You Can Blame Congress For Flying Torture Chambers-- The U.S. Airline Industry

Tuesday, one of Congress' most overtly corrupt members, Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (for whom the airline industry famously procured a mistress), convened his committee to make believe they were holding out-of-control airlines accountable. Shuster and the others crooks on his committee take immense bribes from the airlines and never hold anyone accountable for anything. The airlines have paid out $31,108,250 in bribes, to both parties, though mostly to Republicans, since 1990. The biggest all-time airline industry bribe-taker is, of course, Bill Shuster-- $329,599. Senior Republicans on the committee have been happy to take money from the airline companies they're supposed to be overseeing. The 5 sleaziest of the lot:

• Bill Shuster (R-PA) $329,599
• Don Young (R-AK)- $167,300
• Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)- $140,000
• Jimmy Duncan (R-TN)- $125,309
• Sam Graves (R-MO)- $94,400

Committee members made a point-- for the TV cameras-- of lambasting the executives from United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines. (Delta ignored the invitation.) That airline travel has become a hell on earth since massive deregulation of the industry in 1978. When Ted Reed wrote up Tuesday's hearing for TheStreet.com, he mentioned that the "committee gave United and the rest of the U.S. airline industry a slap on the wrist and a warning. But any urgency to take action was diminished because the four biggest airlines already have taken dramatic steps to improve customer service" Is that so? Ever think the airline bathrooms can't get any smaller?

Writing for CNNMoney yesterday, Jon Ostrower noted that American Airlines is cutting more legroom in economy class. That used to be my airline of choice. I'll do anything to avoid it these days-- aside from using United or Delta.

American Airlinesis planning to decrease the front-to-back space between some of its economy class seats by another two inches.

The airline says it plans to add more seats on its coming Boeing 737 Max jetliners. To do that, it will shrink the distance between seats, also known as pitch, from 31 inches to 29 inches on three rows of the airplane, and down to 30-inches in the rest of its main economy cabin.

American isn't the only big airline heading in this direction. United Airlines is considering a similar move, according to a person briefed on its evaluations. United declined to comment.

The move signals a new step in the shrinking of U.S. airline cabins, and comes even as carriers are promising to improve overall customer service.

With the change, American will become the first large U.S. carrier to offer legroom with a pitch that's nearly on par with ultra-low cost carriers Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines. Those seats are an industry minimum 28-inches apart.

By comparison, economy class pitch on Delta Air Lines and United ranges between 30 and 31 inches, while JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines have between 31 and 33 inches.

The one advantage the big U.S. carriers still have over their lowest-fare rivals was a few more inches in economy.

The bathrooms on American's 737 Max jets will also be smaller, one person familiar with the planning said.

The new Max jets will have more than 170 seats, two sources said, compared to 160 on its existing 737-800s. The airline said it is keeping its extra-legroom 'Main Cabin Extra' economy seats, as well as its 16 first class seats.

These new single-aisle aircraft will go into use later this year and will primarily be flown on routes in North America.

Fliers will still pay regular economy fares for the 18 seats with two inches less leg room. Two of those three rows of 29-inch pitch will be in the back of the plane and a third farther forward. These seats won't be part of its new basic economy fares, which sell for less because fliers don't get access to overhead bins, a seat assignment or frequent flier miles.

...The tighter legroom may mean that some corporate travel agents who avoid ultra-low cost airlines will balk at American, said Henry Harteveldt, founder of the Atmosphere Research Group.

As the big airlines match each other move for move, the risk is that 29 inches becomes the standard for flying economy in the United States. American has been a bellwether before for the airlines. For instance, it was the first big U.S. airline to introduce bag fees in 2008.

Airlines have enjoyed strong profits and low fuel fuel prices after a decade of consolidation. They're adding seats now to help offset rising employee wages.

"This is one of the best economic environments the U.S. airline industry has seen in decades," said Harteveldt. "There is no need to race to the bottom."

