I just found out that
Marcy Winograd, President of Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles, has stepped up to challenge conservative Blue Dog Democrat Jane Harman in the Democratic Primary for the 36th Congressional District in California.
Not only is Harman pro-war, as Ranking Member on the House Intelligence Committee, she was one of those briefed on the illegal NSA spying. She is fully complicit in a wide range of Bush Administration policies, and can only credibly criticize him on narrow tactical grounds at best.
In contrast, Winograd's website paints a very different picture (on the flip):
As a congresswoman, Marcy would immediately join the "Out of Iraq" caucus in Congress, vote to defund the war, and lobby to spend the war billions on social programs for education, health care, housing and the environment. "The best intelligence, the most effective defense against terrorism," says Winograd, "is to craft a sound foreign policy and build strong social networks that unite, rather than divide, the world community. Pre-emptive wars that kill and maim thousands of innocent Americans and Iraqis will only create more terrorists and undermine our security. It is time for a new vision and a new leader in the 36th Congressional District."
Also from her website, a bit more about her activism on the issues:
As a long-time opponent of the Iraq war and occupation, Winograd was instrumental in getting an anti-war resolution passed at last year's California Democratic Convention and worked with Assemblyman Paul Koretz to draft a resolution calling for a moratorium on depleted uranium weapons systems. Playing a leadership role to protect our vote, Winograd helped establish the California Election Protection network, a grassroots organization that successfully lobbied for State Senator Debra Bowen's bill requiring a paper trail for electronic voting recounts. In her position as Media Reform Chair of the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party, Winograd hosts "They Say/We Say" -- a public access televsion show which highlights the plight of returning veterans and underscores the importance of citizen activism.
I will not pretend that Harman is as bad as Lieberman. But, then, she doesn't have as a high a profile, ergo she doesn't have the position to be as bad as Lieberman. But she's bad enough, and her position is high enough. At the very least, she should be challenged, and forced to defend her record to the Democrats in the district she is supposed to represent. Marcy Winograd represents that challenge.
Early endorsers include Vietnam Veteran Ron Kovic (Born on the Fourth of July), Iraq Vets Against the War co-founder Tim Goodrich, Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans, Ed Asner, and Mimi Kennedy.
Go check out her website, see for yourself, and think about what you can do to help advance the process of reclaiming our party for the position of the people who make up the party.