It’s Gotta Be Cathy Myers, People
The media isn’t going to tell you this side of the story. It has to be us to put it out there.
We originally said we wouldn’t endorse candidates for elections when we made our editorial plans for this publication. Not a game we wanted to get into. The Snowglobe isn’t a household name yet in our area, but we intend for it to eventually become just that. We’re a brand-spanking new web publication that takes a look at local goings-on through a bigger picture, more world-contextualized lens. This is only our second piece (we’ve done a sort of “soft launch” as we get ready for a more formal unveiling down the road), and currently this is run by just two very progressive women — Gwendolyn Charlene Skaggs and me. Being lightning rods for the power plays and all the implications of making endorsements wasn’t part of our plan.
But one of the biggest proponents of ethics in history-as-it-unfolds said, “You can’t be neutral on a moving train.” That was Howard Zinn, and as usual, he is right again. Because in making this endorsement, what we are really endorsing is the democratic process — something the professional Left says it stands for but in this particular race, fell stunningly short of.
Who We Are
We saw some shit over the last year, y’all.
Gwendolyn, an artist-activist and fairly recent Kenosha resident by way of Brooklyn, has watched this race unfold with the fresh eyes of someone who isn’t entrenched in the long, deep rifts between the progressive and centrist factions in this district. She’s a principled progressive who primarily works to advance racial justice initiatives and to feed the homeless but is active in a variety of issues. The unscrupulous measures she saw being used to uplift one candidate in this primary at the expense of another struck her immediately as wrong and she searched out ways to contextualize what she was seeing. Gwendolyn’s take is in the second half of this piece.
Me, I’m a strange amalgam; a hybrid of hometown activist who has lived in this district almost all my life and knows all the political fractures here like the back of my hand, and an insider to top-tier consultants’ conversations, having worked in national politics and media over the last decade. I’m a strident political activist who is either loved or vehemently hated for the stands I’ve taken. I’m a single mom who has dealt with a deadbeat ex who didn’t get around to paying child support until he was absolutely forced to. I have a war with rheumatoid arthritis raging in my body, and I have kids who are trying to figure out how they’ll afford college and to live on their own.
As residents of this district, we have skin in the game beyond scoring political points on our belts.
How I Ended Up Seeing Some Shit In This Race
I also got to see what Cathy Myers was up against from the unique position of being inside her campaign — I was recruited at the launch of the campaign to do some digital media and messaging work, which I did between June and October of 2017. You’ll hear surrogates from Randy’s camp (that’s the kindest phrase I know to use for them) claim that that work bought my loyalty, but nothing could be further from the truth. You see, I declined the campaign’s first offer to work with them. I didn’t yet know Cathy or her platforms and I wasn’t interested in doing more political work at that moment.
A few weeks later, I saw the mediocrity of the #Ironstache product being peddled to the people, and the arrogance with which Democratic establishment “kingmakers” were pushing him out, and I decided to get to know more about Cathy. If a truly great candidate is getting railroaded, I believe the most useful thing you can do is roll up your sleeves and get into the fight, even if you are trying to keep your blood pressure under control and live a more peaceful life. I learned about Cathy’s longtime avid environmentalism and her stance against Tar Sands pipelines long before it was politically popular, and her staunch support of the LGBT kids in her school when they needed an adult to advocate for them. She led a walkout for her union that resulted in her fellow teachers receiving more prep time. I learned she was a single mom who knew what it was like to make up the difference when a father couldn’t or didn’t contribute. She had a record of electability and always unequivocally supporting a woman’s right to choose. She was an incredible candidate that we were lucky to have running, and she was getting buried by the establishment. WTF?
Once I saw her actual qualifications, I was on the phone to her campaign with lightning speed. I wanted to help her, and my litmus test for taking political work was “Only take paid work that you would legitimately also do for free if they couldn’t pay you.” It’s a weird litmus test but I actually hate politics these days — that sweet spot is how I make sure I don’t stray from the light if I am going to get involved.
