Aug 26, 2018
Who: Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Illinois)
Twitter: @RepCheri
When: July 2018
What: Gold Star Families
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Who: Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Illinois)
Twitter: @RepCheri
When: July 2018
What: Gold Star Families
Watch on C-SPAN
Read Congressional Record
Rep. Cheri Bustos: We cannot let 'thug' like Putin take over Ukraine
Rep. Cheri Bustos: We cannot let ‘thug’ like Putin take over Ukraine
(NewsNation) — U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, (D-Ill.) had strong words for Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, calling the Russian president a “thug” and the Ukrainian president “one of the most effective leaders of any nation anywhere in this point in history.” Ahead of Zelenskyy’s Wednesday speech to Congress, where he urged the U.S. to “take the lead” and worked to rally support as…
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The Illinois lawmaker will finish out her term, but said she is ready for something new after serving in the House for 10 years.
Jennifer Bendery at HuffPost:
After 10 years in Congress, Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) announced Friday that she will not run for reelection in 2022.
“Today, I’m announcing I will not seek reelection after completing this term,” Bustos said in a video statement first obtained by HuffPost. “It will be a new decade, and I feel it’s time for a new voice.”
It’s not clear what Bustos plans to do next.
In an interview on Friday, Bustos told HuffPost that nothing in particular was driving her decision to go. She said she tends to make big changes every 10 years ― she worked as a reporter and then an editor for about two decades, and then in health care for 10 years ― and felt it was time for another shift.
The birth of her second grandchild last month brought her entire family together for the first time in a while, she said, and really affected her. The day they gathered, she sat down with her three sons and husband to talk about her future.
Sometimes being apart so much “can be harder on families than on members,” Bustos said, citing missed baseball games and dinners cut short because of the intense level of work required from a member of Congress.
Bustos likely could have held onto her seat. Illinois’ 17th congressional district “leans Democratic,” according to The Cook Political Report, and she’s comfortably won all of her reelections, though her closest race came in 2020.
Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (D) will retire at the end of this current term. Her IL17 district has been trending hard to the right the past few years.
DCCC Remains in Disarray Following Diversity Shakeup
DCCC Remains in Disarray Following Diversity Shakeup
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is still dealing with the fallout from the mass exodus of staffers last month due to the growing concerns of the committee’s devotion to diversity.
DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos (D-IL) is reportedly looking for a new executive director and seeking members’ help in her search in hopes that it shows the frustrated black and Latino members that…
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Top DCCC Staffers Quit Amid Growing Concerns over 'Diversity'
Top DCCC Staffers Quit Amid Growing Concerns over ‘Diversity’
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has been under intense pressure amid growing concerns over diversity that saw top staffers resign Monday after those conflicts boiled over into the public arena.
DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos (D-IL) has been facing complaints from Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus members who have been unhappy with the lack of…
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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee staff exodus followed concerns about hiring and a lack of diversity.
Dominique Mosbergen at HuffPost:
The chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee admitted to making mistakes and vowed to “do better” after several senior staffers resigned on Monday.
The staff exodus came on the heels of a report that the committee, whose primary mission is to help Democrats maintain and expand their House majority, was “in chaos” over concerns about hiring and a lack of diversity.
Senior Hispanic and black members of Congress were “furious” with Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), the chair of the DCCC, for elevating loyalists to senior positions and for failing to live up to her campaign promises of promoting diversity, Politico reported last week.
“There is not one person of color — black or brown, that I’m aware of — at any position of authority or decision-making in the DCCC,” Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), a former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, told the outlet. “It is shocking and something needs to be done about it.”
At least half a dozen senior DCCC staffers left their jobs on Monday, Politico reported. They include Allison Jaslow, the executive director and a close ally of Bustos; communications director Jared Smith; and diversity director Van Ornelas.
Following the resignations, Bustos said in a statement that “today has been has been a sobering day filled with tough conversations that too often we avoid.”
But, she said, “I can say confidently that we are taking the first steps toward putting the DCCC back on path to protect and expand our majority, with a staff that truly reflects the diversity of our Democratic caucus and our party.”
“Today, I recognize that, at times, I have fallen short in leading these talented individuals. To my colleagues, who I have the upmost respect for, I hear your concerns, and we can and must do better,” Bustos added.
