Buck McKeon Finally Retiring-- Good Riddance!

Although Politico leaked the story yesterday, this morning, Buck McKeon officially-- finally-- announced he wouldn't be running for office again. If you're even a semi-regular DWT reader, you've known that for months. Buck's family has started a war industries lobbying firm and he'll be moving over there. The extremely corrupt 75 year old bigot recognized he had no chance to win against Lee Rogers again in November and decided to save himself the embarrassment of an electoral loss. Late last year he persuaded one of his most unscrupulous cronies, Tony Strickland, to abandon his second futile try at challenging Julia Brownley to come run in CA-25-- in return for putting several worthless McKeon relatives on his payroll. Revulsion among Santa Clarita, Antelope and Simi Valley Republicans led to them quickly recruiting the most right-wing member of the California legislature, deranged sociopath Steve Knight, to run against Strickland. The CA-25 GOP is in an active civil war.

One time failed haberdasher finally admitted he's done

Rogers, long a Blue America candidate, was endorsed by the PCCC this week. His campaign released a feisty press release yesterday entitled McKeon To Bow Out Rather Than Face Lee Rogers In 2014 Race For CA-25. “For years, McKeon’s support within the district has been crumbling. His fundraising has dwindled and even supporters have become frustrated with his lack of leadership on issues important to the district,” said Rogers. “Rather than face a tough and expensive battle he would seriously risk losing, McKeon wisely decided to walk away.”

Rogers sees the McKeon departure as the beginning of a new era for residents of the Santa Clarita, Simi, and Antelope Valleys who will, should they elect him, finally have a Congressman to represent their concerns. Rogers wants to fix the Affordable Care Act, strengthen our economy, and solve some serious local issues that have been plaguing the district.

  “Congress is broken. The 25th Congressional District needs to send a problem solver to Washington, not another career politician,” said Rogers.

Because Rogers is a prominent physician-- he was the national spokesperson for the Americans Diabetes Association before announcing his candidacy-- he is usually expected to talk about Obamacare-- and it has been a big issue for him all along. A single-payer, Medicare -for-all advocate, he was had mixed feelings about Obamacare and has expressed them publicly or the last 3 years.

There are certainly good parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Those beneficial parts include preventing insurers from disqualifying you for a pre-existing illness, or cancelling your policy if you become sick, eliminating caps on what the insurer will pay, and allowing adult children to stay on their parents insurance until age 26. Because of the ACA, millions more Americans will be insured and have access to the healthcare they need. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have work to do! But, health reform isn’t about just one law. It’s a process to make sure the law is working for you. And if it’s not working, it needs to be fixed. This year, some Americans, including me, lost their insurance as a result of the ACA. Some Americans are paying more for insurance, and there is no guarantee you can keep your doctor if you choose to enroll in a plan from the exchange.  I say 'Fix it, don’t repeal it.'

The only other issue that rises to as much prominence in his campaign is jobs-related, what he called "Grow YOUR economy."

The economy is better now than it’s been in 5 years. The stock market is at record highs. But just because Wall Street is making money, doesn’t mean that your personal finances have improved. American wages have actually been on a decline, relatively, since the 1970’s. They haven’t kept up with the cost of living increases. Retirement accounts haven’t grown as much as expected and Americans are relying more upon Social Security and Medicare and their family for support. Instead of concentrating on the financial health of big business, I will focus my efforts on economic values of what families need most. Families need good paying jobs, low inflation, access to loans with reasonable interest rates, affordable healthcare, and opportunities for education.

I support an increasing the federal minimum wage to a livable wage. Since 1990 the minimum wage increased by only 20%, but the cost of living increased by over 60%. Raising the minimum wage would provide an economic stimulus without costing the treasury anything. Americans who live at the minimum wage recirculate everything back into the economy.

…Infrastructure is the backbone of America and business. We need infrastructure to get to work or school, receive utilities, to travel, and to conduct business. Our infrastructure supports the American lifestyle. But, we have an aging electric grid, crumbling bridges, and our highways are congested. Knowing how important it is, I am committed to rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure. I support increased federal investment and establishing national infrastructure bank so local governments can borrow money from the federal government at low or no interest to complete needed projects. This will spark a needed boom in the construction industries.

A scientist by vocation and by nature, Rogers looks forward to being appointed to the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, which he feels isn't just a good fit for him, but a good fit for a district with a rapidly growing high tech industrial base. "Science," he wrote, "is present everywhere, making our lives better. Computers, cell phones, communications networks, batteries, food preservatives, microwaves, footwear, medicines, weather prediction, air travel, and countless other amenities we use on a daily basis are due to investments in science. I’m committed to renewing our investment in scientific research, including medical research and space exploration. We should prioritize our medical research on finding cures for terrible diseases like cancer or chronic expensive diseases like diabetes. Everyone of us knows someone who’s life was cut short by cancer or who’s lost a leg to diabetes. We should be making the commitment to developing cures. Our district is home to many industries that would benefit from an increasing interest in space research and travel. The United States must not cede leadership in space to Russia or China."

In contrast to McKeon, Strickland and Knight, Rogers is an across the board progressive who believes the role of a public servant is to make the lives of his constituents better. 

The first time Blue America got involved with exposing McKeon's corruption was when the candidate was Robert Rodriguez in 2006. Robert went from that race to working for the Department of the Treasury and we spoke with him early this morning about McKeon's announcement. "I’m relieved to hear of Buck's retirement," he told us. "Watching him defend Tom Delay's corrupt record during our 2006 Congressional debate really showed his true colors. It was clear on that day who Buck McKeon represents and it is even clearer today that the hard-working people of the 25th district deserve better. They deserve a Congressman who will represent their interests, rather than those of high powered Washington lobbyists. I can't wait to get back home and help the Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys get the representation they deserve (by electing Lee Rogers to Congress)."

Today would be a great day to think about contributing to Rogers' campaign. You can do it here at the Blue America ActBlue page. Remember this from Rickie Lee Jones and the Squirrel Nut Zippers?



UPDATE

And later that day... Howie had some fun with KPFK radio host David Feldman: