California Has A Leader Of The Resistance In Congress-- Meet Ted Lieu

In 2012 Henry Waxman had served nearly 4 decades in the House. A Republican billionaire, Bill Bloomfield, rebranded himself as an independent and ran a slash and burn campaign against Waxman, spending $7,567,080 of his own money (and another $400,000 from his wealthy friends) to pulverize the iconic progressive congressman. Waxman still won 171,860 (54%) to 146,660 (46%), but it was uncomfortably close and he was in no mood for that kind of fight again. So he didn't run in 2014. Ted Lieu, who is an even stronger and more hard-hitting champion of progressive causes than Waxman, ran instead. Elan Carr, a right-wing lunatic with no principles who sometimes runs as a Republican and sometimes pretends he's an independent, ran against Lieu with Adelson backing. He spent $1,575,540 to Ted's $2,173,521 but at the last moment, two Adelson-funded SuperPAC orchestrated a vicious smear campaign against Lieu costing $750,000. Lieu went to the DCCC for help. According to a confidant of mine who worked there at the time, Steve Israel told him to go pound sand. The DCCC informant called me just weeks before the election and told me Lieu was in trouble and Israel refused to help. He asked if Blue America could do anything. Fortunately we had enough money in our account to take out full page ads in the L.A. Times and a local newspaper to respond to Adelson's lies. Despite the onslaught of Adelson-directed money, Ted kicked his ass-- 108,331 (59%) to 74,700 (41%). This past November, the GOP didn't even try, putting up a weak unknown, under-financed candidate who Ted eviscerated 66.3- 33.7%.

His colleagues in the House recognized his potential right away; he was elected the 114th Congress' Democratic freshman class president. His constituents have gotten to understand they now have one of the best Members of Congress representing them. What does "best" mean? It kicked in for me one day when a friend of mine, Matt Stoller I think, asked Ted, an Air Force colonel and a hugely successful state legislator, why he wanted to go live in the hellhole that is congressional life in Washington, DC. Ted explained to us that there were many policies he felt needed to be addressed thoughtfully and aggressively and then talked about Climate Change in great depth and said his reasons for wanting to be in Congress were tied up with his two very young sons. More and more people have been referring to him as Southern California's Jedi Knight. He's looking to save the planet for Brennan and Austin-- as well as for his other constituents.

Thursday, Los Angeles Magazine-- which directly covers an area represented by two dozen members of Congress. Writer Julia Herbst correctly pegged him as "a real leader of the resistance," pointing out that his twitter account is a beacon of light in the post-election darkness. She wrote that "if you’re looking for a ray of sunshine in the alternative fact-riddled hellscape that is our life now (we’re looking at you, EPA social media ban, Betsy DeVos and friends, executive order about the Affordable Care Act, advancement of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, and revival of the Reagan-era Mexico City Policy), look no further than Congressman Ted Lieu’s Twitter. Because the dude is killing it." And she thinks his twitter style is a laugh fest. She concluded with: "Many have (rightfully) expressed concern that Trump’s election might bring out the worst in people. But it’s also bringing out the best-- and most hilarious-- in others. Never stop being you, Representative Lieu."

Right on. So far this year, Blue America has endorsed only 6 incumbents. There will be more, as it becomes clear that they're going to not just be part of the resistance but approach it as aggressively, courageously and intelligently as Ted Lieu does. Please consider supporting Ted's 2018 reelection bid. With enemies like Sheldon Adelson, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, let's not take any chances-- and we already know better than being able to count on the DCCC. Late Friday afternoon, in response to Trump's latest executive order making it more difficult for refugees to enter the United States based on their religion or religious heritage, Ted told his constituents that "Today’s executive order by President Trump using extreme vetting and banning refugees from many majority Muslim countries is offensive and a monumental waste of federal resources. Having served on active duty, we are taught that to defeat the enemy, we first need to know our enemy. Our enemies are terrorist groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda, not children, women and senior citizens fleeing those groups. The chances of being struck by lightning TWICE is 1 in 9 million. The chances of being killed by a refugee committing a terrorist act is 1 in 3.6 billion. These facts lead me to conclude that Trump's action is not based on national security, it is based on bigotry. Lady Liberty is crying."

Ted Lieu's New Bill Would Prevent A President Trump From Starting A Nuclear War

When Digby, John and I were first getting to know Ted Lieu, back when he was still a state Senator, we asked him why he was willing to leave the young family he's so devoted to in L.A. and spend so much time in Washington, D.C. He told us it actually had a lot to do with his two sons-- a compulsion to help turn Congress towards solving the accelerating problems around Climate Change. And, sure enough, last month when Ted was named the freshmen Democrats MVP, his unrelenting work-- with members on both sides of the aisle-- for climate change was first and foremost in everyone's mind. That and... cyber-security, equal rights, criminal justice and marijuana legalization. Yeah, he's been busy.

But last week, hot on the heels of his promotion to full colonel in the Air Force Reserve, Ted, along with two other freshmen military vets in the House sent a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan urging him to withdraw his endorsement of Donald Trump. "As veterans who previously served on active duty," they wrote, "we are horrified by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's slander of parents whose son died serving our country. Mr. Trump has already made a series of racist and sexist statements. But the profound disrespect Mr. Trump has shown toward Gold Star parents is a new low. Your continued endorsement of Mr. Trump's hateful, bigoted and sexist vision threatens the integrity of the House of Representatives in which we serve. We respectully request that you follow what we believe your heart is telling you and withdraw your endorsement of him now."

Thursday, Ted announced he is introducing legislation to make it more difficult for a president to launch a nuclear attack.

“The erratic and impulsive behavior of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has highlighted the structural dangers of America’s nuclear weapons launch protocols. Having taught the Law of War when I served on active duty, and as a graduate of Air War College, it is clear to me that the traditional checks and balances on the Executive branch do not apply when it comes to nuclear weapons. This process needs to be fixed.

“The President does not need approval from Congress or the courts to launch nuclear weapons. All the President needs is the concurrence of the Secretary of Defense, who is appointed by the President.

“When Congress comes back into session, I plan to introduce legislation that requires the concurrence of leaders in Congress-- who are not beholden to the President-- before a nuclear strike can be launched. We can no longer have the fate of civilization depend on just two people in the Executive Branch.”

This week Blue America is helping Ted raise funds for his reelection campaign. As a thank you we are giving away 6 advance copies of the next book by neuroscientist Dan Levitin (author of the massive NY Times best seller, This Is Your Brain On Music. Dan, a big admirer of Ted's, autographed half a dozen advance review copies of A Field Guide To Lies-- Critical Thinking In The Information Age for half a dozen randomly selected contributors. There is no minimum contribution; everyone is equally likely to be picked to "win" one of the signed books.

Dr. Levitn told us Friday that: "My wife and I had dinner with Ted Lieu recently and it was one of the most fascinating conversations we’ve ever had. He has a deep knowledge about a wide variety of topics, and shared many insights with us. He is exactly the kind of person we need to have in government: smart, empathetic, honest, and eager to devote his considerable talents to public service not for his own personal gain, but to help make the world a better place. He's committed to clearing the logjam that congress has become, using his intelligence and creativity to move forward policies and legislation that will benefit all of us."

Just contribute any amount by Tuesday evening at midnight at this Blue America ActBlue page to be eligible.

