Republicans Prove Once Again That They Are Not A Governing Party-- Just Whiners

Ryan's "compromise" immigration bill-- a compromise between the relatively mainstream conservatives and the neo-fascists in the House-- fell apart today as 112 Republicans joined every single Democrat to oppose it. Just 121 Republicans stuck with Ryan. The final score was 121-301. 193 Republicans had backed the really racist and xenophobic neo-fascist bill last week, so 72 fewer Republicans if you're wondering how insanely right-wing the party is going.

The legislation would have given Trump and his cronies 25 billion dollars to plunder from his idiotic Great Wall of Trump boondoggle. It would also have scaled back on legal immigration and given DREAMers a path to citizenship, anathema to the extreme right.

Trumpanzee's unhinged tweet early this morning was largely ignored by Republicans of all stripes.CNN reported that "the legislation also unearthed a long known, yet still jarring, reality for Republicans just months ahead of the midterm elections. After weeks of discussions, closed-door listening sessions, a short burst of administration lobbying and the blessing of House leaders, rank-and-file members still remain deeply divided about how to address and reform the country's immigration system.

"There's no unicorn-- nothing that Jim Jordan would vote for that Carlos Curbelo could ever support," said one senior GOP aide, referring to a non-existent bill that could bridge the gap between the conference's most conservative and moderate members. "And vice versa."
Conservatives, afraid of how their base may react, did not see a reason to vote for it even if they agree in large part with many of the bill's provisions.

"This only works if Trump's behind us," one member said. "No use sticking out our necks if the bill's going to fail."

In the last few weeks, President Donald Trump has sent mixed messages. At first, Trump said he wouldn't back the compromise bill in an interview with Fox News only to have his staff issue a statement later that day saying he would back it. Then, after visiting Capitol Hill himself Tuesday last week and dispatching Cabinet officials to Capitol Hill, Trump tweeted Friday that members of Congress were wasting their time.

"Republicans should stop wasting their time on immigration until after we elect more Senators and Congressmen/women in November. Dems are just playing games, have no intention of doing anything to solve this decades old problem. We can pass great legislation after the Red Wave," Trump tweeted.

The move has made members skittish, especially conservatives who fear supporting anything that could be construed as backing so-called amnesty back home.

..."Whether it is something positive or negative, when the President tweets it impacts whatever the situation might be specifically when it comes to anything we are trying to pass," [North Carolina extremist Mark] Walker said.

What a pathetic political party! They're afraid of their voters, afraid of Trump... and they stand for nothing at all. They really do all need a permanent vacation. Hopefully November will wipe them out.

Lesser Of Two Evils? Sometimes The Call Is Just Too Close

In the lesser of 2 evils argument, morons on Twitter (and the DWT comments section) rarely-- rarely like in never-- take hard votes and congressional actions into account. Chad Pergram is Fox News' chief DC correspondent. He has great connections and nothing to do with the lunatics like Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Jesse Watters, Laura Ingraham, Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade.

Saturday he was tweeting away about how enough Republicans had signed the DACA discharge petition to force a floor debate and vote... but that 3 ultra-right wing Democrats-- Texas Blue Dogs Henry Cuellar, Vicente Gonzalez and Filemon Vela-- refused to sign, the only Democrats who did, killing the chances, at least for now, of a DACA debate. Pergram's tweets explain all the mechanics of the problem. Let me talk a little about the mechanics of it.

In the middle of the 2006 wave, Rahm Emanuel insisted on sneaking dozens of Blue Dogs into Congress. In a wave cycle many low-info voters don't understand or care if a candidate is a Blue Dog or a progressive. They just want to strike out against Republicans. So Emanuel loaded up on them. By 2010 Democratic voters realized they'd been duped and they stayed away from the polls rather than reelect the Blue Dogs and New Dems. Every one of Rahm's Blue Dog recruits was defeated.

The current DCCC chair, Ben Ray Lujan, is far stupider than Rahm so he asked Rahm for advice. Rahm advised him to load up on Blue Dogs and New Dems again and that's exactly what the DCCC has been doing. But voters aren't always going along with it. Some of the worst of that lot, like Jay Hulings in Texas, JD Huffstetler in Virginia and Brad Ashford in Nebraska were all ignominiously defeated despite the DCCC's slimy tactics.

When Blue Dogs and New Dems get into Congress, you can always expect behavior like Cuellar, Gonzalez and Vela just exhibited, shitting all over the Democratic brand and confusing voters about a difference between Democrats and Republicans. Tomorrow is primary day in several states including states where progressives are battling against DCCC crap candidates-- like in California, Iowa and New Jersey. The worst candidate the DCCC has overtly endorsed this cycle is Gil Cisneros (CA-49), an "ex"-Republican, a carpetbagger from another district, a lottery winning self funder and a complete joke. Sam Jammal is a far better candidate on every level. The other candidates progressives should avoid in California are Mike Levin (CA-49), New Dem Dave Min (CA-45), and DCCC recruits who worked out so badly that even the DCCC had abandoned them-- Hans Keirstead (CA-48) and Mai-Khanh Tran (CA-39). Even worse than Keirstead and Tran, but in Santa Clarita, not Orange County, is Bryan Caforio. Saturday's Santa Clarita Signal:

Character counts.

There are a few people left who think how you play the game matters as much as whether you win or lose.

Sports teach us this, and so should elections.

How one competes is more important than how big of a scene someone can make, or how many Twitter followers someone has garnered.

And rooting for the person willing to win by any means necessary will only yield you a candidate who’s willing to do whatever it takes to win, which can include lying, cheating and stealing-- not traits you want in the person you elect to govern.

...Negative politicking is toxic. It reflects especially poorly upon the person slinging the mud more so than whatever negative pabulum is being spewed... [W]e’ve seen the mailers from Bryan Caforio that again show his negative streak. While he is putting his name to it, the ad hominem attacks in that campaign have drowned out any substantive talk on the issues.

As for the other states, the DCCC has endorsed Abby Finkenaurer in Iowa but she's a weak, pointless politician with no heartfelt values besides winning and her own career. Friends of mine in the Iowa legislature where she serves told me she's a complete waste of a seat. Progressive Thomas Heckroth would make a far better member of Congress.

