There Are No Good Republicans-- But There Are Bad Democrats As Well As Good Democrats

Alas, there are virtually no good Republicans any longer, even if, occasionally, a Republican-- a McCain or a Walter Jones or a Justin Amash-- does something good. Electorally, it virtually never happens that a Democrat, no matter how awful is worse than a Republican. When I was growing up in New York, Republican John Lindsey was better than Democrat Abe Beame. More recently (2012) Michigan Democrats ran a vicious homophobic conservative turd, Steve Pestka, against Justin Amash. Incredibly, overall, Amash was the better candidate. What kind of Democrat matters. There are good ones and there are bad ones. Today we saw a really bad one, corrupt multimillionaire developer and Wasserman Schultz crony, Stephen Bittel, resign as chairman of the Florida Democratic Party. He's done a horrible job of course, but that isn't why he resigned. The news broke late Thursday night that 6 former Florida Democratic Party staffers and consultants accused Bittel of having "created an unprofessional workplace environment for women that includes persistent inappropriate comments, leering at young women and even inviting them on his private jet." Bittel, who is uniformly described as "creepy" by virtually everyone who has ever met him, tried getting away with a rote apology. By Friday morning, pressure mounting, he had resigned.

Thursday we talked about the DCCC interfering in competitive primaries on behalf of Blue Dogs and New Dems from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party, particularly how they endorsed NRA poster-child, and all-around conservative, Ann Kirkpatrick when they are 2 better candidates in the race, Matt Heinz and Mary Matiella. I noted that "Kirkpatrick is a loser and a carpetbagger from up north who the DCCC is trying to shove down the throats of southern Arizonans. She has shown in the past that she can get swept into office in a wave election-- but her GOP voting record always guarantees she's defeated in midterms when Democrats refuse to come out and vote for her. She's an NRA poster child (literally) and an all-around conservative Democrat. The DCCC is always touting fundraising as an indication of viability but two other candidates, Matt Heinz and Mary Matiella are also raising the kind of money that proves viability. We reached Mary yesterday and she told us that 'The DCCC is right about AZ-02 being a great pickup opportunity but they're wrong if they think an establishment/corporate Dem is the way to win. Southern Arizonans are a fiercely independent bunch and ultimately it's the voters, not the establishment who will decide who best represents their values.' A week ago she said something similar, namely that 'Polls show that voters want an authentic, relatable candidate-- someone who understands them. The DCCC wants a candidate who can raise funds. This disconnect in candidate vetting disenfranchises the voter.'"

This morning Mary was thinking about things that are more important to her and more important to AZ-02 voters. She sent me this brief note to share with DWT readers:

I'm sick and tired of the Trump-McSally machine demonizing our immigrant communities to score political points with their most narrow-minded supporters. We are a nation of immigrants and dehumanizing communities of color in the name of border security is wrong. Militarizing our border sends the wrong message to the world and is an ineffective strategy for dealing with border security.

What I believe is simple: secure the border at the border. We need more Customs Officers at the ports of entry, rather than more agents combing the desert. Over 80% of the narcotics and violent criminals that come across our border do so through our ports of entry. And that's where we need to focus resources. Not miles away at checkpoints the narcos and the coyotes know how to avoid. And, $1.6 billion budgeted for border walls-- what a waste of money!

I believe in comprehensive immigration reform that includes protecting DREAMers, providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers, and reducing the current visa backlog. Breaking up families, racially profiling in our communities, and strong-arm tactics are morally repugnant practices that only serve to divide our community.

This issue is deeply personal to me. I am a Latina who grew up in southern Arizona. Many members of my family, including my husband were born on the other side of the line. We must do better to deal with the economic and humanitarian issues along our border.