When Candidates Speak Liberal, Even If They Lose, Progressives Win

Digby explains why:

It's nice to see my concerns addressed. Many of the other candidates are also running ads that speak to the issues in a progressive way. And that, in turn, reinforces those ideas. It's a feedback loop. This is why it's important to support candidates who want to speak in these terms even when they are not going to win. Campaigns are educational opportunities as much as anything and if people never hear a candidate express liberal views or espouse a progressive agenda they have much less chance of ever knowing about them or feeling compelled to leave their house and go to the polls. It may not pay off in the short run, but over the long haul some people's minds may even be changed by it.

The Democratic Party's job is to elect Democrats, period. But the progressive movement has a different goal. They often intersect as they will here in California's 33rd. I'm sure the Party will welcome whichever Democrat wins (and if it's Independent marianne Williamson, I'm sure they'll welcome her too.) But where there is a progressive in a race against a party backed centrist or conservative, progressives have no obligation to back them over someone who hews more closely to their beliefs in primaries, even if the centrist or conservative has a better chance of winning, for all the reasons I just set forth. Unfortunately, for some reason, there are a lot of Democrats who become livid at the idea of anyone running for office in a conservative district who they believe is not "serious" because they espouse the very beliefs that virtually every candidate in my district are running on. It's as if such ideas are never even to be spoken of outside liberals enclaves on the coasts.

I feel just terrible that this makes some people uncomfortable (not), but the truth is that progressive ideas deserve a hearing every place in this country. There are people who believe as I believe all across the nation in all 50 states and while they may not be a majority who can win their district, they have a right to have their voices heard and perhaps persuade a few of their neighbors that the centrist, moderate or right wing worldview are not the only ways to look at the world. Who knows, maybe some day one of these liberal cranks will actually win a seat because of the groundwork that was laid by a few people who decided to run for office so they could talk about progressive ideas.

We've got one such courageous candidate right here in Kentucky.

Down With Tyranny:

There's a debate raging among progressives about Bernie Sanders running for president. [Blue America is encouraging him to run.] Most progressives-- or at least the ones I talk to-- think he should run. Some want him to run, as he has for his entire career, as an Independent. He would be on the ballot as an alternative to the two corporate shills the Republicans and the Democrats put up. Others want him to run in the primary as a Democrat-- something he has never done in his entire life-- so that he could debate Hillary Clinton on the issues she would rather not discuss, like economic inequality and corporate trade policies that have devastated the American middle class.

There's a similar dynamic playing out in Kentucky, where independent-minded progressive Democrat, Ed Marksberry has withdrawn from the Democratic primary-- when the Democratic Party elites and their Establishment stacked the deck unfairly against his long-shot bid-- and is now running as an independent against both horrible status quo, corporate-zombie candidates, Mitch McConnell ® and Alison Lundergan Grimes (D).

Ed is looking for some help to accelerate the collection of the 5,000 signatures he needs to get his name on the ballot. McConnell, a reviled underdog, is challenging Alison Lundergan Grimes to 3 debates and if Ed can get the signatures in time, he's likely to be able to join the debate(s). The issues he's talking about are not the issues either of the corporate candidates want to discuss.

"I know a lot of people," he told me this morning, "are asking why I decided to run as an Independent instead of just hanging in there and waiting for a better opportunity. The reason is simple; I found out that the establishment doesn't give a fuck about people like myself and it's not going to change. I'm okay with that and it feels pretty good being an Independent.

But I am worried about Climate Change and how backwards-ass our political leaders in Kentucky are and the strangle-hold King Coal has on them. This is an opportunity in the most the most watched US Senate race to take a chance to expose the truth about Climate Change."

SNIP

I’m not running to win; I’m running to influence the conversation about Climate Change, because if the good folks of Kentucky aren’t exposed to the truth, they will never change their hearts about Coal and Climate Change.

You see, sometimes you have to go right at the root of the problem even if it’s not the most popular thing to do at the time. But time is something we no longer have. And I need your help.

To have my name on the ballot I have to collect 5000 signatures. I’m well on my way but the quicker we get all 5000 signature the faster my voice we be heard in the media.

I’m pleading to you to support my campaign with any donation you can spare. Our goal is just $5000.00 over the next week. These donations will be used only to help collect the 5000 signatures.

