How the Blue Dog–DCCC axis really operates

I've been writing about the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) for a while, wondering if their intentions aren't less progressive than they would have us believe (latest here).

There's no better person to explain what the DCCC is — who they are and how they're wired — than Howie Klein of the excellent DownWithTyranny.

He's just written an "all you need to know" piece on this subject, a good generalist intro, and I want to send you there. (It's his headline that I stole.)

Klein is the expert on the DCCC and the not-dead Blue Dogs that run it. With Digby and John Amato, he runs ActBlue and has been engaging these folks on the ground for a long time. He knows their names and track records inside and out.

A taste — note as you read that Steve Israel is head of the DCCC and that the DCCC supposedly has a "neutrality policy" in primaries. This is how that policy is violated with plausible deniability (my emphasis and paragraphing):

Here's how it works in district after district across the country. A real Democrat enters the primary and along comes a Blue Dog.

The Blue Dog PAC and the Blue Dog incumbents fill the Blue Dog candidate's coffers with contributions. The most corrupt corporate whores on Capitol Hill, the Blue Dogs get their sleazy lobbyist friends-- many of whom are Blue Dog ex-congressmen and former Blue Dog staffers-- to shower even more cash on candidates who they know will "play ball."

Then [Blue Dog Jim] Matheson and [Blue Dog John] Barrow go to a very sympathetic Steve Israel ["ex"-Blue Dog according to Howie] and whine about the neutrality policy, claiming it isn't a real contest because the real Democrat has raised so little money and their candidate is flush with cash.

Israel then "reluctantly" adds the Blue Dog to one of the bogus "Red-to-Blue" lists-- lists that signal wealthy Democratic donors that these are the candidates the party is backing.

That's how a reactionary and corrupt operative like Hayden Rogers, who opposes almost every single plank the differentiates Democrats from Republicans, has wound up as the Democratic candidate in western North Carolina. Israel is already spending money on the race even though there is virtually no chance that Rogers will win.

It's a scenario that plays out endlessly in district after district. ...

Nice process, right? Plausible deniability indeed.

More about Steve Israel here. (Guess who picked him as DCCC Chair? That would be Nancy Pelosi. This Nancy Pelosi.)

There's more; it's a nicely written essay and this is just a tease.

If you want to make a difference yourself, consider supporting Trevor Thomas, one of those progressive real Democrats in his primary battle against Blue-Dog-in-the-making Steve Pestka.

All you need to know about Steve Pestka — He not only has anti-woman views, he voted those views when he was in the Michigan House.

Pestka was one of the Michigan Dems who voted with the Republicans to defund Planned Parenthood. With Pestka's help, the vote passed.

Consider passing some dimes to Trevor Thomas. He could use the help. Like they say in the lotto, you have to play to win.

Progressively yours,

GP

To follow or send links: @Gaius_Publius
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Let's not forget Trevor Thomas, a real Michigan progressive and primary candidate

As you may know, Trevor Thomas is running in the Michigan-03 House Democratic primary. Thomas is a real progressive, pro-woman's rights, the whole thing.

His opponent in the primary is Steve Pestka, a former Michigan state lawmaker who voted to defund Planned Parenthood — and succeeded. Read the whole story here.

Will the DCCC back Steve Pestka in the general election, if he wins, after "sitting out" the primary? Will they use "Fight the War on Women" funds to help this killer of Planned Parenthood? Guess.

Will YOU back Trevor Thomas while there's still time to help out? Only you know your answer to that.

This is me, asking you to say Yes. A real progressive coalition is built through primaries, by defeating neo-BlueDogs like Planned Parenthood–defunder Steve Pestka.

Thanks!

GP

(To follow on Twitter or to send links: @Gaius_Publius)
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Horrid House Blue Dog Tim Holden defeated by Progressive Matt Cartwright

In fracking-filled Pennsylvania (check this map), blood-red Blue Dog Tim Holden lost last night in his primary battle against real progressive Matt Cartwright.

First from AP (my emphasis everywhere and some reparagraphing, 'cause, you know):

U.S. Rep. Tim Holden, Pennsylvania's longest-serving congressman, lost his re-election bid in the Democratic primary[.] ... Holden, who was elected to Congress in 1992 and was one of its conservative, so-called Blue Dog Democrats, lost Tuesday to personal injury attorney Matt Cartwright, who spent nearly $400,000 in the race.

