Has Republican Obstructionist Dave Reichert Met His Match? Suzan DelBene Jumps Into The Race In WA-08

Early this morning Politico posted a short feature on the next race against rubber stamp Republican backbencher Dave Reichert. DWT readers will be familiar with Reichert and the suburban 8th CD outside of Seattle because of the heroic campaigns of Darcy Burner in 2006 and 2008. (Darcy, who will be a Blue America guest at Firedoglake this coming Saturday at 11am, PT, scored 49% (59,268 voters) against Reichert in 2006 and 47% (171,358 voters) this past November). Obama beat McCain 57-42% and the PVI for the district has gone from a D+2 to a D+3. Reichert looks like he has a big, fat target on his back.

The point of the Politico piece is that "for the third consecutive election cycle, Reichert could face a well-funded, former Microsoft employee" and that Suz DelBene is less of a liberal and more "moderate" than Darcy. Politico completely bought into the meme that Reichert supporters in the media have been able to perpetuate, namely that Darcy lost because she was too liberal and too close to "the blogs." There is no evidence of this; just nonsense spread by the Reichert camp.

Interestingly the new candidate, Suzan DelBene, is probably just as progressive, especially on social issues, as Darcy. But she's trying to create an imagine as a pro-business moderate. I hope she doesn't make the mistake of getting onto an anti-working family path. Reichert, who has taken a staggering $1,088,931 in legalized bribes from the financial/insurance/real estate sector, has been a dependable handmaiden for the banksters against ordinary American families-- always. For example, in early March he wasn't among the few Republicans who crossed the aisle to vote for the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, which will allow bankruptcy judges to work with lenders and borrowers to readjust the terms of mortgages to keep families in their homes. This lockstep anti-family vote came despite the fact that the projected foreclosure numbers for WA-08 over the next 4 years show 13,204 families losing their homes. But, as usual, Reichert was more interested in Republican Party tactics of obstruction than in the well-being of his own constituents.

Friends in Bellevue tell me DelBene is a great candidate with lots of money and a strong impulse towards social justice. They tell me to ignore her overtures towards the establishment and the Democratic strategy of painting her as a middle of the road Democrat. The middle of the road thing sure was pushed in the Politico piece.

“Her business experience suits her very well at a time when economic issues are at the forefront of people’s minds,” said DelBene lead consultant Kelly Evans, who led Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire’s reelection efforts last year. “Suzan has progressive values, but she also brings a business approach to fiscal matters.”

...“She’s very different than Darcy. I think it’s a matter of style and the way she approaches people. This woman is polished and professional, she’s low-key and people listen to her,” said King County Democratic Party Chairwoman Susan Sheary. “I’ve watched her several times go in cold into meetings and events where she knows no one, and before you know it, the room is hush and everyone’s listening.”

The two candidates have also cultivated distinctly different constituencies. Burner, a regular contributor to the liberal blog Daily Kos who launched her second campaign with an anti-war video, was embraced by the Netroots, which donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to her campaign.

But her liberal politics, though well-suited for online activists, limited her appeal in the moderate suburban seat. She twice lost narrowly in suburban King County, which casts roughly 80 percent of the district vote, and lost by wider margins in Pierce County, which casts the remainder.

Where Burner talked about the war in Iraq, DelBene on her campaign website focuses on investment, jobs and the economy-- with no mention of the war. And as she meets with local Democrats, she emphasizes her business background.

In an interview with Politico, DelBene argued the party’s problems over the past several elections stem from its inability to reach out to blue-collar voters in the district’s outer suburbs in Pierce County and southern King County.

“It’s important we represent not only the northern part of the district but also the southern part of our district that’s more rural and has a different economy than up here,” said DelBene. “We need to address both sides of the district.”

Blue America Firing On All Cylinders Tomorrow-- And Don't Worry, Karl, Jane Won't Bite You

Dennis Shulman & Darcy Burner, focus of Blue America attention Tuesday

This past week was a banner one for Blue America. Over 1,880 Blue America donors-- many contributing $1.00-- put $42,573.62 into the campaign chests of the 9 House candidates on our list who aren't on the DCCC's Red to Blue program yet. DCCC Chair Chris Van Hollen matched Blue America's $5,000 prize, won by Annette Taddeo (D-FL) who walked away with over $16,000. Runners-up did pretty well too, Russ Warner (D-CA) with nearly $12,000, Debbie Cook (D-CA) with over $10,000, Sam Bennett (D-PA) with over $5,000 and Dennis Shulman (D-NJ) with almost $4,000. On top of that several of the Democratic congressional leaders have taken out their checkbooks and substantially donated to our candidates. We expect to have a game-changing announcement in a few days.