My question sincerely at the time was (before I knew everything I was about to find out), “Why are these people and orgs all getting behind Randy so early when we have this amazing candidate who is actually much, much more qualified than him? This is what primaries are for — to unearth the best candidate.” At the time, I naively assumed it was just because he’d stumbled into the good fortune of a viral video at a time when people were super sick of Paul Ryan’s shit (finally!). I’d later come to learn the answer was much more unsettling than that.
But all that is to say, anyone who thinks a few months of work could buy my loyalty obviously doesn’t know me and has never spoken to my former employers. I consistently have put myself and my financial wellbeing at risk to stand up for what I think is right, even when it went against my bosses. In spite of getting paid handsomely for years as a staff writer, I still held their feet to the fire when I pushed to unionize my workplace. I liked my bosses as people, considered them friends, even. I appreciated their work to create jobs. I assumed goodwill. But I didn’t let them off the hook when push came to shove with principles, and the people who know me know that I’d never give my work, my energy, my time, and whatever power I have to someone just because I’d held a part-time job with them for a brief time. If I’m giving those things, it’s because I’ve decided they deserve them. Cathy does. People can say otherwise about my motives if they want to, but that tactic says more about them and how buy-able they are than it says about me.
The Dirty Dealings of Nation Consulting & Working Families Party
So remember I said the answer to why Randy Bryce enjoyed such a fast, un-earned rise to fundraising-juggernaut status was unsettling? Here’s what I came to unravel over time.
He didn’t have the money himself for that viral video. It was produced by high-powered consultant Bill Hyers, who managed New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s campaign. This may cause you to ask yourself — why would a top-tier, expensive consultant put up the money to create an ad for some blue collar guy living in Sturtevant, WI? This “ironstache” dude just reached out to him for some help and big time consultant guy said “Yeah out of the goodness of my heart, let me help you?” No, obviously not. You and I are not that naive. So the logical answer that remains is someone else was behind the scenes playing Svengali for this race, and making deals to get this kind of support and financing. Who?
It’s more than one person, but for starters — Sachin Chheda. He’s Randy’s local consultant with Nation Consulting, a national player in political campaigns. He was an aggressive social media bird-dog against anyone who dared speak out about Hillary Clinton’s problematic policies in 2016’s primary, and in fact incessantly harassed me at the Democratic National Convention as I did my duties as a Bernie delegate for my district. He helped hand pick Randy Bryce for this race, not so much based on his qualifications, I suspect, but rather because Randy has “the look.” That working-class, down-home package. But people who’ve lived in this district for years know the truth about how Randy has worked to ingratiate himself to the Democratic Party and their agenda.
You see, after the 2016 loss to Trump, Democratic consultants have been scrambling to figure out how they can appeal to the Rust Belt point of view that they ignored when pushing Hillary Clinton. They have two choices as the answer to that. They could push truer progressives like Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Cathy Myers (which is too risky because it will threaten their funding with entities like, oh, the fossil fuel industry for one, and push them to adopt more progressive stances which further threatens all their mega-funding sources). OR they can find candidates who have “the look” and “the sound” but don’t really stand for anything very deeply and will be easy to keep reined in. Which one do you think Randy Bryce is? You think after decades of working on pipelines, by his own admission, and advocating for them as his union instructed (he denies it, but there are receipts) he’s going to dig in his heels when fossil fuel corporations ask for a meeting with him as an elected official? He only just changed his public stance on pipelines when he was planning his campaign and his consultants told him he had to. I suspect he’ll abandon this stance as soon as it’s no longer convenient — because he has no genuine attachment to it. Hell, even Nation Consulting represents companies who work on pipelines for Enbridge. If he gets this seat, he owes everything to them. I just don’t see him having the backbone to walk away from that political debt.
Where Working Families Party Came In
But it wasn’t just Chheda and Nation Consulting. They had to stay behind the scenes so Randy’s ascent would appear organic. They needed an outfit that could give the appearance of “grassroots” energy behind Randy. They found the perfect partner in Working Families Party, who many have lately come to see as nothing more than a sheepdog organization for the Democratic Party.
