This news pisses me off big time. Russ Carnahan, current congressman from the 3d district in Missouri, is running against Lacy Clay, current Congressman in the 1st District. Lacy Clay is one of the few African Americans in the House and a true progressive, but Russ is afraid to run in the 2d District, so he's going after Lacy.
U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan is jumping into a challenge with fellow St. Louis Democratic U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, setting up an intense and potentially divisive primary matchup this summer.
Carnahan, whose current district was eliminated in redistricting, filed Tuesday morning to run for the seat currently occupied by Clay. Clay, meanwhile, was in line in Jefferson City, poised to file for the same seat.
http://www.stltoday.com/...
I could see this coming because the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has been running front page stories attacking Lacy Clay the last week or two. Back in the 70s, the St. Louis Globe Democrat (Pat Buchanan wrote editorials there before he worked for Dick Nixon) used to find election day scandals and front page stories attacking his father, Bill Clay, on election day, all of which would be disproved after the election, but Bill Clay won anyway and Lacy will win now.
The fix is in to get rid of a true progressive in favor of the Carnahan dynasty, but people matter. Voters will repudiate Mr. Carnahan.
Claire better get on the right side of this battle if she wants any chance to win re-election. But if she does, she will have strong support.
A little about Lacy Clay:
Clay, Jr.'s voting record has been decidedly Progressive, like that of his father. He is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, of which his father was a founding member.
During Clay's previous 17 years in the state legislature, he authored Missouri's Hate Crimes Law which included gender, sexual orientation and sexual identity in the criteria of what constitutes a hate crime.
Clay made it clear that he supports the Employment Nondiscrimination Act which would make it illegal to discriminate against employees of any sexual orientation, notably gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered workers. He also noted that he believes that the 33 states that are allowed to fire employees due to sexual orientation are in the wrong.
Clay has been a consistent critic of the War in Iraq and was among those who voted against the Iraq War Resolution in 2002. Clay's NPAT also displays disagreement with elements of the War on Drugs. He believes that government reform is necessary to make sure every citizen's voice is heard. Clay also continues to fight for programs that will improve that status of the poor, including initiatives to allow lower-class people to purchase homes.
Clay is also active in election reform and believes that any electronic voting system must include a paper trail to verify the results.
Clay added his name as cosponsor to a bill calling for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney, House Resolution 333.
He was one of the 31 members in the U.S. House of Representatives who voted not to count the electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 presidential election.[7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/....
Lacy is a good man. He helped tremendously with efforts to address lead posioning in St. Louis. He is a better Democrat. While Carnahan has a decent voting record, this is a dick move.
Clay came to Congress in 2001 to succeed his father Bill Clay, a 32-year House veteran and founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, as representative of Missouri's 1st district.
The younger Clay has stood out with a commitment to minority rights. He's worked to increase voter registration, end predatory lending and ensure that minorities were accurately counted in the 2010 census. During the 111th Congress, Clay chaired the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Information Policy, Census and National Archives subcommittee, which oversees the Census.
snip
Clay sided with the Democratic Party 97 percent of the time in the 111th Congress. His voting record in the House effectively represents the needs of his mostly black, urban district. For instance, Clay supported the 2009 stimulus plan, which brought federal funding to the district, but voted against the 2008 bailout, deeply unpopular with his constituents.
WaPo, Lacy Clay
I am a strong supporter of Lacy Clay. I hope my friends here at Daily Kos will support a true progressive. Carnahan's run against Clay will tear apart the Mo Dem Party.
Now is the time be be counted. Support a better Democrat. Give to Lacy Clay.
Donate to Lacy Clay here
You're going to hearing a lot about Lacy Clay from me in the upcoming days. He is a Better Democrat and one we cannot lose to Carnahan's blind ambition.
More here: Lacy Clay for Congress