Dr. Raul Ruiz Snags The Big Endorsement From Mary Bono Mack

Until yesterday, Coachella Valley's biggest newspaper, the Desert Sun, had never once failed to endorse Mary Bono Mack during her 7 runs for Congress. That's streak is done! They still admire her but there's a far more qualified candidate running this year, Dr. Raul Ruiz, and they gave him the nod. But the content-- and seriousness-- of the editorial is even more notable than the end of Mary Bono Mack's winning streak with the Sun. They say she's grown too comfortable inside the Beltway bubble and is no longer the appropriate representative for California's vast 36th CD, stretching from Hemet and Beaumont through Palm Springs and Indio all the way to Blythe and the Nevada border. "Rep. Bono Mack talks like a Washington insider," they wrote. "She has adopted the rhetoric of partisan think tanks and the thought-police of Grover Norquist and Karl Rove. For two election cycles she has brandished fellow California House member Nancy Pelosi’s mugshot like a weapon, attacking challengers Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet and Palm Desert physician Raul Ruiz. While we don’t share many of Nancy Pelosi’s ideologies, she alone is not what’s wrong with government. It’s not about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about us. Here in the desert, it’s about jobs, education, health care and a stable retirement."

Ruiz has an extraordinary biography. The son of poor farm workers, he went door to door and persuaded local businesspeople to invest in the Coachella Valley by investing in his education. He returned from UCLA and Harvard University-- magna cum laude and with three advanced degrees-- and has been working hard for his community ever since. He's an E.R. physician at the Valley's only non-profit hospital, serves as the Senior Associate Dean at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine and is the founder and director of the Coachella Valley Healthcare Initiative. He's beloved in the community for helping to open clinics giving free care and health education to under-served communities throughout the Valley. Bono Mack is living the life of a mindless plutocrat, married to a brainless Florida Congressman and the two of them are considered Congress' best-dressed couple. That's it.

In this volatile campaign, Rep. Bono Mack also found herself clarifying a statement she made in a 2006 email she sent to a radio announcer. After a show that covered various topics, including terrible living conditions at the Duroville trailer park, the congresswoman told the radio host he was “unbelievably great.” Rep. Bono Mack told the host it was “too funny” when he called the east valley-- Dr. Ruiz’s childhood home-- a “Third World Toilet.”

Her campaign first apologized about the email, calling Bono Mack’s words “inappropriate,” but later took issue with the context of her private email, insisting she was talking about Duroville. Rep. Bono Mack’s unfortunate commentary about our neglected neighbors should be another asterisk to this campaign.

We believe her actions today speak louder than her email then.

...A debate we co-sponsored with KMIR6 was a rare chance for the Coachella Valley to hear the congressional candidates’ unadulterated positions on Libya, Medicare, immigration, the Salton Sea and the economy. Instead, Rep. Bono Mack used her opening statement to attack Ruiz. The ensuing hour rarely ventured back to clarity.

...Rep. Bono Mack has ceded local leadership on issues such as gay marriage and the Salton Sea to the courts or California, forgetting that as Californians we trust that she will use her voice to echo ours when she speaks in Congress and at home.

Dr. Ruiz has proven his willingness to organize from the ground. He is the founder of the Coachella Valley Healthcare Initiative and he created a mentorship program for local students interested in becoming doctors and returning to the Coachella Valley.

During an editorial board interview, we asked the candidates about jobs and economic development and Dr. Ruiz offered the most eloquent and informed explanation about the Coachella Valley’s economy. Smart, and disciplined, green energy investment-- for solar, wind, geo-thermal-- is a plus for the desert, and Dr. Ruiz told us he’d protect and grow this sector.

When it comes to taxes, we believe Dr. Ruiz offered the best compromise-- keep the Bush-era tax cuts for everyone earning below $1 million. We hope Republicans and Democrats can avoid the fiscal cliff by moving to the middle to find sensible budget solutions that a majority of us can agree with. That’s a promise we would demand be kept by Dr. Ruiz.

Dr. Ruiz supports bringing the troops home from Afghanistan. Two years ago, Rep. Bono Mack said it was in our best interests to stay in Iraq and Afghanistan, but on the campaign trail she said we should “get the hell out” if Obama couldn’t provide a salient reason for remaining.

Dr. Ruiz has been instrumental in securing funds and support for a medical school at the University of California, Riverside, and he is an advocate for expanding that program to campuses in Palm Desert, to pair with nursing programs and to foster growth in bio-technology. That makes great economic sense.

By creating or expanding medical residency programs at Eisenhower Medical Center and Desert Regional Medical Center and investing in the health care sector, the Coachella Valley will also attract more general practitioners to the desert, especially in places where the tragically underserved share one doctor with 9,000 neighbors.

This is the only place in the United States where the Flying Doctors land to practice temporary, tent-city medicine. Dr. Ruiz, who joined a mission of medical charity to Haiti, knows too well the need for more doctors in his hometown-- and he believes that path is clearing now that UCR has received preliminary approval for its program and financial support from Coachella Valley taxpayers through the Desert Healthcare District and Riverside County.

On another question we posed to Rep. Bono Mack and Dr. Ruiz-- threats to world security-- Rep. Bono Mack mentioned Russia, an old rival that may someday again pose an immediate threat to U.S. interests or world stability. Dr. Ruiz quickly and succinctly pointed to Iran, a country whose leader has vowed to abolish Israel and whose thirst for nuclear ascendancy threatens us all.

The Desert Sun respects and celebrates the contributions of Rep. Bono Mack. Fourteen years ago, we endorsed a political novice with a dream about changing the tenor of Washington politics. It’s time to challenge ourselves again, to celebrate a passionate new voice for the Coachella Valley.

The future of the 36th District, we believe, would be better served by Dr. Ruiz.

Bono Mack has tried to bill herself as a "moderate" and a "mainstream conservative" but after a scare from the Tea Party a few years ago, she's veered sharply to the right. ProgressivePunch scores her a dismal 5.91 on crucial roll calls for her career-- and an even more dismal 4.62 for the current session. Her record is even worse than right-wing extremists here in California like Ed Royce (6.84), Dana Rohrabacher (9.30), John Campbell (10.56), Brian Bilbray (11.78) and Tom McClintock (13.31). All those scores are dreadful for ordinary working families but what it really measures is the unwillingness of Bono Mack to ever stray from the party line. Few Members of Congress have stuck so fast to every single permutation of the corporate and obstructionist agenda that Boehner and Cantor are pushing. It's long past time for Bono Mack to retire to her mansion in Florida. And Raul Ruiz looks like he's got the makings of an excellent and dedicated congressman.

CA-36 Election Results

Click on the chart to enlarge

Looks like that half million dollars Republican Craig Huey spent out of his own pocket may have earned him a spot in the July run-off against front-runner Janice Hahn who was supported by the L.A. political machine. He appears to have edged progressive champion Debra Bowen by around 200 votes. In 4th place is the other progressive in the race, Marcy Winograd. Many people will say that Marcy played the spoiler and ruined Bowen's chances to make the runoff and beat Hahn. But Marcy has a unique message and had every right to run and she probably wouldn't have run had Bowen not played into Joe Trippi's hands-- Hahn's consultant-- with a bogus Israel pledge meant to lure Marcy into the race and do... exactly what was done. Bowen should never have signed the pledge, just said she supports a two-state solution and the right of the Jewish people to a homeland in Israel. The pledge was created to enrage Marcy and lure her into the race to split the progressive vote and hamper Bowen. It worked.

However... there are still 9,800 absentee votes to be counted, more than enough to make up for the 200 vote lead Huey has over Debra. We may not know what the result is for another week or even two.






UPDATE FROM DOUG KAHN:

It’ll Be Debra Bowen vs. Janice Hahn in CA-36

I’m saying Debra Bowen will make the run-off in CA-36, that a final count will erase the 206 votes margin that separate her from a 2nd place finish. It depends on how good she was at the nuts and bolts of getting people to supporter her, and then getting them to vote. We really don’t know that yet. I think she was very good, but we’ll see.

