Would you rather see a Chuck Schumer clone or an early supporter of Howard Dean in Congress? Would you rather send someone to Congress who the DLC honored as one of it's "100 to Watch," or someone who has been endorsed by Democracy for NYC, New Democratic Majority, ImpeachPAC.org, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Inc, The Sierra Club, and Americans for Democratic Action PAC? Would you rather send someone to Congress who wants to face the Republicans with immediate compromise or someone who clearly states progressive ideals and stands up for them?
Here in Brooklyn we have a Congressional primary that pits an early Dean supporter who has almost solid Progressive support (including endorsements from Maxine Waters, John Conyers, Dennis Kucinich and Bernie Sanders) against a colleague of Chuck Schumer's who is well liked by the DLC. Needless to say, the DLC-supported candidate is awash with money while the Progressive Dean-candidate has an amazing volunteer force, but little money. I am here to ask you to help the Progressive beat the DLC.
My Congressman, Major Owens, is retiring. Some feel he should have retired a while ago because he had lost his fire long ago. I still like him because he is one of the only Democrats who voted against the Iraq war EVERY chance, opposed the Patriot Act EVERY time, and objected to certification of BOTH the 2000 and 2004 elections as part of the Congressional Black Caucus. Major Owens may have lost his fire, but he voted like a good progressive.
Four Democrats are vying to replace Major Owens. The Republican hardly matters because a meatloaf could run as a Democrat and still beat the Republican in my district. So this race comes down to WHAT KIND OF DEMOCRAT DO WE WANT?
Major Owens' son, Chris Owens, has the fire that his father lost. In fact his fire is that of a preacher dedicated to the Progressive cause, and he is as articulate as the best preacher I have ever heard (though I am Jewish, so I may not have heard many preachers!). At first I was turned off by the fact that Major's son was running to replace his father. The idea of a dynasty was not appealing. Originally I was supporting Chris' rival, David Yassky. But as soon as I heard Chris speak, I was hooked. I thought to myself, "THIS is what America needs!" My wife had the exact same reaction and neither of us is easily impressed. So I thought I would be torn on primary day between Chris and David, both of whom I have grown to know well over the past year.
But I am not torn. Not at all. As time passed Chris has emerged as the most solid progressive candidate in the nation and David Yassky is proving to be a young, budding DLC politician.
The entire field comprises four people:
Yvette Clarke, who is the most conservative of the lot and has been having a hard time getting support outside the Caribbean community. Her main selling point is that she is the only woman in the race. She isn't bad, but her family has close ties with NY State Republicans and is viewed as conservative for the district. She is too close to the state Republicans and wealthy, corrupt developers for my tastes, though she is strong on the voting machine issue.
Carl Andrews, who is supported by some large unions and has a good record in the fight for civil rights, but he is also a central figure in the extremely corrupt Democratic Party machine in Brooklyn. He was the right hand man of Clarence Norman, the former head of the Brooklyn machine who is now in jail for corruption. It is widely suspected that the scandals that brought down Clarence Norman and others in the machine are bound to hit Carl Andrews. His ties to corruption are way to close for me.
David Yassky was my original choice. He plays the progressive, which is what I first liked. But I have come to see that as a façade, and, rather than being a progressive, he is courting the rich, white, most conservative part of the district. He ALSO is courting the progressives, but by and large unsuccessfully. He has received practically no endorsements from progressive organizations because he is evolving into a hawkish Democrat that the DLC loves. He was named one of the DLC's top 100 politicians to watch and has won their praise. He has out raised all other candidates put together and is expected to spend $1 million on this race. But most of that money comes from out of the district and despite huge fundraising and huge expenditures, he has not polled well in the few polls that have been conducted. But I feel his money may win in the end. I am greatly saddened that this once enthusiastic, grassroots candidate has, in my mind, sold out. Now he brags mostly about his ties to Chuck Schumer and, when asked how he would deal with the Republican congress, he immediately says he would find a compromise. Sounds too close to triangulation to me! What is perhaps worst is that he has been saying that he would consider supporting Bush's plan of bombing Iran if he were in Congress. Now I am not a fan of Iran, but should we be talking bombing right now?
Chris Owens is the real progressive. He has picked up the endorsement of an impressive array of progressive organizations and individuals. He was on the school board and his performance there has been praised by someone I know whose involvement in local politics goes back to the 1960's (and whose organization will probably endorse Chris later this month). He is the only black man to serve on the board of NY NARAL. He is endorsed by Planned Parenthood PAC and all the local progressive clubs except one. He has been endorsed by the Sierra Club and Americans for Democratic Action. Even the local Greens have jumped on board, though Chris does not intend to run as a Green if he loses the Democratic primary. You can see his entire list of endorsements here. He is strong on all the issues and takes a balanced approach to Israel/Palestine. Chris was a very early supporter of Howard Dean in 2004, endorsing Dean before the Dean bandwagon got rolling. Chris has been endorsed by Maxine Waters, Dennis Kucinich, John Conyers and Bernie Sanders. Chris has been running a shoestring, grassroots candidacy that has the largest and most enthusiastic volunteer force, but is thin on the cash needed to print information and run ads.
Maxine Waters endorses Chris, the DLC praises Yassky. Sound familiar? Which do you want in Congress?
Some have objected to the support he is getting from the Greens, comparing it to Lieberman's preparing an Independent run. But it isn't the same at all. The Greens have sought out Chris, not the other way. Chris has no intention of running as a Green, though he welcomes their moral support in the primary.
We need your help here in Brooklyn. Chris has the volunteers. But he needs money. He has the local grassroots, but he needs the national blogsphere. He has personally asked me to try and reach out to the blogs to ask for your help. That is what I am doing now. Please help us to preserve this seat for progressives, not lose it to the DLC. Chris Owens is an articulate, idealistic preacher for the progressive movement, and THAT is what we need in America today.