Thom Hartmann: Trans Pacific Partnership - The End of American Democracy

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15. You are correct. The real fight is in the local Democratic Primaries and local elections.

We had a good one going in Arkansas in 2010 to replace DINO Blanche Lincoln in the Arkansas Democratic Primary with a popular Pro-LABOR, Pro Health Care Democrat with a proven track record of WINNING elections.
We had the nation wide support of Organized LABOR and enthusiastic support of the Grass Roots activists who were more than willing to work [font size=3]to give President Obama exactly what he had asked for: Progressive Democrats who wouldn't obstruct his agenda[/font],

AND....we were WINNING.
The Wicked Witch of Arkansas who crowed about Killing the Public Option has ZERO chance
against the Republican in the upcoming General Election,
and Halter was pulling ahead in the polls.
It really felt like we had a chance for "CHANGE".
We were All Fired Up and Ready to Roll!!

But guess what happened?
Our BIGGEST enemy turned out NOT to be "Conservatives",...or "Republicans".
It was the Obama White House that stepped in at the last minute and rescued Lincoln's Failing Primary Campaign!!!

President Obama cut an Oval Office Endorsement for the woman who killed his Public Option that played 24/7 in Arkansas.
The DSCC refilled Lincoln's depleted Campaign funds,
and "they" even sent the Old Blue Dog back to Arkansas to help rescue Lincoln.
Needless to say, THAT was a kick in the guts,
AND a "Learning Experience".

[font size=3]White House Steps in to Rescue Lincolns Failing Primary Campaign in Arkansas Democratic Primary[/font]

"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.

Ordinarily, when Party leaders support horrible incumbents in primaries, they use the “electability” excuse: this is a conservative state, the incumbent has the best chance to win, and the progressive challenger is out-of-step with voters. That excuse is clearly unavailable here. As Public Policy Polling explained yesterday, Lincoln has virtually no chance of winning in November against GOP challenger John Boozman. And while it would have also been difficult for Halter to beat Boozman, polls consistently showed that he had a better chance than Lincoln did. That’s unsurprising, given how much better non-Washington candidates are doing in this incumbent-hating climate than long-term Washington insiders. And it’s rather difficult to claim that Halter is out-of-step with Arkansas given that they elected him their Lt. Governor. Whatever the reasons Washington Democrats had for supporting the deeply unpopular Lincoln, it had nothing whatsoever to do with electability.

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/

Unable to resit the impulse to add insult to injury, a "White House Spokesperson" ridiculed and Taunted Organized LABOR and the Grass Roots for "wasting their time and money" supporting a Pro-LABOR, Pro-Health Care Democrat in the Arkansas Democratic Primary, 2010.

Ed Schultz on White House insults to Organized LABOR after Arkansas Democratic Primary.
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/ed-schultz-if-it-wasnt-labor-barack-obama-

So Be Prepared.
The Party Leadership don't cotton to uppity peasants with Dirty Fingernails who have to Work for Living making waves for their comfortable little Money Boat.

One thing about us Union Thugs,
we might take a Whipping from time to time,
but we NEVER give up,
and we NEVER forget a Sucker Punch.