Primary Day In New York-- And Six Other States

Howie drags another unsuspecting congressional candidate, Jon Powers, to a raw food restaurant

There are a seven states with primaries today, although New York's is the only one worth reporting on. A gaggle of greasy Republicans are fighting amongst each other to take on Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes in New Hampshire but Carol and Paul are expected to beat back whichever clown is nominated by the reactionaries. The gubernatorial primary in Delaware takes on some meaning because whoever wins the Democratic nod is likely to be appointing a U.S. Senator after November.

In New York, however, there really are some hot races. In the Staten Island/Brooklyn district (NY-13), the Democratic Establishment has gotten behind pro-war, pro-corporate, conservative shill Michael McMahon from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party while grassroots Democrats back Steve Harrison. According to this morning's CQPolitics "Harrison held Fossella to the lowest take of his congressional career, 57 percent, in 2006 but with the scandal surrounding Fossella and the subsequent chance to pick up the seat, Democrats turned to McMahon for the general election. McMahon reported raising $717,000 and had $413,000 on hand through Aug. 20, according to his pre-primary report, while Harrison raised $201,000 and had $45,000 on hand by the same date. The Republican primary, meanwhile, has turned nasty. Two candidates are competing for the party nomination: former state Rep. Robert Straniere and Staten Island GOP Finance Chair Jamshad Wyne. The district encompasses all of Staten Island and the southern tip of Brooklyn and both county Republican parties have endorsed Straniere. But Wyne has boosted his candidacy with $325,000 in self-loans, which puts him far ahead of Straniere in fundraising. Wyne raised $334,000 and had $203,000 on hand through Aug. 20 while Straniere raised $15,000 and had $12,000 on hand by the same date. The local Conservative Party favors McMahon but the state party overruled their attempt to endorse him. Instead the Conservatives are running their own far right lunatic fringe candidate, depriving the GOP of their line-- and likely to help the Democrat in November.

Up in the suburban/exurban area between Buffalo and Rochester (NY-26) the DCCC insiders and the grassroots are on the same side-- both backing Jon Powers against an extremely nasty and deranged Republican billionaire running as a Democrat, Jack Davis. Davis has spent $3.6 million on his campaign and, according to CQPolitics has no support whatsoever from the Democratic Party and is simply running a "sabotage campaign against Powers... bleeding him dry,” something which may well help Davis' old friends in the GOP come November.

In the Albany district, where Mike McNulty is one of the few Democrats retiring from Congress this year, the field is crowded and the campaign hasn't yielded much heat or light. Soundpolitic over at TheAlbanyProject has the best analysis I've seen and has come to the conclusion that Phil Steck is the best candidate.

There is also an outside chance that Kevin Powell will beat corrupt reactionary Democratic hack Edolphus Towns in Brooklyn. CQPolitics: "It will be Towns’ second tough challenge in a row after winning the 2006 Democratic primary with less than 50 percent of the vote over two little-known Democratic challengers. Towns was criticized by party leadership for failing to vote with the party, including a vote in support of the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which passed 217-215 but was unpopular with many top Democrats. Towns is favored to survive the primary; he has raised more than 10 times more money than Powell ($1.2 million to $100,000) and had seven times more cash on hand ($417,000 to $57,000) by Aug. 20."

And speaking of New York, Ed Koch, a posterboy for Democrats who have gone over to the Dark Side, has taken leave of his Republican allies and endorsed Obama. He says Palin is too scary for mainstream Americans to support the McCain-Palin ticket.

I have concluded that the country is safer in the hands of Barack Obama, leader of the Democratic Party and protector of the philosophy of that party. Protecting and defending the U.S. means more than defending us from foreign attacks. It includes defending the public with respect to their civil rights, civil liberties and other needs, e.g., national health insurance, the right of abortion, the continuation of Social Security, gay rights, other rights of privacy, fair progressive taxation and a host of other needs and rights.

If the vice president were ever called on to lead the country, there is no question in my mind that the experience and demonstrated judgment of Joe Biden is superior to that of Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin is a plucky, exciting candidate, but when her record is examined, she fails miserably with respect to her views on the domestic issues that are so important to the people of the U.S., and to me. Frankly, it would scare me if she were to succeed John McCain in the presidency.

Patrick Murphy Is Looking For A Brother In Arms To Help Him End The War In Iraq

Last year Blue America helped elect Patrick Murphy to Congress. He's the first Iraq War vet to be elected to either House. Even if we haven't agreed with him on every issue that's come up, he's been golden on Iraq and has helped persuade wavering Democrats to support efforts to end the war. Today he was fighting a different kind of battle, blogging for Blue America-endorsed candidate Jon Powers over at Daily Kos. Patrick wants to see Jon in office for all the same reasons we do-- especially because he recognizes in Jon someone with proven leadership abilities.

In the Army, we have a saying: "Lead, follow, or get out of the way."

Jon proved himself on the battlefields of Iraq as a leader who won the respect, not only of those who served under him, but of his fellow Army officers as well.

His commanding officer praised Jon's "extraordinary management skills, leadership, and unmatched talent."

Jon is one battle buddy I need with me in Congress so together, we can lead the fight for the changes we need all across our great country.

...Jon Powers will fight to end business as usual in Washington so we can finally bring our troops home from Iraq, and bring our jobs home to America .

He will fight for energy independence and freedom from the special-interests down in Washington.

Jon Powers has assured me that his progressive values are real and are heartfelt and that he isn't going to get into Congress and turn into a Blue Dog or some other kind of tangential creature from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. His opponent in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, Jack Davis, switched parties and became a "Democrat" (of sorts) after he was personally slighted by Dick Cheney who was unwilling to bow and scrape when Davis dropped a bundle of cash on the GOP. He's the least qualified Democrat to run in a primary this year... anywhere. I wouldn't even wish him on Hoyer and Emanuel. If you want to give Jon Powers a hand, he can sure use it to stave off this multimillionaire self-funder. And here's the place.

Democratic Congressional Blow Out Shaping Up For The Northeast

Carney, the most reactionary Dem, is the only one likely to lose his seat

Professional Inside the Beltway prognosticators claim there could be 60 House seats in play in November. Considering how thoroughly gerrymandered the country is and how skewered towards incumbents the campaign finance system is, that's a huge number. Almost all of the seats in play are currently held by Republicans. This morning's NY Times looks hard at the 81 seats in the Northeast. Right now 60 are held by Democrats. But next January when the new Congress is sworn in there is a good chance there will be only a dozen Republicans standing there with 69 Democrats!

The Republicans are taking aim at two Democratic freshmen, Carol Shea-Porter in New Hampshire, who has done a fantastic job but who refuses to take corporate money and Chris Carney from the northeast corner of Pennsylvania, who has done a really awful job and is awash in corporate bribes. Carol's record speaks loudly but she can't afford a megaphone. Carney can buy all the time he wants but all he can claim is that he's a Republican calling himself a Democrat. He voted wrong all many of the issues that are most important to Democratic voters. Carney has raised $1,638,542 (less than the self-funding Republican millionaire loaned himself for the race). The self-funding Republican millionaire, Chris Hackett, has taken in over $2,000,000.

Aside from my old Pennsylvania district (just below Carney's), where a far right xenophobic maniac is taking on dull backbencher Paul Kanjorski, those are the only Democratic-held districts where incumbents are in any danger at all-- and New Hampshire has been trending Democratic.

[T]he unexpected retirements of five Republican congressmen, two from New Jersey and three from New York, have created prime opportunities for Democrats. The benefits of incumbency, including high visibility and access to federal money for their districts, had long protected these lawmakers in an increasingly Democratic region.

Perhaps no better example is Representative James T. Walsh, a 10-term Republican from New York who announced in January that he would retire when his term expired. Mr. Walsh has a key role over appropriations and is a fixture in his Syracuse-area district, making him a formidable candidate to challenge.

But with Mr. Walsh out of the way, Democrats appear to be in a strong position to pick up his seat, in part because of the fund-raising advantage held by Dan Maffei, the Democratic candidate. Mr. Maffei, who lost to Mr. Walsh by about 3,400 votes in 2006, has nearly $1 million in his campaign account, compared with nearly $110,000 raised by his Republican opponent, Dale Sweetland, a former county legislator.