You can donate by going to my website or clicking on the following link.

www.Marksberry2014.com

http://marksberry2014.com/donate-3/

As much as  I think Ed Marksberry would make a far, far better U.S. Senator than Alison Lundergan Grimes, I am not going to vote for him in November.  Nor will I encourage anyone else to do so.  But if you care about liberal policy and the future of the country, I urge you to contribute to Ed's campaign so that he can hold Grimes accountable for her repug views and promote progressive values in Kentucky.

 

What Happens When You Run a Repug-Lite Against a Real Repug

Real Democratic candidates are forced to run as independents.

Jack Brammer at the Herald:

Owensboro home builder Ed Marksberry has decided to run for the U.S. Senate next year as an independent rather than as a Democrat.

"I want to make sure my platform is not beholden to corporate money and any political party leadership," he said Monday during a telephone interview.

Marksberry has had "some disagreements" with Kentucky Democratic Party leadership, whom he contends ignored his campaign.

"I can now do what I want to," he said. "I may not win, but my voice will be heard."

Marksberry said he must change his party registration by Dec. 31 and get the signatures of 5,000 Kentucky voters by August to be on the November 2014 ballot for U.S. Senate as an independent.

He said he expected that supporters of the late Gatewood Galbraith, a perennial candidate from Lexington, would help him get the necessary signatures because he, like Galbraith, advocates legalization of marijuana.

More importantly, Marksberry is an economic populist, a strong supporter of unions, taxing the wealthy to create good middle-class jobs, expanding Social Security and Medicare, and a social safety net that protects society's vulnerable.

All true Democratic positions that repug-lite Alison Lundergan Grimes is running away from as fast as her DINO legs will carry her.

Yes, a vote in November 2014 for Ed Marksberry is undoubtedly a vote for the real repug - either Mitch McConnell or Matt Bevin.

But widespread support for Marksberry now might possibly force Grimes to at least try to attract Democratic voters who refuse to turn out for Blue Dogs.  Because if she doesn't turn them out, she doesn't have a chance in hell of beating a real repug.

Follow Fancy Farm Live Tomorrow

It's almost the last old-fashioned, no-holds-barred, no-AC, screaming-supporters, wild-demonstrations political free-for-all left.  You don't win Fancy Farm; you survive. 

Alison and Mitch and Matt and Ed are all going to be there and it's going to be a barn-burner.  If you can't be there in person, the next-best two things are live video coverage by KET and live tweeting by LEO's Fat Lip's own Joe Sonka.

KET is providing exclusive coverage of Fancy Farm 2013, with a special Comment on Kentucky, live coverage of the event, and the 2013 edition of the highlight show.

On Friday, Aug. 2, Ferrell Wellman will host Comment on Kentucky live from Fancy Farm. A panel of journalists will discuss the political news of the event and what’s expected the following day. This episode of Comment on Kentucky airs at 8/7 p.m. on KET and online at www.ket.org/live.

Next, on Saturday, Aug. 3, Bill Goodman and Renee Shaw will broadcast live on Fancy Farm 2013. The afternoon’s political stump speeches, emceed by KET’s Wellman, will be broadcast in their entirety. Goodman and Shaw provide a pre-event analysis with political observers, which begins at 2:30/1:30 p.m. on KET and online at www.ket.org/live.

Joe has a great Fancy Farm preview here and will be live-tweeting tomorrow here.

KDP Breaks Rules to Promote Grimes

A fundamental bylaw of the Kentucky Democratic Party prohibits party officials from taking sides in a primary.  If there is more than one Democratic candidate competing, the party is supposed to remain neutral.

For months, while two little-known but courageous Democrats dared to step forward to challenge Mitch McConnell, the KDP pretended they didn't exist, whining to everyone about the need for a Democratic challenger to McConnell while two were already campaigning.

Party officials even worked behind the scenes to sabotage Ashley Judd because she wasn't the candidate they wanted.

Now, while the repug-lite candidate they wanted campaigns as if she didn't have to run in a primary, one of her Democratic opponents is calling foul on the KDP.

Jack Brammer at The Herald:

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ed Marksberry thinks his party is not playing fairly with his campaign.

Marksberry, an Owensboro contractor who lost a bid for Congress in 2010, filed a lawsuit Monday in Franklin Circuit Court against state Democratic Party chairman Daniel Logsdon, alleging the party is favoring the candidacy of Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes.