I supported her, but made what I considered to be a token campaign contribution, because I didn’t think she’d make the run-off. Having two very good progressive candidates (and Marcy Winograd is a very, very good progressive) in a race is a double-whammy; they’ll not only split the vote, but you can expect many progressives to have a bad feeling about the contest, and just not vote.

It’s a Democratic district, for sure; and Blue Dog Jane Harman regularly rolled up 2 to 1 margins over her Republican opponents. But these were, by all accounts, weak candidates, and Harman appeals to older, conservative, and Republican voters; these are all high-propensity voting groups. Democrats outnumber Republicans 5 to 3, but 25% of voters are neither. This is a perfect situation for a tea-bagger; no mainstream Republican politician who has a shot at a seat in Congress thinks about running in the 36th. So an out-of-district wingnut like Huey can pretty much roll.

Harman resigned when she did because she wanted a low turnout election, setting up the contest for another conservative/hack Democrat, Janice Hahn. I don’t know if it was part of that strategy, but it also makes it easier for a teabagger to get a lot of attention and a lot of votes. That can’t be bad in a runoff with any Democrat.

I Thought Bowen was a Long Shot

So you had 3 well-funded, well-known Democrats fighting over 45% of the electorate, and one well-funded idiot drooling over the 27% of voters who are Republicans added to the usual slack-jawed ranters who vote because they think the Republican party has sold out to Socialism. Welcome to the new California election system.

Under these circumstances, my analysis (which is probably a too-generous self-appraisal of what goes on in my head) was that it was going to be Janice Hahn and an actual Republican, with real Democrats bringing up the rear.

Now I think I was wrong. I hope it’s because progressives are enthusiastic about elections these days. I know I am. Recent polling and results in special elections show a sharp reversal from last November’s results.

On Tuesday, the New Hampshire House of Representatives got a new member. In the 4th District, Republican Robert Mead had resigned to become chief of staff to House Speaker Bill O’Brien, another wingnut teabagger. He’s being replaced by Democrat Jennifer Daler, who beat a Republican in a heavily Republican district, and it was a landslide, 58%-42%. More important was how it happened. In a special election that was expected to have a dismal turnout and a highly conservative lean, 20% of voters came to the polls, and the extra voters were Democrats. Howie has a longer explanation going up tomorrow afternoon.

This District is Different

So yes, Debra is 206 votes behind, in third place. She didn’t beat Republican/Wingnut Craig ‘Baby’ Huey at the polls. But she did have a 798 vote edge over him in the vote-by-mail.

None of the media seems to understand that the 36th District has a unique history when it comes to absentee (vote-by-mail) voting. Jane Harman always had a massive vote-by-mail campaign running in general elections, so Democrats in the 36th District are accustomed to voting that way. The usual Republican edge in stay-at-home voters never held true there.

My memory is a bit hazy about the '90s, but I think at least once Harman was behind on election day before pulling it out when mail-in votes were tallied. I remember her spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on sophisticated vote-by-mail operations. We used to collect her mail pieces and crib off them to design our own in Pasadena-area local elections.

My first thought when I saw the LA Times coverage, the 206 votes Debra needed, was that she'd make it through once all the vote-by-mail ballots were counted. I’ve done some math, and I still think so. Here are the numbers on Bowen’s victory over Huey in the vote-by-mail count and defeat at the 261 polling places.

The Numbers

L.A. County reported 53,659 ‘ballots cast/turnout’ (vote-by-mail received plus day of election). 25,949 of those, slightly less than half, were vote-by-mail.

Bowen’s voters:

11,442 total

-5,448 vote-by-mail

=5,994 precinct vote

Huey’s voters:

11,648 total

-4,650 vote-by-mail

=6,998 precinct vote

There are 9,811 untallied votes, and 8,416 of those are vote-by-mail that hadn’t been received by election day. If those 8,416 go the way the mail-in count went, then Bowen would get 1,784 more votes, Huey would get 1,522 more, and Bowen picks up 262 more votes, enough to get her into the runoff.

In California, anyone can apply to vote by mail, and your ballot counts if it arrives by election day or if you drop it off in person. Debra’s chances depend upon how good her campaign was at identifying supporters, getting them to request mail-in ballots, and checking to make sure they mailed it on time.

Crucially, throughout the day on election day they had to examine the precinct lists at the polls to see how many of ‘her’ voters still hadn’t voted or turned in their mail-in ballots. Then, they had to somehow get these people to the polling place either with our without a mail-in ballot. If you’ve requested and received a ballot and haven’t mailed it in, you can still drop it off at any polling place; or you can turn it in unused at your own precinct and use the voting booth.

And then there are the 1,269 ‘provisional’ ballots; an unknown number of those were people who got mail-in ballots, didn’t send them in, and went to their polling place without the ballot. In those cases, the voter casts a ballot, and the vote will count if the Registrar of Voters confirms there was no mail-in.

This is a real test of campaign competency. Bowen is Secretary of State, responsible for California elections. You’d have to really wonder about her viability in a runoff if she didn’t have an efficient vote-by-mail/GOTV operation.

---------------

Late this afternoon Marcy sent an e-mail to her supporters thanking them for their help. She included this paragraph:

"Huey would like to buy his way into Congress, so that the super rich can privatize America and abolish all regulations, including environmental protections. Though few media pundits took him seriously, we must now mobilize to defeat him-- should he make it to the run-off. Given Bowen's strong base of support in the heavily-populated South Bay and Torrance, however, I expect she will make it to the run-off."

This is the time to renew our efforts for Debra Bowen. It's a chance for CA-36 to make a clean sweep of the bad old Jane Harman days and elect a real progressive leader, an independent thinker with a fresh outlook. She's on the Blue America page

A Chance To Make Congress Better? Tomorrow In Los Angeles, Yes; Next Tuesday In Buffalo... Probably Not

Debra Bowen, Kathy Hochul

Tomorrow voters in CA-36 go to the polls to pick a replacement for Blue Dog Jane Harman. Her own choice is sleazy City Hall political hack Janice Hahn, the worst of example of meaningless careerism in the California Democratic Party, Hahn stands for nothing... except personal ambition. And all the rot inside the party has come out to back her. The endorsement list on her website reads like a lesson in political untrustworthiness. There are two outstanding progressives running as well, Debra Bowen and Marcy Winograd, either of whom would make an extraordinary and much-needed upgrade in southern California's congressional caucus. Blue America weighed the race carefully and concluded that Bowen has the far better chance to beat Hahn-- which is why Hahn and her slick consultants lured Winograd into the race. A vote for anyone tomorrow other than for Bowen is, alas, a vote for Hahn.

And then a week from tomorrow the two tribes-- plus right-wing rogue Jack Davis-- battle it out in a primary in a New York State's reddest district in the Buffalo suburbs. Team Red has put up a multimillionaire robot named Jane Corwin who has been campaigning on her backing for the Ryan budget that other Republicans are running away from.

Newt Gingrich slammed the House GOP budget on Meet The Press this morning, telling interviewer David Gregory that replacing Medicare with a voucher system was too "radical" an approach. His words were by far the harshest of any major presidential candidate towards Paul Ryan's proposal on entitlements.

"I don't think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering," Gingrich said, calling the plan "too big a jump" for the country. "I don't think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate."

But Corwin has dug herself into a hole and isn't budging. In fact, she just keeps digging

A late April Siena poll of likely voters in the 26th suggested a majority in the district, 59 percent, do not favor that proposal. Hochul has been hammering Corwin for saying she would have voted for the Republican spending plan. Donald Trump, the TV personality and real estate mogul, opined Wednesday in the national press that Corwin’s campaign is struggling because of the Ryan Medicare issue.

Corwin did not back away from the Ryan bill in the debate.

“If we keep Medicare the same plan that it is now, we’re going to be out of money by 2029, which means nobody will receive benefits,” she said. “This (plan) does not eliminate Medicare, it protects Medicare” for future generations.

Not so, Hochul countered.