The DCCC has 4 candidates in New Jersey, one of whom seems pretty good, Andy Kim, although I haven't spoken with him long enough to leave out the word "seems." Blue Dog and NRA ally Jeff Van Drew is widely considered the worst Democrat in the New Jersey state legislature and the DCCC picked him for the very reasons Democrats will eventually abandon him and his seat will revert to the Republicans. Mikie Sherrill is being sold as some kind of a military heroine but she never flew a single coat mission and the DCCC and her campaign are just gaslighting about she's all about-- which is just someone looking for a career and who is a typical status quo nothing. She's someone who talks about tweaking the Affordable Care Act a little bit instead of moving forward with Medicare-For-All the way progressives do. And Tom Malinowski is being sold to voters as the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor who "earned national acclaim for standing up to dictators like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un." Is that so?

TOM MALINOWSKI AND THE TORTURE LOOPHOLE

The campaign messaging circulated by Malinowski for Congress highlights their candidate’s background as having fought against the sanctioning of torture during the Bush administration. The particulars of this language should not be overlooked. Why? Because once Tom Malinowski became a part of the Obama Administration as an Assistant Secretary of State, his function was not to end practices that were regarded by international legal and human rights organizations as torture. Instead, he facilitated the continuation of protocols by United States that created a “torture loophole,” a framework by which interrogators could initiate tactics and practices that when used in correlation, their aggregate effects result in the torture of a prisoner. This was accomplished through his defense of the interrogation protocols sanctioned by Appendix M of the US Army Field Manual.

This troubling history was recently brought to light during the confirmation hearing for CIA Director Gina Haspel. Around that context, the wider implications of the shameful legacy of US-sanctioned torture was discussed in a recent podcast by The Intercept (Intercepted, Episode 57, 5/23/18), in which Tom Malinowski’s role in the continuation of torture by the United States was discussed by author and anti-torture activist Dr. Jeffrey Kaye and host Jeremy Scahill:

Dr. Jeffrey Kaye: And the Army Field Manual’s Appendix M is quite clear that its import is to prolong trauma, to prolong what they call “the shock of capture,” and to induce compliance and take away the will of individuals.

And the United Nations Committee against Torture, in 2014, did its investigations on various countries’ compliance with the treaty against torture and when it came around last to the United States, it pointed out and said: You know, Appendix M is inducing psychosis in people. We have real questions about what you’re doing with isolation, and sleep deprivation is actually amounting to torture.

The former member of Human Rights Watch, Tom Malinowski, who at that point was an Obama administration State Department official, responded to the U.N. Committee against Torture and defended the use of Appendix M and said that it had, you know, plenty of safeguards against misuse and torture.

Jeremy Scahill: You’re saying that a former staffer or official at Human Rights Watch, who then goes on to work in the Obama administration, was the official who was put forward to defend the techniques that you’re describing, as they exist in Appendix M, under the Obama administration.

Dr. Jeffrey Kaye: Yes. He was one of four or five officials who were put forward and went to New York to formally respond to what the U.N. officials were criticizing about U.S. interrogation. Yes.

Amnesty International railed against the Obama administration's Malinowski-led effort to deflect criticism for a wide assembly of international human rights advocates at the hearing of the UN Committee Against Torture, stating:

"The USA merely reiterated what the Committee found inadequate during the review, namely that an investigation into CIA interrogations had been conducted and closed, with no charges referred. It also repeated its focus on the future by seeking to consign to history and impunity what had happened in the program...Accountability and remedy for undoubted crimes under international law have fallen by the wayside in this self- congratulatory analysis... So the story on these issues is one of double standards, impunity for crimes under international law, indefinite detentions, secrecy serving to block truth, remedy, and accountability, and rejection after rejection of the recommendations of UN treaty bodies and other human rights experts."

So even though the evasive answers put forward by Malinowski and his team at the 2014 hearing of the UN Committee Against Torture gave the Obama administration the breathing room to allow US interrogation practices to continue, the facts are undeniable: allowing interrogation to operate under the guidelines of US Army Field Manual Appendix M opened up a "torture loophole" by which the human rights of prisoners could continue to be violated within a framework where the United States government could claim plausible deniability. Tom Malinowski had the opportunity to take a principled stance against this inhumane policy. Unfortunately, Malinowski instead chose to be an advocate and apologist for the torture loophole.

I've always said that the DCCC's underpining-- our candidates are the lesser of two evils-- was a very slippery slope... at best. Luckily there's a much better candidate for NJ-07 voters tomorrow: Peter Jacob.

GOP Congressional Rank And File Starting To Crack On Popular Democratic Initiatives

It looks like Republican congressional leaders are starting to lose control of their nervous caucuses.

Yesterday the Senate passed a Democratic pro-net neutrality bill. All 49 Democrats plus three Republicans-- Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK) and John Kennedy (LA)-- voted for the very popular bill, while McConnell and 46 other Republicans voted against it. Dean Heller (R-NV), who will face Nevada voters in November and was wavering, decided to vote against it at the last minute. He's a notorious coward.

Meanwhile, over in the House, Ryan is getting frantic about the threat of the House passing a discharge petition in order two move popular DACA legislation that he's been blocking. He called a GOP conference meeting to warn his members not to vote for it as two more members-- John Katko of Syracuse and Dave Trott from the suburbs north of Detroit added their names to the petition, bringing the total to 20, just 5 away from the 25 needed.

As The Hill pointed out, "Discharge petitions are almost never successful, since they require members of the majority party to buck their own party brass and force votes on legislation that leaders would prefer to keep off the floor. And Ryan on Wednesday warned his troops against the discharge petition strategy, arguing that it empowers the minority Democrats.

“We do not agree with discharge petitions; we think they are a mistake. They dis-unify our majority,” Ryan said during his own press conference in the Capitol. “Members of our majority fall into different camps, and they want a solution on DACA, and they want a solution on the border and the security issues, so we want to accommodate all of that.”

Katko and Trott responded to Ryan's mealy-mouthed whining by signing on. As we noted last week, the Republicans leading the charge-- Carlos Curbelo (FL), Jeff Denham (CA), David Valadao (CA) and Will Hurd (TX)-- are in Hispanic-majority or plurality districts. Valadao, for example, represents a district where 75.6% of the population is Hispanic. Curbelo's is 74.0% and Hurd's is 72.2%. The only reason any of them are in Congress is sheer incompetence from the DCCC. At that time, the discharge petition had been signed by the 4 of them plus Mario Diaz-Balart (FL), Mia Love (UT), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL), Charlie Dent (PA), Fred Upton (MI), Dave Reichert (WA), Mike Coffman (CO), Chris Collins (NY), John Faso (NY), Mark Amodei (NV), Elise Stefanik (NY), Leonard Lance (NJ) and Ryan Costello (PA). Yesterday, Pelosi noted that there are already the 25 requisite numbers but that "But in order to save face for the Speaker, [they want to] let him have it his discretion to bring it up."

