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From Msnbc.com's Tom Curry
In a year in which Democrats are struggling to hold their majorities in Congress, organized labor and progressive groups such as Democracy for America have already waged one titanic effort to defeat a Democratic incumbent, spending millions of dollars in an effort to oust Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. But challenger Bill Halter fell short in a June 8 runoff.
On Tuesday, the progressives try again in the Massachusetts Democratic primary where their challenger, Mac D’Alessandro, is trying to boot Rep. Stephen Lynch, one of the 34 House Democrats to vote against President Obama’s health care bill.
It’s one of the rare ideological battles in the Democratic Party in a primary season in which Republican Establishment candidates have been trying to stave off conservative Tea Party challenges from Alaska to Delaware.
While progressives and organized labor threatened last spring to field challengers against Democrats -- such as South Dakota’s Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and New York’s Rep. Michael Arcuri -- who voted against Obama’s health care plan, D’Alessandro was one of the few who ultimately stepped forward. In New Jersey, first-term Rep. John Adler, another one of the 34 Democratic “no” votes, easily defeated a challenger in the June 8 primary.
D’Alessandro campaign spokeswoman Melissa Threadgill told msnbc.com that one of the campaign’s messages to voters was, “This is your last chance to take out a Democrat who voted against health care.” Lynch voted for the House version of health care reform, but against the final bill because it imposes taxes on high-cost health plans and doesn’t allow states to set up their own public option plans.
As of the end of August, the Lynch campaign had more than $1 million in cash, compared to only $158,000 for D’Alessandro. Lynch has aired one television ad while D’Alessandro has been absent from TV. But, since the beginning of August, the Services Employees International Union (SEIU).has spent nearly $260,000 in independent expenditures on behalf of D’Alessandro – who is on leave from his job as the New England political director for the union.
If elected in November, he’d be the first African-American House member from Massachusetts.
Unlike labor’s crusade to defeat Lincoln, in Lynch’s case SEIU is going after one of labor’s own.
Not only is Lynch the former president of his local ironworkers union, he has a nearly perfect 98 percent lifetime voting record from the AFL-CIO labor confederation and won a 100 percent for his votes in 2009. He touts support from the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the electrical workers union local, and a Boston firefighters local.
The union neither encouraged D’Alessandro to get into the race nor discouraged him from doing so. “It was Mac’s decision to run and he earned our endorsement,” said an SEIU source familiar with the campaign and endorsement process.
Lynch campaign sources said the incumbent is likely to win less than the 77 percent he got in his only other contested primary, when he faced an anti-war challenger in 2006, but they remain confident of victory.
Tuesday’s primary will be low-turnout affair, Threadgill predicted. But she argued that D’Alessandro voters are motivated to show up, while an anti-incumbent mood will keep some former Lynch fans away from the polls.
The contest isn’t focused only on health care. D’Alessandro also criticizes Lynch’s support for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Lynch voted for the Iraq war resolution in 2002, one of 81 House Democrats to do so.
“We’re spending $13 billion a month, with no end in sight. That’s adding to our deficit,” D’Alessandro said in a debate on Boston television station WGBH. “Congressman Lynch was the only member of this delegation to vote for continued funding,” he said.
SEIU is also waging a “Skip a Space” campaign in Ohio to urge Democratic voters to withhold their vote in November from Rep. Zack Space, another Democrat who voted against the health care overhaul. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Space’s contest against Republican Bob Gibbs a toss-up, so a few hundred withheld votes might cost Democrats that seat.
Tuesday’s primaries in Massachusetts and six other states are the last ones on the calendar, apart from next Saturday’s in Hawaii.
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This is just wrong, period. NO politician should have to vote strictly on party lines. If the situation was reversed, and the Republicans were trying to destroy someone who had voted "yes" on the health care bill, the Dems would be screaming bloody murder about it. The Democrats that voted against the bill did what they thought was best for their constituents. Despite the fact that I'm for health-care reform (although not 100% in favor of the bill as it was passed), I applaud these politicians for NOT voting the party line when they disagreed with it.
All of the Democrats who voted against the health care bill are traitors to their own party. To all of you, go be Republicans or better yet hop a freighter to Iran.
Honestly, one of the dumbest things a person could say. Why should my taxpayer money go towards those on welfare? I recently read a post that said a person on unemployment should be out collecting garbage or doing something to earn their unemployment. I couldn't believe it. They earned their unemployement benefits. We are so quick to give everything to people on welfare. I am part of the middle class, the lower part. We work hard for everything. The only people that benefit from the health care bill are the people on welfare, and I'm the one paying for it.
