Another Fun Edition Of "Too Long For A Tweet/Too Short For A Post"

I always feel badly when one of our candidates doesn't get elected and Norman Solomon's loss was painful. But Norman worked effectively for the progressive cause for decades before he ran for office and he'll continue his work far into the future. Not everything happens in Congress... far from it. I was listening to an interview with author Peter Dreier on the radio the other day, a discussion of his new book, The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century. Most of the 100 greatest and their accomplishments-- from W.E.B. Du Bois, Cesar Chavez, Emma Goldman, Bob Dylan, Upton Sinclair and Albert Einstein to Helen Keller, Saul Alinsky, Barbara Ehrenreich and Dr. Seuss-- had nothing to do with being elected to office. Woody Guthrie was on that list as well, of course. And yesterday Norman Solomon sent out an e-mail reminding voters of one of his lesser-known songs, "I've Got To Know" (video above).

After the commemorations of Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday last week, I thought about one of his less-known songs, "I've Got to Know."

Why do your war boats ride on my waters?
Why do your death bombs fall from my skies?
Why do you burn my farm and my town down?
I've got to know, friend, I've got to know!

Of course this song was written many decades-- and countless wars-- ago. But Woody Guthrie's voice endures, raising crucial questions. Like:

What makes your boats haul death to my people? ...
Why doesn't your ship bring food and some clothing?

California's new North Coast congressional district will not be represented next year by someone with a record of challenging the warfare state. But we can continue to build on the momentum of our campaign-- organizing for long-term capacity to challenge elected officials who don't show a commitment to peace and social justice.

And yes, Dr. Seuss... real name Theodor Seuss Geisel. He wrote 64 children's books, all of them filling children with positive messages that stand at healthy odds against the fascism and selfishness of the political right. Dr. Seuss was a kind of anti-Ayn Rand writer. Among some of his best-known books that drive reactionaries insane are The Lorax (1971), about environmentalism and anti-consumerism; The Sneetches (1961), about racial equality; The Butter Battle Book (1984), about the arms race; Yertle the Turtle (1958), about right-wing icon Adolph Hitler and anti-authoritarianism; and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957), criticizing the materialism and consumerism of the Christmas season.

Crackpot Frank Guinta Caught Impersonating A Real Person

If you follow DWT with any regularity, you already know what a pathetic clown congressional teabagger Frank Guinta (R-NH) is. Now he's trying to campaign against former (and, hopefully, future) Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter as though he was the challenger and she was the incumbent. That must be because polls show that New Hampshire voters are overwhelmingly in favor of punishing the lame incumbents this year-- all of whom, like Guinta, are Republicans. Last week Guinta took out a batch of ads calling on voters to “retire” and “replace” Carol Shea-Porter. This week, his misleading robo-call to voters says, "Hi, this is Frank Guinta, candidate for Congress, running against Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter. I’m running to end the broken culture of Washington…"

Did You Vote Yet?


And speaking of New Hampshire, our ads warning 18-26 year olds that both Guinta and corporate whore Charlie Bass both voted to kick them off their parents' health insurance plans, have been running on Facebook and seen by hundreds and thousands of young viewers who are being urged to register to vote and to get even in November. The ad campaign just ended but we're going to continue it for a full month for one of the campaigns. And you get to pick which one. So far Paul Ryan in Wisconsin is "winning" and today's the last day you can vote. Voting is here.

Hard To Believe But... Mitt Gets Worse

If Willard Romney has earned a reputation as a flip-flopper, when it comes to LGBT issues, there’s one thing you can always count on: Mitt Gets Worse. A man with no core values or soul, he's just moved further and further right as his political ambitions have increased and he's built a base on the right of the GOP by vowing to work to diminish the rights and the freedoms of the LGBT community. Coming from a once persecuted minority-- Mormons-- the man is beyond craven, beyond disgusting and truly contemptible. Jennifer Chrisler of Massachusetts, Executive Director of the Family Equality Council and a lesbian mom, knows a great deal about what a hateful monster Romney is. Watch her video:



Eric Cantor Isn't On Anyone's Short List-- Or Long List

Have you ever wondered why no one ever mentions Eric Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, as a possible Romney running mate? Wall Street worships him like a golden calf. Organized Crime just gave him $5,000,000 through Sheldon Adelson. He's the House Majority Leader. You always hear about Romney looking at far less well-know figures-- from Rob Portman to Tim Pawlenty-- but never a peep about Cantor. PPP got to the bottom of that recently.

There are several prominent Republican politicians in these states who seem like plausible Romney running mates, but none of them would have much of an impact on the home front. If Bob McDonnell was Romney's choice the race would simply shift from a 50-42 Obama advantage to a 50-43 one in Virginia. If Richard Burr was on the ticket Obama's 47-46 edge in North Carolina would remain completely unchanged.

The one person we looked at who would make a big difference is Eric Cantor in Virginia. Cantor has a 22/41 favorability rating and on the off chance Romney selected him Obama's advantage would become 12 points at 50/38. That's a pretty strong sign of how weak the House Republican brand is right now.

Makes it even odder that Steve Israel has decided to keep the DCCC out of the explosive grassroots effort led by Wayne Powell to defeat the unpopular Cantor is his own congressional district. Israel just does not want to hear about it and won't lift a finger for Powell. If you'd like to, you can right here... on the Eric Cantor page.

What Will Be Buck McKeon's Last Act Before He's Hauled Off To Prison?

So is Buck McKeon going to shut down the military now? The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee-- unless he's been removed already-- once solemnley vowed to stop funding for the U.S. military if same-sex marriages were to ever take place on a base. Well, one did. Wouldn't it be ironic if the armaments makers' and war profiteers' most bribed congressman, a devoted warmonger himself, wound up being the one to end the U.S. war in Afghanistan?