I just looked up on Wikipedia who the Justice Democrats are , and how they work within our primaries

[Peacetrain]

"On January 23, 2017, Cenk Uygur and Kyle Kulinski founded Justice Democrats with ten others, including former staffers from the Sanders campaign such as its Director of Organizing Technology, Saikat Chakrabarti, and MoveOn.org fundraiser Zack Exley.[11][12][13] According to the organization, they seek to create a left-wing populist movement to support alternative Democratic candidates beginning with the 2018 mid-term elections, in order to either defeat the incumbent Democrats or cause them to become accountable to their constituents. They require their candidates to take a pledge to refuse financial contributions from billionaires and corporations.[5] In addition, they hope to rebuild the Democratic Party on a national level and to defeat President Trump if he runs for re-election in 2020.

The Democrats used to represent something wonderful – voters. We want you to represent just us, not your donors.

—?Cenk Uygur explaining the name of the group[14]
Justice Democrats announced in March 2017 they had teamed up with Brand New Congress, a PAC established by former Sanders campaign supporters, to further their goals.[13]

As of March 20, 2017, Justice Democrats have reported they have received 8,300 nominations and raised $1 million.[15]

Representative Ro Khanna of California's 17th congressional district announced on May 9, 2017, that he had become a Justice Democrat, and the first sitting member of Congress to join the organization.[16] On November 1, 2017, Justice Democrats announced on social media that fellow progressive group AllOfUs had merged with the group.[17][18]

Uygur's resignation
On December 22, 2017, it was announced that Uygur had resigned from his position at the organization, following the revelation of previously deleted but archived controversial blog posts he had written.[19] The following day, Kulinski announced that he had stepped down from the organization as he disagreed with the opinions of the Justice Democrats staff members that pressed for Uygur's dismissal over the blog posts. He said his decision came as a result of a personal dilemma as he saw the posts in question upon re-reading them as being satirical due to them dealing with Uygur complaining about his inability to attract women. Kulinski noted that the decision to ask for Uygur's resignation came from Justice Democrat staff, not the candidates, and as such he asked his supporters to continue backing the organization's candidates.[20]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_Democrats

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++jus

this is for anyone else who does not know who they are.. Edit to add.. I did not know who they were and what people were talking about

[ehrnst]

1. Their mission statement...

The PAC mission at the time of launch stated:

“The solution is not unity with the corporate-backed Democrats…It’s time to rebuild the Democratic Party from scratch.”

You don't rebuild something from scratch without demolishing or dismantling it first.

They have since scrubbed that language from their site, but the internet never forgets.

[dalton99a]

3. Construction by demolition experts

[NurseJackie]

8. I've received grief for my description that they want to "destroy to rebuild"...

... and that was unfair and bullying for people to do that to me.

They have since scrubbed that language from their site, but the internet never forgets.

In fact, a LOT of things have been removed from their website. They can't stand the scrutiny. Uygur's group reminds me of cockroaches... they scatter whenever the light comes on.

[Celerity]

39. They must have read too much Schumpeter (who took his source concepts from Marx)

and then applied it to the arena of politics.

Creative destruction

The opening up of new markets and the organisational development from the craft shop and factory to such concerns as US Steel illustrate the process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionises the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one ... [The process] must be seen in its role in the perennial gale of creative destruction; it cannot be understood on the hypothesis that there is a perennial lull.

—?Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, 1942

[ehrnst]

13. Justice Democrats take Biden quote out of context in attempted hit

Link to tweet

[Cha]

20. Because, of course, they do.. they

can't do straight forward.

Thanks, ehrnst.

[Kahuna7]

19. You're right. The internet never forgets. nt

[betsuni]

24. I remember seeing the original someone had saved, it was hateful (in my opinion).

No wonder they sound so paranoid about enemies out to get them, dead set on destroying them and rigging things and throwing kitchen sinks and so on: it's pure projection!

[Gothmog]

42. This group wants to hurt the party

[LibFarmer]

2. Cenk Uygur is a ratfucking republican

That whole organization's finances MUST be investigated. I wouldn't be surprised if they find rubles in there.