Do You Always, Blindly, Vote For Anyone With A "D" Next To Their Name? Here's One You Won't Get Behind

If you're a regular reader here, you probably know the editorial position of this blog is that Trump is uniquely unfit to be president and that there are overwhelming and existential dangers this country would face were he to ever get into the White House. At the same time we're not sold on Hillary as anything more than a way to stop Trump and as an inspiring victory that finally cracks the ultimate glass ceiling for women. We've suggested that voters in this year's swing states-- Ohio, Iowa, Arizona, Georgia, Utah (and up in Maine's Alagash)-- take one of these to the polls and vote for her.

We've never felt that just because someone calls himself or herself a Democrat, they automatically have earned a vote or any kind of support. The Democratic Party Establishment, Inc. has its own set of reasons for what it does and how it calculates what moves to make politically. The leaders and decision-makers on the top of the food chain-- the Chuck Schumers, Debbie Wasserman Schultzes, Steny Hoyers, Nancy Pelosis, Joe Crowleys, Rahm Emanuels-- are utterly unfit for leadership or even for public office. The direction of the Democratic Party is largely in their hands and largely determined by how something will impact their own careers. Their puppet candidates-- chosen for a willingness, even an eagerness, to follow blindly and to play ball inside a culture of corruption-- are insupportable, even in the context of a lesser-of-two evils world. Trump may be an exception, but garbage candidates from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party-- like Patrick Murphy (FL), Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ), Patty Judge (IA), Tom O'Halleran (AZ), Lon Johnson (MI), Randall Perkins (FL), Brad Schneider (IL), Josh Gottheimer (NJ), Pete Gallego (TX), Joe Garcia (FL), and Monica Vernon (IA)-- should never be supported or even voted for unless your aim is to undermine the Democratic Party as a vehicle for the legitimate aspirations of working class Americans.

The story of the congressional race in Pennsylvania's 9th district is even more bizarre than the normal "DCCC lures ex-Republican shit-head into congressional race" narrative. Bill Shuster is one of Congress' more contemptibly corrupt congressmen and he represents Pennsylvania's most backward and forgotten congressional district, a gigantic sprawling mass of southern and central Pennsylvania: Altoona, the exurbs south of Pittsburgh to Chambersburg halfway across the state. 93% white, it's the most Republican district in the state (R+14) and Romney crushed Obam there 63-36%. In the primary, Trump won every single one of the district's 12 counties-- by a landslide. On the same day crackpot teabagger Art Halvorson challenged the entrenched Shuster and nearly beat him. The final vote count-- the closest race in the state-- was 48,686 (50.5%) for the powerful incumbent who spent $1,655,437 to 47,677 (49.5%) for Halvorson, who only spent $264,357.Since there is virtually no Democratic Party in the area, it was easy for Halvorsan to then lay claim to the Democratic nomination and the extreme right candidate is now on the ballot as a Democrat. I spoke with him on the phone and he went out of his way to tell me he thinks Hillary should be in prison and that isn't joining the Democratic Party. But over a thousand Democrats wrote him in on the Democratic line and he used that successfully as the excuse for claiming the Democratic line in the general. So, no, this isn't going to be another case like Charlie Crist, Monica Vernon, Tom O'Halleran, Patrick Murphy, Mike Parrish or any of the dozens of Republicans the DCCC has recruited to run as Democrats. Steve Israel's Blue Dogs and New Dems always agree to caucus with the Democrats as long as they're free to vote with the Republicans. Halvorson has pledged to caucus with the Republicans if he wins. So now take a look at this ad that Halvoson started running last week that has the whole district buzzing:



Shuster got the State Police to cite Halvorson for harassing one of his campaign workers, 22 year old Meghan Boocks, at the Fayette County Fair. In response, Halvorson is suing Boocks for defamation. ("This," said a Halverson spokesperson, "is a political hit job that the Shuster campaign pulled directly from the Hillary Clinton playbook on character assassination, just before the election.")The bad feeling between them has been further stoked because the ad, reminding voters that Shuster's incredibly corrupt father, the previous congressman, was just like the odious son and that the father was also having sex with lobbyists, just the way Shuster, Jr. does. Shasta never stops whining that Halvorson started running the outrageous-- albeit true-- ad hours after his mother died. Halvorson says he didn't run the ad sooner out of respect for Halvorson's mother and that he should man up and face all the allegations in the ad which have been thoroughly fact-checked and found 100% true.