In another sign of trouble for Republicans, there are two Congressional districts in which the party’s incumbents stand only an even chance of holding on their seats, according to analysts monitoring the races.

One is Connecticut’s Fourth Congressional District, where Mr. Shays, the Republican incumbent, has proved to be a nimble politician who has frustrated repeated attempts to defeat him.

Mr. Shays, the only House Republican in Connecticut to survive the 2006 elections, has survived largely by blurring any distinction between himself and Democrats in a district that has voted solidly Democratic in the last two presidential elections.

Now, he is being challenged by Jim Himes, a former Goldman Sachs executive. Mr. Himes has $1.4 million on hand, compared with $1.7 million for Mr. Shays, according to the latest campaign finance disclosure reports.

The other embattled Republican incumbent is Representative John R. Kuhl Jr. of New York’s 29th District, in the state’s Southern Tier. His Democratic opponent is Eric Massa, a former Navy officer and a former staff member of the House Armed Services Committee, whom Mr. Kuhl defeated two years ago with 52 percent of the vote. In a measure of the tightness of the race, Mr. Massa has $652,000 in his coffers, compared with nearly $619,000 for Mr. Kuhl.

Eric Massa, Jim Himes, Dan Maffei and Carol Shea-Porter are all Blue America candidates, as are Sam Bennett (in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley), Dennis Shulman in the northernmost New Jersey CD, and Jon Powers in a district between Buffalo and Rochester in western New York. Jon will be live blogging with us Saturday at Firedoglake (2pm, EST).

Best case scenario for the Northeast:

Of Maine's two House seats, Chellie Pingree picks up the seat Tom Allen is vacating to run for the Senate while Mike Michaud is re-elected. This is pretty much a lock.

New Hampshire also has two House seats, both held by progressive Democratic freshmen. Paul Hodes seems like a lock to win and Carol should pull through, despite the non-stop attacks from far right Republican front operations like Freedom's Watch dumping millions of dollars into her race. But if there is just one candidate you are donating to, please consider Carol.

Vermont has only one House seat and the freshman Democrat, Peter Welch, is a progressive and he has no Republican opponent.

Massachusetts has 10 seats, all head by Democrats, few facing any opposition at all and all 10 expected to ride easily to re-election. There was some worry about the one freshman, Niki Tsongas, because her race was so close last year, but no Republican is bothering to run.

Rhode Island has two House seats, each occupied by a veteran moderate Democrat, Patrick Kennedy and James Langevin, and each considered completely safe.

Next comes New York, where ll the action is. There are currently 29 House seats, 6 still held by Republicans. As mentioned in the Times story, three of those seats will probably go Democratic, the Staten Island seat, the seat being abandoned by Walsh, and the seat being defended by Bush rubber stamp Randy Kuhl. After the primary next month, Jon Powers is likely to emerge as the favorite to win the seat being abandoned by Tom Reynolds. That leaves the Republicans with the 23rd CD in the huge northeast corner of the state (John McHugh's seat), and the 3rd CD (Peter King's seat) and neither is facing serious opposition. King shouldn't get away so easily as the once-daunting GOP registration lead has dropped from 100,000 to 13,000... and shrinking. It is likely the Republicans will lose 4 of there 6 seats in November.

New Jersey has 13 House seats, 7 held by Democrats and 6 by Republicans. The most likely outcome of the general election is that Democrat John Adler will take the 3rd district from retiring Jim Saxton and Democrat Linda Stender will take NJ-07, which is being vacated by Mike Ferguson. To make it an even 10 for the Dems, we need to see Dennis Shulman beat far right reactionary Scott Garrett, New Jersey's most vulnerable-- and most extremist-- congressman. It will be a classic race between Good and Evil, one of the clearest anywhere in America. Big Business has been rushing in to fill Garrett's coffers (especially Insurance and real estate companies, whose interests he represents far more than his constituents'). As of June 30, Garrett had taken in $992,248 and Dennis had raised $585,483, almost entirely from small donors who are sick of Garrett's crazed fanaticism.


Pennsylvania has 19 House seats. Right now eleven are held by Democrats. The most likely scenario in November will be a wash-- with Carney losing to Hackett and Sam Bennett defeating Bush rubber stamp Charlie Dent in PA-15. Dent is sucking up massive amounts of corporate case ($1,213,285, as of June 30) by Sam is managing to stay within striking distance ($539,640). Demographic trends also favor Bob Roggio in PA-06, the seat Lois Murphy nearly took from Jim Gerlach in 2004 and 2006 51-49% races both years). Gerlach had raised $1,870,994 and Roggio was only up to $405,216, not enough.

Delaware has one House seat and chances are strong that Republican Mike Castle will retain it.

Maryland has 8 House seats, 6 already in Democratic hands. It is likely that Republican Roscoe Bartlett will manage to keep his seat again but MD-01 is an open seat where conservative Blue Dog Frank Kratovil faces off against far right extremist Andy Harris. This one looks like a toss-up so far but it doesn't matter much since either will be voting against the interests of working families. It's a battle between the corrupt reactionary Blue Dog faction and the corrupt reactionary Club for Growth faction, the very worst of each political party.

Stalinism Inside The DCCC-- Beware The Red To Blue Program

The DCCC's hopelessly corrupt and widely discredited Red to Blue Program, co-chaired by the ambitious and venal Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL), who is working vigorously for the re-election of far right Republican fanatics in South Florida, has declared for 45 candidates so far in this cycle. Very few grassroots donors give to this project but it is a veritable stamp of approval for wealthy and institutional Democrats who don't pay much attention. Savvy activists learned long ago that the DCCC is entirely untrustworthy and that many of their hand-picked candidates are the mirror image of brainwashed or brain-dead Republican rubber stamps and that, in fact, way too many support Republican principles and values.

Typically, the DCCC advises Democratic candidates to disguise their stances on controversial issues that separate the two parties. With ABC News reporting today that the lines are starting to blur between which party is pro-choice and which party is anti-choice, socially conservative candidates are meticulous in hiding their anti-choice and their homophobic manias from voters. There will always be one or two like Chris Carney (PA) who will actually lie about it when asked, but most just refuse to discuss it. Take a look at "courageous" Ohio Democrat John Boccieri tap dancing around these two issues.

Last year many of the Red to Blue candidates got into Congress and immediately started voting like Republicans-- but just on crucial issues like the war in Iraq, warrantless wiretaps, immigration reform, trade policies... If you don't pick and choose your own candidates and you instead just give blindly to DCCC Red to Blue candidates you will have donated to candidates who are social conservatives and who will oppose women's right to choice and not fight for equality for gay men and women (like, for example, current reactionary Democrats on this endorsement list Don Cravins, Paul Carmouche, Steve Driehaus, Bobby Bright, John Boccieri, and Kathy Dahlkemper, who are, essentially just like John McCain when it comes to social issues). Although they try keeping it on the down low, several on the Red to Blue list are pro-war and some are corporate-leaning shills. It's never about Democratic ideal, values, principles... it's always getting as many members willing to call themselves "Democrats," for whatever reason, into Congress. That's how Democrats wind up in the majority in the House and can't get anything accomplished.

There were 17 Democrats who voted more frequently with Republicans than with Democrats on the key substantive issues that divide the two parties. Of the 17, nine are freshmen. They are, from bad to worse, Don Cazayoux (LA), Zach Space (OH), Harry Mitchell (AZ), Travis Childers (MS), Chris Carney (PA), Heath Shuler (NC), Jason Altmire (PA), Brad Ellsworth (IN), Joe Donnelly (IN), and-- with a ProgressivePunch score of 28.91 out of 100, Nick Lampson (TX). Further, 2006 Red to Blue candidates Tim Mahoney (FL) and Gabby Giffords (AZ) voted with Republicans as much as they voted with Democrats on these substantive matters. Last year if you donated to the DCCC's Red to Blue program, you helped elect people who are determined to keep the war in Iraq going, who voted to allow warrantless wiretaps, and who were willing to rubber stamp Bush trade policies that throw American workers out of their jobs... and who actually applaud Nancy Pelosi's decision to take impeachment off the table. In fact, they are a big part of the reason why Nancy Pelosi did take impeachment off the table.

