The Arkansas Democratic Primary was a heart breaking
eye opener for the Grass Roots and Organized LABOR. We were given a
Look Behind the Curtain,
and it wasn't very pretty.
[font size=3]We did EVERYTHING right in Arkansas in 2010.
We did EXACTLY what the White House asked us to do to
"give the President Progressives in Congress that would work with him."[/font]
We organized and supported Lt Governor Bill Halter, the Pro-LABOR/ Pro-Health Care challenger to DINO Obstructionist Blanche Lincoln.
Halter was:
*
Polling BETTER against the Republicans in the General,
*was popular in Arkansas in his OWN right,
*had an
Up & Running Political machine,
* had a track record of winning elections (Lt. Governor)
*Had the full backing of Organized LABOR and The Grass Roots activists
*was handing Blanche her Anti-LABOR ass in The Primary until the White House stepped in
Guess what happened.
Our BIGGEST enemy to bringing "change" to The Senate was NOT The "Obstructionist" Republicans.
NO!
Our BIGGEST obstruction to bringing "change" to The Senate was The Obama White House!
The White House stepped in at the
last minute to save Blanche's failing primary campaign with an Oval Office Endorsement of
The Witch that Wrecked the Obama Agenda,
and Bill Clinton was dispatched on a Campaign Tour for Blanche around the state bashing Organized LABOR and "Liberals" at every opportunity.
White House steps in to rescue Lincoln’s Primary Campaign in Arkansas
"So what did the Democratic Party establishment do when a Senator who allegedly impedes their agenda faced a primary challenger who would be more supportive of that agenda? They engaged in full-scale efforts to support Blanche Lincoln.
* Bill Clinton traveled to Arkansas to urge loyal Democrats to vote for her, bashing liberal groups for good measure.
*Obama recorded an ad for Lincoln which, among other things, were used to tell African-American primary voters that they should vote for her because she works for their interests.
*The entire Party infrastructure lent its support and resources to Lincoln — a Senator who supposedly prevents Democrats from doing all sorts of Wonderful, Progressive Things which they so wish they could do but just don’t have the votes for.
<snip>
What happened in this race also gives the lie to the insufferable excuse we’ve been hearing for the last 18 months from countless Obama defenders: namely,
if the Senate doesn’t have 60 votes to pass good legislation, it’s not Obama’s fault because he has no leverage over these conservative Senators. It was always obvious what an absurd joke that claim was; the very idea of The Impotent, Helpless President, presiding over a vast government and party apparatus, was laughable. But now, in light of Arkansas, nobody should ever be willing to utter that again with a straight face.
Back when Lincoln was threatening to filibuster health care if it included a public option, the White House could obviously have said to her: if you don’t support a public option, not only will we not support your re-election bid, but we’ll support a primary challenger against you. Obama’s support for Lincoln did not merely help; it was arguably decisive, as The Washington Post documented today:"
<much more>
http://www.salon.com/2010/06/10/lincoln_6/
When the supporters of Pro-LABOR Lt Gov Bill Halter asked the White House WHY they had chosen to throw their full support behind Lincoln at the last minute, rescuing her failing campaign, the answer was ridicule and insults to Organized LABOR and the Grass Roots.
Ed Schultz sums up my feeling perfectly in the following clip.
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/ed-schultz-if-it-wasnt-labor-barack-obama-
After the Arkansas Democratic Primary, many Grass Roots Activists working for a better government concluded that the current Democratic Party Leadership preferred to GIVE this Senate Seat to a
Big Business Republican rather than taking the risk that a Pro-LABOR Democrat
might win it.
This was greatly reinforced by the
Insults & Ridicule to LABOR from the White House after their Primary "victory" over Organized LABOR & the Grass Roots in the Arkansas Democratic Primary.
Of course, EVERYBODY predicted, Lincoln lost badly in the General Election, giving that Senate Seat to The Republicans.
So what did the White House gain by
Stomping Down Labor and the Grass Roots?
We don't know.
The White House has never responded to our questions with an explanation, only insults and more ridicule.
1. “Expand Social Security”
3. Fighting Corporate Democrats, And Winning
Third Way, a corporate think tank that claims to be Democratic, attacked Elizabeth Warren and her populist agenda in the Wall Street Journal.
So PCCC members demanded Third Way come clean about their Wall Street funding. During a petition delivery to their office, we had a huge victory!
6. A Leading Voice Against Bombing Syria
7. Defending An American Hero: Edward Snowden
10. Preparing For Progressive Victories in 2014!
In 2014, we’ll help bold progressive candidates across the nation run smart, winning campaigns.
Kelly Westlund is an amazing progressive running for Congress in Wisconsin — for a competitive seat that Democrats must win in order to take back the House.
She’s running as a proud economic populist. Our team helped Kelly prepare her campaign launch, which resulted in a whopping 70 local TV news stories! Kelly also hired a graduate from our training program as her finance director, and hundreds of PCCC members donated to Kelly’s campaign.
http://boldprogressives.org/2013/12/top-ten-bold-progressive-highlights-of-2013/
This site and list of goals is a reviving breath of Fresh Air after suffocating in a miasma of
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