Don't Waste Your Money In The Louisiana Run-Off Between A Democratic Conservative And A Republican Conservative

This morning the DCCC sent our a scary e-mail: "Dick Cheney's Last Stand." It's a fundraising e-mail to Democratic activists begging for money to fight "radical conservative John Fleming in the upcoming special election in Louisiana's 4th District." And John Fleming is a radical conservative. The DCCC shill on the other hand is just a plain garden variety conservative. If the DCCC had any respect for Democratic activists they might say something about the Democratic candidate, Paul Carmouche, not just about Cheney and Fleming.

On his own website, Carmouche emphasizes that he is "100% pro-life" and "100% pro gun." His words. The rest of his issues page could pretty much belong to a Republican, a Democrat or a Martian-- boiler plate verbiage about helping the middle class. And Paul wants to get out of Iraq "but we must do so with honor." The DCCC can shove this one up its ass. There's every reason to believe that Carmouche is likely to be as bad a member of Congress as the just-defeated Don Cazayoux, also from Louisiana and also a reactionary Democrat. Cazayoux won the special election last year because African-American voters in Baton Rouge trusted that he would vote like a Democrat. When they were disappointed to see him get into Congress and start voting with the GOP over and over, they refused to support him and he lost his seat to a right-wing Republican loon.

Louisiana's 4th CD is 33% African American but many recognize Carmouche for what he is and the latest polling shows that African Americans will make up only 22% of the voters in the special election. That's smart thinking because Carmouche is far more likely to be a drag on the Democratic Party's agenda for change than a help with it.

Earlier in the year Shreveport state Senator Lydia Jackson (D) urged her supporters not to vote for Carmouche. "I don't think Paul Carmouche is a good candidate, period. I think the party decided on a conservative white male, they thought that's our best candidate. But Paul Carmouche wasn't necessarily the best choice." DCCC chair Chris Van Hollen doesn't agree and he's trying to raise money for the conservative Carmouche. He points out that Carmouche "fits a mold that has been particularly successful for Democrats this cycle-- Southern moderates from districts President Bush and John McCain won. 'Moderate and conservative Democrats are winning in districts that George Bush carried in 2004 and John McCain carried this cycle because our candidates reflect the values and priorities of their districts.'" So? What good are they when they get to Washington and vote with the GOP? All that money the DCCC wasted on right-wing fake Dems from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party could have elected genuine progressives who would be working to solve America's problems, instead of plotting with Republicans and Blue Dogs how to hold up change. Just a fraction of what the DCCC spent on reactionaries like Carmouche, the two conservatives in Alabama (Bobby Bright and Parker Griffith), Michael Montagano (IN), and Raul Martinez in Miami-Dade might have elected progressives Doug Tudor (FL), Annette Taddeo (FL), Debbie Cook (CA), Bill Durston (CA), Russ Warner (CA) or even a solid actual moderate like Alabama's Josh Segall (instead of a reactionary).

So... if you were planning on donating to the DCCC today, think twice about helping put another corporate shill who will vote against women's choice, against sane gun control, against equal rights, against immigrants, against a quick end to war into office. Instead, please consider a donation to the Blue America PAC, which will be helping challenge reactionary Democrats in primaries.

By the way, the DCCC has already wasted $516,392 on this race, $266,094 last week alone. The NRCC has spent $357,929 ($79,083 last week).