In 2016 Bernie Sanders ran on the premise that candidates did not need special interest or party money to win. While an honorable and ethical thing to do, in the long run, it has devastated the Democratic Party and Progressives. If Republicans keep taking state and federal Congressional and Senate seats there will be no getting money out of politics because the left won't have the leverage with which to present their case before The United States Supreme Court. Although firmly on the side of those wanting to go back to the days when candidates ran on their own merit and not on lies and innuendo, there must be more moderates and leftists elected to the United State Congress and Senate, and in state legislatures to have any hope at all of getting money out of politics.
Democrat Jon Ossoff's losing the special election to represent Georgia's sixth district in Washington proved that.
The 6th District Georgia race was the most expensive Congressional campaign in political history
Although the two candidates and outside groups spent approximately $55 million in the battle for the longtime Republican-held district in suburban Atlanta, one reason the race tilted in favor of Republican Karen Handel in the last weeks leading up to the election was due to special interest money. National Republican Groups and “super PACs” spent more than $25 million on the race, primarily on advertising against the other side. The Congressional Leadership Fund, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and other Conservative groups spent around $6 million dollars each, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent only $5 million dollars and outside groups only contributed about $2.6 million to Democrat Jon Ossoff's campaign.
Most notable were individual contributions from within the district of $200 or less. Just 14 percent of Ossoff's contributions came from Georgia, while 56 percent of Ms. Handel’s did.
The Democratic National Committee and Progressives have abandon party candidates
In both the 6th District Georgia and in 4th District Kansas special elections, the DNC waited until the final two weeks to begin offering any solid help.
Wichita Democrat and Civil Liberties Attorney, James Thompson, later complained the state and national party had abandoned him. campaign. The KS Democratic Party refused to give the candidate several thousand dollars to print pamphlets showing the differences between him and State Treasurer Republican Ron Estes. And the National DNC headed by newly elected Tom Ellis did nothing until the final week of the campaign which was far too late to make an impact.
With Thompson only losing his the election by 7 percentage points, it is apparent that if help had been received earlier from the Democratic Parties the election might have turned out differently. Plus Trump, Ted Cruz, Paul Ryan, and other high-profile Republicans either made trips to both states in the final days of the two men's campaigns or made Robo-calls and speeches before National Special interest groups like the NRA and the National Right to Life Association who then rallied their members in GA and KS.
Conservative Republicans could be winners in the 2018 mid-term election if Democrats don't act
Donald Trump has been talking up the importance of getting more Republicans elected to the U.S.
Congress and Senate in 2018 as a way to solidify the parties power and influence. Super PAC's like the Faith and Freedom Coalition, Citizens United and ALEC who are both KOCH brother Advocacy and fundraising groups that spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Republican campaigns in 2016 are slated to spend even more on the mid-term elections. The Center for Responsive Politics cited that KOCH and their donors gave between $120,000 and one and $1.5 million dollars to groups like the Freedom Partners Action Fund, the National Republican Congressional, and Senatorial Committees, in addition to money given to a variety of Conservative Republican's election or re-election campaigns. Some of the Conservatives who benefited from special inter money include Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and KS Mike Pompeo, who is now Trump's CIA Director.
A major goal of Religious and Republican Party PACS is to quell the voices and political influence exerted by Senator's Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Chuck Schumer by replacing them with hardline Republicans.
Now is the time for Democrats and Progressives to develop a plan of attack to stop Republicans in 2018
Democrats and Progressives, and their candidates should not automatically count on voters to vote their way out of a dislike or fear of President Trump and the policies he and Republican Conservatives are trying to pass or have passed. Voters want a clear and concise path to follow for upcoming elections. They want to know exactly how each Democratic or Progressive candidate differs from their Republican opponents, and what Democrats would offer if elected regarding the issues plaguing Americans like the high cost of living, Health Care, Social Security and Medicare, the environment, wage stagnation, etc.
Issues vary from District to District and from state to state.
The ball is now in Democrat and Progressive's hand and what they do with it may well determine which direction the country will be going in 2018. Pew Center Research found the Democratic electorate feels alienated by the shift in the balance of power in the United States in the wake of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 defeat. And recent Democratic and Progressive losses is proving that ideology alone will no longer win elections.