"I love the Democratic Party, but if it keeps on doing what it has been doing, it looks like they're ignoring the working class in the party over the rich," Marksberry said Monday during a telephone interview.

Logsdon did not respond to an email and phone call seeking comment.

Marksberry said in the four-page lawsuit that he was surprised and shocked when the state Democratic Party released an email July 1 about Grimes' announcement of her candidacy and mentioned her fundraising efforts.

Marksberry said the party had declined his request to distribute various announcements about his campaign events through its electronic mailing network. He said he was told that sending such communications would violate the party's bylaws, which prohibit the party from using its assets to endorse or support one Democratic candidate over another Democratic candidate in a Democratic primary election.

The party's email about Grimes was "in violation of the clear and unambiguous language of its bylaws," the suit says. "Clearly, resources of Kentucky Democratic Party were utilized to promote Alison Lundergan Grimes' campaign and denied to supporting the candidacy of Edward Marksberry."

Grimes is going to be the nominee, but she's going to lose every working-class and liberal Democratic voter in the Commonwealth getting there.

Then she's going to lose to McConnell by double-digits, which is exactly what the Kentucky Democratic Party deserves.

No, You Don't Have to Vote for Grimes in the Primary

There is a liberal alternative, as Zandar reminds us:

And that's Ed Marksberry, who at least is a liberal Democrat and not, well, Alison Lundergan Grimes.

Unfortunately when Ed ran against Republican Brett Guthrie in KY-2 in 2010, he got stomped by 35 points.  He's a huge long shot against Grimes and an even bigger one against Mitch.  But actual liberals in Kentucky do exist.

They just don't have any support from the Ky Dem Party.  Especially when their candidate is the daughter of the former long-time party boss.

I know I've said I'd support Grimes over McConnell, but that's because I know Marksberry hasn't a shot in hell at winning.  And that's too bad.

But for all us liberals who constantly bitch about the lack of liberal primary challengers to party-chosen conservadems, this time we have an opportunity to put our money and our time where our mouths are.

Mitch and AynRandy Fail as Hemp Advocates

Maybe their Senate colleagues might take their suggested amendment to the Farm Bill more seriously if the Teabagger Twins hadn't already announced their opposition to the bill itself.

Bruce Schreiner at the AP:

Kentucky's U.S. senators suffered a setback Thursday in their efforts to re-establish industrial hemp as a legal crop, but they vowed to continue their campaign after getting blocked as they tried to attach hemp language to the Senate farm bill.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul said they would oppose the Senate farm legislation.

Their amendment would have removed federal restrictions on the domestic production of industrial hemp. The crop once flourished in Kentucky until it was banned decades ago when the federal government classified it as a controlled substance related to marijuana.

On the same day, Kentucky Democrats threw spitballs at McConnell from a safe distance while refusing to lift a finger to help a real Democratic candidate unseat him.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/06/06/2668768/ky-lawmakers-blocked-in-effort.html#storylink=cpy

The AP story quotes all kinds of bravado from conservadems like Grimes, Conway and Yarmuth, but fails to even mention the grassroots Democrats who have already declared for the race.

How a Real Democratic Candidate Talks About Health Care

Via Jake:





As Media Czech wrote:

Ed Marksberry might not beat incumbent 2nd District Congressman Brett Guthrie, but any Democrat who proudly defends the great progress in the new health insurance reform deserves The Carrot. Here's his campaign site.

Have you made calls for your Democratic Congressional candidate today?

Jack Conway Could Learn a Lot from Ed Marksberry

I'd say the state and national Democratic parties are missing a big opportunity by not backing Ed Marksberry to the hilt, but of course Ed Marksberry is a Real Democratic candidate, who puts people before the powerful, and that's exactly the opposite of what our repug-led KDP and corporate-owned DNC really want.

From Jake:

In his latest video, 2nd Congressional District candidate Ed Marksberry discusses the Bush tax cuts for the super-rich:

It’s a shame Jack Conway can’t be as honest on the tax front.

Ed Marksberry Live, Answering Your Questions, on KET Tonight

Real Democratic Candidate Ed Marksberry will be on KET's Kentucky Tonight tonight at 8 p.m. eastern, 7 p.m. Central.

He and incumbent repug Brett Guthrie will be answering questions from the viewing audience. You can send your questions now by email, including first and last name and town or county, to kytonight@ket.org.