Corwin’s insolvency claim is “a scare tactic, to tell our seniors that there’ll be nothing for them in 2029; it’s not the truth,” she said.

The Ryan bill would take the country back to the early 1960s, before seniors had guaranteed health care coverage and many went without, Hochul said.

“There’s a way to fix (Medicare). ... We have to continue what’s been a very successful program,” Hochul insisted.

But as we pointed out last week, the Team Blue contestant, Hochul, is another conservative shill who we'll find cowering behind Boehner on bill after bill should she wind up, because of Davis' spoiler routine, winning the seat, a seat she probably wouldn't be able to hold without voting a pure GOP line.

Hochul gobbled up the big endorsements yesterday (the Buffalo News and the Democrat and Chronicle). She's winning in the endorsements area because she's "independent" enough to back a conservative Republican agenda, despite the blue t-shirt.

Hochul has a long history of being an independent thinker. As Erie County clerk, she defied former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a fellow Democrat, on his plans to give drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. And she went toe-to-toe with former Gov. David Paterson, also a Democrat, until he relented on plans to increase new license plate fees.

Her election will have national implications inasmuch as it will cause a stampede of already spooked Republican congressmembers away from Ryan's toxic "cause"-- and that's a good thing-- but in terms of making Congress better... no way. Expect all the worst from a Congresswoman Kathy Hochul. Any Democrat who builds a political career by throwing a weak component of the Democratic coalition under the bus, as Hochul has, is going to be bad news. The most that can be said about her is, "but she isn't as bad as Corwin." It's true, but a Congresswoman Corwin wouldn't be inside the already conflicted Democratic caucus pulling it always further and further rightward, blurring the differences between the two parties and making it irrelevant to working families.

This is costing Jane Corwin & the GOP an easy win

Why Debra Bowen?

The race for the Democratic nomination to replace Blue Dog warmonger Jane Harman in CA-36 is a very tough one for Blue America. Instead of voters having to pick the lesser of two evils, as in most elections, we're facing two impeccable progressives, California Secretary of State and former state legislator from the district, Debra Bowen, and Marcy Winograd, who valiantly battled Harman in two difficult primaries since our PAC got going. Digby, John Amato-- who lives in the district and considered running for the seat himself-- and I thought long and hard about a race that is further complicated by an untested new open primary system, boundaries almost certain to be redrawn, perhaps drastically, in time for reelection, and a Democratic Party machine hack, Janice Hahn, also making one of her perennial bids to advance her career ambitions. The latest hack from the Hahn Dynasty, this one has rounded up a predictable basket of the least admirable Democratic machine politicians in the city to back her. The contemptible Harman started the ball rolling by giving her a heads up and a head start, presumably meant to derail Marcy. And Harman's fellow Blue Dog/corporate shill, Loretta Sanchez, was one of the first to jump on the Hahn bandwagon. Also worrying is that she's also touting the endorsement of slimy corporate lobbyist Dick Gephardt.

Obviously she was never really in contention for Blue America. The last thing this country needs is another mediocre machine pol who goes along with conventional wisdom, has nothing worthwhile to offer, and is, at best, a dependable vote for one faction or another. The L.A. delegation is filled with that kind of waste and with spectacular candidates like Marcy and Debra vying for the seat, there was no reason to give Hahn a second glance. But that left us with a terrible choice between two deserving friends and more than worthy candidates.

Either of these remarkable women could be reasonably expected to become focal points of progressive leadership-- Marcy in the galvanizing way that Paul Wellstone and Alan Grayson became moral forces for change and Debra in the steadfast and effective style of a Jeff Merkley, Barbara Boxer and Donna Edwards. If either of these women is elected to Congress, it should be a moment of great rejoicing for progressives nationwide and an opportunity for one of their distinctive styles to help make America a better place to live. So... the question of electability comes into play-- because, despite organized labor's grubby happiness with Hahn, she has no more to offer America than any of the careerist backbenchers eager to welcome another mediocrity like themselves into federal government service.

Since Harman attempted to pass her flickering torch on to Hahn, I've spoken with both Marcy and Debra. Today Blue America will be announcing an endorsement for Debra Bowen in this race in a live blogging session at Crooks and Liars with the candidate we think has the best chance of beating the Hahn Dynasty and going on to being the most effective advocate for working families in CA-36, in our city, our state and our country. Not everyone is going to come to the same conclusion that support should go to Debra. Many of our hearts have been with Marcy for a very long time. In fact, if you come to the conclusion she's the candidate you want to support, you can do so here at her website. Blue America has added Debra Bowen to ours and I hope you'll read Digby's post about why and join her, Amato and I at 11 for a live chat with her.

When Debra announced she would run, Hahn was already the corrupt L.A. Machine's anointed candidate. Yesterday Roll Call detailed down devious Blue Dog Jane Harman tried to hand the seat over to Hahn, something that has been shamefully supported by the whole stinking L.A. Democratic machine. Before being elected, and then re-elected Secretary of State, she had represented most of CA-36 in the state legislature since 1992, first as a Member of the Assembly and then in the state Senate, from a district including all or parts of Carson, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, Venice, and Wilmington, about 90% of the congressional district. She garnered national attention in 2008 when she, along with Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, another Blue America all-star, won the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, cited for her imposition of strict new controls on electronic voting despite the political fallout.

Debra, like Marcy, is aggressively committed to equality for racial, religious and ethnic minorities, women, the LGBT community, and people with physical handicaps and to make sure-- regardless of which political party hods the White House-- that the American policy towards "preventive war" is stopped dead in its tracks. Her substantive accomplishments to date have been around nitty gritty issues fundamental to democracy-- empowering voters by working effectively to increase voter registration and voter turnout across California emphasizing outreach to students and young voters and to Californians stationed overseas in the military or living abroad; using technology to dramatically open up government; ensuring that voting systems are secure, accurate and accessible, the lack of which in several states resulted in the presidency of George W. Bush; cracking down on fraud; protecting personal privacy; and advancing higher ethical standards in government.

If you can, please join us with Debra at Crooks and Liars today at 11 am (PT). Also take a look at the ringing endorsement from her campaign by Democracy For America and, if you can, please contribute to a game-changing campaign at the Blue America ActBlue page.

Another Blue Dog Bites The Dust-- Jane Harman Leaving Congress

Don't worry about millionaires; they have hundreds of Members of Congress to continue pushing their interests in a post-Harman world

Conservative multimillionaire, AIPAC lackey and pro-war fanatic Jane Harman has had a rough time winning Democratic primaries in her progressive Los Angeles district lately. It's probably been no fun for her having to defend her regal self against scrappy anti-war progressive Marcy Winograd. So it wasn't that big of a shock early yesterday morning when the Internets started buzzing about her retirement from Congress, something that was quickly confirmed by her regal self:

Dear [fill in the name of a dupe who supports Harman],

Earlier today, I filed paperwork notifying the House of Representatives that I am in discussions to succeed former Rep. Lee Hamilton as President and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. I send this note because a decision is imminent and I wanted you to hear the news from me first.

This is an excruciating decision because the distinction of representing the smartest constituents on earth will never be surpassed-- nor will my relationships with my exceptional staff and colleagues in Congress. But shaping and leading the Wilson Center is a thrilling new challenge.

I have always believed that the best solutions to tough problems require a bipartisan approach, and bipartisanship is the Center’s “brand.” Serving at its helm provides unique opportunities to involve the House and Senate, top experts, and world leaders in “great debates” about the most pressing foreign and domestic policy matters.

Should this opportunity come to pass, I would be required to resign my seat. But please know that I would remain in Congress for some weeks and do everything possible to ensure an orderly transition to whomever is elected to succeed me. Sidney and I will always retain our residence in Venice, be home frequently, and stay engaged at USC and active in the community.

You have elected me to nine terms in Congress-- an honor without equal. I hope you understand how truly grateful I am for your friendship and support.

