Keith Ellison has been an extraordinary Blue America success story from day one. If there was a majority of his ilk in Congress, we truly would be able to “Save the World.” Let’s show him we have his back. Please give to his reelection fund if you can. Thank you

“Years ago when people talked about retirement, we thought of it like a three-legged stool: the pension from your job, money you saved, and Social Security.  

But pensions are disappearing, and savings are down. And now, the last leg standing is being whittled away.

In an effort to bring the GOP to the table, President Obama has proposed a budget that changes the way cost of living adjustments are calculated for people on Social Security, using a method called the ‘Chained CPI.’ Plain and simple, this would be a benefit cut, forcing the most vulnerable Americans to dig even further into their savings.

It’s never been more important to keep our promise to American families, and that’s why I’m standing up for Social Security.” —Keith Ellison

It’s very much in the interest of progressives that we counterbalance the poison from the right and to help make Keith a formidable figure with the House Democratic caucus. Take a moment to view the video (at the link) of Keith giving Sean Hannity a dose of the cold hard truth on his own Fox program. Is this what you want more of in Congress? Then, please consider helping his reelection effort at the special Keith Ellison page

We are all in this together,
Howie, for Digby, Amato, and the Blue America team

House Republicans Defeat Elizabeth Warren’s Bill In Committee— Senator Warren Needs More Allies In Congress Who Want To Help Students, Not Prey On Them

By now you’ve probably heard about Elizabeth Warren’s fantastic first piece of legislation, the Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act. Her goal is to lower student loan interest rates for next year from 3.4% to 0.75% — the same rate the government loans money to the banks through the Federal Reserve discount window. As of now, unless Congress takes action— other than drumming up faux scandals to deny President Obama a third term— student loan interest rates will double to 6.8% on July 1st.

Boehner and Cantor, the Republicans as a party, and the Wall Street bankers who fund them, have declared Senator Warren’s proposal a non-starter and have vowed to kill it. Last week Boehner shuffled it into John Kline’s Education and Workforce Committee, and Kline did exactly what he was told. The proposal was defeated 23-14, all the Republicans voting NO and all but one Democrat voting YES.

All the Blue America-endorsed candidates support Elizabeth Warren’s way of dealing with this problem and all of them would like to get into Congress and make sure her proposal eventually passes.

State Rep. Carl Sciortino is one of Senator Warren’s Massachusetts constituents and he’s running for the  House seat being vacated by Ed Markey, a seat that includes towns like Cambridge, Waltham, Medford, and Framingham, all filled with college students. Carl is 34 and has been an enthusiastic proponent of Senator Warren’s approach. He knows that the future of the country lies with people going through school today.

“Our country has always taught its young people that hard work and education are keys to achieving the American dream,” he told us. “But for too many families the cost of higher education has become the subject of their nightmares. While Republicans in Washington try to weaken Wall Street regulations, progressive Democrats are working to give our students the same low interest rates as our banks. We have to get serious as a nation about ensuring that our younger generation has the same opportunities to succeed as our parents and grandparents. Senator Warren has put forward a smart and creative solution, and I look forward to supporting her efforts in Congress later this year.”

That’s right… later this year. There will be a special election in the fall to fill Ed Markey’s seat. So, like Nick Ruiz, Daylin Leach, Andy Hounshell and, of course, Alan Grayson, Carl an use some support to make sure a progressive agenda has the strongest possible allies.

We are all in this together,
Howie, for Digby, Amato and the Blue America Team

comedycentral:

This was magical.

If you ever needed a reason to follow @TheDailyShow, this is it.

Here’s the original segment, in case you missed it.

Pennsylvania’s Liberal Lion: They Don’t Come Any Better— Meet Daylin Leach, Progressive for Congress

You want the best in Congress— not someone who the best you can say is that he’s better than a Republican? Daylin’s your man. Blue America is very proud to endorse him. Please consider contributing to his campaign on the Blue America ActBlue page. If you have time, please come over to Crooks and Liars Blog Tuesday at 2pm (ET)— 11am on the West Coast— and meet Daylin at our live blog session.

Pennsylvania’s 13th congressional district, Northeast Philadelphia and Montgomery County— is one of the most liberal districts in the state. Obama beat McCain 65.4-33.7% in 2008 and did even better last year— 66.2-32.9%. The current congress member, Allyson Schwartz is giving up the seat to run for governor. She was reelected in November with 69% of the vote. She’s always been extremely cautious to not get out ahead on any contentious issues and tends to vote very conservatively for a Democrat in a safe seat, especially on issues of economic justice. This is the perfect time to replace her with a real leader and a courageous fighting progressive. State Senator Daylin Leach fits the bill perfectly. You have to admire a politician who brags about an “F” from the NRA and who launches a congressional campaign talking about introducing the first same sex marriage bill in the Pennsylvania state legislature.

With his record of achievement, Daylin is a natural for Blue America. He’s been taking on tough issues that most politicians are afraid to get anywhere near— from legalizing marijuana and pushing marriage equality to labeling genetically engineered food. He’s been a major opponent in the state legislature of Republican efforts to privatize and voucherize public education and has been one of the leading voices against GOP efforts at voter suppression. He supports the Grayson Takano “No Cuts” approach to dealing with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. “At a time when corporate profits, executive compensation, the stock market and wealth disparity are at near record highs, it is obscene to even consider balancing our budget on the backs of seniors and veterans,” he told us. “I fully supported President Obama’s election, but I can’t support any drift towards corporatism to appease tea-party extremists… Republicans are, on a daily basis, showing their complete indifference to the poor, kids, the elderly and public safety as they not only perpetuate sequestration, but gloat about it. The clock ticks as America waits for some actual human beings with a soul to emerge from the Republican caucus.”