Help expose Guthrie for the rich-cock-sucking parasite he is and show the KDP how a Real Democratic candidate like Ed Marksberry can win.

The original show is tonight, but it will be repeated all week:

Monday, September 20 at 8:00/7:00 pm CT on KET

Monday night, September 20 at 12:00/11:00 pm CT on KETKY

Tuesday, September 21 at 7:00/6:00 am CT on KETKY

Tuesday, September 21 at 6:00/5:00 pm CT on KETKY

Wednesday, September 22 at 2:00/1:00 am CT on KET

Thursday, September 23 at 5:00/4:00 am CT on KETKY

Support a Real Democrat in Kentucky's Second

Are you sick and fucking tired of Blue Dog/DINO candidates who either can't beat the repugs they're copying or who will cruise back to Congress only to vote with Orange Boner?

Here's something to soothe your Real Democratic soul: the Democratic challenger in Kentucky's Second Congressional District, which includes the current residence of none other than Rand Paul.

Ed Marksberry is exactly the kind of candidate the Kentucky Democratic Party should be thanking their lucky stars for: genuine, populist, a working-class regular guy standing up for working-class Kentuckians. But the repug-run KDP is ignoring him, which is why you should support him.

Both Jake and Media Czech featured this new video from Ed yesterday.



Yes, he's a country guy with a country accent and a true Democratic heart whom patrician millionaire Franklin Delano Roosevelt would embrace without hesitation.

As Jake wrote:

It’s a shame the Kentucky Democratic Party has washed its hands with decent candidates like Ed.

Media Czech:

I don't think that Ed has good chance of winning, but it's refreshing to have a Democrat running in this state that doesn't fawn over god-awful Republican ideas like extending Bush's tax cuts for the top 2%. And he's also a good, decent guy who is stepping up to challenge Brett Guthrie even though his chances were slim and he's not getting help from the state party.

Here's his website.

KY-2nd Challenger Standing Up for Workers - Literally

He's a country guy with a country accent and a country look, but he speaks Pure Populist straight from the heart. He's challenging anti-worker, anti-family repug and BP apologist Brett Guthrie. And right now he's the biggest and bravest Real Democrat in Kentucky.

Kentucky's own Hillbilly recorded Ed Marksberry out on the streets protesting with Whirlpool workers losing their jobs to Mexico.



The plant is located in Evansville, Indiana, right across the river from Henderson, Kentucky, where many of its workers live. From the New York Times:

Having seen her father make a solid living at the Whirlpool refrigerator factory, Natalie Ford was enthusiastic about landing a job there and was happy years later when her 20-year-old son also went to work there.

But that family tradition will soon end because Whirlpool plans to close the plant on Friday and move the operation to Mexico, eliminating 1,100 jobs here. Many in this city in southern Indiana are seething and sad — sad about losing what was long the city’s economic centerpiece and a ticket to the middle class for one generation after another.

“This is all about corporate greed,” said Ms. Ford, who took a job at Whirlpool 19 years ago. “It’s devastating to our family and to everyone in the plant. I wonder where we’ll be two years or four years from now. There aren’t any jobs here. How is this community going to survive?”

At a time when the nation’s economy is struggling to gain momentum, Whirlpool’s decision is an unwelcome step backward. It continues a trend in which the nation has lost nearly six million factory jobs over the past dozen years, representing one in three manufacturing jobs.

Connie Brasel, who earned $18.44 an hour making thermal liners for the refrigerators, sees Whirlpool’s move as a betrayal not just of the workers but also of the United States.

“This country made Whirlpool what it is,” she said. “They didn’t get world-class quality because they had the best managers. They got world-class quality because of the U.S. and because of their workers. And now they want to pack up and move to Mexico. I find it offensive.”

Whirlpool has operated the plant since 1956, and at the factory’s peak in 1973 it employed nearly 10,000 workers.

Susie Madrak at Crooks and Liars concludes:

Our country is missing a strong industrial policy, with an administration and Congress that chooses which manufacturers are important to support --and why. As long as economic disasters like this are repeated all over the country, I don't think Democrats are going to be pleasantly surprised this November.

Ed Marksberry is a carpenter who understands jobs have to come first, a veteran opposed to stupid wars that make us less safe, a fiscal realist who knows only millions of new jobs and health care reform will reduce the deficit.

