… and my new Senator, Elizabeth Warren. Heartening news, from Politico, no less:
Proposals to reduce spending on the military, cut some agriculture subsidies, and eliminate subsidies to oil companies would all win public backing by large margins, according to the poll conducted for the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, obtained by POLITICO.
More specifically, the poll found that 53 percent of voters would support defense cuts, 79 percent would back cutting subsidies to agriculture corporations and 80 percent would favor getting rid of the oil subsidies. It surveyed voters in New Hampshire, a key swing state…
The PCCC, which played a key role in getting liberal candidates such as Warren and Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin elected to Congress, will roll out more polling data this week designed to pressure its congressional allies away from compromising on key liberal principles. Earlier this week, the PCCC released figures that showed 66 percent of registered voters in the swing state of New Hampshire would support hiking taxes on people who make more than an annual income of $250,000.
“In 2012, voters delivered a clear mandate: Tax the rich, invest in jobs, don’t cut Social Security and Medicare benefits, and end corporate welfare,” said Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “This new polling shows that voters favor Elizabeth Warren’s version of a ‘balanced approach’ that protects the little guy and ensures that the wealthy and big corporations finally pay their fair share.”
Yes, those flinty Souterites in New Hampshire have no oil fields, few gigantic factory farms, and mostly aren’t dependent on multinational military contractors. Why should the megacorporations and their serfs apologists be the only sources allowed to have opinions worth polling?
Apart from Democrats starting to fight back, what’s on the agenda for today?
Linda Featheringill
Good Morning.
It would be very nice if the Dems would push back. Maybe there’s something I can do to encourage them.
ETA: First!
Patricia Kayden
I hope you’re right that Dems are going to fight back. We’ll see if they stand up to the Repubs this time. Seems like the Repubs are pretty firm about not raising taxes on the “job creators”. The Dems have more to lose if they cave.
Baud
Hoping the progressives support them this time.
henqiguai
Well, since you asked – ignoring all my training and experience in statistical methods and buying a (one and only one, ’cause statistical theory training) PowerBall ticket. Don’t smoke, drink, do dope, or hang out in bars chasing strange women so why not drop a couple bucks, eh.
aimai
I agree with you about PCCC. I think we have hit a tipping point where “new polling” data that demonstrates that pgrogressive viewpoints are actually popular can be useful. Its an inside/outside strategy tha tthe White House clearly is intending to follow, since Obama will actively be campaigning during this struggle.
henqiguai
Really? I remember knocking on doors and making phone calls, and dropping the spare bucks, to Warren’s campaign fund; don’t recall a thing, outside of the occasional mention here in BJ, about the PCCC. What’d they do here in Central MA to play a key role?
Omnes Omnibus
@henqiguai:
Sounds like you have the start of a “to do” list in the event that you win.
owlbear1
Only a Republican could call a “Defense Contractor” a free-market capitalists.
Frankensteinbeck
The whole point of the Reagan Revolution was that he convinced the American people that you couldn’t raise taxes on the rich without raising taxes on everyone. It stood for thirty years. Now that lie is on its death bed. The GOP will still fight tooth and claw to oppress the poor, but since it’s no longer electoral poison we have a chance again.
Alex S.
Bolling drops out of VA-GOV race. So it will be Cucinelli vs. McAuliffe. McAuliffe should win this one.
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/11/28/bolling_to_exit_virginia_governor_race.html
amk
@henqiguai: Yup. More evidence other than self-touting needed here.
Schlemizel
Nice Polite Republican radio had a piece on this morning that started with some newly elected gooper from Florida and promised an interview with Norquist. I turned it off before the gooper had finished his second sentence.
Its depressing that a once proud news source has turned into the propaganda arm for sane Republicans and Blew Dog Dems. These are the really evil people. Everyone knows FAUX News is a bullshit fountain but NPR gives cover for them by making arguments in their framing and claiming to be intellectual while feeding the nicer sounding BS.
Omnes Omnibus
@amk: Per their website, they raised about a million for her. Is that a key role? Probably not. Did it help? Probably.
FWIW, I won the Cold War. I was sent to Germany in January of 1989. By the end of that year, the war was over. QED
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
That’s a decent chuck of change for a Senate race. If they raised a million dollars for Warren, I’ll give them their due.
1badbaba3
Excuse me, but Dems have beeen fighting back quite effectively for a while now. Getting Blue Dogs out of the Legislature so that Sens. Warren and Baldwin can get in is proof of that. Remember, we don’t mug for the camera so you might have missed it with all this Teabagger crap we have had to endure. Hair on fire might please the Firebaggers, but realistically, how effective is that in the big picture?