That said, quite a few Red to Blue candidates this year happen to be absolutely outstanding, such as Darcy Burner (D-WA), Vic Wulsin (D-OH), Joe Garcia (D-FL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Larry Kissell (D-NC), Tom Perriello (D-VA), Eric Massa (D-NY), Judy Feder (D-VA), Bob Lord (D-AZ), Linda Stender (D-NJ), Gary Trauner (D-WY), Mark Schauer (D-MI), Jim Himes (D-CT), Judy Baker (D-MO), Charlie Brown (D-CA), Ashwin Madia (D-MN), John Adler (D-NJ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Dan Maffei (D-NY), Dan Seals (D-IL), Jon Powers (D-NY).

But what I want to look at today isn't who is good and who is bad but at the candidates who have already been endorsed by the DCCC but who are still in the midst of hotly contested primaries: Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), Jon Powers (D-NY), Michael McMahon (D-NY), Ethan Berkowitz (D-AK), and Suzanne Kosmas (FL). The Chris Van Hollen first took over the chair of the DCCC from Stalinist Rahm Emanuel he promised-- in accord with democratic norms and Party rules-- to allow hotly contested primaries to play themselves out and not take sides the way Emanuel had done. Emanuel, you may recall, backed reactionary Establishment candidates in tough primaries against dozens of progressive and grassroots Democrats. In some cases his shills won and we wound up with pseudo-Democrats who vote with the GOP, like Tim Mahoney in Florida, or with a victorious Republican, like Vern Buchanan, who was able to beat a weak, vacillating me-too-Democratic who stood for nothing. In other cases the grassroots beat back Emanuel's anti-democratic strategy and that is why we now have progressives in Congress like John Hall (D-NY), Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH), and Jerry McNerney (D-CA). Van Hollen promised to not follow the Stalinist path Emanuel had lain out. But he has.

4 of the 5 endorsed candidates still contesting primaries are conservative, Establishment hacks fighting progressives. The DCCC's strategy of funneling money and the sense of inevitability into the candidacies of the conservatives makes it extremely difficult for the grassroots candidates to tap into traditional sources of Democratic funding. Even unions-- and not just notorious Democratic Party lap dogs like AFSCME-- often succumb to DCCC pressure to support candidates whose election is not in the best interest of progressive goals.

Recently I saw Ann Kirkpatrick speak at a Red to Blue event. My heart sank. With an outstanding, brilliant and articulate candidate like Howard Shanker in the race, the DCCC is backing a card board cutout of a candidate who stands for nothing whatsoever and is as inspiring as a potato. Better than the neo-fascist Republican running in AZ-01 (Sydney Hay)? Yes, but a C is always better than an F. What about going for an A+? Standing in front of an audience of Democrats Kirkpatrick was unable to make the case of why anyone should even bother to go out and vote. The Republican brand is so damaged in AZ-01, after the indictment of Congressman Rick Renzi, that it will be hard for the Democrats to lose the election. But if anyone can do it, it is Ann Kirkpatrick. The primary is on September 2.

Michael McMahon is so reactionary that his races for New York City Council have been endorsed by the Conservative Party-- which is to the right of the Republican Party. The Staten Island Conservative Party was about to endorse him for Congress-- they love his pro-war approach to Iraq-- when the state party jumped in and forced them to toe the line and endorse whichever Republican was the nominee that particular week. Steve Harrison is a far better choice and an actual progressive. It is unconscionable for the DCCC to try to swing the primary to someone who, of he is elected, will oppose Democratic Party positions for as long as he's in Congress. The primary is on September 9.

Similarly, in Florida's 24th CD Clint Curtis is the grassroots candidate; and the DCCC shill, Suzanne Kosmas, is just some rich person who promises to be easily led around by the nose. In Alaska Ethan Berkowitz is the Rahm Emanuel establishment candidate who is running against a grassroots independent-minded progressive, Diane Benson.

The one case where the DCCC did the right thing was in NY-26, where they added Jon Powers to their list in order to forestall another disaster with disgruntled and crazy ex-Republican Jack Davis-- who switched parties and vowed vengeance when Cheney refused to shake hands with him after he gave the GOP a pile of money. Davis is spending millions of his own dollars to try to buy the seat-- even bribing third party officials to try to guarantee himself a place on the ballot after Powers kicks his reactionary ass in the September 9 primary.

If you're in the mood for helping battle this DCCC Stalinism, please consider donating to Howard Shanker today. He can win his September 2nd primary if he has the resources he needs to get out his message. In fact, everyone who donates at least $30 to Howard's campaign today at the Blue America ActBlue page will get a free copy of the book 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Fight The Right.

New York Republicrat Jack Davis Accused Of Bribing Independence Party Officials To Get Their Election Line In November

It took Ted Stevens decades to get into the swing of accepting bribes from big companies in return for special legislative favors. Jack Davis isn't even waiting to get elected to get into the swing of things. In New York, Republican Jack Davis, may have switched parties in a fit of spoiled rage when Dick Cheney refused to meet with him, but his heart and soul-- or whatever right-wingers have instead of them-- are as Republican as Karl Rove's. Immediately after being thrown out of a Republican fundraiser-- he had donated $2,000-- Davis declared that he was a Democrat and, in revenge, ran for Congress against Tom Reynolds in 2004. Fined by the FEC for campaign irregularities, he poured $1.2 million of his own wealth into the race. He managed to get 44% of the vote and ran again in 2006 campaigning on a platform of hateful xenophobia. In that race he also managed to buy himself the nomination of the Independence Party (for a cool million dollars). And that brings us to why you're reading about Jack Davis today.

Apparently he decided to get himself the Independence Party nomination on the cheap this year. He's challenging Jon Powers for the Democratic nomination and Powers is expected to win handily against the very disliked Davis, regardless of all the money he's pumping into the race. His threat to run on the Independent line would give him the opportunity to wreak havoc on the electoral process in November. So, it appears, he set out to buy it again, although in a more direct way than last time. He's been surreptitiously paying off the wives of the Independence Party county chairmen. Like I said, the man changed his party registration but he's still a Republican at heart.

According to today's Buffalo News Davis has been bribing Independence Party officials through their wives.

Democratic congressional hopeful Jack Davis paid $5,000 each to the wives of the Monroe and Erie county party chairmen. Davis paid $5,000 to the wife of Monroe County Independence Chairman Rafael Colon (using her maiden name of Blanca Semidey) and $5,000 to a new corporation based in Florida and headed by Judith Orsini, wife of Erie County Independence Chairman Tony Orsini.

Davis and Orsini said the payments were for legitimate "consulting services."

After the story ran, Monroe's Independence leaders tried for eight days to track down Colon. According to interim Chairman Walter Schiemann, when Colon finally did acknowledge their calls, the leaders demanded his resignation for taking a "bribe."

"It's definitely a bribe-- absolutely," he told The News in a story published Tuesday.

Jon Powers is going to need all the help he can get to fight off this free-spending Republican disguised as a Democrat. He has been busy putting up fake Rovian web sites to slander Powers. Please consider donating to his campaign-- right here on our Blue America ActBlue page.

UPDATE:

END OF THE QUARTER-- ONLY GIVE TO ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT PROGRESSIVES, NO DCCC-BACKED CANDIDATES TODAY

Today is the "last day of the quarter," a bogus and arbitrary milepost set up by sometimes unwitting but always dedicated enemies of democracy, the DCCC, DSCC, NRSC, NRCC, etc. It's their very successful method of ginning up cascades of grassroots donations for the pernicious little insider game of politician career advancement, and they use it to drive candidates-- even more than donors-- crazy. In the last week I've had over 100 urgent e-mails and far too many expensive, money-wasting snail mail pleas for donations. And the frequency is accelerating today. Even Blue Dogs, to whom I have explained that I don't donate to Republicans or Blue Dogs, have been sending their entreaties.

To date, Blue America has collected nearly $1.3 million for progressive candidates and causes, none of it for the DCCC, DSCC, NRSC or NRCC, all of which are anti-progressive and, to varying degrees, outright reactionary, the latter two in all ways and the former two at the minimum process-wise. The DCCC is especially interested in Blue America's assistance with raising money for the candidates who are progressive enough to be on our candidate list and who wear the Democratic Party label. That isn't what we plan to do today.