Out with the idiotic teabagging sympothizers !!! Lets help elect real progressives this time around and not support the corporate special interest republiCANT's once and for all. Just say "NO" to Faux News, et al !
Arthur Neelley: By using your logic, when the progressives have rifled through all the wealthy people's money, who will be left to send you your "free" health care and welfare check?!? You think the progressives who run the country will?!? Look at the USSR under communist rule - only the "elite" (i.e. government workers) got the "goods" - regular citizens stood in food lines hoping that they would be able to buy something when their turn came to enter the store. This is FACT!
The health care bill's big failure is that it does nothing to stop elective surgeries for example men who become women and women who become men file for bankrupcy this cost is past on to your companies health care cost. Bankrupcy for elective sugeries need to be prohibitive all selective sugeries including implants should not be allowed to file bankrupcy.
I wrote two senators about this problem and they ignored me so when it is time to vote I am going to ignore them. Vote incumbents out.
Perhaps they ignored you because of your grammer. Try using a little punctuation. Makes reading a little easier. On the other hand, I do agree with you; elective surgeries should be at the cost of the person. I also agree that they should not be allowed to file bankruptcy.
The big issue that I heard doctors crying about before ObamaCare was that medical malpractice rates had gone through the roof. Obama's solution was the back door to a too costly solution in that government run programs are immune to lawsuits. Ha, lawyers, he got you! Also, drug makers use strategies to delay drugs from becoming available as generic for years making billions more. The real issues were sidestepped. Toss ObamaCare and address the real issues to make health care affordable and kudos to the Dems who apparently think there is a better way too.
Trying to follow what party stands for what - over the last 150 years - it is a history of flip flopper's. The Wigs were the big players in the Progressive eras - they represented the south and basically became the democrat party. Now the south is mostly red states. The same people who support big business, also say Obama is anti small business.
Bottom line - today it is all about being elected. See who funds the person in office - that is who they account for - not citizens. Any vote by a democrat against health care - is an admission that their big business backers are who they represent.
Where do I begin with this one? Democrats "taking out" Democrats? hmm nevermind that.
What this out of touch, elected on anti-war mandate, only to over-extend, party of fail, forgot to read the memo, the majority of Americans did not want this health care debacle, not now, not then.
Maybe someday when we aren't bleeding dollars.
What the Demo's didn't realize.
When President Obama got applause on the campaign trail (as a candidate) when he mentioned all his talking point / pledges... the people that weren't paid to be there, would have applauded whatever he said.
They just wanted out of war, and we are still in it.
The campaigner Barack could have said "hey when I'm president Im going to paint the white house purple pink polka dots" and even the people that weren't paid to be there would have applauded.
If Mr. "Freshman senator, I play Texas Hold-em and I'm pretty good at it, All in on the only 'no vote to war Iraq", would just get us outta those wars... and leave it at that.
We are still in those wars people. Mr. Pres. Barack went all in and won you, but ya was dumb and elected too many progressive democrats. Who, just ran willy-nilly with all their pet-projects they only dreamed of for years and shoved'em down your throats.
Along with the rest of us that hoped for the best, a little moderation that is coming too late.
What was all this "progression" leading to? Democrats have to come up with a new name every so often to shed the stinking image of what they were before.
The real danger is we may finally be so sick and tired of bloodying each other, that we accept some "solution" to the sick politics, that will turn out to be far worse than we could imagine.
It really surprises me what idiots we Americans are. Our country is still dizzy from the mess "W" and the voters who cast their vote for him have done. Yet selfish, rich and idiots without an bit of common sense are to willing to return to the same (Republican) ways we got into this mess in the first place. How much dung do you need before you yell OH @!$%#? Eight years vs. 2 years and you are ready to throw Obama under a bus....Why? Don't blame him for the lost jobs, 2 wars, he has tried to pass bills to help but the Republicans have done everything they could in order to scare you back into their fold. Are you a lamb....think for your own good. I for one will give Obama the same amount of time Bush had, in the end the sum total of good changes will be what pulls us out of the quicksand we find ourselves in now. Working together to make changes beneficial to ALL is the only answer.
mtsr - there is no long term plan for us citizens. The planet can only support so many, so the plan is all of us citizens kill each other off, and the rich inherit the ultimate riches - a controllable planet. As it is now - we citizens grew too fast - no way to control the numbers of people as it is now.