Later Wednesday Ryan called a meeting of the whole Republican conference and warned them not to move ahead with a discharge petition to force an immigration vote, saying the effort would effectively hand over power to the Democrats, according to lawmakers who attended the closed-door meeting.

“They said it’s a lot better to stick together as team than a few guys trying to do their own thing with a bill that simply switches the power over to the other party,” Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) told The Hill. “It turns the floor over to them.”

Leaders also said that the “the governing majority should be able to accomplish its agenda without resorting to discharge,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR). “That’s fundamental to governing.”

After the meeting, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) reiterated his opposition to the discharge petition.

"Obviously, we do not agree with discharge petitions. We think they are a mistake. They disunify our majority," Ryan told reporters during his weekly press conference. "There are members of our majority [who] fall into different camps, and they want a solution on [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals], and they want a solution on the border and the security issues, so we want to accommodate all of that."

"We don't want to advance something that won't become law and just get vetoed even if it made it to the president's desk. We want to advance something that has a chance of going into law that the president supports. That's why we met with the president [yesterday]."

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) pushed back against the notion that the move would empower the minority, pointing out that Ryan would be able to bring up an immigration bill of his choosing under the petition.

“It takes away the argument that the majority loses control of the floor. The Speaker is allowed to bring up whatever bill he wants,” Upton said after the meeting. “You don’t really lose control of the floor, because you’re allowed to bring up whatever proposal you want, and you let the chips fall where they may.”

Ryan and his top lieutenants are facing intense pressure from members to bring immigration legislation to the floor.

Early this morning, Politico noted that Ryan, McCarthy and Scalise are "in the middle of an immigration nightmare" and losing control of their own conference. The 3 bozos "spent this week trying to get Republicans to not sign a discharge petition that would open the House floor to a wide-ranging immigration debate. As of now, it's been a failure... [That Republicans] are openly defying their own leadership is relatively stunning. McCarthy has made the argument that an immigration vote could cost Republicans the majority. That clearly isn’t resonating... The people signing the petition-- McCarthy’s close friend Jeff Denham of California, among them-- have waited years for a bill, and frankly have no incentive to believe any leadership-backed effort until it’s imminent.

Ryan and his leadership team are in search of a deal to get around the discharge petition. The only way they can do that is to find another compromise which has 218-- and that compromise can also do away with the discharge petition. We're not sure what that deal would look like, since Republicans have whiffed on immigration for nearly a decade. But any deal would have to be a White House-backed effort, and would have to be a middle-of-the-road compromise since Ryan says he wants any bill he puts on the floor to get signed into law. MAKE NO MISTAKE this is a mess for the GOP.

One last point: Because of Ryan’s mid-year retirement announcement, McCarthy and Scalise both have to play this immigration situation really carefully. They are both effectively in the middle of a leadership election, whether they’d care to admit it or not.

Democratic congressional candidates are pointing out this anarchy and the inability of the Republicans to get anything done. In the crowded Democratic primary in northeast Orange County (CA-39), Sam Jammal is the only non-self-funding-multimillionaire and the only candidate who lives in the district. He told us that "It's great to see that rank and file Republicans are seeing that their agenda is failing and they need to support common sense policies like net neutrality and DACA. It seems that when it comes to House Republicans, they are either retiring or grasping for any sort of lifeline. It won't be enough in November, but it is good to see that the clear public consensus on DACA is breaking through. For net neutrality, it's a huge sign of progress that the Senate passed net neutrality legislation. It shows that Democrats and a handful of Republicans are willing to say no to the telecoms when it comes to protecting a free and open internet. This is huge progress, though we have work ahead to actually codify this bill."

Ricardo Franco is also running for Congress in California, but in a Central Valley district (CA-22)-- and against national arch-villain Devin Nunes. "Net neutrality and DACA," he told us this morning, "go to the heart of our rural communities in our district. Many of our constituents lack access to high speed internet and many communities are afraid of law enforcement due to rumors ICE is arresting everyone during their raids. This is costing people needless stress and businesses money. This district is almost half Latino and our progressive message of restoring the middle class is getting a great response with voters. At this point, the GOP and Nunes could go the way of elevator operators." Please consider clicking on the Bluer California thermometer above and take a look at who the progressive candidates are in the Golden State. None of these are DCCC candidates and they can use some netroots help.

Now That Ryan's A Lame Duck...

Remember, it's your country... until they come for YOUR children

The few mainstream House Republicans are joining Democrats to force a DACA vote. It's thought that if it actually comes to a vote on the floor, the tremendous popularity nationally will leave dozens of Republican afraid to vote against it.80 and 90% of Americans back DACA and even Trump supporters want it passed. It makes it very tough for even racist Republicans to vote against it.

As Rachel Bade at Politico put it yesterday, the mainstream Republicans in the House are "trying to force a vote codifying Obama-era protections for young undocumented immigrants on the House floor... If every Democrat supports the idea, which sources said is likely, 20 Republicans would have to break ranks and join them to trigger the votes." Republicans leading the effort include Carlos Curbelo (FL), Will Hurd (TX), Jeff Denham (CA) and David Valadao (CA).