I wonder how many low-info Democrats in PA-09 are going to vote for Halvorson because, after all, "any Democrat is better than any Republican." Whatever there is of a Democratic Party in the district is supporting write-in candidate Adam Sedlock. Meanwhile, though Halvorson-- formerly a Ted Cruz supporter-- is backing Trump, the Trump campaign has officially endorsed the status quo, crooked Ryan-Republican, Shuster. This is a crazy mixed up race on every level. 

Can Trump Really Defeat Paul Ryan? And Turn American Politics Topsy Turvey?

Will Trump's refusal to back Ryan hurt the Speaker in his primary next Tuesday? Trump didn't do especially well in Ryan's district during the presidential election, losing to Ted Cruz everywhere with the exception of close calls in Kenosha and Rock counties. If the Trumpist running against Ryan, Paul Nehlen, were running a strong contest, Trump's refusal could be meaningful, but Nehlen isn't making much headway, not even with fellow Trumpists Sarah Palin and Ann Coulter backing him. Nehlen's only chance of actually beating Ryan would be if the DCCC alerted Democrats that it's an open primary and Democratic voters can ask for a Republican ballot and vote against Ryan. But, of course, the DCCC refuses to do that. It would throw the House Republicans into complete turmoil and, more important, kill the TPP... dead as a doornail.

But that weirdness in southeast Wisconsin wasn't the only Age-of-Trump crack-up yesterday. Ronald Siegel and Christopher Castillo were the two Republicans running for the open CA-44 congressional seat, the seat Janice Hahn is giving up. There were 10 candidates in all competing in the open primary and the two top vote getters-- environmental champion Nanette Barragan and corruption champion Isadore Hall-- will proceed to the November 8 general election, a Dem vs Dem race. (This year there are 7 Dem v Dem congressional races in California plus a Dem v Dem U.S. Senate race.) Yesterday Siegel, an environmental-friendly Republican unhappy with Hall's close and crooked ties to Big Oil endorsed Nanette and so did Castillo-- both Republicans joining Berniecrats Armando Sotomayor and Marcus Musante as well as Morris Griffin in asking their supporters to vote for her. In a press statement Castillo said that "During these past few months I spoke with people from this district who have serious concerns they would like to see addressed in Washington, like immigration reform and job creation. Nanette is the only candidate in this race who is going to make these changes a reality. I look forward to seeing all that she accomplishes in Congress."

When I spoke with Castillo on the phone he emphasized that he's a small government/low taxes Republican who is pro-amnesty and very anti-Trump. And anti-corruption. He's well aware of Hall's reputation for taking money from "everyone and anyone" and voting for what they want. He said he feels he has more in common with Bernie than with Trump but wasn't high on Hillary either. But he is high on Nanette and expects to help persuade Republicans in CA-44 for vote for her in November. Fascinating, huh?

Even stranger is an update on a story we've been covering about feuding Republicans-- establishment crook Bill Shuster and right-wing teabagger Art Halvorson in Pennsylvania. The ninth district-- kind of a sprawling wasteland time left behind, between Pittsburgh's southern exurbs east to Chambersburg and Waynesboro and north to Altoona and Indiana-- has no rhyme or reason and nothing holding it together. But ever one of the 12 counties in the district went for Trump in the primary. And his voters came close to defeating Shuster. The final vote was 48,686 (50.5%) for the powerful incumbent who spent $1,655,437 to 47,677 (49.5%) for Halvorson, who only spent $264,357 and it was the closest race in the state. I called Halvorson when he announced he would continue his race against Shuster on the empty Democratic Party line. Halvorson, who went out of his way to tell me he thinks Hillary should be in prison-- weeks and weeks before the Trumpist convention made that a popular thing for Republican crackpots to say-- isn't joining the Democratic Party by any stretch of anyone's imagination. But over a thousand Democrats wrote him in on the Democratic line and he's using that as the excuse for claiming the line in the general. So, no, this isn't going to be another case like Charlie Crist, Patrick Murphy, Monica Vernon, Filemon Vela, Mike Parrish or any of the dozens of Republicans the DCCC has recruited to run as Democrats. This is just an extreme right-wing Republican poaching away a Democratic ballot line the DCCC was too lame to protect.