Instead, I want to urge DWT readers to donate to Democratic Party candidates the DCCC fears and wishes would go away.

First and foremost there is state Senator Regina Thomas who is on the front lines battling against a reactionary Democratic shill, Rep. John Barrow in GA-12. Their primary is July 15, and it is a long-shot attempt by a grassroots progressive to oust a conservative, corporate yes man. Barrow is loaded with loot from lobbyists and from the corporate special interests-- like the telecom corporations-- who he supports instead of his own constituents. Regina doesn't have one cent to spend other than what has been raised for her through the grassroots and netroots. She has won her state legislative seats by grassroots campaigning. Inside the Beltway, it is believed she has no chance because she refuses to spend her time and energy begging for money from interest groups and wealthy donors. They're probably right. It's the fundamental tragedy of our political system. Last month she had nothing. This week she has over $40,000 (average donation around $25).

There are four other primaries looming that pit progressive grassroots candidates against insider hacks. Howard Shanker and Alan Grayson are two phenomenally good candidates in Arizona and Florida battling against the odds to beat Establishment-backed conservatives. The DCCC has already violated its own rules by pushing a hapless and clueless state legislator in Arizona against the independent-minded Shanker. In the Orlando race, Grayson is up against a worthless conservative who has far more in common with Republicans than with Democrats. Even the DCCC sees that and has avoided endorsing in that race. Jon Powers is a progressive Iraq War vet campaigning for an open GOP seat in the suburbs between Buffalo and Rochester, against a self-funding millionaire who stands for nothing except a personal desire to have the title "Rep" in front of his name and against a former attorney for the Love Canal (who gave campaign contributions to the Republican Jon has frightened out of running again).

Finally, in Memphis the reactionary forces of former Rep. Harold Ford, now president of the Republican wing of the Democratic Party (the DLC), are trying for a comeback against exemplary Congressman Steve Cohen. Steve is a freshman who has proven himself to be a relentless fighter on behalf of regular folks against Big Business. The Ford allies are using Nikki Tinker as their cat's paw to win back the district, and Tinker is backed by several insider organizations with heavy financing. Steve has earned our trust and deserves our backing.

Times are tough and will probably get tougher. But if you can afford to donate today, please consider these five progressives in tough primary battles against the forces of reaction: Regina Thomas in Georgia, Howard Shanker in Arizona, Alan Grayson in Florida, Jon Powers in upstate New York, and Steve Cohen in Tennessee. Here's the place you can make your contribution. When times do get tougher, these are the people we need in Congress, not more insiders blindly and relentlessly serving the interests of insiders.


DCCC DOES SOMETHING RIGHT

They're running some ads in 13 districts where the Republican incumbents have been bought out by Big Oil and have voted for Big Oil's agenda straight down the line. Although some of the challengers are typical DCCC schnooks, they are also going after some awful Republicans being challenged by great progressives like Vic Wulsin (OH-02), Larry Kissell (NC-08), Sam Bennett (PA-10), Dr. Steve Porter (PA-03), Dennis Shulman (NJ-05), and Tom Perriello (VA-05). The ad is fairly mediocre, but I'm sure some Inside the Beltway consultants think it will help, and they may well be right. You can hear it at the link above.

BUSH AND 144 HOUSE REPUBLICANS OPPOSE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE EXTENSION-- BATTLE MOVES TO THE SENATE WHERE McCAIN WILL SHOW HIS LEADERSHIP ABILITIES

The answer was "no"-- for Bush and whole GOP

Yesterday I got a chance to visit with Jon Powers, the Blue America-endorsed progressive running in an open seat in western New York. He was in town visiting friends and I stopped by to see him. So did a roomful of Iraq war vets-- each and every one a strong Democrat, strong patriot, and among the best of what comes out of our country. I felt humbled to hang out with these guys.

While I was meeting with Jon and his friends, the House voted overwhelmingly (279-144) to pass the Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008 (H R 5749). Someone had asked Jon what the top issue is in his district  (NY-26, which stretched from North Tonawanda and the Buffalo suburbs east to Greece and the Rochester suburbs and south to Wyoming and Livingston counties). His answer was direct: "Jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs." I asked him about the high price of gas and he said that's part of "jobs." Republican incumbent Tom Reynolds, who Jon frightened into announcing he wouldn't seek re-election, voted with the 144 anti-working families Republicans against the bill. Only 49 Republicans abandoned their extremist party leaders to vote with working Americans. Even the worst of the Democrats-- creeps like Shuler, Barrow, Boren, Marshall, Bean-- voted for the bill. Most of the Republicans who crossed the aisle aren't exactly friends of working folks; they are just scared witless about an electoral tsunami headed their way.

Larry Joe Doherty is running against a congressman too out of touch even to be scared witless-- Michael McCaul in Texas. McCaul married into one of Texas' super-rich families and, like Bush, is clueless when it comes to the problems American families are going through today. We asked Larry Joe, who has been endorsed by Blue America, if McCaul's vote yesterday would be an issue in the campaign.

"With rising gas and food prices, even a brief period without work can devastate a family's finances. So what does Mike McCaul do? He kicks families while they're down. But what's worse is that he helped put the economy in this state by voting to spend billions on a misguided war while ignoring economic needs here at home and supporting policies that ship American jobs overseas.  Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice, and we're sending you home."

Northern Virginia is a world a way from the Austin and the Houston suburbs but Judy Feder, the Democratic nominee for the seat now held by out of touch Frank Wolf, had much the same reaction. "The decision by Congressman Wolf to continue to support the failed economic policies of the Bush administration is particularly damaging at a time when many of Virginia's families are faced with concerns about financial and economic stability," Judy told us this morning. "Defending the status quo over the needs of Virgnia's hardworking families is just not acceptable-- they deserve better."

Among the hard core right-wingers who gave the finger to working men and women and signaled that they won't, under any circumstances, be available to help the victims of The Bush Economic Miracle were:

Steve Pearce (NM)
Michele Bachmnan (MN)
Scott Garrett (NJ)
Thelma Drake (VA)
Michael McCaul (TX)
Ken Calvert (CA)
Frank Wolf (VA)
Peter King (NY)
David Dreier (CA)
Dana Rohrabacher (CA)
Two Families Values Fossella (NY)
Mark Kirk (IL)
John Shadegg (AZ)
John Kline (MN)
Mike Pence (IN)
Jerry Lewis (CA)
Marilyn Musgrave (CO)
Virginia Foxx (NC)

Seeing Foxx's name made me double check where little Miss Patty McHenry was. I had a good laugh thinking about how the loud mouthed closet queen once bragged how he would teach his GOP colleagues by example how a true right-winger should vote and how he would never waiver from the dark path. All it took was a strong opponent jumping into the November race and McHenry scurried across the aisle with his tail between his legs to squeak out a "yes," with the Democrats, who I'm sure were as amused as I was.

Despite an out of control unemployment rate (officially 5.5% but, when you include discouraged workers who have given up looking or can't afford the gas to go look, closer to 15%) Bush has vowed to veto the bill if it gets by obstructionist tactics by McConnell and McCain in the Senate. And the House was 3 votes short of a veto-proof majority.

One place the Democrats will not be able to look for one of the 3 votes needed to override Bush's promised veto is New Jersey 's most radical right ideologue, Scott Garrett. New Jersey voters have an opportunity to take him out with the trash in November and replace him with one of the most extraordinary people running for Congress this year, Dennis Shulman. We called Dennis and asked him what he makes of such a crazy and uncaring vote from a congressman representing such a mainstream and moderate suburban New Jersey district. "Scott Garrett's vote is yet another indication that he is out of touch with the economic crisis facing North Jersey and this nation.  Perhaps Garrett's twenty years as a career politician supported by the special interests gives him a false sense of job security, but his constituents know that we are in an economic crisis and that we shouldn't blame families just because the Bush-Garrett economy is failing."