A lot of that money came from BlueAmerica. Here's Howie Klein, BlueAmerica treasurer, on the victory:

Something very rare happened tonight, something that will send a chill down the spines of members of the Democratic establishment: a true blue progressive unseated a tired Blue Dog congressman. We were told it was impossible. Pennsylvania's Matt Cartwright just proved them all wrong. ...

They had a choice and they chose the progressive candidate who would stand up for working families instead of corporations and who believes that individual liberty applies to women as well as men.

Here's something a little more direct (from the same Facebook page):

Tonight Democrats in Pennsylvania told Hoyer and Israel and Wasserman Schultz to go take a flying leap as they defeated their hackish corrupt Blue Dog, Tim Holden, and replaced him with progressive Matt Cartwright for U.S. Congress.

With 447 of 449 precincts reporting, Cartwright beat Hoyer's corrupt Blue Dog 33,102 (57%) to 24,871 (43%). Holden lost all the big population centers. Cartwright ran up solid majorities in Lackawanna (78%). Luzerne (71%), Northampton (55%) and Monroe (64%). Grassroots Democrats in other states should take up the banner.

Don't trust anyone endorsed by the DCCC. Check them out carefully first. Most will be worthless shills like the majority of the people on the Red-to-Blue List of Shame.

Hmm, DCCC ... DCCC ... Where have we heard that name before?

Ah yes, DCCC are the so-called Democrats taking "oppose the War on Women" money and then supposedly standing aside in the MI-03 primary — a battle between proven Planned Parenthood defunder Steve Pestka (yes, he actually cast that vote) and real progressive Trevor Thomas.

Two choices, folks — we can fight (as Matt Cartwright did) or bail (as many of us would like to do; I get that). Me, I'm in a fighting frame of mind. If you're the same, join the battle in Michigan and support Trevor Thomas. His primary is August 7.

Want to learn more on the DCCC and the Michigan-03 race? Go here; it'll curdle your morning milk. Yes, that DCCC.

(Update: Fixed donate link.)

GP

(To follow on Twitter or to send links: @Gaius_Publius)
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Does DCCC back anti-woman Democrat Steve Pestka instead of pro-woman Trevor Thomas?

UPDATE: Live chat with Trevor Thomas at Crooks & Liars, coming up at 2pm EST (11am PST). Click over if you can. Thomas will be posting in the comments section.
___________

That's a serious question: Who does the DCCC back in the Michigan 3rd CD race?

• Steve Pestka, who voted to defund Planned Parenthood when he was in the Michigan House, or
  
  
• Trevor Thomas, an actual pro-woman Democrat

Context — Obama's White House is in the process of trying (and failing) to damp down the firestorm from the gay community about Obama's pointed refusal to grant the same protection against same-sex–preference bias as it routinely grants to other biases.

Simultaneously, national Democrats are taking the "Republican War against Women" meme and, at least until Rosen-gate, wrapping themselves tight in it — making it their unique selling point (product identifier) in the 2012 election.

Something doesn't add up.

• Is the national Democratic "we support women" message sincere? If so, they should disavow anti-woman Steve Pestka now and actively work to make Trevor Thomas the nominee.
  
  
• Or is "we support women" just a convenient ... untruth, told to sell an appearance only?

If Pestka is the nominee, the DCCC will be using "War on Women" money to finance Planned Parenthood–defunder Steve Pestka's House race.

That's a problem, if you gave to the DCCC to fund its defense of women. Only the DCCC can clear this air.

The facts in the case

Let's start with Steve Pestka. Here's Marcy Wheeler, who lives in the district, writing last week (as always, my emphases and reparagraphing):

I went to a Debbie Stabenow event hosted by a local women’s group. As we were waiting for the Senator to speak, a top county Democrat was sitting several rows behind me trying to convince some of the women not to support Trevor Thomas.

“There is absolutely no way he can win,” the guy said (the polling says he’s wrong, and I suspect he knows that).

In addition to saying a gay man can’t win, he also said a pro-choice person can’t win in the district (his listeners pointed out that Stabenow herself had won the district; so have at least two other pro-choice candidates).

Then he described Steven Pestka, using the line Michigan Democrats used to defend Bart Stupak as he was rolling back access to choice for women across the country ... "He’s with us on everything else."

Except he isn't. Wheeler again:

Steve Pestka’s with us on everything else, this guy said at a women’s event. But he’s not just anti-choice. When he was in the State House (the experience locals point to to claim he’s a better candidate than Trevor) he a scored whopping 0% [pdf] on votes to support choice.

That included a vote for HB 4655, which singled out Planned Parenthood to be defunded, precisely the outrage–at the national level–that Democrats use as the cornerstone of their metaphorical attack on the GOP for its “War on Women.”

Again — "precisely the outrage–at the national level–that Democrats use as the cornerstone of their metaphorical attack on the GOP".

By the way, I suspect some Pestka-allied commenter will chime in with the statement:

Steve Pestka in the State House had a 100% voting record with the ACLU, Clean Water Action and the League of Conservation Voters. To uncritically call him "conservative" is foolish and not based on facts.

To head that off, here are the actual facts. In 2002, when Pestka ran for state Senate, he got no rating from the MI ACLU, because he didn't fill out the questionnaire (pdf; search on "Pestka").

Apparently, like the word "literal," which has a non-literal meaning, the phrase "the facts" has a contra-factual meaning. Who knew?

Now, the national Democrats and this "we love women" flag they're wrapped in.

  ▪ Here's the DCCC "war on women" page.

  ▪ Here's former Speaker Pelosi hating on Romney's anti-Planned Parenthood position.

  ▪ And here's yet another "Republican War on Women" mailing, dated last Friday (my emphasis and link-strippage):

[Dear name deleted] —
There’s no question about this. The Republican War on Women is real, and it’s extremely dangerous. If you agree, add your name to our petition: 1,000,000 strong against the Republican War on Women >>

House Republicans are pursuing the most comprehensive and radical assault on women’s health and reproductive freedom in our lifetime. Over just the last year, Republicans in Congress have voted repeatedly to limit women’s access to health care and reproductive services.

  ▪ Yet here's is the DCCC page on the Michigan CD-3 race:

Latest Press Releases: No press releases.

It's a clear choice on Choice, DCCC

The choice on Choice is clear. The choice on "War on Women" is clear. In 2002, Steve Pestka was part of the war on women.

He's running a covert Blue Dog-like campaign that says, in essence, "I'm conservative enough to win" — look for phrases like "crosses the aisle to solve problems" and "diverse bipartisan coalition" in videos like this (start at 8:00).

Why do I say "covert"? Because his campaign webpage is entirely devoid of content. (No link; I'm sure you can find it if you doubt me.)

Howie Klein calls Pestka an "anti-Choice, multimillionaire conservative" and says this:

Our sources tell us that local Democrats, no doubt backed by the DCCC, are looking at a pro-life, multi-millionaire conservative who will run on the Democratic ticket. They think he’s a safe alternative, but most folks admit they don’t believe he has the fire to mount a decent campaign. This election is going to be about fighting for the middle class. And, we need candidates who are from the middle class to make the case to voters. That's Trevor Thomas.

There is even talk that Republicans are directly involved in helping to set the Democratic ticket. They don't like Amash, but won't set up a primary challenge.

Is this true — are Howie's sources wrong? Only the DCCC can say for sure — by openly supporting pro-woman Trevor Thomas against anti-choice Steve Pestka.

If they don't, they're open to the charge of not supporting women themselves, but merely (and cynically) pretending to. And taking money "War-on-Women" money while doing so.

The cynical have a word for this; so do the betrayed, if they ever find out.

What you can do — Support Trevor Thomas. His ActBlue page is here. And if you're in his district, volunteer.

Blue America will be formally endorsing Trevor today, Tuesday, at 11am PST (2pm EST) when he's doing a live session at CrooksandLiars. Tune in then.

The polling is good, according to Wheeler (see above). Thomas can win against the Republican. Progressives need to give him that chance.

Not only that, progressives need to be taking these shots, whatever the odds. We can't keep deferring to the NeoLibs; we may as well start standing up now.

And frankly, this won't be the first fight we have in the next four years. Gear up now, with the Trevor Thomas campaign.

GP

(To follow on Twitter or to send links: @Gaius_Publius)
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Our good friend Trevor Thomas is running for Congress in Michigan

Some exciting news this morning. Our very good friend, Trevor Thomas, just tweeted:

I don't believe @JustinAmash represents the Jerry Ford values of west MI; I'm running for Congress to put party aside and fight for our jobs

Yep, Trevor is running for Congress in Western Michigan. Trevor was the most amazing communications director for SLDN during the push to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. John and I watched him in action every day during that battle. He's smart, savvy and committed -- and he wants to make a difference for his home town and home state.

Trevor's campaign website is here. From the announcement:

"It’s time for us to return to the values of Jerry Ford, who put politics aside to do what was best for our country,” Thomas said of his decision to run. “My parents’ generation helped put the world on wheels and furniture in our living rooms. Now it is our time to stand up and fight for Michigan families to ensure they get a fair shake."