So when I talked with him on the phone he wasn't sure if he'd do it or not but yesterday he finally announced he's decided to run on the Democratic Party line but, obviously, not as a Democrat.

Despite the fact he’ll be on the Democratic side of the ballot, Halvorson maintains he is still a Republican.

“But make no mistake about it, our current struggle isn’t Democrat vs. Republican, it’s Insiders vs. We the People,” he asserted.

Unsurprisingly, Congressman Shuster did not welcome this news.

“By running for Congress as a Democrat, Art Halvorson has proved that he cares about one thing and one thing only-- himself,” Rep. Shuster’s campaign stated. “Not only is he betraying Democrats by calling their party Godless while forcing them to accept him as their nominee, but he is also betraying the will of the Republican primary voters that have twice rejected his attempt to get a job in Congress.”

“Whether its selfish Art Halvorson saying offensive things about Democrats or calling the Republican nominee Donald Trump childish and reprehensible two things are clear-- Art Halvorson’s Arlen Specter impression is out of touch with our region and he is a soon be a three-time loser to Congressman Bill Shuster, who unlike Art, will always be fighting for the people of the 9th Congressional District.”

There's also a write-in Democrat, who is being supported by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. As of the June 30 FEC filing deadline Shuster had $892,427 cash on hand and Halvorson had just $61,026. There are no Tea Party groups spending any money for Halvorson so far this year, although last cycle the crackpot Madison Project spent money against Shuster on his behalf.

Will The DCCC Welcome Teabaggers Angry At Establishment Republicans?-- PA-09

In the off-chance that the all-white Republican voters in deep red PA-09-- basically the leftover bits and bobs of the southern and central Pennsylvania: Altoona, the exurbs south of Pittsburgh to Chambersburg halfway across the state-- roused themselves on primary day a couple weeks ago to puke on their crooked, philandering congressman, Bill Shuster, we took a little look at the second primary challenge Shuster was getting from wealthy extreme right soiopath and teabagger, Art Halvorson. In 2014 Halvorson had scored 35% in a 3-way primary, to Shuster's 53%. Two weeks ago Halvorson didn't have the same degree of Tea Party energy at his back but no one knew how the mob of Trump supporters would relate to the primary battle between an establishment whore like Shuster and a principled extremist like Halvorson.

Trump won every single one of the dozen counties that make up PA-09. Cruz's best showing was 25.6% in Franklin County. PA-09 is Trump Country. It was almost Halvorson country too. The final vote count was 48,686 (50.5%) for the powerful incumbent who spent $1,655,437 to 47,677 (49.5%) Halvorson, who only spent $264,357, the closest race in the state. And Halvorson isn't ready too give up.

I spoke to Halvorson on the phone yesterday after reading about his decision to continue the jihad against Shuster on the otherwise empty Democratic Party line. Halvorson, who went out of his way to tell me he thinks Hillary should be in prison, isn't joining the Democratic Party. But over a thousand Democrats wrote him in on the Democratic line and he's using that as the excuse for claiming the Democratic line in the general. So, no, this isn't going to be another case like Charlie Crist, Patrick Murphy, Mike Parrish or any of the dozens of Republicans the DCCC has recruited to run as Democrats. This will certainly lead to a court case, possibly two-- one from Shuster, who's already freaking out and one from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.

