How The DCCC Keeps Undermining Progressive Candidates-- And Chances To Ever Win Back The House

This week the DCCC is having a series of meetings to introduce their favored candidates to incumbents, lobbyists and other DCCC supporters. Tonight they're throwing a big dinner at an event space for lobbyists and both political parties, the Oracle Townhouse on D Street. Most smart candidates are passing on the "opportunity" and staying in their districts to campaign.

In several districts the DCCC actually lived up to their "neutrality" promise, inviting more than one candidate. For example, they invited Ruben Kihuen, Lucy Flores and John Oceguera (as well as vanity candidate, wealthy socialite Susie Lee) all from Nevada's 4th district. But not in every district.

In the Syracuse-centered NY-24, there are-- as of yesterday when wealthy moderate self-funder Steve Williams tossed his hat into the ring-- 3 Democrats running. Originally the only candidate was Blue America-endorsed Eric Kingson, the co-founder of Social Security Works. But the DCCC didn't want him in the race. They want a conservaDem like Dan Maffei, the New Dem who won in 2008 when Obama first ran and did well in the D+5 district, beating McCain 57-41%; then lost in 2010 to a teabagger psycho, won it back in 2012 when Obama was at the top of the ticket again, holding Romney down to 42%; and then losing again last year to John Katko 59.9-40.1%.

Maffei lost because, like all DCCC-preferred and recruited candidates, he voted with the Republicans, He's a member of the Wall Street-owned New Dems and his voting record was what the DCCC and their boneheaded media allies call "moderate," but, for Democratic voters, is "conservative." So he lost twice... in a D+5 district. It's a district that is almost impossible for a Democrat to lose in-- unless voters sense the candidate isn't actually a Democrat.

So the DCCC set out to recruit this self-funding Williams person and he was tepid and on-and-off and on-and-off. And then Kirsten Gillibrand, a Wall Street darling ($7,535,820) and former Blue Dog, put up-- along with EMILY's List-- a staffer of hers, Colleen Deacon, to represent the "moderate" wing of the party. So the DCCC invited Deacon and Williams and very pointedly not Kingson, the one candidate who is in this for all the right reasons-- and none of the wrong ones.

Would you consider helping Blue America tell Steve Israel/Ben Ray Luján, New Dem recruitment chair Denny Heck and Blue Dog recruitment vice-chair Cheri Bustos to stop sabotaging progressive Democrats? All of the candidates on this page are progressives and none of them are DCCC favorites. But please concentrate on Eric Kingson today.

Similarly in IL-10, where the DCCC is pushing conservative New Dem retread Brad Schneider over a much better candidate-- Nancy Rotering-- he's in Washington today being introduced around to any crooked lobbyists he doesn't already know, where she wasn't even invited to their "candidates' week." (I guess Pelosi's malarkey about "when women win..." only goes so far.)

Now... for the opposite of the DCCC, take a look at this letter Alan Grayson sent out to his own supporters yesterday:

I was swapping e-mails with Blue America’s Howie Klein today, and the subject of a GOP Congressional seat in the Northeast came up. He knew both Democratic challengers. Knew all about them, in fact. And the same thing would be true of House candidates in the other 434 districts. Howie knows all about them, too.

There are people who actually are paid to know all about Congressional campaigns-- Stu Rothenberg, Charlie Cook, Larry Sabato, etc. I’ve read their stuff. Howie knows more than they do.

But Howie doesn’t sell what he knows. Instead, he uses that knowledge to cultivate and nurture progressive candidates all over the country. Blue America will not be supporting those two challengers that Howie knows in the Northeast, because-- because-- they’re not blue. But other candidates are true blue, and those are the ones who get Howie’s help. The only ones. With Howie in charge, Blue America PAC is the manager of the Progressive Farm Team.

Go Progs! Give me a “P”! Etc.

Join me and Howie Klein now in turning America blue in 2016, by contributing $9 or more to the Blue America PAC.

You might think that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) might be doing this. Mais non, as the French would say. Despite having $100 million a year to spend, they don’t know what Howie knows. And for sure, they don’t care the way that Howie cares. Ever since the Rahm Emanuel regime, the DCCC has had a strong built-in bias against progressive candidates. And the DSCC? Don’t get me started. They can’t find their derriere with deux mains. Just look at their record last year.

So progressives really need Blue America PAC. Which is why you should help.

Politics is a team sport. Show your support for progressives all over the country by donating $9 or more to the Blue America PAC.

At an earlier time in his life, Howie Klein was the Vice President of Warner Reprise records. He knows countless top performers (which is why he sometimes holds contests giving away great stuff like platinum records). He doesn’t have to work anymore. He helps progressives for one reason and one reason only: because he cares.

And if you contribute to Blue America PAC, you not only have Encyclopedia Howie working for you, but you also enlist the support of the pioneering blogger Digby, and John Amato of the website “Crooks and Liars” (dot-com, of course). Because they all share the Blue America dream of making America blue. Not purple. Blue.

Chip in $9 now, and Help Make America Blue.