3 New Blue Dogs-- 3 More Freshmen Pledge Fealty To The Republican Wing Of The Democratic Party

Blue Dogs screw up everything... always

7 of the worst, most right-wing Democrats elected in November immediately joined the Blue Dog coalition: Anthony Brindisi (NY), Ben McAdams (UT), Max Rose (NY), Mikie Sherrill (NJ), Abigail Spanberger (VA), Xochitl Torres Small (NM) and Jeff Van Drew (NJ). Yesterday, Lou Correa, Blue Dog co-chair for communications, proudly announced that 3 more right-of-center freshmen had just joined the coalition:

• Ed Case (Honolulu)
• Joe Cunningham (Charleston)
• Kendra Horn (Oklahoma City)

The GOP senses when a fake Democrat loses support from the base because of votes supporting Republican positions-- and then move in for the kill

That makes 10 "Democrats" who will be voting against anything that smacks of progressive and who will be joining with the Republicans to derail any policy that would help working families. For example, yesterday we noted that although 203 Democrats co-sponsored a significant Social Security expansion bill, 15 filthy, mangy Blue Dogs joined the GOP in refusing to get behind it. The 15 filthy mangy Blue Dogs included 6 of the freshmen: Joe Cunningham, Anthony Brindisi, Max Rose, Mikie Sherrill, Xochitl Torres Small and Jeff Van Drew.

There haven't been enough votes this session to make any definitive assessments of members' voting records... although, the only freshman members who have already been awarded "F" scores based on their votes include 9 Blue Dogs:

• Anthony Brindisi (Blue Dog-NY)
• Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK)
• Mikie Sherrill (Blue Dog-NJ)
• Abigail Spanberger (Blue Dog-VA)
• Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC)
• Ben McAdams (Blue Dog-UT)
• Max Rose (Blue Dog-NY)
• Xochitl Torres Small (Blue Dog-NM)
• Jeff Van Drew (Blue Dog-NJ)

Anyone surprised? Last week Kendra Horn was back in Oklahoma City whining about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and showing off her own profound ignorance: "Let me be clear: I don't support a 70% tax rate. That, to me, doesn't make any sense." Too much Fox TV? Or was she just born that way?

Ed Case is widely considered the most conservative, anti-working class politician in Hawaii. When he served in Congress between 2002 and 2007 he was also a Blue Dog and was someone everyone knew as a lazy turd who did nothing but but collect money from lobbyists. He supported the war in Iraq, joined the GOP to lower estate taxes on multimillionaires and billionaires, joined the GOP to lower taxes on investment income, and he was the only Democrat to vote to eliminate funding for PBS, NPR, and Title X family planning, including money for Planned Parenthood. (Even most Republicans voted against it!) He's lost most of his political races in Hawaii but manages to win everyone now and then, primarily because of name recognition and big corporate money that in other states would flow to the GOP. He was elected to the state House in 2002 before anyone knew how horrible he is. He was defeated in a run for governor in 2002 and then in runs for the Senate in 2006 and for Congress in 2010 and then for the Senate again in 2012. He promised he was out of politics after that defeat but never stopped sniffing around for an opportunity to get back on the bribery gravy train. He was elected to the House again in November and hooked up with the Blue Dogs again this week. Correa's press release quotes him saying "In the twelve years since I last served in Congress, the Blue Dog Coalition has become even more relevant to finding a better way forward for our country, one that is realistic, pragmatic and inclusive. I look forward to working again with my fellow Blue Dogs toward workable mainstream solutions to the challenges of our generation with a focus on fiscal sustainability and national security."

Ed Case-- The Silver Spike Must Have Been Aluminum

The best member of Congress from Hawaii was Patsy Mink-- a legendary FDR progressive-- served in Congress from 1965 2002, with a break to serve in the Carter administration. She was the first woman of color to be elected to Congress, as well as the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress. And a stalwart progressive. In 2002 she was succeeded by Hawaii's worst member of Congress, Blue Dog Ed Case, who served from Mink's death in 2002 until 2007 when he unsuccessfully challenged progressive U.S.Senator Daniel Akaka for his Senate seat. since then he's run against progressives several times and has always lost.

Finally, after being beaten by Mazie Hirono, in 2012, the Joe Liberman of Hawaii announced his political career was finally over. Now he's running again, for Congress, against Hawaii's most progressive political leader, Kaniela Soto Ing. Ironically, he'll probably make it easier for Ing to win, since he is now the 4th conservative Democrat to jump into the race, joining Donna Kim, Doug Chin and Beth Fukumoto.

In 2011 I wrote about Case:

Although he had one of the worst attendance records of any member of Congress, he consistently supported the GOP on job-killing trade legislation and on special interests legislation like abolishing the estate tax for the super-rich, making it easier for banksters to rip off consumers, screwing over working families on pensions and GOP proposals to shift the tax burden to the middle class. He generally voted with the most reactionary Democrats when they joined the GOP to stifle reform and anyone who likes Chamber of Commerce pawns and Patriot Act-type Dems like Dan Boren and Jim Marshall will be perfectly happy with Ed Case-- especially if xenophobia and war-mongering and making sure that victims of big corporations have no recourse to the courts are your cup of tea to boot.

Monday night news started leaking out that Case is trying it again and wants to run from the Honolulu-based congressional seat. "The 65-year-old Democrat," wrote Nathan Eagle, "pulled nomination papers Monday to run for the 1st Congressional District seat, according to the state Elections Office. He has until the end of business Tuesday to officially file for the Aug. 11 primary ballot."

Constituents Are Petitioning Colleen Hanabusa To Resign From The Corrupt New Dems

The Republican wing of Hawaii's Democratic Party-- Colleen and Ed

Since getting into Congress, Colleen Hanabusa was been a disgrace to the Democratic Party, always eager to do the bidding of the Wall Street special interests and of the Military Industrial Complex that President Eisenhower warned the country about when Hanabusa was just ten years old. And now she's running a nasty primary campaign against one of Hawaii's two progressive U.S. Senators, Brian Schatz, because she'd like to get into the Senate, where her votes will be worth more to the special interests that pay off her and her husband.