A Shuster spokesperson said "It’s not really surprising to see Art Halvorson reject and ignore the will of the voters. He’s proven that he will do and say anything to get elected. While Art Halvorson challenges the courts to allow him to join the Hillary Clinton ticket, Congressman Shuster will be working hard to elect Donald Trump, whom Art Halvorson has called reprehensible, childish, and embarrassing, to the White House."

What Halvorson told me is that he hasn't made up his mind about Trump yet and wants to see if the GOP nominee turns out to be a conservative, pointing out that Shuster is just a career politician who doesn't care one way or the other what Trump stands for as long as there's something to grasp onto that will help him towards reelection. Many in the district, regardless of party, are angry that a trade group with business before Shuster's committee hired a high-priced hooker/lobbyist to have sex with him on a regular basis in return for him promoting their agenda. Shuster has been notorious for having sex with female lobbyists for years and was threatened by Boehner to stop or risk losing his chairmanship. He didn't stop and didn't lose his chairmanship, but Halvorson thinks that message, along with Shuster's general sleaziness, will resonate with general election voters regardless which ballot line he's on.

I wonder how the corrupt pack of swine at the DCCC will view this. If we hear more, we'll let you know.

Both Parties' Grassroots Strive To Clean Up The Corruption. Pennsylvania Republicans Have A Shot A Week From Today

There oughta be a law... oh, there are several

Last week we looked at how the Airline industry-- through their trade association-- chipped in to buy Pennsylvania Republican Bill Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee a sexual relationship with a lady lobbyist. Over the weekend, that was one of the main topics in a rancorous GOP primary debate between the embattled Shuster and teabagger Art Halvorson. Keep in mind that Shuster expects voters to believe that although he admits he has sex with airline lobbyist Shelley Rubino, she doesn't lobby him or his staff because it's against his office rules. Shutter's assertions are a comment on how stupid he believes Republican voters in PA-09 are. The two also faced off last cycle, when Shuster beat him 52.8% to 34.5%

The sharp tone in their sole debate before the Republican primary April 26 was almost inevitable, with Shuster on the defensive over his romantic ties to a lobbyist with major interests before his committee.

Halvorson portrayed Shuster as continuing a family tradition of trading on his position of influence in Washington, comparing the incumbent’s actions to those of his father, Bud Shuster, who resigned from Congress in 2001 under a cloud of impropriety.

“I’m not owned by the lobbyists; Mr. Shuster is,” Halvorson said at one point. “In fact, he cavorts with a lobbyist who lobbies his committee.”

After the debate, Halvorson went further, calling Shuster an “idiot” after the incumbent accused him of not understanding the district based on Halvorson’s characterization of the debate location-- far west of its geographic center-- as the “fringe.”

...A defeat for Shuster would be the most successful voter rebellion against a high-ranking Republican congressman since then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor went down at the hands of political neophyte Dave Brat in 2014. Shuster is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads and polling in the final weeks of the campaign, an indication he sees Halvorson as a serious threat. But the 55-year-old congressman is far better known in the district and has a bigger campaign war chest, and for those reasons he remains the favorite.

...Throughout the debate, Halvorson portrayed Shuster’s D.C. dealings as nefarious. The challenger criticized Shuster’s relationship with Rubino multiple times, then used a question about ethics submitted by a local GOP and tea party leader to level his harshest broadside.

Sixteen years ago, “we had a senior congressman who was chairman of transportation, was reprimanded and resigned in disgrace, and 16 years later we have a similar, almost exact situation happening,” Halvorson said. “And yet it’s OK, and somehow the ethics must’ve changed, or else the friends of the current congressman have allowed a different interpretation of the House ethics rules.

"But as I read it, this close intimate relationship with a lobbyist who has access to his committee and who is able to pass fast-track legislation through his committee and then cavort on South Beach, Florida, almost as a celebration of what they had just foisted on the American public, I think is disgraceful and I think is grounds for him to resign." That was an apparent reference to a bill to overhaul the Federal Aviation Administration that Shuster's committee approved in February, days before he traveled to Miami with Rubino and another Airlines for America lobbyist.