JANE

Harman, a Blue Dog in a progressive state, who has alienated Nancy Pelosi and been exposed for underhanded anti-U.S. dealings on behalf of the Bush Regime, had no future in Congress. She has lost influence committee-wise and is considered the least trustworthy member of the Democratic caucus. "Her word doesn't mean a thing," the chief of staff of one influential Democrat told me last night. "The voters in her district will be better off without her in Congress."

The Wilson Center hasn't made a final determination on whether or not to offer Harman the job and they are meeting today to decide. There is some chatter in their circles that Hosni Mubarak may be looking for a new gig and that he would be just as suitable as Harman. And he's even richer than she is-- having pillaged an entire country for decades.

Even before I knew Harman was planning to resign, I had a call from a friend of L.A. City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, asking me if Blue America would back Hahn, extolling what he called her "strongly progressive record." I called Marcy Winograd, who Blue America has backed in all her runs against Harman and she told me Hahn had reached out to her as well, assuring her that, like Marcy, she strongly opposes current U.S. doctrine of preemptive wars. Later, Marcy posted this message to her supporters:

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your calls and emails, wanting to know my thoughts on Harman's resignation. I appreciate your interest and outreach, and am excited about the possibilities for substantive change
.
Please read my blog post below and let me know what you think. Warm regards, Marcy

Winograd on Harman's Resignation & a Possible Run

When I heard the news that Jane Harman was resigning, I thought, ‘Now we finally have an opportunity to send a progressive to Congress, someone who will work to create jobs in the new economy, to free the 36th District from its perpetual war footing.'

I was at school, in between TEACHING classes, checking my cell phone messages from news editors, bloggers, and former campaign supporters, all asking the same question…

‘Will you run again?’

‘I am exploring the possibility,’ I told them, adding that I live in Santa Monica now, less than a mile outside of the district that hugs the coast from Venice to San Pedro. In 2010, just months ago, the Winograd for Congress campaign mobilized 41% of the vote in a primary challenge to Harman. It was exhilarating, daunting, inspiring, and eye-opening as I precinct walked from one end of the district to the other.

Most of the support came from the northern end of the district, from Venice and Mar Vista, but we enjoyed significant inroads in the working class union strongholds of Wilmington and San Pedro.

I barely had time to digest the political possibilities before running back to class, to my South LA high school students, some of them dressed in military fatigues, where we would read Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic’s essay, Breaking the Silence of the Night, a passionate account of Kovic’s transformation from blind follower to critical thinker and anti-war leader.

My high school students knew nothing of the buzz in the blogosphere, only that their teacher seemed a little preoccupied.

I had just hung up with LA City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who told me she was running, making a courtesy call-- perhaps hoping to clear the field-– and asking for an endorsement. I told her I had two concerns-– that we needed a voice that would challenge pre-emptive wars, regardless of whether the wars were waged by Republicans or Democrats, and that we needed a Congressperson who would advocate for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, someone who would not be afraid to criticize Israel, to fight for equal rights for both Palestinians and Jews. It was time for the United States to be an honest broker at the negotiating table. World stability depends on it.

After reminding me she had supported anti-war efforts on the Los Angeles City Council, Hahn added, “I want to make it clear. I am a friend to Israel.”

I am a friend to equality and dignity for all.

I asked Hahn if she would be willing to meet with a group of Jews and Palestinians offering an alternative viewpoint to current US foreign policy.

Yes, she would.

A few hours later news broke that Secretary of State Debra Bowen was also running. Not surprising, since Bowen will term out of office soon. I know Debra and admire her courage in taking on the electronic voting industry, in banning touch-screen voting machines. Would she also be ready to take on the military budget? To demand that Washington stop holding our young engineers hostage to bomb-building-- and award contracts, instead, to corporations intent on developing mass transit, high speed rail, and solar cities?

I haven’t had a chance to speak with Debra Bowen-– but when I do I will ask her the tough questions, starting with …

“Will you vote against further military appropriations for expanded wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen?”

“Will you go to the wall to defend Social Security and Medicare, our greatest safety nets?”

“Will you visit Bradley Manning in solitary confinement?”

“Will you walk the streets of Wilmington with me, breathe the oil fumes, and work to crack down on polluters?”

“Will you support the right of states to pursue single-payer health care?”

I am waiting to ask the tough questions-– and to hear courageous answers.

Then I will decide.

## ##
Californians recently passed an Open Primary law, meaning that if no candidate wins 50% plus one vote in the Special Election, the top two vote getters go head-to-head in the next round. Had the Open Primary law been in effect when Winograd challenged Harman in 2010, the two would have faced off against each other in the General Election, as well. Given the small turn-out in special elections, 35,000 of the 300,000 registered voters may decide who replaces Jane Harman. In June, 2010, Winograd received 18,000 votes.

Others considering the run include Crooks and Liars publisher John Amato of Mar Vista and, as Marcy said above, Marina Del Rey resident and California Secretary of State Debra Bowen. And with the conservative DLC closing up operations-- another Harman base-- let's all pray fervently that Harold Ford's next move in search of something with which to repay Wall Street for their generosity (to him and his career aspirations) isn't to Venice or, more likely, Palos Verdes Estates.

Mark Kirk May Be The Biggest Liar In Politics THIS Week, But Is He As Bad As Jane Harman?

I've known Marcy Winograd since 2005. There's little doubt in my mind that if she's elected to Congress Tuesday she'll catapult immediately into the prominence of being among the half dozen best members. Best? Well, best in terms of serving the interests of working families and best in terms of pushing forward powerful ideas that drag the hidebound system away from the status quo and away from the narrow machinations of lobbyists and powerful corporate interests. Just that. She'll always be controversial and never really fit in with the go-along-to-get-along crew. But one thing we don't need is another one of 435 cutout congressional clowns. Marcy will never be one of those. I guarantee it.

And how bad is Jane Harman? If you've been reading DWT with any frequency, you already know she's always been the worst kind of corporate shill, consistently voting-- and, more important, working behind the scenes-- against the interests of working families and pushing a Big Business agenda. When she said, unaware of the age of 24/7 news coverage, that she's really a Republican at heart, she had no idea it would come back to haunt her. Her aisle crossing vote, for example, in favor of the draconian, anti-consumer bankruptcy bill that has forced so many families on CA-36 out of their homes is one thing. But it is hard for many people to understand, even though every single Republican voted for something the banks and credit card companies were clamoring for-- and paying congressmen to support-- while most Democrats opposed it. This documented statement by Harman, however, which she desperately tries claiming never happened (like the espionage phone call she was taped in the midst of), is easy to understand:

"I just want to say how flattered I was in the last election to be introduced as the best Republican in the Democratic Party," she told several hundred civic leaders at the downtown Los Angeles meeting. "I accept."

She now imperiously denies having ever said it. It isn't the only time she's been caught in a lie like that. In fact this one that Rachel Maddow caught is far more serious. How serious? Jane Harman shouldn't be running for reelection. She should be in federal prison. Take a look:

Why Winograd Matters-- Guest Post From Brad Parker

Marcy Winograd is more relevant than most of us, today, right here, and right now. Through six years of campaigning to win a seat in the House of Representatives, she has revealed the true inner workings of the Democratic Party, both in California and nationally. Her epic struggle to unseat Representative Jane Harman, in the 36th Congressional District of California, has proven Winograd’s true grit and revealed the Party’s soulless Status Quo Establishment in inexorable decline.

Across the Golden State, this is the only race that has captured the imagination of Democrats of every stripe. Factions on all sides have ferociously fought to capture the flag and control of the once noble Democratic Party. Winograd has been hammered by parliamentary procedure and arcane by-laws at the California Democratic Party conventions and primary endorsement meetings. It was even proclaimed, by more than one Harman supporter at the recent CDP convention, that if Winograd prevented Harman from getting the CDP primary rubber-stamp, then all incumbents were in danger. Yes, that is true. In fact, Winograd’s mere presence in those proceedings spells the end of the old Imperator system of “Incumbents Only Rules” at the CDP-- either that or the demise of the CDP as a meaningful voice of the Democratic Party membership in California. Everywhere she goes Winograd is bringing introspection to a political process that has long been devoid of change, truth or competency.

