Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

You are here: Home / Economics / Grifters Gonna Grift / Let’s Look at Justice Democrats

Let’s Look at Justice Democrats

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As requested in the comments, I took a look at how Justice Democrats spends their money. It ain’t pretty.

In the last cycle, they raised $2.7 million and spent $2.5 mil. Here’s where it went.

That teeny tiny purple slice ($33K) is direct contributions to candidates. The bulk of the money is spent on overhead. I was thinking that “Strategy & Research” might be a category of indirect spending on the part of candidates, but it doesn’t look like it. Almost all of it ($605K) was sent to a PAC called Brand New Congress, which was founded by former Sanders campaign staff. Brand New Congress has a similar financial profile as Justice Democrats — very little of their money goes directly to candidates.

So, if you want to spend money to pay salaries and push money to another PAC, Justice Democrats should get your cash. If not, you might want to contribute directly to candidates via ActBlue. There’s nothing wrong with starting an organization that evaluates and endorses candidates without funding them, and Justice Democrats is clear that the contribution to them benefits them, but it doesn’t take a couple million bucks to do that.

Reader Interactions

108Comments

  1. 1.

    TenguPhule

    Attorney William Consovoy told the court that there is almost no legislation Congress could constitutionally pass to rein in any unethical behavior by the President. Because of that, Consovoy argued, there were no legitimate legislative reasons for the House Oversight Committee to subpoena Trump’s accounting firm for his finances.

    Crazy Banana pants now mainstreamed.

  4. 4.

    Mary G

    I wouldn’t be surprised if we learn that some of Justice Democrats’ money originally comes from Russia. They seem to be trying to divide Democrats and inflame racial division and they are succeeding. Look how much time this blog has wasted in the last couple of days. I am focussed on flipping the Senate. It’s a long shot, but if the administration keeps accelerating the awful for the next 15 months, it may be doable.

  11. 11.

    Quinerly

    I step away for 15 mins and you basically Bigfoot Anne Laurie with this bullshit?

  15. 15.

    Immanentize

    Easy to explain — Mistermix got his ass handed to him for promoting a racist anti-Congressional Black Caucus agenda by Justice Dems. So. Like me when I was, say 12, he is back with “Yeah, but what about….”

    Do not fight good Dems, spend your efforts fighting republicans.

  21. 21.

    James E Powell

    I’m an ActBlue here’s my money please win please kind of donor. Although I have more often written checks – Does anybody remember checks! – at fundraisers lately.

  24. 24.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Immanentize:

    Do not fight good Dems, spend your efforts fighting republicans.

    Really? Really? Is this where we are now? No elected DEM should ever be challenged by anyone else in a primary for any reason whatsoever? We don’t need to get any better because we are so close to perfect already? It’s all about those evil Republicans?

    I think we can walk and chew gum at the same time.

    I am so done with this bullshit for tonight.

  30. 30.

    Immanentize

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    I said good Dems. I think supporting a challenger to the Lipinskis is good effort. But spending ANY caSh, effort and energy on anything but defeating Trump and the horses seems wrong. Deflating. I am not in the Clay district. Those 170k people need to do what they need to do. But worrying about this (or spending money on it) is an energy sink that gets me not an inch closer to my real goal

    Show me someone bad and I fight — Dem or not. Show me something “Meh?” and what John Lennon said.

  31. 31.

    chopper

    exactly. the question isn’t ‘could some democrats maybe use a primary’. the question is, ‘are the people pushing for a primary acting in good faith’. you’d think after the berniacs pulled a lot of this shit a few years back people would be able to sniff out left-wing ratfucking, but sadly you’d be mistaken apparently.

  33. 33.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    @Immanentize:

    But spending ANY cash, effort and energy on anything but defeating Trump and the horses seems wrong. Deflating. I am not in the Clay district. Those 170k people need to do what they need to do. But worrying about this (or spending money on it) is an energy sink that gets me not an inch closer to my real goal

    This.

    2020 is about running the tables on the Republicans. We can sort out our internal squabbles LATER!

  36. 36.

