John --

In just a moment, I’m going to ask you to donate a few dollars before midnight so that Justice Democrats can avoid ending the month at a loss. But first, I want to talk to you about the war for the soul of the Democratic Party.

One thing was clear from the Democratic debates — progressive policy platforms have become so popular that nearly every person on the stage has been forced to adopt them. The majority of Democratic presidential candidates are refusing corporate PAC donations, supporting a form of Medicare for All, and agree with the conclusions of a Green New Deal.

But that cannot lull us into a sense of complacency. There are people who hold power in the party today who do not want to see this trend continue — and in just the last few weeks, we’re starting to see what that backlash can look like.

Kara Eastman is a Justice Democrat from 2018 who ran in Nebraska’s 2nd district, and came within 2 percentage points of winning without any major support from the DCCC. In normal circumstances, that’d be a clear sign that the national party ought to support her in her next run, and try to gain back those 2 points.

Instead, the DCCC is courting a corporate lawyer to run instead. Why? Because they don’t want an unapologetic progressive — they want someone who will fall in line.

That’s why the DCCC blacklist exists too. Progressive primary challengers running in deep blue districts aren’t “dangerous” to the Democratic House majority — but they are dangerous to the out-of-touch incumbents who have powerful connections.

So instead of supporting young, diverse candidates who can boost turnout, organize, and inspire new voters, the Democratic apparatus decides to put resources into protecting representatives who fight much harder for corporate interests than those of the people.

And it’s not about fungible resources either — otherwise, Cheri Bustos, the head of the DCCC, wouldn’t have been fundraising to protect Dan Lipinski, the conservative Democrat who single-handedly gives bipartisan support to the anti-choice Congressional Pro-life Caucus.

But this isn’t just a problem on a case-by-case basis. Protecting conservative Democrats like Henry Cuellar have real risks attached to it, as Nancy Pelosi found out last week.

Democrats in the House conceded to an internal conservative revolt, and approved over $4.5 billion dollars of additional funding for Trump’s border concentration camps with no strings attached. Progressives weren’t trying to block the bill — we were only demanding that the Trump Admin be held accountable for where the money would be spent.

But because Democrats have invested, protected, and enabled conservative representatives who refuse to listen to the people of this country, progressives lost that fight. That is why Justice Democrats is so critical — because we’re one of the few organizations that sees this reality, and refuses to accept it.

We’ve already announced two new candidates dedicated to taking down leaders like Henry Cuellar, but I’ll be honest with you, it took a lot more than we expected. Right now, we’re projected to end this month at a loss, unless we can raise an additional $15,000 before midnight tonight.

Will you help us win this war for the soul of the Democratic Party, remove the lawmakers who refused to stand up for detained children at the border, and elect a powerful new generation of young, diverse leaders with a $27 contribution today?

Donate

When we’re going to miss a deadline, or when we’re not raising as much money as we need to be, we don’t have powerful corporate PACs, wealthy donors, or special interests to call up to make up the difference.

Working and middle class Americans are our only interest. You are our only support. When we work together, we make this operation possible — we make the fight for a democracy that truly places people over profits possible.

Thanks for all that you do,

Alexandra Rojas,
Justice Democrats