moriah's Journal

Why Progressives in Arkansas Should Support Blanche Lincoln

With the current results, even if you were to add every single person in Garland County who voted in the Democratic Primary for Halter or Morrison to Halter's totals for Garland County's runoff, that would still only be 7307 more votes. He's behind by 10,000. So while on principle I think Garland County should get a revote, the results would not change the outcome.

So, as much as some people don't like it, we've got to look at reality. And that reality is that the race in the fall will be between Blanche Lincoln and John Boozman.

Democrats are notorious for sitting on their ass (pun intended) when things are going well. And right now, they are. We have a Democratic president and a majority in both houses of Congress. But if we sit on our asses this fall, we stand a strong chance of 2010 turning into another 1994.

And we all remember what happened in 1994. And the long years after it.

For those that say that there's no difference between Boozman and Lincoln:

Lincoln voted NO on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. (Jun 2006)
Boozman voted YES on Constitutionally defining marriage as one-man-one-woman. (Jul 2006)
Boozman voted YES on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)

Lincoln voted YES on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. (Jun 2000)
Lincoln voted YES on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)
Boozman voted NO on enforcing against anti-gay hate crimes. (Apr 2009)

Lincoln voted YES on tax incentives for energy production and conservation. (Jun 2008)
Boozman voted NO on tax incentives for energy production and conservation. (May 2008)

Lincoln voted YES on adding 2 to 4 million children to SCHIP eligibility. (Nov 2007)
Boozman voted NO on adding 2 to 4 million children to SCHIP eligibility. (Oct 2007)

Lincoln voted YES on expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program. (Jan 2009)
Boozman voted NO on expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program. (Jan 2009)

Lincoln voted YES on requiring negotiated Rx prices for Medicare part D. (Apr 2007)
Boozman voted NO on requiring negotiated Rx prices for Medicare part D. (Jan 2007)

Lincoln voted NO on limiting medical liability lawsuits to $250,000. (May 2006)
Boozman voted YES on limiting medical malpractice lawsuits to $250,000 damages. (May 2004)

Lincoln voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Apr 2007)
Boozman voted NO on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Jan 2007)

Lincoln voted NO on prohibiting minors crossing state lines for abortion. (Mar 2008)
Boozman would prohibit transporting minors across state lines for abortion. (Jan 2008)
Boozman wants to grant the pre-born equal protection under 14th Amendment. (Jan 2007)

Lincoln voted YES on modifying bankruptcy rules to avoid mortgage foreclosures. (May 2009)
Boozman voted NO on modifying bankruptcy rules to avoid mortgage foreclosures. (Mar 2009)

Lincoln voted YES on additional $10.2B for federal education & HHS projects. (Oct 2007)
Boozman voted NO on additional $10.2B for federal education & HHS projects. (Nov 2007)

Lincoln voted NO on requiring photo ID to vote in federal elections. (Jul 2007)
Boozman voted YES on requiring photo ID for voting in federal elections. (Sep 2006)

Lincoln voted YES on banning "soft money" contributions and restricting issue ads. (Mar 2002)
Boozman voted NO on campaign finance reform banning soft-money contributions. (Feb 2002)

Lincoln voted YES on providing a US House seat for the District of Columbia. (Feb 2009)
Lincoln voted YES on granting the District of Columbia a seat in Congress. (Sep 2007)
Boozman voted NO on granting Washington DC an Electoral vote & vote in Congress. (Apr 2007)

Lincoln voted YES on restricting employer interference in union organizing. (Jun 2007)
Boozman voted NO on restricting employer interference in union organizing. (Mar 2007)

Here are what some organizations say about Blanche Lincoln and John Boozman:

Lincoln is rated 67% by CAF, indicating a mixed record on energy independence. (Dec 2006)
Boozman is rated 0% by the CAF, indicating opposition to energy independence. (Dec 2006)

Lincoln is rated 91% by the NEA, indicating pro-public education votes. (Dec 2003)
Boozman is rated 17% by the NEA, indicating anti-public education votes. (Dec 2003)