In the 2010 open special election for the remainder of Neil Abercrombie's term, Hanabusa and Blue Dog/New Dem, Ed Case-- each consumed with personal ambition and the kind of ugly careerism that has driven both of their shady political lives-- split the vote and allowed Republican Charles Djou to win the seat. Case dropped out of the general election and Hanabusa faced a weak primary opponent, who she beat and then went on to defeat Djou in November.

Case bragged to birther-friendly blog Hawaii Reporter last year that Hanabusa was the only member of Hawaii's congressional delegation who refused to endorse Hirono against him. He and Hanabusa are ideological pals, dating back to their days in the state legislature leading anti-union "reforms" in the late '90s. When they ran against each other for Congress in 2010, Hanabusa notably didn't attack Case for being a Blue Dog or New Dem or for voting to defund Planned Parenthood. The first time Hanabusa ran for office was 1998. Hawaii voters were faced with a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Hanabusa ran on a platform of supporting the ballot measure-- opposing same-sex marriage. She steadfastly held that position for 15 years, even after the state Democratic Party platform and President Obama endorsed same-sex marriage. It was only this year-- as she's facing a progressive in next year's Senate primary-- that she changed her official position. No wonder Hirono won't endorse her-- and no wonder much of the Hirono campaign staff is working for Schatz!

Unwisely, many progressive organizations unfamiliar with her sleazy reputation and her conservative record, endorsed her in 2010-- only to watch in dismay as she made common cause with GOP reactionaries like Buck McKeon and Randy Forbes and then joined Ed Case's New Dem Caucus herself. Now MoveOn.org has a petition up asking her to resign from the New Dems. The woman who created the petition, Karen Chun from Maui Paddle, explained it this way:

MoveOn.org and various other progressive and environmental organizations endorsed Hanabusa in the 2010 House election based on her promise not to join the Blue Dogs (like her opponent). She betrayed (in spirit) that promise by joining the Blue Dog successor organization, New Democrat Coalition (NDC). NDC has been called "The Coalition Pharma and Wall Street Love" by Pro Publica who says its "close relationship with several hundred Washington lobbyists has made their organization one of the most successful political money machines since the Republican K Street Project."

The petition itself asks Hanabusa to "renounce your membership in the Blue Dog successor organization, New Democrat Coalition. This organization has worked to weaken financial regulations, shape health care reform to favor the insurance companies, fatten the wallets of defense contractors and has become the successor the corrupt K Street Project. It serves to funnel Wall Street, Defense Contractor and Big Ag money into your pockets at the expense of those of us who elected you to serve OUR interests-- not the interests of these big corporations." Do you think she'll quit the organization? I doubt it. Apart from EMILY's List, it's one of her biggest sources of funds for her race against Schatz.

If you live in Hawaii, please take a look at the petition and consider signing it. Not sure? Watch this short video by Alan Grayson... it might help you make up your mind:

Brian Schatz-- Abercrombie Makes The Best Possible Appointment To The Senate

A new progressive U.S. senator

When Daniel Inouye died last week, anyone would have predicted New Dem Colleen Hanabusa would have been appointed by Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie to succeed him. It's what Inouye is reported to have wanted. When we looked at the situation here at DWT a week ago, Lt. Governor Brian Schatz seemed like too good of an idea to even give serious consideration. It looked to me that it would be the only way to keep reactionary corporate whore Ed Case-- who was gearing up to run for Hanabusa's seat-- out of Congress.

But I didn't give Governor Abercrombie enough credit. He gave Schatz the appointment the day after Chrtistmas. The state Democratic Party had given Abercrombie 3 names to pick from: Schatz, himself a former chairman of the state party; Hanabusa; and Esther Kiaaina, the deputy director of the state's Department of Land and Natural Resources. He made the right decision, though not everyone in the Establishment thinks so.

"Senator Inouye conveyed his final wish to Governor Abercrombie," said Jennifer Sabas, Inouye's chief of staff. "While we are very disappointed that it was not honored, it was the Governor's decision to make."

Abercrombie said Inouye's views and wishes weighed on his decision-making process, but "no one and nothing is preordained." He said the possibility of a special election to fill Hanabusa's seat weighed on him in choosing Inouye's successor.

"Sometimes you have to set aside personal considerations in order to look for the good of the whole," the governor, a former congressman, said at a press conference.

Schatz said he would board a flight to Washington sometime this evening, with hopes of being sworn into office sometime on Thursday afternoon. The Senate reconvenes on Thursday to take up the urdent business of reaching a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff on Jan. 1.

Just as important as keeping Case out of Congress is the fact that Schatz, who at 40 will be the youngest member of the Senate until Chris Murphy (D-CT) is sworn in in January, is also a progressive and a reformer with a great record on environmental issues. Hawaii's Senate delegation, Schatz and Mazie Hirono, is likely to turn out to be the best in the whole country.

UPDATE: New Dem Hanabusa May Retaliate With A Run For Governor

Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who had already, at least figuratively, measured the drapes in Daniel Inouye's office, is telling friends she may get even with Neil Abercrombie by running against him in the 2014 primary. She claims Inouye staffers are encouraging her, unable to comprehend that in death Inouye couldn't name his own successor, the pro-corporate Hanabusa and that Abercrombie was able to appoint a progressive. The other aggrieved party in this is the even worse corporate whore, perennial candidate-- and arch reactionary-- Ed Case. He's likely to run against either Abercrombie or Schatz in 2014 and against Schatz again in 2016.

Hawaii Looking For Senatorial Seniority... Fast

Hanabusa beat Case in the 2010 House special election

Politicians from Hawaii understand how congressional seniority works and the state plays up to it. When Daniel Inouye died last week he was the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the longest serving member of the Senate, first elected in 1963. Before that he was a Congressman since Hawaii achieved statehood (1959). At the time of his death his seniority had landed him the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, a post that served Hawaii very , very well. It's likely that Gov. Neil Abercrombie will be eager to choose a replacement even before the new class is sworn in so that the next senator from Hawaii has seniority over all of them.

