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Progressives Slam Oil-Soaked Steny Hoyer for Backing Joe Kennedy III Over Green New Deal Champion Ed Markey
"Hoyer does not actually have a problem with primary challengers, he has a problem with progressives."
May 19, 2020
Progressives and climate activists expressed frustration with Democratic Party leadership after Politicoreported Tuesday that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer would be holding a virtual fundraiser for Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Ed Markey in the 2020 Massachusetts Democratic primary.
Markey, who cosponsored the Green New Deal with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), has the support of youth climate group the Sunrise Movement, which cited Hoyer's affiliation with Big Oil in a scathing statement on the fundraiser to Common Dreams.
"Steny Hoyer has received millions from oil and gas PACs and bundlers over his career, he's the number two highest recipient of fossil fueled electric utilities this cycle, and he recently tried to jam a Big Oil handout into the coronavirus relief packaged passed by Democrats in the House," said Sunrise's political director Evan Weber. "Given all that, it's no wonder that he'd prefer that the co-author of the Green New Deal doesn't win his re-election campaign."
\u201cHouse Democratic Leadership only opposes primary challenges when they are from the left, I see.\u201d— Jonathan 'Boo and Vote' Cohn (@Jonathan 'Boo and Vote' Cohn) 1589887937
As Common Dreams reported, Hoyer's ultimately unsuccessful advocacy for a fossil fuel bailout in the HEROES Act passed by Congress on May 15 earned the Maryland Democrat harsh criticism from his primary challenger, progressive Mckayla Wilkes.
"This is just one example of Congressman Hoyer's failure to approach the climate crisis with the urgency it requires," Wilkes said.
Journalist Kate Aronoff said on Twitter that while the move by Hoyer could be about political spats and party discipline, Hoyer's reliance on fossil fuel and utility industry donors can't be ignored as he raises money for the candidate trying to oust one of the Senate's biggest champions of the Green New Deal.
"I think generally this kind of stuff comes down to dumb turf wars and trying to discipline anyone who steps out of line," said Aronoff, "but it's also worth noting that electric utilities are some of Steny Hoyer's biggest donors."
On Tuesday, Wilkes told Common Dreams that Hoyer hosting a fundraiser for Kennedy flies in the face of over a year's worth of threats and blacklists by Democratic leadership against progressive challengers to incumbents in both the House and the Senate.
"House Democratic Leadership has worked for over a year to disadvantage progressive primary challengers through the DCCC Blacklist," said Wilkes. "Now, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is fundraising for a primary challenge against sitting U.S. Senator Ed Markey, the co-sponsor of the Green New Deal."
"The hypocrisy makes it crystal-clear," she continued. "Hoyer does not actually have a problem with primary challengers, he has a problem with progressives."
Sunrise Movement's Weber echoed those remarks, referring to House Democratic leadership's backing of "Trump's favorite Democrat" Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) against primary challenger attorney Jessica Cisneros in the Lone Star State's primary on March 3.
"It's pretty hypocritical for House leadership to make such a fuss about challenging incumbents in their chamber, and to go as far as to handicapping someone like Jessica Cisneros challenging pro-oil Democrat Henry Cuellar, but then go out of their way to back someone trying to oust the Democrats' most senior leader on climate in the Senate," said Weber. "What gives?"
Hoyer is being joined at the event with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a Congressional Progressive Caucus vice chair, and Reps. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) and David Trone (D-Md.). The presence of Raskin irked healthcare advocate Timothy Faust, who tweeted it was a sign that "members of the CPC are throwing Ed Markey under the bus."
"This isn't like kneecapping Sanders--Markey is hardly a socialist; a senator who typifies the 'acceptable' kind of progressive to the Dem Party," said Faust. "They just are willing to take any opportunity to squish anyone left of center."
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Democratic Establishment Backing of Hickenlooper's Colorado Senate Run a 'Recipe for Disaster,' Warn Progressives
"He would join the Senate as a conservative Democrat who has already pledged to block most progressive priorities."
