Kaniela Ing

Some candidates will say anything to get support. So how do you figure out how a candidate is likely to behave in Congress? The easiest candidates are state legislators. Today the 2 members of Congress with the best voting records and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD). And each of them had great records in their respective state legislatures, not just of voting well, but also records of leadership.

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggioOur nation turns its lonely eyes to youWu wu wuWhat's that you say, Mrs. RobinsonJolting Joe has left and gone awayHey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey

Every Beltway insider who read the DWT predictions for the last couple of months-- once I started seeing the WI-01 internal polling numbers-- that Ryan would retire, rolled their eyes.

The Guaranteed Income (UBI) proposals floating around, courtesy of the Silicon Valley aristocracy, is a dangerous trap, fraught with right-wing austerity dangers. Progressives who have put any time into it are far more interested in the Job Guarantee models, as we discussed here on Tuesday.

"Democrats don’t know how to use this rhetoric politically, since they haven’t really paid attention to the politics of commerce for decades. They are starting to learn."-Matt Stoller

There's only one real Democrat running for the open seat in HonoluluSunday I sent Marianne Williamson, an old friend, a note introducing her to Hawaii state Rep. Kaniela Ing. I'm guessing most people on Maui think of him as the guy who writes legislation that's a step or three ahead of where the rest of the state-- and country-- are.

A consensus has formed among progressive groups that Hawaii Democrat Kaniela Ing is one of the 5 best candidates running for Congress anywhere in the country. Kaniela, a sharp, dynamic state Representative in Hawaii, is a big idea guy who you can get to know by listening to his 38 minute new interview with David Feldman above. As Feldman pointed out, Kaniela is talking about issues that many candidates are afraid to discuss: universal basic income, free public college education, GMOs, Medicare-For-All...

With New Dem Colleen Hanabusa giving up the HI-01 congressional seat for a run at the governor's mansion, Hawaii has a chance at a real representational upgrade. The primary may get crowded in this deep blue Democratic district but the already have one of the best candidates running for office anywhere in the country.

Most of us outside Hawaii who have heard of Doug Chin know him as the courageous Attorney General-- appointed, not elected-- who has gone after Trump. Rachel Maddow tried making him a star on her show without doing any diligence about what she was extolling. I bet ole Rachel never saw that YouTube video up top. Yep, that's Doug Chin preaching like an insane zealot, screaming his homophobic rantings-- "God is right; your family is wrong." Holy Moly!

Kaniela Ing is the most progressive member of the Hawaii state legislature and Blue America and other progressive groups are trying to persuade him to run for the open congressional seat in Honolulu. If you wonder why, consider this statement he gave us today on anti-trust efforts: "In today's political climate, no entrepreneur looking to grow his or her business should ever consider voting Republican. The GOP's pro-oligarchy agenda has rigged the American economy against both workers and the majority of business owners.