These are some of the Republicans with huge Latino populations in their districts who would be put in an untenable position if the bill comes to a vote (the percentage represents the Hispanic populations):

• FL-27- Ileana Ros-Lehtinen- 83.1%
• FL-25- Mario Diaz-Balart- 75.7%
• CA-21- David Valadao- 75.6%
• FL-26- Carlos Curbelo- 74.0%
• TX-23- Will Hurd- 72.2%
• TX-27- (Blake Farenthold)- 53.7%
• NM-02- Steve Pearce- 53.6%
• CA-22- Devin Nunes- 49.6%
• CA-10- Jeff Denham- 44.5%
• CA-23- Kevin McCarthy- 40.8%
• CA-42- Ken Calvert- 40.6%
• CA-08- Paul Cook- 40.5%
• TX-11- Mike Conaway- 39.9%
• CA-25- Steve Knight- 38.7%
• WA-04- Dan Newhouse- 38.5%
• TX-19- (Randy Neugebauer)- 36.7%
• CA-39- (Ed Royce)- 35.2%
• TX-07- John Culberson- 34.8%
• TX-21- (Lamar Smith)- 33.2%
• CA-50- Duncan Hunter- 33.1%

Those are all Republican members of Congress with at least 33% Hispanic populations. Some of them are very, very conservative and racist-- not mainstream at all, like Devin Nunes, Steve Pearce, Kevin McCarthy, Mike Conaway, Ken Calvert... Believe me, they do not want to be forced into voting on this.

Two sources intimately involved in the effort say at least 15 Republicans are ready to join. This week they picked up a significant GOP voice on immigration, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, who had been working hand-in-hand with Ryan and the White House on immigration.

Diaz-Balart has wanted Congress to codify Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals but had been unwilling to go against the speaker until now. His support is likely to sway other centrist Republicans frustrated by the lack of action on Dreamers to sign the petition.

GOP leaders, meanwhile, are working behind the scenes to shut it down. Ryan has personally spoken with many of the centrist Republicans involved in the matter, according to one GOP leadership source. Staff have also made calls.

GOP leaders say now is not the time to get caught up in a controversial immigration fight that divides the party and the nation in the middle of an election year. They would prefer that the courts rule on DACA before Congress takes action.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule this fall on President Donald Trump’s decision to end the program earlier this year.

The discharge petition would trigger votes on Democratic, Republican and bipartisan fixes to DACA, with a “queen-of-the-Hill” approach. That means the proposal getting the highest number of votes over 218 would be adopted by the House. If there is a tie, the last legislation voted on would be adopted.

One of the proposals receiving a vote would be House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s (R-Va.) conservative DACA fix that would curb legal immigration and crack down on sanctuary cities and child migrants, in addition to building a border wall and beefing up enforcement. The plan, which would also require employers to verify the legal status of employees, is more restrictive than the White House plan, and some Republicans would oppose it.

Other bills that would receive a vote include the Democrats’ favored Dream Act, which would codify the program and provide a pathway to citizenship for young adults who migrated to the United States as children. In addition, two bipartisan bills that include additional border security in exchange for DACA protections would also be taken up.

Marge Doyle, the progressive Democrat running for the vast eastern California seat Paul Cook occupies, noticed this as well. Cook, as you can see, didn't sign on to the letter to Ryan and the House Rules Committee. Marge: "Instead of supporting our Dreamers, Paul Cook chooses to scapegoat them and other immigrants in order to promote himself politically. Dreamers deserve a path to citizenship and a clean DACA bill should be approved without delay. Our nation is built on the strength of our diversity. Small minded politicians seek to divide us on this issue. Do not be fooled! The immigrant communities contribute over 11 billion dollars a year to our economy in taxes. They are our neighbors, friends and family. Celebrate our shared immigrant heritage!"

50 Republicans Are Willing To Push Ryan Over The Cliff To Solve The DREAMers Problem

When going over the new poll from Muhlenberg College of Pennsylvania voters the other day, I noticed question about DACA. It was the most agreed-upon topic in the entire survey 81% of voters favor DACA. That's especially interesting because 40% of voters identified themselves as Republicans. What about other states? I have a feeling that voters in other states-- maybe not Confederate states, but normal states-- feel the same way as Pennsylvania voters. How do i know? "Queen of the hill" rules rarely pass. When it does it enables the House to consider a specified measure without approval from the majority party's leadership.

This week 2 Democrats and 2 Republicans-- Will Hurd (R-TX), Jeff Denham (R-CA), Pete Aguilar (D-CA) and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM)-- have been pushing one through Congress to save the DREAMers from Trump. It would be a slap in the face to the lame duck Speaker, Paul Ryan, and his puppet Rules Committee chair, Pete Sessions. They need 218 votes to override Ryan's opposition and claim they have 240 votes-- 190 Democrats and 50 Republicans. I'd love to see the list of Democrats who have refused to sign on... as well as the Republican who have.

Denham: "We talk a lot about transparency around here and regular order. Well, that’s what we’re doing here today we want to follow regular order and have a debate... [Ryan] can put whatever he wants in the bill. I’m sure with the speaker’s wisdom he will find whatever the president wants and will sign."

Ryan is using Trump as an excuse for opposing a solution. "Our goal," his spokesperson said, "is to get a DACA and border security solution into law, and we certainly don’t want to pursue a strategy that the president won’t sign. Republicans made three good-faith offers during the omnibus negotiations and Democrats declined all of them. We continue to work to find the support for a solution that addresses both border security and DACA."

The next step would be a discharge petition, the equivalent of a vote of no confidence in Ryan, McCarthy and Scalise. The Dallas Morning News reported that something like 124,000 DACA recipients live in Texas. In all, the proposal covers between 800,000 and 1.3 million DACA recipients, all of whom arrived as children before June 15, 2007.

Last September, Trump announced that he would shut the program down as of March 5, arguing that his predecessor didn’t have the authority to grant permanent legal status. He called on Congress to find a permanent solution to protect Dreamers from deportation, but that hasn’t happened.

During budget talks, Trump tried to wrest $25 billion from Congress to build a border wall in exchange for providing DACA recipients a path to citizenship. Few lawmakers supported that idea.

Hurd said he’d likely support one of the four proposals-- a measure by Denham that is expected to include Hurd’s “USA Act.” The bill, which has bipartisan support, would create a permanent solution for DACA recipients and implement border security measures through technology and some “physical barriers.”

...Denham, a Republican, said passing the resolution will allow for “a full debate” of the DACA program, but he noted that Ryan would have the final say in what bills get to the House floor.

“We’re going to continue to show the speaker and the president that the will of the House, the will of people is right here on demanding a vote,” Denham said, adding that he expects the amount of support will catch Trump’s attention.

Ryan pushed aside the possibility of including DACA in February’s budget deal because he said he wouldn’t want “to just risk a veto” from Trump.

In February, the U.S. Supreme Court let DACA stay in place as challenges work through lower courts.

Hurd said his constituents want a secure border and a permanent solution for Dreamers. And he is hopeful that Trump would sign a DACA bill into law.