Aug 26, 2019
Progressives in Colorado and nationwide are expressing frustration after establishment Democrats threw their support to John Hickenlooper for U.S. Senate--a campaign he announced last week after dropping his long-shot bid for president.
"Hickenlooper's presidential campaign was a genius move to make Democrats so desperate to push him off the presidential stage that many would forget that he would join the Senate as a conservative Democrat who has already pledged to block most progressive priorities," tweeted Justice Democrats communications director Waleed Shahid.
\u201cHickenlooper\u2019s presidential campaign was a genius move to make Democrats so desperate to push him off the presidential stage that many would forget that he would join the Senate as a conservative Democrat who has already pledged to block most progressive priorities.\u201d— Waleed Shahid (@Waleed Shahid) 1566485905
On Monday, The American Prospect's Alexander Salomon argued that Hickenlooper has already proven himself to be not up to the task of winning in 2020, whether running for president or the Senate:
If his presidential campaign is any indication, Hickenlooper is content to make a reputation for himself as more spoilsport than ally. His debate contributions were overwhelmingly focused on frustrating the emerging Democratic agenda rather than advancing it. That mentality, combined with a fading star of electability, is not a winning recipe. It may not be what Chuck Schumer wants, but there are better options out there for Colorado.
Hickenlooper's entrance into the fray for the seat currently held by Sen. Cory Gardner, a Republican. There are a dozen candidates running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Gardner, but, a day after Hickenlooper announced on August 22 his intent to run for the seat, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) officially endorsed him.
That's frustrated his primary opponents. As former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, one of the Democrats vying for the nomination, toldThe Intercept's Aida Chavez:
I don't want this to become just like a quaint tradition, where somebody in Washington just passes on head and says, 'You know what, we'll take it from here--no need to trouble yourself with all that pesky voting and participation.'
It's actually a recipe for disaster, in some ways, in the general election, because if you tell voters from Colorado that their voice doesn't matter--then why would they show up in November?
Trish Zornio, a scientist and educator, echoed Romanoff's gripes with the DSCC.
"Being a team player does not require total compliance," Zornio said in an interview with The Denver Post.
Despite his endorsement by the party establishment, Hickenlooper seems intent on running as an outsider. In a video announcing his candidacy, the former governor hit on a number of well-worn cliches about running for the seat as an outsider.
"Look, I'm a straight shooter," Hickenlooper says in the video, which was shot in a pool hall. "I've always said Washington was a lousy place for a guy like me who wants to get things done. But this is no time to walk away from the table. I know changing Washington is hard, but I want to give it a shot."
Hickenlooper's record as governor doesn't inspire much confidence in his interest in progressive legislation, particularly around climate. The former governor in February 2013 infamously admitted drinking fracking fluid to prove how safe it was and wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post in March that argued the Green New Deal is destined to fail due to its ambition and reliance on the public sector.
Despite the former governor's record, Hickenlooper--who is also a geologist--is supported by advocacy group 314 Action, which aims to elect scientists to office.
"With Governor Hickenlooper in the race, we have a stronger chance to flip the Senate and take real action on climate change," the group's president Shaughnessy Naughton toldThe New York Times.
But, as Boston-based activist Jonathan Cohn pointed out, Hickenlooper's positions don't reflect a commitment to science, despite his academic pedigree.
"Pretty stunning that 314 Action is pushing so hard for Hickenlooper despite his history of peddling junk science on fracking and marijuana," tweeted Cohn.
Hickenlooper will still have an uphill path to the nomination, not least for a comment made during his presidential run when the former governor said he was "not cut out for the Senate." Primary opponent and former state Rep. Joe Salazar seized on that statement in comments to the The Denver Post about Hickenlooper's candidacy and record.
"With Hickenlooper's entry into the senatorial field, people have receipts and they're going to show them," said Salazar. "And they have the right to do that."
"Hickenlooper really stepped in it when he said he's not cut out to be a senator," Salazar added. "People are going to show why he's not."
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