Press Coverage

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) warned Democrats on Saturday that they couldn’t afford a loss in Iowa’s “critical” U.S. Senate race, because it would hand Republicans control of the chamber.

Speaking of Republican candidate state Sen. Joni Ernst on a conference call hosted by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Reid said, “She’s so far to the right that maybe even a part of the right wouldn’t like what she’s talking about.”

Reid urged progressive activists to make phone calls to Iowa voters on behalf of Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), whom he described as “a fine man” with “a good record of public service.”

“She’s so out of line with mainstream Iowans, mainstream Americans, that she refuses to appear before editorial boards,” Reid said. “She has spent the entire campaign talking about what she did as a young girl, castrating animals. That is not the issue.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Saturday urged progressive activists to get out the vote for Bruce Braley, calling Iowa crucial to Democratic hopes to keep the Senate.

“If we win Iowa, we’re going to do just fine,” Reid said on a call organized by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “Iowa is a key for what we do.”

During the call, Reid said Joni Ernst, the GOP Senate nominee in Iowa, would be a disaster for issues key to progressives, like protecting Social Security and raising the minimum wage.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Saturday that the nail-biter Iowa Senate race will be “critical” to Democrats.

“If we win Iowa we’re going to do just fine,” Reid said on a call hosted by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Talking Points Memo reported. “Iowa is critical. There’s no other way to say it.”

The race between Republican Joni Ernst and Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley is one of the closest in the country, with Ernst maintaining only the narrowest lead over Braley in public polling.

Now, each party is directing last-minute firepower to the Hawkeye State, with appearances by party surrogates and heavy spending on television and radio advertising. Recently, Hillary Clinton traveled to the state on multiple occasions to boost Braley. Sens. Marco Rubio and John McCain have appeared with Ernst on the campaign trail in recent days.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said keeping a U.S. Senate seat in Iowa was key to Democratic control of the upper chamber as he and Sen. Elizabeth Warren rallied voters Saturday in a final push before election day.

“If we win Iowa, we’re going to be just fine,” Reid told activists on a morning conference call organized by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “Iowa is critical.”

What was supposed to be an easy lift for Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley in the race for the seat opened by longtime Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin in Iowa is now among the most competitive contests of the midterm elections.

If Joni Ernst beats Rep. Bruce Braley in Iowa on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he expects to kiss the Democratic majority goodbye.

The Nevada Democrat said if Braley wins in Iowa, Democrats will do “just fine.” And if they lose? Say hello to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Reid said in a conference call Saturday with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

“Joni Ernst would mean — coming to the United States Senate — that Mitch McConnell would be leader of the United States Senate, who agrees with her on everything. Think of what would mean for our country,” Reid said of Ernst, repeatedly attacking her positions against raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.

Warren has repeatedly denied interest in running for president — although she did suggest some wiggle room recently — but she remains a forceful voice on income inequality and refinancing college loans. Liberals hope Warren’s popularity within the party encourages Clinton to adopt some of their concerns. But they remain wary of the former secretary of state’s ties to Wall Street.

“The single best way for Hillary Clinton to ingratiate herself with Elizabeth Warren is to embrace Warren’s populist agenda of reforming Wall Street, reducing student debt and expanding Social Security benefits,” said Adam Green, who leads the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has been a staunch supporter of Warren.

In fact, virtually every traditional pillar of Democratic support, from Hispanics and African-Americans to young voters and progressives, has some level of dissatisfaction with the White House and party leaders.

Some liberals say that Democrats’ problems show they didn’t lean hard enough on their populist message this year. Adam Green, a co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said that national Democrats would have a more energetic base if they had better followed the lead of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

“Warren’s economic populist agenda offers a pathway to success for Democrats in 2014 and 2016 — if they choose to take it,” Green said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warned in a fundraising pitch Wednesday that Republicans could try to impeach and remove President Obama from office if the GOP wins control of the Senate in next week’s elections.

“Frankly, a Republican House and Senate could go beyond shutting down the government — they could waste months of our lives on impeachment,” Mr. Reid said in a fundraising email sent by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which is an outside group whose goal is to bolster liberal Democrats.

The email appeal asks for support for three Democrats in particular: Sen. Mark Begich in Alaska, Sen. Mark Udall in Colorado, and Rep. Bruce Braley, Democrats’ nominee in Iowa.

