Climate Progress Is At Stake-- Let's See Who Gives A Damn
When Blue America first started in 2006, we would ask candidates for the House whether or not they intended to join the Progressive Caucus. If they said no, it was much less likely that they would win a Blue America endorsement. We’re rapidly heading towards a time when the polar opposite will be true. I feel very skeptical towards candidates embraced by the CPC.
Back when the Progressive Caucus started their foundation, they put me on the board of directors. But once Mark Pocan started selling Progressive Caucus memberships to conservative Democrats willing to pay protection money, my interest turned to contempt and I stopped participating and eventually quit. Right now there are 100 members of the CPC, 20 of whom are members of the corrupt Wall Street owned New Dems-- and that doesn't even include corrupt characters like Hakeem Jeffries and Ritchie Torres. These are the CPC members who are also members of the New Dems, along with their current ProgressivePunch scores
Vice Chair Donald Norcross (NJ)- D
Adam Smith (WA)- F
Jimmy Panetta (CA)- D
Juan Vargas (CA)- C
Nikema Williams (GA)- A
Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE)- B
Brendan Boyle (PA)- C
Shontel Brown (OH)- A
André Carson (IN)- C
Sara Jacobs (CA)- A
Troy Carter (LA)- A
Darren Soto (FL)- B
Don Beyer (VA)- B
Lori Trahan (MA)- A
Brenda Lawrence (MI)- B
Steven Horsford (NV)- B
Joe Morelle (NY)- B
May Gay Scanlon (PA)- A
Veronica Escobar (TX)- A
Madeleine Dean (PA)- A
The ultimate test now will be whether or not progressives refuse to back the slimy secret deal Schumer made with Manchin to allow fossil fuel infrastructure to be built without adequate vetting. In the Senate, Bernie and Ed Markey have already said they would vote against it— not enough to stop it since it will have Republican votes.
The only way to stop it is in the House. 72 Democrats have announced they oppose Schumer and Pelosi making it part of the CR, a kind of blackmail that will force progressives who prioritize addressing the Climate Crisis to appear to be voting to shut down the government, when, of course, it is Schumer and Pelosi and their corrupt cronies who made the decision to shut down the government.
On Thursday, Politico reported that Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal presented a draft statement to fellow liberals that would have spelled out opposition to the dirty Manchin-Schumer deal. “But when Jayapal laid out that option Tuesday night, several other [pretend] liberal Democrats spoke up against any further action— warning it could be seen as dramatically escalating the situation when the party’s under pressure to stay unified before the midterms— according to multiple people who listened in. At times, the discussion grew strained about the best way to articulate their opposition without drawing their full group into a funding standoff just hours after Democrats celebrated their recent legislative success at the White House.” I smell a Hakeem Jeffries/Ritchie Torres here, fake progressives in the caucus to prevent it from taking progressive actions that threaten the status quo and big donors. New Dem Don Beyer: “I absolutely don’t feel like this is worth shutting down the government over. As a Democrat, after a summer of wonderful successes, why would we want to go into an election season with a major failure?”