New website Launched www.cooperuncovered.com

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25 September 2009

Primary Opponent Being Recruited to Challenge Tennessee Representative Jim Cooper

Nashville Voters and Accountability Now Cite Cooper’s Financial Ties to Big Insurance and Obstruction of “Public Option” in Healthcare Debate

Nashville, TN – Congressman Jim Cooper (D-TN) is being targeted for defeat in the 2010 Democratic Primary by citizens in Tennessee and Accountability Now, the Political Action Committee set up to challenge incumbents who fail to represent their Congressional Districts.

According to a Research 2000 poll from August 24, 2009, Cooper’s approval rating has sunk to below 50 percent (47% favorable, 41% unfavorable). Even more telling, was that just 36% of likely voters stated they would vote to re-elect Congressman Cooper.

Ranking high among Nashville voters concerns was Cooper’s perceived obstruction of the “public option” during the recent congressional debate on health care. According to the poll conducted in August, 80 percent of Democratic voters and 64 percent of independents support a public option. 77 percent of Democratic voters and 60 percent of independent voters disapprove of Congressman Cooper’s actions on the health care issue.

"Cooper has spent so many years in Congress without being accountable, that he's forgotten how to represent his constituents," said Markos Moulitsas, owner of Daily Kos and the commissioner of the poll.. "He has a choice ahead of him -- continue representing the interests of his insurance company buddies, or those of the people who elect him."

Cooper, who has collected more than $1 million dollars from health care special interests and related political action committees, has come under fire in recent weeks for failing to represent Democrats in the 5th Congressional District.

“Representative Cooper’s decisions to repeatedly vote with Big Insurance while accepting over $1 million from related special interests along with his decision to block the public option during the healthcare debate have caused his approval rating to plummet,” said Ben Tribbett, Executive Director of Accountability Now.

“Nashville voters want someone who will represent them, not big health insurance companies.”

A breakdown on Cooper’s money, votes, and polling are available here:

Money:  http://cooperuncovered.com/money

Votes: http://cooperuncovered.com/healthcare,   http://cooperuncovered.com/military

Polling:  http://www.dailykos.com/statepoll/2009/8/19/TN/350, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/8/24/771526/-TN-05:-Natives-arent-happy-with-Blue-Dog-Jim-Cooper

Liberals seek to defeat Democratic congressman

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25 September 2009

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A political organization headed by two prominent liberal bloggers is actively recruiting a candidate to challenge centrist Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee in the 2010 primary.

Accountability Now, a political action committee, accuses Cooper of being out of step with voters of his Nashville-based district. The PAC specifically criticized Cooper for his reluctance to embrace President Obama's health care reform plan, and said that it is time to replace him with "a Democrat in Congress accountable to our district!"

A PAC representative has been in Cooper's district interviewing potential candidates for the past week, co-founder Jane Hamsher told CNN in an interview. Hamsher is a prominent liberal activist who founded the progressive blog Firedoglake. Unlike her blog, Hamsher said that Accountability Now does not emphasize liberal politics, but rather its mission is to defeat incumbent congressmen who the PAC believes has sold out to big business.

"Our goal is to get the corporatists out of there," Hamsher said.

Cooper is the PAC's first target. Hamsher said the organization is in talks with Libertarian-minded Republicans about possible primary challenges, but nothing has been set in stone.

CNN called Cooper's office for comment and is waiting for a response.

Hamsher said there is plenty of interest from possible challengers, but would not disclose the names of any potential candidates. If a person is found, then the PAC will promote the candidacy, raise money, and help push back against the national Democratic Party, which is backing Cooper's reelection. Still, Hamsher said the challenger needs to show viability.

"Someone has to decide they want to run and they have to run their own race," she said. "We can't run the race for them. They need to show they can run their own campaign. We can then help them."

It is unclear who the PAC will target next. But Hamsher said that they plan to continue polling in search of vulnerable incumbents who they think have sold out to corporate America.

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestoncnn

ACCOUNTABILITY NOW PAC HIRES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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01 September 2009

 

Accountability Now PAC announced the hiring of Ben Tribbett today as Executive Director. Ben runs the largest state blog in the country at Not Larry Sabato (hyperlink http://notlarrysabato.typepad.com ) and has run numerous campaigns at the state, local and federal level in Virginia.

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Accountability Now PAC” said Tribbett, who began work today. “I’ve spent my entire career working to hold politicians accountable for their actions in public office, and this PAC gives me the opportunity to take that energy to the next level.

Accountability Now co-founders Glenn Greenwald and Jane Hamsher were also excited.

“When examining voting records this year it has become even more clear how crucial this organization will be to holding members accountable in 2010”, Greenwald said.  “With today’s announcement we are one step closer to being the leading organization to pull these challenges together”.

Co-founder Jane Hamsher also commented that “Ben has tremendous campaign experience in addition to his background as a successful state political blogger”.  Hamsher added that “Ben is uniquely qualified for the job of recruiting strong candidates who will be responsive to the needs of their districts”.

Accountability Now PAC will be announcing its 2010 targets over the next few months after an extensive review of incumbents voting records during this session of Congress.