This began with the DeanScreams 50 State strategy (You are not alone…), but it has been brought home by the ascendance of Metrosexual Black Abe Lincoln. The man whose gifts continue flow outward in ways not always apparent to the casual observer. Even the political ones. Har har. (Sorry, could not resist. Schadenfreude leftovers – much better than the Thanksgiving variety. )
Baud
@1badbaba3:
Yep. Big pet peeve of mine as well.
KyCole
Who are the 20% who think oil subsidies are a good idea? That number shouldn’t be 80%, it should be 99% (in a sane world).
the Conster
That scene in Lincoln where Lincoln explains to Thaddeus Stevens how little good it does to follow the progressive compass true north if it leads you into a swamp along the way really makes me appreciate Metrosexual Black Abe Lincoln’s pragmatic approach, and his strategy of giving his opponents all the rope they need to hang themselves with. Keeping him in place the next four years was crucial, though, and getting him some real support, not the purity trolls who are always threatening to stay home or start a third party. The polling information is very useful to shoring up that support.
amk
@Omnes Omnibus:
Per opensecrets, the top 20 fundraisers for EW lists Moveon (336K) and Emily’s List (307K) at the top two.
The summary sez
Small Individual Contributions – $ 17,211,438 (44%)
Large Individual Contributions -$ 20,985,787 (54%)
PAC Contributions $607,003
I don’t see any one million or whatever by PCCC there.
Anya
Hoping that the weaselly Adam Green learned a valuable lesson from the 2010 losses.
Anya
@amk: Adam Green is very skilled at taking credit for success. He does nothing but promote himself.
amk
@Anya: Yup. That’s my view too.
BruinKid
Celebrating Jon Stewart’s 50th birthday today! Along with a few others. ;-)
jeffreyw
Agenda? Start with breakfast. That will give me energy to plan for a casual lunch. And web surfin’ requires one to keep up his strength.
Omnes Omnibus
@amk: I am not carrying a torch for the org., so that’s fine. From their website, it looks as though they used ActBlue to donate. Donation through their ActBlue page would go into the books as individual donations, right? Doesn’t mean that they weren’t involved in raising the money.
BruinKid
Oh, and whaddaya know, California is coming back after the recession hit us hard.
And yes, it’s due in part to finally having a Democratic governor along with a Democratic near-supermajority over the last two years, along with the projections of increased revenue Prop. 30 will bring. BTW, in the latest count, the Yes vote on Prop. 30 is now at 55.1%, a far cry from election night, meaning it passed by a solid double-digit margin. :-)
Suffern ACE
@Alex S.: I hope so. I hope to be proven wrong. People will crawl over glass to vote for McCauliffe? Makes me nervous because its our only hope.
amk
@Omnes Omnibus: I don’t see them here or here. So, yeah, my skepticism stays.
andrewsomething
@Omnes Omnibus:
It seems like you’re right: https://secure.actblue.com/page/warrendraft
$100,000 of that was part of their “draft” movement. So they were able to give give her a nice chunk of change right from the start: http://blog.actblue.com/blog/2011/08/drafting-warren.html
nepat
@amk:
Yup. It’s BS. Adam Green is like the Dick Morris of the left. Guy had literally nothing to do with Warren’s win and is taking credit for it.
gogol's wife
@BruinKid:
I saw that headline on the NYTimes today, didn’t have time to read the article yet, but my first thought was, “Because they have a Democratic governor.”
Falmouth
@Baud: If they are so effective, let’s see if any mention of this is heard anywhere on the main stream media. Face it, you’re talking to the choir here.
askew
@nepat:
Yeah, I have to say I can’t believe Anne Laurie is gullible enough to fall for PCCC’s nonsense. They’ve been talking a huge game for years now, while doing nothing.
Dr. Squid
Bull. Shit. Adam Green is an indolent bandwagon jumper who did precisely nothing this election cycle. Now that it’s over, he wants his name back out there, and on cue he’s setting his hair on fire.
Fuck Adam Green and the PCCC. A more useless group does not exist.
Dr. Squid
@Baud: For some reason, I have my doubts. They’re too lazy to do any of the work themselves, but they’re sure there to take credit after it’s all done. They caused 2010, we caused 2012.
lol
@Anya:
What I find pretty telling is the sponsors list for Rootscamp this weekend.
No sign of PCCC sponsorship (though Adam Green himself is apparently planning to attend) even though this is the sort of thing the group supposedly has as a core mission… but you do see Campaign Sick, a campaign organizer centric TUMBLR, listed surprisingly high up in the sponsor list.
And though I give GOS a lot of shit, I give them credit for stepping up for this conference too.