It shouldn't surprise anyone that Steny Hoyer has been an enthusiastic, full-throated supporter of anti-Choice, ant-immigrant, anti-healthcare, anti-LGBTQ fake-Dem Dan Lipinski all along. Hoyer's slimy money laundering operation AmeriPAC, gave Lipinski $5,000 immediately (at around the same time the GOP PAC, Susan B. Anthony List gave Lipinski $6,200.) Pelosi's backing for the bigoted right-winger was slightly more surprising. She could have kept her mouth shut about the race. But, to her eternal shame, she backed Lipinski as well, regardless of his opposition to everything she believes in (other than her own career trajectory). Then, following Hoyer and Pelosi, the DCCC weighed in with an endorsement as well. I wonder how ridiculous closet case Ben Gay Lujan felt about endorsing a homophobic asshole like Lipinski.Local Chicago progressives Jan Schakowsky and Luis Gutiérrez weighed in on behalf of Marie Newman, Lipinski's progressive opponent, as did the House's most progressive member, Ro Khanna (D-CA). And this week, Bernie Sanders endorsed her as well: "Marie Newman has made it clear that she will be a champion for working families in Illinois, which is why I am proud to support her campaign. In Congress, Marie will fight for Medicare for All, a $15 an hour minimum wage, and providing workers with benefits such as paid sick leave, while protecting Medicare and Social Security. She will defend women’s rights, LGBT rights and ensure immigrants have a safe path to citizenship. I am proud to stand with Marie and look forward to continuing to fight alongside her on these and other critical issues once she’s elected to Congress."Voters are less likely to support someone backed by Pelosi, Hoyer and the DCCC-- even, as we saw in Houston last Tuesday, Democratic voters. Hoyer and Pelosi are hated politicians and they do candidates they back more harm than good. Bernie? People love him and candidates cherish his endorsement. Last weekend he did a rally in Racine for Randy "IronStache" Bryce and the rally drew more people than a 2008 Obama rally in the same venue! Josh Voorhees wrote at Slate that "For most of his career, Lipinski has been an afterthought for national Democrats, comfortably holding down a safe seat in a suburban Chicago district. But as the party tries to harness a wave of energy unleashed by Sanders’ primary run and then magnified by the anti-Trump resistance, Lipinski has become a lightning rod for the left and his primary has become one of the most closely-watched in the country. While Nancy Pelosi has insisted there’s no 'litmus test' for House candidates, a number of Democratic leaders appear to disagree, enthusiastically lining up behind his progressive challenger, Marie Newman."At one time you might have expected the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which Bernie founded and led decades ago, to come out for Newman too. But they lost their balls long ago and have practically become an appendage of the Wall Street-owned New Dems, sharing members-- Don Beyer (VA), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE), Andre Carson (IN), Val Demings (FL), Jared Polis (CO), Adam Smith (WA), Darren Soto (FL)-- and endorsing reactionary candidates in tandem. They still back good policy but politically... an utterly worthless and pitiful establishment group!So why did Bernie come out against Lipinski and endorse Newman? I think the DCCC drove him to it with their heavy-handed and disastrous attempt to smear Laura Moser in Houston, which Bernie called "outrageous," while DCCC staffers are saying they plan to destroy Moser before the runoff. When asked about the DCCC role in TX-07 by the Texas Tribune, Bernie said "I’m especially distressed that the DCCC tried to do negative attacks against a very respectable and intelligent candidate who is running a serious campaign. That’s just not acceptable. I suspect that it backfired on them, and I hope they don’t do it again." But they very much do plan to do it again and one of the most right-wing and vicious (and stupid) of the DCCC staffers, Kyle Layman, told several California candidates that the DCCC didn't care about TX-07 and don't expect Republican incumbent John Culberson to lose anyway and that they just made an example of Moser to scare the California candidates the DCCC are trying to force out of crowded primaries. At SxSW a couple of days ago, Bernie said "I detest that type of politics and I think most Americans do... That is to my mind, absolutely unacceptable. And it’s got to end." That thermometer above? You can contribute to progressive congressional candidates. I think only one of them has been endorsed by the sleaze bag pig-fuckers at the DCCC.
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