It’s crunch time in the midterm elections, and Democrats are pulling out all the stops to hold on to their endangered Senate majority, including reviving the specter of impeachment if they lose control.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will sound the siren in an email set to be sent on Wednesday afternoon to the roughly 1 million members of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a copy of which was viewed in advance by TPM.

Even if Republicans were to win control of the Senate, it would not mean they’d have the two-thirds majority needed to remove the president from office in the event that the House votes to impeach him. There was some talk of impeaching President Barack Obama among Republicans earlier this year but that has largely died down in the run-up to next week’s midterm election.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is raising the specter of impeachment to rouse Democratic donors with less than a week before the midterm vote.

In a fundraising email to members of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), Reid warns that a Republican-controlled Senate could lead to a congressional effort to impeach President Obama.

The PCCC has had some success marshaling its supporters in favor of progressive candidates in the past.

But Reid’s fundraising email comes at a time when Republicans are increasingly optimistic about their chances of netting the six Senate seats needed to capture control of the upper chamber. GOP candidates have pulled ahead in races that could swing Senate control and are close in seats Democrats had expected to hold easily.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, facing the likely loss of Democratic control of the Senate, is bringing out the bogeymen.

In an email to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee’s 1 million members with the subject “I need these three,” Mr. Reid writes that a Republican-controlled Senate would “hold our government hostage in order to pressure President Obama to swallow right-wing policies.”

He points to the Senate races in Alaska, Iowa and Colorado as “neck and neck” and asks donors to give $3 to the Democratic candidates in those states.

And Mr. Reid brings home his point with a big “or else.”

“Frankly, a Republican House and Senate could go beyond shutting down the government — they could waste months of our lives on impeachment,” he said.

Is Hillary Clinton contending for the Democratic left, the ground Elizabeth Warren has been stomping? Adam Green and Ruth Marcus join to discuss.

And the more anti-corporate tone is pleasing to the ears of liberals who have pined for Senator Elizabeth Warren, a scourge of Wall Street banks, to challenge Clinton for the Democratic nomination. And, they say, it’s a message Clinton can use against Republicans because many in the GOP have turned wary of Wall Street and big corporations since the 2008 financial crash.

“Warren’s economic populist agenda offers a pathway to success for Democrats in 2014 and 2016 –if they choose to take it,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “Hillary Clinton may be realizing that Elizabeth Warren’s economic populist positions are the path to electoral success in 2016–both in the primary and general election.”

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and liberal firebrand Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., sent an email to PCCC members – about a million nationwide, including about 125,000 in California – urging them to donate money to or make phone calls for Honda’s campaign. PCCC also is adding Honda to its “Call Out The Vote” program, mobilizing calls to voters from its national election headquarters and volunteers across the country on his behalf.

PCCC spokeswoman Laura Friedenbach said Friday that helping Honda win is a no-brainer for her group, especially since Khanna sent out a mailer blasting Honda as being too liberal.

“Khanna can’t seem to decide what party he sides with, but he’s made one thing clear: He’s not on the side of progressives,” she said. “This race is center stage in a national battle taking place between corporate Democrats and Elizabeth Warren wing Democrats for the soul of the Democratic Party.”

The former secretary of state and likely presidential candidate reached out a hand to the restive base of her party by wrapping her arms around Sen. Elizabeth Warren during a speech in Boston Friday where the two politicians shared a sage.

“As Hillary Clinton strikes a populist tone and people speculate about Elizabeth Warren’s plans, one thing remains clear: Warren’s economic populist message resonates with voters of all stripes, and her agenda offers a pathway to success for Democrats in 2014 and 2016 – if they choose to take it. That’s why Warren is the most sought after campaigner for Democrats across the country this year,” said Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which was an early support of Warren’s.

Much to the disappointment of her ardent fans, Elizabeth Warren has repeatedly, emphatically and in no uncertain terms said she is not running for president in 2016.

Or is she?

The senator’s office in Washington had no immediate response, but Warren enthusiasts most certainly did, seeing it as just the opening needed to propel her possible candidacy.

“Her economist populist message resonates with voters of all stripes, and her agenda offers a pathway to success for Democrats,” said Adam Green, co-founder Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which supports like-minded candidates.