Thomas has spent his career fighting for fairness, equality and opportunity. In Congress, he will stand up for working and middle class families – like the one he grew up in – and work to ensure all young people have a secure future in Michigan.

"It used to be that if people worked hard and played by the rules, they wouldn’t have to worry about things like job security, health care, or putting their kids through school,” Thomas said. “That’s no longer the case—and lawmakers in Washington have been too busy playing politics to do what’s best for the American people."

Justin Amash, the 31 year old incumbent Republican, is beloved by the Tea Party. His goal is to be the next Ron Paul. Seriously. That's his goal. It's all about Justin Amash, not his constituents.

I met Trevor on one of his first days in DC. He's made a significant contribution to public policy in this town. But, he's always wanted to go back to Michigan. (He never changed his cell phone from the 616 area code.)

Check out Trevor's video:

And, consider a contribution to Trevor's campaign. Donate here. Read the rest of this post...

Execution of Georgia prisoner Troy Davis would be "a grievous wrong"

The execution is scheduled for today (Wednesday) at 7:00 pm Georgia time, by lethal injection. Pending stay (see below), it will occur.

NY Times:

Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday for the 1989 killing of a police officer in Savannah, Ga. The Georgia pardon and parole board’s refusal to grant him clemency is appalling in light of developments after his conviction: reports about police misconduct, the recantation of testimony by a string of eyewitnesses and reports from other witnesses that another person had confessed to the crime.

This case has attracted worldwide attention, but it is, in essence, no different from other capital cases. Across the country, the legal process for the death penalty has shown itself to be discriminatory, unjust and incapable of being fixed. Just last week, the Supreme Court granted a stay of execution for Duane Buck, an African-American, hours before he was to die in Texas because a psychologist testified during his sentencing that Mr. Buck’s race increased the chances of future dangerousness. Case after case adds to the many reasons why the death penalty must be abolished.

The grievous errors in the Davis case were numerous, and many arose out of eyewitness identification. The Savannah police contaminated the memories of four witnesses by re-enacting the crime with them present so that their individual perceptions were turned into a group one. The police showed some of the witnesses Mr. Davis’s photograph even before the lineup. His lineup picture was set apart by a different background. The lineup was also administered by a police officer involved in the investigation, increasing the potential for influencing the witnesses. ... Studies of the hundreds of felony cases overturned because of DNA evidence have found that misidentifications accounted for between 75 percent and 85 percent of the wrongful convictions. The Davis case offers egregious examples of this kind of error.

Click the links to see the news articles. The family of the slain police officer consider themselves the real "victims", not Mr. Davis.

The Times obviously disagrees. Please read the entire article for all of the reasons why. They are legion.

About a stay, over at emptywheel.net, the practicing lawyer bmaz offers a ray of hope — Antonin Scalia and the Supreme Court. Scalia and the Court have put their fingerprints on two stays of execution recently, with another case upcoming that turns on much the same material as the Troy Davis case. The trick appears to be (as my non-lawyerly mind reads it) crafting the appeal:

The common wisdom, and repeated meme in the press, is that there is no remaining available judicial path for Troy Davis. But this may not necessarily be true. There are paths left to be pursued, even if narrow and dimly lit. And in an imminent execution situation, anything and everything must, and will, be pursued. The dedication, intensity, selflessness and never say die, literally, attitude of death penalty lawyers is legendary. If you have not seen them in action, you don’t know, but it is a thing of beauty.

Here is but one possible path, among many, which could possibly be attempted in one form or another by the Davis defense team. There has just, quite recently, been a fairly landmark study released on the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. Granted, the AJS study pertains to eyewitness testimony as related though police lineups, but it is further concrete evidence of a changing landscape in how the unreliability of eyewitness identification in general is treated, and the picture is quite disturbing as to lack of reliability and veracity.

Now the issue of eyewitness identification infirmity has been reviewed before in the case of Troy Davis, but not in the bright new light emerging recently. And there is one other important difference now. The Supreme Court has scheduled for oral argument on November 2, 2011 the seminal eyewitness ID case of Perry v. New Hampshire.

bmaz discusses the relevance of Perry to the Troy Davis case. His analysis is a good (and timely) read.

Mr. Davis has again refused his "last meal" on the grounds that it won't be his last. Here's hoping — both for his sake and the sake of the nation, as it climbs up from barbary and its Southern roots.



Those roots nourish strange fruit indeed.

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Pelosi supports debt deal. Progressive political groups tell Democrats: Vote No.

The House should begin voting on the debt deal around 6:30 PM ET.