[ehrnst]

4. That's putting it more nicely than I would. (nt)

[lapucelle]

5. Oh! Wikipedia!

How very reliable.

[stonecutter357]

6. Cenk Uygur/ Russian cricist actor/rwnj !

[jalan48]

7. AOC is a Justice Democrat and I think we need more like her.

[LibFarmer]

11. Has she opened her constituency office yet? nt

[lapucelle]

27. Cortez was running Justice Democrats before she ran for office.

Who is running Justice Democrats? Who are the major players?

The current board of Justice Democrats is Cenk Uygur, CEO of The Young Turks, Kyle Kulinski of Secular Talk, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Saikat Chakrabarti.

https://web.archive.org/web/20171202052759/https://www.justicedemocrats.com/about

And I think there were some problems with financial filings, but it may have involved a different group.
http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/194/201807190300014194/201807190300014194.pdf

It was s spontaneous letter fom Cortez's little brother that put her on the radar of BNC and JD. How propitious! And within a few months, and she was running the place!

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/23/alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-historic-win-and-the-future-of-the-democratic-party

Thank goodness for the Wayback Machine and screen shots. The websites have been scrubbed.

[CaptainTruth]

9. They're attacking Biden on Twitter. Looks like more "purity tests" to me.

Purity tests are what makes a minority party.

[doompatrol39]

38. You mean like Republicans?

Yeah, I can see that purging all the moderates from their ranks has really hurt their status as a majority party. All they've been able to do is control most states, the Senate, the White House, stack the courts all the way up to the supreme court, gerrymander most of the country, gut anything resembling regulation, turn back civil rights, destroy the environment............they are really suffering.

[George II]

10. Although they've raised all that money, they haven't spent a penny...

....on any of their endorsed candidates. Instead, they insist on their candidates paying THEM and espousing their platform, not the candidates' own policy positions. Thankfully their endorsed candidates have a mere 9% success rate - 7 of 79. Of those 7, three were incumbents already and one ran unopposed.

Since their first FEC filing in 2017 (about two years ago), they've had four different mailing addresses and five treasurers, one of whom also was treasurer of Brand New Congress.

Two of the founders of both organizations, Saikat Chakrabarti and Trent Corbin, were the top two staffers of Ocasio-Cortez' (campaign manager and spokesperson) and are now on her Congressional staff (chief of staff and communications director). She was also on the original Board of Directors of Justice Democrats with Chakrabarti during the primary campaign.

There's more, but that's enough meat to chew on for now.

[LibFarmer]

12. Oh come on - they have bills to pay

like paying Saikat Chakraborti nearly a million.

[George II]

15. Their biggest expense so far has been to Brand New Congress LLC, founded by Chakrabarti....

As an LLC, they're not required to reveal its sources of income or its expenses

[robbedvoter]

17. There's at least one Republican they fund in Arkansas againt the Democrats

Cuz... all that justice, you see.

[backtoblue]

50. Interesting. Do you know who it is? nt

[R B Garr]

22. Great info/reminder. There were some unaccounted for funds going to one of those names you

mentioned. Bernie should demand accountability and transparency.

[George II]

26. That's Brand New Congress, LLC. Since LLCs aren't required to give details of their contributors...

....or expenditures, might that be considered "dark money"?

[R B Garr]

28. Yes, it is dark money. Very suspicious set up, and quite a double standard.

This needs to be exposed by the media.

[George II]

25. Correction, they have spent about $45,000 of their more than $2M expenditures....

....on candidates.

Their biggest expenditures were $600K to Brand New Congress LLC (26% of their total expenditures) and $1.25M in salaries (54% of the total). That's 80% of ALL their expenditures on BNC LLC and salaries, 2% on candidates!

[robbedvoter]

16. They are Burnie's PAC (while he says he ha none)

Also, their name - a misnomer. They are the enemies of the Democrats. Not unlike Burnie I might add. Big 🐀🔩!

[R B Garr]

21. +1, Bernie should denounce their PAC and apologize. nt

[BannonsLiver]

18. The bottom line: Cenk is not to be trusted.

A true snake in the grass.