I spoke with quite a few candidates about the vote last night. My favorite off the cuff remark was from Alan Grayson in Orlando. The Republican incumbent in his district, Ric Keller, a notorious rubber stamp, voted against unemployment benfits and Alan said, "Keller will wish that he'd voted for it when he's unemployed, on Nov. 5th." Please consider $5 donations for Alan, as well as for Dennis Shulman, Judy Feder, Jon Powers and Larry Joe Doherty, all easily accessible on the Blue America ActBlue page. It's our government. Let's not let special interests buy it up; we've seen the results of that.

MIRROR IMAGE CONGRESSIONAL RACES MAKE BUFFALO SUBURBS AND SOUTHEAST ALABAMA WORRISOME FOR THE GOP

Gen. Wes Clark endorses Jon Powers, likely next congressman from NY-26

Upstate New York, like the rest of the Northeast, is becoming less and less amenable to the blandishment of politicians selling the Republican line. Traditional Republican districts have been turning hostile to the party as it has turned more radical, more ideological and identifies itself with religious snakehandlers and fear-mongering Crusaders while ignoring-- or even acerbating-- the basic problems that most plague regular people. In 2006 the GOP went into the election with no House members from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont or Maine-- and no hopes for capturing seats in any of those states. Instead Republican incumbents lost both the New Hampshire congressional districts to Democratic challengers and two out of the three congressional districts they held in Connecticut, with the third holding on by a thread and likely to go blue in 2008. New York, already trending overwhelmingly Democratic, gave the boot to two upstate Republican incumbents-- trading in Kelly and Sweeney for Hall and Gillibrand-- and filled an empty GOP seat with Mike Arcuri, a Democrat. Last year's a close calls for Randy Kuhl, Tom Reynolds, and James Walsh caused two of the three to opt for retirement rather than face likely defeat in November. The third, Kuhl, is unlikely to win again. Pennsylvania Republicans saw Democrats pick off a powerful U.S. Senator (a member of the party's leadership team) in a landslide, as well as four GOP House incumbents. Democrats could well turn two more red districts blue in November. New Jersey Republicans held on in '06 but two were shaken up badly enough to announce retirement. After November the GOP in New Jersey is likely to go from 6 GOP House seats to 2 or 3.

The Old Confederacy is now the Republican heartland and Alabama is a state the GOP counts on. Of the 7 House seats, 5 are solidly red, one of the Democrats is in an African-American district and the other, Bud Cramer, is so conservative and votes so frequently with the GOP on substantive matters, that Republicans don't even bother running anyone against him. This year Cramer is retiring as is Republican Terry Everett. But instead of this being an opportunity for the GOP to pick up Cramer's seat (which Democrats are likely to hold), it has turned into a chance for Democrats to pick up Everett's seat! Republicans have no candidate-- just a raucous gaggle of hopefuls, while the Democrats have united behind Bobby Bright, the popular mayor of Montgomery, the 2nd CD’s major population center.

Now, back to upstate New York. Last week we reported on the sudden retirement announcement by Bush rubber stamp Thomas Reynolds from the mostly suburban district connecting Buffalo to Rochester. Common wisdom immediately proclaimed that state Senator George Maziarz would probably be the only Republican who could beat Iraq War veteran Jon Powers, the likely Democratic nominee. But like so many first and second tier candidates the GOP has asked to run in November, Maziarz passed, fully cognizant that January, 2009 is not going to be a time when many Republican freshmen get sworn in.

Immediately after Maziarz turned them down, local Republicans turned to Niagara County's GOP chairman Henry Wojtaszek but he also demurred, although Wheatfield Supervisor Timothy Demler is jumping up and down waving his hands over his head wildly. The only other remotely legitimate candidate-- one the RNCC is begging to run-- is a right wing extremist in the State Assembly, Jim Hayes of Amherst. State Senate leaders had been begging Hayes to run for the seat of retiring state Senator Mary Lou Rath and he was too chicken to do that. [UPDATE: Hayes just bowed out too, as did Don Postles, a local TV anchorman the Republicans offered the slot to; he's not a Republican but he says he was flattered by the offer. And the Niagara Gazette is reporting that Demler, who unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor in 2006, became the fourth Republican to decide against running for the seat in recent days.]

If he doesn't run, the Republicans may have to turn to a Conservative Party leader, Anthony Baynes, who said he would run if Republican leaders gave him their party line and cleared the field. "If I have no primary, I'll run," he said. There's also a restaurateur with a familiar name, Nick Sinatra and a lawyer whose only qualification seems to be his name, something that could confuse voters-- Michael Powers.


UPDATE: GOP CEDING JAMES WALSH'S SEAT TO DAN MAFFEI WITHOUT A FIGHT?

Dan is so obviously going to be the next congressman from NY-25 (Syracuse) that the incumbent wingnut announced he was retiring. His hand-picked replacement, Peter Cappuccilli, just withdrew, leaving the GOP with no choice (again) except to allow a self-funding vanity candidate to run-- and, so far, they can't even come up with one of those!

YES, ANOTHER ONE! TOM REYNOLDS RETIRING FROM CONGRESS

Tom Reynolds was at the pinnacle of the House GOP hierarchy in 2005. He was their Rahm Emanuel. He was even able to persuade Mark Foley (R-FL) not to resign, even though they both knew it was just a matter of time before it all came out that Foley was molesting young boys. Reynolds told him he had to hang in there for the good of the party. Oops! It was for the good of the other party! And that kind of sealed Reynolds' fate. Even against a self-financing vanity candidate, Jack Davis, he barely managed 52% of the vote-- in a district where Bush had taken 55% two years earlier. This year, facing an energetic, accomplished and charismatic young Iraq War vet, Jon Powers, Reynolds realized he didn't have a chance.

His rubber stamp voting record might play well in parts of suburban Texas or Tennessee, but not suburban New York. Take Iraq, for example. Reynolds participated in 61 roll call votes involving the war. Starting with the 4 bills authorizing the use of force, Reynolds has never once seen fit to question the Bush-Cheney agenda. There aren't that may rubber stamps as pure as Tom Reynolds. He's 61 for 61, the most disgraceful record of abdication of responsibility of any congressman in the Northeast United States! And across the board you simply can't find an issue where his record is in synch with the moderate nature of his western New York district.

If the Foley scandal didn't get him in 2006, the systematic theft of around a million dollars from the NRCC-- which he headed-- probably wasn't going to help in November. Fiscal responsibility begins at home.

Let me recommend you read the live blog session with Jon Powers at FDL last July. I think you'll get a better idea why Tom Reynolds hoisted the white flag and ran for his life than you will from the official press statement he makes. And if you'd like to help Jon out against whichever hack the GOP decides to start fresh with, the Blue America page is open.

And this little clip of Queen's classic song is the Tom Reynolds edition:




UPDATE: REYNOLDS' STORY IS THE STORY OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

Today's Washington Post recounts the sad public career of an ambitious rubber stamp who dreamed he would be the next Speaker after Hastert.

Reynolds' impending departure means that five of the six elected Republican leaders from the start of the 109th Congress are now gone or going -- Hastert, DeLay, Reynolds and retiring Reps. Deborah Pryce (Ohio) and John Doolittle (Calif.). Only Blunt is still around, and all five of those seats have either flipped or are in danger of doing so; DeLay's seat went Democratic in 2006, Democrats captured Hastert's seat in a special election earlier this month and Reynolds' and Pryce's districts are high on Democratic target lists. Doolittle's seat looks relatively safe for the GOP, but only because the scandal-tarred incumbent is retiring.

So given the circumstances in both Washington and New York, Reynolds' announcement today is not surprising. Republicans have a long road ahead before they can hope to regain power, and even many of the most senior and previously powerful members of the party are no longer interested in going along for the ride.

UPDATE: GOP BETTER OFF WITHOUT REYNOLDS?

According to Larry Sabato, Reynolds isn't "the strongest Republican for that district. They may be able to hold that district better with him gone, oddly enough." Reynolds, during his retirement announcement yesterday, says he is certain he could win if he wanted to.

He said that as a politician, he expected opponents to throw “a little bric and brac” about scandals “versus talking about the issues,” but added that he didn’t think those controversies would have affected his re-election campaign.

“Even in the worst political environment in a generation, the voters of this community returned me to office for a fifth term,” said Reynolds of his 2006 campaign, “which leaves me no doubt that had I broken with tradition and sought another term, I would have succeeded.” The tradition to which 57-year-old Reynolds referred was his own track record of never staying in an office for more than 10 years during a career that began in 1974 with his election to the Concord town council and later took him to the Erie County legislature, the state Assembly and Congress.