Working Families Party recruited Randy Bryce to run with Chheda’s help, and then months later “endorsed” him, pretending that they were being fair in their endorsement process. If you ask them, they will tell you that they gave Cathy Myers a shot to interview for their endorsement. But because I was inside the campaign at that time, I know that to be a big, fat FALSE.
SPILLED TEA ALERT
Here is the email thread where they offered her only interview options within 24 hours of notice even after being told she’d be unavailable in that window, and refused to consider any other options. Which is ABSURD. There was no tight timeline attached to their endorsement process in the real world — it was a pretense to shut Cathy out of their endorsement process. Read the thread for yourself (the original message from Cathy is at the bottom — you can start there and work your way up if chronological order is easier):
From: Dennis Hughes <dennis@cathymyersforcongress.com>
Date: Tue, Jul 11, 2017 at 6:06 AM
Subject: Re: WI-01 — Myers Questionnaire
To: Rebecca Lynch <rlynch@workingfamilies.org>
Cc: Marina Dimitrijevic <mdimitrijevic@workingfamilies.org>, Cathy Myers <cathy@cathymyersforcongress.com>
Rebecca,
I’m sorry, but Cathy has had a commitment on her schedule for literally months that we are unable to move.
As I mentioned when we spoke last Thursday, Cathy can make any time work so long as it is after Noon on Thursday, 7/13.
Given that I disclosed Cathy’s availability and that we were given less than 24 hours notice for an interview on a date she was unavailable, I hope you will allow Cathy to reschedule and have a fair chance to make her case before you endorse in this race.
When will you be interviewing the two candidates in CD6? We would be happy to interview at that time, or any time after Noon on 7/13.
Sincerely,
Dennis
On Mon, Jul 10, 2017 at 4:18 PM, Rebecca Lynch <rlynch@workingfamilies.org> wrote:
Thanks, Dennis. I received your email.
Thank you for sharing Cathy’s circumstances with us.
When I reached out to you on Thursday, you and I discussed that we were looking to schedule a call early this week. Our process is what we’ve outlined below and has been shared within the same timeframe with all parties. Our members have challenging schedules as well.
However, we were really looking forward to speaking with Cathy. Can the candidate be available for a half hour call for one of the previously proposed times? If not, we’ve worked to find a third time option — would 10:30 am be more convenient for you?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Rebecca
On Mon, Jul 10, 2017 at 2:33 PM Dennis Hughes <dennis@cathymyersforcongress.com> wrote:
Rebecca,
As we discussed last Thursday, Cathy is very busy over the next couple days, but her schedule frees up as of Thursday afternoon.
I hope you can understand that Cathy’s responsibilities as a single mother, elected official, and candidate running against Paul Ryan has required her to keep a tight schedule, and I do not believe it is appropriate to expect her to be available for such an important meeting with less than 24 hours notice.
That said, we will do what we can do adjust her schedule and I will contact you as soon as we are able to figure something out.
More importantly, we maintain that it is unfair for this decision to be made without an in-person interview.
Sincerely,
Dennis
On Mon, Jul 10, 2017 at 12:25 PM, Rebecca Lynch <rlynch@workingfamilies.org> wrote:
Cathy and Dennis,
Thank you for completing our questionnaire and for your interest in the WI WFP’s endorsement!
Our organization will be conducting candidate interviews tomorrow via phone. Please indicate your interest and availability for a half hour call tomorrow either at 11:30 am or 12:00 pm.
Thank you,
Rebecca
On Fri, Jul 7, 2017 at 11:33 AM, Cathy Myers <cathy@cathymyersforcongress.com> wrote:
Hi Rebecca,
Attached is my completed questionnaire, I look forward to interviewing with your group!
Sincerely,
—Cathy Myers
Democratic Candidate for Congress, WI-01
www.facebook.com/cathymyersforcongress
@CathyMyersWI
Working Families Party then accused Hughes of being “difficult” because he tried to reason with them to find another time that could work for his candidate.
