Melissa Bean, one of our CAFTA 15, held a fundraiser the other night. Some committed souls were on hand to greet her in the appropriate fashion. The picture says it all–that’s Melissa, drink in hand, chatting up some fatcat donor. Kudos to the person who managed to sneak the sign inside–and I most appreciate the baseball reference.

I hear the protesters, who included members from the Teamsters union and Public Citizen, chanted:
Bankruptcy Bill-Strike 1!
CAFTA-Strike 2!
Immigration-Strike 3!
Tax Cuts-Strike 4!
SHE’S OUT!!

I hadn’t paid attention that Bean recently supported the nasty House immigration bill–H.R. 4437-Border and Immigration Act of 2005–that even some Senate Republicans seemed to be trying to distance themselves from.

So, what remains of Bean that anyone can call a Democrat? These are the Democrats that do nothing to advance the party–if you believe that our party can still stand for justice, peace and progressive principles. Taking out Bean, in my humble opinion, would be a blessing for the party because it will send a strong message to other Democrats that the time has arrived in which people who still remember what being a “Democrat” means are ready to cast overboard the phonies and the pretenders who believe being elected to Congress is just another way to cash in and add a line to the resume (or the eventual obit).