The Dozen Worst Democrats Facing The Voters Are Better Than The Dozen Best Republicans

Perhaps trying to torture Señor Trumpanzee, a 4 month old Pew Research poll was widely circulated on the internet over the weekend, showing that President Obama, by far, is the president who the most Americans think was the best in their lifetimes (31%) followed by Reagan (21%) and Clinton (13%).

I didn't have time to conduct a poll, but I'm going to tell you who the best non-incumbent candidates running for Congress on Tuesday are. In alphabetical order-- based strictly on how well they will perform in Congress if they are elected. These are a dozen potential superstars:

• Lisa Brown (WA-05)
• Randy Bryce (WI-01)
• Kara Eastman (NE-02)
• Jared Golden (ME-02)

• Jess King (PA-11)
• Nate McMurray (NY-27)
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14)
• Katie Porter (CA-45)
• JD Scholten (IA-04)
• Mike Siegel (TX-10)
• James Thompson (KS-04)
• Rashida Tlaib (MI-13)

Nor did I poll anyone about who the worst Democrats are running for the House. I'm tempted to put this list in order of horribleness but I'll keep it alphabetical, so I don't get into any arguments about why I say Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02) is worse than, for example, Abigail Spanberger (VA-07). Hard to narrow it down to just 12 and I was tempted to sneak in another, calling it a baker's dozen, but I'll save Paul Davis (KS-02) and Anne Kirkpatrick (AZ-02) for another time. 12 Democrats-- bolstering and strengthening the Republican wing of the Democratic Part-- who will make Congress a far worse and less productive place than it would be without them:

• Anthony Brindisi (NY-22)
• Gil Cisneros (CA-39)
• Jason Crow (CO-06)
• Gretchen Driskell (MI-07)
• Brendan Kelly (IL-12)
• Joseph Kopser (TX-21)
• Susie Lee (NV-03)
• Kathy Manning (NC-13)
• Dan McCready (NC-09)
• Max Rose (NY-11)
• Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11)
• Abigail Spanberger (VA-07)

[Oops, I forgot New Jersey Blue Dog Jeff Van Drew... probably because I don't even think of him as a Democrat. But he's the worst Democratic candidate this cycle. The DCCC begged him to run. And he has absolutely no chance of being defeated. He will be in Congress next year, a real tragedy.]

Hold your nose and vote for these lunks so Trump winds up getting checked and balanced. The only horrible Democrat running for the House who I would not hold my nose, shut my eyes, vomit in my mouth and vote for is an incumbent, the shockingly Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23). But in that case, the alternative is a progressive running as an independent, Tim Canova, who will caucus with the Democrats, making not just the House, but the wretched party, a better institution. The video message from Elizabeth Warren below is specifically about the Senate but... same, same; the principle works for the House as well. I have a question for progressives-- real ones only, please-- in Arizona: Are you going to vote for Sinema?



One more thing about the Senate. With a horrible map for Democrats, the likelihood of it flipping from red to blue in minimal-- though not impossible. Trump is counting on ignoring his likely evisceration in the House by claiming he saved the GOP from doom in both houses. That will be fun.