NINA TURNER, Woman of the Future

 

August 5, 2021 NINA TURNER Woman of the Future PREVIOUS BLOGS: TERRYBAUM.BLOGSPOT.COM PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED. PODCASTS, EVENTS, INFO, POSTERS: LilithTheater.com

Nina Turner is an incredibly charismatic progressive politician. She was Bernie Sanders' campaign manager and has been elected in Ohio at the city and state level. Nina Turner lost an election on Tuesday. She was running in her congressional district's primary to be the Democratic candidate for Congress in the general election. This is a very Democratic district. There is absolutely no chance of a Republican winning in the general election. Therefore, the Democratic primary is really the final election. There are many Congressional districts like this across the country -- both red and blue -- where the dominant party's primary is the only election that matters. Turner's opponent was also an African-American woman, Shontel Brown. She is of the more docile and mainstream type beloved by Democratic Party insiders. Brown has been praised by an endorser as "respectful." Turner doesn't really DO "respectful." She does boat-rocking and corporation-challenging. Shontel Brown doesn't even support Medicare for All. If you don't understand the need for THAT, then you're not even a liberal, in my book. Medicare-for-All is one of the basic planks of Nina Turner's platform. Click the photo below to watch a campaign video by Move On in suppport of Turner. This will give you a taste of her fiery persona.

The Democratic Party power players got very worried that a woman -- who combines progressive beliefs with an ability to excite people -- might get elected. Heavens to Betsy, who needs another AOC? What a headache to the party leaders that woman has turned out to be! So the Black Congressional Caucus stepped into the fray on the side of Brown. Hilary Clinton campaigned for Brown. And not only Democrats, one of Trump's best friends, billionaire Robert Kraft, contributed the maximum amount to Brown's campaign. Because Nina Turner is bad news for billionaires and corporations. Shontel Brown? Not so much. AND Ohio has open primaries, which means ANYONE can vote for the candidates of ANY party. Right-wing commentator William Kristol took advantage of that and sent out tweets urging Republicans to request a Democratic ballot and vote for Brown. So Turner lost. But I STILL title this blog "Woman of the Future" because in her concession speech, she refused to see her defeat as anything but a temporary setback. Here is what she said: "We will continue this journey until every working person earns a living wage, including passing a $15 minimum wage. We will continue this journey until every person has health care as a right and not a privilege. We will continue this journey until children's destinies are not determined by their zip code or the color of their skin. We will continue this journey until we have torn down racism, sexism, homophobia, religious bigotry and every kind of hatred and discrimination. We will continue this journey until justice is equal for every person in this country. And this journey will continue until we have ensured that this planet will be habitable for our children and our grandchildren. So, my friends, it is OK to be sad tonight. But tomorrow we must roll up our sleeves and continue the fight to which we are all committed." Bloggelinis: Now is the "tomorrow" that Nina Turner invokes. I'm pondering about how I'm going to choose to "roll up my sleeves." I'm going to sign up to send letters through Vote Forward as soon as I'm finished with this blog. I'll be doing SOMETHING. It'll make me feel good. Click the link. Do something. Terry