“Let’s have a permanent legislative fix for over a million young men and women who have only known the United States of America as a home,” he said, adding, “I actually believe the president wants to see this get done.”

DuWayne Gregory was speaking for a load of Democratic challenger when he called out Long Island incumbent Peter King yesterday: "Washington DC’s inaction on dreamers is yet another example of King’s ineffectiveness. He serves a sizable immigrant community and that community has gone unrepresented when it comes to their issues and fears. King is a proud supporter of Trump’s border wall and xenophobic policies. King's recent remarks on DACA is more of the same from Republicans in unsafe seats. Pandering to both sides with empty rhetoric is not going to fool any of his voters this time around. This district is ready to flip and he knows it."

Midnight Meme Of The Day!

-by Noah

While most people this weekend were rightly pointing out that Señor Trumpanzee was continuing to defend accused abusers, harassers, and wife-beaters, while failing to even mention the plight of the women making the accusations, even if documentation and, in one case, a black-eye photo was provided, Trumpanzee managed to send out the above DACA tweet on Saturday. The DACA tweet is a perfect example of his pathological lying and how it helps form the alternate false reality that republicans choose to live in.

The Trumpanzee DACA tweet is a lot more than mere revisionist history, it is deliberate propagandistic obfuscation. It is completely historically incorrect. The most important point here is that the dates don't match up with the real world. DACA didn't even exist until June 2012 when our last real president created it. As for the four years previous to the creation of DACA, the lesser predecessors of DACA actually were passed by majority Democratic votes but halted by Republicans via filibuster. Historical fact shows who should really get the blame, not to mention that Trumpanzee didn't have to end DACA this past September in the first place. But, hey, the facts would get in the way of the Republican agenda.

Nevertheless, the rightwing media, have been running Trumpanzee's Saturday lie ever since. Rupert Murdoch's trashy tabloid, the New York Post, a print variation of the idiocy of FOX "News," offers a fine example of how the president's lies become false factoids that Republicans eagerly embrace without question or critical analysis. Just like what you would expect from any of the 70 IQ set at FOX "News," Trumpanzee's tweet is presented without any corroborating background, examination, or context. Thus, it becomes the creation of another Republican talking point based on a lie, designed to damage the lives of as many people as possible, a Republican value if there ever was one.

You Want Candidates Who Will Vote With Republicans Against The DREAMers? Vote For New Dems And Blue Dogs

Breitbart appears frightened that Señor Trumpanzee could abandon Stephen's racism and xenophobia for something more pragmatic. They were calling him "Amnesty Don" Thursday morning (above) but appear to have changed the headline slightly by afternoon (below). But they're still whining about the DREAMers, as you can see. This is what one of the Breitbart Nazis had to say "President Trump told mainstream media reporters on Wednesday that he was open to breaking his immigration commitment by giving a pathway to U.S. citizenship to nearly 800,000 illegal aliens shielded from deportation by the President Obama-created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In statements outside the White House, Trump told the Associated Press (AP) that he would be open to giving U.S. citizenship to DACA illegal aliens, saying 'It’s going to happen.'" They fumed over AP's report that Señor Trumpanzee said "he’s open to a pathway to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of young people who were brought to the country as children and are now here illegally. Trump told reporters, 'We’re going to morph into it. It’s going to happen, at some point in the future, over a period of 10 to 12 years.' Trump was talking about the young immigrants who had been protected from deportation and given the right to work legally in the country under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program."

DREAMers weren't overjoyed by Trump's announcement, basically because the Stephen Miller framework he got Trump to put on the table is so onerous. Greisa Martinez Rosas, Advocacy Director for United We Dream and potential beneficiary of the Dream Act, said:

“Let’s call this proposal for what it is: a white supremacist ransom note. Trump and Stephen Miller killed DACA and created the crisis that immigrant youth are facing. They have taken immigrant youth hostage, pitting us against our own parents, Black immigrants and our communities in exchange for our dignity.”

“To Miller and Trump’s white supremacist proposal, immigrant youth say: No.

“With each passing day, immigrant youth are losing their livelihoods and are at risk of deportation. People like Eric, Yuridia, and Damaris could soon face the same fate as Luis, who was kicked in the head by deportation agents and confined in a detention camp.

“But our fear, our pain, and our lives must not be used to shackle our parents and ban those seeking refuge; we must not be used to tear apart the moral fabric of this country. For months, we have organized and mobilized the country to demand a common sense solution that delivers protection without harming others: the Dream Act.”

“So let us be clear: any politician who backs up this ransom note is enabling Trump and Miller’s white supremacist agenda.

“Members of Congress of conscience must make the moral choice to reject this white supremacist proposal and pass legislation that protects us without harming others. Dream Act now.”

Earlier this week the whole Republican wing of the Democratic Party-- the Blue Dogs and New Dems-- abandoned the DREAMers and voted with the Republicans. In case you're wondering, the New Dems have endorsed 23 candidates so far this cycle:

• Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ)
• Greg Stanton (AZ)
• Dave Min (CA)
• Harley Rouda (CA)
• Hans Keirstead (CA)
• Lauren Baer (FL)
• Jason Crow (CO)
• Paul Davis (KS)
• Elissa Slotkin (MI)
• Angie Craig (MN)
• Dean Phillips (MN)
• Dan McCready (NC)
• Brad Ashford (NE)
• Mikie Sherrill (NJ)
• Max Rose (NY)
• Anthony Brindisi (NY)
• Susie Lee (NV)
• Chrissie Houlahan (PA)
• Jana Lynne Sanchez (TX)
• Jay Hulings (TX)
• Ben McAdams (UT)
• RD Huffstetler (VA)
• Dan Kohl (WI)

They didn't get a chance to vote but the organization they each sought and got an endorsement from sure did. If you help elect them, they will be on the wrong side of every vote in Congress that means anything. In the words of CREDO Political Director Murshed Zaheed, "Not surprisingly, a racist immigration fantasy masked as a proposal from a racist White House is a white supremacist’s wish list. It goes without saying that {President} Donald Trump’s Stephen Miller’s racist immigration proposal should be dead on arrival in Congress. The negotiators in Congress should work to enact a clean DREAM Act without a single compromise to Republicans’ nativist agenda. Time is up. Congress must pass the DREAM Act now."