The outcome of the Marcy Winograd versus Rep. Jane Harman race in the 36th Congressional District of the Golden State of California has been decided. Marcy Winograd is the winner. Yes, that is what I said-- Winograd Wins! Even if Jane Harman takes the seat in Congress next January, which Winograd supporters are actively working to prevent, Winograd is still the winner. Just cast your mind back about six years ago to when Harman was riding high on the Blue Dog bandwagon of Perpetual War and Wall Street Gangsterism; then contrast that to the scene at the Progressive Caucus meeting of the CDP this past April. There, sat Ms. Harman desperately attempting to portray herself as, dare I say it, a Liberal. 

As she gamely fumbled around denying that she was a Blue Dog and vainly pressing the point that she in fact is a Progressive but that the invitation to join the House Progressive Caucus must have blown off of her porch, all the chickens came home to roost. Without Marcy’s principled candidacy, across six years and two election cycles, Jane would still be absentee on the frontlines of Peace, Justice & Equality that the Progressive Movement has been championing these past six years. The Winograd run for Congress is already paying dividends to the American public in the Left Turn Only of the newly minted “Perhaps I Am A Liberal” Jane Harman. So, Winograd is the winner. Who then is the loser? The Status Quo California Democratic Party and National Democratic Party leadership appear to be the losers, with this in-your-face challenge to their crumbling contraption.

Sadly, there are other notable losers. The Progressive Caucus of the House of Representatives has been compromised at the highest levels. You would expect to see Dennis Kucinich, Jerry Nadler, Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters or other leading Progressives in the House supporting Winograd. But no, dear friends, none have lifted a hand or a dollar to support the Progressive challenger. To add insult to injury, House Progressive stalwarts Lynne Woolsey and John Conyers have openly endorsed Harman. Even the fact that Harman’s husband is a War Profiteer, with his many industrial interests in the War machine, could not persuade any Progressive in the House to break ranks and defy the hegemony of Incumbents Only that is rotting the body politic.

Marcy Winograd matters because she has shown the courage, vision and determination for change-- real change that would transform the dying carcass of American Empire into a dynamic positive collaboration among We the People. Harman is irrelevant except to shine a light on the empty hollow vestige of a once Liberal Democratic Party. 

Hats off to you Marcy Winograd. I have always been proud to stand up for you as you have always stood up, shown up and spoken up for all of us. May your light always shine. You are the best of us and that is a damn good thing!

Marcy Winograd Takes On Jane Harman At The California Democratic Convention

Grassroots Democrats recognize Jane Harman as the worst elected Democrat in the state. Her boast "I am proud to be introduced as the best Republican in the Democratic Party" has come back to haunt her, as has a shameful congressional record that backs up the boast. This weekend she's being forced to come down from her high horse-- she's the wealthiest Democrat in the House-- to defend herself in the state Democratic convention here in Los Angeles.

Marcy Winograd, the progressive community activist who has been endorsed by Blue America, is on the verge of pulling off the year's biggest upset and ending a political career that has been all about serving corporations and collaborating with Republicans on war, torture and the curtailment of civil liberties. This week Marcy sent every delegate to the convention this letter, making the case for why they should deny Harman their support:

I need your support to block the endorsement of Blue Dog Jane Harman on the floor of the California Democratic Party convention in Los Angeles this weekend. Harman is a formidable opponent for the 36th congressional district seat (West LA to San Pedro), particularly since she has hired campaign consultant Harvey Englander, notorious for engineering the passage of Howard Jarvis’ Prop 13.

You will hear Harman’s appointees argue that we should not usurp the local caucus’s power to endorse. Our Party’s bylaws, however, provide for exactly this type of challenge because when a candidate is endorsed that endorsement reflects the will of the entire statewide Party, not just local delegates. Moreover, when a corporate Democrat, funded by military contractors and personally invested in those same contractors, takes us to war without exercising her oversight responsibility all of us pay the price.

You may hear that we must respect what Party activists in the 36th congressional district want. Please know that I am proud to be endorsed by the majority of grassroots Democratic clubs in my district, including the San Pedro Democratic Club; Torrance Democratic Club; Progressive Democratic Club (Harbor); Gardena Valley Democratic Club; Progressive Democrats of America-36th District.

Our efforts begin on Friday night when the Progressive Caucus convenes with national radio broadcaster Jim Hightower at the Palm Restaurant, 1100 Flower Street, across from the Marriott Hotel, where the convention will be held. All are welcome to attend and commit to gathering signatures for my petition to overturn Harman’s endorsement in the local caucus Saturday evening.

That local caucus, comprised of many elected officials and their appointed delegates, will undoubtedly endorse Harman, the candidate who once introduced herself to convention delegates as “the best Republican in the Democratic Party.”

Following her local caucus endorsement, we need to collect 300 delegate signatures within a few hours on Saturday night to overturn the endorsement and push this fight to the floor on Sunday morning. Dozens of Winograd for Congress supporters will circulate with clipboards, fanning out to collect the required petition signatures.

To block Harman’s endorsement on the floor, I will need 50% plus 1 delegate to reject her candidacy. For me to obtain an endorsement, I will need 75% of the floor.

Winograd vs. Harman: What’s the Difference?

I am a proud progressive, a public school teacher on leave from Crenshaw HS in South Los Angeles, and an organizer of the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party.

This is not a contest between two corporate Democrats.

It’s between Our Street vs. Wall Street.

Homes vs. Banks.

Jobs vs. Wars.

At stake are the values and soul of the Democratic Party.

Who are we? What do we stand for?

As a co-founder of Progressive Democrats of America’s Los Angeles chapter, I helped write, along with author Norman Solomon and Progressive Caucus Chair Karen Bernal, the resolutions putting our Party on record calling for an end to the US air and ground wars in Afghanistan. I also put our party on record calling for a cap on usurious bank interest rates, parole and sentencing reform, and an end to unfair trade agreements.

As a leader in the anti-war movement, I organized a 1,000-strong town hall with Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and then led a delegation to Washington to introduce our representatives to wounded veterans with Iraq Veterans Against the War. On the election protection front, I worked hard to elect SOS Deborah Bowen and to make sure she stayed in office to enforce her ban on most touch screen machines. In the labor movement, I organized with Cesar Chavez and became active in my own union: United Teachers of Los Angeles.

I support clean money, both in word and in deed. I am not taking a dime of corporate
contributions because I am the People’s Candidate for the People’s House.

My opponent is smart and tough. Unfortunately, she has used her strengths in the service of:

• big banks and military contractors;

• supporting a bankruptcy bill that makes it easier for banks to hike your credit card rates, punish you for medical bankruptcy, and foreclose on your home;

• voting to deny you affordable generic medications for breast and brain cancer, HIV, and Parkinson’s disease;

• defying a majority of House Democrats to take us to war in Iraq, then escalate in Afghanistan;

• working to re-elect George Bush by pressuring the New York Times to suppress the story of Bush’s massive illegal wiretapping program;

• finally, becoming the subject of an FBI investigation after being caught in an NSA wiretap allegedly offering to use her influence on the House Intelligence Committee to get spying charges dropped against AIPAC analysts – this in return for their reported promise to defund House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Party if Pelosi did not make her chair of the House Intelligence Committee.

Enough.

I am not in the pocket of any lobby group-- and am deeply committed to the pursuit of peace with justice in the middle east.

It’s time for a change-- and a commitment at home to transforming our war economy into a new Green economy. We need a Green New Deal along the lines of the Works Progress Administration. Together, we can put Americans back to work repairing our infrastructure, strengthening our public school system, developing new energy, and building mass transit.

Enough of perpetual wars and occupations that create greater instability and rob our treasury of trillions needed for health care, education, and housing.

The ILWU Southern California District Council, University of California AFT, Mexican American Bar Association, Progressive Democrats of American, and the Armenian National Committee are among my endorsers.

I ask all delegates and grassroots activists to help me challenge Jane Harman to a floor fight at the California Democratic Party convention. Thus far, my opponent has refused to debate me, but rumor has it she will make a rare appearance at the annual convention.

