The struggle between progressive Democrats and centrists continue!

By SJ Otto

The struggle between the progressive wing of the Democratic Party continues as freshman U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has endorsed Marie Newman over Dan Lipinski, D-Ill for the Democratic spot in a

Democratic district. According to the Chicago Sun Times:

“Newman now has the backing of the leading progressives in the U.S. in the biggest Democratic House primary in Illinois. She earlier landed support from presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the senators from Massachusetts and Vermont. Before they dropped out of the 2020 White House race, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee backed Newman’s campaign.

The 3rd Congressional District is a safe Democrat seat with the Newman/Lipinski battle mirroring deep ideological divisions playing out in the Democratic presidential primary. The crucial difference is all the Democratic presidential candidates support abortion rights, and Lipinski does not.”

It is not hard to see why Newman was chosen over the centrist Lipinski. Lipinski is a very conservative Democrat, similar to those we call “Republican lite.” There is a struggle going on in the Democratic Party and it is between the progressives, who plan to fight for the left of the Democrats and the centrists who offer little more than the Republicans. For example, Lipinski does not even support Abortion rights. This is a major problem. Why should any progressive be asked to support a Democrat who does not support the basic rights of a women to chose whether or not she can have an abortion.

These are simple basic progressive stands.

We can all bet that no Republican can hold office with leftist ideas. So why should Democrats put up with a person who is accused of supporting Republican positions. And why should a conservative, as Lipinski, believe he can win in a Democratic stronghold with Republican ideas. That doesn’t make sense.

This is typical of the struggle that lies before us. We need to step up to the plate and fight for our right to have Democrats who will actually fight for the right of the Democratic left. This is a time in history when we really need to fight for what we believe in. This is the time to stand up and be counted.

The following was sent to my E-mail:

For months, pundits have called Alexandria too “divisive” and “inflammatory” because she’s had the courage to speak truth to power. Now, Dan Lipinski is throwing a temper tantrum over her endorsement of Marie Newman’s campaign, and yet no one is calling this corporate-incumbent “divisive.”

In a press release that borrows heavily from Republican talking points, Lipinski attacks the Squad, falsely claims that Medicare for All would eliminate Medicare for seniors, pretends like he didn’t vote against the Affordable Care Act, spreads falsehoods about the Green New Deal, and then pretends to support progressive goals. Wow.

It’s obvious who Dan Lipinski is fighting for, and it’s not the people of Illinois’ 3rd District. In just a few hours, we’ve helped Marie Newman raise an incredible amount of money for her powerful grassroots organizing program. Can you chip in $3 to help us supercharge their on-the-ground fight?

Contribute $3

In fact, just today, you’ve donated more in small-dollar donations than Dan Lipinski has received this entire cycle. So far, Lipinski has raised a pathetic $7,483.83 from people who donated under $200 — but that shouldn’t be surprising, because he’s not fighting for working-class Americans, he’s fighting for the powerful special interests that bankroll him.

In 2019, PACs have already given Lipinski $294,123.00, and you can be sure that more is on the way. And according to Sludge, Marie’s unapologetic fight to pass a Green New Deal has already caused a spike of fossil fuel PAC donations to Lipinski.