    Mary G

    These assholes. Pence is out here, was drooling over Navy Seals yesterday, today had a pre planned visit to a CBP facility today. I thought it would be all cleaned up like a Potemkin village, but no. The cruelty is the point.

    VP saw 384 men sleeping inside fences, on concrete w/no pillows or mats. They said they hadn’t showered in weeks, wanted toothbrushes, food. Stench was overwhelming. CBP said they were fed regularly, could brush daily & recently got access to shower (many hadn’t for 10-20 days.) pic.twitter.com/tHFZYxJF7C— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) July 12, 2019

    I wish I was strong enough to go protest these abominations tonight.

  38. 38.

    joel hanes

    I got email from Brand New Congress just today.
    So thanks for the information.
    I’ll go retrieve it from the Trash folder and mark it as spam.

  40. 40.

    Mary G

    @Mary G: I am Mary G and I approve this message:

    May the stench follow Pence all the days of his life and he shall dwell in the House of Trump forever.— Joel C Richmond (@jcrsaltman) July 12, 2019

  42. 42.

    Kent

    Not every congressman is going to be a leading expert or legislative wizard. Frankly most of this stuff is written by staff rather than the members of Congress themselves anyway. What I want out of Dems in safe seats is reliable votes for Dem priorities and basic responsible constituent services and no drama like corruption or bad press. Clay seems to have that handled. Someone wants to primary him? Fine. It’s his job to stay on top of his district and if he is vulnerable in a +25 majorty-minority district it is his own damn fault. More likely anyone going against him will be crushed.

    To the extent that we spend scarce resources primarying D’s it should be those who do not support a progressive agenda like Lipinski. That seems pretty damn obvious. I’m not really sure how many centrist corporate D’s there are in Dem-leaning districts who undermine progressive proposals. But that’s where I’d be looking for primary opportunities. Anyone can primary anyone. That’s not off limits. Someone wants to primary Pelosi, have at it. But that’s not where I’d be allocating scarce national resources when the Orcs inside the fucking castle.

  43. 43.

    Mary G

    @Mary G:

    Asked Pence afterwards if he was OK with what he said. On first two times, he didn’t directly say yes or no and said he expected to see it and wasn’t surprised. He later said he obviously wasn’t ok with it because he’d been trying to fix the system.— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) July 12, 2019

  44. 44.

    Mary G

    @Mary G:

    The men said they were hungry and wanted to brush teeth. Most didn’t speak English but gestured at us. CBP said three meals are brought in a day & they can brush daily. Stench was horrendous. CPB said it is cleaned 3x a day. Heat was sweltering. CBP said it was air conditioned.— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) July 12, 2019

  48. 48.

    debbie

    @Mary G:

    Not just Pence; all those fucking Evangelicals too. They should have to live the rest of their lives like that Poe (?) story where they can’t wash the blood off their hands or stop hearing that beating heart.

  49. 49.

    TenguPhule

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Why would US government attorneys be different?

    Because the federal government’s attorneys used to be held to a higher professional standard then your bog normal attorneys.

  52. 52.

    ArchPundit

    @Kent:
    He cost us a Democratic seat in redistricting. He has that kind of +29 District because he took on the other Democratic district to make himself safe when he would have had a +10 – +15 district if they had kept both districts.
    He is not an ally of Democrats regardless of what he has after his name.

  57. 57.

    lamh36

    @Mary G: White Jesus would be so proud of Chump VP.
    I hope he has nightmares that lead to bleeding ulcers from the guilt…but I doubt hie will

  58. 58.

    kindness

    @ArchPundit: Are we talking Missouri? I thought we were. Wasn’t Missouri’s redistricting done by Republicans in 2010? I’m pretty sure they did the redistricting. Blaming Clay is kinda lying.

  59. 59.

    One-time-and-one-time-only

    I have never commented here before but have to say: posturing lefty white guy, you have had your fun, now sit down, shut up and let everyone else get on with fixing actual problems that are hurting real people. I get exhausted just reading your posts.

  61. 61.

    Mary G

    I guess they did have a Potemkin Village set up inside full of clean children with toothpaste and food – the men Josh Dawsey found were in back of the same facility and the media pool wasn’t supposed to see it.