I look forward to the challenge-- and to the moment on the floor when delegates will have an opportunity to stand tall.

Thank you,

Marcy Winograd
36th Congressional District Candidate

I don't know what the delegates will decide tonight, but I do know what progressive activists must do to elect the most outstanding candidate running for election to the House of Representatives this year. Blue America has Marcy on our main endorsement page, on our Sending Democrats A Message page and on our page dedicated to fighting against the Blue Dogs. Can I ask you to pick one and contribute what you feel comfortable giving, even if only $5 or $10? Like I said, Harman is the wealthiest Democrat in the House, and she will spend whatever she thinks she has to to hold onto her power base. Marcy could never match her-- but she doesn't need to. All she needs to do is get enough grassroots contributions so that she can get her message out to the people of the 36th District.

First Blue America Endorsement Of 2010: Marcy Winograd (CA-36)

Blue America is very proud to be endorsing Marcy Winograd for Congress today. She's our first challenger for the election cycle-- and our first endorsement in 2010. We didn't play eeny meeny miny mo to decide she would be our first candidate. For us she's a model candidate-- the kind of leader we're looking for to represent working families and progressive ideals in a Congress where neither gets taken seriously when push comes to shove. Let me quote from the opening lines of a flier her Jobs Not War campaign sent out to voters in CA-36 yesterday:

I live my life as a progressive. As an educator, I work to strengthen public education. As a human rights advocate, I promote peace and protection of innocent civilians caught in the middle of war and occupation.

We endorsed Marcy in her first run against virulent warmonger and Blue Dog Jane Harman, the second richest member of Congress (after Darrell Issa) in 2006. We've had a lot of time to get to know her. And the better we've gotten to know her, the more we like her, not just as a person-- which is surprising meaningful-- but as a potential leader of the Donna Edwards sort. Like Donna, Marcy is more than just a political job seeker with a package of consultant-tested positions. Like Donna, she's been a movement progressive, a community activist, and a grassroots leader-- a co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of PDA and a tireless worker for the ideals progressives aspire to.

Marcy's race is about more than just replacing a notorious Blue Dog with a progressive voter. Sure, Harman was the Bush Regime's favorite House member-- and even publicly bragged that she is "the best Republican in the Democratic Party"-- but what enthuses us so much about Marcy has nothing to do with Harman. It's all about Marcy. From the occupation of Afghanistan to comprehensive universal healthcare she has been on the frontlines formulating progressive approaches and strategies. John and Digby and I are relieved that when Marcy is in Congress, none of us are going to have to call her up and twist her arm-- or even hold her hand-- about voting the right way. It's more likely she'll be calling us and telling us who the nervous nellies are who need... bolstering.

John, one of Blue America's principals and a resident of Mar Vista in CA-36, was being urged to jump into the race and take on Harman. Hearing Marcy talk about a Green New Deal helped him make up his mind to concentrate on finishing the new book he and Dave Neiwert are writing, Over the Cliff-- How the Election of Barack Obama Drove the Right Crazy and leave the electoral campaign to Marcy while he bolsters C&L and works the book angle. As John reminded me after he had dinner with her, she's down with the nitty gritty, "a campaign to re-invest in America, converting an economy currently based on making war overseas into one that makes better schools, roads, bridges, railways, and new Green Industries at home." He was impressed with her answers to questions about a member of Congress can help create the jobs that are so desperately needed in Southern California. Marcy:

We must fight for a Green New Deal, modeled after the New Deal of the Great Depression. There is $200-billion left over from TARP that we can use not to bail out corrupt banks-- but for common good: the creation of a sustainable economy.

While some banks may be reticent to accept the TARP funds, the aerospace industry is not. Its association has explicitly asked for 6-billion in TARP to create new jobs. We can immediately contract with regional aerospace companies, not to build more bombs, but to create jobs in the New Green Economy. We need their engineering know-how and skilled workforce to build rapid transit and develop solar and wind resources that will make us strong and energy independent. Jane Harman has spent too many years lobbying for weapons contracts, failing to expand the reach of aerospace beyond a permanent war economy.

...Congress would be wise to model a new job stimulus package after a proven program: the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the 1935 Roosevelt Depression brainchild that employed an estimated 10-million Americans building 850 airports, 110,000 libraries, schools, and hospitals, 500 water treatment plants, 78,000 bridges, and 8,000 parks. The WPA also employed writers and artists, many of whom painted murals in post offices, like the San Pedro post office on Beacon Street, where inside the Art Deco building of marble and chrome we find a WPA mural depicting the history of the harbor.

Obama’s first recovery plan, the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act, funded “shovel-ready” jobs: storm drain clean up; energy retrofits; highway repairs.

President Obama’s second recovery plan must invest in future industries with large pay-offs in terms of career-path learning and earning opportunities in the Green economy. Put laid-off Boeing missile defense workers back on the job building electric buses for the future. Put college professors back to work in Green Energy Departments at universities across the country. Put steelworkers back to work strengthening our bridges in earthquake-prone California. Put everyone with a hard hat back to work building solar panel parts now outsourced to China.

How are we going to pay for this Green New Deal? Cut the fat in the bloated military budget, a sacred cow that is larger than all the world’s military budgets combined, and reemploy the workforce in the Green economy. Bring our troops home from the trillion-dollar wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and honor our veterans with land and lessons in organic farming. Levy a 25-cent tax on every stock transaction on Wall Street and offer stock brokers opportunities to create real wealth developing credit unions that never heard of a sub-prime loan.

Close the corporate loopholes that hide billions in bank vaults in the Caribbean and use the cash to hire artists and musicians to inspire our young. Repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and employ doctors and nurses to work in the inner city. End the war on drugs with its obscene prison costs and recruit counselors to open mental health clinics.

When President Roosevelt enacted the New Deal one out of every four Americans was out of work. Today, in California, though the official unemployment rate hovers at 12%, the real unemployment rate, the one that includes the underemployed and those who have given up looking for a job, is pushing 20%.

Please join me and John and Marcy over at CrooksAndLiars, today at 10AM (PT) for a free-ranging discussion of the issues facing CA-36-- and America-- as we head into the midterm election cycle. There's a great deal at stake. We also urge you to join us in donating to Marcy Winograd's campaign fund.

More Blue Dog Huntin'

Yesterday we cheered the departure of reactionary Alabama shithead Parker Griffith as he crossed the well-trod path (for him) to the other side of the aisle permanently-- or at least until Alabama Republican primary voters put him out of his misery next year. For good measure, we threw in a hallelujah that Texas Blue Dog Jack McDonald had taken his million bucks and pulled out of the race against Mike McCaul. If there's one thing the House Democratic caucus does not need, it's Blue Dogs posing as Democrats.

So, although I'm currently in the wilds of Albania-- and only barely able to access an Internet installed for the Albanians by my friend Evil Jesus-- I was very happy when I got an e-mail from Marcy Winograd back in L.A. with the image of the two impediments to the progressive movement above. Marcy is prominently featured on the Blue America page dedicated exclusively to electing real Democrats to replace Blue Dogs, in her case, Jane Harman. Here was Marcy's message, in part:

Like so many of you, I’ve had enough of people like Joe Lieberman hijacking health care reform. Four years ago, it was the voters who put him back in office-- a decision I suspect many are regretting. 

Unfortunately, there’s more than one “Lieberman” in Congress. My Blue Dog opponent Jane Harman is the Lieberman of the House-- priding herself on her ties to war profiteers and Big Pharma-- all the while pretending to be a liberal...

Harman is the Lieberman of the House-- playing progressive when it suits her interests, but then turning her back on the people who need her during key votes. 

In her own words, from a previous election:

“I was flattered to be introduced in the last election as the best Republican in the Democratic primary.”

I can win this race.  In 2006, I ran a last-minute campaign against Harman, built mostly on grass-roots efforts-- and still took almost 38% of the vote... [W]e need to get the word out to primary voters that:

• Harman voted to protect the pharmaceutical industry at the expense of patients--  making it more difficult for breast cancer patients to buy affordable generics.

