Marie Newman has defeated Dan Lipinski in the IL 3rd District.

[guillaumeb]

Challenger Marie Newman claimed victory over Rep. Dan Lipinski on Tuesday night in a rematch of their nationally watched Democratic congressional primary that was a battle between the party’s progressive and moderate wings.

The businesswoman from La Grange ended nearly four decades of Lipinski family control of the Southwest Side and southwest suburban congressional seat. The congressman’s father, William Lipinski, served from 1983 until 2005, when he engineered the appointment of his son.

“I am bursting with pride and gratitude for the amazing coalition who helped bring about much needed change in our district,” Newman said in a statement. "We are going to work together to lower healthcare costs, to fight climate change, and to continue building a hospitable community for everyone, no matter where you come from.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/elections/ct-illinois-congressional-primary-roundup-20200317-x4rbpwa77jbrnn37fzlbmer7hi-story.html

For those here who may be unfamiliar with Dan Lipinski, he is an anti-choice politician who voted against the ACA, and also voted against requiring business to provide paid sick leave to employees.

He is also a member of the "problem solvers caucus", a group of GOP and Democratic politicians who claim to meet in the middle.

Finally, he joined many GOP politicians in an amicus brief attacking Roe v Wade.

For these reasons, and for other reasons, including his basic refusal to hold meaningful town hall meetings, I was one of many in the 3rd District who actively worked for Marie Newman. I moderated 2 forums that allowed Newman to address fairly large groups of voters in the District, and I canvassed for months.

With that done, I will now turn to working for Joe Biden in Illinois. Illinois is a blue state, but we all need to work to increase voter awareness and turnout in November.

[Turin_C3PO]

1. Thank God.

Henry Cuellar should be next. Anti-choice, anti-gay, bigot.

[guillaumeb]

2. He won his primary, correct?

Newman will be a big change in the IL 3rd. She won, as did Biden. We will all work together.

[Turin_C3PO]

3. I believe he did.

Hopefully he has another primary challenger in 2022.

[Celerity]

9. yes, hopefully a more mainstream Democrat rather than a JD-endorsed far left one

Cuellar is even worse than Lipinski (I cut Collin Peterson slack because he is in a ruby red district and the best we can do there), as even Lipinski didn't have the jacobs to open campaign for and fundraise for a rotter Rethug like the bigot, climate change denier John Carter.

Those 3 (now 2) are the worst elected Democrats in Congress, literally, no one else is close. Manchin and Sinema (hopefully Hickenlooper does not go their route and side with the Rethugs over 50% of the time, but he will be horrid I fear on climate change, as he is a massive fracking/fossil fuels proponent) are up there too, but fall into the Peterson category, especially Manchin. I still cannot believe that Manchin endorsed, and is going to campaign for that fuckstick Susan Collins.

Cuellar is the ONLY Dem incumbent (now that Lipinski is finally gone) that I advocate primarying in 2020. All the other borderline meh ones are in shaky seats so I say 'hands off!' None of them remotely rise to Cuellar level anyway.

[Cirque du So-What]

4. Good riddance

Too bad you lost your fiefdom, dick.

[guillaumeb]

5. And he was given his seat by his father, the previous Representative.

Lipinski the 1st decided after the primaries were over to not run, and pressured the local politicians to appoint his son as his successor.

Dan, the son, might be the most uninspiring speaker I have ever listened to. And he refused to hold town hall meetings, preferring photo ops.

[Hortensis]

6. Big congrats, Guillaumeb. She sounds like she'll be

a fine addition to our Democratic caucuses and brings a nice range of experience.

I notice she's an Emily's List candidate, so congrats to them for their good work also.

"Newman supported Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary in Illinois and Hillary Clinton in the November general election. The day after Clinton lost, she applied to the Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership.[7] By January 1, 2017, Newman had closed her business to turn her attention to politics full-time."

[guillaumeb]

7. She is impressive in person.

Very smart, and a good speaker. I am not saying Dan Lipinski is not smart, he is, but his policies are simply out of date.

