Is The DCCC Gearing Up To Take On Buck McKeon, Corrupt Drone Advocate And Chairman Of The House Armed Services Committee?

It must have been such a relief when every single Democrat voted against the Ryan budget Thursday morning. Normally, you'd get at least 3 or 4 corrupt, reactionary Blue Dogs or New Dems like Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT), Bill Owens (New Dem-NY), John Barrow (Blue Dog/New Dem-GA) and Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog/New Dem-NC) voting with Boehner and Cantor and against the Democrats, These four are particularly problematic not just because they do it all the time but because all four are on the DCCC Frontline List. This is what the DCCC and their allied House Majority PAC wasted in the reelection battle for each of these traitors in 2012:

Barrow- $1,095,442
Matheson- $1,209,985
McIntyre- $2,034,142
Owens- $1,270,358

Around $6 million down the drain just on these 4 corporate whores who vote with Boehner and Cantor far more than with Pelosi and Clyburn! That $6 million would certainly have elected Lee Rogers over Buck McKeon, Rob Zerban over Paul Ryan, Nate Shinagawa over Tom Reed, Taj Syed over Kerry Bentovolio, and Aryanna Strader over Joe Pitts, 5 stalwart progressives who would be voting on behalf of working families now, not sleazy Beltway lobbyists and greedy/grubby corporations the way Barrow, Matheson, McIntyre and Owens do. But now I'm sensing that the DCCC may be turning over a new leaf.

I think Steve Israel got a wake-up call when he found himself on the Republicans' target list. Here he had gone out on a limb for his Republican buddies-- sabotaging Democrats who tried to run against his senior pals across the aisle and giving free passes not just to Boehner and Cantor but to vulnerable GOP committee chairmen like Paul Ryan, Fred Upton, Mike Rogers, Buck McKeon, etc. So this cycle I'm starting to detect hints that the DCCC is getting more aggressive towards high-ranking Republicans. Maybe it isn't because of Israel being targeted by the NRCC. Maybe it's because the DCCC has a new Executive Director, Kelly Ward-- replacing the incompetent Robby Mook who went to work for Terry McCauliffe's gubernatorial campaign-- or because nail-chewing Donna Edwards is now the head of candidate recruitment. Or... who knows, but I've heard from half a dozen incumbents that there's a new day dawning at the DCCC. We'll see about that but, meanwhile, they did send out the press release below right after the vote. And because none of the usual suspects backed Ryan and the GOP yesterday, the DCCC press releases didn't look hypocritical criticizing Republicans who voted the same way as their Frontline candidates.

Congressman McKeon Breaks Medicare Promise, Supports Cuts Starting for People 59 and Younger

Congressman Buck McKeon has taken the art of saying one thing at home and doing another in Washington to a new level, breaking a promise he made to the people of California that he wouldn’t make any changes to Medicare for those over 55.

After boldly and publicly proclaiming that he wouldn’t cut Medicare for anyone over 55, Congressman McKeon voted for a radical Tea Party budget that would turn Medicare into a voucher program for people who are 59 and younger. Not only that, the budget Congressman McKeon supports is even worse than the infamous Ryan budget because it raises the Social Security eligibility age to 70, slashes student loans, and could eliminate the mortgage interest deduction-- all while cutting taxes for corporations and millionaires.

In short, the Republican Study Committee budget that Congressman McKeon supports breaks his promise and irreparably harms the middle class while giving millionaires a leg up.

“Congressman McKeon promised the people of California that no one over 55 had anything to fear about Medicare-- but he broke that promise,” said Emily Bittner of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “If Congressman McKeon will break his word to the hardworking people who built this country and earned their Medicare benefits, what promise will he break next? The people of California want a representative who will stand with them and keep promises, not support radical budgets that end the Medicare guarantee, could end the mortgage interest deduction and slash student loans.”

