The Establishment Shoots Another Arrow At Nina Turner

Nina will soon be working with Jim Clyburn, helping him to adapt to the 21st Century

In 3 weeks, Jim Clyburn (D-SC) will turn 81. May he celebrate 81 more birthdays. But not in Congress. He's too conservative, too devoted to the status quo and too out of touch with today's challenges for a 21st Century leadership role. And his leadership role is, to say the least, outsized. Aside from being the House Majority Whip he cemented his role as head of Congress' Black community by wrecking Bernie's chances in South Carolina as a Biden kingmaker. Today, he is expected to call the shots. Biden allowed him to pick the head of HUD and he chose Marcia Fudge, opening up her Cleveland seat.

Yesterday, Clyburn joined worthless Blue Dog Josh Gottheimer from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party, and corrupt Ohio congresswoman Joyce Beatty-- the payday lender champion-- and Hillary Clinton in endorsing the not-Nina Turner candidate. Bernie has endorsed Nina, as have all progressives who have weighed in on the race: AOC, Cori Bush, Pramila Jayapal, Ted Lieu, Jamaal Bowman, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, Katie Porter, Ro Khanna, Mark Pocan, Andy Levin, Ilhan Omar, Mondaire Jones... a younger and more idealist and committed group of progressive congressmembers.

Jonathan Weisman noted that Clyburn's decision to oppose an outspoken ally of Bernie's "highlights the generational and ideological gulf in the Democratic Party." He even admitted in his statement about endorsing the corporate candidate that he is offended by Nina's support for Medicare- for-All, which is loathed by the corrupt conservatives the Democratic Party who take immense amounts of money from the Industrial-Medical-Complex, as Clyburn does. Clyburn, known recently for his barely controllable hatred for all things progressive, referred to Medicare-for-All as a slogan, which he said is "like 'Burn, baby, burn' in the 1960s." Medicare-for-All isn't something Clyburn has ever tried to understand and has always opposed.

The special election in Cleveland is highlighting the vast generational divide and ideological gulf that the Democratic Party faces as the entire House leadership heads toward the sunset. Mr. Clyburn, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House majority leader, Representative Steny H. Hoyer, are all octogenarians, leading an increasingly youthful, diverse and restive caucus. All three have promised to vacate their positions after this Congress, and the next year will be an ideological battle over who will succeed them.

...Turner, who has the endorsements of much of the House Progressive Caucus, including the so-called squad-- Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna S. Pressley, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib-- would be a strong new voice for the congressional left. And the left is increasingly focused on Black and Hispanic districts that they see as safe redoubts for ideological candidates.

“You can’t take any one race and paint it as some larger aggregate for the whole country,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, said on Tuesday. “But I do think that Nina is a beloved leader in the progressive movement, and the degree of excitement that she’s generated and grass-roots energy and organizing in her direction is a real testament to the asset that the base of our party can provide.”

...“These generational shifts are absolutely a theme throughout the caucus across a lot of different issues,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said. “That’s why I think Nina’s groundswell is exciting, because it’s not any one person’s endorsement. It’s really the sum of everything that we’ve seen.”

Please consider contributing to Nina's special election campaign (August 3). This seat is too important to see it go to another status quo-backing Democratic conservative committed to nothing but careerism. Nina will be a leader inside Congress for working families long after Clyburn and his fellow octogenarians are long gone. Click on the Blue America 2022 congressional thermometer on the left and give what you can.