Bustos named DCCC chief operating officer Jacqui Newman as the interim executive director. Newman will lead a group of senior aides in a search for a permanent executive director, Bustos said.
As The Washington Post noted, the upheaval at the DCCC mars an otherwise positive period for the committee, which reported record fundraising for the first half of this year.
Bustos said she was committed to ensuring that staffing challenges would not impact the DCCC’s mission.
“I have never been more committed to expanding and protecting this majority, while creating a workplace that we can all be proud of,” Bustos said in the statement. “I will work tirelessly to ensure that our staff is truly inclusive.”
As Democrats accuse POTUS Trump of being racist, here's proof THEY are the party obsessed with skin color
As Democrats accuse POTUS Trump of being racist, here’s proof THEY are the party obsessed with skin color
(NationalSentinel) Democrats love to pretend that their party is the most ‘compassionate’ when it comes to race, but a more accurate term for how the Donkey Party views racial issues is “political expediency.”
To believe that the party of the KKK, the party that caused the Civil War, the party of slavery, that opposed the Civil Rights Act,and that embraces abortion as a means of culling…
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“She will be a powerful voice for upholding Roe v. Wade,” Sanders told BuzzFeed News.
Addy Baird at BuzzFeed News:
WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders is set to endorse abortion rights advocate Marie Newman in her primary challenge against Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski, one of the last remaining anti-abortion Democrats in Congress, the Sanders campaign told BuzzFeed News exclusively Tuesday. It is Sanders’ first congressional endorsement of the 2020 cycle.
Lipinski beat Newman by just two points in 2018, and the rematch has captured national attention as anti-abortion legislation has become law in states across the country in recent weeks.
“At a time when workers are under attack by Wall Street and women's rights are under attack by well-funded extremist groups across the country, I am proud to support Marie Newman's grassroots campaign for Congress,” Sanders said in a statement shared with BuzzFeed News. “Marie will challenge the establishment by fighting for Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, expanding workers’ rights, and she will be a powerful voice for upholding Roe v. Wade at a disturbing moment in our history when a woman’s right to control her own body and future is at stake.”
Newman has made her pro–abortion rights stance central to her campaign against Lipinski, a decision that has secured her the endorsements of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America, MoveOn, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and Democracy for America.
Sanders, who also endorsed Newman in 2018, is the third Democratic presidential candidate to endorse her, following Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
Last month, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Cheri Bustos made news after it was reported that she would be appearing at a fundraiser for Lipinski in early June, as the DCCC has doubled-down on its policy of supporting incumbent Democrats. After backlash from progressives, Bustos pulled out.
“I’m proud to have a 100 percent pro-choice voting record and I’m deeply alarmed by the rapidly escalating attacks on women’s access to reproductive care in several states,” Bustos said in a statement when she canceled her appearance. But she reiterated that the DCCC would stand behind Lipinski and said she believes in a “big tent Democratic caucus.”
“Every dollar spent trying to defeat one of our Democratic incumbents is a dollar that we cannot spend defeating Republicans,” she said.
Amid the slew of recent abortion news, Lipinski himself has been largely absent on the issue. But he did tell the New York Times that he believes the disavowal of anti-abortion Democrats was “how we got President Trump — people felt like they weren’t welcome in the party.”
Sanders’ endorsement of Newman comes after Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana have, in recent weeks, enacted laws banning abortion after a heartbeat is detected, which usually occurs around five to six weeks into pregnancy — often before women know they’re pregnant at all. Several other states across the country have enacted similar laws, some of which have already been halted by the courts. Alabama went a step further, making it a felony to perform or assist with any abortion procedure except in cases that pose a major risk to the health of the mother.
“This type of legislation is authoritarian and totalitarian. There’s no other way to describe it,” Newman said in an interview with BuzzFeed News last week. “Let’s be honest about what it is. It’s taking us back 100 years, and that’s not exaggerating.”
Since launching his 2020 presidential campaign, Sanders has talked often about abortion. Last month, he encouraged men to speak out about the issue more often.
"This is not just a woman's issue,” he told a crowd in North Carolina. "This is an issue that impacts all of us. And the men must stand with the women in their moment of need."