[R B Garr]

23. Totally accurate advice/descriptions here. How could anyone take Cenk

seriously. He's a complete con. An ex-Republican who suddenly becomes a "progressive" --- for big money. Hmm.

[sheshe2]

29. Cenk.

Repuke to Progressive in a NY minute.

I don't think so.

[lapucelle]

30. "Naming my show after a genocidal movement was a pure coincidence!'" N/T

[sheshe2]

31. the Young Turks.

I read that here recently. I did not know. I just want to puke.

[lapucelle]

32. Responsible for the deaths of thousands.

https://www.armenian-genocide.org/young_turks.html

After years of denying the Armenian genocide, Cenk Uygur now says he doesn’t know enough about it to say anything

https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2016/04/26/after-years-of-denying-the-armenian-genocide-cenk-uyguar-now-admits-he-doesnt-know-enough-about-it-to-say-anything/

[sheshe2]

33. He doesn't know or just doesn't care.

He doesn't know or just doesn't care.

And Uygur’s three-hour interview with Sam Harris is here; you may remember Uygur trying without success to take Harris apart.

Now atheism should be (but isn’t always) evidence based; after all, the main reason for denying gods is that we see no evidence for them. Yet Uygur has repeatedly refused to look some important evidence in its face: the evidence for the genocide of Armenians conducted by the Ottomans (now the Turks), a massacre that began in 1915 with the arrest of Armenian intellectuals on April 24. That date is called “Bloody Sunday” and is now commemorated as Genocide Remembrance Day. Many of the arrested intellectuals were killed, and that was followed by death marches of Armenians, mass murders, the erection of concentration camps, confiscation of all Armenian property, and a general slaughter that resulted in the death of as many as 1.5 million Armenians. By any measure this was genocide (or “ethnic cleansing”): the deliberate attempt to extirpate an entire people.


Every open-minded person who has looked at the evidence agrees that this genocide happened—except for Turks. (To start reading about the evidence, go here, here, here, here, here, or look at the references in the Wikipedia article.) The notion that their country could commit such unspeakable crimes is completely unpalatable to them, and many (but not all!) Turks simply deny that the genocide happened. I’ve encountered this denial several times when visiting Turkey, and believe me, you don’t want to talk about the issue if you don’t know whom you’re talking to. The attitude of many Turks is the equivalent of those who deny the Nazi Holocaust despite insuperable evidence.

Curiously, one of the Armenian Genocide deniers has been Cenk Uygur. It may be relevant that he was born in Turkey, though his family moved to America when he was young. In 1991, while at the University of Pennsylvania, Uygur wrote an article for The Daily Pennsylvanian (the student newspaper) called “Historical Fact or Falsehood“, which is straight-out genocide denialism, imputing false claims of genocide to Armenian demands for land and money. An excerpt:

Hence, once you really examine the history of the time it becomes apparent that the allegations of an Armenian Genocide are unfounded. So the question arises of why the Armenians would bother to conjure up such stories, and even go as far as, committing approximately 200 acts of terrorism since 1973 to further their cause, resulting in countless deaths and injuries to government officials and civilians. The answer is that they want their demands met. Their demands are that they receive close to one-half of the land of the Republic of Turkey for a new Greater Armenia, and that every Armenian claiming to be injured by the alleged genocide be compensated with cash reparations. That is why every year they push the U.S. Congress to pass a bill declaring the Armenian Genocide a historical fact. Fortunately, every year it is defeated because of the courage of people such as the 69 professors who wrote in to explain the truth of the matter.

Read More https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2016/04/26/after-years-of-denying-the-armenian-genocide-cenk-uyguar-now-admits-he-doesnt-know-enough-about-it-to-say-anything/

[doompatrol39]

34. Wait, so what part am I supposed to be angry about?

So I'm supposed to be offended that a group of Democrats wants to push the Democratic party in a progressive direction more accountable to people and constituents than to corporate donors and billionaires?

And also....why is "working within our primaries" a bad thing again? I thought that's what we were told folks were supposed to do if they wanted to make changes within the party and have a voice. So who do all the anti-Justice Dem folks think should be making all the decisions? Should no elected Democrat even in a safely Democratic district or state ever be held accountable for anything?

