The Grubby Politics Of The Vote To Shut Down The Government-- Fundraising And Hypocrisy

DCCC faves McIntyre & Matheson both voted to shut down the government

I'm sure you already know that on Friday, Boehner surrendered to the Tea Party nihilists and the deranged Ted Cruz faction of his party and passed a bill that would shut down the government unless the Senate and Obama agree to repeal the Affordable Care Act. It passed 230-189. Despite teeth gnashing by Republicans in swing districts who need independent voters for reelection-- especially loud from Peter King (R-NY) and Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA)-- only one Republican crossed the aisle and voted with the Democrats, vulnerable Republican Scott Rigell (R-VA). Crossing in the other direction-- to shut down the government unless the Affordable Care Act is repealed-- were reactionary Blue Dog Democrats Jim Matheson (UT) and Mike McIntyre (NC).

A few hours late the DCCC was fundraising among lo-info voters, begging for money so they could defeat these evil Republicans next year. And don't get me wrong-- these Republicans are evil. One, Kevin Cramer, a crazed North Dakota evangelical who is best known for having stolen a baby from its parents and refusing to give it up, had the temerity to quote the Bible on his Facebook page the day before when he was voting to starve millions of American families on food stamps. "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat." Yeah, yeah... sure; that's what Jesus was all about. Back to the DCCC fundraising. This is the letter they sent out to their massive list of anyone who ever signed one of their phony-baloney fishing expedition petitions:

This morning, Speaker Boehner and House Republicans PASSED a bill that would threaten a government shutdown in order to put insurance companies back in charge of your health care. It’s despicable.

But I’m actually writing to pass along some good news:

In the last 48 hours, over 25,000 of you have donated over $400,000 to take on the Republicans. Speaker Boehner surely wasn't expecting this kind of grassroots response!

Will you help us hit the $500,000 mark before Congress leaves town tonight?

DEADLINE MIDNIGHT: Give $3 or more right now to fight back against Republican legislative arsonists.

What happens over the next few days will determine if Boehner and the right-wing fringe succeed in their attempt to wreak havoc on President Obama’s second term. Let’s send a reverberating message to Speaker Boehner: the Affordable Care Act isn’t going anywhere.

http://dcccorg/Midnight-Deadline

A deadline no less. Does that mean if you send the money the next day or the next week, it won't "count" or they won't accept it? I don't think so. They need it-- desperately-- and they need it for one overriding reason. Reactionary Blue Dogs and New Dems like McIntyre and Matheson don't engender support from the grassroots because of the way they vote. According to ProgressivePunch, this year McIntyre's crucial vote score was a dismal 31.73%, significantly more supportive of Boehner and Cantor than Chris Gibson (R-NY), Justin Amash (R-MI) and Walter Jones (R-NC). Matheson is even worse-- a 26.42 score-- and less progressive than GOP wingnuts like Mark Sanford (R-SC) and Tom Massey (R-KY)!

Last year McIntyre and Matheson were barely reelected. McIntyre beat David Rouzer 167,590-167,057 (533 votes) and Matheson beat Mia Love 108,275-105,629 (2,646 votes). Rouzer and Love are running again next year.

Last year McIntyre spent $2,253,834 and Rouzer spent $1,484,066. The DCCC spent $2,005,888 tearing down Rouzer and trying to boost McIntyre. Matheson spent $2,384,427 and Mia Love spent $2,370,444. The DCCC spent $1,469,713 saving Matheson's ass. They'll need a lot more next year in both Utah and North Carolina and are likely to lose both seats anyway.

There's something profoundly hypocritical about the DCCC asking grassroots donors to send them money to fight against Republicans who voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, just so they can funnel that money into the reelection campaigns of Mike McIntyre and Jim Matheson. And it is very sad that Steve Israel signed Nancy Pelosi's name to the letter.

If you're a progressive-- rather than a "Democrat"-- contributing to the DCCC is counter-productive. There are more than enough Democratic incumbents and challengers running who oppose GOP nihilism-- and who get no help at all from the DCCC. Please consider contributing to incumbents and candidates who fight for the values you believe in. The DCCC spends virtually all their money-- all your money backing candidates like McIntyre and Matheson, who are corporate whores, anti-Choice, antigay bigots. Between 80 and 90% of the money the DCCC spends on candidates goes to conservatives, not to progressives. Wouldn't it make more sense trying to elect progressive tried and true believers like Daylin Leach and Carl Sciortino? All of the Blue America candidates (who you can support by clicking that link) support progressive positions. And, unlike the DCCC's Matheson and McIntyre, none of them want to shut down the government to defund Obamacare.

Lee Rogers is running against defunding maniac Buck McKeon in California. "The debt ceiling debacle in 2011, which led to the near default on the full faith and credit of the United States, is one of the reasons I started running for Congress. The House Majority seemed bent on doing anything possible to push their extremist ideology, even if that included damaging America. Now history repeats itself. The Majority isn't interested in governing, they're interested in gumming up the works, unless they get their way on gutting healthcare. They're happy putting insurance companies back in the driver's seat, but they've been driving recklessly for decades. I can't simply stand by while this occurs. This strengthens my resolve to run for Congress."

Another Blue America-backed progressive, Tom Guild, is running for the Oklahoma City seat currently held by extremist wing-nut James Lankford, as much a crackpot of McKeon. Tom was aghast, though not surprised, by Lankford's vote to shut down the government. "Lankford acted in an immature and reckless manner in voting to shut down the national government. He is in the middle of an extended temper tantrum to get his way or do great harm to the people of the Fifth District, and has struck a blow that will be devastating to the American economy. The crazies are in control of the House GOP. Shutting down the government is a lunatic strategy. Lankford should do the right thing for Oklahoma and the country and resign his seat in Congress. Speaker Boehner has lost control of the House GOP Caucus and the lunatic fringe is calling the shots. Katy bar the door. God help us."

Danielle Adams is running for the rural House seat in north-central North Carolina currently held by doddering Howard Coble. This morning she told us how tragic she found the Republican vote to shut down the government.

When Congressman Coble and the GOP led House voted to gut the SNAP program, I truly believed that Congress had reached a new low. Never ones to be underestimated, the Republicans reached a NEW new low in holding our nation hostage in their never ending quest to overturn Obamacare. This latest action is reminiscent of Pinky asking Brain over and over again 'What shall we do tonight Brain' with the answer always being 'Try to take over the world'. I imagine that their caucus meetings have a similar tone 'What legislation shall we try to pass today?' 'Why, overturn Obamacare'.

Normally I would refrain from such dramatics but I can think of few rational words to describe such irrational legislative decisions. With close to 20,000 federal employees currently living in the counties that make up the 6th Congressional District and 1.8 million civilian federal employees nationwide, I am baffled as to why an elected public servant would vote to shutdown the government. Sadly, federal employees are not the only ones who will be harmed by a government shutdown. I recently spoke to a woman who owns her own business and contracts often with the federal government. She is a mother of three and works as the bread winner of her household. A government shutdown would halve her income and make it virtually impossible for her to keep up with mortgage payments, put her youngest through college, and care for her aging mother while still putting food on the table and saving for retirement. This woman is my mother and her story is one that is shared by numerous American families. What is clear is that Congressman Coble and the GOP are out of touch with the realities of the American people. They keep fighting against Obama instead of fighting for Americans. That's not what they were elected to do so it is clearly time for them to go.