Best Progressive Investment Of 2014-15: Ted Lieu

Last cycle we asked you to chip in and help Ted Lieu win the Los Angeles congressional seat from which Henry Waxman was retiring. With your support, Ted won a convincing victory. So, how do we know what's going to happen after someone gets elected? In Ted's case, his record of accomplishment as a state legislator was so overwhelming that we had a powerful feeling he would make an exceptional Member of Congress. We were right.

He's been more than we could have hoped, getting elected freshman class president in his first week on the job and working effectively on one tough issue after another. The easy stuff is never where Ted puts his tremendous energies. Just as he did in California, Ted introduced the first federal ban on LGBT conversion therapy, which applies to adults as well as the transgender community. And, again, as he did in California, Ted introduced the Climate Solutions Act of 2015, which takes California's successful approach to climate change and takes it nationwide. Last week he introduced and passed an amendment that cut the federal marijuana eradication/suppression programs in half and his amendment redirected the funding to help child victims of domestic violence and child abuse.

Ted isn't taking cautious nibbles around the periphery of problems. He was the first Democrat to oppose the proposal to send US ground troops back to Iraq. At the same time, he has been one of Congress' loudest and most effective voices against granting Fast Track Authority to the White House on the TPP, a principled position that hasn't endeared him to the Establishment.

"One of the main reasons I ran for Congress," he told us, "was to take on the NSA and our out of control spying-industrial complex. From bipartisan letters I have written to the NSA to my public speeches and comments to my advocacy in the press (such as on MSNBC with Chris Hayes), I have worked across the aisle inside Congress to reign in the NSA for the first time in decades. Although I don't think the reforms went far enough, at least it is a good step in the right direction. And there is more to come."



And that was just the beginning. "Another reason I ran for Congress," he told us, "was to accomplish comprehensive immigration reform. I am also passionate about combatting poverty and am fighting to increase funding to poverty programs." Below is from an OpEd Ted wrote with Hugh Evans, CEO of the Global Poverty Project:

This year, almost 60 million primary school-age children will have no access to school. While the world has made progress to get more kids to school since 2000, the severe lack of financing for global education continues to waste global talent and inflicts a lifelong sentence of poverty for those without an education.

...Congress can and must do more by committing $125 million to the Global Partnership for Education in 2016. After all, lack of access to education is one of the key pillars trapping people in the cycle of extreme poverty. By increasing access to a quality basic education, we can increase opportunities for the world's poor. And by committing $125 million to the Global Partnership for Education in 2016-- still a microsize drop in the bucket of our nearly $4 trillion federal budget-- America has an opportunity to ensure that some 29 million children get a quality education by 2018.

...In addition, improving education worldwide actually helps American security. An uneducated child grows up to be an uneducated adult, and large adult populations that are uneducated and impoverished are destabilizing for countries and regions. With this in mind, our nation's security increases when there is more stability in the world.

Improving education worldwide also boosts the American economy. Just one year of primary school increases the future earning potential of a boy in a developing nation by 5% to 15%. The increases for a girl are even greater. Millions more educated children growing up to be educated adults would have a sizable impact on economies in the developing world, which means greatly increased global economic opportunity for America.

This year is a historic opportunity for the movement to end extreme poverty. In September, world leaders will approve the Sustainable Development Goals, which we expect to target education with the objective to give every child 10 years of free quality education. Investing in education is a clear prerequisite to achieving all other sustainable development goals and ending extreme poverty by 2030... The United States must do more to help empower communities to lift themselves out of poverty. It's good for children and good for America.

Yesterday the AirForce Times explained Ted's stand on marijuana to its readers. "A congressman who is also a lieutenant colonel if the Air Force Reserve wants to reduce by half the funds spent to eradicate marijuana plants," was how they put it.

"This is a ridiculous waste of precious federal resources, especially when multiple states and jurisdictions have already legalized marijuana," Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said in a Thursday news release. "It is time for the federal government to stop making marijuana use or possession a federal crime."

Lieu's amendment to a fiscal 2016 appropriations bill would cut funding for the Drug Enforcement Agency's salaries and expenses account from $18 million to $9 million, the news release says. The account is used to fund the DEA program to eradicate and suppress cannabis.

Next year, Lieu will introduce legislation to eliminate the entire program, he said in the news release, noting that the DEA arrested 6,130 people in 2014 for growing marijuana plants.

"There is a growing, bipartisan consensus across the country that our marijuana policies must change," Lieu said in the news release. "Despite the overwhelming support from scientists, doctors, and people across the nation for lessening restrictions on marijuana, the DEA still spends millions of dollars each year on domestic cannabis eradication."

Ted, in fact, has been so busy doing the peoples' business that he hasn't spent the time the House leadership insists on raising money for reelection. Would you help Blue America help Ted make sure he closes out the fundraising quarter with a decent amount? You can contribute to his campaign here.

How Will Wasserman Schultz's Post Mortem Committee Explain Mary Landrieu, Al Muratsuchi And Ileana Ros-Lehtinen?

It isn't difficult to do a post mortem on Mary Landrieu's idiotically-doomed Senate race. Saturday's runoff saw the 3-term Louisiana Senator struggle to reach beyond 40%. In 2008 she beat Republican John Kennedy 988,298 (52%) to 867,177 (46%), the same percentage she got in her 2002 reelection. Saturday's results were Cassidy 712,330 (55.94%), Landieu 561,099 (44.06%). She won 15 of the state's 64 parishes.

She never had a chance. Although she raised $18,570,680 to Bill Cassidy's $13,165,150 (as of Nov. 16), outside spending was heavily weighted against her, with conservative groups like Rove's American Crossroads, the Koch's Americans for Prosperity, the Koch's Freedom Partners Action Fund, the NRSC, the NRA, the Patriot Majority each kicking in millions to pulverize her, while liberal groups largely looked away in disgust at the Senate's second most right-wing Democrat (after Joe Manchin). Landrieu's Republican-lite shtik doesn't work anymore and her ilk of conservative careerist Bourbon-Democrats are almost entirely extinct. Like Blanche Lincoln she'll be next heard from as a slimy lobbyist, probably for Big Oil and Gas. In recent weeks she tried working with the Republicans to pass Keystone XL Pipeline and when that didn't work, she went on radio to brag that she didn't vote for Obama, which probably contributed to the depth of the loss she suffered Saturday, keeping base Democratic voters home.

As we've pointed out, Blue Dogs and New Dems-- the Republican wing of the Democratic Party-- were the big losers in this past cycle. With just one or two exceptions (and in red-leaning districts) progressives kept their seats and won open seats. Ted Lieu (CA-33) is a good example. Henry Waxman with a well-financed conservative opponent in 2012 had a close call (54-46%). But Lieu never deviated an inch from his cutting edge progressive values-- his first ad was about his legislation reigning in unconstitutional domestic spying-- and, although Adelson and his allies dumped close to a million dollars in media smears against him, Ted beat the Adelson candidate 59.2% to 40.8% with the biggest turn-out of any of L.A.'s congressional districts.

What makes this even more interesting is that, Al Muratsuchi, the conservative Democratic Assembly incumbent in AD66, a part of the congressional district that Ted did really well in (his South Bay home turf), campaigned as a Republican-lite candidate and lost to a Republican, breaking the Democrats' 2/3s supermajority in the Assembly. Democrats have a 40.4- 32.6% registration advantage in the Assembly district, which stretches from Manhattan Beach to the Palos Verdes Peninsula and east to Carson and Gardena, and Jerry Brown was in the district campaigning for Muratsuchi. Obama won the district against Romney 54.2- 43.2%. Muratsuchi only managed 49.7%.