...The vagaries of the newly open-seat race raise the importance of candidate recruiting efforts by Republican officials. State Sen. George Maziarz was widely mentioned Thursday as a top contender for the Republican nomination, but it is not certain at this early point that he will run.

...The Democrats, meanwhile, face a likely primary that party officials expect to produce a nominee well-suited to make a run at capturing the seat. Iraq war veteran Jon Powers, a substitute teacher, has entered the race and sewn up the endorsement of five of the seven county Democratic committees. Also definitely running is Buffalo lawyer [Republican-lite] Alice Kryzan.

Former nominee [vanity candidate] Davis also is mulling this race and has promised to use $3 million of his own money-- if he decides to run.

Davis’ losses to Reynolds in 2004 and 2006 have caused some Democrats to question whether he should step aside to let a new candidate try the race. In a recent interview, Davis said he knew some people opposed his candidacy. “There’s people who think that somebody who’s a 75-year-old guy is too old to do it, but I don’t. I have a passion in my belly for the working-class people and I think I can represent them better than a young guy like Powers,” he said.

When asked whether his ability to self-fund his campaign created an uneven playing field for the Democratic primary, Davis responded: “Let’s see, it’s unfair to work hard and make money and to spend it for a good cause? ... If [Powers] worked hard like I did, then he would have money. He’s never had a real job.”

Powers struck back against that characterization. “I’ll challenge anyone that thinks that our soldiers don’t have real jobs. ... If you don’t think that teaching and being a soldier is a real job, then I think we’ve got some concerns."

ERIC MASSA, JON POWERS, DAN MAFFEI TO EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUPPORTING OUR VETS AND SUPPORTING GOP DEFENSE CONTRACTORS

Two military veterans: Eric Massa and Wes Clark

Eric Massa is one of the architects of the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, which has been worked on and endorsed by many of the other Blue America candidates-- Darcy Burner, Donna Edwards, Sam Bennett, Alan Grayson, Dennis Shulman, and Leslie Byrne. The Plan, which points out the flaws (and dire consequences) of the Bush Regime's Iraq agenda, has a carefully laid out roadmap-- sorry Condi; we know you're not using the term anyway these days-- to actually solve the situation we find ourselves in and not just drift along the way Dick Cheney, John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and the rest of the rubber stamps-- too frequently on both sides of the aisle-- advocate. "Stay the course" is not the answer and the Democratic congressional leadership is paralyzed by a caucus made rotten and ineffectual by too many Blue Dogs, too many Bush Dogs and way too much influence by the insidious and toxic DLC.

The Plan Darcy and Eric worked out with high ranking military generals and national security experts is, not unexpectedly, already being attacked by the far right. "This so-called plan is nothing more than the same liberal talking points we have been hearing for the last year," said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ken Spain. "Clearly, their plan is to be nothing more than a rubber stamp for Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat-led Congress."

Sounds like the bankrupt NRCC is not just out of money, but even out of ideas and... vocabulary. But, only if it were true that Pelosi and the Democratic leadership would sign on to these ideas and get behind them with the same energy that our candidates are infusing into the initiative! But don't look for closet war supporters like Rahm Emanuel and Steny Hoyer to get behind this before 20 more shills like Al Wynn are removed from the Democratic caucus and replaced with progressives like Donna Edwards.

Now, back to Eric Massa. Tomorrow morning Eric and two more Blue America candidates, Dan Maffei and Jon Powers are getting together at the Rochester Veterans Outreach Center (at 459 South Ave.). The 3 progressive anti-occupation candidates have contiguous districts which, more or less, meet in metro-Rochester. Massa:

Since the war in Iraq began on March 19th, 2003, 3,990 American troops have been killed, tens of thousands have been injured and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died. While President Bush and Randy Kuhl continue to block health care for working Americans, deny us the truth of our economic situation, and create more hurdles for Veterans requiring services, they have no problem spending $3 trillion on a war of choice against a country that had no involvement in the 9/11 attacks.

"Those of us that wore the uniform honor our men and women who stood with us," said retired Navy Commander Eric Massa. "Today I call on Randy Kuhl to finally stand up to George W. Bush's failed foreign policy. Since he came into office, Mr. Kuhl has gone out of his way to rubber stamp President Bush's each and every demand for Iraq. We are currently spending almost $6,000 per second in Baghdad while thousands of children right here in Western New York cannot receive access to health care. Additionally, our returning Veterans continue to encounter more and more red tape while trying to receive the long-term care they have earned. This is the hypocrisy of incumbency and we must hold our failed leaders accountable."

Yesterday we pointed out how pro-war Republicans-- in yesterday's case, James Inhofe (R-OK)-- may love war and love "generous" defense contractors, but have zero regard for the welfare of our military personnel in the field and zero regard for our veterans who have returned home, and, in too many cases, zero regard for our country's national security. In Oklahoma Andrew Rice is taking Inhofe to task head on over his disgraceful record of letting our veterans and fighting men and women down. Eric Massa, Jon Powers and Dan Maffei are doing the same thing in upstate New York. Randy Kuhl's rubber stamp record is nearly as atrocious as James Inhofe's. Since getting into Congress there have been 13 roll calls directly involving the well being of American military personnel. On all but one-- the most recent one as the election approaches-- Kuhl has voted against our servicemen and women and for the narrow partisan Bush-Cheney agenda. Similarly, when it comes to our nation's military veterans, Kuhl's disgraceful voting record has been an absolute disaster. Of the 19 roll calls regarding veterans, Kuhl has voted against them 18 times.

Army Captain (ret.) Jon Powers is facing the same kind of pro-war/anti-troops/anti-vets Republican, Tom Reynolds (R-NY). There have been 22 roll calls regarding the well being of our military personnel since June, 2003. Reynolds didn't even bother coming in to vote on 6 of them and of the other 16, he voted against our servicemen and women 15 times! And he's been just about as anti-veteran as Kuhl and Inhofe-- 24 roll calls on veteran matters with half a dozen no-shows and 17 votes against vets. You want to support veterans and American military personnel? Think about supporting Eric Massa, Jon Powers, Dan Maffei and Andrew Rice at the Blue America page.


UPDATE FROM ROCHESTER

This morning Eric Massa (NY-29) joined with fellow congressional candidates Dan Maffei (NY-25) and Iraq Veteran Jon Powers (NY-26) for a major press conference at the Rochester Veterans Outreach Center. On this five year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, the message was clear: It is time for a new direction and new leadership.
 
Eric, a distinguished retired Navy Commander: "I've been talking for three years about the importance of learning from the lessons of Bosnia. During that conflict, we went in and stopped a three way ethnic civil war, and that is the exact same situation we face today. The Bush administration and their rubber stamps in Congress have failed the American public by starting a war without a plan for victory. They then failed our returning Veterans by slashing funds for Veteran services. Today, on this five year anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, we call on President Bush and Randy Kuhl to listen to the families of Western New York and change course. It is time for new ideas and a new direction."

WHAT DO TOM REYNOLDS, CHARLIE DENT AND DAVE REICHERT HAVE IN COMMON?

Well, several things actually. All three represent moderate suburban congressional districts and all three make concerted efforts to pass themselves off as moderates. But all three have a similar problem-- voting records don't lie and Tom Reynolds (R-NY), Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Charlie Dent (R-PA) all have extreme right-wing voting records, not moderate voting records. Each one has been a classic rubber stamp for all of the Bush-Cheney agenda, domestically and internationally. Let's look at each of their records on Iraq, for example. Each claims he's a moderate.

Charlie Dent voted 30 times on legislation relating to the Iraq war. Would you like to guess how many times he voted against Bush and Cheney? If you guessed zero, give yourself a pat on the back. Charlie Dent, despite representing a moderate, reasonable district (Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley), rubber stamped every single hideous proposal Bush and Cheney made regarding Iraq. Of course Dent's blind support for Bush goes way beyond Iraq. Whenever Bush needs a reliable lap dog, he knows Charlie's number. Dent is always stingy when it comes to giving a helping hand to ordinary Americans, but when it comes to subsidies for Big Corporations, Charlie Dent is the king of welfare. Since getting into Congress he's voted, for example, on 10 pieces of legislation involving corporate subsidies for big oil and gas-- and, again, he backed the Bush position (lots of taxpayers' dollars transferred to Big Oil) every single time.

