It Isn't Only Republican Slime Who Need To Be Driven From Office... There Are Also Nominal Democrats Just As Bad... Remember Tim Mahoney?

Tim Mahoney: GOP hypocrite disguised as nominal Democrat

Regular DWT readers already know that we help raise a good deal of money for progressive candidates. As you can see at ActBlue, the only netroots fundraising operations that have surpassed ours was John Edwards' presidential campaign and the DailyKos, MyDD & Swing State Project effort, Netroots Candidates. We have more donors and have raised more cash than even Barbara Boxer's professionally-run PAC For Change, or Wes Clark's WesPAC. And, believe me, it's a lot tougher raising money for congressional candidates-- our job-- than it is raising money for Obama. That guy's on the TV every day! Eleven of our 2006 candidates are now members of the House and three U.S. Senators were elected with our help. This year we think more than a dozen of our House challengers will win and at least a few of our tough race Senate candidates will also win.

But you've probably also noticed that here at DWT we don't hesitate to call out reactionary and corrupt Democrats. We're in the business of helping to elect progressive leaders, not coddling nominal Democrats from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. We don't endorse them and we don't look the other way when they, inevitably, get into trouble.

There's a huge buzz today about public enemy #1, Rahm Emanuel, and one of his butt-boys, Tim Mahoney, a Republican he recruited in 2006 to run as a Democrat based on one factor: Republican incumbent Mark Foley is a sex pervert. Emanuel and Hoyer drove a progressive, grassroots union member, Dave Lutrin, out of the primary to make way for a repulsive countryclub Republican, Mahoney. Since getting into the House, Mahoney has had a basically moderate Republican/Blue Dog voting record. Judging from the tough substantive votes that divide the two parties, Mahoney has basically rubber stamped Bush's agenda 48% of the time and voted with the Democrats 52% of the time. Only 12 Democratic freshmen have worse voting records (i.e., voting more with the GOP than with their own party). Across a broad array of issues, Bush and John Boehner have been able to count on Mahoney.

And if Mahoney votes like a Republican, and seems like a Republican, and sounds like a Republican, it's because he is, to the depths of his being, a Republican. You want proof? He was caught in a sex scandal. He and Emanuel have been covering it up and there's a tape of him treating the woman exactly how you would expect a Republican to treat someone in this situation. "The only person that matters is guess who? Me," said Mahoney. "You understand that. That is how life really is. That is how it works." You can listen to the tape and read more about it TPM. Pelosi has called for an investigation. Let's hope this wrecks Emanuel's career. He's the biggest impediment to progressive values in the entire Congress. Needless to say, John Boehner, a typically corrupt bucket of slime, is trying to drum up some outrage over this mess but all he'll do is make people think it's typical partisan bickering with pots calling kettles black.

Less well known, and less likely to impact anyone's election chances, is how another fake Democrat, Bill Foster, the conservative who replaced Denny Hastert, has been distancing himself from the Democratic Party. During the high-profile primary and original race against Jim Oberweis, a multimillionaire, lunatic fringe ice cream maker the GOP put up to replace Hastert, Foster used the tagline "Scientist, Businessman, Democrat" on his website and on all his ads. Since getting into Congress and voting with the Republicans on key issues-- like keeping the war in Iraq going-- Foster has also changed his little slogan. Now he's using:

"Scientist, Businessman, Independent Solutions"

And instead of helping to build the Democratic brand in IL-14, he's doing all he can to distance himself from it and brag to voters that he's just the same as a Republican, the worst thing a Democrat can ever do.

"I'm getting a lot of people saying they're supporting McCain," Foster said of voters who plan to punch Foster's name on Nov. 4.

He reports a lot of McCain supporters have said they'll punch Foster's name on the ballot on Nov. 4.

Obama's home state! And Foster's campaign-- and his voting habits-- are playing to Republicans and ignoring progressives. So... Blue America will never ask you to endorse these kinds of make believe Democrats. The ones we endorse are progressives in their hearts and souls and who are in politics to serve the needs of working families. That's not Tim Mahoney and it's not Bill Foster. We should deal with Foster with a carefully planned primary for 2010. As for Mahoney, he could well lose his seat in 3 weeks. If he doesn't we should replace him-- again via primary-- with an actual Democrat. If he does manage to win again, it will probably be attributable to an anti-Republican tsunami getting ready to sweep that party from power in all but the most backward precincts. In case you're wondering what Republicans are saying about John McCain now and what's he done top their party, watch this: