16 February 2017
Dear Lake County Progressives,
Below is an email sent this week by Justice Democrats.
If you have not yet joined Justice Democrats, reading the below email may inspire you to add your name. By adding your name and swelling the numbers, you are sending a powerful message to washington.
Joe Manchin could be the Poster Child for Everything Wrong with the Democratic Party today. In addition to the information in below email, today we learned that he intends to vote in FAVOR of Trump's cabinet pick Pruit, an avowed climate change denier. Susan Collins, a Republican, has already said she will vote against Pruit, but her vote is already being cancelled out by the DINO Joe Manchin.
What makes Justice Democrats unique is its intention to PRIMARY people like Joe Manchin. As you know if you follow party politics, this is considered heresy among the DNC establishment. The rule is, Thou Shalt Not Challenge Incumbant Democrats.
Justice Democrats says take that rule and shove it where the sun don't shine. We need to do what the Tea Party did so effectively on the right -- get rid of the corporatist/centrists and start this party moving back in the right direction (in our case, the LEFT direction!)
The Democratic Establishment is worried because the numbers are "against us" in the 2018 race, because so many more Democratic seats are up for re-election than Republican ones. Establishment Dems spout the usual blah-blah about party unity so we can "keep our seats." (But what is the point of "keeping" a seat centrist/corporatist?)
Far from being worried about the fact that so many Dem seats are up for re-election, Justice Democrats LOOK FORWARD to the opportunity to throw out the bums (fake Democrats like Joe Manchin) and replace them with real representatives of The People.
In the few short weeks since Justice Democrats was announced, it already has over 100,000 members signed up, 2500 prospective candidates nominated, and a half-million dollars raised.
NOW IS THE TIME (if not now, when?)
Democrats need to get their own ship in order, before they are ready to engage the GOP in a battle that can actually produce good results for The People.
-----Original Message-----
From: Justice Democrats [mailto:us@mail.justicedemocrats.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 02:34 PM
Subject: Bye bye, Joe Manchin
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Joe Manchin first got elected to his West Virginia Senate seat with a TV ad in which he fired a rifle and shot a bullet through Barack Obama's climate change legislation. As a Democrat.
For reasons only known to Chuck Schumer, Manchin was awarded this year with a spot in the Senate Democratic Leadership.
Since then, as a leader of the Senate Democrats, Manchin proceeded to vote for more of Trump's cabinet than any other Democrat. He even voted for Jeff Sessions for Attorney General and Steve Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary.
Now, according to the Washington Post, Manchin was part of a Senate leadership meeting where senators asked Bernie Sanders to stop activists from holding Democrats accountable at town halls. Manchin said:
"Bernie has a voice, and if [protesters] want to be active, then direct them to where the problem may be or where they anticipate a problem."
Joe: you ARE the problem. You voted for a racist to be our Attorney General. You voted for a Goldman Sachs executive to be Treasury Secretary. And you have no place as a member of Democratic leadership in the Senate.
We need to send an unmistakable message to Chuck Schumer and the rest of the Democratic leaders in the Senate: Joe Manchin needs to be booted from Senate Democratic leadership immediately. Add your name to our petition to Senate Democrats now.
Manchin's tenure in the Senate has been predictable for someone who got elected by shooting a bullet through signature legislation of his own party's president.
He is anti-abortion. He was the only Democrat to vote against repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and didn't vote for the DREAM Act. He supports the Keystone XL pipeline.
Manchin probably thinks that West Virginians will like his support for part of Trump's agenda. He maybe thinks Republicans won't target his seat anyway when he's up for re-election in 2018.
He may bet that Chuck Schumer will put up with all of Manchin's garbage votes so long as he casts a vote for Schumer as Senate leader. And Manchin may end up being right on all of that!
But the Democratic Party is at a moment of crisis. We need leaders who will unequivocally stand up for core Democratic values, and who will not hesitate on tough votes to do what's right.
Joe Manchin deserves no place in Senate Democrats' leadership. And we need to make sure Chuck Schumer and the rest of the Senate Democrats hear that message loud and clear.
If we are successful in removing Manchin, it will send a very clear message that Senate Democrats truly value the party's principles. Let's make it happen.
In solidarity,
The Justice Democrats Team
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