Bill Halter Day

It's election day in Arkansas, where Train Action candidate Bill Halter faces Blanche Lincoln in a runoff.

If you have a few minutes, you can phonebank from this site to ensure Blnache Lincoln is booted from the senate, and to give the Democrats a chance to win the seat in the fall.

Thoughts on Tuesday's Elections

A few thoughts on Tuesday's STALINIST IDEOLOGICAL PURGE primaries:

Pennsylvania Senate

The Joe Sestak win is remarkable on a lot of levels, but the media missed the boat on a couple of them. In itself, it's not remarkable that Joe Sestak (a Democrat) would beat Arlen Specter, (a career Republican) in a Democratic primary. However...

• The effort that Obama, Biden and Rendell and the Democratic machine put behind clearing the primary field to save the ass of a career Republican was stunning
  
• The balls that it took for Sestak to remain in the race are unmatched.
• Fucking disgraceful that OFA and the DSCC wasted tons of resources pushing Specter, even as his general election prospects dimmed
  
• Voters not blindly listening to people they otherwise like (Obama, Biden, Rendell) is an encouraging sign
  
• Craven assholes who are openly only concerned with keeping their jobs occasionally get what they deserve.
  

Arkansas Senate

This was a pleasant surprise. Not only did we hold Lincoln under 50% and force a runoff, but she only narrowly beat out Halter's vote totals. In a runoff election that tends to favor those with stronger ability to turn out the vote, I think we stand a very good chance of taking her out.

Murtha's Seat

Mark Critz won this special election, and big. This is a district that voted for McCain, and one where Obama has a 30% approval rating, so this *should* put some serious dents in the ZOMG ALL DEMOCRATS ARE SCREWED BECAUSE STUPID PEOPLE FIGURED OUT THAT YOU CAN GO OUTSIDE AND HOLD RACIST SIGNS narrative.

Kentucky Senate

We hadn't paid much attention to this race but Jack Conway, the more progressive and better general election candidate won. And this is very important because...

Rand Paul Fan Art - Courtesy of some teabagger

The Republicans nominated Rand Paul who

a) Is named RAND
b) Is the son of Ron Paul (Yes, Ron Paul named his son Rand)
c) Is crazy as all shit.

The Republicans nominating crazy as hell/less electable candidates is only fun if we have someone who can beat them, so getting Conway is extra huge.

One Train Action candidate victory complete, one pending.

Donate to Bill Halter and help him knock Blanche Lincoln out of the Senate once and for all!

Victory!

What a night.

Much more on all of this later...

Sestak / Halter Results Liveblog Tonight

Both Train Of Thought endorsed Senate primary challengers have their elections today, so a liveblog is definitely in order.

In Pennsylvania, Sestak has surged in the polls over the last two weeks and has a slight lead. Today's vote is the one and only, so we find out tonight whether or not we'll have a chance of beating raving lunatic Pat Toomey in the fall.

In Arkansas, things are a bit different. Bill Halter trails Blanche Lincoln by 10 points, but there's a 3rd wheel in the race drawing 6-7%. If Halter can force Lincoln under 50%, then we move to a runoff on June 8th, giving Halter more time to boost his name recognition, whereas the delay would almost certainly hurt Lincoln.

I'd say both races are still longshots (considering the name ID for Lincoln and the political machine that's turning out for Specter), but I'm cautiously optimistic.

So join JN, RB, myself and others discussing the results 7:45 tonight!

Blanche Lincoln's Corporate Whoring Never Stops

Even for a career corporate shill like Blanche Lincoln, the timing on this is pretty stunning:

Sen. Blanche Lincoln won't be in Arkansas tonight, sounds like. Or maybe she'll send a stand-in to collect her Member of Congress Award from the Women in Government Relations (aka lobbyists) at their Spring Soiree tonight at the Columbus Club in Washington's Union Station. Major sponsors include the airline industry, realtors, FedEx and several oil companies, including BP America.

The League of Conservation voters didn't miss the opportunity:

WASHINGTON, DC - The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), which works to turn environmental values into national priorities, today called on Sen. Blanche Lincoln to return campaign contributions she received from oil giant British Petroleum, the corporation responsible for the oil rig currently spewing hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil per day in to the Gulf of Mexico.

"Given BP's role in the economic and environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, it would be highly irresponsible and inappropriate for Senator Lincoln to continue to finance her campaign in these final days before the primary with BP's tainted oil money," said Tony Massaro, LCV’s Senior Vice President for Political Affairs. "LCV calls on Senator Lincoln to return her BP bucks and either get on board or out of the way as Congress works to pass comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation that would increase energy independence, create new energy jobs and reduce the risk of man-made disasters like the BP oil spill."