    Toured the Donna Processing Center with @SecondLady and saw firsthand how even in the face of our overwhelmed facilities, @CBP is providing humane and compassionate care. Congress MUST reform our laws to end this unsustainable crisis of illegal immigration at the border. pic.twitter.com/zQZkJKRGU4— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) July 12, 2019

    Monster.

  62. 62.

    Kent

    @ArchPundit:

    @Kent:
    He cost us a Democratic seat in redistricting. He has that kind of +29 District because he took on the other Democratic district to make himself safe when he would have had a +10 – +15 district if they had kept both districts.
    He is not an ally of Democrats regardless of what he has after his name.

    Didn’t the GOP control restricting in MO? And since when do Congressmen create their own districts? That is something state legislatures do.

    I see kindness beat me to it. I can certainly see how Clay benefitted from the GOP’s efforts to sequester Dems in as few districts as possible. But if the Dems in the state legislature did that on purpose that was political malpractice on their part.

  67. 67.

    Immanentize

    @ArchPundit:
    There was a guy who called himself Archpundit about half a decade ago who lives in Illinois. Is that you? If so, why would anyone ever refer to themselves as a pundit?

  69. 69.

    Immanentize

    @The Dangerman: I’ve wanted to ask this for a long time, but Mnushin looks like Mr. Limpet. But with dyed hair. And I thought Limpet Fought the Nazis rather than was a Nazi. I am so confused.

  71. 71.

    TenguPhule

    Acosta’s measured approach was an uncomfortable fit in Trump administration

    Industry grew frustrated with what its leaders felt was his foot-dragging on rolling back Obama-era labor rules, and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney was receptive to their pleas.

    Fired for being insufficiently craven, evil and corrupt.

  77. 77.

    ArchPundit

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    But they couldn’t have during that cycle at least. As shitty of a Dem as Jay Nixon was, he vetoed the map. It was only when Cleaver and Clay pushed to get Democrats to override the veto with the Republicans that it happened. Democrats stay together, they could have given Clay a safe seat, and at a minimum a Democratic leaning district for MO-2.

  79. 79.

    Immanentize

    @ArchPundit: They did not. They chose an opportunity to increase (or at least maintain) minority representation over the bleaching of the Democratic party. The inclusion of the suburbs which MIGHT have created two Democratic districts, maybe, would have likely led to two white Congresscritters. I am sure that was a difficult decision, but one I understand and support.

    Look, I’m white, you’re white. Do you support maintaining and then expanding minority representation?

    So what happened in 2010 as we stand, nearly a decade later, on the edge of another redistricting is what fires your passionate hatred of Clay?

  81. 81.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @ArchPundit: Your comment is unresponsive to my comment, you seem to be confused.

    ETA: I see your comment above, do you remember what happened in the mid-census re-apportionment in Texas? How long could Nixon have held out, the GOP would continue to put out maps that were worse for Dems. I think you’re underestimating the GOP’s ability to screw with maps.

  82. 82.

    Kent

    @ArchPundit:

    I read throught the article after I posted. So the GOP drew a map and two black state senators went along with the veto override.

    Under an alternate history what would have happened? Slightly different districts? They weren’t going to get the old 2009 map back no matter what. But I agree, I always dislike when dems cave to GOP perfidy due to self interest as appears was the case here.

  84. 84.

    Mary G

    The latest spin:

    Update: Office of @VP says it specifically instructed @CBP "to not clean up or sanitize the facility beyond what is routine so the American people could see how serious the crisis at our border is (overcrowding, lack of resources, beds)," according to @jdawsey1.— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) July 13, 2019

  85. 85.

    ArchPundit

    @Immanentize:

    The inclusion of the suburbs which MIGHT have created two Democratic districts, maybe, would have likely led to two white Congresscritters.

    Are you familiar with North Saint Louis County? It isn’t white and a map could have easily been done creating a +10 to +15 majority black district. That still would have created a +5 to +10 Democratic MO-2 with about 30-40 percent minority population as well. You simply don’t know the demographics if you don’t understand this. Not only did I live in MO-1 for nearly 18 years, I have gone over more demographic maps of that area than you can imagine. I’m fascinated that you think you know the demographics that well, but don’t know the first thing about the suburbs Clay represented before 2010 even.