There never was a plan for a planet with billions of humans. I guess it is up to each individual to survive - man will we wish we supported socialism then...lol.
Progressive? Progressive? Defintely a term coind by liberals, parasite enablers, is much more apt.
You people have no clue what socialism is ! I can tell you because I live in a socialist democracy. Having universal health care is the best thing that can happen to a country. Not having it makes you just like a 3rd world country !! Socialism has good and bad, just like capitalism. Also, we don't have 40 000 of our citizens dying because they cannot afford health care, but you do !! Do you really believe those who are sick and dying think they live in the greatest country in the world ?? HELL NOT !!
You are a bunch of brainwashed fools !
All your politicians have universal health care, so why not you ??? because your politicians do not care if you live or die, you are on your own !!
Good for you, I have seen how the systems operate, you hang in there with them , and hope you don't need immediate care, I'm happy with what we have.
nigeria, now there is a great example to put forth! ha, ha, ha......idiot!
Sounds like drainbramage (clever name BTW) saw "Soylent Green" and thought it was a documentary.
You should write a book on your appocalptyic vision of what Capatolizm will yield. You'll never sell any books to your Progressive pals who all have there own skrewy (elitist) views.
Here come the scoops! Run!
Just like the NAZI'S did during the end of their rein of terror they attacked their oun who dared to be different. In the end these two bit dictator wanna bee's will be out and the people will be listened to once again.
Hmmmm..... I would have voted for a Democrat that voted NO on the health bill too!!! I'm not voting any democrats this election. Have never done that before as I've always voted for the person, not the party as we have that luxury in our state. When this bill was started it was half the size it ended up with many other non health issues added. Just before the vote, the national poles I saw on the internet, and not by a particular party, showed that 67% of Americans were against the bill. I wrote my senators and congress and told them my opinion, as well as thousands of other people telling the Democrats to scrap it and start anew with a good, not piecemealed bill, and then vote on it. Did the Democrats listen??? NO! They just kept on pushing on a makeshift bill to leave a legacy for the party. Did it??? Yup! Look at the votes now. Why didn't the party listen to the constituents that put them where they are? I guess they thought safety in numbers would save them. Too bad the numbers of voters outnumber the number of members of the senate and congress. Next time, listen, instead of getting wrapped up in the excitement of your own party. It's a sad day when the elected officials quit listening to their voters. :-(
One thing that can be said of Republicans, when they vote "nay" , right or wrong cause, they do it as a team.
Get it together Democrats, there are a lot of people counting on you! Lynch and the other 33, Whatz up?
Here's a President that has been fighting an up hill battle, since day day one, making an all effort to serve all Americans. But there are those of you amongst us ( also from day one) that have an agenda to the contrary... may you not succeed.
Good. You guys throw the bums out, that way we won't have to. LOL
SRB--------- Show some compassion, since Castro defected, BO is the last standing communist, he is feeling very lonely and forlorn, right now.
We thought it would be nice to let him sob in peace, until 6:am.
"If elected in November, he'd be the first African-American House member from Massachusetts."
Ed Brooke was the first african-american house member from massachusetts
Gasp!!!!!---------- You mean, MSNBC, made a mistake????
I am crushed and heartbroken, my hero has feet of clay.
I say just vote the party of NO out, simple as that.
Yep, that sounds simple.
sounds simple? yup and so does ryiann.........
the party of no is the only hope for America to be saved from obama's idea of a great islamic socialist state......
The party of NO
NO NO NO NO NO NO more taxes. NO NO NO NO NO more crazy out of control spending. NO NO NO NO NO more Nancy Pelosi NO NO NO NO NO Political Correctness. NO NO NO NO more back room deals and clandestine motives. NO NO NO NO NO Liberal domination...Yea.
Just another political ploy to get a DEMONcRAT elected/re-elected.
Vote out the trash, Democrat or Republican, elect conservative constitutionalists, get America back on track.
Oh dear, Lynch voted his conscience against the Forced Health Care Bill and now Dems want his head on a pike. So anti-party like for choosing to do what he believes was the right thing and ruffling the feathers of Big O and company assuming this wasn't a dog and pony show by Lynch to save his political career. Don't know what to believe with so many sincere and honest elect officials on Capitol Hill.
The people who want something free refuse to hear the truth.
There is no such thing as free health care you will pay fees for everything. In addition if you do get some serious health problem like cancer Oregon has proved how they handle that expence they simply refuse the pataint treatment and hand them suisid pills.
There is no such thing as rich corporations giving you a free ride. You will pay more for the products they provide for this country. The democratic party wants several taxes and will certainly tax this country into a third world nation.