Bud Shuster, who also headed the transportation committee, resigned from Congress in 2001, not long after he was rebuked by the House ethics committee for favoring a former aide turned lobbyist.

...One wild card is how Donald Trump’s candidacy will affect turnout in the House race. Halvorson’s campaign has tried to capitalize on Trump’s anti-establishment sentiment, running an ad urging voters to “fire Bill Shuster” with a visual stamp that says “You’re fired”-- Trump’s reality-show catchphrase.

Shuster supporters countered that voters who haven’t been paying close attention to the congressional primary might just go with the familiar name, giving the incumbent an advantage.

Airline Firm Pays A Lobbyist To Have A Sexual Relationship With The Chair Of The House Transportation Committee

Shuster and his lobbyist have red circles around their heads

Bill Shuster couldn't have turned out not to be corrupt. The Pennsylvania Republican is the antithesis of a values-driven political leader. He's a grubby deal maker whose father Bud Shuster suddenly resigned from Congress at a pique of anger with the GOP over his lucrative committee chair and his son Bill, a car salesman, inherited the deep red seat-- complements of shady backroom deals-- and, eventually the graft-producing committee chair his father was angry about being retired from. Pennsylvania's 9th CD is the leftover bits and pieces of the southern and central parts of the state, Altoona, the exurbs south of Pittsburgh, Chambersburg halfway across the state. Only 3% of the population is black and less than 2% is Latino. The political complexion is dark red (PVI +14, the worst in the whole state) and has been since the Civil War, when being a Republican meant the polar opposite of what it means today. No one told them yet. Shuster inherited his seat in 2001 and got the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairmanship in 2013. This is how bad it is: the top U.S. airline trade association pays a lobbyist to sleep with him in return for legislation to serve their own interests! (Shuster dumped his wife of 27 years, Rebecca, almost 2 years ago, just when his affair with the lobbyist became public. They have two children, Ali and Garrett, a lobbyist for ALTZ Investment Strategies.) Shuster has been notorious for having sex with female lobbyists for years and was threatened by Boehner to stop or risk losing his chairmanship. He didn't stop and didn't lose his chairmanship. People in Washington say her firm "owns" Shuster and he does whatever they want.

Shuster doesn't have anything to worry about in terms of a Democrat, but this year he has a Tea Party extremist challenging him again-- the same Tea Party extremist, Art Halvorson, who challenged him in 2014 (pre-Trump).

Halvorson is challenging the incumbent’s conservative bona fides and his ethics, too, after reports that Mr. Shuster was cavorting with a top airline lobbyist and vacationing in Florida with another while he was pushing aviation reforms through Congress.

With voters railing against the establishment, Mr. Shuster, 55, is a consummate insider. He’s been in Congress for 15 years, he is chairman of one of its most powerful committees, he has been involved in classic Washington deal-making, and he is from a political family. His father, Bud Shuster, previously held both his son’s congressional seat and his chairmanship.

“The establishment is in some ways on trial this year, and people that have establishment attributes including Shuster” are vulnerable, said Chris Borick, professor of political science at Muhlenberg College in Allentown. “He should have a sizable degree of concern.”

Republican strategist Charlie Gerow said anything can happen.

“It’s been such a topsy-turvy political year, you just don’t know what can happen. Ordinarily I would say [Mr. Shuster] is in no danger but this year perhaps it’s a little bit different,” Mr. Gerow said. “I’m not advising him but if I were I would tell him to visit every wake and wedding in the district over the next three weeks and make sure folks back home know how hard he works.”

Mr. Halvorson is trying to deliver to voters: He’s been telling them that Mr. Shuster isn’t conservative enough-- or ethical enough-- to represent the district.