The gun lobby is very strong in Pennsylvania and the NRA is a very potent force there. That doesn’t seem to deter Daylin one iota. This is what he told us about the battle over gun safety yesterday:

Lets wrap our mind around this. Congress said that it is our national policy that we don’t want to know if someone is a violent felon before we allow them to buy a mass-killing machine. This is what it looks like when a country loses its mind. 

Further, the idea that any restriction with the word “gun” in it somehow violates the 2nd Amendment is based on ignorance of how the Constitution works. No constitutional right is absolute. We have a right to free speech which is far more unambiguous than the “right to keep and bear arms.” Yet there are all kinds of speech which we can Constitutionally restrict. You can’t libel someone or lie in advertising, or yell “fire” in a crowded theater. You can say you are against the war in Iraq, but you can’t do it through a megaphone in a residential neighborhood at 3:00 AM. 

Ironically, most of these restrictions are based on the state’s interest in preserving public safety. Similarly, limits on violent people, or juveniles, or spouse-beaters having guns, or the number of guns you can buy per month, or how many bullets you can have in a clip at a time are perfectly reasonable, and more to the point, Constitutional restrictions that in no way impact anyone’s 2nd Amendment rights.

State Rep. Brian Sims is the first out LGBT member to be elected to the Pennsylvania legislature. He’s from a neighboring district and he’s enthusiastically supporting Daylin’s congressional run. Sims gained a lot of notoriety when, in fighting GOP attempts to prohibit state-run insurance from covering abortions, he reminded his colleagues that “Each of us put our hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution; we did not place our hands on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible.” This weekend he told us that “Daylin Leach has been a leader on LGBT civil rights in the Pennsylvania legislature for the last decade which is why I have endorsed him. This is a pivotal time in Washington for issues of equality, and we need proven leaders like Daylin who have a record of fighting for our rights. I know that Daylin will be our champion in DC.” 

Daylin doesn’t mince words when it comes to protecting the civil rights of any groups of people. Speaking about his fight for LGBT equality, he reminded us that, “Martin Luther King said ‘the arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice.’ So what is it bending away from? It bends away from bigotry, and discrimination and social acceptance of the idea that its OK to treat people as lesser human beings because they are different from us. In the long run, those attitudes make history sick.” 

He’s been a stalwart fighter against the Republicans in their crackpot war against women. “It is beyond my comprehension how anyone with a mother, wife or daughter could accept anything less than full equality for women. Equality of income, of access to health care, of opportunities to succeed, these are the basic demands that anyone who has a woman he cares about should have.” 

Daylin Leach has served PA’s State Senate well, and voters know him as a leader. The timing and district are perfect to elect a Real Progressive. Please give what you can to help elect Daylin Leach to Congress.  You will not be disappointed with the result.

We are all in this together,

Howie, for Digby, Amato and the Blue America Team

govtoversight:

#ridenhour documentary prize winner @invisible_war

cognitivedissonance:

youarenotyou:

sktagg23:

fat-grrrl-activism:

“In 1921, early suffragettes often donned a bathing suit and ate pizza in large groups to annoy men…it was a custom at the time”

(via Cult of Aphrodite Vintaga)

Four for you, ladies.

oh my god 

ALL. THE. AWARDS.

theatlantic:

Look Who’s Feuding Now: A Map of Conservative Fingerpointing

A feud key, if you will.

BREAKING: Scientists report they’ve finally mapped out the STUPID Genome…

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that the conservatives can dish it out but they can’t take it.  You weren’t born yesterday. They aren’t alone in that, of course, but they are among the few to make a huge profit at it. From Fox News to Rush Limbaugh to Donald Trump, being  obnoxious and thin-skinned at the same time is something hard-wired into the bully mentality.

And last week, Fox News’ Sean Hannity out did himself. He invited Congressman Keith Ellison on to his show, introduced him with a demeaning, dishonest and dismissive lead in— and  then proceeded to call for the smelling salts when Ellison had the nerve to fight back.  Each day since then, the right wingers on Fox and elsewhere have been clutching their pearls over  his “terrible behavior” turning it into another of their patented hissy fits.

Blue America has supported Keith Ellison since his first run for Congress because he was a fighter in the Minnesota state legislator and we knew he would be a fighter for all of us in Washington. We expect him not to ignore Sean Hannity’s lies.

And when one of our progressive leaders goes into the belly of the beast and gives them hell, we need to have their backs. More than that, we need to encourage others to stand up to these smarmy phonies.

When a right wing media figure pretends he or she is offended by rhetoric that is downright courtly in comparison to what comes out of their own mouths every day we need to make sure they understand that their hissy fits only make us stronger.

We have set up a fund raising page for Congressman Ellison to show other Democrats that they will have our support when they stand up to the right wing— and to show the right wing that  they are only empowering the opposition by clutching their pearls in faux outrage.
                   

Can you spare a few dollars to send a message to our foes— and our friends?

We are all in this together,
Digby, for Howie, John, and the Blue America team

radicalwomen:

1820: Susan B. Anthony, leader of 19th century women’s right movement, founder of National Women’s Suffrage Association, born.

1836: Sarah Fuller, US educator who pioneered methods of education for deaf children, was present for 1st telephone call, born

1848: Sarah Roberts barred from a white…