    My passionate hatred of Clay comes from him screwing his own constituents over for years by selling them out for corporate donations, squashing any grassroots candidates who dare oppose a crony, and his concern over his petty politics over the well being of his constituents and the City of Saint Louis as a whole. He doesn’t do anything and I’m baffled how a younger, African-American candidate is a threat to creating a white represented district. But keep pretending you are aware of the Missouri and Saint Louis politics in any substantive way.

  88. 88.

    ArchPundit

    @Kent:

    It was pretty clear–Nixon would veto, the Dem caucuses would push to keep MO-1 safe–meaning +10-15 percent Dem and majority black with MO-2 +5-10 D.. Rs wouldn’t be happy, but they knew they were getting Skelton’s district eventually. giving them a 5-3 majority even in that remap.

  89. 89.

    ArchPundit

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    So just give up and give them the seat right off the bat? I don’t understand your logic? Even if they did that, Clay and Cleaver were safe because they needed two vote sinks for black voters at least.

  90. 90.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Well kids, I am off to the “Go fuck yourself with a rusty farm implement, Donald Trump” thingy in Madison. Play nice.

  92. 92.

    Immanentize

    @ArchPundit:

    could have easily been done creating a +10 to +15 majority black district.

    Which is undoubtedly what the Republicans in charge would have done. No doubt that is the Occam’s razor result that would have happened in MO! There are currently two Democratic Congressmen from MO. They are both black. We have the majority in Congress now. Are you saying the Union would be better if those two (or possibly three) Congress members were white? That is a real possibility in a differently gerrymandered MO.

    Sometimes diversity representation interests align with self interest. Or are all longtime black politicians, who have worked in and for their communities, corrupt? Or just the ones who promote diverse representation?

  94. 94.

    ArchPundit

    @Immanentize: @Immanentize:

    First, Cleaver’s district wasn’t at stake. Everyone already agreed to it. It was across the state and Republicans needed a vote sink on that side.

    On the eastern side of the state, Clay would have had a majority black district that was also +10-15 D so I am baffled how you keep claiming that is going to result in a white Democrat. Perhaps you could explain that. That wasn’t a real possibility. Again, you don’t seem to understand what the demographics of North Saint Louis County are–there are more African-Americans there than in the City of Saint Louis.

  97. 97.

    Bonnie

    I saw film of VP Pence visit to a Texas detention center. America is officially a scumbag nation!

  100. 100.

    Immanentize

    @ArchPundit: Why yes, yes I do. Have you read every Supreme Court voting decision since the ratification of the 13th Amendment? I really don’t care. But good on you for reading A BOOK.
    ????

  102. 102.

    ArchPundit

    @Immanentize:

    Then make a point. Would you care to actually discuss the demographics of Saint Louis since you seem to be so well versed on how an alternative map would put Clay at risk? Or are you just happy being flip and not knowing anything?

  103. 103.

    Kent

    @ArchPundit: You obviously know WAY more about MO than I do which is basically nothing. I was living in TX at the time and watched Tom DeLay re-district out a very good Dem Congressman from Waco who was hugely popular (Chet Edwards) by dropping Temple and Fort Hood from his district where he was strong with the military voters and adding a whole bunch of GOP-leaning southern suburbs of Fort Worth to the district that had zero connection to Waco or Central Texas.

    TX Dems were basically helpless to stop the process. They even fled to New Mexico to deny a quorum but eventually it happened and we got stuck with Tom Flores ever since, who about the only good thing you can say about him is that at least he isn’t a Tea Party Freedom Caucus type.

    That said, back to my original point. I’m not interested in hating on Clay if he is a reliable progressive vote. If we are going to spend time on primaries I think there are better targets. And MUCH better targets for GOP held districts that are purplish like here in WA with the WA-3rd.

  104. 104.