• Harman voted against the bill that would have permitted judges to reduce mortgage payments in bankruptcy courts.
 
• Harman voted to protect and bail out the big banks while supporting legislation that made it more difficult for consumers to declare bankruptcy.

• Harman applauded Bush's illegal wiretapping program; three years later she claimed she never supported it.

• Harman lobbied for the Iraq invasion and occupation while personally investing in military contractors.

On the Blue America Bad Dogs page you can donate directly to Marcy's campaign, and you can also donate to Blue America's independent efforts to go after Harman and other slimy Blue Dogs. Please consider helping.


UPDATE: Will Chris Carney Will The Next To Switch?

Blue America discovered early on how duplicitous and devoid of principles Chris Carney is. Aside from being a reflexive reactionary, the man has no sense of morals whatsoever. So it should surprise no one that he is discussing switching parties with John McCain.

Why Did Jane Harman And So Many Other Corporate Shills Flip Flop And Vote Against Foreclosure Reform?

Jane Harman represents the status quo

Funny that Obama was willing to posture against the Wall Street banksters and their nefarious lobbyists in his radio address this morning, but stopped short at going after the shamelessly corrupt Democrats who weakened the bill so badly and the 27 who voted with the Republicans against it.

While applauding House passage Friday of overhaul legislation and urging quick Senate action, Obama expressed frustration with banks that were helped by a taxpayer bailout and now are "fighting tooth and nail with their lobbyists" against new government controls... The president also told CBS' 60 Minutes that "the people on Wall Street still don't get it. ... They're still puzzled why it is that people are mad at the banks. Well, let's see. You guys are drawing down $10, $20 million bonuses after America went through the worst economic year ... in decades and you guys caused the problem," Obama said in an excerpt released in advance of Sunday night's broadcast of his interview.

...No House Republicans voted for the bill, and 27 Democrats voted against it. Opponents argue that the broad legislation overreaches and would institutionalize bailouts for the financial industry.

The Senate, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee is working on its own version of the package.
In his address, Obama contended that the worst economic downturn since the Depression wouldn't have happened if the rules governing Wall Street been clearer and enforcement tougher.

Obama singled out Republicans and industry lobbyists for trying to block the changes.

Last week, top House Republicans urged more than 100 financial industry lobbyists to work harder to defeat the bill. Lobbyists have spent more than $300 million this year trying to scuttle the bill.

As we reported over the course of Thursday and yesterday, the House passed, 223-202-- without a single Republican vote-- a package of reforms to prevent the kinds of abuses that would have inevitably led to another Wall Street meltdown. A coalition of corrupt, conservative Democrats in thrall to the banking industry, primarily Blue Dogs, formed a coalition with the Republicans to water down the legislation significantly. And one of their most insidious accomplishments was their ability to strip "cramdown" out of the bill entirely.

Cramdown (the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 had passed the House last March-- only to be defeated a month later in what Dick Durbin famously called the bank-owned Senate. A dozen conservative Democrats like Blanche Lincoln, Mark Pryor, Arlen Specter, Mary Landrieu, Tom Carper and, of course, Ben Nelson had joined with the entire GOP to defeat the Obama-backed House legislation that was meant to allow bankruptcy court judges to reset some mortgage terms to help families save their homes from foreclosure. At the time of the House vote we tried to show why even some Republicans in foreclosure-plagued districts broke ranks with their party's obstructionist leadership to vote for the bill. Joined by unlikely new convert Ron Paul, three of them were still onboard Friday, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Walter Jones (R-NC) and Mike Turner (R-OH), one of 9 co-sponsors of the amendment. Mario Diaz-Balart was back to his comfort zone/default position of rubber stamping GOP leadership decisions, while his brother Lincoln ducked the vote altogether. Mike Castle (R-DE), now in a tough race for the GOP nomination for an open Senate seat in Delaware-- and under attack by teabaggers for being too "moderate"-- flip-flopped, and voted against the provision this time.

Among the Democrats my first surprise came that the amendment was actually introduced by arch-Blue Dog Jim Marshall of Georgia. True, his own constituents have been catastrophically hit by mortgage foreclosures but he rarely lets little things like that get in his way of opposing the aspirations of working families. This time he actually sounded almost as much like a Democrat as his two colleagues who pushed it most aggressively, progressives John Conyers and Zoe Lofgren. Marshall:

“This amendment strikes an appropriate balance that is good for debtors, creditors, taxpayers, financial institutions along with all of the innocent homeowners that have been dragged into this mess. And it will not increase the future cost of home credit. It’s a rare win, win, win.

Lofgren sounded a more populist note by pointing out that "the only people who have not been helped in this economic crisis are homeowners. This legislation would finally give American homeowners the same protection that large corporations enjoy.” But, predictably is was Conyers who gave voice to the full scope of why America needs this legislation:

“Over the past three years, millions of Americans have lost their homes through foreclosure and millions more are at risk of losing their homes. Relying solely on taxpayer-financed incentives to encourage the lending industry to voluntarily resolve our nation’s foreclosure crisis has proven to be woefully inadequate. Thankfully there is an answer. Today, several of my colleagues and I have introduced an amendment to H.R. 4173, the “Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009,” that will give American families facing foreclosure a critical lifeline by which to save their homes. Our amendment-- which won’t cost taxpayers a single penny-- will allow a homeowner under the supervision of a bankruptcy judge to extend a mortgage’s repayment term; reduce excessive high interest rates and exorbitant hidden fees; and, under certain limited circumstances, allow the principal amount of the mortgage to be adjusted to the home’s fair market value.

Our amendment rectifies an anomaly in current law that allows virtually every other type of secured obligation to be modified, except for home mortgages. Most importantly, my amendment will help stop the endless cycle of foreclosures that lead to abandoned homes in communities across our nation and that, in turn, cause neighborhood property values and tax revenues to further decline. I am hopeful that passing this amendment will send the signal that the House feels strongly that this provision must be passed into law to help resolve the ongoing mortgage crisis.”

Alas, though, in March only 24 conservative Democrats voted with the GOP against working families, Yesterday it was a staggering 71! Let's look at one particularly slimy flip-flopper: California Blue Dog Jane Harman.

Harman, through a marriage to a rich, elderly industrialist, is one of the two or three wealthiest members of Congress. Her Los Angeles district, CA-36, includes some very wealthy neighborhoods-- and some very poor ones. There have been 7,526 foreclosures so far and it is estimated that within the next 4 years that number will rise to 25,053. Yesterday, on the same day she joined the Republicans to vote against mortgage reform, Harman-- who is in a battle of political survival with grassroots reformer Marcy Winograd-- sent this expression of compassion and faux empathy to her constituents:

I am well aware of the anxiety many constituents feel when out of work and unable to find a job. There’s the scramble to cover the month’s rent, provide food and make tuition or car payments-- and for some, feelings of depression and questions of self worth. There are currently 2.3 million jobless Californians-- 620,000 in Los Angeles County-- more than at any time in the past three decades. Getting people back to work is urgent-- and vital if what is at present only an “asset” recovery is to become a true economic recovery.

Recall where the economy was at the start of this year: foreclosures were at record levels, bank lending was frozen, and nearly $10 trillion in wealth had been lost as the stock market spiraled out of control. In just three months, 2 million Americans lost their jobs.

While some economic indicators are improving, South Bay residents have certainly felt the pinch. Trade at the Ports of LA and Long Beach is down 21 percent, idling 20,000 longshore workers, truckers and warehouse workers. And across the board, our local communities have seen unemployment rates shoot dramatically upwards.

...Though it wasn’t the only cause of the economic crisis, inadequate financial regulation also contributed to the problem. This week the House voted on H.R. 4173, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which is intended to overhaul the financial regulatory system. For the first time, credit default swaps will be regulated, many predatory lending practices will be outlawed and credit rating agencies will be held accountable. The government will increase the reserves big banks must set aside, monitor firms that are so large and interconnected that their collapse would endanger the financial system and establish a process for reorganizing and dismantling failing institutions. These changes are critical safeguards against the kind of irresponsible business practices that helped trigger the credit crisis. This legislation also establishes a new federal consumer agency, which to me is problematic. I worry that another government reorganization will not work.