He sounds a lot more like the rural "real Americans" of the Second District than the incumbent does.

Brett Guthrie Jumps On Repeal Crazy Train

Seems vulnerable freshman Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY2) is guzzling the repug kool-aid.

We will work to repeal the government takeover of health care and start over with solutions that focus on lowering costs.

Better double-check that one, Brettsie-boy: the feckless thugs who pass for repug party leaders have been backpedaling on it all week.

Sunday night, I voted against the Senate-passed health care bill because of the negative impact it will have on Kentucky. An overwhelming majority of Kentuckians who contacted me are against this bill.

Did you ask them why they opposed it? Your 22-county chunk of rural Kentucky is overpopulated with the uninsured working poor whom health care reform will help enormously. Did you make any attempt to correct their fear- and lie-driven misunderstanding of what the bill will actually do for them?

I talked about the consequences of the millions of dollars in unfunded Medicaid mandates that would be sent to the commonwealth.

No, you told them more lies on top of the ones repugs have been telling for a year.

As the ranking member of the Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness subcommitee, I not only spoke about the unfunded Medicaid mandate, but also the government takeover of student loans that is included in the reconciliation bill.

One of Kentucky's major state universities is located in your district; both it and the many potential students living in the area will benefit because those loans taken over by the government will be far cheaper and easier to pay off than the ripoffs peddled by greedy private banks.

Seniors in my district are looking for help, and this bill cuts Medicare by half-a-trillion-dollars.

Wow, the precise opposite of the truth. The antipode of fact and reality, you might say. Not only does the bill NOT cut Medicare, it closes the Medicare prescription "donut hole" that costs Second District seniors hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.

Families were hoping for more affordable health care, and the bill raises their taxes and insurance premiums.

Another 100 percent falsity! You're on a roll, Brett. The bill raises taxes only on families earning more than $200,000 per year, of which there are perhaps 17 in your impoverished district. I supposed you could say that subsidized, affordable payments are technically "raised" over the zero people pay for no insurance at all, but something for a little is better than bankruptcy for nothing.

Kentucky's state legislators are working tirelessly to balance the state budget while preserving vital education and infrastructure projects and this bill gives them millions in unfunded Medicaid mandates.

Kentucky's state legislators are, as usual, wasting taxpayers' time and money on hookers, blow and bible babble, and nothing in the bill is "unfunded."

And small businesses, who have historically employed more than half of the U.S. workforce, are seeking to get the economy back on track and this bill will make it harder for them to hire new employees and continue to provide for the ones they currently have.

Perfect lie number three! That's what the single-payer-enjoying Canadians call a hat trick. Small businesses are, in fact, the biggest beneficiaries of this bill because they get major tax breaks - remember when repugs were in favor of tax breaks? - on the cost of providing health insurance to their employees. Insurance, by the way, that keeps their employees healthy and on the job.

The American people were were looking for the light at the end of the tunnel and Washington sent them a freight train.

Let's save the Vietnam analogies for Afghanistan, shall we, Brett? They've got more than enough work to do there.

The issue of health care reform is not over. We will work to repeal the government takeover of health care and start over with solutions that focus on lowering costs.

You bet your furry, too-white ass it ain't over. Keep pushing for repeal, Brett - every word brings single-payer closer. And let us know as soon as you come up with a "solution" that cuts the deficit more than the $1.3 TRILLION this bill will cut it. I'm sure you won't mind if we don't hold our breath.

Feel free to visit my website to read my principles on health care reform, statements and press releases and watch videos.

Don't worry, we will. This is way more entertaining than American Idol.

I appreciate hearing your opinions on the future and direction of our country and encourage you to continue to email, call or write me to let me know your thoughts.

Yes, definitely do email, call or write Brett to let him know what you think of his intelligence-insulting cliches and lies. The House of Representatives' email system protects their sissy little asses by making you enter a zip code from inside that particular district before you can send an email. But that takes just a couple of clicks to get around.

Here's a clickable list of the Second's 22 counties. Click on any county's web page, then "contacts" to find a list of government agency addresses with zip codes. Use whichever one you like.

Or click here to find out more about Ed Marksberry, the complete unknown running as a Democrat to unseat Guthrie.

Cross-posted at They Gave Us A Republic ....