Ted Lieu represents the west side of L.A. in Congress-- from Rancho Palos Verdes in the south, up through, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Torrance, El Segundo, Venice, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades and Malibu in the north and inland through Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Topanga, Westwood, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood and far east as Hancock Park. But if you follow him on Twitter, sometimes you see him rooting for the Cleveland Browns or Cavaliers. That's because Ted's family moved to Cleveland when he was 3 and he grew up there and lived there until he went off to college at Stanford in 1991 and then enlisted in the Air Force in 1995.
Today Lieu was rooting for someone else from Cleveland-- Nina Turner, becoming the first member of Pelosi's House leadership team to endorse her-- joining AOC, Pramila Jayapal, Ilhan Omar, Mondaire Jones, Andy Levin, Jamaal Bowman, Mark Pocan, Cori Bush, Katie Porter, Ro Khanna and Rashid Tlaib, who have all previously endorsed Turner's bid for Congress. (Bernie has as well.)
Turner is way ahead in the polls but the corrupt Democratic establishment is rallying around their own candidate, Shontel Brown, not so much because they want her rather than because they want to stop Nina Turner who they fear as an incorruptible and compelling agent of change. The DC lobbyist contingent and Hillary Clinton are frantically trying to raise money for Brown. Every single Democratic state senator from Cuyahoga County-- where Brown is the Chair of the local Democratic Party-- has endorsed Turner. Clinton's move to back Brown is mostly seen as part of her never-ending anti-Bernie psychosis. Grotesquely corrupt payday lender advocate Joyce Beatty from Columbus has also endorsed Brown, not unexpected.
Blue America has endorsed Turner as well and you can contribute to her campaign by clicking on the 2022 congressional thermometer on the left. In an interview with Spectrum News today, Lieu said that "[Turner] came from working class roots. Her mom was a nurse's aide. Her dad was a truck driver, and like me, she started working at a very young age, age of 14, to keep her family afloat. And so she understood the hardships of inequality, of being poor. And that's something she's going to carry with her in Congress. And we need more voices like those of Nina Turner’s."
The special election primary-- tantamount to the election-- is August 3. Trump received just 19.2% of the district's vote last year. In a guest post for DWT last month, Turner wrote that "Progressives have made a demand-- for universal health care, for affordable college, for access to safe and affordable housing, for education equity, for an end to poverty and for an end to mass incarceration. I too am making a demand. For those of you who do not know me, I am neither a hero nor a villain. I am a humanitarian. I am a fighter for change. I am someone willing to acknowledge what is here while asking for what is still needed. I am a public servant whose job is to equally encourage and exhort."
My decision to seek elected office is compelled by my desire to make change. There are those comfortable with the status quo. I am not among them. Having grown up in poverty, I can never forget what it was like to watch my mother crying all night because she couldn’t give her children what they needed. I will never forget what it was like watching my mother die young-- at 42 years old-- due to a lack of health insurance. It is impossible to experience this sort of devastation and not be compelled to fight to ensure others don’t suffer in this way.
I am running for Congress because I care deeply about the suffering facing the American people. With stagnant wages, unaffordable housing, high-cost college and lack of affordable health insurance, the system is crushing everyday people. This is by default. It is intentional. So too must be our resolve for change.
The progressive movement, in particular, must commit itself to funding the movement and fighting for the movement. Politics is life or death. What our elected leaders do can mean the difference between life and death.
My goal is to paint a vision of a different kind of America and then invite others to come with me. This vision includes just policies that address the root causes of poverty, inaccessible health insurance, mass incarceration, gun violence and education inequities. I am asking you to invest in this vision and invest in me.
In the end, we will assess progress by whether fewer people live in poverty; by whether more people have access to good jobs that allow them to comfortably care for themselves and their families; and by whether more people have access to healthcare. Change cannot be measured in a moment. There is much work for all of us to do and we remain focused on the ultimate goal of improving life for a nation that is hurting.
Meeting the challenges of the 21st century will require us to be more than just ambitious-- we must be transformative. We need elected officials who understand that they are accountable to the people, not to special interests and not to each other. I am who I believe my community, our collective community needs. I am asking you to invest in me and invest in us. Fund what matters.