One more race-- a non-race, this one in FL-27, a Hispanic-majority Miami-Dade district that includes West Miami, Little Havana, Westchester, Miami Springs, Coral Gables, Key Biscayne, Naranja, Homestead and part of Hialeah. Democrats have caught up with Republicans in voter registration and Obama won this district in 2012, 130,020 (53%) to 114,096 (47%). That year, DNC Chair and Florida Party boss Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who has been helping protect her GOP crony, incumbent Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for years-- and was once fired as DCCC Red-to-Blue chair for doing so publicly-- put in a place-holder, Manny Yevancey, to prevent a real Democrat from running. This year, they just made sure no one ran, period. I asked one of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party decision-makers why there was no candidate in one of the bluest districts held my a Republican in the whole state. He told me, in confidence, that Wasserman Schultz routinely threatens to end anyone's career who challenges her Republican partner in corruption.

And that brings us to the Democratic Party post mortem, which will be conducted by an ad hoc committee set up by Debbie Wasserman Schultz. I've been told that the main purpose is to make sure that no blame whatsoever is placed on... Debbie Wasserman Schultz or Steve Israel. She "appointed a 10-person “Democratic Victory Task Force” that will investigate and address systemic issues that led to the Republican triumph in federal and state-level elections this year. None of the participants are from outside a list of well-connected Insiders-- Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt (a big GOP donor), Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, DNC Vice Chair Donna Brazile, Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio, AFSCME president Lee Saunders and two Obamabots, Teddy Goff and Maneesh Goyal. I would bet they won't be discussing tough, thoughtful, sensible articles like this or this as part of their deliberations. One disgusted Democratic Congressmember told me that among her many other non-talents Wasserman Schultz can't even put a competent committee together. Well, if she was aiming for a meaningless whitewash... she was pretty competent in her selections.



Correction

Patriot Majority spent $3,012,977 bolstering Landrieu, not attacking her. What a waste of $3 million!

Matt Miller's Narcissistic Look Back Into His Pointless Congressional Campaign

Centrism

Last week, a professional L.A.-based Beltway centrist, Matt Miller, wrote a self-pitying retrospective of his unmemorable vanity campaign for Congress. Obviously, for the Beltway publication virtually no one in L.A. reads or has even heard of, Politico. The FEC reported that Miller raised $848,440-- much of it from his Inside the Beltway cronies-- before coming in 5th with 12% of the vote, behind 2 Democrats, a Republican and a progressive independent. Coming from a DC-insider and a radio background, Miller ran a relatively nasty campaign, calling other candidates names and promoting GOP scare tactics about national security to promote the unconstitutional Surveillance State he worships mindlessly. [Always self-pitying, Miller whined: "this primary might have been the only one in the country where a candidate got so beat up for daring to criticize National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. In forum after forum, my rivals gave the party activists what they wanted-- Snowden was a hero, the NSA was evil, take it from there. Maybe they even believed that."] He didn't spend much time on it-- or any of his other right-of-center positions-- in his Politico memoir, which is a sad mediation on not taking responsibility for his loss, blaming it instead on how people hate all politicians and other factors outside of his own control. Contrast Miller's sob-story with the OpEd Iowa congressional candidate Steve Sovern wrote for the Washington Post in 1991 that we looked at Sunday morning.

As soon as Miller heard about Waxman retiring, he wanted to jump into the race, not knowing much about elections but being pretty aware that it would be a crowded contest. Each of the early entrants he worried about beat him.

The most prominent likely Democratic contender was Wendy Greuel, a former city controller who had i>lost the recent Los Angeles mayoral race to Eric Garcetti. The millions of dollars she and outside groups had spent on TV during the campaign gave her high name recognition, a huge asset. Then again, she did live outside the congressional district, so at least she would face carpetbagger charges. An author and lecturer named Marianne Williamson had announced the previous fall that she was running as an independent against Waxman-- she was decidedly unconventional, a kind of “spiritual guru,” but her devoted following could make her a factor. Then there was Democratic state Senator Ted Lieu, whose district overlapped with Waxman’s. And who knew who else might jump in?

The filing deadline wasn’t until March 7, but if I was going to run, people I trusted told me, I would need to move fast, because donors would coalesce around the serious contenders who got in early. The primary was June 3. Under California’s open primary system, the top two finishers, regardless of party, would go on to the general election in November. Oh, and there was one more thing.

“You’ll need to raise around a million dollars,” Sean Clegg, one of the state’s top political consultants, told me. To be spent mostly on cable TV ads and direct mail.

A million dollars? I tried to process what this meant. It was almost February 1. I counted off February, March, April and May on my fingers. Four months until June 3. About 120 days. More than $8,000 a day, more than $11,000 if you didn’t count weekends. I had never raised a political penny in my life. My likely opponents had been doing this for years.

...For starters, I was told, I would need a media strategist, a direct mail consultant, a fundraising consultant, an election lawyer, a campaign treasurer and some day-to-day campaign staff. The career politicians I would be facing just had to flip a switch-- they had such teams on tap and ready to go. That left me hunting for advisers who weren’t already spoken for, and who were prepared to resist pressure from rival camps not to take me on. One fundraising consultant on my list took a meeting, for example, and said she would be available if a longtime client decided against entering the race himself. Yet when he stayed out, she wouldn’t even return my calls.

...Others were more welcoming, if concerned for my sanity. A law school friend said he would happily support me, but added, “It sounds like a pretty extreme way to deal with empty nest syndrome.” One business leader in L.A. thought I had lost my mind. “Why do you want this job?” he said. “You have more impact and a much better life doing what you’re doing.” Former [very conservative and corporatist] Senator Bob Kerrey was ready to endorse me if that was useful; his one word of caution was, “Do NOT spend your own money-- no matter what the consultants tell you in the last week of the campaign-- it’s not fair to your family.” A consultant who hadn’t known I am Jewish said that was important in my district. “You may need to change your name to Millerstein,” he joked. (That seemed a bit much, but pictures of our daughter’s bat mitzvah became the dog whistle in our materials.)

Jay Carson, a former Hillary Clinton aide and deputy mayor in L.A. who was now running Mike Bloomberg’s climate change initiative, said I should figure 85 to 90 percent of my time would be spent fundraising.

...“If you want to run a 1950s campaign in the 21st century,” my newly anointed lead consultant, media strategist Mattis Goldman, barked one morning, “suit yourself.” Our team was on the phone not long after I’d announced my bid on February 14, and it was a more than credible group we’d managed to pull together despite my outsider status: Mattis as top strategist, partnering with direct-mail guru Andrew Acosta; my friend Stan Greenberg and his partner Drew Lieberman on the polling; Tracy Austin, one of California’s top Democratic fundraisers; and Lyn Utrecht, a Washington fixture, as counsel. But already it was clear I would need to wage a different kind of race. I couldn’t compete for endorsements from the local Democratic clubs and interest groups; Wendy and Ted had been mining those fields for years. And we knew I would start way behind in name recognition and that only money could close the gap. The basic plan was straightforward: Raise the money, hope to be competitive for the L.A. Times endorsement and build on the Westside NPR listeners who would be my base. A threshold strategic question was whether there was any good use of my time besides raising money, since cable TV and direct mail were the only way to reach enough voters in a district that end to end spans more than 50 traffic-snarled miles... [M]oney was the main mission.

