Political Cortex: Progressive Democrat Newsletter Issue 155

Progressive Democrat Newsletter Issue 155

By mole333
02/23/2008 11:38:02 AM EST

For those who are focused on Congress, you might be surprised to learn that Alaska may be among our best shots at picking up one Senate and one House seat. Keep an eye on Alaska. Republican corruption has been exploding, with four State level politicians arrested, some pleading guilty. One Alaska Senator and their single House Rep are also implicated. This gives us a great shot at winning the state. Alaska may turn blue this year if we pay some attention to it.

On a personal note, I have a new scientific paper coming out in the Journal of Cell Biology. This comes from work I did more than two years ago! My current work is going slower, but overall looks promising. I hope to write up my current work within a year.

This week I discuss the Bush family's endorsement of John McCain, re-enforcing my assertion that McCain offers nothing but a Third Bush term. I also discuss Republican corruption in Alaska and voting irregularities in NYC. And I continue to highlight local events in all the states where I have had a good number of readers. I also highlight some peace rallies, alternative energy events and impeachment events around the nation. Don't forget to visit an advertiser or two and if you want more, please visit Culture Kitchen.

This week I was reminded of why 2006 was so important for progressives. Our disappointment in a continued Iraq quagmire and lack of impeachment should be tempered by pride in what was accomplished by the 2006 election. This comes from the League of Conservation Voters:

"Our 2006 campaigns also helped defeat 9 out of 13 of LCV's 'Dirty Dozen' members who had a combined average lifetime score of just 8 percent, while the new members who defeated them have a combined average score of 88 percent," Karpinski said.
The "Dirty Dozen" program targets members of Congress, regardless of party affiliation, who consistently vote against the environment and are running in races where LCV has a serious chance of affecting the outcome. LCV's success in 2006 brought these changes:

Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA), who scored 90 percent in 2007, replaced Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA), whose lifetime score was 7 percent.

Sen. John Tester (D-MT), who scored 80 percent, replaced Sen. Conrad Burns, (R-MT), whose lifetime score was 5 percent * Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), who scored 100 percent, replaced Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ), whose lifetime score was 7 percent.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), who scored 100 percent, defeated Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL), whose lifetime score was 15 percent.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who scored 73 percent, replaced Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO), whose lifetime score was 15 percent.

Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC), who scored 75 percent, replaced Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC), whose lifetime score was 5 percent.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), who scored 100 percent, replaced Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), whose lifetime score was 10 percent.

Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), who scored 87 percent, replaced Sen. George Allen (R-VA), whose lifetime score was 1 percent.

Some of these Democrats may be too conservative for our tastes. Bill Nelson of Florida, for example. But they all are considerable improvements over what we had before. And keep in mind this is just a sampling based on races LCV specifically targeted. There are more that LCV did not target that were big improvements. Dave Loebsack in Iowa and John Yarmouth in Kentucky. Even Ellsworth in Indiana, one of the most conservative of Democrats, is better than the Republican he replaced given the heavily conservative district he represents.

This is progress. But progress is never easy or to be taken for granted. We need to follow up these victories in 2008. There are four goals in 2008.

Win the Senate. The 50/50 split in the Senate is one of the main obstacles to getting things done. We have several great opportunities to win Senate seats, particularly in Oregon, New Hampshire and Minnesota. Even in Texas we have a shot.
More Democrats in the House: the same kind of incremental improvements that LCV is describing can continue. We have lots of House pick up opportunities. Here are my top picks.
BETTER Democrats. Yep. Progress also means fighting WITHIN the party for better, more progressive Democrats. Here I have a list of primaries that are critical for progressives to win. We also have to defend those freshmen Democrats who are particularly progressive and who are being targeted by Republicans. Here is my list of Freshmen Allstars who are being targeted and who have been particularly good about keeping their promises to voters.
Winning the White House. I put this last because, although it gets the most attention, it may not be the most important. Okay, maybe it IS the most important. But WHOEVER is President, we need the Senate to be more Democratic and the House to be more Progressive. But winning the White House remains critical and if we win, we will be making history. Either Obama or Hillary as President would represent progress in a BIG way.