Reportedly, Inouye's last request of Abercrombie was that he pick his close friend, Rep. Colleen Hanabusa. Hanabusa is a right-of-center New Dem whose loyalties have been more with business interests than with working families. Abercrombie is a solid progressive but he may be stuck with her since the two other top contenders are much worse. The worst of all is Ed Case-- Hawaii's version of Harold Ford. He runs for every open seat and will stop at nothing to get back into government. He's already told friends he expects Abercrombie to pick Hanabusa and that he'll run in the House special election to replace her.

Case is more a right-wing Republican, at least on economic issues, than a Democrat but the state is too blue for a wily character like him to join the GOP. He's become very unpopular with the state's Democratic base and keeps losing primaries. He was also considered the laziest Member of Congress when he served. But the elites like him-- especially in DC-- and he's got a ton of dirty money behind him.

Case's backers in Hawaii try to portray him as recently socially moderate, rather than the reactionary extremist he was when he was in the House. But he's never explained to the women of Hawaii why he voted against funding for Planned Parenthood.The guy has a clearly Republican voting record and it would be nothing short of catastrophic to reward his perfidy with another shot in either house of Congress. He's been completely consistent in his support for Republican and corporate initiatives like job-killing trade legislation and to special interests legislation like abolishing the estate tax for the super-rich, making it easier for banksters to rip off consumers, screwing over working families on pensions and the never-ending Republican proposals to shift the tax burden to the middle class. He generally voted with the most reactionary Democrats when they joined the GOP to stifle reform and, we tried to make the point that anyone who likes Chamber of Commerce pawns and Patriot Act-type Dems such as Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK) and Joe Donnelly (Blue Dog-IN) would be perfectly happy with Ed Case-- especially if xenophobia and war-mongering and making sure that victims of big corporations have no recourse to the courts are on the menu.

The other possibility Abercrombie is said to be considering is also worse than Hanabusa, though probably not as reactionary as Case-- but more corrupt. Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, has, like Case, lost multiple congressional elections. Let's hope Abercrombie digs deeper than the obvious and comes up with someone who will represent Hawaii's working families, rather than big money interests the way Hanabusa, Case and Hannemann would.

Too Long For Twitter...

Republicans who hate Mitt Romney aren't the only ones delighted with the selection of Paul "the anti-Medicare guy" Ryan as his running mate. Everyone on Team Obama is probably kvelling this weekend as well. John Heilemann wrote in New York on Saturday about why Obama's people are so thrilled with the selection:

[T]hey knew full well that if the race was purely a referendum on Obama, they would likely lose-- but if bright lines could be drawn on values and visions regarding fiscal choices, that was the kind of election they could win. This was why Chicago was planning to hang the Ryan budget around Romney’s neck regardless of whether the congressman was on the ticket or not. Obama’s data jockeys have been polling and focus-grouping on this for months, and they are over the moon about what they have found... "President Obama’s lead against Romney more than doubles when the election is framed as a choice between the two candidates’ positions on the Ryan budget-- particularly its impact on the most vulnerable. The President makes significant gains among key groups, including independents and voters in the Rising American Electorate (the unmarried women, youth, and minority voters who drove Obama to victory in 2008)."

Paul Ryan Has A Goal In Massachusetts-- And The Victory Fund Is Working To Make Sure He And The GOP Get What They Want So, So Badly

Tuesday progressives in Florida and Connecticut will be battling conservative Democrats who are being financed by the destructive wreck that was once EMILY's List. But, as we pointed out last week, EMILY's List isn't the only group inappropriately assumed to have something in common with progressives that dupes and fundraises from liberals and then helps elect conservatives. At least just as bad is a sleazy bunch of Inside-the-Beltway gay careerists called the Victory Fund. As we mentioned last week, the Victory Fund, widely viewed as the single greatest reason for why Trevor Thomas was narrowly beaten by social conservative Steve Pestka in Grand Rapids/Battle Creek, is trying to defeat a 100% solid, lifelong straight ally, Rep. John Tierney, and replace him with a gay Republican with a sketchy record on gay equality. And Victory Fund candidate Richard Tisei isn't just a bad choice for the LGBT community because of his past, his future-- were he to ever make it to Congress-- looks pretty scary too. Tisei was recruited by Paul Ryan's and Eric Cantor and their sleazy SuperPAC, Young Guns, is-- along with the Victory Fund, financing his battle against Tierney. Watch:



Conservatives Routed In Paradise

Hawaii had its primaries Saturday and it wasn't even close. In the two major races-- one for the open U.S. Senate and one for the open seat in the 2nd district-- the progressive candidates, respectively Mazie Hirono and Tulsi Gabbard, beat their extremely conservative opponents, perennial Blue Dog candidate Ed Case and corrupt Mormon ex-mayor of Honolulu, Mufi Hannemann. It was Hannemann's third congressional run and his third loss. Case had already served in Congress (2002-7) where he was known as very lazy, very conservative, probably corrupt and a sure vote for the worst of the Republican agenda. He was a member of both the Blue Dog caucus and the New Dems. He's been running for Senator, Governor and to get back into Congress ever since and loses every time. In Saturday's Senate totals he took 94,289 41%) against Hirono's 132,855 (58%) and many hope he'll go find a job and stop trying to get into office again. In the 6-way race for the House seat Mazie was giving up, Tulsi Gabbard captured 55% and Hannemann only managed to persuade 34%.

Looks Like Ryan Has An excuse For Not Debating Rob Zerban Now... But What About Elderly Right-Wing California Carbuncles Buck McKeon And Ed Royce?

McKeon's hometown media outlets are mocking him and laughing at his avoidance of debates with Lee Rogers. After sparring with the media about what the meaning of a bribe is, McKeon managed to avoid committing to any debates at all... again. "McKeon," Mark Archuleta reported for KHTS, "said he might want three debates with his November 6 opponent Dr. Lee Rogers for the 25th Congressional district-- except he didn’t show up for the one scheduled before the primary election and wouldn’t make a firm commitment to any this election cycle." Read this exchange to see what an asshole McKeon-- who owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling debts to organized crime boss and probable Red China operative Sheldon Adelson-- is. It helps explain why the local media has come to dislike him so much:

Mark Archuleta, Reporter, KHTS: Can we tell our audience that you will have an actual forum with your opponent Lee Rogers or a debate?

Buck McKeon: An actual forum or a debate?

