A group of demonstrators, including progressive Democrat Cathy Myers and her opponent in the WI01 Democratic Primary, were arrested today protesting Paul Ryan’s ongoing refusal to bring a DACA bill forward in the House.
This is exactly the sort of activism that we want to see in progressive Democrats as we move towards 2018.
Yet a brief review of how the arrests were covered is illuminating. Two reports in Wisconson based newspapers reported on the arrest of both her and her opponent in the Democratic Primary, yet accompanying photos only showed him. Another mentioned her Democratic Primary opponent in the headline, mentioning Cathy Myers as an afterthought in the body of the report.
Than there is Twitter, wherein a Huffington Post contributor fails to mention her at all while his celebrity fan club members like Chelsea Handler gush all over him.
Cathy Myers is an outstanding candidate. A teacher, union activist (past president of her local teacher’s association) and successful Democratic candidate in local school board elections. She is a strong progressive and viable opponent to Paul Ryan yet continues to be ignored by the media and on this site.
In a year where women lead the resistance, where we see more and more women stepping up to run for office, to see a woman of Cathy Myers quality completely overlooked in favour of her male Democratic opponent is dissapointing. To see her routinely ignored in media reports is, well not all that shocking really.
And if you’re wondering why I never mention his name, well, he has seen his name in reports enough today. In this diary, at least, he can stay seated while Cathy Myers is given center stage.