WHO IS THE MOST EXTREME RIGHT WING CONGRESSMAN IN CA-- AND WHAT IS THE DEMOCRATIC STRATEGY TO DEFEAT HIM?

CA-42 is a district of suburban sprawl snaking down from Chino, Diamond Bar and Rowland Heights through Brea and Yorba Linda to Mission Viejo. It has the highest percentage of married people in the entire state and it is very white bread (although 40% of the people living there are Hispanic and Asian). In 2004 Bush carried the 42nd with 62%. The district is so hopelessly conservative that no Democrat bothered to even file to run against extreme right-wing nutcase, Gary Miller, who has one of the 10 most far right voting records in the entire Congress, more extreme than Tom DeLay or Roy Blunt and more extreme than any of the California Republican dead-enders like Richard Pombo, John Doolittle, Duncan Hunter, Jerry Lewis, although, like them, he is a crooked self-server who uses his congressional power to enrich himself at the public's expense. The only times Miller is not busy being a Bush rubber stamp is when Bush's (and DeLay's) positions aren't steeped in a high enough degree of sheer Wingnutery for him. Hate to see a kook like this get off without even having to defend his pro-war, pro-Big Business, anti-environment, anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-Labor, anti-education, anti-health care, anti-human positions?

The good news: a full-fledged progressive, a citizen-patriot, Mark Hull-Richter is running as a write-in candidate. A former Dennis Kucinich volunteer, Mark is campaigning on the kinds of themes you would expect from an enlightened progressive: supporting our troops by bringing them home from Iraq, reigning in the run-away presidency, putting an end to the culture of corruption in DC, restoring a sense of power balance between Big Business and common citizens, protecting civil rights and civil liberties for all Americans.

Mark needs 2,461 write-in votes next Tuesday to qualify to run against Miller. Do you know anyone in the district? The congressman before Miller, another right-wing crook, Jay Kim, who was convicted of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, was punished by voters for his unethical behavior (although I think he was still serving in Congress while under house arrest). Perhaps the conservative voters in the district won't wait for Miller to be hauled off to prison before ridding the Congress of his sorry ass. But you can't defeat someone with no one and Mark Hull-Richter is the best hope-- and only hope.


MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: WHO EXACTLY IS MARK HULL-RICHTER?

Jonathan Singer over at MyDD spent some time on the phone with Mark. He's got all the information you need to see why getting rid of California's most extremist wingnut in Congress could have a very positive effect beyond just extinguishing the political career of another far right loon.