Stephanie Taylor, PCCC co-founder — The Progressive Change Campaign Committee knows how to make noise in Democratic circles, and more importantly it knows how to rake in the dollars online. A longtime labor organizer, Taylor co-founded the PCCC alongside Adam Green in 2009, and has been applying data and technology to the committee’s outreach efforts ever since. While the PCCC may be a thorn in the side of some moderate Democratic candidates, and even some Washington-based Democratic groups, there’s no denying the group’s following and impact among progressives, and that influence is expanding in Washington. The group played a leading role in generating grassroots support and money for now-Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee announced this morning that it’s crossed the 2 million phone call threshold in its question to elect lawmakers who will align with Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The group, which has raised nearly $1.4 million this cycle for Democrats, said it’s made more than 204,000 calls for Paul Clements in MI-06, 187,000 for South Dakota Democratic Senate nominee Rick Weiland and 176,000 for Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, among others. It’s also putting resources and muscle behind Democratic nominees in Colorado, Iowa and South Dakota.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren appeared to crack open the door to a potential presidential run after months of tamping down speculation on White House ambitions, telling People magazine that she’s learned to not “be so sure about what lies ahead.”

[…] “People want to know about Elizabeth Warren’s plans for the same reason she is the most sought after campaigner for Democrats across the country,” Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said in a statement. “If Democrats lose next month, it will be because they failed to heed Warren’s example early enough in the campaign. … Warren’s populist message is what excites voters.”

Most pollsters predict the Democrats will lose their Senate majority in next month’s midterm elections, but the Progressive Change Campaign Committee thinks they have a strategy to avoid this outcome, and it involves what they call the “Warren wing” of the party.

PCCC and MayDay PAC have poured over $2 million into this year’s Senate races in order to build a “firewall” around a group of Democrats they see as staunch liberals and economic populists in the mold of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts). The two groups are separate entities. PCCC is focused on promoting a progressive political agenda, while MayDay, which was founded by Harvard Law School professor and activist Lawrence Lessig, is dedicated to campaign finance reform. However, MayDay recruited the PCCC’s independent expenditure team to manage several of its efforts this cycle and, in those races, the PAC’s efforts are clearly aiding the “Warren wing” strategy.

Mayday is responding with even more money. As of this morning it’s upping its investment from $1 million to $1.25 million.

The straight-to-camera testimonial should be familiar to anyone who watches Mayday and its South Dakota partner, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. As Noam Scheiber explained last week, “PCCC insists on ads featuring local voters — often Republicans — which it unearths from its list of nearly one million members, distributed across every congressional district in the country.” It supplements this with direct outreach to its members, which MoveOn is also doing in South Dakota, in a race that’s unlikely to see more than 350,000 total votes cast.

Few progressives look forward to the prospect of a smaller Democratic caucus, especially one that loses the majority. But if there is a silver lining for activists, it will be that the candidates likely to win this November are those who have adopted a muscular, Elizabeth Warren-inspired approach; those who clung to muddled centrism will likely have lost.

“This year could show the Democratic Party that progressive populism is where the country is right now,” said T.J. Helmstetter, a spokesman for the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has worked to fortify the campaigns of those lawmakers who represent what it calls “the Elizabeth Warren wing of the Democratic Party.”

“That is going to be the lesson coming out of these elections: that this message doesn’t just work for America, it works for the Democratic Party,” Helmstetter said.

Our modeling of the district and our polling clearly showed a path to victory as long as we stayed focused and disciplined with our message and communications universe. This gave our communication team, headed by Darcy, a former staffer of Gov. Jon Corzine (D), the ammunition it needed to chip away at the media’s perceived view of the race. It also helped to bring early support from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Laborers International Union, critical early endorsers of the campaign, and to drive the all-important fundraising effort as more and more people came to believe that Watson Coleman could win.

While it’s not yet clear if the progressive wing of the party will rally around one left-wing figure who could serve as the anti-Hillary candidate, liberal leaders believe a successful Democratic candidate must embrace Ms. Warren’s message.

“An economic populist tide is sweeping the country, and by 2016 every presidential candidate will need to say whether they agree with Warren on key issues like taking on Wall Street, expanding Social Security benefits, and reducing student loan debt,” said Laura Friedenbach, spokesperson for the increasingly powerful Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

ActBlue’s roots lie in the fund-raising strategies employed by Howard Dean in the 2004 presidential campaign. And in its early years the site often was used by candidates and committees using the “progressive” label. One of its heaviest users has been the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has backed more liberal Democrats such as Bill Halter, who mounted an unsuccessful challenge to Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas in 2010, and Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator. The committee has pulled in more than $3.2 million this year via ActBlue donors.