The Minority Leader is supporting the deal, but isn't whipping it:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Monday afternoon that she will "absolutely" vote for the debt-limit compromise but isn't urging other Democrats to take her lead.

Pelosi told told ABC's Diane Sawyer that while the deal is probably a "satan sandwich with satan fries on the side" she'll vote for the deal with Tuesday's default deadline looming.

During a long meeting with House Democrats earlier Monday, several lawmakers said Pelosi told them to vote their conscience while reminding them about the what could happen if the United States defaults on its debt obligations.

So, Pelosi isn't whipping her members to support the bill. But, the progressive entities that actually do the work to elect Democrats are saying vote NO.

Adam Green, co-founder, Progressive Change Campaign Committee:

"This deal will kill our economy and is an attack on middle-class families. It asks nothing of the rich, will reduce middle-class jobs, and lines up Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for cuts. Today, we're putting in thousands of calls to Congress urging Democrats to keep their promise and oppose this awful bill. The 14th Amendment is unambiguous, and President Obama should invoke it to pay our nation's debt. Then Democrats should focus on jobs -- not cuts -- in order to grow our economy."

Justin Ruben, Executive Director of MoveOn.org:

“This is a bad deal for our fragile economic recovery, a bad deal for the middle class and a bad deal for tackling our real long-term budget problems. It forces deep cuts to important programs that protect the middle class, but asks nothing of big corporations and millionaires. And though it does not require cuts to Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid benefits, it opens the door for these down the road via an unaccountable Congressional committee. We surveyed our 5 million members and the vast majority oppose the deal because it unfairly asks seniors and the middle class to bear the burden of the debt deal. Congress should do what it should have done long ago and what it has done dozens of times before – pass a clean debt ceiling bill.”

FireDogLake is doing a whip count, noting:

A deal between President Obama and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell calls for the creation of an elite "Super Congress" to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits behind closed doors. Whatever they decide will then be fast-tracked through both chambers, where it can't be amended by simple, regular lawmakers.

This is the "Catfood Commission" on steroids.

The "Super Congress" is how Congress intends to insulate themselves from taking unpopular votes to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits -- by investing a small group of elites with extraordinary powers, and then tying their own hands from stopping them.

You won't find many progressives who will say this is a good deal for Democrats -- unless they're getting paid to say it (or want to keep their access and their invitations to Common Purpose and other "insider" events.) Read the rest of this post...

Boehner's Teabag problem (and our opportunity)

John did a nice job of featuring the new Matt Taibbi piece on plastics salesman–turned–congressman John Boehner in the January 20, 2011 issue of Rolling Stone. The bulk of the article focuses on Boehner's monumental hackery — the subhead is "The new speaker is a lazy, double-talking shill for corporate interests. So how's he going to fare with the Tea Party?"

But I'd like to focus on second aspect of the article, the effect of the Teaparty crowd on "Bush Republicans" (Taibbi's phrase). Seems there's a rather effective Teabag leader in Boehner's home district, a man named Chris Littleton. Taibbi (emphasis mine):

Boehner's irrepressible hackosity is a serious problem for the Republican establishment, which desperately needs a more convincing con man to stave off voter anger on the right. In this regard, the contrast between Boehner and Littleton, the Tea Party leader in Boehner's home state, is interesting. The two men live in the same place, the small township of West Chester near Cincinnati, so Littleton is very familiar with Boehner. But Littleton's opinion of the Republican establishment couldn't be lower: It was precisely programs like the Medicare drug benefit bill and No Child Left Behind, programs he considers unacceptably wasteful and intrusive, that moved him to get into politics. "These were all Republican programs," Littleton says. "If you look at Republican congressmen from Ohio, they all voted for this stuff."

What's interesting is that the survival of the hack political class that Boehner represents now depends almost entirely on their ability to neutralize grass-roots leaders like Littleton — and the word "leader" here is used in the real sense of the word. While Boehner often negotiates for a Republican delegation that winds up rejecting the compromises he reaches, Littleton, when I speak with him, strikes me in exactly the opposite way — I feel very aware that I am talking to someone with a lot of political power, who represents quite a lot of actual human beings.

For obvious reasons, this is a real problem for the Republican Party establishment, which would forfeit any ability to squeeze the Goldmans and Citigroups of the world for golf vacations the instant they stop being able to deliver the votes for cushy spending bills and deregulatory goodies — votes that are now, at least in part, controlled by people like Littleton. This is why in some states the Republican Party fought so fiercely against the Tea Party; in Ohio, the party spent nearly $1 million campaigning to stop Tea Party candidates from assuming jobs at the state level. "They hate us more than they hate the left," says Littleton. "The left's just an enemy. We present a legitimate threat to them."