We have also worked with her on anti-racism issues in our area.

On MFA, her position is to introduce it as an option, with the expectation that it will grow quickly as people see how much better it (MFA) can be, rather than allowing private insurance companies to control healthcare.

[Hortensis]

8. :) As it happens her notion of the public option is right in line

with what the Democratic caucus she's joining has always planned. In 2010 I expected to sign up for the public option as soon as available and, like her, assumed and assume that over time many millions would of course also take it -- of their own choice.

Nice to hear you speak respectfully of Lipinski, too much hostility and intolerance toward decent people with different views.

[guillaumeb]

11. I do not agree with Lipinksi's positions,

but I would not call him evil. He is simply too conservative for this area.

And I agree that if MFA were to be an option, and if it were a robust version, with the Bush era engineered weaknesses removed, private insurers could not compete with it. Remove the profit motive and costs drop.

[Hortensis]

13. Yup. I envy you living in an area that's made that

choice. Doug Collins is the choice of our blood-red district.

[guillaumeb]

14. Sorry to hear that, Ms. Georgia.

He stands out for the stupidity of his rhetoric in any crowd.

[Hortensis]

17. Thanks. I've never met him -- he holds fake staged "town halls"

by phone, but I've been told by people who know him they'd never seen the creature performing during the impeachment, etc. Even a strong Republican supporter we know was appalled, shook his head and refused to talk about him.

My husband handles most contacts with reps, but last time he told me to message I just told Pastor Collins he was going to hell.

His last tweet says deliveries of test kits to the DA dept of health have doubled, but not from what. Responses are not friendly.

[Celerity]

10. She was the only EMILY's list endorsed Dem to lose a primary in 2018. Glad to see her win

against the detestable Lipinski, who used almost 1 million USD in late, semi-RW-sourced money to run a complete smear campaign, including labelling Newman a Holocaust denier, Catholic hater, etc.

That 2018 Illinois House race was the main one (probably the only one in 2018 as there was no viable primary opponent to Cuellar) I was most disappointed they (not just them, pretty much everybody else at a national and statewide level) failed at was helping Marie Newman win in Illinois. She was one of the few challengers who had almost universal support across the board, from Emily's List to Bernie, from National Organization for Women to Indivisible, from Our Revolution to Planned Parenthood, from Illinois Federation of Teachers to the SEIU, from Gloria Steinem to NARAL, From Justice Democrats to MoveOn.org, from the Human Rights Campaign to the Daily Kos, from LPAC to a bunch of sitting congresspeople.

She was running against arguably the 2nd worst Democrat in Congress, the pro-life, anti-immigrant (voted against the Dream Act and for Republican border security bills), anti Obamacare, anti LGBTQ (voted for DOMA and is openly against gay marriage), anti Obama himself (he refused to endorse him) anti stem cell research, etc etc Dan Lipinski.

It is as safe a district for us as is almost possible, as it has been in Democratic hands since the 1950's, other than for 2 years after the Nixon 1972 massive landslide.

Lipinski eeked out a victory mainly because around 1 million dollars came flooding in at the end from No Labels and other Lieberman affiliated centre right groups (many of them supported with Republican money as well as centrist Democratic money) that hammered and smeared Newman with a shit tonne of adverts and direct mailings.



Newman: My family will never forgive Lipinski

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/25/lipinski-newman-illinois-chicago-484736

CHICAGO — The sting of defeat is still fresh, but just days after narrowly losing to longtime incumbent Rep. Dan Lipinski, progressive challenger Marie Newman isn’t ruling out a rematch. In her first public remarks since falling short of ousting Lipinski, a “ridiculously proud” Newman sounded like someone who wasn’t about to end her foray into politics.

“I don’t know what the future holds,” she said Sunday in an exclusive interview with POLITICO. “I’m not closing any doors on anything. The next month will be about looking at where I can be most impactful. I’ve already been offered many things. I’ll be looking at a wide variety of things.”

