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St. Louis Post-Dispatch endorses primary challenger to Cori Bush

by Tara Suter - 07/25/24 4:59 PM ET

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BOTH CANDIDATES CITE PUBLIC SAFETY AS A TOP ISSUE. BUSH FAVORS MORE FUNDING FOR VIOLENCE PREVENTION WHILE DEFUNDING POLICE. [Notes:sot :43] Cori: community violence prevention. We've been able to talk about the dollars we've been able to bring to the community as it related to community violence prevention. We're glad to see that crime is down, especially in the city of st. louis but we have so much more work to do. [Notes:whip to wesley ] [Notes:sot 27:55] Wesley: my constituents in the city and in the county, they want see more policing. They want to see better policing. They want to see more resources so the law enforcement has all the tools they need, not less police. [Notes:flash] [Notes:sot 28:22] Wesley: When we look, how they've turned it around, place like like Indianapolis. Look at Detroit and Atlanta. They started from the inside out. [Notes:whip to cori ] [Notes:sot 4:37 ] Cori: I am the only person in this race who has the endorsement of planned parenthood, reproductive freedom for all, abortion action fund, national nurses. That's me. [Notes:sot 1:59] Cori: black women, we are directly, disproportionately, impacted by the harms that can come to community when that access is restricted. [Notes:whip to Wesley] [Notes:sot 32:41] Wesley: I think that we need to codify Roe Versus Wade. I think that one mistake Democrats have made is that when we have had majorities in the house and senate, we should have pushed harder to get that done. When I get to Congress, I'm going to speak it into existence. [Notes:protests – gaza] PERHAPS THE MOST DIVISIVE ISSUE IS THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR, WITH BUSH SUPPORTING PRO PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS, WHILE ACCUSING ISRAEL OF GENOCIDE. BELL'S CAMPAIGN IS HEAVILY FUNDED BY A PRO-ISRAEL PAC. [Notes:sot 34:44] Wesley: we want to see that window open towards a two state solution. It's important that we stand against terror. Let me be clear under no uncertain terms, hamas is a terror state. They fire thousands of rockets into israel every year. If not for the iron dome, israel would not exist as we know it. The congresswoman voted against funding for this defensive technology. [Notes:whip] [Notes:sot 9:51] Cori: I have support from our Jewish community, as well as our muslim, our arab, our Palestinian community. That is something my opponent cannot say. So, who is actually for safety? Who is actually for peace? Who is actually for the well-being of all humans? [Notes:whip to cori 20:34] Cori: the difference between us is: I want to read the whole bill and champion things, starting with how we can help invest in those who need our help the most; those who have the greatest need. That is the work I am doing. [Notes:flash] [Notes:sot 21:24] Cori: working on the climate crisis, medicare for all, doing that before I ever entered Congress. I was doing that because it's what I believe in my soul, not because I needed it to run. So, I challenge that because my opponent is not the same. We are not the same because my work is for the people. [Notes:whip wes] [Notes:sot 27:01] Wesley: this region has been dying a slow death. I believe this region is a sleeping giant and working together it's time to wake it up. [Notes:flash] [Notes:sot 31:47] Wesley: the folks in this district care about moving this region forward. They care about public safety and their families being safe. They care about access to quality education. They care about access to jobs and job opportunities. Those are the things that matter to people in this district. That's what they can expect me to fight for as their next congressman. [Notes:sot 46:20 ]" station="" title="" feed="" no_pr="false" disable_muted_autoplay="false" expect_preroll="true" json_feed="" class="" /]

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s editorial board has endorsed St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell in the Democratic primary against Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), the high-profile progressive who is a member of the House “Squad.”

The editorial criticized Bush, arguing she and the other progressives in that group had been more effective at winning headlines than enacting strong public policies.

“Missouri’s First Congressional District, encompassing St. Louis city and northern St. Louis County, is our region’s most direct connection to the federal government’s seat of power,” the editorial board said in a piece published Thursday.

“For the past four years, the district has been in the hands of U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, a Democrat who has generally appeared less interested in working that system for the good of her constituents than attacking it on behalf of a small, hard-left klatch of lawmakers — ‘the Squad’ — who are good at getting headlines but bad at actually accomplishing anything,” the board continued.

Bush is facing a tough primary race against Bell.

A poll released in late June found Bell ahead of her by 1 point. Her fellow Squad member Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) lost his primary last month to a moderate after pro-Israel groups entered the race.

Bowman and Bush have been outspoken critics of Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas, which has killed tens of thousands.

The district is heavily Democratic, and whoever wins the primary will be the heavy favorite in November.

“Democratic primary voters in the overwhelmingly Democratic district weren’t offered a viable alternative to Bush two years ago,” the Post-Dispatch editorial board said in their Thursday piece. “This year, they have a terrific one. We enthusiastically endorse Wesley Bell for the Democratic nomination to this seat in the Aug. 6 primaries.”

The Post-Dispatch’s editorial board said “Bush’s almost immediate induction into the small clique of progressive House rabble-rousers positioned her as a darling of fringe-left activists — and thus irrelevant to what actually happens in Washington.”

“Bush voted against the Biden administration’s landmark infrastructure package — one of only six House Democrats to do so — to protest the fact that a separate social-spending package was stalled,” the board continued. “That myopic stance helps explain why labor interests that previously backed Bush have moved to Bell.”

The board also went after Bush’s position on the war between Israel and Hamas, throughout which she has been a strong advocate for Palestinian rights and has pushed for a cease-fire.

“Even more outrageous has been Bush’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war,” the board wrote. “Israel’s conduct of the war has been far from perfect, but it remains a democracy fighting for survival against an evil terrorist organization. Bush’s tendency to equate both sides — and even to side with the terrorists, as when she cast one of just two House votes against a resolution to bar Hamas members from the U.S. — should in itself be disqualifying for re-election.”

The Hill has reached out to Bush’s office and campaign for comment.

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Tags 2024 elections 2024 presidential election Bush Cori Bush Jamaal Bowman Missouri St. Louis Wesley Bell