Some will say, in deflection from the point that email thread proves, something like:
“So they went through the motions even though they already knew they’d endorse their own candidate. Why are you rehashing this and exposing their email chain? It seems like you’re just bitter!”
Damn right I’m bitter. The democratic process IS supposed to mean something and anyone who is so jaded that they’ve forgotten that or think it’s twee to expect transparency needs to reevaluate their own ethics. Primaries are supposed to be opportunities for citizens to decide who they want to represent them. Not opportunities for establishment-propping organizations to put their thumb on the scale early for the candidate they think is going to be their cash cow, and leave the rest of us actual residents to deal with what happens when that candidate is unfit to compete in the general. It’s important for people to see that email so they can see behind the facade that Working Families Party has worked hard to cultivate. Why bother faking an open endorsement process unless it’s to deceive their membership and the public? Just be transparent about it and say you’re endorsing your candidate that you drafted because you made a top-down decision to do that. Own your shit.
You can see here that when Paul Ryan dropped out of the race, Working Families Party refused to even acknowledge that Randy Bryce was facing a primary opponent. “Dropping out of his race against WFP’s Randy Bryce…” Actually his race would be against whomever emerges as the winner of the primary. Is it because they didn’t know he had a primary opponent? Obviously they can’t claim that, as the above email illustrates. So someone please explain to me why Working Families Party purposefully engaged in erasing a serious female candidate and is getting a pass for that?
Other Conflicts of Interest, Like NARAL
And when you’re done figuring that out, you can help me figure out why NARAL and other orgs that are supposed to stand for something participated in this style of rigging the system for Randy Bryce.
In 2014, these were Bryce’s answers to VoteSmart’s Political Courage test. Pay attention to the little red blurb at the bottom about his changed answers and most importantly — WHEN those answers were changed. That date is AFTER he launched his campaign and had a team of hotshot consultants telling him what his stances needed to be for him to be viable. He’s a consultant’s dream. So mustache. Much malleable.
Here’s where Cathy Myers has been on the right to choose, since well before she ever had plans to run for this race:
A Candidacy Predicated On A Lie Is The Most Vulnerable
So those are just a handful of the receipts to prove that outside interference has been afoot in this race from the start, and that Randy Bryce the Congressional candidate is an elaborately-crafted facade. I could go on but then this post would take days to read. Let me instead tell you about why Cathy Myers, aside from being the best and most qualified candidate on objective criteria alone (which you can find just from perusing her site, checking out the many thinkpieces out there on why Randy Bryce is problematic, or watching the candidate debates) is also the most strategic choice to vote for in this primary. Randy may have traveled all over, throwing fancy fundraisers in places like New York while establishment organizations helped him rake in cash from their email lists, but Cathy stayed in-district and made over 30,000 phone calls for small donations and still managed to raise about a million and a half dollars — all while defending herself against the Nation/WFP machine trying to push her out of the race. I know which one says “badass” to me.
The truly progressive upswell across this country right now is mighty. Besides the fact that the GOP is scared of Cathy Myers and wants Bryce to win the primary so their attack ads can write themselves, real progressives over time continue to sniff out for themselves that Bryce isn’t really a “grassroots” candidate.
His momentum has already slowed and regret has set in for some of those innocent bystanders taken in by scheming charlatans like Nation and Working Families Party. That’s not a good recipe for support if he ends up going into the general. “Okay, you fooled us into backing him initially and now we have no choice but to try to get out the vote for him.” Not exactly inspiring stuff for the home stretch.
Bernie Sanders himself was even suckered into supporting Randy Bryce. I love Bernie as deeply as anyone (hell, a lot of those surrogates for Randy who point so aggressively to Sanders’ support smeared my name when I was defending Bernie in Philly), but I also acknowledge he is but a mere mortal, and capable of (a) making mistakes and (b) having to make concession tithings to the establishment players in order to keep his leverage in the Senate. I don’t see his public support of Randy as something to be that confused about. By and large, the people who supported Bernie in this district support Cathy Myers now, and that should paint the real picture for you.