MA: Yeah, because we tried to set one up before and there was some scheduling conflict. (A detailed look at the no-show by both the Congressman and his wife Patricia who was running for the 36th Assembly District, click here.) So, we’d love to be able to tell our audience out here that we’re going to have a forum or a debate or whatever format you would like so that we can hear you guys go back and forth on the issues. Can we tell ‘em that?

BM: You can tell ‘em that.

MA: So, you’re saying we will?

BM: No.

MA: Why not?

BM: I said you can tell them that.

MA: You’re being clever. Just say whether or not…

BM: No, I’m not. I’m being funny.

MA: Let’s just say it. Say it.

BM: Here, if somebody wants to put together a forum, usually like there’s League of Women Voters or…

MA: We had SCVTV, we had The Signal…

BM: Fine. Just give us notice and if I can be there I will be happy to be there.

MA: Can you give us a date and we’ll set it up. Because last time it fell apart.

BM: Well, maybe we would want a different forum. I don’t know.

...BM: But I’m not sure that’s going to…we’ll decide through the campaign. The campaign consultant isn’t here but we’ll decide how we’re going to do that…

MA: But you will do it?

BM: Pardon?

MA: But you will do it? I mean you will do some forum or debate? Because obviously it’s not to your benefit to do it.

BM: Really?

MA: So will you do it? Well, I don’t think…

BM: Why would it not be to my benefit?

MA: Well, you tell me. You haven’t done one.

BM: I’ve been busy.

MA: Well, that’s a good story, but the people in the community would like to hear…

BM: They’ve been hammering for it? They’ve been clamoring to hear us?

MA: Yeah, I think so.

BM: They have?

MA: They absolutely have.

Unidentified Reporter: You know, I have to agree with that. I think people would like to see it.

BM: And I think that they will. The campaign generally starts about Labor Day…

MA: Can you guarantee they will? They will see…

BM: No, no.

MA:…a forum or debate…?

BM: I can’t guarantee. I don’t know that he’s going to want to come up and see me.

MA: I can guarantee you he does.

BM: Oh, really?

MA: He’s told us many times.

BM: Really?

MA: Yeah.

BM: Well we’ll see. Hey, I’m not afraid to debate the doctor about…

MA: That’s what everybody wants to see.

BM: Great. They’ll have plenty of chances to see it

MA: Plenty? You’ll do more than one?

BM: Usually you do. What if I do terrible in one I might want to do two?

MA: Good. Let’s do it.

BM: Might want to do three.

MA: We’d love to see it. We would love to see it. So I can say…

BM: You can say whatever you want…

MA: Three debates coming up. Quote:…

BM: No.

MA: …Congressman Howard “Buck” McKeon: “I’m going to do three debates with Dr. Lee Rogers.”

Bob Cochran, Congressman McKeon’s Chief of Staff: Okay, let’s move on to another question. I think we’ve gone over this. We don’t have much more time.

And all the way across L.A. County, one of McKeon's corrupt cronies-- another Countrywide crook-- Ed Royce is playing the same kind of games when it comes to debating his challenger, Jay Chen. Jay and Royce both accepted invitations to a town hall meeting in Rowland Heights at the senior center tomorrow evening. As soon as Royce found out Jay was going as well, he backed out. He "developed an inexplicable scheduling conflict," Jay told his supporters. "Once again, the voters of the 39th have been denied an opportunity to the answers they deserve. It seems unlikely that Royce will engage me in a live debate and have his voting record picked apart. With his record of supporting big banks and disempowering women, minorities, and the middle class, I can't blame him."

Remember What We Found Out About Miss McConnell Yesterday?

No, not about him being a closet queen... the part about him organizing the GOP to obstruct everything President Obama would try to do to help America get over the mess Bush and the GOP left him. This GOP (a song by Elliot Astur):

 

The Republican Wing Of The Democratic Party Rears Its Ugly Head In Hawaii-- Ed Case Trying Again

Earlier today we were talking about the bad Democrats who consistently vote against progressive ideas and progressive solutions and join the GOP to support the one percent against the rest of us. There are few Democrats in Congress today who were as renowned for that kind of behavior as Hawaii's former conservaDem congressman Ed Case. Since leaving Congress to run for every open seat that's come up in his state, Case has suffered rebuff after rebuff. But the cousin of AOL huckster Steve Case is never deterred-- and he's running again now. First, let's take a real quick look at what's wrong with Case and why it would be a tragedy for America if he were to win the Senate seat Mazie Hirono and he are battling for.

Let's start with his support for Republican and corporate initiatives like job-killing trade legislation and special interests legislation like abolishing the estate tax for the super-rich, making it easier for banksters to rip off consumers, screwing over working families on pensions and the never-ending Republican proposals to shift the tax burden to the middle class. He generally voted with the most reactionary Democrats when they joined the GOP to stifle reform and, if you like Chamber of Commerce pawns and Patriot Act-type Dems like Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK) and Joe Donnelly (Blue Dog-IN), you'd be perfectly happy with Ed Case-- especially if xenophobia and war-mongering and making sure that victims of big corporations have no recourse to the courts are on your menu. Then there's his long-standing disregard for the rights of women when it came to Choice and his siding with right-wing extremists against women. Back in 2005 when Case was an astoundingly bad congressman, his Republican allies tried to defund Planned Parenthood by cutting Title X family planning out of the budget-- just as they've done this year. This year Mazie Hirono strenuously opposed that, of course. Back in 2005 an amendment by far right sociopath Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) targeted NPR, PBS, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Title X family planning all in one shot. Only one Democrat crossed the aisle to vote for the most extreme piece of legislation of that session... Ed Case. Not even a majority of Republicans were that extreme (in those days). 197 Democrats and 122 Republicans voted NO and it failed 102-320. But Case voted YES, something even right-wing extremists like Darrell Issa, Steve Pearce, Denny Rehberg, Devin Nunes, John Culberson, and Jerry Lewis, all of whom voted for essentially the same crap this year, were unwilling to do then. Even Tom DeLay and Henry Hyde found it too extreme and voted against it!

This week, the Honolulu Star Advertiser, the biggest newspaper in the state, reported that the sleazier than ever Case, losing badly is begging Republicans to vote for him in the Democratic primary.