If someone is a registered Democrat and wants to challenge someone in a primary and they do so within the rules, and can get enough votes in that district or state to win the nomination then......last I checked that's how Democracy works.

You can't bitch when people don't become members of the party, but then bitch when they do and actually want a say and play by the rules just because you don't agree with them.

[ehrnst]

35. "Rebuild the Democratic Party from scratch."

You don't rebuild something from scratch without dismantling or demolishing it first.

https://votesmart.org/interest-group/2620/justice-democrats#.XNd8nzbYq00

You can't bitch when people don't become members of the party, but then bitch when they do and actually want a say and play by the rules just because you don't agree with them.

Who is "bitching" about people not joining the Democratic party? Strawman much? But when people bitch about a PAC attacking the Democratic Party, you want to scold?

We want people to vote for Democrats. If they want to run as Democrats, we expect them not to try to burn the place down.

"Justice Democrats" aren't joining the party - they're a PAC trying to hollow it out, and take over the parts that suit them. The Greens don't have the infrastructure they want, so they target the Democratic Party.

Is that clearer?

[doompatrol39]

37. Wasn't "not joining the Democratic party" the main complaint about Bernie?

Not sure how the main complaint that has been thrown out there since '16 about one of the major figures in liberal/Democratic politics constitutes a strawman, but.....o.k. sure whatever you say.

People heard that complaint so then they started running as Democrats. Now they want a say as Democrats and we're complaining about the way they are running or what their intentions are?

Personally I'm sick of being told I have to support and accept every goddamned blue dog conservadem who talks shit on the party and endorses actual Republicans, but that a group of people who are registered Dems, playing by the rules and endorsing and supporting other people running as Dems is something I should be angry about.

I'll buy that they shouldn't endorse non-Dems. Fine.
I'll buy that it may not be the best idea to ty and run more liberal dems in deep red areas. Fine.

But the rest of it....if they want to push the party in a more liberal direction then I'm all for it, regardless of some bullshit phrases or something that you interpret their slogan to mean.

I've been a registered, active, campaigning, donating, working Democrat for 40 years and I will be until the day I die. I'm not a Justice Democrat or an any kind of Democrat but the same one I was 40 years ago. At times I barely recognize what this party has become. There are parts of it that definitely should be rebuilt from scratch.

I'm not sure where you live, but come to New Jersey where we have a group of elected Democrats who are actively trying to undermine the efforts of our Democratic governor and the majority of other elected Democrats because they dared to investigate why a major Democratic money man and his family reaped 75% of the dollars for a rebuilding effort in the poorest area of the state. As far as I'm concerned they are the undemocratic ones. They are undermining the will of the voters and their constituents. I see no reason why they shouldn't be primaried. If they still manage to win, then fine. We're no worse off because Republicans will never win there. But if they lose then the party and my state is better off for it. There is a faction here who are corrupt as hell, who don't listen to their constituents and who stifle any type of dissent and have a stranglehold over our state. I'd be more than happy to see them gone as would most people in the state.

Maybe where you live it's some sort of Democratic Utopia where every Democrat is a great one always fighting for the good of the people and everyone is happy and nobody should be challenged. Let me know where that is and I'll pack my bags.

[ehrnst]

40. Let us count the strawmen...

1.

Personally I'm sick of being told I have to support and accept every goddamned blue dog conservadem who talks shit on the party and endorses actual Republicans, but that a group of people who are registered Dems, playing by the rules and endorsing and supporting other people running as Dems is something I should be angry about.

No one on DU is telling you that you have to support every Democrat. Just to vote for those on the ballot you are holding. If you think that "being told not bashing them on DU" = "being told to support and accept every goddamned blue dog conservadem" then perhaps you would be more at home on a discussion board where bashing Democratic leaders is encouraged.


2.

Maybe where you live it's some sort of Democratic Utopia where every Democrat is a great one always fighting for the good of the people and everyone is happy and nobody should be challenged. Let me know where that is and I'll pack my bags.

