Lucas, businesswoman Marie Newman seemed like a longshot to dislodge anti-choice,
anti-gay Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski in the Democratic primary when Daily
Kos first endorsed last summer. But a powerhouse campaign and a groundswell
of grassroots support have Team Lipinski sweating bullets.
Look at the support Newman has earned since we first endorsed:
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
- NARAL and the Human Rights Campaign
- Illinois Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Luis Gutierrez
- EMILY's List
- The SEIU Illinois State Council
- The Illinois Federation of Teachers
- Planned Parenthood
This, Lucas, is what a winning team looks like.
Lipinski has been a thorn in the side of progressives since he was first
elected in 2004. He is one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress,
voting against key legislation like Obamacare and siding with Paul Ryan
and House Republicans to ban abortion after 20 weeks. Marie Newman is
our best shot ever of taking him out and electing a real progressive in
this solidly blue district.
Please stand up for women and chip in $3 to help Marie Newman beat anti-choice
Dan Lipinski today.
This will still be a tough battle for Newman. Lipinski has turned back
progressive challengers in the past and he still has a great deal of labor
support, with much of it coming from the more conservative building trades unions.
But Lipinski's hurt himself with more liberal unions like SEIU, which
represents often lower-paid workers like home healthcare aides, janitors,
and bus drivers and is a leader in the fight for a $15 per hour minimum
wage. SEIU specifically cited Lipinski's refusal to support a $15
wage as a key reason for siding with Newman, to which Lipinski responded
by whining that the union's decision was "a shame."
Humiliatingly, Lipinski also claimed that he's a cosponsor of federal
legislation to increase the minimum wage to $15, but as the Chicago Sun-Times'
Lynn Sweet pointed out, he only signed on to that bill on Jan. 29. Crucially,
that was five days after Lipinski declined to back a $15 minimum wage
in a joint appearance with Newman before the Sun-Times editorial board.
Evidently, that inexplicable blunder drew real blood.
So, please give $3 to Marie Newman to help her beat Blue Dog Dan Lipinski.
The primary is March 20!
Thank you,
David Nir, Political Director
Daily Kos
Daily Kos, PO Box 70036, Oakland, CA, 94612.