He described his primary with U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono as a “death match” against Hawaii’s Democratic political machine and predicted that his success, regardless of the result against former Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican, in the November general election, would “drive a stake into the heart of that machine.”

Case’s comments came on the morning a new Hawaii Poll showed him trailing Hirono by double-digits. The poll found that both Hirono and Case had double-digit leads over Lingle. It also was the day of Case’s final debate with Hirono before the primary.

From Case [addressing a right-wing business group]:


Clearly, there are three candidates-- apologies to (Republican) John Carroll-- but there are three candidates that have possibility of winning the next United States Senate seat: Me, Hirono and Lingle.

And I would suspect strongly-- and I hope I don’t get myself out on a limb, but I’m going to say it anyway-- that for some of you I’m your first choice, that for a fair number of you I’m your second choice, but for none of you am I your third choice. And I would suspect strongly that Ms. Hirono is your third choice.

So the only race I’m in right now is the primary election, the Democratic primary election. Yes, some of you, maybe most of you, don’t agree with me 100 percent on several issues.

But I know very well that I can do a better job than Hirono would. I know darn well that I strike a better ground for you. I know darn well that she is the choice of the political culture of Hawaii today and I am not. And this is your opportunity to make a difference in the primary election.

So yes you can vote in the primary election. Apologies to the Republican primary candidates in the room. I hope none of you have contested primaries. But, you know, you should all vote in the Democratic primary …

I say that very bluntly and I say it for a darn good reason. You saw the papers this morning. One poll of many. I don’t agree with the poll, but the poll says that it’s either going to be me or Hirono as your next senator. Make your choice.

If you don’t want to make that choice now, make your choice in the primary election and decide later between me and Lingle.

It’s that blunt and that honest. Strike for a better political culture in the primary. Strike for the possibility of having some of the change in Washington.

You think Bob Kerrey (NE) or Joe Donnelly (IN) would make execrable senators? Case would be even worse.

So What's Wrong With Ed Case? Is He Really Worse Than Joe Lieberman? Worse Than Tom DeLay?

Thursday, when Hawaii's stellar progressive congresswoman, Mazie Hirono, announced her intention to run for the seat being vacated by her friend and ally Daniel Akaka, we dashed off a quick post that detailed some of the specifics on Ed Case's long rap sheet of corporate shillery and conservative complicity. When he was in Congress his career was distinguished by two characteristics-- he was the closest thing the Democratic caucus had to a conservative Republican and he was the laziest Member of Congress with the worst attendance record.

The post pointed to his support for Republican and corporate initiatives like job-killing trade legislation and to special interests legislation like abolishing the estate tax for the super-rich, making it easier for banksters to rip off consumers, screwing over working families on pensions and the never-ending Republican proposals to shift the tax burden to the middle class. He generally voted with the most reactionary Democrats when they joined the GOP to stifle reform and, we tried to make the point that anyone who likes Chamber of Commerce pawns and Patriot Act-type Dems like Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK) and Joe Donnelly (Blue Dog-IN) will be perfectly happy with Ed Case-- especially if xenophobia and war-mongering and making sure that victims of big corporations have no recourse to the courts are on the menu.

But in our rush to put up a place to donate to Mazie's campaign, we left off one of the most important factors in Case's long and shameful record-- his disregard for the rights of women when it came to choice and his siding with right-wing extremist against women. Back in 2005 when Case was an astoundingly bad congressman, his Republican allies tried to defund Planned Parenthood by cutting Title X family planning out of the budget-- just as they've done this year. This year Mazie Hirono strenuously opposed that, of course. Back in 2005 an amendment by far right sociopath Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) targeted NPR, PBS, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Title X family planning all in one shot. Only one Democrat crossed the aisle to vote for the most extreme piece of legislation of that session... Ed Case. Not even a majority of Republicans were that extreme (in those days). 197 Democrats and 122 Republicans voted NO and it failed 102-320. But Case voted YES, something even right-wing extremists like Darrell Issa, Steve Pearce, Denny Rehberg, Devin Nunes, John Culberson, Buck McKeon and Jerry Lewis, all of whom voted for essentially the same crap this year, were unwilling to do then. Even Tom DeLay and Henry Hyde found it too extreme and voted against it!

Case's backers in Hawaii try to portray him as socially moderate, rather than a reactionary extremist. But he's never explained to the women of Hawaii why he voted against funding for Planned Parenthood. There's no reason he should even be running as a Democrat. The guy has a clearly Republican voting record and it would be nothing short of catastrophic to reward his perfidy with a Senate seat. A Senator Case would make Ben Nelson and Joe Manchin look liberal. Let's help make sure Mazie replaces Dan Akaka and not the right-winger who tried to beat Akaka in a primary 5 years ago. Please consider contributing to Mazie's campaign here through ActBlue. Sending Ed Case to the Senate is tantamount to sending a conservative Republican to the Senate.

Mazie Hirono (D-HI) To The Rescue

Last month we were worrying that the always ambitious, always reactionary corporate shill, Ed Case, would get a free ride for the Senate seat he once tried to steal from Dan Akaka, a progressive who is now retiring. But today one of the most progressive and forward-thinking Members of Congress, Mazie Hirono, declared for the seat. This is especially good news since the latest polling shows she would beat both Case and Linda Lingle, the likely Republican nominee. Mazie's favorability rating is 64%, highest of anyone thinking about getting in the race.

“It’s very humbling to see this strong support for my work on behalf of the people of Hawaii," Mazie said after the polls was released last week. “I take their opinions seriously and have been fighting as hard as ever to create well-paying jobs, hold big oil companies accountable for rising gas prices, protect Medicare from Republican attempts to dismantle it, and promote Hawaii’s renewable energy economy. I appreciate the positive response to my leadership, but I don’t take it for granted and will never stop fighting for a stronger Hawaii."