Lipinski was able to claim victory Tuesday evening with a roughly 2,000-vote lead — a number that Newman believes will narrow even more once official tallies are in. As Democrats continue to debate the meaning of a congressional primary that was viewed as a bellwether for the direction of the party, Newman told POLITICO her loss is a testament to the obstacles facing women running for office.

She also pointed to momentum and financial resources that came too late to overcome Lipinski, a conservative Democrat who was armed with decades of name ID and the support of the still-powerful Chicago machine. “To get within a point and a half of an entrenched machine incumbent makes me ridiculously proud,” Newman said. “The monarchy goes back 36 years. … It’s a very tough thing to overcome. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. I lost, and it is what it is. But I’m very proud of what we did.”

snip




Bipartisan ‘No Labels’ group’s super PAC network revealed: mega Chicago donors

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2018/3/12/18316470/bipartisan-no-labels-group-s-super-pac-network-revealed-mega-chicago-donors

With a boost from Chicago-area mega donors, including White Sox and Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, No Labels, a group advocating bipartisanship in Congress, has created a network of super PACs to influence the 2018 elections — but doesn’t want its fingerprints on the money.

One of the super PACs, United for Progress Inc., has spent $740,334 as of Sunday to bolster Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., in his March 20 Illinois Democratic primary battle with Marie Newman in the 3rd Congressional District. The names of the super PACS don’t link them to No Labels. A Sun-Times investigation determined super PACS related to No Labels include: United for Progress Inc.; Citizens for a Strong America Inc.; United Together; Govern or Go Home; and Forward, Not Back.

The Sun-Times inquiry included interviews with donors or their representatives and an examination of documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. United for Progress, Inc., is playing political hardball, attacking Newman in the commercials and direct mail pieces it paid for. Lipinski is part of a No Labels offshoot, the congressional “Problem Solvers Caucus.”

snip

THE ILLINOIS CONNECTIONS: Last year, a No Labels leader, former Sen. Joe Lieberman, was a draw at a meeting at the Chicago Club, 81 E. Van Buren. Lieberman was the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee who became an Independent senator from Connecticut.

snip




No Labels funds dishonest attacks against Marie Newman to boost Blue Dog Dan Lipinski

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/13/1748758/-Centrist-group-No-Labels-funds-dishonest-attacks-against-Marie-Newman-to-back-Blue-Dog-Dan-Lipinski

Well what do you know: It turns out the mysterious super PAC called United for Progress, which has spent at least $740,000 to help conservative Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski in his primary against progressive challenger Marie Newman, received much of its funding from the aggressively centrist group No Labels and billionaire mega-donor Jerry Reinsdorf, who is chairman of both the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Bulls. No Labels promotes the same sort of naive #bothsides mentality that plagues the world of cable news punditry, and even went so far as to moronically label Donald Trump a "problem solver" during his presidential campaign.

While support from No Labels itself should be a mark of shame for any Democrat running in a safely blue district like this one, the mailer they've been funding is even more disgraceful. It takes the guise of an ominous fake-but-official-looking letter from "Illinois Restaurant Enforcement" that claims the restaurant Newman once owned was guilty of health code violations, then proceeds to outright lie about the economic impact of the single-payer healthcare plan Newman supports.



One would expect to see Republicans launch these sorts of dishonest attacks against a progressive challenger, not those who support a nominal Democratic incumbent. And it's one more reason why Democrats in this 55-40 Clinton district can do a whole lot better than Dan Lipinski.

snip




Delusional Group Declares Donald Trump a ‘Problem Solver’

The only problem Trump could solve is that we don’t have a dumb enough president

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/delusional-group-declares-donald-trump-a-problem-solver-58107/

Here are some labels that apply to Donald Trump:

–Racist
–Egomaniac
–Bloviator
–Delusional
–Liar
–Asshole

On Monday, the nonpartisan group No Labels gave him a new, and hilarious, one: problem solver.

Six presidential candidates – Democrat Martin O’Malley and Republicans Ben Carson, Chris Christie, John Kasich, Rand Paul and Trump – signed the organization’s Problem Solver Promise, officially making them No Labels Problem Solvers. The group says it will bestow the label on any candidate who signs its meaningless pledge.