Mr. Shuster has been dating Shelley Rubino, a lobbyist for Airlines for America, and socializing in Miami with her boss, Nick Calio, while working on sweeping reforms for which the aviation industry has been pressing. Meanwhile, Mr. Shuster hired another former Airlines for America lobbyist for his committee staff.

He declined to say how he and Ms. Rubino met.

“It’s a private and personal relationship,” he said Wednesday during a telephone interview. “It’s a private matter. Let’s move on to something else, some other questions.”

Mr. Shuster has said there’s no conflict of interest because he has an office rule that prevents Ms. Rubino from lobbying him or his staff, adding that her job is to lobby Democrats, not Republicans. He said most of the lobbyists he sees are from individual airlines, not associations like Airlines for America, that represent the industry as a whole, including most major commercial passenger and cargo carriers.

“They get their legislation pushed through and fast-tracked through Mr. Shuster’s committee, and it’s absolutely corrupt. We need to stop it,” said Mr. Halvorson, 60. “He represents the Washington cartel and the pay-to-play fix in Washington where lobbyists have direct access and taxpayers have no access to Washington.”

Mr. Shuster said there’s only one motivation behind his FAA proposal, which would privatize air-traffic control: “I’m doing what’s right for this country, and I believe that from the top of my head to the tip of my toes.” That also includes standing up for the Second Amendment, opposing abortion, building a wall along the Mexican border, closing immigration pathways for Middle Eastern refugees who cannot be thoroughly screened and reducing the size of government, he said.

As of December 31, Shuster had raised $1,890,292 and had spent $931,235. He still had $1,374,354 in his campaign account. PA-09 is a really inexpensive media market but a tricky one because it's no big and uncentralized geographically. Still, Halvorspn hadn't even brought in the $5,000 that would have triggered a mandatory FEC report. He raised an spent $264,898 in 2014, although two-thirds of that ($178,673) was from his own bank account. The NRA and the National Association of Realtors did some independent expenditures for Shuster and the Madison Project attacked him on Halvorson's behalf, but only spent $10,000. So far this cycle, no outside group has spent anything on either candidate.

How Could Any Self-Respecting Conservative In Kentucky Still Back McConnell?

McConnell is an ugly example of the American ruling elites who have perverted democracy for the advancement of their own careers. At this point, it almost doesn't matter if McConnell is a conservative or a liberal; all that matters is that he represents Mitch McConnell in the U.S. Senate, not the working families of Kentucky. His three opponents, Tea Party candidate Matt Bevin, in the primary, and Democrats Alison Lundergan Grimes and Ed Marksberry, all recognize his core vulnerability, which is making one of the Beltway's most influential and powerful players the most vulnerable Republican incumbent going into 2014. Watch Bevin's 30 second TV spot above. This is devastating for McConnell because it has the potential to make Kentucky voters think beyond the party identification model that our DC elites routinely use to pull the wool of their constituents' eyes.

Jim Ryun, one of Congress' most extreme right fanatics in living memory, was a radical Kansas Republican before he was defeated in a Senate run by a slightly (very slightly) more mainstream conservative. This week, Ryun penned an OpEd for USAToday about why McConnell-- and Beltway figures like him-- should not be reelected. Forget for a moment that Ryun is far outside the thought of anything resembling the mainstream in his specific policy agenda. And forget also that he's talking about Republicans in general and McConnell in particular. His arguments should also be heeded by out-of-touch Beltway Democratic powerbrokers like Steny Hoyer and Steve Israel, who are-- minus a few policy goals-- exactly the same kind of trash as McConnell.

As a former conservative member of Congress, I learned that legislative battles are won or lost long before the votes are cast in Congress. If we want to win legislative battles, we have to win electoral wars first. Many of those start in primaries against establishment Republicans who have either become complicit in the endless expansion of the federal government or feckless in stopping its aggressive champions.