Lincoln is rated 89% by the HRC, indicating a pro-gay-rights stance. (Dec 2006)
Boozman is rated 0% by the HRC, indicating an anti-gay-rights stance. (Dec 2006)

Lincoln is rated 86% by the NAACP, indicating a pro-affirmative-action stance. (Dec 2006)
Boozman is rated 36% by the NAACP, indicating a mixed record on affirmative-action. (Dec 2006)

Lincoln is rated 0% by the NRLC, indicating a pro-choice stance. (Dec 2006)
Boozman is rated 100% by the NRLC, indicating a pro-life stance. (Dec 2006)

Lincoln is rated 91% by the NEA, indicating pro-public education votes. (Dec 2003)
Boozman is rated 17% by the NEA, indicating anti-public education votes. (Dec 2003)

Lincoln is rated 70% by SANE, indicating a pro-peace voting record. (Dec 2003)
Boozman is rated 0% by SANE, indicating a pro-military voting record. (Dec 2003)

Lincoln is rated 8% by USBC, indicating an open-border stance. (Dec 2006)
Boozman is rated 100% by USBC, indicating a sealed-border stance. (Dec 2006)

Let's look at other votes that Lincoln has made showing her beliefs and following up on them:

Voted NO on barring HHS grants to organizations that perform abortions. (Oct 2007)
Voted NO on maintaining ban on Military Base Abortions. (Jun 2000)
Voted YES on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore. (Mar 2005)
Voted NO on giving federal aid only to schools allowing voluntary prayer. (Mar 1994)
Voted YES on funding student testing and smaller class size instead of private tutors. (May 2001)
Voted YES on shifting $11B from corporate tax loopholes to education. (Mar 2005)
Voted YES on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies. (Jun 2007)
Voted NO on preserving budget for ANWR oil drilling. (Apr 2000)
Voted NO on drilling ANWR on national security grounds. (Apr 2002)
Voted YES on removing consideration of drilling ANWR from budget bill. (Mar 2003)
Voted YES on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Mar 2005)
Voted YES on disallowing an oil leasing program in Alaska's ANWR. (Nov 2005)
Voted YES on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (instead of 5%). (Jun 2005)
Voted YES on including oil & gas smokestacks in mercury regulations. (Sep 2005)
Voted YES on banning campaign donations from unions & corporations. (Apr 2001)
Voted NO on allowing some lobbyist gifts to Congress. (Mar 2006)
Voted YES on preserving habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees. (Sep 2006)
Voted YES on requiring CIA reports on detainees & interrogation methods. (Sep 2006)
Voted YES on adopting the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. (Oct 1999)
Voted YES on giving Guest Workers a path to citizenship. (May 2006)
Voted NO on eliminating the "Y" nonimmigrant guestworker program. (May 2007)

Blanche may not be a champion of each and every one of the platforms you value, but she is a champion for education, health care for children, the right to choose, responsible immigration reform, renewable energy, and even the environment. Her reason for cosponsoring the Murkowski amendment, if you read her remarks, was not just because the farmers she represents have written to her in droves -- but because the EPA regulations would treat CO2 created from biomass the same as those from fossil fuels, completely disregarding the fact that growing biomass crops reduces CO2 in the atmosphere, so their net emissions are lower than emissions from the same amount of fossil fuel. And those who think that it would benefit big oil are kidding themselves -- she's trying to get people away from using fossil fuels, not encouraging their use or giving them a bailout!

She is not evil. She does not exclusively represent corporations and bankers -- she mainly represents farmers, which is expected given that she is the chairman of the Agriculture Committee. She represents her constituents.

Evil triumphs when good people do nothing. If you sit at home or vote third party this fall, you aren't doing our party any favors. You aren't doing liberal and progressive causes any favors. Go vote, and take your friends. Prepare for door-knocking -- and this needs to occur in every state, not just Arkansas. We need to learn to not be complacent... you would think we would have learned that already.