Dave Reichert was apparently cut from the same mold as Dent. His moderate suburban district east of Seattle wants to see the occupation of Iraq ended. Reichert had had 30 opportunities since getting into Congress to express that for them. He didn't; not once. He voted the Bush-Cheney line 30 times out of 30 roll calls. He tells the media he's a moderate and the media duly repeats it without ever checking to see how he actually votes. And, like Dent, it goes beyond Iraq. Let's look at the question  of choice. The residents of WA-08, like most Americans, support privacy and are what you would call pro-choice. Their congressman isn't. He doesn't believe in privacy or in women making their own health choices. There have been 6 roll call votes regarding choice since Reichert has gotten into Congress and 6 times he voted with the extreme right against choice.

And Tom Reynolds? Want t guess? He's been in Congress longer than Reichert and Dent so he had more opportunities to vote on Iraq. In fact, he voted 61 times on Iraq war matters and, as you can probably guess, he voted with Bush and Cheney all 61 times. Reynolds-- like Reichert and Dent-- have been far more dedicated rubber stamps than the average Republican. And on choice? Reynolds voted against choice every time he had the chance-- and he had 25 chances. A moderate? No, a radical, like the other two. But the similarities don't stop there.

Today, each of these assclowns endorsed another fake moderate, John McCain. Dent and Reichert had been Giuliani supporters. Reynolds, being from New York knew better than to support Giuliani but he has been waiting to see who would win before throwing his lighter-than-a-feature weight behind him. Since all claim, despite their voting records, that they agree with their constituents on ending the war in Iraq, I was wondering if anyone would ask them if their support for McCain extends to his notion of another 100 years in Iraq. Or is there another part of the McCain agenda-- basically the Bush agenda without Bush-- that they admire?

Oh, and one more thing about the three stooges. Each one has an outstanding progressive opponent who has been endorsed by Blue America (see pictures above). Please consider supporting our three candidates against these 3 horsemen of the apocalypse as a way of showing you don't think electing McCain, and congressmen who agree with him, would be a good idea. A $5 donation to each of the three outstanding candidates-- Darcy Burner (WA-08), Sam Bennett (PA-10) and Jon Powers (NY-26)-- would be very much appreciated. You can do it right here-- and we're open 24/7.


UPDATE: WORST OF ALL-- DAVID DREIER

Having headed up Republican closet queens for Rudy, California gay congressman David Dreier also switched his allegiance to McCain today. The difference between Dreier and the other 3 is that he doesn't even make the attempt to call himself a moderate. Like the 3 other clowns, he's congressman from a moderate suburban district, but his voting record is even further right than any of them, one of the most radical right in the Congress. Of course, like them, he has been the perfect 100% rubber stamp on Iraq. But what it comes to choice, corporate subsidies, taxation... the entire Bush-McCain agenda, Dreier is always on the wrong side-- ALWAYS. He also has an outstanding Blue America backed opponent in Russ Warner, so when you're putting in those $5 donations for Darcy, Sam and Jon, don't forget Russ.

CLEANING UP LEFTOVER WINGNUTS IN UPSTATE NEW YORK-- BLUE AMERICA WELCOMES BACK ERIC MASSA, DAN MAFFEI AND JON POWERS

In 2002, when the Republicans looked at Rochester, New York's third largest city-- with a population of around 200,000-- they were eager to make sure it's Democratic propensities stayed within its own boundaries and didn't effect the rest of mostly suburban Monroe County (whose population at the time was around 750,000), let alone the Greater Rochester Metropolitan Area, which also includes parts of Genesee, Livingston, Ontario, Orleans and Wayne counties. The area is outrageously gerrymandered (NY-28), to connect downtown Rochester to downtown Buffalo in a snake-looking district that manages to encompass almost every person of color in Western New York. It's overwhelming Democratic (Bush managed to get 35% and 36% of the vote here) and it left the area with 3 sure GOP districts, the 25th, 26th and 29th. Today's we're here to talk with the three progressive Democrats who are hoisting the Republican plan on its own petard. After November there will be no Republican districts left in Western New York.

You don't want to be Tom Cole, the hapless chairman of the RNCC-- and not just because of the goofy expression he can never wipe off this face. Cole brazenly promised to help New York State Republicans reclaim the three upstate districts the GOP lost in 2006. (Pennsylvania provided 4 freshmen to NY's 3 but two of the Pennsylvanian's-- Carney and Altmire-- frequently vote with the GOP on substantive matters, so I'm still giving New York the cake, where all 3-- John Hall, Mike Arcuri and Kirsten Gillibrand-- have been loyal Democrats.) Anyway, Cole took off like a bat out of hell after the 3 New York districts. Now he's trying to sell the candidate slots to high bidding self-funders and whining to the press that the near bankruptcy he's brought the NRCC to make "it more difficult to have offensive opportunities when you have to defend what you have.” In other words, John, Mike and Kirsten won't have to worry about NRCC money coming into the district just whatever the local wingnuts manage to scrape together in desperation for some fifth tier "candidate."

Instead, the NRCC will be deciding if they will try to save Randy Kuhl or Tom Reynolds, James Walsh already having raised the white flag in despair and marched off the battlefield. In barely matters what the NRCC does at this point. Their incumbents are tied to the hated Bush-Cheney policies they both assiduously rubber-stamped and each faces an outstanding challenger.

In fact, all three of these men have already been guests at Blue America and I urge you to go through our latest discussions with them (at the links on their names) before they join us for a live discussion at Firedoglake today (2 PM, est) for a little catch-up. Now the odd-on favorite to win the 25th, east of Rochester, is Dan Maffei who came within 4,000 votes of winning on his first try against the now departed Walsh. Eric Massa was a Blue America fave in 2006 and he came 6,000 votes shy; he's way better known now than he was then-- and many voters in the district see he's been correct on everything he said in the 2006 campaign. Jon Powers didn't run in 2006. Having come back from running a sector of Baghdad as a U.S. Army captain, he was busy running War Kids Relief in Washington at the time. But he's home in the Buffalo suburbs now and will likely finish off what local Democrats started 2 years ago when they came within about 7,000 votes of knocking off Tom Reynolds, then the Foley-tainted head of the NRCC.

You can help Eric Massa, Dan Maffei and Jon Powers at our Blue America page. And keep in mind that these three districts are all significantly reached by the relatively inexpensive Rochester media market (more petard hoist), so think about also making a donation to our PAC today, which will allow us to do some independent expenditures on three of our favorite candidates (for the price of one). And while you're considering making a donation, take a look at this short video clip from the one first-time candidate of the three future members of Congress:




UPDATE: REPUBLICANS CAN'T FIND A CANDIDATE TO PUT UP AGAINST DAN MAFFEI-- NEXT STOP WILL BE DUMPSTER DIVING

After James Walsh realized he would lose his rematch against Dan Maffei he pulled out of the race and decided to cross over to K Street. The local GOP started scurrying to find a replacement and came up with the District Attorney of Onondaga County, William Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick, a realist, disabused them of their hopes today. It isn't likely that Maffei will run unopposed; it is likely that the Republicans will come up with some self-funding fifth tier candidate looking for the thrill of having once run for Congress.

NOW ONLY ONE DEMOCRAT OPPOSES HEALTH CARE FOR CHILDREN

STOP! Is that sick baby an illegal or too rich?

Earlier we mentioned the House leadership was bringing up S-CHIP again. They did. And it passed again-- with 43 Republicans joining all but one Democrat. We'll get to that in a second. But first I want to share with you some of the responses from our GOP congressmember who refused to vote for children's health care. Please bear in mind that all of their families are covered by far more sumptuous healthcare (at taxpayer expense):

First from the scumbag whose concern for the welfare of children made him cover-up his colleague Mark Foley's serial molestation of underage male pages for years so as not to endanger a GOP-held seat in Florida: Tom Reynolds, one of the most vile and despicable creatures to crawl around the halls of the Capitol-- "The bill puts lipstick on a sow. Today is raw politics-- trotting out a vote just for the sake of a vote." If you'd like to help put an end to the disgrace of this pile of vomit's career, the name of his opponent is Jon Powers, someone who very much cares about children and, in fact, started an organization to care for war orphans after returning from the war in Iraq. Please consider helping him at his Blue America page.

