Kevin Zeese, a Flowers campaign adviser, says that Progressive Neighbors is filled with Democratic partisans. He describes steering committee member Mike Hersh as "vehement," "anti-third party," and "pro-Dem." He points out that Dana Beyer, another steering committee member, was co-chair of Cardin's last re-election committee. If they were working with the Young Dems," Zeese said, "there are lots of ways for Van Hollen to get the word out" that he prefers Flowers not to share the stage with him.
Sheila O'Connell, Van Hollen for Senate Campaign Manager, said that the Van Hollen campaign has had no contact with the group about Dr.Flowers' participation. "We respect any decision that Progressive Neighbors makes about the forums they convene," she said.
On October 7, Rep. Donna Edwards was asked on WEAA's Marc Steiner Show if she would debate a Green Party opponent if she were to win the Democratic nomination. "Far be it for me to exclude anyone, anyone who is running to make sure that they get to communicate their views to the voters," she responded.
"But this is exactly how the system is rigged", says Flowers. The reason that a third-party candidate needs access to debates like these is to get her voice out early. Like many states, Maryland doesn't publicly fund third-party primaries, while the two major party primaries are funded by taxpayer dollars.
So far, Flowers has raised $18,000 dollars, all of it from individual donations.
Contrast this with the Democratic candidates. Rep. Donna Edwards has raised $1.6 million during this election cycle. She looks pretty good with 29% of her donations coming from small donors. Some of her large campaign contributions in 2014, however, were from aerospace defense contractors like Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
Rep. Van Hollen has raised $5.2 million so far, mostly from lobbying firms like Arnold & Porter, Wilmerhale, LLP, and Deloitte, LLP.
"Unlike the Democratic candidates who are controlled by corporate money, I have not been compromised," said Flowers.
She thinks she's got exactly the kind of campaign that Progressive Neighbors ought to be getting out there. "If you look at what Progressive Neighbors stands for--universal healthcare, high quality public schools, public transportation, a clean environment--these are all issues that I have advocated for and written about," she said. "I have a strong record of doing what it takes to fight for these issues, including taking direct action."
Unger of Progressive Neighbors calls the Democratic primary "the election at hand." In November, voters "are going to have a whole different set of choices.... In November, people get to vote for who they want," he said.
That is, if they are familiar with who is on the ballot. "I have to be exposed to voters so they know what their full choices are," Flowers said. She said she'll be there either way on January 17, ready to take the stage. "It's not right for them to exclude the most progressive candidate when that's their mission," she said.
It's a mission that Progressive Neighbors President Darian Unger believes in. "We invited Gar Alperovitz [the political economist] to speak," he said. "Inviting progressives, true progressives is always, you know, it can involve more people and really help change lives."
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