  Background

Congressman McKeon Supported the Extreme Republican Study Committee Budget. [H Con Res 25, Vote #86, 3/20/13]

Congressman McKeon Assured Voters No Changes Would Be Made to Medicare for Those 55 and Older. On his congressional website, Buck McKeon assured voters that he supported a budget that included no changes to Medicare for those 55 and older and “protects and preserves this critical program for those in or near retirement.” [Mckeon.house.gov, accessed 3/21/13]

Congressman McKeon Promised to Preserve and Protect Medicare and Social Security if Re-elected. In 2012, McKeon promised that if he was re-elected he would “preserve and protect Medicare and Social Security.” [buckmckeon.com, 11/02/12]

The Republican Study Committee Budget Would Turn Medicare Into a Voucher Program for Those 59 and Younger. According to The Hill: “The key difference between the two proposals [the RSC and Ryan budgets] is the plan to overhaul Medicare. While Ryan calls for implementing his ‘premium support’ plan for future beneficiaries age 54 and younger, the RSC budget would start the change for people 59 and below.” [The Hill, 3/15/13]

The RSC Budget Would Raise The Social Security Eligibility Age From 65 to 70 for those 51 and Older. According to the RSC’s FY 2014 budget blueprint, “This budget would slowly phase in an increase in the Social Security full-retirement age for individuals born in 1962 (currently 51) and after to an eventual full-retirement age of 70.” [RSC Budget, March 2013]

The RSC Budget Would Allow Pell Grants to Collect Interest During Enrollment and Deny Grants to Adjust to Inflation. Under current law, Pell Grants do not collect interest during the student’s enrollment; however, the RSC’s FY 2014 budget blueprint calls for the repeal of this provision. In addition, the RSC budget would prevent the Pell Grant from keeping pace with inflation. [RSC Budget, March 2013]

The RSC Budget Would Slash the Corporate Tax Rate from 35 Percent to 25 Percent and Adopt a Territorial Tax System. According to the RSC’s FY 2014 budget blueprint, “This budget calls for reducing America’s top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. In addition, the “budget directs the House Ways and Means Committee to identify tax deductions and credits that could be eliminated and to report legislation transitioning the U.S. to a territorial tax system.” [RSC Budget, March 2013]

The RSC Budget Would Cap the Capital Gains Tax at 15 Percent, Remove the Capital Gains Inflation Index. The RSC’s FY 2014 budget blueprint would cap the capital gains tax at 15 percent. In addition, “This budget would eliminate the capital gains tax on inflation.” [RSC Budget, March 2013]

The RSC Budget Would Establish A System With Two Income Tax Brackets: 25 Percent and 15 Percent and Eliminate Individual Deductions and Credits. The RSC’s FY 2014 budget blueprint would establish: “Just two rates-- 15 percent (first $50,000 taxable income for single filers, $100,000 for joint filers) and 25 percent (taxable income above those amounts); A standard deduction of $12,500 for single filers, and $25,000 for joint filers; An additional deduction of $12,500 for each dependent; and No other individual deductions or credits or exclusions.” [RSC Budget, March 2013]

  • CBPP: Two-Tax Bracket Structure Included in RSC Budget Would Likely Result in Net Tax Increases for Low and Middle Income Families. In 2012, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analyzed the impacts of Rep. Dave Camp’s tax reform package, which contained many of the policy proposals that are also included in the FY 2014 RSC budget-- such as the repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and two income tax brackets-- and concluded that if passed, the proposal would result in a net tax increase for working families. The CBPP wrote: “The proposals thus provide no protection from policy changes that would shift tax burdens down the income scale by giving large net tax cuts to high-income individuals and net tax increases to low- and moderate-income families.  That’s because the tax rate cuts that the bills call for would be very regressive and give their biggest tax cuts by far to people at the top, while curbs on tax expenditures could cause significant tax increases for low- and middle-income families. That’s especially true if, as many Republicans favor, policymakers protect the primary tax expenditure that benefits people at the top-- the low top rate on capital gains and dividend income-- while substantially cutting tax expenditures on which ordinary families rely.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 7/31/12]

I hope that signals that the DCCC is paying close attention to CA-25 and the floundering Buck McKeon. It looks like Lee Rogers is considering another campaign but I suspect he won't do it again unless he has support from the DCCC. Last year a lot of congressmembers backed him-- from Grayson and Grijalva to California Reps Zoe Lofgren and Henry Waxman-- but without the DCCC is was almost hopeless. I've noticed that this year the DCCC has been relentless in its early efforts against McKeon. They've already sent out more communications targeting him in 2013 than in all of 2011 and 2012 combined! The above e-mail was also sent to media outlets in districts represented by John Fleming (R-LA), Steve Pearce (R-NM) and Scott Rigell (R-VA). When I asked DCCC Communications Director Jesse Ferguson why those four, he told me they're all "in competitive districts, each has said they wouldn’t implement these Medicare cuts for people over 55, then voted for RSC budget which did that."