Last year we mentioned that rubber stamp Republican Ginny Brown-Waite was certifiably insane after she demanded that the U.S. dig up all the bodies of American fighting men buried in France and return them home. Her embarrassed Republican colleagues just ignored her. Her consciously false reason for voting again children's health care today was because she said it will be a "magnet for illegal aliens." As she is-- assuming she is vaguely literate-- aware, the bill specifically excludes undocumented immigrants in order to address Republican xenophobic hysteria. But she voted no anyway-- and then lied about it to her constituents.

But no deception rises to the level of Michigan crook Mike Rogers. In a convoluted excuse for his anti-family vote he "said that rich children could still qualify for benefits because states, in determining eligibility, could ignore or disregard part of a family’s income." Mike Rogers, whose entire career has been one championing the prerogatives of the rich and powerful over ordinary Americans, whose entire career has been 100% dedicated to serving, slavishly, special interests-- basically his campaign contributors, is afraid states will bend the rules to cater to the children of the rich? Give me a break! Does anyone listen to this stuff with a straight face?

And of course Georgia's Tom Price (KKK) is still whining that it's a "massive tax increase" because it would increase the cost of cigarettes. Another blatant liar: Pete Sessions (R-TX) "said that under the new bill, as under the original, two million people would lose private health insurance coverage and enroll in the expanded government program." These people have no shame whatsoever. The bill will be vetoed by Bush again and his veto will be sustained again.

Reactionary Mississippi "Democrat" Gene Taylor, voted for the bill today. He had been one of the two to vote to sustain Bush's veto last week. So of the 5 Democratic reactionaries who voted against children's health care-- Taylor, Baron Hill (IN), Mike McIntyre (NC), Bob Etheridge (NC) and the execrable Jim Marshall (GA)-- only the execrable Jim Marshall is still standing with the Republicans. He's still on the DCCC Front Line page as well, so that Democrats contributing to that organization can fund a candidate who votes against all Democratic principals and values-- and for endless war in Iraq.

HOLDING ANTI-FAMILY CONGRESSMEMBERS OF BOTH PARTIES ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR VOTES AGAINST CHILDREN'S HEALTHCARE

Tom Reynolds probably won't feed them to Mark Foley but will he protect them?

Sometimes political targeting is more an art than a science and rarely can even the best thought-out campaign satisfy everyone, even beyond those being targeted, who, obviously, are never thrilled. Overall, the DCCC has been doing a stellar job in targeting districts with rubber stamp Republican incumbents-- with e-mails, telephone campaigns, radio spots, etc.-- who have voted against children's health insurance. Pond-scum like Steve Chabot (R-OH), Thelma Drake (R-VA), Tom Feeney (R-FL), Sam Graves (R-MO), Jim Saxton (R-NJ), Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Tim Walberg (R-MI), and Randy Kuhl (R-NY), are all threatening to vote to sustain Bush's S-CHIP veto and the DCCC can't do enough to turn up the pressure and make sure that their constituents are aware of the sorts of monsters they have sent to Congress to represent them, in these cases all men and women who have rubber stamped all of Bush's catastrophic war agenda and his disastrous domestic policies but who have drawn the line in spending when it comes to health care... for needy children.

The vote comes October 18 and DWT was proud to band together with other bloggers-- Crooks & Liars, Firedoglake, Digby, and OpenLeft (with special help from Tondee's Tavern, The Seminal, Steve Audio and Georgia Women Vote)-- to take a cue from our pals at the DCCC and remind the constituents of the 5 Democrats-- all reactionary renegades-- who had voted with Bush to prevent SCHIP and have promised to vote against overriding his heinous veto. We were overjoyed when Indiana's Baron Hill decided the telephone campaign was enough and he would take a pass on the newspaper ads, instead saying he had changed his mind and would vote to override just like a real Democrat. One down, four to go. We're especially working hard on Jim Marshall, the worst of the lot-- and you should feel free to lend a hand here at Marshall Plan World Headquarters. And join our Facebook group.

But I was thrilled last night when John Amato alerted me that we're getting some help from the faith-based community! Catholics United may not be our allies when it comes to the issue of Women's Choice but... well read their self-description:

Catholics United is a national online community of Catholics who believe strongly in our faith's call to build a society for justice and the common good.

We take seriously all our Church's social and political teachings, and refuse to water down our faith in service of partisan politics.

The social and political teachings they're talking about have led them to opposing Bush's occupation of Iraq, to opposing Bush's reactionary stand on climate change and to supporting initiatives that improve the lives of working people, issues like health care for needy children. They are running radio ads starting Monday that will basically do exactly what the DCCC and Blue America are doing: informing constituents of the anti-family congressmembers that their representative is against health insurance for needy children. These will be run primarily on Christian radio and on popular talk radio stations. The ads feature a mother telling listeners that voting to sustain Bush's veto of SCHIP is a vote against pro-life and pro-family values. Catholics United are targeting 10 members of Congress who are especially bad on family issues: Gene Taylor (D-MS), mentally-disturbed Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Thelma Drake (R-VA), Sam Graves (R-MO), Tim Walberg (R-MI), Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) and John Peterson (R-PA).

All good. But there seem so many miscreants who have been left out. Today's NY Times points out that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is campaigning for S-CHIP in the congressional districts held by two radical right upstate Republican congressmen, Randy Kuhl and Tom Reynolds. (Almost every governor, including most Republican governors are begging their congressmen to override Bush's veto.) “I will be trying to get Kuhl and Reynolds to change their perspectives. I am disappointed in their votes,” Governor Spitzer told the Times.

One of the architects of the Republican plan to deny health care to needy children is Ohio's far right John Boehner, whose own children are, of course, covered by taxpayer-funded health care. Boehner's office issued a crowing statement about how the Republicans were winning their obstructionist game again. “The Democrats’ efforts to pressure members to switch their votes has been a complete and total failure. Our members are resolved to sustain the president’s veto, while working toward a bill that puts low-income children first.”

I know we succeeded in at least one case of turning a reactionary around, Democrat Baron Hill. Meanwhile right-wing Republican Jim Walsh voted for the bill originally and said he would vote to override Bush. The district next door is Tom Reynolds' and he has a serious problem when it comes to children that almost lost him his seat in 2006. At the time, Reynolds was the head of the RNCC, and he was caught covering up-- big time-- for child sex predator Mark Foley (R-FL). Even though Reynolds and the rest of the Republican leadership were completely aware that Foley had a long record of molesting young men and even though he was apprehended, drunk, trying to break into the male pages' dormitory, when he tried to retire and seek treatment for his alcoholism, it was Reynolds who persuaded him to run for Congress again so that the GOP could keep the seat (which would have allowed Reynolds to keep his fancy office and primo parking spot). That's how much Tom Reynolds cares about children's welfare. So it should surprise no one at all that he voted against S-CHIP and that he plans to vote to sustain Bush's veto. I sure wish the Catholics and the DCCC were targeting Tom Reynolds.

I especially wish they were doing that because of the incredible contrast between him and the Democrat running against him-- particularly when it comes to children. Jon Powers is a friend of mine so maybe I'm a little biased about this, but I can't imagine a better advocate for American children than Jon Powers. Please take a look at the post about him last July. He sent me the photo of himself in Baghdad where he served as an Army Captain. Take a look at it. Do you think that's a guy that would convince a serial child molester to stay in Congress so he could have a better parking spot? No, that's a guy who came back from fighting in Iraq and founded War Kids Relief, an organization dedicated to helping save Iraqi children whose families were killed in the war. The mission statement is simple: "War Kids Relief cares for the children of war-torn nations, combating recruitment by terrorists and extremist groups through education, training, employment and other programs." Jon Powers supports S-CHIP and working families in America. Tom Reynolds supports Bush. Period. Neither the DCCC nor Catholics United are holding Reynolds accountable this week. But Jon Powers will. Help him do it.