As for Case, although he had one of the worst attendance records of any member of Congress, he consistently supported the GOP on job-killing trade legislation and on special interests legislation like abolishing the estate tax for the super-rich, making it easier for banksters to rip off consumers, screwing over working families on pensions and GOP proposals to shift the tax burden to the middle class. He generally voted with the most reactionary Democrats when they joined the GOP to stifle reform and anyone who likes Chamber of Commerce pawns and Patriot Act-type Dems like Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK) and Joe Donnelly (Blue Dog-IN) will be perfectly happy with Ed Case-- especially if xenophobia and war-mongering and making sure that victims of big corporations have no recourse to the courts are your cup of tea to boot.

If you feel like sending the Democratic Party a message that you prefer a real Democrat like Mazie Hirono over corporate shills and conservatives like Ed Case, you can do it here through ActBlue.

Trouble In Paradise-- Ed Case Is Still Trying To Claw His Way Back Into Congress

Slimy Blue Dog Ed Case Has A Closet Filled With These

Yesterday Hawai'i corporate shill Ed Case announced that he's running for the Senate seat being opened up by Dan Akaka's retirement. So far there's no progressive in the race-- just Case, basically a garden variety conservative running as a Democrat. I thought it would be a good time to bring up another Trouble In Paradise post from January, 2010.

Case would prefer to run for Senate and is said to check the newspaper every day when he wakes up to see if the 85 year old Senator Daniel Inouye died overnight. His campaign against Akaka in 2006 revolved around Akaka's vote against attacking Iraq. Case said that had he been in the Senate he would have supported Bush's proposal to start the war against Iraq. Case was a consistent aisle crosser on important matters while he served in the House and seemed more comfortable voting with Republicans than with Democrats. Although he had one of the worst attendance records of any member of Congress, he consistently supported the GOP on job-killing trade legislation and on special interests legislation like abolishing the estate tax for the super-rich, making it easier for banksters to rip off consumers, screwing over working families on pensions and GOP proposals to shift the tax burden to the middle class. He generally voted with the most reactionary Democrats when they joined the GOP to stifle reform and anyone who likes Chamber of Commerce pawns and Patriot Act-type Dems like Dan Boren and Jim Marshall will be perfectly happy with Ed Case-- especially if xenophobia and war-mongering and making sure that victims of big corporations have no recourse to the courts are your cup of tea to boot.

It appears that the Big Stinky Cheeses of Demdom lie as pathologically as their GOP soulmates

It would count for something if thugs like Master Rahm and the DCCC stooges would stop lying about why they hate candidates like Colleen Hanabusa, but don't hold your breath.

by Ken

As Howie and I have frequent cause to note, the increasingly unapologetic right-wing sympathies of the Democratic Party leadership make it harder and harder to distinguish the power-brokers of the two major parties without a scorecard.

In his Morning Line today, washingtonpost.com's Chris Cillizza has an updated version, faithfully "carrying the water" for the Big Cheeses of Demdom, of an earlier item on the latest development in the lineup for the November election for the Hawaii House seat just lost to the Republicans in a special election:

Former Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii) has opted not to run for the seat in the general election a week after he and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa (D) split the Democratic vote and handed the seat to Rep. Charles Djou (R-Hawaii) in a special election.

The good news for Democrats in the Case decision is that are now likely to avoid a difficult and costly primary - the latest in the nation, in fact. The bad news is that the candidate they are left with is the one national party leaders -- if not their state counterparts -- regarded as the weaker of the two candidates.

Hanabusa had the support of the state's two senators -- Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka but party leaders in Washington didn't see a path to victory for her since she struggled to win over moderate Democrats and independents. While the White House and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee made it quite clear they preferred Case, neither entity wound up officially weighing in at all -- a move that effectively ceded the seat to Djou for the next six months.

The November general election, of course, provides much different dynamics. There won't be two Democrats on the ballot, and the electorate will be different too. Regardless of what party leaders thought of Hanabusa before, she will now likely be the only Democrat on the ballot in a district where President Barack Obama won 70 percent of the vote in 2008.

I have no doubt that the Big Cheeses of Demdom hate Hanabusa and love Case every bit as much as loyal Waterboy Chris represents. They're just lying their sorry butts off about why.

According to Waterboy Chris, it's all about "electability." "Party leaders in Washington didn't see a path to victory for her since she struggled to win over moderate Democrats and independents." This sounds like hard-headed politics, but it's really just bullshit. They love Case because he's a proven right-wing Democratic hack, and they hate Hanabusa -- beyond the fact that she's a woman (for a woman to draw official party support these days it appears she has to be either really rich or really conservative) -- because she believes in traditional Democratic values, which drives demon Dem corporatists like Master Rahm bonkers. So much so that, as they demonstrated all too blatantly in the special election, they'd sooner see a Republican in that House seat.

Howie covered this race at some length in January, and indeed the election played out just as foreseen, with Case running third behind Republican Charles Djou and Hanabusa, thereby allowing Djou to turn the seat Republican. There are no reports of Master Rahm, the man who supposedly lives to build Democratic majorities, shedding tears.

Is it not obvious that Master Rahm and his stinky Beltway stooges aren't afraid of Hanabusa losing; but rather are riddled with angst at the prospect of her winning? Of course the Master has been playing this game for ages: masquerading as the bare-knuckled battler on behalf of the Democratic Party when his real interest is purging the party as much as possible of pols to the left of, say, Heath Shuler, and maximizing the ranks of what we might call "coin toss" Dems. Or should I say "bushels o' bucks" Dems?

I guess I stand corrected regarding my recent suggestion that the Stinky Cheeses have stopped pretending that the issue in their support of all these crap candidates is an "electability" thing:

In this election cycle even the pretense of an "electability" factor has more and more been dropped, as the official party organs increasingly find themselves stumping for candidates who (probably fortunately) couldn't beat any candidate unencumbered by a sex scandal. It becomes increasingly clear that the party hacks support right-wing "Democrats" because they're the people they're most comfortable with -- people who will fit right into the Beltway's kabuki politics, where "order" requires giving highest consideration to the people who pay for it.

Just as spinmeistering, you have to admire the effrontery of the Stinky Cheeses in imposing their view of both Democratic values and Hawaiian politics over those of the state's Democratic U.S. senators, Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka (left), both of whom solidly endorsed Hanabusa. (There can't be a lot of precedents for a national party overriding the judgment of two senators of their party.)