How Gwendolyn Sees It
Rules are meant to be broken, but don’t break the law and then not show up in court. Just saying. Who would’ve thought we’d have to fight for a fair primary for WI01? It was hijacked by outside organizations, forcing the most qualified candidate, Cathy Myers, on an uphill challenge against mediocrity and a repeat of the tactics that brought us Trump. Remember, silence is complicity.
I moved to Kenosha in December of 2016. I had spent close to 16 years in New York, after uprooting from Indiana and calling Chicago and Baltimore home for a time. I have been navigating my way through the literal and political landscape of Kenosha via bike riding, getting involved in progressive groups, social justice conversations, and soup kitchens. I learned early about Wisconsin ranking number one in the nation for racial inequality and I have firsthand encounters of the racism, racial injustices, and biases plaguing WI-01. I have been vocal throughout these encounters and eventually founded AntiracismKenosha.org as a home base for reaching out to individuals responsible for perpetuating racism, in attempts to create conversations, hold people accountable, and instigate change. When Reefpoint Brew House owner John Volko’s violent rhetoric about killing kneeling NFL players was sent my way, I asked Angie Aker if we could use her platform to push it. It was only then that Volkos’ words garnered national attention and made their way to activist and writer Shaun King’s social media accounts. I knew I had found a trusted ally and warrior.
According to my social media accounts I have been promoting Cathy Myers since early September of 2017, not long after she announced her candidacy and a few months before I witnessed her “walk the talk”. Cathy was the only candidate who made an appearance and a statement during the citizens’ comments of a County Board’s Judiciary and Law Committee meeting, speaking out against Sheriff Beth’s racial bias exposed during a press conference. Cathy Myers responded that Beth’s “racist dog whistles were deafening” and called on all elected officials and candidates to denounce his comments. “The silence of any elected official or candidate for office is a signal that institutional racism is acceptable,” Myers continued, stating that Beth’s comments “express a worldview that has no place in our government.” She called on Beth to resign “because no apology can undo the harm and division he has caused by his comments.”
A month later she would call out an attempt to suppress voters when a polling station was moved to a police station. It was thought to be a done deal until Cathy appeared at a Janesville City Council meeting and spoke in protest. She made it a bigger issue by using her platform and the plan was reversed.
I knew I had found another warrior and this one is running for Congress!
We cannot afford a candidate like Bryce who thinks “we can be in a place in our society where you can have a Black Lives Matter sign and a We Back The Badge sign.“ Ironstache stated this during the debate in Kenosha when he was asked, “According to a report from 2016 released by The Center on Wisconsin Strategy, Wisconsin, a state that is almost 90% White American, has the regrettable distinction of ranking among the worst states in the nation in terms of racial equality, from education to jobs and income to incarceration. According to a 24/7 Wall Street article Racine was named the fourth worst city in the nation for black people to live. What can be done to close these gaps and address the need for racial equality AND equity?”
We cannot afford a candidate who does not understand that “WE BACK THE BADGE” is a signal of siding with that kind of oppression — a free pass to not examine where institutionalized and systemic racism might live in our enforcement of laws. A yard ornament that adorns the lawns of people who refuse to understand the need for police reform or accept the existence of racial bias in the U.S. justice system. We need the candidate who stands up against racism and bigotry in the state that ranks number one in racial inequality and mass incarceration of African Americans. That candidate is Cathy Myers, the true progressive.
We do not want a candidate who sways with subtleties in order to pander for votes. We need a candidate who stands up, fights back with integrity and confidence, willing to call out what others are too unwilling and fearful to see.
Cathy Myers has the history that proves why she is the most qualified candidate to serve WI-01 in Congress. An article from the Journal-Sentinel published Oct. 23, 2017, highlights Cathy’s history, qualifications, and concerns:
“In 1980, just 17, she won a spot as an alternate delegate from Iowa at the Democratic National Convention. She has been in the region since 1994, when she moved to northern Illinois. She came to Janesville in 2009 and was elected to the School Board in 2013 and re-elected three years later. She’s currently vice president of the board.
