Published by KenoshaNews.com. Photo: Democrat Paulette Garin of Kenosha, here leading a 2009 health care town hall meeting at UAW Local 72 headquarters, has announced she will not challenge U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Jaynesville, this fall. (Kenosha News file photo). Paulette Garin of Kenosha announced Sunday she won’t be running for the U.S. Congressional seat currently occupied by Paul Ryan, R-Janesville. [more]

Published by The New York Times. Photo: Meg Whitman answering questions after a rally in Anaheim in June. At first blush, the 19 pages of financial disclosures that Meg Whitman filed earlier this year for her run for governor of California are a humdrum blur of ordinary, if sizable, investments—until one for more than $1 million in an “entertainment/production” company called “Tools Down! Productions.” Ms. Whitman, a billionaire and former chief executive of eBay, made the investment in late 2008, according to her campaign, taking a stake in a fledgling movie production firm started by none other than Mike Murphy, a very prominent and much-sought-after Republican strategist. [more]

Published by WarIsaCrime.org. Well this is helpful. The best candidate for Congress I know of, Jonathan Tasini, is now running against an incumbent, Charlie Rangel, who is going to be put on trial in Congress for all sorts of alleged corruption. According to the Christian Science Monitor, "the allegations range from misuse of rent-controlled apartments in New York City and failure to disclose income from a villa in the Dominican Republic to reports that he exchanged official favors–a tax loophole for oil driller Nabors Industries Ltd.–in exchange for a $1 million gift to the Charles Rangel Center at City College of New York." The Associated Press reports that the detailed charges will be released next Thursday, and "sanctions can range from a damaging committee report to censure by the House and even expulsion, a punishment reserved for only the most egregious violations." [more]

Published by WarIsaCrime.org. Well this is helpful. The best candidate for Congress I know of, Jonathan Tasini, is now running against an incumbent, Charlie Rangel, who is going to be put on trial in Congress for all sorts of alleged corruption. According to the Christian Science Monitor, "the allegations range from misuse of rent-controlled apartments in New York City and failure to disclose income from a villa in the Dominican Republic to reports that he exchanged official favors–a tax loophole for oil driller Nabors Industries Ltd.–in exchange for a $1 million gift to the Charles Rangel Center at City College of New York." The Associated Press reports that the detailed charges will be released next Thursday, and "sanctions can range from a damaging committee report to censure by the House and even expulsion, a punishment reserved for only the most egregious violations." [more]

Published by TalkingPointsMemo.com. For years, pundits and politicians on the left have been calling themselves "progressives" to avoid the apparent stigma of the word "liberal." But a USA Today/Gallup poll released today indicates that a majority of Americans still aren't sure what "progressive" really means. According to the poll, 54% percent of adults are unsure if the word "progressive" describes their political views. Fifty-seven percent of self-identified liberals, 65% of moderates, and 45% of conservatives just don't know if the word aptly characterizes their political outlook. [more]

Published by The Washington Post. Wall Street donations to the two Democratic congressional campaign committees are down 65 percent from two years ago, The Post reports. Party insiders say “the overwhelming factor is the rising anger among financial executives who think they have not been treated well based on their support of Democrats over the past four years.” The National Journal writes that Wall Streeters are “sick of being used as political punching bags.” And Post columnist Steven Pearlstein suggests that “bad blood” between big business and the Obama administration is “not a good thing.” [more]

Published by The Nation. No Senate seat should ever be filled by gubernatorial appointment. To do so gives one man or woman the authority to place a stamp on the affairs of the nation that ought only be affixed by the voters. Unfortunately, most states allow for the appointment of senators--sometimes until a special election, sometimes for the remainder of a term. [more]

Read Dr. Gill's endorsement questionnaire. Members of the Progressive Democrats of America chapter in Illinois' 15th Congressional District met in Urbana, Illinois, and endorsed the candidacy of Dr. David Gill for Congress. This chapter endorsement will focus progressive energy across Illinois on electing a progressive champion to the state's congressional delegation.

 Gill, an independent Democrat, is running in the November 2010 general election against a Republican incumbent, Tim Johnson, in a district that includes the University of Illinois. (See map.) The race will test the appeal of a grassroots candidate with a clear progressive message in an off-year election that supposedly favors Republicans. [more]

Take Action: Tell your Rep., "Improve the real economy--Co-sponsor the TRADE Act" Published by In These Times. A new poll contradicts the widely held belief that the the tea party movement is opposed to government action to help the economy. It shows that self-described Tea Party supporters are very much in favor of government action to revitalize America's manufacturing base. [more]

Published by AlterNet. When the results came in from the recent primary elections, the media went haywire calling it "ladies night" and a "new year of the women," primarily because several wealthy, high-profile conservative women were nominated, in some cases to run against female incumbents. Well, in terms of proclaiming a new "year of the woman," we say, wait just one moment. [more]