It could be argued that Akaka holds a grudge against Case for primarying him in his 2006 reelection bid, but that seems to quite a good reason for holding a grudge -- not to mention a commentary on Case's party "loyalty." Inouye and Akaka have made it clear that they welcomed Case to Congress after he wangled his way -- via an earlier special election, in 2003 -- into Hawaii's other House seat, vacated by the death of Rep. Patsy Mink, but that he was a great disappointment to them as a congressman, until he gave up the seat to try to oust Akaka.

Case really thinks he belongs in the U.S. Senate. Howie noted that he's said to check the newspaper every day when he wakes up to see if maybe the 85-year-old Inouye didn't. Not surprisingly, given his virually Republican voting record, during his brief time in Congress he was a favorite of the K Street cash dispensers, and as the Dem Stinky Cheeses showed in the special election, they'll go a long way to advance the electoral prospects of one of their own.

As the general election race for the House seat now held by Republican Djou gets into gear, we'll find out what they're prepared to do for a real Democrat like Hanabusa. Political common sense says this is an R seat ready and waiting to be returned to the D column, but that's without reckoning on the interest of the Stinky Cheeses of the national party in keeping her far, far outside the Beltway.

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Trouble In Paradise-- Will Liebermanism Re-Infect Hawai'i?

Hawai'i has been a solidly Democratic bastion for as long as I can remember; and that's long. Bush didn't do very well there-- only 37% in 2000 and 45% in 2004-- but he looked like a champ compared to McCain who only managed to eke out a meager 26.6% of the vote. When progressive Democrat Neil Abercrombie decided to cash in his long House career and run for governor this year, Hawaii's most ambitious political hack, came screaming into the race. Case once represented the other (non-Honolulu) Hawaiian congressional district, but he gave up that seat to run against much-loved Daniel Akaka. Akaka is a progressive and Case is as far right as you can be and still be a Democrat. Akaka kicked his ass. Case is also awash in K Street lobbyist connections.

Case would prefer to run for Senate and is said to check the newspaper every day when he wakes up to see if the 85 year old Senator Daniel Inouye died overnight. His campaign against Akaka in 2006 revolved around Akaka's vote against attacking Iraq. Case said that had he been in the Senate he would have supported Bush's proposal to start the war against Iraq. Case was a consistent aisle crosser on important matters while he served in the House and seemed more comfortable voting with Republicans than with Democrats. Although he had one of the worst attendance records of any member of Congress, he consistently supported the GOP on job-killing trade legislation and on special interests legislation like abolishing the estate tax for the super-rich, making it easier for banksters to rip off consumers, screwing over working families on pensions and GOP proposals to shift the tax burden to the middle class. He generally voted with the most reactionary Democrats when they joined the GOP to stifle reform and anyone who likes Chamber of Commerce pawns and Patriot Act-type Dems like Dan Boren and Jim Marshall will be perfectly happy with Ed Case-- especially if xenophobia and war-mongering and making sure that victims of big corporations have no recourse to the courts are your cup of tea to boot.

The best shot Democrats have in defeating this slimy Republican-in-Democrats'-clothing is with State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa. The problem is that the Republicans have a strong candidate in Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou. He isn't strong enough to win the seat against a Democrat but if there's a special election, whomever gets the most votes-- among Hanabusa, Case and Djou, is the congressman. Case is likely to play the role of spoiler by splitting the Democratic vote, allowing Djou to squeak in. This weekend mainstays of the state party tried to prevent that with a unified front in favor of Hanabusa. Both the state's beloved U.S. Senators, Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, strongly endorsed Hanabusa.

At the opening of Hanabusa's campaign headquarters on Ward Avenue, Inouye, the state's leading Democrat, praised her skill as a labor attorney and Senate president and described her as a politician who keeps her word.

"It's good currency. You can count on it," he said. "She's got integrity. She's a very principled woman."
Inouye spoke in unusually personal terms about Case, a moderate Democrat who has alienated many in the party's establishment.

Inouye said Case insisted on running in a special election in 2002 to fill the remaining weeks in the late U.S Rep. Patsy Mink's term, even though many party leaders wanted Mink's husband, John, to have the honor. Case-- interested in obtaining seniority-- won the special election, and then a second special election in early 2003 to replace Mink in Congress.

Inouye said the state's congressional delegation welcomed Case but was let down. The senator said Case told the delegation he wasn't going to run against Akaka in the 2006 primary for Senate, then surprisingly announced his campaign. Case has said he never told the delegation he would not run against Akaka, only that he was keeping his options open.

Inouye and Akaka were joined by virtually the entire Hawai'i political establishment and by the state's powerful union leaders. They painted Case, accurately, as a bad faith player, an outright liar no one in Congress trusts and someone who never learned to be a team player for the good of his constituents.

Bad News For Democrats: Reactionaries Ed Case And Howard Ahmanson Want Into The Big Tent

Ahmanson & Case: more and worse Democrats, much worse

Once I worked in a Happy Kingdom and when the founder passed away turmoil struck and a flim-flam man came in and gobbled it up. That was the short version of the AOL merger with TimeWarner. The flim flam man is Steve Case, a Hawaiian hustler turned marketing man. From figuring out ways of selling Pizza Hut's cardboard excuse for pizza, Case went to work marketing for a series of video game companies, something that led directly to the creation of AOL. In 2001 Case managed to pull off the scam of the decade, acquiring the leaderless TimeWarner in a stock swap. Two years later he had looted as much as 6 billion dollars from the company and was kicked out. I lived through the tragedy as a president of a TimeWarner division but decided to quit the day I met Case in person for the first time and realized that his vision for the business was to loot and plunder what so many people so much better than him had spent decades building. Nina Munk's book, Fools Rush In: Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner tells most of the sordid story.

Today Case is the head of Revolution LLC-- a holding company that combines a shady credit card operation and a failed on-line health care company (like WebMD) with a resort management company. Case is also one of Hawaii's biggest landowners. A major political donor to both parties, typically he'll give the NRSC $25,000 and a few grand to a handful of right-of-center Democrats, mostly his cousin, Ed Case.