Four candidates Blue America likes a lot Antoinette Sedillo Lopez in Albuquerque, Mary Matiela in Tucson, Nina Ahmad in Philly and Ricardo Franco, the progressive running for the Devin Nunes seat in the Central Valley, both shared their perspectives with us. Antoinette: "The Trump/Stephen Miller proposal is a repudiation of some of the most important principles that this country holds dear. I don't believe  that the American people will sell out our values and accept the militarization of our country’s borders with an enormous ICE presence acting to remove immigrants and, of course, sowing fear and discord in our communities. I don't believe that Americans are willing to pay for a $25 billion wall that is simply a hateful symbol and will not have any tangible positive effect on our country. Family unification has been a bedrock principle of immigration law because families are foundational to building our society; eliminating this policy would betray our values. Poll after poll shows that most Americans support DREAMers, young people who do not belong to any other country but ours, where they have grown up and continue to contribute. Anything less than a clean Dream Act betrays our values of inclusion and compassion.  This proposal is an embarrassment, and it should be rejected by all who are willing to stand up to this President’s divisive agenda. We all should stand strong against this hateful proposal."

Mary Matiela, the best of the candidates running to replace Martha McSally in Tucson: "No doubt, Dreamers have contributed to this country-- they are doctors, nurses, soldiers, builders, painters, etc. Dreamers are our colleagues, our neighbors, and our family-- we cannot, must not abandon them. Trump's plan, where the pathway to citizenship evolves over 15 years, is deceitful and cruel; we must reject it! Legislators must urgently work on a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, i.e., not by February 8."

The most recent Blue America endorsee, Nina Ahmad, came to the U.S. from Bangladesh and has made her life into a stunning success story that has been a big boon for our country and for Philadelphia. Yesterday she said that "Once again, we see President Trump using DREAMers as a bargaining chip rather than treating them as the human beings they are. The DREAM Act is a popular piece of legislation that should have been passed years ago. As an immigrant, I hope Democrats reject the premise that this is a compromise and focus on the humanity of immigrants and their families. We can do better than what Trump has proposed."

And Ricardo Franco, who's starting to get some real traction against Nunes: "From my years in business I know that you don't bargain or argue over something that has consensus or unanimous support. More than 85% of the country believes our DACA recipients should stay.  Only Trump and career politicians disconnected from the lives of their constituents would ever think bargaining over something like this is reasonable. I have sat in the homes of people who are threatened by the loss of DACA and shared their fear. Passing a clean DREAM act is a matter of life and death to many of our constituents. How ignorant must a legislator be to not understand this?  We can no longer tolerate any members of Congress that don't take this and other issues with the respect and seriousness that humanity commands."

And New York state's Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, said that since Trumpanzee "abruptly ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program last September, DREAMers have been left in fear and uncertainty. Every day, an estimated 122 DACA recipients lose their protections from deportation, resulting in thousands of young people facing threat of separation from their families and friends since Trump’s devastating decision. Over 40,000 DREAMers are New Yorkers, and I’m keeping up the legal fight to protect them from this administration’s harmful and unlawful actions against them. But leaders in Washington, D.C. have the opportunity to solve this problem and prevent additional young people from losing their protections right now by passing the bipartisan DREAM Act. While I’m fighting in the courts... Each day that passes without a legislative, long-term solution for DREAMers leaves many to wonder if and when they’ll be forced back to a country they do not know, in many cases countries where their health and safety are at risk. President Trump promised to have 'heart' when it came to defending DREAMers, but so far he’s failed to deliver, instead choosing to blow up negotiations with Congressional leaders and hold DREAMers hostage while he demands billions of dollars in funding for his border wall... No matter what happens, I will continue to fight for DREAMers’ right to stay here in the country they call home."

Señor Trumpanzee's Shithole Shutdown

Congress will be seen as "a bunch of Washington bozos" if a shutdown occurs
-Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO)

Last night the House passed HR 195, the Federal Register Printing Savings Act, the name meant to obscure what it really is and make it hard for voters to find a record of who voted for and who opposed the latest Republican short term CR (continuing resolution). It funds the government through Feb. 16 without dealing with DACA if the Senate passes it and Trump signs it. It passed 230-197. 11 Republicans voted NO and 6 fake-Democrats voted YES. The 6 Democraps who broke ranks and threw the DREAMers under the bus:

• Salud Carbajal (New Dem-CA)
• Jim Costa (Blue Dog-CA)
• Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)
• Vicente Gonzalez (Blue Dog-TX)
• Josh Gottheimer (Blue Dog-NJ)
• Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)

Union activist Randy Bryce, the progressive Democrat who is driving Paul Ryan out of Congress, saw the vote last night in terms of solidarity: "There are times," he told us right after the vote, "when like-minded people need to stick together in order to stand up for the most vulnerable among us. This was one of those times. Disappointed in those who turned their backs."

Two of the Republicans who opposed it-- Carlos Curbelo and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, both from overwhelmingly Hispanic districts in South Florida-- did so because Ryan refused to deal with DACA. That was the overwhelming reason behind the nearly universal Democratic opposition in the House as well-- although that wasn't the only reason. Carol Shea Porter (D-NH), for example, told her constituents she opposed it because it failed to increase resources directed at the opioid epidemic fight, failed to provide redictable funding for our military and veterans’ access to health care, failed to help disaster-stricken communities and failed to extend funding for community health centers. She told New Hampshire residents that she was refusing "join House Republicans in abandoning the fundamental tasks of governing by kicking the can down the road yet again on the most basic responsibility we have, funding the government. In a hearing this afternoon, Admiral John M. Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations, said, ‘I can’t in good conscience testify before Congress about naval power without mentioning the toxic and corrosive effect of nine years of continuing resolutions and years under the Budget Control Act…The absence of stable and adequate funding for defense makes everything that our sailors and their commanders do harder. On a scale of one to ten, the importance of stable and adequate funding scores an 11.’ This is now the fourth extension, and it is time to end the harmful cycle of lurching between short-term funding bills with the now monthly threat of a government shutdown. These monthly failures to govern are simply unacceptable, and they need to end. I will continue to stand up for Granite Staters, who are sick and tired of the constant dysfunction and excuses. We need to work together to find long-term solutions to the critical issues facing our nation, instead of kicking the can down the road one month at a time."

Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) pointed out to her constituents in Seattle that "the majority has made a mockery of our legislative process. We just voted on the fourth continuing resolution in nearly four months. This makes no sense. It is no way to govern. Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House, and-- still-- they’re scrambling at the last minute to piece together a patchwork budget that does nothing for the American people. It does nothing but kick the can down the road for another month. It ignores the real challenges we face. Once again, we watched Republicans put in the bare minimum. They denied relief for the 1.5 million Dreamers whose future hangs in the balance. They squashed the hopes of the 122 young people who lose their status each day we wait on a DACA fix. They turned their backs on the people suffering from our nation’s rampant opioid epidemic. They told kids who rely on the Children’s Health Insurance Program that their best interests don’t matter by ignoring our need for a permanent CHIP fix. I refuse to substitute one family's pain for another's gain. This is more than just a spending decision-- it is about the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. It is about the soul of our country. And our country deserves so much better than this."

A new Quinnipiac Poll asked: If there’s a government shutdown, who would you blame?

• Congressional Democrats- 34%
• Congressional Republicans- 32%
• Trump- 21%

We reached out to some of the Blue America-endorsed candidates to see how they're handling the issue in their campaigns. All of them are in sync with what Pramila Jayapal and Carol Shea-Porter were telling their constituents:

• DuWayne Gregory (Long Island):

"The Republicans have proven again that they cannot handle the mandate to govern.  They continue to kick the can down the road while poor children go without healthcare and dreamers live in fear of deportation. America needs leadership now."

• Jenny Marshall (northwest North Carolina):

"When will we stop kicking the can down the road and demand legislation be passed that is sorely needed?  While the bill at least reauthorizes CHIP, the government shutdown is still looming and we did not address the fix needed for Dreamers. The Republicans needed the Democrats and those who voted yes took the crumbs brushed off the bargaining table while leaving the meal untouched.  They should have demanded the legislation needed to protect and serve the people who live in this country. They failed."

• David Gill (central Illinois):

"I think that passing continuing resolutions instead of actual budgets is an irresponsible way to govern. And I could never sign on to a deal which treats young people who came here as children in such a heartless manner. The resolution passed today still leaves hundreds of thousands of dreamers in jeopardy.“

• Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (Albuquerque):

"Supporting the short term funding fix without addressing the fate of DREAMERS is cruel to the 800,000 young people whose lives have been disrupted by Trump's racist and irrational decision to revoke DACA. Pitting health care for children (CHIP) against security for innocent young DREAMERS (DACA) was a Republican tactic designed to divide Democrats with a 'Sophie's Choice' and give Republicans an illusory way to try to attack Democrats for their vote. The Democrats who fell for this cynical and cruel tactic are the type of politicians that make all politicians look bad. They betrayed Democratic values of compassion and inclusion., I would not fall for this cynical Republican tactic. Republicans own this dysfunctional failure to perform the most basic function of Congress--to fund our government."

• Austin Frerick (southwest Iowa):

"We are not going to allow 800,000 young Dreamers to be deported. That is what this conservation is about and a short term fix doesn't address this uncertainty for these Dreamers. When Republicans control the Senate, House and White House, and they blame Democrats for the shutdown, I don't think anybody is going to take that seriously. Shame on any Democrat for joining them."

• Tom Guild (Oklahoma City):

This is no way to run a railroad, much less a country. Congress has not passed a budget for this year, despite an October 1, 2017 deadline for passing the current fiscal year’s budget. Trump’s lackeys in Congress continue to parrot and vote the party line. Chateaubriand and Fancy French Champagne all around at Mara Lago, even if the government shuts down! Trump & his acolytes fiddle as America burns! What a self-absorbed group of elected officials incapable of empathy. Millions of Americans will be affected & hurt by a government shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of DREAMERS cruelly twist in the wind. We have a self-absorbed president and a compliant Republican congressional majority that allows Trump’s ego and their votes to not even do the bare minimum to keep the lights on & the government functioning. How tragic that a proud country's government has come to this! The Needle & the Damage Done! If the government shuts down it will be their doing. They'll try to blame it on everyone in sight. They are severely challenged in the areas of leadership & taking responsibility for their malpractice and inadequate actions."

Chuck Hagel: "I'm Surprised That Our Midwestern Republican Leaders Have Not Been More Vocal"

Hagel won 2 Purple Hearts as an infantryman while Señor T was pretending he had a boo-boo

Republican Congressman Carlos Curbelo is representing a very blue Miami area district. Obama beat McCain 50-49% and then beat Romney 53-46% there  In 2016 Hillary absolutely pulverized Trump 56.8% to 40.5%, driving the district's PVI from R+1 to its current D+6. Even the virulent incompetence from the DCCC that Republicans in blue districts have learned to count on won't save Curbelo in a cycle with the kind of anti-Trump/anti-GOP tsunami that's forming now. (And, yes, the DCCC has managed to find one of their typical lesser-of-two evils candidates to back). Curbelo recognizes he's got to go further left than the Democrats to have any chance at reelection this year. So, while Pelosi's utterly dysfunctional caucus dickers and bickers about how to deal with Trump's rotten DACA sabotage, Curbelo says he will not vote to keep the government open unless Trump agrees to the bipartisan DACA fix most members of Congress-- and most Americans-- want.

Meanwhile, this weekend everyone has been chitter-chattering about Arizona lame duck Jeff Flake making a Senate floor speech comparing Señor Trumpanzee to Stalin. I'd rather Flake use his vote to stop just one-- any one-- of Trump's legislative priorities... but we all know that's never going to happen.

Chuck Hagel isn't in Congress any more. He was a mainstream conservative from Nebraska, a senator from 1997 til 2009 and then Obama's Secretary of Defense (a nomination filibustered by his old colleagues from the GOP, the first time a Secretary of Defense nominee was ever fillibustered). Interesting sidenote that seems to have been lost to history: Hagel was CEO of American Information Systems, later known as Election Systems & Software, a computerized voting machine manufacturer, which seems to have played a pivotal role in an election that made Hagel the first Republican in twenty-four years to win a Senate seat in Nebraska. In 2008, both Obama and McCain talked about putting Hagel on their tickets.

Over the weekend, Hagel was back in the headlines, talking about the pickle Señor Trumpanzee has placed the GOP in. He wrote that Señor T "is doing great damage to our country internationally. He's an embarrassment... intentionally dividing the country and the world."