No Labels declined to make an exception for Trump – the candidate who has proposed, among many other things, building a giant border wall, deporting 11 million people, banning Muslims from entering the country and shutting down mosques. In just the last two days, he’s come out in favor of direct head-to-head collisions in the NFL and elephant torture.

snip



‘Holocaust Denier’ Smear Hits Tight Chicago Area Congressional Primary

https://forward.com/fast-forward/396658/holocaust-denier-smear-hits-tight-chicago-area-congressional-primary/

A heated Democratic congressional primary race in suburban Chicago has reached a new low, as accusations of Holocaust denial are falsely hurled at progressive challenger Marie Newman.

Newman, who is seeking to unseat the incumbent Dan Lipinski as the Democratic candidate for Illinois’ 3rd congressional district, has staked a liberal position, hoping it would convince Democrats to chose her way over that of Lipinski, a “blue dog” Democrat known for his more conservative views.

In recent days, Newman claimed, voters have been receiving text messages from activists with the Washington-based No Labels group, trying to convince voters not to support her. In one instance, a voter receiving the text message informed the sender that he has already decided to vote for Newman, not Lipinski. “His opponent is a Holocaust denier among other things,” the Lipinski supporter texted back. In a second exchange, the voter was told again about Newman: “Did you know she’s a Holocaust denier.”

Newman accused Lipinski of “playing politics with a tragedy in human history that cost the lives of millions—and which deeply affects those of Jewish heritage, including my husband and his family.” Lipinski is considered one of the few endangered Democratic incumbents in the nation due to the tight primary. The winner should easily beat a Republican challenger in the district that voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by a healthy 16% margin.

snip



Group Tied To Lipinski Says Marie Newman Is 'A Holocaust Denier'

IL-3 Democratic challenger Marie Newman claims group tied to Congressman Dan Lipinski is texting voters saying she's a 'Holocaust denier.'

https://patch.com/illinois/oaklawn/group-tied-lipinski-claims-she-s-holocaust-denier


LA GRANGE, IL -- Challenger Marie Newman is calling out Congressman Dan Lipinski for running a "dishonest machine-style campaign" after some of her supporters complained of receiving text messages stating that Newman is a "Holocaust denier." Newman and Lipinski are said to be in a statistical dead heat in the contentious Democratic primary in Illinois's 3rd Congressional District. Supporters said they began receiving the text messages this past weekend.

A woman who identifies herself as "Leslie Benjamini" from the Washington, D.C.-based No Labels group -- a political centrist organization comprised of Republicans, Democrats and Independents who aim to combat partisan dysfunction in politics by focusing on bipartisan problem solving -- texted a voter asking him if he planned to vote for Dan Lipinski in the March 20 Democratic primary. When the the receiver stated he is voting for Newman, Benjamini states that Lipinski's opponent is a Holocaust denier. Benjamini tells the receiver to look up "No Labels, a new group that is trying to get government working again." The message goes on to state that Lipinski is a "believer in this group."

"His opponent is a Holocaust denier among other things," the text goes on to say. "Please educate yourself before you vote. All I ask."

Lipinski does have an opponent who is a Holocaust denier who is running as the lone candidate in the Republican primary in Illinois' 3rd District, avowed neo-Nazi Art Jones of Lyons. In the second message sent to the Newman supporter, Benjamini mistakes the receiver's phone number for his mother's.

"For the second time I am NOT [NAME] … she is my mother and she hosted a fundraiser for Marie Newman. And for the record, I voted for her early Saturday [March 10]." "Thanks for voting," Benjamini texts back. "Did you know she's a Holocaust denier."

The No Labels group based in Washington, D.C., was founded in 2010. The group strives to "create a vibrant New Center that supports leaders who put country before party." No Labels inspired the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of congressional members that includes Lipinski. A Chicago Sun-Times investigation has also tied No Labels to such Super PACS as United for Progress Inc. As of late, United for Progress Inc. has been sent out a flurry of political hit pieces attacking Newman's progressive agenda, as well as TV and radio commercials An angry Newman demanded an apology from Lipinski, accusing the congressman of running "dishonest machine campaign."


snip





‘No Labels’ Needs A Warning Label

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/opinion-no-labels-mark-pocan_n_5c06b110e4b0cd916fb0b042

I was duped.