She forgot to mention that she voted against the "cramdown" legislation that Obama said he needed to address the predatory mortgage abuses. But she did tell voters that she has a jobs bulletin board on her website and that if you can't find work you can always volunteer for something!

I managed to track down Marcy Winograd this morning and ask her if she would be a different kind of representative for the South Bay than Harman. (I admit that I have an idea that she will be but I wanted to hear it in her own words.)

We want representatives who truly represent us, working men and women-- not Wall Street or million-dollar CEOs spending weekends on their yachts. Once again, however, my Blue Dog opponent, who also voted for the mean-spirited bankruptcy bill, sides with big corporations against the people of our district. While thousands of homeowners from West Los Angeles to San Pedro face foreclosure, not only on their home but of the American Dream, Harman votes to slam the door in their face, to essentially kick them out of their living room. Why should banks receive billions in bail-out money, refuse to renegotiate home loans, and then get a pass in bankruptcy court? In Congress I will work to strengthen the Progressive Caucus, to work with progressive caucuses in each state party, so that together we can create the political will to successfully reintroduce the amendment.   I want to ensure working families, the American middle class, can renegotiate their home loans to enjoy a stable and secure future in their living room.

Everything Marcy has done in her life leads me to believe that that statement represents the kind of congressmember she will be-- way up at the top of the foodchain with principled and effective fighters like Alan Grayson, Donna Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Jerry Nadler, Raul Grijalva and Barbara Lee. That's why I never hesitate in asking DWT readers to go to the Bad Dogs page and donate to Marcy's grassroots campaign to dislodge the most beatable Blue Dog in California.

Jane Harman-- The Richest Democrat In The House-- And, More Important, The Most Duplicitous

The other day a Capitol Hill staffer who works with the leadership told me that although California Blue Dog Jane Harman was parading around Southern California crowing about how she's a big supporter of meaningful health care reform-- she even did a video interview with Mike Stark which has been interpreted by some naive activists as meaning she's on "our side"-- she has informed the House whip team that she's a no vote on a plan with a public option.

"But what about the video she did with Mike?" I asked, bewildered.

"Harman is the worst Democrat in the House. She's not a good faith player... on anything," was the quick response.

Gee, the worst Democrat in the House? That covers a lot of ground-- Parker Griffith, John Barrow, Heath Shuler, Chris Carney... But people who don't like Jane Harman really don't like Jane Harman. There are a lot of reasons for Democrats not to like her and few that endear her to her colleagues. A duplicitous, calculated pattern of behavior has driven critics and constituents crazy.

The same way that she is rushing around claiming to be an advocate of progressive health care reform while working against it behind the scenes also has her at loggerheads with California's enormously influential Armenian community. Harman is a co-sponsor of the House Armenian Genocide resolution-- a nice public position to have in Southern California-- but, again, behind the scenes, she has been working to undermine Armenian-American aspirations in this matter. Last week the Armenian National Committee endorsed Marcy Winograd's primary challenge against Harman, calling her "a disaster for the people of the 36th Congressional District... “As her secret effort to kill the Armenian Genocide resolution showed in 2007, she is willing to barter away human rights to satisfy foreign Turkish interests. The citizens of the South Bay area in Los Angeles deserve better than Jane Harman. We urge all voters in the 36th Congressional District to cast their ballots for Marcy Winograd in the Democrat Primary to be held on June 8, 2010."

Harman made national headlines in 2007 when she secretly wrote a letter in opposition to the Armenian Genocide resolution to the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, while still being listed as a “cosponsor” of the human rights legislation.

The Los Angeles Times and others harshly criticized Harman for flip-flopping on the genocide resolution.  California’s 36th Congressional District covers a portion of the South Bay in Los Angeles County, including the cities of Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Torrance, El Segundo and Venice.

The fact that she's the richest Democrat in the House hasn't made her the most popular. She certainly isn't among the biggest congressional donors, although she does give out a few contributions to colleagues, mostly Blue Dogs, of course. Harman's financial reports show a decline in net worth of around 50% from last year, the biggest drop of any of Congress' many, many millionaires. I wonder if she had money with Madoff. Her immense wealth comes from her husband's company, Harman Electronics (JBL).

The only House member with more money than her is right-wing car alarm king/landlord Darrell Issa (CA). The next richest House Democrat is Jared Polis (CO), who has been extremely generous towards his less financially blessed colleagues.

Last week Harman penned an OpEd for the right-wing propaganda sheet the Moonie Times, arguing that if we can just end corruption in Afghanistan we can "win" there. More duplicity from Congress' most duplicitous member. "Success in Afghanistan is essential; the United States has invested too many troops and too much treasure to fail," wrote Harman, just back from a trip to that country with right-wing extremist and anti-Obama obstructionist fanatic Jon Kyl (R-AZ), the Republican Senate whip. She sounds just like him! And they're both wrong. GOP war-mongering talking points aside, the U.S. has no legitimate business occupying Afghanistan. And it is an endeavor that can only end in failure unless Obama ends it quickly.

Eliminating corruption in Afghanistan is in both that nation's interest and ours. From the Afghan perspective, an honest government would give the people a genuine say in the direction of their country. For us, it would dramatically increase our national security, both because it would increase the effectiveness of our efforts to fight the Taliban and because the end result would be an Afghan population more invested in taking on the fight themselves. That is our real objective.

When I traveled to Afghanistan in April with Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, we were warned by opposition candidates that the country's presidential election would be marred by widespread fraud. They were right. On top of everything else that we have learned about the Afghan government, the vote that took place on Aug. 20 was a sham. Every indication is that the election results have been completely skewed by widespread, systematic fraud.

Afghan politics have never been particularly clean-- money, power and position traditionally have been traded for support from tribal and ethnic blocs.

Unlike Harman and Kyl, who flew in and walked around for a day or two surrounded by a phalanx of troops and body guards, I lived in Afghanistan, part of the time in a mountian village where no one had ever heard of the United States or experienced electricity. If Harman and Kyl weren't talking out of their asses, they might realize that what offends them so very much about Afghanistan is what Afghanistan is. Pashtunwali is the way this country lives, and Jane Harman and Jon Kyl and a few thousand American soldiers aren't going to change it. Even John Murtha and Dianne Feinstein have finally realized that a U.S. military occupation is futile and isn't going to change Afghanistan. (On the other hand, The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse are urging more troops be sent to Afghanistan.) Harman is never going to "get it," another reason why we have to get rid of her. I called the progressive candidate running for the CA-36 seat against Harman, Marcy Winograd, and asked her if she could understand what Harman is talking about regarding Afghanistan.

Some say we cannot afford to leave Afghanistan. In fact, my opponent argues we must eradicate corruption there because "the United States has invested too many troops and too much treasure to fail." I say, we cannot afford to stay in Afghanistan, because these trillion-dollar occupations will bankrupt our country.

Each billion we spend on bullets and bombs in Afghanistan is a billion robbed from universal health care, quality public education, and good jobs in the emerging U.S. Green economy.

War and occuption breed corruption, so our policy of escalation in Afghanistan is at cross-purposes. If we really want to eradicate corruption in Afghanistan, then we should invest in humanitarian aid, not weapons that will kill innocent people and create new enemies.

Jane Harman supported the Iraq invasion and votes billions to send more of our young men and women to fight and die in Afghanistan. Unlike my opponent, I will vote to protect our troops by bringing them home from Afghanistan. As a community leader, I know that real security comes from forging coalitions and winning the hearts and minds of the people around the world. When I serve in Washington, I will continue the work I have been doing for years to shape a new foreign policy that truly strengthens America's security.

If you're so moved, you can donate to Marcy's campaign here; remember, she's running against the richest-- and arguably the worst-- Democrat in the House.