There's no reason that a determined group of leaders on the left can't do exactly what the principled (if dangerously wrong-headed) Teabag leaders like Littleton are doing on the right.

But progressives can't be lazy or complacent; and defeatism is their friend, not ours. We're not that far away; the organizers are emerging.

And note elsewhere in the article that the principled leaders like Littleton are steering clear of the corp giveways, junkets, and what Taibbi might easily label "spotlight-fueled stroke-fests" (Taibbi's milder phrase is being "dazzled by their new status in Congress"; he applies his strokes elsewhere). For example, Littleton is smart enough to see through FreedomWorks: "We're here in trench warfare, and they're on a book tour." And that refusal to be bought doesn't diminish his effectiveness, or doom him to the rough parts of the fairway.

The lesson — We don't need money as a pre-condition, just leadership and determination. Lord knows that leftie anger is out there, just waiting for a fire to boil the pot over.

In that sense, we should look at Yes We Can as less a betrayal than unfinished business, a movement looking for a more reliable front man. Offered for your consideration.

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Blue America will say No to House Dems who said Yes to tax cuts

The progressive reaction to Obama's tax cut deal seems to be starting. Howie Klein has just announced that no House Democrat who voted Yes to the tax cut package will be allowed to fund-raise through Blue America. Klein (my emphasis):

Any Member of the outgoing 111th Congress wondering if they should apply for reelection help from Blue America for the 2012 midterms can consult this page from the House Clerk's official roll call on the Obama/McConnell job-killing/economy devastating tax giveaway to millionaires and billionaires. Any incumbent who voted YES-- and there were 139 Democrats who went along with this Conservative Consensus travesty-- should save themselves the trouble and the inevitable rejection of even asking for help. Get your payoffs from the millionaires and billionaires. ...

Sure you have your right-of-center political hacks like Jason Altmire (Blue Dog-PA), Suzanne Kosmas (FL), John Barrow (Blue Dog-GA), Zach Space (Blue Dog-OH), Melissa Bean (IL), Gabby Giffords (Blue Dog-AZ), Tom Perriello (VA), Artur Davis (AL), Heath Shuler (Blue Dog-NC), Baron Hill (Blue Dog-IN), Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK), Jane Harman (Blue Dog-CA), Steve Israel (NY), the new head of the DCCC, Travis Childers (Blue Dog-MS), Ike Skelton (MO), Jim Marshall (Blue Dog-GA)... all the regular slime always eager to sell out working families on behalf of Big Business. But there are also many-- too many-- moderates and liberals who went along with the austerity shock doctrine.

It was very sad and disheartening to see progressive allies like Jan Schakowsky (IL), Melissa Schwartz (PA), Dennis Kucinich (OH), Chaka Fattah (PA), Dave Loebsack (IA), Niki Tsongas (MA), Paul Hodes (NH), Lois Capps (CA), Andre Carson (IN), John Sarbanes (MD) and others voting with Blue Dogs, ConservaDems and 138 right-wing Republicans to doom the American middle class.

There's more in Howie's post. Please read if you're so inclined. Looks like the progressive reaction has begun.

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Pelosi picks Blue Dog for DCCC chairman

Via Digby, we have this multi-pronged story. First the news. Nancy Pelosi has chosen a former Blue Dog, Steve Israel, to lead the DCCC, the group responsible for electing more Dems to the House. Israel was chosen over the "perceived favorite", Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

About Steve Israel, from Howie Klein (my emphasis):

Friday Nancy Pelosi didn't pick supposed front runner Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the next chair of the DCCC. She picked someone just as bad, Steve Israel. In fact, he's actually worse that Wasserman Schultz in one key way. She at least supports progressive legislation. Until 2 years ago the conservative Suffolk County congressman was a member of the Blue Dog Caucus. He's the epitome of the DLC/Third Way hack. The Washington Post describes him as someone who "joined the Blue Dog Democrats in the House and crossed party lines to support President George W. Bush on a number of key issues, most notably Bush’s 2001 tax cut package [one of only 28 mostly right wing Democrats who did] and the GOP prescription drug bill the following year. He has also espoused more hawkish views on foreign policy, voting to authorize military force in Iraq."

In other words, while Wasserman Schultz is no trip to the ice cream store, she's no Steve Israel either.

