Ron Barber Takes His Seat-- And Makes His First Important House Vote... For The GOP Drone Zone Agenda

We never mentioned the DCCC National Grassroots Challenge here on DWT, mostly because anyone who voted was giving their e-mail address to the DCCC which will then use it to try to collect money to promote Blue Dogs and New Dems who vote against progressive values and principles. They're part of the problem, not part of the solution. Today they announced the winner: Patrick Murphy, a New Dem, a wealthy lifelong Republican who donated to Mitt Romney and Charlie Crist. He has two good things going for him-- he's running against the heinous Allen West and CPC co-chair Keith Ellison thinks he can help bring him around. (I trust Keith but I suspect he won't succeed in bringing Murphy around on anything much.)

And along those lines, the newest Democrat in the House, Ron Barber, who beat some crackpot militia type teabagger the GOP ran for Gabby Giffords old Arizona seat last week, cast his first big vote today. Like Murphy, Barber is a New Dem-- basically, something akin to being a Blue Dog but without the white sheets and hood-- so he voted with the Republicans and against the Democrats. The bill, H.R. 2578, was a package of GOP-approved public lands bills that included a provision by Utah wingnut Rob Bishop that waives 36 environmental, health, and tribal laws (including the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Superfund Law, and the Clean Water Act) within 100 miles of U.S. land borders and giving U.S. Customs and Border Protection authority to shut down any economic or recreational activity within 100 miles of the northern and southern U.S. borders if deemed necessary for securing them. Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) dubbed the provision a “drone zone” bill and said "It essentially will be a national sacrifice zone where our rights, our liberties, and our environment can be sacrificed for the sake of an ideological anti-immigrant, anti-environment agenda. Make no mistake, this isn’t a bill that actually addresses immigration issues."

So the bill passed 232-188, 19 Republicans voting with the Democrats while 16 New Dems and Blue Dogs, who are all sleazy corporate whores crossing the aisle in the other direction. These New Dems and Blue Dogs who are all other sleazy corporate whores:

Ron Barber (New Dem-AZ)
John Barrow (Blue Dog/New Dem-GA)
Sanford Bishop (Blue Dog-GA)
Dan Boren (Blue Dog- OK)
Leonard Boswell (Blue Dog-IA)
Dennis Cardoza (Blue Dog-CA)
Jim Costa (Blue Dog-CA)
Joe Donnelly (Blue Dog-IN)
Kathy Hochul (New Dem-NY)
Tim Holden (Blue Dog-PA)
Larry Kissell (Blue Dog-NC)
Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT)
Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog/New Dem-NC)
Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)
Mike Ross (Blue Dog-AR)
Heath Shuler (Blue Dog-NC)

Have you donated to the DCCC this year? Their House Majority PAC spent at least $692,811 on the Barber race. Look forward to lots of votes against Democratic and progressive positions funded by that money-- and keep in mind that Barber told voters he wasn't even sure he would vote for Nancy Pelosi to be Speaker next year. Do I have to tell you Ron Barber wasn't endorsed by Blue America and could never have been endorsed by Blue America? Steve Israel's top priority isn't to win back the House; it's to fill the House Democratic caucus with Blue Dogs and New Dems. Worse than Rahm!