GOOD THINGS BREAKIN' BUSBY'S WAY INTO THE FINAL STRETCH... LOBBYIST BILBRAY STUMBLES BADLY

Like I said a few days ago, Busby and her supporters in San Diego County's 50th congressional district, will have to fight it out to the bitter end next Tuesday if she's going to walk away with the big prize on election night in this solidly red suburban district (15% GOP registration advantage). But Francine does have some last minute chips falling her way. The Republican candidate, Brian Bilbray, a sleazy Washington lobbyist who was defeated in a re-election bid several years ago in a neighboring district, is caught between the conservative and neo-fascist camps of the Republican base.

Bilbray barely eked out a primary victory when the far right vote was split between several extremist candidates. And now he has Bill Griffith, the Minutemen-backed anti-immigrants loon-- running around the district screaming that Bilbray represents the corporate end of the GOP that will do anything to keep the cheap labor flowing into America from south of the border. Bilbray has been forced to respond by moving his campaign further to the right than he had planned-- allowing Busby to appeal to the San Diego moderates who will dominate the general election.

In fact, Francine endorsed a moderate bipartisan immigration proposal authored by Arizona Senator John McCain. Bilbray, flush with RNC cash, has been on TV sliming Francine for her support of the McCain plan. It became a problem when McCain pulled out of a San Diego fundraiser he had agreed to do for Bilbray yesterday. Although McCain has not gone as far as endorsing the Democrat, the last-minute cancellation was a very public slap in the face for Bilbray and his cowardly, pandering position. Bilbray frantically sent Republicans in the district an e-mail claiming McCain still supports him. McCain has refused further comment on the race or on Bilbray. Instead of McCain, Bilbray offered contributors breakfast with GOP homophobic closet queen David Dreier, whose own corporate stand on immigration in 2004 practically lost him his seat as he garnered the smallest victory margin of any incumbent from either party in California. Many expect him to lose his seat to Democrat Russ Warner in November.

Tuesday's L.A. TIMES tagged the race as a test of Republican Party vulnerability based on a combination of extreme corruption and Bush's failed and catastrophic policies. "Normally, this district is so Republican that Democratic strategist Donna Brazile says it's not just red, but 'ruby red.' However, with Bush's approval ratings severely hobbled by Iraq and other issues and Cunningham in prison for the biggest corruption case in congressional history, the GOP is running concerned, if not downright scared. A loss here, or even a close victory, could be seen as a sign that the GOP hold on Washington is slipping and that November could see wholesale change."

At the time, the L.A. TIMES made a big deal of the one-two punch Bilbray was offering the district in the last week before voting begins. "Last week, Vice President Dick Cheney stumped and, what's more important, raised money for Bilbray; Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is on his way. 'It's the one-two punch: Cheney for the right wing, McCain for the moderates,'" explained a Mesa College political scientist Carl Luna. The gay closet case from L.A. who goes on fake dates with right wing female celebrities to mislead his constituents, is unlikely to balance out Darth Cheney's stomping for San Diego moderates and Independents who are very aware of McCain's abrupt and angry cancellation.

According to Nathan Gonzales of the Rothenberg Political Report "The 50th is a symbolic race. If the Republicans lose, the story nationwide will be: 'Republicans are in even more trouble than we thought.'" If you want to see that message on every TV station in America and in every newspaper, please think about digging out some spare change for Francine's campaign. Lots of $5 and $10 donations help balance out the inequities for grassroots candidates like Francine against Big Business shills like Bilbray.