Lacy Clay (D, MO-01)
Lacy Clay, the City of St. Louis’s nearly useless 10 term Democratic Congressman, was damned by faint praise, while his energetic and progressive Democratic primary opponent was gratuitously, if indirectly, libeled, in an altogether reactionary Editorial Board endorsement of Mr. Clay published last Friday by the leading local paper, the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Leaning heavily on Congressman Clay’s decades of so-called experience, the newspaper nevertheless found very few positives to show for all of that time Mr. Clay has inhabited a seat he inherited, as it were, from his father, former Congressman Bill Clay. Some examples:
This newspaper has not always had a comfortable history with Clay . . .
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Clay, 63, who holds the seat his father previously held, certainly fits the mold of the old-guard establishmentarian.
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It remains concerning to us that someone who has served as long as Clay has doesn’t have a more prominent record in Congress to show for it.
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If he hasn’t set the world on fire, he has been a steady, predictable representative and a reliable vote for mainstream Democratic priorities . . .
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Clay was able to work with Republicans . . .
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Clay's GOP colleagues would probably agree that he's a bridge-builder, not a flame-thrower.
Oh, yes, indeed! It’s definitely members of the GOP Congressional minority whom St. Louis Democrats ought to be consulting to inform our choice in the primary election.
As for the rest, if that sort of back handedness doesn’t make us want to crawl across broken glass to vote for the incumbent, what possibly could? /snark
Cori Bush For Congress
Meanwhile, the Editorial Board was positively defamatory in its evidence-free trashing of the primary challenger, Cori Bush. Here is a list of some of their surprisingly Trumpish whistles and buzz words used, attempting to throw shade on Ms. Bush —
political neophyte
activist
toying with untested extremists
the likes of Bush
fellow Democratic revolutionary, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
no elective office on her résumé
a classic left-flank approach
the insurrection movement Bush represents
a flame-thrower
The Post Dispatch, in a sense, was correct that Congressman Clay’s experience represents an important consideration in this primary election, but not like the editors thought. Mr. Clay’s experience and Congressional longevity teach us, to a certainty, that he will never become a Congressional leader on any of the many deep and abiding social problems besetting our community, whether it be gun violence, over-policing, structural racism, poverty, healthcare, etc.
Although Congressional seniority remains valuable, if less so than in the past, whatever of that value would be lost, if St. Louis Democrats chose Cori Bush to replace Congressman Clay, would be offset by an energetic, Better Democrat, ready to support and lead on the devastating problems we face atop this political precipice upon which the nation now totters. Americans cannot deal with this new present and ominous future, by thoughtlessly embracing the tired and overmatched figures of a past that will never return.
This blog supports Cori Bush in this primary with regular donations, this feeble editorial voice and a sure vote in the August 4 Democratic Primary. Donate to Cori Bush here.