...First order of business is introducing you to the bizarre rites and rituals associated with reaching out to the 1/20th of 1 percent of Americans who fund campaigns, and I soon learned consultants have studied dialing for dollars with anthropological precision. One consultant’s motto is, “Shorter calls means more calls!”-- i.e., more money. So stop all the chitchat. When you make the “ask,” another told me-- and that’s typically for the max of $2,600 per person, $5,200 per couple-- just say the number and pause: Don’t keep talking. And above all, don’t leave L.A. for an out-of-town fundraiser unless you’re guaranteed to rake in at least $50,000, and preferably 100 large. Anything less and it’s not worth the hassle... Campaign fundraising is a bizarre, soul-warping endeavor. You spend your time endlessly adding to lists of people who might be in a position to help. You enter them on a spreadsheet (dubbed “The Tracker”) and sort the names from high to low in terms of their giving potential. You start to think of every human being in your orbit as having a number attached to them. You book breakfasts, lunches, coffees and drinks at which you make the case for your candidacy … and ask for money. Always money. You call dozens of people a day … and ask for money. When people ask how they can help, you mostly ask them for the names of folks you can … ask for money.

...Tracy Austin, my fundraising guru, shows up midday for three hours of supervised “call time.” She’s a smiling drill sergeant. She forces me to go faster. She listens to my patter and suggests tweaks. When folks agree to give, I hand her the phone to take their information while I pick up another line and dial the next victim. I leave my third or even fifth message with assistants-- “you’re not doing yourself any good by this drumbeat of messages,” one of those I’m stalking emails, saying they’re “the surest way to turn me off.” But I remain persistent, always telling folks who come through generously that I’d be happy to make the case to their wife or husband as well. “Take no spouse for granted … and leave no spouse behind!” has become my motto, I explain.

One donor asks if I’m taking PAC money. I say I’d love to: Wendy and Ted have long funded their campaigns with cash from the business and labor groups that have a stake in City Hall or Sacramento business. It’s an obvious conflict of interest, but it’s how American politics works. As a newbie, however, I don’t get PAC overtures. I end up with just a handful. [Slimy corporate whore and fellow-"centrist"] Senator Michael Bennet’s leadership PAC gives us $5,000; a local law firm does $1,000; also, a friend of a friend is the CEO of Avis, so I get $2,600 from Avis’s PAC. (“I just want to put my cards on the table,” I tell audiences when they ask where my funding comes from. “You send me to Washington, I’m under the thumb of the rental car industry. I’m not sure what that means, but there it is.”)

...As the filing deadline approaches, I feel like I’ve become a machine designed to collect cash from high net worth Americans and turn it into cheesy mailers that will stuff voters’ mailboxes in May. March 31 itself marks the apotheosis of my transformation. With everything riding on the numbers we have to report by midnight, I find myself in a fever, a hustler in full, a caffeinated candidate who will not be denied. I make call after call at a frantic clip, coaxing and cajoling prospects with the power only a deadline can provide. I’ve learned my lessons well: I hear myself thanking 20 people sincerely for being “the one” who puts us over our half-a-million-dollar goal. Tracy looks at me like I’m a different person. She’s seen this wild-eyed species before. She wasn’t sure I’d get there. “It’s a little scary,” she admits. But she approves.

When the dust clears, we’ve raised more than $517,000 in 46 days. That’s $11,257 a day-- as fast a daily rate as Wendy and Ted. We put out a press release. Politicos around town are buzzing about the size of our haul. It’s the only metric that matters-- the equivalent of plopping your political manhood on the table for all to admire. Antonio Villaraigosa, the former L.A. mayor, leaves me a voicemail. “That’s a BIG NUMBER, man!” he says. It’s a weird thing to feel proud of. But I do.

...I had caught the bug, and I kept on raising money right up until the end, even with our cable TV and mail program fully paid up. One day, as I was sitting on our patio, it occurred to me why. We had stereo speakers high on the wall outside, and birds had built nests wedged between the speakers and the house. I had seen birds bringing twigs to the nests and wondered, “How do they know how to do that?” I supposed they were just hard-wired that way. I realized I knew the feeling. When I had a spare hour in those closing days, I instinctively pulled up The Tracker and called or emailed donors. It was second nature now. Like the birds. I raise money, I thought. It’s what I do.

And that really does explain why he lost-- and why Congress will be a bit less terrible because of that result.

Blue America's Final Stretch-- South Dakota, Maine, MI-06, CA-33

For our final push, Blue America ran independent expenditures in 4 races, two for Senate seats and two in House races. When Adelson and his slimy allies jumped into the CA-33 race with a million dollars worth of racist smear against Ted Lieu, we decided to reach likely voters with a full page ad in the L.A. Times, which we think has worked very well. Early vote returns from Democrats started spiking very sharply as soon as the ad ran. Ted Lieu is now significantly ahead of the Adelson puppet in the race. The two Senate races are both long-shots, one in South Dakota against Mike Rounds and one in Maine against Susan Collins. Both are songs running for voting age adults in those two states only. If you click on the links, you'll hear the two songs. As of yesterday, 39,886 South Dakotans have opted to listen to at least 30 seconds of the song. In Maine-- maybe because of a lingering fondness for The Beatles, 74,987 voting age adults have decided to listen to at least 30 seconds of the song. The experts are betting against both of our candidates, Rick Weiland and Shenna Bellows, each of whom has been running a valiant grassroots effort against Big Money interests.

The national parties in DC have largely ignored both races, although in South Dakota perhaps "ignoring" would have been better than the undermining that actually took place. Rick Weiland, the progressive there, has urged his fellow Democratic Senate candidates across the country to vote out Reid as leader and replace him with Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders or Dick Durbin. This is a letter he sent out to the other candidates running for the Senate:

Today I am contacting you to report that, while my reasons for opposing Senator Reid, and the issues in my state, may both be different than those in yours, I thought you would be interested in what has happened in my campaign since I pledged to work for new leadership in the Senate.

There are obviously a host of factors at work in any political campaign at the end. Nevertheless, it is a fact that our tracking polls have tightened dramatically since that time, and that the effort to replace Senator Reid is being seen as an important indicator of a commitment to change and of the courage to challenge the powers that be on behalf of that change rather than as a procedural move with regard to a Senator they barely know.

I wish you the very best of luck in your campaign, and I look forward, should we each be fortunate enough to succeed in our campaigns, to working with you to bring new leadership to our party, the Senate, and the country at large.

Sincerely,

Rick Weiland
Democratic candidate for United States Senate
Sioux Falls, SD

Reid, who has worked consistently to sabotage Weiland since he decided to run had his spokesperson, Adam Jentleson, shoot back immediately, "Desperation is an ugly thing, and it’s sad to see Rick Weiland ending his ill-advised campaign and brief political career by attacking fellow Democrats."

