the commenter and offer them a copy of the newsletter.
I may also post on the blog on your comments.
I use Google ads, and Google Analytics, because Google is watching you anyway. They own blogger.
You can review your ad settings, and Google's policies, here.
Commercial Disclosures
Please, send me free stuff, and I will consider doing a review.
I am a complete whore, so assume that any review is the result of free stuff, and/or under the table payments.
I will do my level best to reveal such conflicts when I remember to.