She’s managing the campaign while teaching part-time in Rockton, Ill.
Myers decided to run against Ryan after the election of President Donald Trump in 2016 and the incoming administration’s rightward tilt on issues like education, health care and climate change.
“I think health care is a basic human right,” she said. “No matter your ZIP code or your station in life, you should be able to go to a doctor if you are sick or go for preventative care.”
She’s for “green” jobs, educational investment and the impeachment of Trump.
Overshadowed by the Bryce campaign, Myers said she is intent on getting her message out.
“I love primaries,” she said. “I think primaries make candidates stronger. The frustration with this primary is decisions seemed to have been made before the process really got started. What that does is create a certain amount of cynicism in voters.”
“I have no problem with Mr. Bryce and his campaign and his willingness to serve,” she said. “But let’s have an honest-to-goodness real primary with real competition and real ideas. Otherwise, we’re just faking it. And you’re doing like Ryan lite, Republican-lite, anointing somebody instead of allowing the process to work.”
For months Myers requested debates from Bryce when he finally conceded to the 3 held recently in July just weeks before the election.
The same article goes on to highlight how the primary was hijacked and almost stolen from WI-01 via money and imagination:
“For all practical purposes, Randy is the nominee at this point,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan of Madison, who has taken the fight to Ryan by holding town halls in the speaker’s district and backs Bryce.
“Cathy is a good person, nothing against her. Just the imagination has been captured by Randy’s campaign from the introduction of his video,” Pocan said. “All the other base groups of the Democratic Party in the district seem to have coalesced around Randy,” he said.
That kind of deciding for the people before they even get to cast their vote in the primary has got to stop.
Randy Bryce was a weak candidate and poor choice going in. It was a reckless and sloppy strategy by the Democratic establishment and their associated organizations to hand pick Ironstache and attempt to leave no room for a democratic primary. Blame them, not the messengers who delivered the news of his tarnished past. We will not fall for the tactics of the establishment and the identity politics card. This district wants a candidate who has the experience to lead and win. Someone who has the experience to guide us in the right direction, to fight for what is right, and with a past that exhibits the struggles they conquered, and challenges they’ve won. When it comes to electing a leader we don’t really care to bond over poor choices nor do we find comfort while the ship is sinking knowing that the captain found his way to the bridge via “lucky breaks”. Haven’t we had enough of that method in the establishment’s unsuccessful attempts to oust Scott Walker?
Cathy Myers has proven why she is the most qualified and electable candidate in this race and to serve WI01 in congress. She went against “a huge fundraising edge”, she went against “the imagination” captured by the establishment’s campaign, she went against the misogyny of being erased, and won. Cathy Myers is being heard. WI-01 is being heard. Now we have a primary and a candidate worthy of voting for. Cathy Myers has saved the day.
Now let’s have her back on August 14th just the same.
“…while social media has it downfalls, it has become one of the most critical pieces to the grassroots-organizing puzzle and that won’t be changing anytime soon. Social media is even more critical to the unknown progressives that don’t have the money or the media backing that other candidates do. We are seeing that play out right now in a Wisconsin primary race for Paul Ryan’s seat and although Cathy Myers certainly has an uphill climb to catch Randy Bryce, without social media she would be completely out of it.” — Glen Casebeer, The Bern Report
Take Back Control of YOUR Primary, WI-01
Ultimately, it really does come down to whether one supports the democratic process or not. The primary is one of the last tools that regular people have for getting any say in outcomes in this rigged, two-party stranglehold we call American politics.
The primary rigging that happened in 2016, which told us all, “We mighty political consultants and the Democratic Party know better than you regular bumpkins” is being repeated again here in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District by Nation Consulting and the Working Families Party on behalf of Randy Bryce, and he is happily on the receiving end of this preferential treatment. We all know how it ended in 2016. This is your chance to take back control of your primary process, and vote for a genuine grassroots candidate with the substance necessary to win the general election. This is why we at The Snowglobe have broken our own rule and officially endorse Cathy Myers for Congress.