Beltway trade papers were happier to cover the spat than they were to cover Weiland's actual campaign. "Reid himself," one wrote, "always preferred Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, and he successfully pushed for retiring Sen. Tim Johnson’s son Brendan, who is a U.S. attorney, not to run last year. But Weiland got in at the encouragement of former Sen. Tom Daschle, his onetime boss. That caused Herseth Sandlin not to run. National Democrats then sat on the sidelines for more than a year, until some internal polling showed that a four-way race-- and a visa-for-cash scandal made former Republican Gov. Mike Rounds look vulnerable. But now Weiland is making Democrats regret the play. He’s attacking Reid as a tool of big money interests. 'We need to stick a thumb in the eye of the corrupt old politics that has sold out to the highest bidder,' Weiland said in a press release today," a reference to Reid. With Weiland's super-corrupt GOP opponent, Mike Rounds, joined at the hip to Mitch McConnell, South Dakota voters are seeing what real independence from the Beltway power structure looks like.

The second House race Blue America is spending money in is one of this year's real cliff-hangers. Our ad running in southwest Michigan for the MI-06 seat Fred Upton has been occupying since 1987. As of yesterday, 41,535 voting age Michiganders living in the district had chosen to watch at least 30 seconds of it. Again, the DC power-mongers-- this time DCCC chairman Steve Israel in the lead-- have actively opposed the progressive Democrat, Paul Clements. Progressive champion Alan Grayson, though, made a compelling case for Clements. Lawrence Lessig, the reformer who's MayDay PAC has put over $2 million into exposing Upton is the hero of this campaign, stepping in to do the job the DCCC should be doing. Lessig:

A month ago, Rep. Fred Upton might have thought he was cruising to another landslide re-election, and then everything changed.

On Wednesday morning, a new internal poll from challenger Paul Clements shows Upton’s lead has been narrowed to just 4 points. And Wednesday afternoon, the Cook Political Report, one of the most respected political handicappers in the nation, downgraded Upton’s chances from “solid” to “likely.”

To be sure, Upton has reason to be concerned. On October 9th, MAYDAY.US, a Super PAC fighting to fundamentally reform the way campaigns are funded, announced it would spend $1.5 million to defeat Upton and elect reformer Paul Clements. MAYDAY has since announced its commitment to spend $2.15 million in this race.

Paul Clements is running the most competitive race against Upton in a decade in a district President Obama won by 8 points in 2008 and narrowly lost in 2012, when Upton won reelection by the smallest margin of his career.

When it comes to Fred Upton, the link between the people who fund his campaigns and the way he votes in Congress is crystal clear.

Upton has taken $10 million in special interest PAC money over his career. He took $2.1 million from Big Oil and energy interests, and he voted to give away billions in subsidies for oil and gas companies. He took $1.4 million from drug and insurance companies, and voted to make seniors pay more for the prescriptions they need.

Once MAYDAY started its campaign to inform voters in Southwest Michigan, Fred Upton’s campaign went into panic mode. Upton:

• Lobbed inaccurate attacks against MAYDAY
• Hastily threw together a response ad
• Abruptly cancelled his only scheduled debate with Clements
• Dramatically escalated his campaign spending
• Possibly violated House ethics rules by reaching out to MAYDAY donors

In the last week of the campaign, Upton has bought approximately 4,000 gross ratings points in the Grand Rapids market alone-- and half of those ads are in direct response to MAYDAY’s campaign.

In the midst of the Upton campaign’s scramble, a series of unforced errors by the congressman and his staff have started a simmering scandal that threatens to boil over in the closing days of this campaign. On October 17th, Upton told the Kalamazoo Gazette he had talked to several of MAYDAY’s major donors about our campaign against him. Three days later, the Huffington Post reported Gary Andres, Upton’s top committee aide, had reached out to “spook” MAYDAY donors whose businesses are regulated by the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee that Upton chairs.

Since then, the Upton camp’s story has, shall we say, evolved. After admitting that he spoke with several donors, Upton’s campaign first called the allegations “ hogwash,” then said Upton spoke to only one MAYDAY donor, who happened to call Upton. Following the Huffington Post report, Andres first denied “making angry calls,” but later told the Herald-Palladium he sent messages to a MAYDAY donor through the donor’s lobbyist in Washington.

This Upton saga is straight out of the pages of Peter Schweizer’s book Extortion, and serves as a perfect example of how politicians legally extort money from big corporations for personal and political benefit. It may also contribute to Upton’s undoing. I’ve recently written to the House Office of Congressional Ethics requesting an investigation into the reports that Upton and his staff tried to intimidate MAYDAY’s donors and the American Democracy Legal Fund has filed a similar request.

MAYDAY decided to work to defeat Fred Upton because he is the epitome of the modern corrupt politician and because we believed voters in the 6th Congressional District of Michigan care enough about taking big money out of politics to support a reformer like Paul Clements. Our own polling has shown significant movement in Upton’s job performance and favorability ratings since our campaign began.

As we enter the final days of this campaign, it looks like MAYDAY’s work and Upton’s unforced errors may results in a surprising result on Election Day.

In Case You Don't See Today's L.A. Times...

This is the full page ad Blue America is running today in The Times, a response to over half a million dollars of garbage ads Sheldon Adelson and his family and cronies have thrown into CA-33 against Ted Lieu and on behalf of a random Republican they're running.

If you'd like to help Ted's Get Out The Vote efforts, you can do that here. If you'd like to help Blue America re-run the ad on Monday... you can do that here. More important than either action-- vote next Tuesday... or sooner.

Sheldon Adelson Sneak Attack Comes To Los Angeles House Race

Garbage politics comes to Los Angeles, financed by the Mob

Vegas-Macau gambling kingpin Sheldon Adelson, who fronts for organized crime and launders money from China into America's politics, has decided to try to win Henry Waxman’s congressional seat on Los Angeles’ west side— from Malibu down through Santa Monica, Venice, El Segundo and Manhattan Beach to Redondo Beach, Torrance, Rancho Palos Verdes and Harbor City— for a Republican stooge he can easily control, Elan Carr. First the good news: the last publicly-available polling— by Democratic firm, GarinHartYang Research— showed Lieu, the state senator from most of the district, leading Carr 55-36%, nearly 20 points. Party registration in the district is 44% Democrat, 33% Republican and Obama beat Romney 61-37%. The PVI is D+11.

“Ted Lieu,” writes Garin, “maintains a healthy lead over Elan Carr in the initial trial heat and Senator Lieu’s support expands slightly, even after we assume attacks from our opponent. Senator Lieu’s strong position in the race is due to his legislative experience, better alignment with the values and priorities in this district, AND the tarnished GOP brand.”

They no longer have to “assume” attacks. Carr’s biggest, supporter, the Sheldon Adelson family and his crooked circle, came roaring into the district Friday with 4 mailers, one of which is an ugly racist piece trying to paint Lieu as not sufficiently pro-Israel— and appeal to the district’s huge Jewish population. And now Bold Agenda PAC, the Adelson front for Carr, has reserved several hundred thousand dollars on broadcast TV to saturate the airwaves with anti-Lieu smears. [UPDATE: the new PAC was started by Aldelson crony, winery owner and right-wing multimillionaire donor John Jordan.]