Published by War Is a Crime.org. There are lots of ways to change Congress that falsely appear easy, that would alter the rules and patterns of behavior if only Congress were already fixed and willing to make the changes, or if we owned the television networks, or if people could suddenly hear what they're paid good money never to hear. But I've got a way to change Congress that is actually easy. Congress lacks leadership. There is a progressive caucus, but it has never fought for anything. It doesn't fund its members' campaigns. It doesn't withhold votes needed for passing bills. It just does rhetoric. There are committees, but they don't subpoena, they don't send the police to pick up witnesses, they don't fine witnesses who refuse to answer questions. Congress thinks oversight was an oversight. If asked to put future generations into debt to fund wars, Congress asks "Would you like a side of drones with that?" Congress doesn't want power. [more]

Published by The Nation. The progressive groups who unsuccessfully backed Bill Halter over Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas' Democratic Senate runoff on June 8 scored a victory tonight when Elaine Marshall defeated Cal Cunningham in North Carolina’s Democratic Senate primary. Marshall will now face first-term incumbent Senator Richard Burr in November. Marshall-Cunningham did not have the prominence of Halter-Lincoln, nor were the ideological distinctions nearly as stark. But groups like Democracy for America and MoveOn.org did rally behind Marshall in the final weeks of the race, to the dismay of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic political establishment in Washington, which hand-picked Cunningham, an attorney, Iraq war vet and former state senator. Marshall was not exactly an outsider—having served as the state’s secretary of state for four terms, defeating NASCAR legend Richard Petty in her first race—but she ran as a progressive populist and grassroots advocate during the primary, playing up her opposition to the surge in Afghanistan and support for healthcare reform, including a public insurance option, and Wall Street reform. “The voters of North Carolina don’t like that someone is trying to anoint or elect their candidate,” Marshall said before the vote. Washington intervention has been a decidedly mixed blessing this election year, paying off in Democratic primaries in Arkansas and Ohio but backfiring in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. “The Democratic Party should welcome the competition of ideas,” says Jim Dean, chair of Democracy for America (DFA), “and not become an incumbency-protection racket.” Dean says the current clashes inside the party pit “a culture of activism versus a culture of incumbency. [more]

Published by Jonathan Tasini--Democrat for Congress. While I am running against Charles Rangel in the Democratic primary in the 15th Congressional District, I have also been clear that I will praise him for the good work he has done and the positions he has taken that have been good for the district and the country (for example, he opposed the Iraq War). For that reason, I was saddened by his active participation in embracing McCarthyism in a vile and ugly fashion. [more]

PDA-endorsed candidate Tracy Emblem sent the following June10 note to her supporters: Thank you so much for your commitment to my campaign for United States Congress. Your hard work and efforts brought neighbors together, shed light on important issues, and empowered people in our community to further progress through grassroots work and determination. We worked every day to build coalitions and put in the sweat equity. We knew that a weakened economy meant that we would have to run a financially lean campaign. And when the analysts expected a low turnout in the 2010 mid-term primaries, we listened. We set our sights on 150 targeted precincts in the 50th. [more]

Published by The Nation. With almost all the votes counted in a closely-watch Arkansas run-off election, Senator Blanche Lincoln held a solid if not overwhelming 52-48 lead over Democratic challenger Bill Halter. Lincoln's apparent win will be read as a victory for the party establishment, as personified by President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton, both of whom urged voters to re-elect a Democratic incumbent who labor unions and netroots activists accused of siding too frequently with Republicans. [more]

Published by Associated Press. Voters in 12 states cast ballots Tuesday in contests that preserved, for now, the career of a Senate incumbent in Arkansas, pushed a nasty gubernatorial primary in South Carolina into a runoff, and decided the matchups for high-stakes races in Nevada and California. A look at the contests: ARKANSAS In one of the night's big surprises, two-term Sen. Blanche Lincoln bucked an anti-incumbent trend and narrowly fended off a challenge by liberal Lt. Gov. Bill Halter for the Democratic Senate nomination. Lincoln, a centrist, was forced into a runoff by Halter after neither captured a majority in last month's primary. [more]

Jane Harman won the primary in California's 36th district with 58.79% of the vote. Marcy Winograd received a respectable 41.21%. Marcy sent the following note to her campaign supporters this morning: Dear Friends & Supporters, Thank you for everything--for your generous donations, for your nationwide phone banking, for your tireless precinct walking in our district. We are building a movement--and change will come. [more]

TAKE ACTION NOW--Join the phone bank for Marcy! Published by The Huffington Post. Jane Harman's consultant Harvey Englander, the guy who advises union-busting hotels near the LA airport, stole a clip from my cable television ad for single-payer health care to put me in a bubble in another cable television commercial. While I'm bouncing around in this bubble, a Swift Boating narrator announces "Winograd wants to kill the defense budget, lay off workers, blah, blah." [more]

Published by The Associated Press. Voters in 12 states cast ballots Tuesday in contests that will determine the fate of a Senate incumbent in Arkansas, decide the matchups for high-stakes races in Nevada and California and settle a nasty gubernatorial primary in South Carolina. A look at the contests: [more]

Tomorrow is Today--TAKE ACTION NOW--Join the phone bank for Marcy! Published by The Huffington Post. Just a little over 2 days left to say yes to one of the only real progressive Democratic challengers running this year. Just a few hours left to go to www.winograd4congress.com to make a donation, volunteer to make a few phone calls, or find out where to vote. [more]