So why did Pelosi pick him? Best conventional guess — fund-raising. (Though Howie Klein thinks Hoyer's involved; see below.) Brian Beutler at TPM:

In the 10 years since Israel took office, his district has become more liberal and he has moved closer to the mainstream of his party. As an appropriator and an assistant whip, he's put himself on a glide path to party leadership.

According to internal DCCC figures, in 2010 alone, Israel provided the campaign arm with over $3.4 million: Nearly $2 million of that he raised explicitly for the DCCC; just over $1.2 million went to swing districts trending toward Democrats and $250,000 came from his dues.

And therein lies the problem. Key Israel aides from his Blue Dog days are already in place at the DCCC. Howie Klein:

I've been working on a DCCC investigation since September and, just by coincidence I ran across an interesting relationship I wasn't aware of-- or looking for-- one between top DCCC operatives John Lapp, Jon Vogel and... Steve Israel. And now they'll all be together again, just like they were when they all worked on Israel's first congressional campaign in 2000 to win the seat being vacated by hapless Long Island Congressman Rick Lazio.

The DCCC is tasked with increasing the number of Dems in House seats. And they have a lot of money to throw around. Where's that money going to go? Friends of friends, of course. Howie Klein has a problem with that:

For whatever reason-- most people suspect pressure from Hoyer-- Nancy Pelosi just selected another right-of-center, corrupt Democrat to head the DCCC, Steve Israel. He's been adept at squeezing money out of corporations and executives eager to buy influence in Congress-- and since being elected in 2000 he's worked hard to steer House Democrats away from a progressive agenda. He voted for the Bush tax cuts, for Medicare Part D, for the attack of Iraq and he's worked closely first with the Blue Dogs and then with Republicans in the House Center Aisle Caucus he founded. And now he's expected to head the organization that's supposed to defeat the people in the Center Aisle Caucus?

Three take-aways from this: (1) If Digby and Klein are right, the DCCC is pretty corrupt.

(2) If we don't start organizing now, we'll get ourselves a nice steaming pile of Heath Shulers in 2012.

And (3), Nancy Pelosi, for all the good she's done, is no trip to the ice cream store either. She's the reason the Deficit Commission proposal ("From your pocket to mine, sucker") will get a vote in the House.

She's a beltway insider who gives stuff to get stuff, and sometimes she gives your stuff to get back her stuff. They all have to be herded; if not, they stray. And the time for strays is way far behind us.

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Positive election prognostics from Ken Silverstein

Ken Silverstein, Washington editor at Harpers, has some good news for Dems. He's examined the advantages of incumbency — and just maybe, that particular corrupt aspect of our system may work in their favor this year:

The scenario for the midterm elections remains grim for Democrats, but they have two factors working in their favor. First, the pathetic state of the GOP and second, and more importantly, the advantages of incumbency. In American politics, it’s nearly impossible to lose a reelection race ... The main reasons for that are gerrymandered districts and the fundraising edge incumbents enjoy. “There are two parties now, the Ins and the Outs,” a congressional staffer told me. “The Ins can command huge sums of special interest money to finance their re-elections” ...

As to gerrymandering, the same staffer said: “Thanks to increased computer capability and experience in drawing boundary lines, state legislatures and campaign professionals have perfected the art. There’s a whole industry dedicated to drawing district lines so politicians can pick their own voters. If you raise the requisite money to communicate with them and hit them with four weeks of ads before the election, there’s not much a challenger can do. Victory is almost mechanical.”

But just how big of an edge does incumbency offer? Take a look at the numbers (provided to me by Fair Vote)[.]

Click through for the numbers. This may not be such a bad year after all. Or, as Silverstein concludes:

So congratulations, Nancy Pelosi: You’ve headed one of the worst congresses in recent memory (except, in fairness, virtually every one that came before it) but if your colleagues listen to Edwin Edwards the results in November may not be quite as bleak as it looks now.

A ringing endorsement.

GP Read the rest of this post...

'Safe' House Dems owe $2.1 million in DCCC dues

In the comments to this post ("Rahm Emanuel: 'F*ck the UAW'", I'm tipped to this report in the HuffPost by lynchie. Apparently the various Dem ATMs are closing down — including the one that sends congressional cash to the DCCC.

Interesting. Amanda Terkel at HuffPost:

As the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) battles to keep ahead of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), a handful of Democrats who are either in solidly safe seats or retiring have yet to pay their dues to the House fundraising arm -- funds that would go toward boosting the election chances of their vulnerable colleagues.

