How Many Pro-NRA Candidates Is The DCCC Trying To Sneak Into Congress This Cycle? Way Too Many

Republican candidates for Congress seem to go out of their way to mention protecting the 2nd Amendment on their campaign websites. I guess it comforts their base voters. But wasn't I surprised a few months ago when a putative Democrat, Andrew Janz, the establishment candidate fighting for the Democratic nomination to oppose Devin Nunes, told me that the #1 and #2 motivations for him to run for Congress were encouraging more use of the death penalty-- "It doesn't get used enough," were his exact words-- and protecting the 2nd Amendment. I didn't know him and he called out of the blue so I asked if he's a Democrat. "Democrats are different in the Central Valley," he said. I guess so. Now Janz has hired some slick political consultants who have taught him how to speak so he sounds more like a Democrat, at least going into the primary, where he's battling an actual progressive, Ricardo Franco. I checked Janz's website today and it looks more like a Democratic approach:

Last night there was a candidates forum for CA-22. As usually, Nunes stayed away. And because the gun question would obviously be front and center, Janz also ducked out, which is a shame, since it would have been helpful to tie him down to a specific response instead if letting him dance around the issue. Here's Rico's response to the question "What is your stance on gun control and describe a specific piece of legislation that you would support that would prevent the type of frightening mass shootings that occur with increasing frequency across our country? Do you accept campaign contributions from the NRA? What is your rationale?"



The DCCC discourages its candidates from putting up issues pages on their campaign websites, so it's hard to tell which of its wretched candidates are the most supportive of the NRA. Most of them are wily enough to keep that on the down-low. I do remember that Ann Kirkpatrick, the reactionary the DCCC is running in Tucson, was the actual poster girl for the NRA in Arizona:

Click on this to see how Ann Kirkpatrick has cozied top to the NRA

In early December, Congress took a procedural vote providing for consideration of H.R. 38, Richard Hudson's Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which just happened to be the NRA's #1 priority for the current session of Congress. The procedural motion passed 232-194, four Blue Dogs crossing the aisle to vote with the Republicans: Henry Cuellar (TX), Collin Peterson (MN), Vicente Gonzalez (TX) and Sanford Bishop (GA). The underlying bill itself had three Democratic cosponsors: Cuellar, Peterson and Bishop. There were 10 Republican NO votes, all kooks and nuts like Louie Gohmert, Jim Jordan and Steve King who didn't feel the bill went far enough. A few hours later the bill itself passed 231-198 with fully 6 NRA-lovin' Democrats on board:

• Sanford Bishop (Blue Dog-GA)
• Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)
• Vicente Gonzalez (Blue Dog-TX)
• Ron Kind (New Dem-WI)
• Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)
• Kurt Schrader (Blue Dog-OR)

Do you want more NRA-lovin' fake Democrats in Congress? Just vote for a Blue Dog and you're more likely than not to be voting for a gun nut. I looked at some of their websites. These are the Blue Dogs who the DCCC has added two its Red to Blue program:

Paul Davis (KS-02) has no issues page just a big blurb on the from page bragging how he had outraised his Republican opponents.

Brendan Kelly (IL-12) has no issues page on his campaign website either.

Dan McCready-- same thing: no issues page.

OK, I finally found one with an issues page: Max Rose in the Staten Island/Brooklyn district. He's another military guy, like almost all the DCCC candidates this year, and he does include a sentence that seems to be the go-to line from the DCCC template on how to talk about guns: "Finally, he’ll work with members of both parties to pass common-sense measures like universal background checks and closing the gun show loop hole to make it harder for criminals or worse to get their hands on deadly weapons."

I found another DCCC Blue Dog with an issues page: Anthony Brindisi (NY-22). He doesn't mention anything about guns, but that makes sense since he's a longtime notorious NRA shill, who's taken a leading role in fighting gun safety in the state legislature. The NRA and the New York Shooters Committee both rated him 100% in 2016, their most recent ratings period. Gun Control Advocates rated every member of the New York Assembly on their voting records and out of the 150 members, 44 failed, mostly Republicans but including Brindisi.

Ben McAdams (UT-04)-- brings us back to DCCC Blue Dogs with no issues page. The NRA rated him a "C" in 2010.

The DCCC is fighting hard for Conor Lamb in the PA-18 special election. Lamb is a garden variety Blue Dog. The Atlantic tried to figure out where he stands on policy as well.

Lamb, a former federal prosecutor and military veteran, is so far running as a centrist Democrat. His campaign has chosen to emphasize a record of fighting the opioid epidemic, and taking on drug dealers and violent criminals.

Conspicuously absent from the Democratic candidate’s campaign website is any mention of hot-button issues like abortion and gun control laws (though it does say he has led prosecutions against gun traffickers). In interviews, Lamb has said that “choice is the law of the land.” He has said that he is “pro-Second Amendment,” though he thinks that “we need to have the conversation” about gun control.

“This district as a whole is a pro-life, pro-Second Amendment type of place and the Republican nominee is kind of standard issue conservative Republican on those issues,” said Christopher Nicholas, a Republican political consultant based in Pennsylvania. “The district is not going to elect someone who can’t tell you where they stand on abortion and isn’t a strong Second Amendment supporter.”

The most recent Blue Dog endorsement is for corrupt South Jersey pol, state Senator Jeff Van Drew, a real scumbag conservative. No issues on his website, of course. But the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs rates him an "A" and the NRA gave him a 100% rating and New Jersey voters know he's right up the NRA's ass.

The state Senate today passed 10 gun control measures. The bill passed by a mostly party-line vote of 23-17, with most Democrats in favor and all Republicans opposed. Only one Democrat, state Sen. Jeff Van Drew, from Cape May County, voted against it.

The DCCC is determined to stuff as many Blue Dogs from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party into Congress as they can this cycle. They're not part of the solution; they're part of the problem-- a big part of the problem.

Heitkamp is as much a murder as Paul Ryan. Do we need more "Democrats" like her in Congress?