Victory! Donna Edwards's Win Puts Progressive Hero in Congress

This is a huge night for Maryland, for the Democratic Party, and for Democratic Courage. Donna Edwards has won her tight-fought campaign. We're proud to have contributed to this victory for our first endorsed candidate. I went out on the Democratic Courage canvass for Donna on Sunday with other volunteers from Democratic Courage and other progressive organizations - and you could feel change in the air. Thought I'd share the below piece about the victory I wrote for The Huffington Post. - Glenn Hurowitz

Maryland Gives Country Big Wet Progressive Kiss
Last night's presidential results were clear: one progressive bested another. But perhaps even more important for the future of the Democratic Party were the results in Maryland's Fourth Congressional District where progressive champion Donna Edwards went up against entrenched (Democratic) defender of the Republican culture of corruption Al Wynn.

The progressive won.

It's really an extraordinary result. Wynn has been office since 1992 and has cozied up to just about every special interest out there, taking hundreds of thousands from polluters, banks, and drug companies and repaying them with his votes for Bush's ultra-polluting 2005 energy bill, Bush's 2005 bankruptcy bill (that made it harder for working people to get out of debt), Bush's Iraq War, and Bush's efforts to keep big money in politics.

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He was the Wynn in the Wynn-Ney Bill meant designed to gut soft money limits (the Ney was Bob Ney, who has since been convicted of corruption charges related to the Jack Abramoff scandal). Then, he went on to become the lead sponsor of the phony "527 Fairness Act" that would actually allow individuals to contribute millions to the political parties and candidates.

As if this wasn't skeevy enough, Wynn actually attacked Donna Edwards during the campaign for being poor - not paying her taxes on time when she was a single mom without health care. I think few people would blame a mom for putting children's well-being before the bills.

I hoped that voters would see through these clumsy, mean-spirited attacks to the Donna Edwards I've seen personally. I first met her because she sat on the board of Green Corps, which trains young environmentalists (including me) to be future environmental leaders - and I could tell she was a real progressive fighter and a sincere person. In addition to her environmental work, she headed the Arca Foundation, which supports a living wage, a fair judiciary, Social Security, and labor rights, planting seeds of good around the country and the world.

For that reason, Edwards could count on the support of progressive organizations like MoveOn.org, SEIU, Sierra Club, and the PAC I direct, Democratic Courage. Ironically, given his role in defending big money in politics, Wynn attacked Edwards for these "outside groups'" support for her. It was a cynical ploy - he was hoping his constituents couldn't tell the difference between the labor unions and environmental groups funding Edwards and the pharmaceutical companies funding Wynn.

But he was wrong.

That means we'll have another progressive hero in Congress, which is great news. But I think this race will send a more powerful message to the cautious corporate Democrats standing in the way of a progressive agenda: cozy up to big money and sleazy politics - and run away from progressive champions like MoveOn.org - at your peril.

The smart ones will change their tunes before they get into a tough primary. And the stupid, stubborn, or just plain ornery? Well, I'm sure Al Wynn will have a cozy job waiting for them during what I imagine will be his next job as a corporate lobbyist.