Hagel, who served two terms in the Senate, said his fellow Republicans may face a moment of truth later this year with the investigation of Russian influence and interference in the 2016 presidential election already probing inside the doors of the Republican White House.

"We take an oath of office not to a president, not to a party, not to a philosophy, but to the Constitution of the United States," he said.

"I was philosophically a Republican with a conservative voting record," Hagel said, "but that did not mean I would always go along with the party.

"In the end, you need to make a decision based on the right thing for the country," he said.

Hagel, who was wounded twice in combat in Vietnam, parted company with Republican President George W. Bush on the Iraq war and was widely criticized within the GOP for his action with Vice President Dick Cheney often acting as one of Hagel's sharpest critics.

As secretary of defense, Hagel said, he saw Russian cyber activity in all areas of the U.S. economy, with attempts to penetrate commercial and financial networks as well as the Department of Defense.

"The Russians were up to a lot of mischief," he said. "They were probing and they do have the capability of getting better and stronger. We can't discount that."

Hagel left the Pentagon in 2015, a year before the presidential election.

Now, Hagel said, the country has "a president who minimizes his own intelligence community and that is quite astounding."

The Catholic Church Begs Mimi Walters And Ed Royce For Compassion

Earlier today, we looked at how Trump and Ryan are leading a war against Jesus' message to mankind. It looks like every Catholic pastor in CA-39 and CA-45 (mostly Orange County) is concerned about the same thing-- except they're focusing on Republican members of Congress Ed Royce and Mimi Walters, both lockstep rubber-stamps for Trump and Ryan. The Orange County Register piece over the weekend was devastating. All the pastors signed a letter to Walters and a letter to Royce about DREAMers-- and the letters were followed by Sunday sermons along the same lines. The sermons will be ongoing throughout Advent.

The bishops of the Diocese of Orange are calling on their clergy and parishioners to pray for the young undocumented immigrants, and to advocate for them with their elected leaders.

Catholic leaders see an urgency in finding a permanent solution to the plight of young people brought to the country illegally as children. Their temporary legal status through President Obama’s DACA program is being phased out under the Trump administration.

Led by bishops in Orange County, San Bernardino and the San Gabriel region, 26 pastors urged Walters (R-Laguna Beach) and Royce (R-Fullerton)-- both Catholics-- “to actively support” passage of legislation that would allow the children to have a path to citizenship.

“It is essential to move beyond general statements of support,” read the Dec. 1 open letter, signed by the pastors and Rev. Kevin Vann, bishop of Orange, Gerald Barnes, bishop of San Bernardino, and David O’Connell, auxiliary bishop in the San Gabriel region of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The letter requests a meeting with the Republican leaders. It is the first time in recent memory that bishops and all pastors of an Orange County congressional district have called on legislators for action.

“It’s a somewhat unique letter,” said Greg Walgenbach, director of the Office of Life, Justice and Peace for the Diocese of Orange.

Walters, who has expressed sympathy toward DACA recipients, has seen an uptick in rallies calling for her to support one of the bills floating in Congress on the issue. Her vote is considered by some a key Republican swing vote.

Earlier this week, Walters signed a letter calling on Congress to pass legislation before the end of the year to protect those under DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

“I appreciate the passion that some members of the church have shown on this issue, and I share their urgency,” Walters said in an e-mail Friday to the Southern California News Group. “Caring for all of God’s children is at the core of our Catholic faith.

“DACA recipients enrich our community and are building their American dream,” she said. “That is why I signed a letter this week calling on Congress to pass bipartisan legislation that would allow DACA recipients to remain the United States, and continue their great contributions to Orange County.”

Royce could not be reached for comment Friday. He has previously said he supports legal residency but opposes including a path to citizenship.

Royce has been a target for years of immigrant-rights advocates, who regularly rally outside his Brea office. In 2013, some 1,500 Catholics prayed outside his closed office for the congressman to “have a change of heart” and support undocumented immigrants seeking citizenship.

As Catholics gather this month to celebrate the Christmas season, Orange County’s top bishops are calling on their pastors and congregants to pray for DACA youth and other immigrants.

A second letter, sent to parishes Friday, includes an Advent prayer which in part says: “Grant, O Lord, unto the leaders of the United States the wisdom and teachable spirit to recognize the good gifts that we receive from DACA youth and other immigrant Dreamers, the conviction to respect their life and dignity, and the courage to pass legislation to protect their stay here and offer a path to eventual citizenship.”

The same letter asks Catholics to contact their representatives, and includes a sample message. That letter was shared on the website of a national Catholic nonprofit that advocates for low-income immigrants and is headed by Bishop Vann.

Katie Porter is one of the two progressives taking on Mimi Walters. Katie told us "It's been three months since Donald Trump announced he would end protections for Dreamers and my Republican opponent Mimi Walters has continued to do nothing but offer empty platitudes. It's unacceptable. I have spent my career fighting for people who don’t have a voice in our system, and I intend to do the same in Congress by standing up for immigrant families. We must pass a clean Dream Act Now."

The other excellent progressive Democratic candidate running for the seat Mimi Walters is occupying is Kia Hamadanchy. Just a few hours ago he told us that "Right here in California’s 45th district, we have DREAMers who are doing nothing but chasing the American Dream-- whether it is as a student at UC Irvine or as an employee of a small business or tech startup. Mimi Walter’s inaction on behalf of her constituents has been so terrible that it took urging from every Catholic leader in the district to get her moving. That’s not leadership. It’s time for a Representative in CA-45 who actually cares about the people here and will really fight to protect our DREAMers."

Sam Jammal is the one non-multimillionaire running for the Orange County seat occupied by Ed Joyce. Recently Frank Schaeffer went to meet him and made this clip [below] about the race and about Sam-- a very different kind of person than Ed Royce. This morning Sam addressed the GOP's DREAMers problem. "DACA really comes down to what's right and what is wrong. It's a moral question. The right thing to do is give young people-- who only know this country and are doing everything right-- the chance at the American Dream. The wrong thing to do is fall in line with Trump and hardline anti-immigrant voices. Once again Ed is on the wrong side of the issue. Instead of focusing on what we can do to integrate immigrants and build up communities, he prefers to divide families and work against young people who are doing everything right, but have a President and politics seeking to do them wrong. Ed just doesn't share our values here in the 39th. We believe in the American Dream and are a welcoming community."