Blue America is the only group coming to Ted’s aid— and we need help. Our independent expenditure committee is running ads in South Dakota’s Senate race, Maine’s Senate race, the Michigan congressional race pitting Paul Clements against Fred Upton and now Ted Lieu’s race. This is Digby’s and John’s home district and we’re finishing up a full page ad for the Los Angeles Times that emphasizes 4 examples of national leadership by Ted:

• the first successful bill to protect consumers from predatory mortgage bankers

• the first successful legislation to end conversion therapy for LGBT minors

• the first successful bill to take serious statewide action against Global Warming

• the first successful bill to end state cooperation with the CIA, NSA and any other federal agencies engaging in unconstitutional domestic spying

Ted Lieu isn’t just another politician making sweet-sounding promises. He’s running on a solid platform of accomplishments and leadership. And, on these issues, the 3 other candidates our I.E. Committee is trying to boost— Paul Clements, Shenna Bellows and Rick Weiland— all agree 100%. Every cent contributed on our Independent Expenditure Committee page between now and election day will go right into these 4 campaigns. Please help us make Congress more progressive, more productive and more responsive to the needs of ordinary working families. Every dollar counts.

Ted Lieu told us he's running for Congress, first and foremost, to deal with the dangers of Climate Change-- for his children and for all of our children

Are We Going To Be Victims Of Climate Change? Or Are We Going To Do Something About It?

Saturday night I had dinner with Matt Stoller and Ted Lieu. Matt, a former organizer and blogger works on Capitol Hill now as a senior policy advisor. Ted, California's most accomplished state senator, is running for the congressional seat being vacated by Henry Waxman (Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Venice, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Torrance, West L.A.) Matt wanted to know why Ted wanted to work in Washington. The reasons to avoid it are overwhelming, especially since Ted lives in on of the most beautiful districts in America and would have run for reelection as a state senator unopposed this year.

But Ted's response wasn't about Ted. It was about his small children and his future grandchildren. He pivoted immediately to Climate Change and the need for action on national and international basis, not just on a statewide basis, where he has already been an effective leader on the Climate Change front. Last night, Blue America launched a fundraising drive for Paul Clements, the Michigan Democrat running against the worst enemy of the planet in the whole U.S. Congress, Boehner's Energy and Commerce Committee Fred Upton. Like Ted, Clements' run for Congress is heavily tied in to and motivated by a desire to ameliorate the impact of Climate Change. On Ted's campaign website, he states clearly and unambiguously that "Climate change is the single greatest threat to California, our nation's future and our environment. As a member of Congress, I will champion legislation to reduce carbon pollution in the U.S." And then he talks about what he's already done in the state legislature and what his priorities are in Congress:

• Received 100% voting records from the California League of Conservation Voters and the the highest rating from the Sierra Club in 2013.  He has been named an “Environmental Champion” by Environment California.

• AB 32, the landmark Global Warming Solutions Act that created a statewide greenhouse gas limit that would reduce emission by 25% by 2020. (Coauthor, Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006)

• SB 1066 resulted in more than $3 million in local grants for climate change adaptation to cities such as Los Angeles and Hermosa Beach and organizations such as Heal the Bay. (Author, Chapter 611, Statutes of 2012)

• AB 800 required emergency reporting of sewage spills after an audit showed many spills weren’t being reported or cleaned up in Los Angeles County. (Author, Chapter 371, Statutes of 2007)

• AB 236 prioritized the purchase of fuel-efficient state fleet cars and required alternative fuel capable vehicles to actually use alternative fuels. (Author, Chapter 593, Statutes of 2007)

• AB 166 created a successful program for derelict boat cleanup in California’s waterways. (Chapter 416, Statutes of 2009)

• AB 1061 prevented an HOA from penalizing homeowners who want more water-efficient landscapes. (Chapter 503, Statutes of 2009)

Ted Lieu's environmental priorities:

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

• Enact a moratorium on all well stimulation including fracking and acidizing both on-shore and off-shore in California.

• Implement the Environmental Protection Agency's safeguards that would curb carbon pollution from power plants.

• Strengthen the Clean Air Act including holding polluters accountable when they have illegal emission discharges into our air.

• Increase and expand renewable energy requirements for utilities as well as increased and expanded incentives for increased development in renewable energy.

• Expand resources for water recycling, storm water capture and water conservation measures.

Four months ago, Bill McKibben invited Americans to this week's Climate Change activities in New York, where UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is hosting a UN summit on the threats and opportunities inherent in the worldwide Climate Change crisis. "My guess," wrote McKibben in May, "is people will come by the tens of thousands, and it will be the largest demonstration yet of human resolve in the face of climate change… a signal moment in the gathering fight of human beings to do something about global warming before it's too late to do anything but watch." He was correct.

Since Ban Ki-moon runs the United Nations, he's altogether aware that we're making no progress as a planet on slowing climate change. He presided over the collapse of global-climate talks at Copenhagen in 2009, and he knows the prospects are not much better for the "next Copenhagen" in Paris in December 2015. In order to spur those talks along, he's invited the world's leaders to New York in late September for a climate summit.

But the "world's leaders" haven't been leaders on climate change – at least not leaders enough. Like many of us, they've attended to the easy stuff, but they haven't set the world on a fundamentally new course. Barack Obama is the perfect example: Sure, he's imposed new mileage standards for cars, but he's also opened vast swaths of territory to oil drilling and coal mining, which will take us past Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world's biggest petro producer.

Like other world leaders, that is, he's tried, but not nearly hard enough. Consider what he told the New Yorker in an interview earlier this year: "At the end of the day, we're part of a long-running story. We just try to get our paragraph right." And "I think we are fortunate at the moment that we do not face a crisis of the scale and scope that Lincoln or FDR faced."

We do, though; we face a crisis as great as any president has ever encountered. Here's how his paragraph looks so far: Since he took office, summer sea ice in the Arctic has mostly disappeared, and at the South Pole, scientists in May made clear that the process of massive melt is now fully under way, with 10 feet of sea-level rise in the offing. Scientists have discovered the depth of changes in ocean chemistry: that seawater is 30 percent more acidic than just four decades ago, and it's already causing trouble for creatures at the bottom of the marine food chain. America has weathered the hottest year in its history, 2012, which saw a drought so deep that the corn harvest largely failed. At the moment, one of the biggest states in Obama's union, California, is caught in a drought deeper than any time since Europeans arrived. Hell, a few blocks south of the U.N. buildings, Hurricane Sandy turned the Lower East Side of New York into a branch of the East River. And that's just the United States. The world's scientists earlier this spring issued a 32-volume report explaining exactly how much worse it's going to get, which is, to summarize, a lot worse even than they'd thought before. It's not that the scientists are alarmists – it's that the science is alarming. Here's how one Princeton scientist summarized the situation for reporters: "We're all sitting ducks."

The gap between "We're all sitting ducks" and "We do not face a crisis" is the gap between halfhearted action and the all-out effort that might make a difference. It's the gap between changing light bulbs and changing the system that's powering our destruction.

It's why its so very crucial we not just march-- or cheer on the marchers-- but that we do all we can to elect candidates like Ted Lieu here in L.A. and replace enemies of the planet like Fred Upton (R-MI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) with proven environmental activists like Paul Clements and Shenna Bellows. Shenna is helping lead the fight against the Keystone XL pipeline and the proposed Portland-Montreal Pipe Line reversal to ship tar sands out of Maine's Casco Bay. "In Maine," she wrote, "just as in New York on Sunday, the grassroots are siding with the next generation to acknowledge the threat of climate change and do something about it… As a candidate for federal office, I’m proud to let Mainers know that I oppose the transport of tar sands across Maine, and if elected Maine’s next senator, I won’t need to be lobbied on the Portland-Montreal Pipe Line or Keystone XL. Everyone will know where I stand, and they can be sure my principles won’t change. My opponent, Republican Susan Collins, has not taken a position on the Portland-Montreal Pipe Line project despite the enormous stakes for our state and the nation. She has, however, voted for the Keystone XL pipeline twice and has given no indication that she’s changed her mind about tar sands. That’s a shame, because Maine has a long history of conservation and environmental leadership that needs to be upheld. We’re the home of Acadia National Park and Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. Our license plates read 'Vacationland' and our state motto is 'Maine: the Way Life Should Be.' But that’s only true as long as we’re willing to stand and fight to keep it that way."

