Annual DFA Heroes And Villains Poll

DFA is asking who are the biggest villains and the greatest heroes in Congress. You can vote-- you don't have to be a member-- right here. The top slots have been pretty stable but I want to look at who the voters are picking as the 15 greatest villains in a second. First, just a brief run-down of the other categories. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has been #1 in the Senate heroes section since the poll opened. He should be #1... he's the best Member of the Senate. Blue America is recommending 2 candidates this year who could wind up giving him a run for his money or-- putting it a different way-- the support he needs to start moving legislation. But for now, it's really only Bernie, Bernie, Bernie. (Sherrod Brown is #2 and Jeff Merkley isn't in the running because he's not up for reelection this year.)

Scott Brown has been #1 Senate villain in the poll in as consistent a manner as Bernie has been #1 hero, not necessarily because Brown is inherently worse than the other ridiculous and reactionary clowns on the list-- your Hatchs and Corkers and Hellers and Barrassos-- but because his opponent is Elizabeth Warren, easily the Netroots' favorite political challenger this cycle.

The top half dozen in the House Heroes cycle are, in order of votes, Keith Ellison (D-MN), a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; Debbie Wasserman Schultz (New Dem-FL), who is corrupt, sleazy, mean-spirited and grasping but is on TV a lot because of her position as head of the DNC; Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the first woman Speaker of the House and one of the original members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; John Lewis (D-GA), a Civil Rights Movement giant and, if the House has a conscience, he's it; and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), a candidate for Senate, the first openly lesbian person to win a House seat. Everyone on the list except Wasserman Schultz has been an outstanding progressive. Wasserman Schultz is the worst of the worst and she wants to be "the first Jewish Speaker" (like Rahm Emanuel, her mentor, once wanted to be and Steve Israel, another horrid Rahmish character also wants to be)... I guess a lot more work on exposing who Wasserman Schultz really is, is needed.

What a shame Wasserman Schultz couldn't be voted for in the villain category-- but that's just reserved for Republicans. And the DFA voters are sure getting it a lot more correctly than the DCCC. The DCCC is not interested in the real villains who are behind the Wall Street policies that are wrecking the country. They're not challenging any of them-- not one. But DFA voters have had Paul Ryan at #1 since the poll began and #2 and #3 are Cantor and Boehner. Here's the list of the dozen worst villains so far:

• Paul Ryan (R-WI), Budget Committee Chair

• Eric Cantor (R-VA), Majority Leader

• John Boehner (R-OH), Speaker

• Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Tea Party queen & noisy self-promoting clown

• Allen West (R-FL), war criminal, teabagger & noisy self-promoting clown

• Darrell Issa (R-CA), wealthy car thief and class warrior

• Joe Walsh (R-IL), deadbeat dad, fake teabagger & noisy self-promoting clown

• Todd Akin (R-MO), low grade sociopath running for Senate

• Steve King (R-IA), racist & homophobe & noisy self-promoting clown

• Nan Hayworth (R-NY), garden variety GOP hack... nothing

• Buck McKeon (R-CA), Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, corrupt bigot

• Virginia Foxx (R-NC), homophobic maniac & noisy self-promoting clown

The only real policy makers on the list are Ryan, Cantor, Boehner, Issa, McKeon. The rest do what they're told. The DCCC target list includes Allen West, Joe Walsh, Steve King, Nan Hayworth. Free passes for everyone else. The DCCC doesn't engage against senior Republicans, GOP leadership or committee chairs. The NRCC always goes after senior Democrats and sometimes take out important committee chairs-- BECAUSE THEY TRY. In 2010 the GOP beat heavily financed Democratic chairmen of the Budget Committee (the guy who had the job before Ryan), the Armed Services Committee (the guy who had he job before McKeon), the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (the guy who had the job before Mica)... and so on. Steve Israel has no guts, no heart and no brain. Nancy Pelosi claims she picked him because of his reptilian traits (her words) but so far he is only using his reptilian traits against progressive Democrats and against pesky and ineffectual Republican backbenchers. Sure... they have to be beaten too, but the DCCC has never-- never-- gone after Ryan or McKeon and both are vulnerable. Both are in districts Obama won and both have "special circumstances" around them that the DCCC should be jumping all over. Instead, Steve Israel and Debbie Wasserman Schultz call big Democratic donors and hiss in the phone to them to not support Rob Zerban and Lee Rogers. I guess they haven't called the netroots and hissed into their phones yet. PDA and Blue America are working on a new project to help balance that out a little. Here's a barebones glimpse of what's coming in our new Heathcare, Not Warfare endeavor... launching in about a week or so.