Pretty spectacular in it's scope, this strawman. Also false dillema. A Twofer.


3

But the rest of it....if they want to push the party in a more liberal direction then I'm all for it, regardless of some bullshit phrases or something that you interpret their slogan to mean

No one is decrying anyone who wants the party to go in a liberal direction, just those who want to burn it down, and loot it for its infrastructure. Why do you think they scrubbed that slogan from their website, if it's so unproblematic?

I've been a registered, active, campaigning, donating, working Democrat for 40 years and I will be until the day I die. I'm not a Justice Democrat or an any kind of Democrat but the same one I was 40 years ago. At times I barely recognize what this party has become. There are parts of it that definitely should be rebuilt from scratch.

What parts do you think should be "rebuilt from scratch? Do agree with JDs that the entire party does?

[oasis]

52. 100% This.

[LibFarmer]

43. Let me ask you this

Last edited Sun May 12, 2019, 02:46 PM - Edit history (1)

If a ultra left Democrat cannot win in a conservative state, would you rather have a Democrat who votes with us 75% or the time or a republican who votes against us 100% of the time?

The people whom you bash as "conservadems" are the very best we can have win in many places. The US is not entirely populated with socialists although it may seem so in some constituencies.

As an extreme example, I'd take Joe Manchin over any republican. Joe barely won his senate reelection and anyone even slightly to the left of him would have lost that race.

Politics is a game of compromises and consensus building, not "I want what I want when I want it and everyone else be damned."

I find your attacks on center-left Democrats disdainful.

[Hortensis]

47. I'm with you, of course. Democrats must win.

But I'm pretty sure the grievance is really about all Democrats who disapprove so strongly of Sanders' behaviors and disregard for any faction or goals but his own that he's lost them permanently. That of course includes Democrats across the spectrum, from our blue dogs to our many millions of strong liberals.

Doompatrol should not mistake disenchantment with Sanders for disregard for the importance of his own vote. It's as important and needed as each of ours.

[ehrnst]

48. Got nothing?

Thought so.

[BannonsLiver]

41. "A group of Democrats"

[doompatrol39]

44. Are they registered Democrats?

So you are the one who gets to decide which Democrats are sincere or legitimate?

So someone like Hillary or Warren who actually WERE registered Republicans are sincere Democrats, and we're supposed to accept that Biden has "progressed or evolved" but nobody else is given that opportunity?

Got it.

[BannonsLiver]

45. Stop it!

“aren’t they registered Democrats?”

[ehrnst]

46. Did you find a sale on straw men?

So you are the one who gets to decide which Democrats are sincere or legitimate?

Show me where I wrote that. You can't? Got it.

So someone like Hillary or Warren who actually WERE registered Republicans are sincere Democrats, and we're supposed to accept that Biden has "progressed or evolved" but nobody else is given that opportunity?

Why don't you tell me when Hillary was a "registered Republican?" You obsesses what she did as a teenager? Before she could even vote, let alone "register?" And you want to lecture others on who is off limits to comment about for their current actions?



If you feel a need to "bitch" about something, go to the person who said it. Don't just rant at whoever you're responding to.

Get that.

[Me.]

36. They Don't Work Within Our Primaries

THey attack from the outside

[ehrnst]

49. +1000.

[brooklynite]

53. What they are are failures

During the primary season, Justice Democrats endorsed 74 candidates, and 23 won. That gives them a primaries win record of 31%.

During the general election, Justice Democrats did not endorse any additional candidates, which kept their total number of general election nominees at 23. However, only four Justice Democrats candidates won. That gives them a general election win rate of 17%. It should be noted that all four wins came in House districts with an outgoing Democratic House member being replaced by an incoming Democratic House member.

Throughout the 2018 cycle, Justice Democrats endorsed 74 candidates. Only four of these candidates won both their primaries, and their general elections for a total cycle record of 5%. All victories were in safe Democratic House districts.

https://www.thirdway.org/memo/2018-endorsement-scorecard

We won the House on the backs of centrist candidates running in suburban marginal districts.

[Blue_Tires]

54. Yeah, they're just a bunch of hardline grifters...