Friday, August 8, 2014

A terrible, conservative Democrat

URGENT: Can you rush a $3 donation so we can help an Elizabeth Warren-style progressive defeat a conservative Wall Street Democrat in Hawaii's U.S. Senate primary tomorrow?

Chip in $3

Dear MoveOn member,

Tomorrow, Hawaii will elect either the next Elizabeth Warren or the next Joe Lieberman to the U.S. Senate—and MoveOn members could be the deciding factor.

Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz is a strong progressive who Elizabeth Warren called "precisely the kind of Democrat we need fighting to level the playing field for working families."1

But his Wall Street-backed primary challenger, Representative Colleen Hanabusa, voted to cut Social Security, supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and undercut President Obama's plan to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.2

With positions like that, you'd think she'd be running in the Republican primary, not on the Democratic side.

Most polls say Hanabusa—the terrible, conservative Democrat—will be defeated. But other more recent polls are less clear.3 We won't know until the election happens. And with a tropical storm hitting the island over the past couple days and cutting short early voting hours, anything could happen.

Making a final push with volunteer calls, robocalls, and last minute "get out the vote" efforts tomorrow will make all the difference. Can you make an emergency donation right now to help us win this election?

Yes, I'll rush an emergency contribution to MoveOn to help progressive Brian Schatz defeat his conservative challenger.

Rep. Hanabusa's record speaks for itself. In under four years in Congress she:

  • Voted for a coal-industry-backed bill to block enforcement of the Clean Air Act—and cited it on her campaign website as one of her proudest votes.4

  • Became one of the few Democrats on the Congressional Drone Caucus, which supports aggressive expansion of the U.S. drone war.5

  • Joined the corporate-friendly New Democrat Caucus, known as "the coalition Pharma and Wall Street love."6

  • Supported allowing big drug companies to get massive giveaways from Medicare—and her staff got caught coordinating activities, potentially illegally, with drug companies.7

Hawaii is such a blue state that whoever wins this primary will be a shoo-in for the general election and likely will represent Hawaii for years to come. We can't let an Elizabeth Warren Democrat get defeated by a quasi-Republican like Colleen Hanabusa because a tropical storm messes up our plans.

We've flown our top stateside organizer in—and hired a local organizer in Hawaii. Volunteers on the ground are pulling out all the stops. Even as the tropical storm rages on, they're calling from home all day to get out the vote. And we're doing emergency robocalls. Every dollar we raise will mean more voters we can turn out for progressive hero Brian Schatz.

Can you donate right now to help an Elizabeth Warren Democrat defeat a corporate Joe Lieberman Democrat—and keep a key progressive voice in the Senate for the next 6 years?

Yes, count me in! I'll chip in $3.

Thanks for all you do.

–Ilya, Nick, Stephen, Maria, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Senator Elizabeth Warren Endorses Senator Schatz," BrianSchatz.com, May 29, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300185&id=99584-10220574-K5yIEvx&t=4

2. "U.S. Senate race in Hawaii pits opposing wings of Democratic Party," Los Angeles Times, April 23, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300186&id=99584-10220574-K5yIEvx&t=5

"New Dem Colleen Hanabusa—Fighting On The Wrong Side Of The Minimum Wage Battle... As Usual," Down With Tyranny, March 19, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300187&id=99584-10220574-K5yIEvx&t=6

3. "Racial Voting Lines In Hawaii Senate Primary Leave Pollsters Mostly Clueless," FiveThirtyEight, August 7, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300249&id=99584-10220574-K5yIEvx&t=7

4. "Rep Hanabusa 'proud' of voting with GOP Against Environment," Daily Kos, June 29, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300188&id=99584-10220574-K5yIEvx&t=8

5. "Mission & Main Goals," Congressional Unmanned Systems Caucus, accessed August 1, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300189&id=99584-10220574-K5yIEvx&t=9

6. "The New Democrats: The Coalition Pharma and Wall Street Love," ProPublica, October 25, 2010
http://www.propublica.org/article/new-democrat-coalition

7."Hanabusa, Schatz differ on Medicare drug rebates," Honolulu Star-Advertiser, August 5, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300191&id=&id=99584-10220574-K5yIEvx&t=10

"Congressional aide described campaign offer by drug lobby," The Washington Post, July 27, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300190&id=99584-10220574-K5yIEvx&t=11

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to eddie alfaro on August 8, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

No comments:

Post a Comment