The Huffington Post obtained the dues sheets for several of these House members. In total, they owe $2,134,509 in unpaid dues to the DCCC. All members, except Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), have enough cash on hand to cover the balance. Individually, they owe anywhere between $45,000 and $250,000.

Here's her chart:


Note Peter DeFazio and Anthony Weiner, both decent progressives, on the list. There's more good information in Terkel's article. For example, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) is quoted as saying:

When you contribute to [the DCCC, the money] goes to front-liners and usually Blue Dogs, and [they] usually vote against our issues.

Recall that the DCCC was run by Rahm Emanuel (see the first sentence of this post), who in 2006 gave us a generous helping of Heath Shuler and his ilk. It's now led by Chris Van Hollen, who appears to support cuts in Social Security. (Go ahead, click it; you won't be amazed.)

Given these facts, some people might be inclined to send notes of thanks to these holdouts. That is if some people think filling the Democratic party with true progressives, for a change, is a worthy goal.

This will be a tough year for Dems. Do we fill the joint with Blue Dogs, just to have Dems, or let those who gave us our lumps take responsibility — and their own lumps — as well?

That decision I leave to you and your conscience. Me, I'm just standing here passing out info.

GP Read the rest of this post...

Democrats doomed if they run on status quo

NOTE FROM JOHN: We're pleased to welcome Paul Hogarth to the blog. Paul will be writing for us on the main site, and on AMERICAblog gay. A little more background on Paul:

Paul Hogarth is a lawyer at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic in San Francisco, having worked there since 2000. He has a Bachelors in Political Science from UC Berkeley, and a J.D. from Golden Gate University. Paul made his first run for public office at the age of 22, when he was elected to the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board. After one term, he moved to San Francisco where he is actively involved in local politics. In 2006, Paul was hired as the Managing Editor of Beyond Chron (http://www.beyondchron.org), a blog published by the Tenderloin Housing Clinic that was voted "Best Local Website" in 2008 by the SF Bay Guardian. He is active in the netroots (cross-posting at Daily Kos, Open Left, Huffington Post, Calitics and is now writing at AMERICAblog.) Paul was voted "Best State and Local Blogger" at the Netroots Nation conference in 2010.

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Today's latest graphic from Pollster.com, which accompanies this very insightful post on the front page of Daily Kos, illustrates nicely the predicament Democrats are in right now:



Voters are just as angry as they were in 2006 and 2008, and Democrats are gonna get screwed in 2010 because they're the "party in power." I found it a tad insulting at Netroots Nation when Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid kept on talking about how much this Congress has accomplished, because we all know what has not been accomplished.

Sure, we got health care reform - but only after Joe Lieberman's extortion killed the public option. Same with Wall Street reform. Meanwhile, we don't have climate change reform or immigration reform - and we probably won't before November.

So what to do about this election? Focus on Democrats who are running against the status quo. That means: (a) the incumbents who had our back and are in tough re-election fights, like Alan Grayson & Carol Shea-Porter, (b) more "red-to-blue" candidates who are running against Republican incumbents and (c) Democratic primary challenges. As voters continue to sour on the status quo, it's our job to make sure progressives don't go down a sinking ship. Read the rest of this post...

House Democrats outraised their Republican counterparts in June by a 2 to 1 margin

This is good news. Now Democrats need to show us why we should be happy that they're in power. Read the rest of this post...

VA TV station won't air GOP ad against Dem. Congressman who voted for energy bill

Remember last week how House GOP leader John Boehner had a tantrum during the debate on the energy bill, trying to filibuster the legislation? Well, that bill has sent the GOP over the deep end. The House Republican's political arm planned to run ads against Democrats who voted for the bill (although eight Republicans voted for it, too). But, an ad set to run against freshmen Tom Perriello (D-VA) was refused by a Roanoke, VA TV station:

Congressional Republicans were dealt a setback Thursday in their attempt to punish Democrats in swing districts for voting for climate change legislation in the House last week.

WDBJ-TV, a Roanoke television station, will not air a National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) ad attacking freshman Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.), citing factual inaccuracies, according to Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee communications director Jen Crider. A source familiar with the station's decision confirmed Crider's account; WDBJ general manager Jeff Marks confirmed that the ad would not run, but declined to say why.

"The ad is not running, be we have not characterized why that is," said Marks. "We don't characterize why an ad is not running. We looked into the complaints [from national Democrats], but other than saying that, you really need to find out from the NRCC."

And, as this Huffington Post article noted,

the nonpartisan organization FactCheck.org called the ad "wrong."

Everything the GOP does these days is wrong. Read the rest of this post...