Why Could Democratic Base Voters Possibly Be Discouraged And Unenthusiastic About November?

Boehner could never do as much to harm the Democratic Party as these 2 clowns have

In 2010, the DCCC flipped the House by losing a net of 63 seats. Nancy Pelosi had to surrender the Speaker's gavel to corrupt drunken philanderer John Boehner. It took years of abysmal strategy, that went back to Rahm Emanuel's time as DCCC chair from 2005-2009 to devastate the caucus so thoroughly. Steve Israel, following an identical base-depressing strategy, is likely to have similar results in November. The majority of Democrats who were defeated in 2010 were worthless Blue Dogs and New Dems-- i.e., the core of the Republican Wing of the Democratic Party that had been so carefully nurtured and cultivated by Wall Street corporate whore Steny Hoyer and Rahm.

The debacle began with an inordinate number of retirements of ConservaDems who preferred to throw in the towel rather that be humiliated by certain defeat: Marion Berry and Vic Snyder in Arkansas, Dennis Moore in Kansas, anti-Choice fanatic Bart Stupak in Michigan, Bart Gordon and John Tanner in Tennessee, and Brian Baird in Washington. The GOP took all 7 of those seats. 2 slimy Blue Dogs trying for Senate seats-- Brad Ellsworth (IN), and Charlie Melancon (LA)-- lost and their seats wound up in Republican hands as well… as did seats voluntarily given up by 3 normal Democrats, Dave Obey (D-WI), Joe Sestak (D-PA), and Paul Hodes (D-NH). One ConservaDem, Alan Mollohan (D-WV) defeated by an even more reactionary bucket of slime, Mike Oliverio in a brutal primary, saw his seat switch to the GOP. 13 seats down and that was just the beginning.

Although a dozen normal Democrats were dragged under by the wave, almost 40 Blue Dogs, New Dems and other garbage from the Republican wing of the party went down to defeat-- almost entirely due to the refusal of Democratic base voters to turn out and back worthless candidates who they wisely judged to be as bad, or nearly as bad, as Republicans. The garbage losers with asterisks indicate they were recruited by Hoyer and Emanuel in 2006 or 2008:

•Bobby Bright (AL) *
• Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ) *
• Harry Mitchell (AZ) *
• John Salazar (CO)
• Betsy Markey (CO) *
• Allen Boyd (FL)
• Suzanne Kosmas (FL) *
• Jim Marshall (GA)
• Walt Minnick (ID) *
• Melissa Bean (IL)
• Debbie Halvorson (IL) *
• Bill Foster (IL) *
• Baron Hill (IN)
• Frank Kratovil (MD) *
• Travis Childers (MS) *
• Gene Taylor (MS)
• Ike Skelton (MO)
• John Adler (NJ) *
• Harry Teague (NM) *
• Michael MacMahon (NY) *
• Scott Murphy (NY) *
• Mike Arcuri (NY) *
• Dan Maffei (NY) *
• Bob Etheridge (NC)
• Earl Pomeroy (ND)
• Steve Dreihaus (OH) *
• Charlie Wilson (OH) *
• John Boccieri (OH) *
• Zack Space (OH) *
• Kathy Dahlkemper (PA) *
• Patrick Murphy (PA) *
• Chris Carney (PA) *
• Paul Kanjorski (PA)
• John Spratt (SC)
• Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD)
• Lincoln Davis (TN)
• Glenn Nye (VA) *
• Rick Boucher (VA)

The disaster was compounded because, in the face of this kind of horrifying sweep, Democrats only took 3 Republican seats (all in deep blue districts), electing 3 miserable careerist New Dems who have nothing worthwhile to offer anyone: Colleen Hanabusa (HI), Cedric Richmond (LA) and John Carney (DE).

This morning both Mike Dorning at Bloomberg and Aaron Blake at the Washington Post touched on different aspects of the building wave likely to sweep House Democrats deeper into the toilet. Neither mentioned the incompetence or venality of Steve Israel and his less-than-worthless DCCC. Dorning warned that Democratic voters are pissed off with the results of the corporate Democratic policy agenda that has made economic inequality as bad as under Republicans. "The sluggish improvement in living standards among Democrats’ core voters," he asserts, "threatens to hurt the party’s candidates in this year’s congressional elections. Median household income among all Americans is still lower than before the recession, which ended five years ago, according to economic consultant Sentier Research. Key Democratic constituents-- blacks, Hispanics, single women and young people-- have been especially hard-hit, and analysts say that could make them less energized about going to the polls."

Stanley Greenberg, a Democratic pollster who advised former President Bill Clinton, said Democrats can still motivate voters by focusing on their economic concerns.

The White House and congressional Democrats have done that this year by calling for an increase in the minimum wage, legislation on pay equity for women and measures to improve college affordability, he said.

“Those are the central things that people want to address,” Greenberg said. “It’s recognizing that this economy is deflating for voters, but there are things that we can do.”

Blake doesn't get into why, just that Democratic base voters will likely be staying home on Election Day this year. He reports that "A new poll from Democratic pollster Democracy Corps finds that just 68 percent of African Americans, Latinos, young people and unmarried women who voted in 2012 and are 'likely' to vote in 2014-- the four key parts of Obama's coalition-- say they are 'almost certain' to vote in the upcoming midterm elections." There's a 17 point enthusiasm deficit for key members of the Obama coalition (68% who say they are almost certain to vote) versus other voters (85%)-- and it's gotten worse in the last few months.

And wait 'til base voters start figuring out just how bad Steve Israel's DCCC recruits are. Of the 39 candidates currently part of his severely tarnished Red-to-Blue program, a majorty are barely identifiable as Democrats. There are anti-Choice fanatics, anti-LGBT bigots, pro-NRA lunatics and, more than anything else, the worst kind of corporate shills Democratic voters detest but that Steve Israel and his coterie adore. Going through his whole pathetic list of 39, there are only 6 I would vote for with any sense of enthusiasm or urgency: Michael Eggman (CA-10), Pat Murphy (IA-01), Erin Bilbray (NV-03), Martha Robertson (NY-23), Mike Obermueller (MN-02), and Michael Wager (OH-14). Although Blue America is still vetting a few of them, we have endorsed exactly two so far: Michael Wager and Mike Obermueller. The poster child for Steve Israel's 2014 recruitment is Jennifer Garrison (OH-06), who is more anti-Choice than any Republican I ever spoke with personally, the most anti-gay person I've ever encountered in politics and wrong on nearly ever issue Congress will deal with. She makes her living tricking her neighbors into leasing their property to tracking companies. And Israel chased a decent, moderate state Senator, Lou Gentile, out of the race to deliver the nomination to Garrison, a Steve Israel Democrat, who will lead the party into abject defeat in November.

You want good Democrats to support? Congress will be a much better place if these men and women are elected in November. So far, Israel isn't helping any of them-- and all of them can use some help. Just sayin'.