Across the nation on Tuesday, Democratic voters sent a message that powerfully repudiated centrist Neoliberal Democratic leaders; 'We Don't Want What You Are Selling.'
Virtually every Democratic endorsing organization in Pennsylvania told John Fetterman to go f*ck himself by endorsing centrist Connor Lamb-- the Connor Lamb who blamed progressives on Democratic losses in the 2020 election. Lamb was not simply defeated, he was thrashed and annihilated, losing the primary in all 67 Pennsylvania primaries, losing massively, Fetterman's 692,805 to Lamb's 310,801 or 59% for Fetterman to 26.4% for Lamb. Pennsylvania voters totally repudiated the Democratic leadership.
In Oregon, DINO "bad blue" Oregon Democratic congressman Kurt Schraeder, described by the Intercept as the Joe Manchin of the House, was defeated, in spite of ten times the funding and endorsements by fellow bad blue Democrats, Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi. Schrader was defeated by Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who ran on progressive values.
Ryan Grim wrote, on Wednesday, The Manchin-Sinema wing of the Democratic Party got routed in elections last night. In Pittsburgh, Grim reports, "
Grim concludes, "Tuesday's results suggest that Democratic voters, at least those in Pennsylvania and Oregon, would prefer that Democrats do more rather than less, delivering a stinging rebuke to the Kyrsten Sinema-Manchin wing of the party. Next week, voters in Texas will cast ballots in a number of runoffs that pit progressives against super PAC-backed centrist Democrats."
It was a particular pleasure to see John Fetterman destroy Connor Lamb. I was working a polling place, handing out the recommended candidate sheet. It included Connor Lamb. I crossed out his name and put in Fetterman's, I will add, with the ward leader's okay. As I explained to voters coming to vote, "I disagree with the powers that be and I'm supporting Fetterman." It was a pleasant surprise to see that at least 80% of them were supporting Fetterman. The Democratic leadership got it really wrong. Then again, they usually, by supporting Centrists candidates, pick losers. Voters prefer to vote for actual Republicans rather than DINO Republicans-lite like Connor Lamb Joe Manchin or Kurt Schrader.
It's time to go after the Democratic Party hack insiders who keep unworthy incumbents in office. That means going after the Democrats on the committees that endorse centrist, neo-liberal, DINO losers. It's not enough to elect progressive candidates. We have to replace the Dem leadership that is so misguided in their candidate choices.
It's time for Democrats, at a grassroots level to speak out about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, to make it clear that they do not belong on the 2024 ballot, in any capacity. Biden has been an anchor, dragging down the Democratic Party brand and Harris has failed to garner any credibility as an effective leader. That is probably partly Joe Biden's fault, but that does not matter in calculating election outcomes. Both Biden and Harris should immediately announce their intentions not to run in 2024, which could help the image of the Democratic party in time to make a difference in the 2022 elections.