Establishment favorite Joe Biden was in Indiana the other day, campaigning for Senator Joe Donnelly.



Biden peppered his speech here Friday night with red-meat applause lines for the hundreds of enthusiastic Democrats in the crowd: he talked of protecting health care and coverage for pre-existing conditions, gave shout-outs to union and middle-class households and criticized the current administration, saying that “basic American values are under assault” and President Donald Trump is “cratering” America’s reputation abroad.

Ah yes, that nasty Donald Trump, with his racism and such. Democrats resist that.

Barak Obama also stumped for Donnelly.

So what sort of Democrat is Donnelly?

In Donnelly’s new ad, he denounces the “radical left” and rejects calls by some Democrats to “abolish” ICE. “I support ICE [and] funding President Trump’s border wall,” Donnelly says.

...

Donnelly also distances himself in the ad from the idea of universal health care, which is popular with progressive Democrats, calling it “socialized medicine.” That’s a derogatory term used by conservatives for the last half century to criticize calls for a greater government role in paying for health care coverage.

For f*ck sake. Why not just run as a right-wing Libertarian?

Oh wait.

This is the prized candidate of the Democratic establishment.

This is your McResistance in action.

Personally I'm focused on Kara Eastman in Kansas.



Leading progressive organizations have joined together for a final-week, six-figure ad buy for the heavily outspent progressive Kara Eastman in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, even as a corporate Democratic group begins an early victory lap, forecasting her defeat. The ad features a Trump voter touting Eastman’s support for “Medicare for All,” a rare rebuttal to the enduring conservative ad barrage against the idea. Two groups that had declined to back her during the primary — EMILY’s List and House Majority PAC, the main independent expenditure arm for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is in charge of electing House Democrats — are also helping fund the ad. EMILY’s List controversially declined to endorse Eastman in her contest against a male Democrat, former Rep. Brad Ashford, with an anti-abortion record. Ashford had the backing of the DCCC. Just two weeks ago, House Majority PAC pulled planned ads for Eastman’s bid against incumbent Republican Don Bacon, in an Omaha-area swing district that Trump won in 2016 by only 2 points. The withdrawal of support had officials from Third Way, a corporate-backed group that pushes Democrats in a conservative direction, crowing. The race has become a flashpoint for a meta-argument between D.C.-based liberal and centrist groups over how to best win elections in the age of Trump. Eastman, a public health nonprofit executive, was one of only two insurgent candidates to defeat a DCCC-backed challenger in a primary this year. (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley both beat incumbents.) If Eastman wins the general election, a blow would be dealt to the well-worn argument that Democrats must trim their sails in swing-seat races. Yet left out of the conversation is the role of money, as Eastman is being outspent by 2-1 when Republican outside money is factored in. While FiveThirtyEight forecasts the race as a toss-up, several polls have shown Eastman trailing in the mid- to high single digits.

The DCCC has made no meaningful contribution to Eastman's campaign.

Instead the establishment likes Donnelly, and his support of Trump's policies.