Ed Case is widely viewed in Hawaii as the most opportunistic of all politicians. It's an overwhelmingly Democratic state, so he calls himself a Democrat. This weekend he's in the news because he found another office to run for. Neil Abercrombie, the progressive congressman from Honolulu, is giving up his seat to run for governor, and Case, who was once the reactionary congressman from the rest of Hawaii and gave up his seat to challenge, unsuccessfully, liberal Senator Dan Akaka, now wants Abercrombie's House seat. He says he has the relationships in DC. And if by "relationships," you mean an in with every corrupt lobbyist on K Street, he's correct. "I've been there. I've done it. Hawai'i needs good representation in Washington. I can use my seniority, experience and relationships there from day one and pick up and keep going. Nobody else has that experience mix." Hopefully a more progressive Democrat will step up and challenge Case. Abercrombie, who isn't a Case ally and supported Akaka, said the Democratic Party in his district has a very strong bench. He said, "whoever emerges from the primary, I'm sure I'm going to be in very strong support of no matter who he or she is. I will certainly work with whoever it is to effect President Obama's agenda and to be supportive of the delegation and work with the delegation as governor if I'm given that opportunity."

Case is the first of what could be several Democrats to step up to replace Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, for a rare open congressional seat. State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), Honolulu City Councilman Duke Bainum, and Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann have considered potential campaigns... Case's primary against Akaka upset many traditional Democrats, and the fractures within the party have not entirely healed.

Case would prefer to run for Senate and is said to check the newspaper every day when he wakes up to see if the 85 year old Senator Daniel Inouye died overnight. His campaign against Akaka in 2006 revolved around Akaka's vote against attacking Iraq. Case said that had he been in the Senate he would have supported Bush's proposal to start the war against Iraq. Case was a consistent aisle crosser on important matters while he served in the House and seemed more comfortable voting with Republicans than with Democrats. Although he had one of the worst attendance records of any member of Congress, he consistently supported the GOP on job-killing trade legislation and on special interests legislation like abolishing the estate tax for the super-rich, making it easier for banksters to rip off consumers, screwing over working families on pensions and GOP proposals to shift the tax burden to the middle class. He generally voted with the most reactionary Democrats when they joined the GOP to stifle reform and anyone who likes Chamber of Commerce pawns and Patriot Act-type Dems like Dan Boren and Jim Marshall will be perfectly happy with Ed Case-- especially if xenophobia and war-mongering and making sure that victims of big corporations have no recourse to the courts are your cup of tea to boot.

Short version: Case is exactly the wrong kind of Democrat we need in Congress-- and he has a record to prove it. If you live in California you can't not know of Howard Ahmanson, a religious right kook multimillionaire who's on an anti-gay jihad and gets lots of buildings named after himself. He's equally well known as a philanthropist and for funding Prop 8 and other reactionary Republican initiatives. Well, like Case, he's a Democrat now. He just jumped the fence. He seems to equate being a Democrat to buying a Prius. But he thinks Bush spent too much money but he defines himself as this kind of Democrat: "I like her [Sarah Palin], though I’ll have to confess that I like Bobby Jindal better. I’m now a blue-dog Democrat for Bobby Jindal for 2012." People like Ahmanson and Case should stick with the GOP where their ideas are appreciated.

Defeated Blue Dog Scum Looks To Make A Comeback In Hawaii

And if Inouye dies or goes to prison...

In July of 2007 we warned our Hawai'i readers to beware lest craven Blue Dog Ed Case, brother of the AOL huckster Steve Case who stole 6 billion dollars from Tim Warner, would use some of the stolen money to worm his way back into government. At the time Case, the Joe Lieberman of Hawai'i politics, who was thoroughly defeated when he primaried Senator Daniel Akaka, was eyeing the Senate seat currently held by the elderly-- and crooked-- political fixture Daniel Inouye. According to yesterday's Honolulu Advertiser, Case is asking his supporters what office he should run for next. He sent out a newsletter on Wednesday and said that although his ultimate goal is the U.S. Senate, he's learned his lesson about primarying party elders and won't go after Inouye.

That wouldn't stop him from turning against Hawaii's junior congresswoman, Mazie Hirono, the sterling progressive who replaced him. He could also decide to run for governor-- or to run for the Honolulu-based House seat that Neil Abercrombie would give up to run for governor. He just wants to run for something and claw his way back into power. Case was one of the worst Democrats in the House, a treacherous and slimy self-server from deep in the bowels of the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. The cockroaches are really crawling out of the woodwork now!

FAIR WARNING: REACTIONARY HAWAII DEMOCRAT WANTS BACK IN

Reactionary Ed Case examines Senator Daniel Akaka looking for signs of an early demise

I was so happy when two reactionary Democratic congressmen-- Harold Ford (TN) and Ed Case (HI)-- reached for the Senate and were both defeated. Not only was each out of government, each was replaced by a real Democrat, a progressive with the values and principles of the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. Memphis got Steve Cohen and all of Hawaii but the city of Honolulu replaced conservative and shifty Big Business shill Case with dedicated liberal Mazie Hirono. (Case's voting record was a disgrace and tended to be supportive of the worst aspects of the Bush-Cheney agenda. Mazie's picture perfect progressive voting record is tied for best in the House with Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and Keith Ellison (D-MN).

The brother cousin of predator and billionaire robber baron Steve (AOL), Ed Case is plotting a return to power. According to today's Honolulu Advertiser "Case has sent out federal fundraising letters to his supporters so he will have money available for another possible run for U.S. Senate... Akaka and U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye are both 82 and, other than Case, no one in the party has talked openly about a succession plan."

Case, the Joe Lieberman of Hawaii, would face a challenge for the Senate from Neil Abercrombie, the state's other congressman, like Mazie a dedicated progressive. But, unlike the vampiric Case, Abercrombie isn't speculating on the deaths of the two beloved Hawaii senior statesmen.

Mike McCartney, the party's chairman, said Case would be a viable candidate for Senate or governor. His campaign against Akaka caused some bitter feelings within the party but Case has a loyal following of Democrats, independents and some Republicans.

But McCartney said some Democrats might be uncomfortable that Case is raising money for a Senate campaign when Inouye plans to run again in 2010 and Akaka was just re-elected.

"It's a little presumptuous," McCartney said. "Something about it just doesn't feel right."