When I was elected to Congress in 2012, I attended the Bipartisan Program for Newly Elected Members of Congress at Harvard University. I was so excited to be a member of a branch of government for the most awesome country on the planet. At the program, one of the presentations was from a group named No Labels. The organization put forward a proposal for governing that meant working across the aisle to solve problems and stopping the gridlock in Washington. I was excited! While I was a strong progressive in the Wisconsin Legislature, that was my governing approach. By working with people who do not always agree with you, you find out what you have in common and you can get good things done.

snip

However, things quickly went south. I attended a few meetings at the outset, but the rhetoric wasn’t about finding ways to get things done and breaking gridlock ― rather it was more about finding more centrist, more corporate and more special interest-focused things to do. Soon thereafter, No Labels became involved in elections with a closely contested U.S. Senate race in Colorado, backing Republican Cory Gardner over Democrat Mark Udall. That didn’t seem right. A group that wasn’t supposed to pick labels was doing exactly that: picking a label. When asked to join the Problem Solvers Caucus, members were never told that this would be part of the program.

snip

I drifted away from the organization, as apparently did most people who thought it was focused on trying to break through the gridlock in Washington. No Labels’ membership has dwindled steadily since 2015. Fast-forward to the past few weeks, when No Labels’ Problem Solvers Caucus tried to threaten Nancy Pelosi’s speakership. While No Labels was originally advertised as a group committed to getting things done and breaking gridlock, it now seems more focused on stopping Pelosi and providing a fast track for special interests and lobbyists.

Worse, this past week I’ve read a few articles regarding what No Labels has been up to in the last couple of years. First, the organization spent almost twice as much helping re-elect Republicans as it spent helping Democrats. Second, reporters reviewed email correspondence that showed No Labels contemplating a plan to attack Pelosi and use her leadership as a wedge to divide congressional Democrats. And third, it’s clear that No Labels never had any meaningful ultimatums or demands on rules for leadership during eight years of a Republican-led House, or over the last four years of a Republican-led Senate. No Labels only has challenges for Democratic leadership in the House, specifically, for our next speaker, Nancy Pelosi.

That sure seems like a label to me. Look, I get it. No Labels is slick, and I got duped. But no other current or newly elected member of Congress should fall for its shtick. No Labels is a centrist, corporate organization working against Democrats with dark, anonymous money to advance power for special interests. Period.

snip

[guillaumeb]

12. I received some of the dark money literature in 2018

that attacked Newman. As well, we received phone calls that called Newman a Holocaust denier.

These tactics were covered here by the media, but not as well as they should have been.

And this year, in February of 2020, the Chicago Newman headquarters literally had their power lines cut, which shut down the office for a few days.

The Lipinski family is well connected in Chicago politics.

[Celerity]

15. from a lot of what I have read and a lot of Chicagoans I have met over the years, it sounds

like one of the most corrupt political places in the US, in terms of giant cities. I hope they one day can truly clean it up, but I am not holding my breath. One of my business partners (he was a co-worker with my mum in London) is a Chicagoan, who is 30 years older than I am (he is 1966 born, I am 1996 born) and he is full of crazy stories about the place. I mean CRAZY ones, and not just about politics at all. I wish you the best!

ps

he has the coolest birthdate, lol

June 6, 1966

6/6/66

I call him Uncle Satan, roflmaooooooooooo

[guillaumeb]

16. We moved here in 1966.

It is a good place to live, much farther south than our home, but it was incredibly segregated in 1966, and somewhat less so today.

Lipinski's father was an Alderman, later a Congressman. He essentially gifted the seat to his son.

[Turin_C3PO]

18. The Chicago Outfit (the mafia)

used to control many aspects of Chicago life, from politicians to judges to cops, etc. Their tentacles were everywhere.