In the past decade, Sen. Lincoln has been among the top three recipients of BP PAC money in the Senate, having received $12,000 from the oil company's political action committee since the 2001-02 election cycle.[1] This election cycle alone, in which she has co-sponsored legislation that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing regulations to reduce harmful pollutants[2], Sen. Lincoln has received $4,000 in campaign cash from BP's PAC. [3]

Sen. Lincoln's Big Oil record:

• Sen. Lincoln voted for the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act in 2006, which ended protections for Florida’s Gulf Coast and opened up 8 million acres off the coasts of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana for oil drilling. [4]

• Sen. Lincoln currently opposes comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation, despite the fact that it will create clean energy jobs, reduce our dangerous dependence on oil and make polluters pay their fair share.[5]

• Sen. Lincoln has taken more than $1 million in campaign cash from Big Oil and other energy interests, with oil and gas companies being among the top 5 industries that have contributed to her campaign this cycle.[6]

• Sen. Lincoln has been inconsistent in supporting efforts to make cars run further on a tank of gas, voting to oppose increases in fuel efficiency standards in 1999, 2002 and 2005. [7]LCV was among the first to call for Sen. Lincoln’s defeat this year by naming her first to LCV's 2010 "Dirty Dozen" list. She has a lifetime LCV score of 49%, the third lowest score among Democratic senators. [8]

Bill Halter for Senate!

Obama/Lincoln Ad Unleashes the Stupid

Obama endorsed Blanche Lincoln months ago because you're supposed to endorse all incumbents to help get their votes in the senate, or make them like you or something.

Earlier this week, Obama cut a radio ad in support of her, and the lies were so over the top it was appalling:

This is President Barack Obama and I want to tell you why I support Senator Blanche Lincoln for re-election in the Democratic Primary on Tuesday, May 18.

Why he would support someone who has constantly obstructed his agenda? Valid question... let's find out!

Blanche is leading the fight to hold Wall Street accountable and make sure that Arkansas taxpayers are never again asked to bailout Wall Street bankers.

The derivatives language in the financial regulations bill is literally the only good thing she has done in entire senate career, and for that we have to thank for the primary challenge from Bill Halter. She is fighting so hard to hold Wall Street accountable that the Chamber of Commerce is taking out ads on her behalf! THIS MAKES SENSE!

She is standing on the side of workers who've lost their jobs in this recession by extending unemployment insurance payments and health care while they try to get back on their feet. And she cast crucial votes to create new jobs in Arkansas and all across America.

This one is just stunning. Her help in killing the Employee Free Choice act, her willingness to go to bat for Walmart and Tyson at any turn, clearly the signs of someone who is looking out for the working class. As Michael Whitney points out, this is a bit like her attempt to take credit for saving jobs at an Arkansas Cooper Tire plant when Blanche's own votes for NAFTA and CAFTA are the main reason those jobs needed saving.

I also love the idea that Lincoln casts "crucial votes". Why exactly are they so crucial compared to the rest of the Democratic Caucus? Oh that's right, because she's on the wrong side of so many issues that you can never count on her to support anything that isn't in Walmart/Wellpoint/BP's best interest. When she weakens the bill to the likening of whatever industry the bill is trying to regulate and votes yes, the President of the United States calls it a crucial vote. What a system.

On health care, Blanche took on big insurance companies by voting to end discrimination against Arkansans with pre-existing conditions and fought for tax credits that will help thousands of local small businesses provide insurance to their employees.

Simply amazing. Saying that Blanche Lincoln took on insurance companies during the health care debate moves into territory beyond common lying. That statement is firmly in Joe Lieberman land, where you say the factual opposite of what actually happened, and then hope that no one calls you on it. Blanche Lincoln did the legwork for the insurance companies in killing the reform that they feared the most, the Public Option. Obama didn't want it anyway, I'm sure he didn't mind, but a large majority of Arkansas residents supported the Public Option, and they might not be so thrilled with Lincoln's efforts.

It's not every day that you have the chance to put such terrible senator out of their job.

Support Train Action Candidate Bill Halter and help make this a reality!

Bill Halter, The Man Who Will Defeat Blanche Lincoln

If you've spent any amount of time reading this blog, you know my feelings about Blanche Lincoln. In a Democratic Douche Caucus that contains Ben Nelson, Max Baucus and Evan Bayh, Blanche Lincoln may actually be the most loathsome character of them all.

It's not just that she's in the pocket of every industry that congress is attempting to regulate, she has taken an active role in killing almost any meaningful element of the Democratic platform. The Employee Free Choice Act, meaningful health care reform, climate change, on just about anything you can think of, Blanche Lincoln attempted to make it worse, or helped kill it altogether.

Any time you criticize someone like Lincoln, Ben Nelson, or Evan Bayh, you can practically script the excuses that their defenders trot out: "Arkansas isn't Washington DC", "She needs to vote her state" and so on and so on.

Here's the thing about those excuses: I happen to believe that being a corporate whore is about as popular in Arkansas as it is anywhere else in the United States. Find me the state where huge giveaways to the health insurance industry are popular, and I'll gladly help Blanche Lincoln become their next Senator.

Unfortunately, that mentality is usually successful in warding of better candidates because of the party's strategy of "keeping the seat" at the expense of employing truly terrible human beings.

Luckily, Arkansas has been kind enough to give us another choice in the form of Bill Halter. Like many others in the Netroots, I was first introduced to Halter when he supported free health care clinics in Arkansas while Lincoln was busy killing the public option. Then, as Lincoln continued to be a worthless Senator, she alienated enough of the traditional environmental, labor and women's groups in the state that it left the door wide open for a legitimate primary challenge with institutional backing. Her putrid poll numbers sealed the deal, and Bill Halter's candidacy was born.

I'll can't guarantee that he'll make us happy on every issue, but one thing is clear, he will be an immense improvement over the vile human being he is replacing.

Send a message to the Douche Caucus, support our first ever TRAIN ACTION candidate, Bill Halter!