If you put all of your weekly groceries on your table and put a trash can next to it the trash can would be full and your table almost empty after all of the democratic taxes hit you at the store.
This is what taxing the so called rich will do to the average person.
The party of NO
NO NO NO NO NO NO more taxes. NO NO NO NO NO more crazy out of control spending. NO NO NO NO NO more Nancy Pelosi NO NO NO NO NO Political Correctness. NO NO NO NO more back room deals and clandestine motives. NO NO NO NO NO Liberal domination...Yea.
Yeah, like the conservative domination was any better.
When the national debt is north of $10 trillion "no" isn't the right word. "HELL NO" is what you should be saying!
David, given the economic collapse which occurred in 2008, any President elected in November of that year would have passed some sort of stimulus bill, long on spending, light on taxes.
If you look back a little in our nation's history, to the onset of the Great Depression, you'll see that Hoover's response was to pass one of the largest tax increases in history and to heighten tariffs. By the time he left office, 4 years after the 1929 crash, unemployment stood at 25%, and most economists equate that figure to the current U3 measurement (those actively seeking, but unable to find employment). If one takes the wider measure of all who need or want a job, the figure may have been well in excess of 35%.
Today, with unemployment stubbornly stuck at approximately 9.6%, the cry is "beware the deficit" and "protect our jobs".
They say that those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
I think the progressives by their actions define out of touch.
I'm not sure where the disconnect is on the part of the Democratic Party. The Republicans were the same when they held the reigns of power. There must be something about attaining control of Congress which causes one to put a finger in each ear and make sing-song noises whenever one hears something one doesn't want to acknowledge.
We all know that the election of Scott Brown was in a large part a referendum on Health Care Reform. It also helped that he ran a smart campaign and that Martha Coakley thought she would win in a cake walk. And nationally, his (Senator Brown) election to Congress was widely haled. So how do the Democrats interpret these results? By passing the d*mn bill anyway.
I don't join those who blame the Obama and the Democrats for all of our current economic woes; the roots of our recession reach back well before 2007 and if Jesus Christ had been elected in 2008, he could not have prevented much of what has happened.
But this Health Care Reform, which I view as another expensive entitlement program, is purely the baby of Obama and the Democrats. Representative Lynch was one of the few Democrats who voted against the program, which shows he can at least tell which way the political winds are shifting. He may even have guessed that this legislation was a God-awful mistake. No room for that type of clear-headed thinking in the Democratic Party, especially in Massachusetts.
...and when the Republicans gain power, they will be just as bad. I swear they must give everybody a lobotomy before they let them take their seat in Congress, just clean out the old noggin like a pumpkin.
dman whose fault is the economic melt down? Who lied about fannie mae and freddie mac? What party made the union goons go after banks and loan instetutions to force them to give loans to people who couldnt afford them?
Explain to me after reading my above post how the republicans could possibly do worse then the democrats?
D-man...
"Sandyshores".... MADE A DARN GOOD POINT FOR YA' TO EXPLAIN!!!" WAY TO GO SANDY!!
Billy Carson
Well, Sandyshores, would that be the same party which held both houses of Congress and the White House while the housing and financial bubbles were building?
You may be able to fool your children with that fairytale about the Democrats as the cause of our economic troubles, but you don't fool me.
By January of 2007 when the Democrats took control of Congress, the housing bubble had already started to collapse, and the fate of the financial industry, sitting upon a huge pile of derivative, mortgage securities, was unavoidable.
The Republicans were indisputably in charge from January of 2003 until January of 2007, yet somehow nothing that went wrong during this time was their fault.
What a hoot! If they are in power, then the big bad Democrats are stopping them from acting. If they are not in power, then the big bad Democrats are not letting them stop them.
GOP motto: Authority without accountability.
Well, 24 hours and no rejoinder from SandyShores. That seems to be the tactics of many on this site, post a bunch of slogans, unverifiable facts and vague anecdotes, then on to the next thread.
To be fair, I see this on the left too.
"Lynch campaign sources said the incumbent is likely to win less than the 77 percent he got in his only other contested primary, when he faced an anti-war challenger in 2006, but they remain confident of victory."
This is funny! Reads like the effort to oust Dems who voted for Obamacare is 0 for 4 going on 0 for 5. The Progressives are making a statement- "We're way out of touch with reality and proud of it!" Most Democrats running this fall are smart enough to not campaign on their record of voting for Obamacare. These people are oblivious!