Dave Reichert (R-WA) is another phony moderate who likes to pretend he's OK on the environment and not villainous on Climate. But he's pretending. Blue America's newest endorsee, Jason Ritchie, is running against without any help from the DCCC-- and in a blue-leaning district Obama won both times. Climate Change has been one of the issues he's talked about most consistently: "The House GOP has no intention of ever protecting our environment. My opponent, Rep. Reichert, like the rest of the House GOP has voted down and walked away from every chance to protect our air and our water. They ignore science and ignore the pro-business, pro-growth American jobs that already come from renewable resource investment. If the House GOP really cared about our climate, our environment and American jobs they would fight against radicals, fight against ignorance and support renewable resource investments."

I hope you'll consider contributing to Shenna's campaign here and to Ted Lieu's, Jason Ritchie's and Paul Clement's campaigns here. Remember McKibben's words: "In a rational world, no one would need to march. In a rational world, policymakers would have heeded scientists when they first sounded the alarm 25 years ago. But in this world, reason, having won the argument, has so far lost the fight. The fossil-fuel industry, by virtue of being perhaps the richest enterprise in human history, has been able to delay effective action, almost to the point where it's too late."

You can watch the endgame of the fossil-fuel era with a certain amount of hope. The pieces are in place for real, swift, sudden change, not just slow and grinding linear shifts: If Germany on a sunny day can generate half its power from solar panels, and Texas makes a third of its electricity from wind, then you know technology isn't an impossible obstacle anymore. The pieces are in place, but the pieces won't move themselves. That's where movements come in. They're not subtle; they can't manage all the details of this transition. But they can build up pressure on the system, enough, with luck, to blow out those bags of money that are blocking progress with the force of Typhoon Haiyan on a Filipino hut. Because if our resistance fails, there will be ever-stronger typhoons. The moment to salvage something of the Holocene is passing fast. But it hasn't passed yet, which is why September is so important.

Steve Stockman, a devoted fascist and former drug addicted congressman from Texas was defeated in 1996 after he was caught conspiring with the right-wing terrorists who blew up the Oklahoma City Federal Building. When people forgot, he slipped back into Congress in another backward, right-wing, lo-info Texas district. As you can see from his insane twitter feed today, he is carrying water for the Big Oil interests who have funded his repulsive political career. Fighting Climate Change won't be easy as long as there are corrupt politicians like Stockman, Upton, Reichert and Collins serving their own careerist interests in Congress, stomping on the interests of their own constituents-- and on humanity and God's beautiful Earth. Yeah, oogabooga, asshole!

Alan Grayson Guest Post: Conversion Therapy, Russian Style

We extended the Fleetwood Mac/Ted Lieu contest we're doing for 24 hours at the request of Alan Grayson. He has something to say about why he's backing Ted Lieu for Congress and why the two of them will be campaigning for Ted in CA-33 on September 19 and 20. So the contest is over today at 12 noon (PT). Here's where you go to be part of it. And below is the message Congressman Grayson sent out to his supporters last night. "Pray the Gay Away"? he asked. And he answered: "No."

Right-wing cranks and fools haven't come up with a "cure" yet for stupidity, greed, paranoia, bigotry, hypocrisy or even laziness. But they do think that they've come up with a "cure" for something that requires no cure: homosexuality. It's called "conversion therapy," and here's how it "works":

In one form of conversion therapy, they attach live electrodes to your genitalia, they start showing you gay porn, and then they turn on the juice.

In another form of conversion therapy, they feed you an emetic, they turn on that gay porn (is it OK to use the phrase "turn on" here?), and then they wait until the emetic takes hold, and you puke all over the floor.

Here's another method: prayer. Or as they call it, "spiritual intervention." They try to pray the gay away. The Religious Right has set up "counseling clinics" for gays, or rather against gays, that purport to "cure" homosexuality.

Who would be so stupid and cruel as to think that conversion therapy is a good idea? Or, more specifically, which spouse of which Member of Congress would be? That would be Rep. Michele Bachmann's husband Marcus. Marcus Bachmann who runs a Christian counseling clinic in Minnesota that indulges in conversion therapy.

And the U.S. of A. is not the only land in which you find such things. If you're curious, you can look up the case of Pitcherskaia v. Immigration and Naturualization Service, 118 F.3d 641 (9th Cir. 1997), and see how it's done in Mother Russia. There, gay students are beaten up-- not only by other students, but also by the school principals. Gay students are incarcerated in mental institutions, and they are "treated" with shock therapy. When released, they are required to continue such "treatment" at outpatient clinics. Other attempted "cures" include hypnosis and sedatives. All of this came to light when Ms. Pitcherskaia, a lesbian, sought political refuge in the United States. Fortunately for her, she was not required to undergo "conversion therapy" with Marcus Bachmann as a condition of entry.

The American Psychiatric Association has unequivocally condemned any psychiatric "treatment" based on the assumption that homosexuality is a mental disorder. The Attorney General has written that "a growing scientific consensus accepts that sexual orientation is a characteristic that is immutable." The World Health Organization has said that "sexual orientation by itself is not to be regarded as a disorder." And yet in the United States, gay teenagers have been held in isolation for months, and forced to attend this "conversion therapy."

Except in California. Thanks to Ted Lieu.

In 2012, State Senator Ted Lieu wrote a bill to prohibit conversation therapy for minors in California. That bill passed in the California Legislature, and was signed into law. Ted Lieu made California the first state to ban conversion therapy for minors, but hopefully not the last. That was a very important accomplishment.

Now Ted Lieu is running for Congress, and he needs your help. He is seeking the seat of Rep. Henry Waxman. Henry has served for 40 years in Congress, and yet he kept his seat last time with only 54% of the vote. It's a difficult district, it's a close race, and we need Ted Lieu in Congress.

And to give you an extra little nudge, Blue America PAC has extended its drawing for Ted Lieu contributors through noon tomorrow. One lucky contributor to Ted Lieu's campaign will receive the RIAA-certified Quadruple Platinum Award for Fleetwood Mac's album The Dance.

So I'm asking you to click here, and show your support for Ted Lieu. He had the guts to take on the Religious Right when it was the Religious Wrong, and he rescued countless children from the bigoted lie that their sexual identity was a "disease" that demanded a quack "cure." Ted Lieu deserves our support.

Courage,

Rep. Alan Grayson

Fleetwood Mac is part of the rich sound of CA-33. Several of the members live there and their music is embedded into the culture and the fabric of life there. Enjoy these two live versions (below and up top) from the recording of The Dance and please consider joining Congressman Grayson, Henry Waxman and Blue America in making sure Ted Lieu is the next congressman from the district. You can see the platinum award plaque and contribute to Ted's campaign right here.

