Tim Canova, a law professor who is a life-long progressive, and was once an aide to Sen. Paul Tsongas, took in $557, 000 in his fight against the awful Debbie Wasserman Schultz for Florida Congressional District 23. Just how good was that?
That’s more money than any previous first-time candidate has accumulated in the first quarter of the election year. The sum also tops Wasserman Schultz’s campaign fundraising for any quarter in all of 2014.
What is even better?
Tim does not take corporate money. The average contribution was $20, and only six donors made the maximum allowable contribution of $2,700.
Right now, at this time in our party’s history, we are more progressive than ever! So it makes NO SENSE that the person leading our party at this time is an inept conservative who fights against our interests. Oh, DWS does fight—but unfortunately, it is for payday lenders, big corporations, and most of all, herself.
As we speak, DWS is leading the fight AGAINST Elizabeth Warren, alongside her GOP allies, in an effort to de-regulate predatory lenders. DWS has taken in more than $68,000 from the payday lending industry.
It’s not just payday loans. Debbie has stood against us time and time again. She was for fast-tracking the TPP and is a big proponent of private prisons. She has fought AGAINST us tooth and nail on medical marijuana, advocating for suffering patients to go to prison.
One could make the argument here that her positions are irrelevant, and that DWS should only be judged on her sole job as chairwoman—which is to elect Democrats. Okay. Fine.
DWS was the one who pushed the disastrous 2014 strategy for candidates to run from Obama. This strategy failed miserably: we lost the Senate and the GOP got the largest House representation in decades. DWS should have been ousted immediately after the election.
But we can finally do what our party leaders failed to do. On August 30, we can rid ourselves of DWS! On August 30, we have the power to give her seat to a progressive who will actually fight FOR us, instead of AGAINST us. We can finally oust DWS from a position she never should have had in the first place.
Tim needs your help. There is only one seat that DWS ever fights for: her own. She is now trying to rig her own election by instituting a rule that the DNC will not help any challenger for an incumbent Democrat:
And now, to help rig her own election in the Democratic primaries, Ms. Wasserman Schultz is blocking any challenger to a Democratic incumbent from accessing the voter file database—a vital campaign tool for any election.
How convenient.
This un-democratic rule is not only designed to help DWS, but it also helps with several back-stabbing Florida “Democrats”, like Gwen Graham, by denying actual progressives the tools they need to win. If you are ticked off about it, sign the MoveOn petition and/or call the DNC at 202-863-8000. (You can leave a message. It never goes to a live person.)
If I can beseech you to donate, volunteer, or otherwise support ONE campaign in Florida, it would be Tim Canova.
timcanova.com
I now return you to your regularly scheduled rants ...