    ArchPundit

    @Kent:

    Kent, I appreciate your concerns completely. We had a way to stop the Rs in this case–and maybe it wouldn’t have stuck. I never liked Carnahan either so it was just the seat I was concerned with. I think he’s far less reliable than he’s made out to be. He’ll vote on some of the hot button issues, but then sell out on issues like corporate governance. For example he voted against net neutrality. He’s also voted against keeping competitive rates for competitors in local broadband which is a giveaway to phone companies. He knows that ATT will give him a lot of campaign cash for votes that are hard to explain to his voters, but impact them greatly. North Saint Louis and North Saint Louis County have relatively abysmal internet service and he has voted against them. There are many more examples of this sort of things as well as fighting against all sorts of African-American grassroots candidates. He was no where to be found for months on Ferguson, but then came in and made noise taking away some of the effort by grassroots folks.

    So I understand what you are saying about not wanting to waste resources, but this falls into what I think of as not just more Democrats, but better Democrats. We can challenge him because it’s a safe district. One can debate whether that money could be better used, but I think someone like Clay is a weakness for the caucus and for the party because everything I’ve seen is it’s more about Clay than liberal values.

  105. 105.

    Bill Arnold

    @The Dangerman:

    So, THIS is how the World basically ends. OK, good to know.

    Mnuchin refused to comply with a House subpoena. Pelosi has some serious leverage, if she chooses to use it. I hope she does, publicly. Many in Mnuchin’s social circle would not appreciate a US default; he and his wife would not be invited to many parties any more. (Some are surely shorting the US ala UK & Brexit.)

  106. 106.

    Bill Arnold

    @Bill Arnold:
    Ugh, worse, Trump’s treasury secretary: The tax cut ‘will pay for itself’ (April 20, 2017)

    Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the economic growth that would result from the proposed tax cuts would be so extreme – close to $2 trillion over 10 years – that it would come close to recouping all of the lost revenue from the dramatic rate reductions.

    Mnuchin lied[0] about the tax cuts, is scrambling because we’re borrowing money at a faster rate than we were pre-tax cuts, refused to comply with a House subpoena.
    If he’s arranged matters such that he personally benefits from a US default, then he should worry about … guillotines.
    [0] Yes, lied. He’s too smart and greedy to believe in voodoo economics.

  107. 107.

    Another Scott

    @Bill Arnold: Yeah, the tax cuts raised so much money that he’s begging Nancy to raise the debt ceiling this month. GovExec:

    The Trump administration is warning Congress it has less time than expected to raise the nation’s borrowing limit and asked lawmakers to act in the coming weeks.

    The Treasury Department is unsure of when it will reach its limit, Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Friday. Therefore, Mnuchin explained, lawmakers should act to suspend or raise the borrowing cap before Congress adjourns for its annual summer recess.

    “Based on updated projections, there is a scenario in which we run out of cash in early September, before Congress reconvenes,” Mnuchin said. “As such, I request that Congress increase the debt ceiling before Congress leaves for summer recess.”

    Such a move could untangle the debt ceiling issue from ongoing negotiations over the budget and appropriations. Lawmakers had hoped to tie the two issues together, but the updated timeline could now make that difficult. Congress and the White House remain far apart on a deal to raise budget caps to avoid automatic spending cuts that are set to take place in fiscal 2020 under the 2011 Budget Control Act. Pelosi said on Thursday she has spoken to Mnuchin multiple times this week and is still looking to take up the debt ceiling and a budget deal together.

    A bill to raise or suspend the debt ceiling is seen as must-pass legislation to avoid the fiscal calamity of a default, spurring lawmakers to attempt to connect it to the spending impasse in hopes of avoiding a budget showdown and a potential government shutdown come October. The Treasury technically hit its debt limit in March, but took its usual “extraordinary measures”—such as suspending daily reinvestments into the Thrift Savings Plan’s government securities (G) Fund, as well as investments into the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund and the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund—to delay a default.

    “Duh, I don’t know how many days before our giant tax cuts for billionaires like me will finally bankrupt the country, but you better raise the debt ceiling now – and not tie it to the budget or anything else that we don’t like – or bad things will happen.”

    Shoot-the-hostage negotiations are the only tactics these guys know.

    Grrr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

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