Why Is Blue America Making Such A Fuss About Ted Lieu's Race?

As you probably know by now, Blue America is giving away an opportunity to own a rare and collectible RIAA-certified Fleetwood Mac quadruple platinum award. Anyone who contributes to Ted Lieu's campaign on this page, before Wednesday at noon, will be among those who have a chance to be chosen, randomly, to get this thank you gift from Blue America. When people tell us that Ted is a shoe-in, we point out that Sheldon Adelson is making an unprecedented financial push to win this seat for one of his protégés. Last time a right-wing Republican dumped a massive amount of cash into this district, beloved, 20-term incumbent Henry Waxman, won anyway-- but with great difficultly… and only barely. Republican plutocrat Bill Bloomfield spent $7,567,080 of his own money and Waxman won 171,860 (54%) to 146,660 (46%)-- and that was with President Obama on the ticket, bringing in 210,010 votes (61%) against Romney. That's what a billionaire can do with a $7,567,080 check to himself. Adelson and his network are funneling massive funds into the Republican in CA-33 now-- and Ted, although a highly accomplished and admired state senator for most of the area, isn't nearly as well known as Waxman. The danger is clear and present and why we are asking you to help Ted-- and why Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti doing the same.

Tonight Mayor Garcetti is hosting an event for Ted at 6:30 PM and anyone who contributes at least $250 to Ted's campaign on our Fleetwood Mac page will be on the guest list for that as well. The mayor backed him during the primary, telling voters that "Ted is not only the most qualified candidate, but the type of person we need in Washington-- intelligent, ethical and relentless as a representative for our community. He has shown tremendous leadership on important issues of our time including climate change, healthcare and protecting victims of domestic violence. I am confident that Ted Lieu is the best candidate to strengthen the middle class, create more jobs and help workers save for retirement."

And it helps that Waxman is campaigning for him. He told voters in the district that Ted Lieu is his choice to represent the district in Congress. "I endorse Ted Lieu because he will always work tirelessly to strengthen the middle class, make higher education more affordable, help workers save for retirement, and protect our privacy from intrusive NSA surveillance." Ted is very aware of the Waxman legacy and how important it is to the voters in CA-33. This morning he gave us this statement about his own feelings about Henry Waxman and what it will take to carry on that legacy.

Congressmember Henry Waxman is a remarkable American whose four decades of public service have shaped the course of our country. From pushing through the Clean Air Act Amendments-- one of the strongest environmental laws in the world-- to nutrition labeling, tobacco reform, the Ryan White CARE Act, the Affordable Care Act, and numerous other significant laws, Congressmember Waxman has improved the lives of generations of Americans. But Congressmember Waxman has acknowledged there is one issue he did not finish working on: climate change.

I believe climate change is an existential threat to humanity. Ocean levels are rising, we are experiencing more extreme weather events, and there is more risk of droughts. Left unchecked, climate change will turn from an inconvenience to a full scale disaster that affects our food and water supply. In other words, conditions that will kill people on a large scale and cause violent conflicts.

That is why I have repeatedly championed legislation to tackle climate change. Last year, as a result of a California law I authored, two rounds of funding totaling over $3 million have been awarded to cities and nonprofit organizations to address climate change. I was also a coauthor of AB 32, California’s landmark law that mandated greenhouse gas reductions by 2020.

Two years ago I authored a bill to take cap and trade funds and direct a portion to natural resources conservation. Wouldn’t it be great if we could invent a machine that sucks carbon out of the air? Well guess what, nature already has that technology: it’s called a tree. If we could simply preserve or even expand our natural resources-- including forest land-- we would help mitigate climate change.

As a Member of Congress, I would focus on climate change as one of my highest priorities. There are many difficult challenges we face in our country. But only one issue threatens the existence of our species.

One of my first acts will be to reintroduce the Waxman-Markey bill, which puts in place a nationwide cap and trade system and imposes a 20% renewable portfolio standard. To seriously address climate change, we need America to do what California has done. And then we need America to get the world to do what California has done. This is how we and our children will survive.

A Fleetwood Mac Song Helped Elect Bill Clinton President-- Can A Fleetwood Mac Platinum Award Help Elect Ted Lieu To Congress?

Friday was the last day of the 2014 session of the California legislature-- and the last day as a state legislator for Senator Ted Lieu of Los Angeles County. Lieu, the progressive Democrat running, with Henry Waxman's endorsement, for Waxman's congressional seat, passed one last piece of legislation Thursday night-- a directive he wrote to the state government of California to not cooperate with any unconstitutional attempts at domestic spying by the NSA, CIA or any other government operations legally prohibited from spying on American citizens.

What Blue America finds so great about campaigning for Ted is that you don't have to rely on telling people about campaign promises; all you have to do is tell them about what he has already accomplished. From holding shady mortgage bankers accountable to writing the first bill to outlaw so-called "gay conversion therapy," Ted has always been on the cutting edge of progressive legislation in California. And it's not just about a voting record… it's about a record of courage, persistence and leadership. When Wall Street paid off conservative corporate Democrat Gray Davis to veto Ted's bill to keep mortgage banksters from fraudulent action against California home-buyers, Ted wait until Californians recalled Davis and replaced him with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger-- who did sign Ted's bill!



This week, the San Jose Mercury News, which first broke the news of children in foster care being over-drugged, thanked Ted Lieu for "riding to the rescue." He also rode to the rescue last month when he led efforts to pass legislation to target child sex traffickers-- legislation that passed unanimously in the state Senate.

Ted should be a shoe-in for the CA-33 congressional seat. But the Republican running against him is a protégé of Las Vegas gambling mogul Sheldon Adelson and Adelson and his network are pouring unheard of sums into the district to try to slip in a conservative Republcian that doesn't share the strong progressive values of the district. You can contribute to Ted's campaign on this special page that will be open for one week. One week because it's a Ted Lieu/Fleetwood Mac page. Fleetwood Mac?

Fleetwood Mac is an iconic band that hails from Ted's district. When I was president of Reprise Records, I went to see the band record The Dance and prayed Warner Bros wouldn't see the potential and let Reprise release the album instead. Eureka-- my prayers were answered! The Dance debuted at #1 and sold over 5 million copies in the U.S. alone. It did even better overseas.

This week Blue America is going to give one lucky, randomly-selected Ted Lieu donor-- regardless of how big or small the contribution is-- a very rare and very collectible quadruple platinum award for that album, the 5th biggest-selling live album in music history. The gorgeous, RIAA-certified custom plaque was never available to a store and was given to me for my (pretty inconsequential) role in making it a success. It hung in my Reprise office until I retired and I donated it to Blue America. In many ways Fleetwood Mac's sound is an integral part of the Southern California lifestyle and perfect for Ted's district, where several of the band members live.

This is two-fer-- helping a proven progressive champion get into Congress and… getting a chance to win the Fleetwood Mac platinum award. Just contribute to Ted's campaign on this ActBlue page this week and you have as much a chance as anyone else who contributes. And, if you're a big Fleetwood Mac fan but can't make contribution, send us a postcard-- asap-- and tell us you're rooting for Ted and want the plaque. (Blue America, PO Box 27201, Los Angeles, CA 90027.) Meanwhile… this is from the 1997 live show at the Warner Bros lot in Burbank that became The Dance. Enjoy!