Over the past year, my political action committee, The Madison Project has had the opportunity to help recruit a number of conservatives who understand the gravity of our public policy problems and are willing to fight for solutions that will fundamentally restore our constitutional republic. They are committed to promoting a new standard in Washington-- one in which principled leaders actually fight and win battles for conservatives. They will do whatever it takes to shrink the size of government-- including filibusters against harmful legislation in the Senate or voting against rules to consider bad legislation backed by GOP leadership in the House.

Next year we will have a number of opportunities to elect these new principled Republicans-- all in conservative-leaning red states. There are opportunities in Democrat-held seats in Louisiana, Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, Alaska, and North Carolina. And yes, there are Republican seats in Kentucky, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Wyoming and others currently being wasted on Republicans of yesteryear.

We are proud to have already made some bold endorsements this year. We backed Coast Guard veteran Art Halvorson against Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster in Pennsylvania. This is a clear race between a status quo Republican committed to the policies of meddlesome federal control versus a principled outsider committed to shrinking the size of government.

And there's Louisville businessman Matt Bevin who's challenging the sitting Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell. McConnell's quiet support for backroom deals and lack of leadership to fight the legislative battles needed to move our country in the right direction, has undercut conservatives in the Senate for years. We are proud to be the first national organization to support this historic conservative insurgency to empower the grassroots over the party establishment.

Some Washington insiders are questioning our motives and wondering why we are "moving the goal posts," while asking so much more from elected Republicans then we have in the past. These skeptics are failing to learn from the mistakes of the past.

We must learn from the successes and failures of the past generation of conservatives. They rose to the moment and fought the battles of their era. But we now know that, despite their best efforts, we failed to stop what is becoming an inescapable slide into socialism. We have almost $17 trillion in debt, the monstrosity that is Obamacare, 48 million peopleon food stamps, 72 million on Medicaid, and government subsidies and mandates governing every aspect of our economy and private lives. It's no longer enough to elect mild-mannered pale-pastel types who will merely slow the inexorable growth of government when they control Congress, following years of massive growth during Democrat control. We must elect fighters who are willing to use pressure points such as the debt ceiling or budget bills to force transformational change.

Despite his successes in slowing the growth of government, even President Reagan felt that more was needed to hold back the tide of a meddlesome federal government. It's for this reason President Reagan proposed America's Economic Bill of Rights in 1987, a set of sweeping constitutional amendments mandating a balanced budget and banning wage and price control. Reagan reportedly told a young Newt Gingrich, "Well, some things you're just going to have to do after I'm gone."

Unfortunately, instead of building on Reagan's successes, the GOP went backwards with the Bush Republicans, saddling us with Obama and the calamity that has ensued as a result of his presidency.

If we want more Republicans who won't blink during battle-- who will learn from past mistakes and do whatever it takes to change the current pathway to peril-- we must be willing to do battle with the Republican Party of the past during the upcoming primary season. It's time to change the way the game is played.

Last cycle, Ryun's PAC donated $96,000 to candidates and put another another $8,917 into independent expenditures. The great bulk of that money was wasted on right-wing extremists-- and losers-- Todd Akin (MO), Clark Durant (MI), Josh Mandel (OH), Joe Miller (AK), Richard Mourdock (IN), Mark Neumann (WI), Don Stenberg (NE), Carl Wimmer (UT), Joe Walsh (IL), Don Manzullo (IL), Scott Keadle (NC), Jack Hoogendyk (MI), Ron Gould (AZ), Evan Feinberg (PA) and, of course, Mitt Romney.

One followup throught-- Steve Israel's DCCC hasn't bothered to recruit a Democrat to run in PA-09... just in case Ryun and his band of extremists manage to defeat Shuster in the primary and replace him with someone so radical and with such anti-American ideas that a viable Democrat could actually win that deeply red seat. Steve Israel, like Shuster and McConnell, is a Beltway careerist. If the right can take on party elders like McConnell and Shuster, a vibrant left should be taking on hacks like Israel, Wasserman Schultz, Emanuel and Hoyer. But there's hardly any vibrant left at all, is there, just Wall Street zombies and profiteers like Cory Booker.