Pro-trade Democrats are waking Friday morning to a new threat: Vote for President Obama’s trade deals and progressives will leave them “to rot” or even find another Democrat to challenge them in the upcoming primary elections.
The threat from Democracy for America is real. The group tells Secrets, “since our founding in 2004, DFA’s one million members have raised and contributed more than $32.7 million and made more than 10.1 million volunteer calls to help successfully elect 831 progressive candidates nationwide.”
DFA is just one of the left’s influential groups pressing Democrats to junk President Obama’s pending trade deals that the House is set to vote on Friday. Many Democrats have already abandoned the president, making the pressure even greater on the few supporting both fast-track and the Asia trade agreement.
.@DFAaction urging members of Congress to vote “NO” on #TAA. It’s a trap! Here’s why: http://t.co/Q53RFUNqI1 pic.twitter.com/3vNcRBP8EL
— DemocracyForAmerica (@DFAaction) June 11, 2015
But the language in the Friday threat was especially harsh.
Jim Dean, chair of Democracy for America, said in a statement, “Ahead of today’s votes we wanted to be very clear to Democratic members of Congress: If you vote for either Medicare-cutting Trade Adjustment Assistance legislation or Fast Track Authority for the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership, we will not lift a finger or raise a penny to protect you when you’re attacked in 2016, we will encourage our progressive allies to join us in leaving you to rot, and we will actively search for opportunities to primary you with a real Democrat.
“Those primaries could happen next year or they could happen in election cycles to come, but, make no mistake, today’s vote to cut Medicare and fast track the destruction of American jobs will be remembered and will either haunt you or make you a hero.”
DFA spokesman Neil Sroka added, “DFA’s members have literally been battling Fast Track for the TPP for years — so this isn’t a statement we make lightly.”
MoveOn.org is also on the warpath. In a memo, they said they are also melting the phone lines to build opposition. “If we can make enough noise—ringing their phones off the hook, blowing up their Twitter feeds, jamming their Facebook pages with messages, and flooding the media airwaves—they’ll realize that their vote on Fast Track will be noticed. And we’ll send a message: if you side with corporate power over regular Americans, we will not forget or forgive this vote.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