Meanwhile, unless you can borrow one of the McCain family private jets it's unlikely you'll be able to make both Blue America live events tomorrow. Digby, John Amato and I, along with Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, will be hosting an intimate lunch for Darcy Burner in Silverlake (which is part of Eric's district) and far from the political fundraiser circuit on the Westside. If you'd like to come, hit that link back in the last sentence.

A couple hours later Jane is hosting a reception at her new DC digs for Dennis Shulman, the progressive who is taking on New Jersey's only far right extremist in Congress, Scott Garrett. Jane always has the best parties in Washington-- best (least insider) guest list-- and this time she's been doing her darndest to invite her new neighbor, Karl Rove. Meanwhile it's amazing to me that Dennis has the energy to schlepp all the way down to Washington tomorrow. He's in the midst of an intense Listening Tour of northern New Jersey which has had him in every part of the large district all weekend-- Ringwood, Phillipsburg, Wantage, Tenafly. Discussing the issues families in NJ-05 want to talk about Dennis is strengthening his understanding of voter dissatisfaction in New Jersey. "The residents of New Jersey's Fifth District are fed up with the special interest culture that pervades Washington and prevents the government from doing the job it should be doing-- standing up for taxpayers.  Career politician Scott Garrett, and the corrupt special interests for which he works, have raked in the cash while Americans struggle to put food on their tables, fill their gas tanks, and pay their bills.  When I'm in Congress, I pledge to never become a career politician who puts Big Oil and Countrywide Financial above the citizens I'm supposed to represent."

I suspect Rove isn't nearly as neighborly as Jane and probably will skip the festivities, primarily because Rove and Garrett see eye-to-eye on everything and he's not all that likely to want to donate to Dennis' campaign fund. If you'd like to, you can find ActBlue pages for Dennis and, of course, for Darcy, at Blue America. These are two of our most winnable races though both are going to take a lot of effort and money. But neither is just about being winnable. I mean Bobby Bright (D-AL), Paul Carmouche (D-LA), Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA) and Don Cravins (D-LA) are all winnable races too... but those are hardly the kinds of progressive leaders Blue America gets behind. That batch of four, for example, are all anti-choice reactionaries who are bound to be problems for progressives if they get into Congress. When we talk about helping candidates like Darcy Burner (D-WA) and Dennis Shulman (D-NJ) we are talking about candidates who will fight-- and fight hard-- to protect choice, to protect working families, to protect our country's interests in a complex world. We don't have a monopoly of good candidates-- aside from the duds, the DCCC is also supporting some good ones Blue America hasn't gotten to, like Linda Stender (D-NJ), Bob Lord (D-AZ), Gary Trauner (D-WY), Judy Baker (D-MO), Ashwin Madia (D-MN) and John Adler (D-NJ)-- but we can tell you with confidence that our endorsed candidates aren't just Democrats; they stand strongly for Democratic principles and values.

Blue Dog Endorses Reichert Over Darcy Burner In Washington

Darcy and Henry

If you do a DWT topic search you'll find 22 stories with "Darcy Burner" as a label (23 if you count this one). Of course, Darcy is a solid progressive who we endorsed at Blue America (on Bastille Day, 2007). Beyond that, though Darcy shows every indication of being a steady and inspiring leaders for people-- inside and outside Congress- who cherish progressive values and ideals. I have no doubt that Darcy will make sure all the potholes in WA-08 are taken care of-- but we're so gung ho on her because we see her, like Donna Edwards, as a future leader for our country.

First, however, she has to win a seat in Congress. Considering the high calibre of the district and the low calibre of the incumbent, on paper at least, it doesn't appear to be that difficult. The suburban Seattle district went for Kerry in 2004 (51%) and has been trending blue. Only 2,700 votes kept Darcy from ousting Bush's rubber stamp incumbent, Dave Reichert, in 2006, his worst showing ever (51-49%). But the Republicans and their corporate masters are pouring money into the district to try to save Reichert's ass this November. He's taken $63,928 from Big Oil in his short time as a member of Congress and he has worked diligently for their interests-- and against the interests of the commuters in his own district, who certainly didn't benefit from the billions of dollars in tax cuts he voted for the big oil and gas companies and who certainly didn't benefit from the high gasoline price the policies Reichert rubber stamped have caused.

If you want to know why Dave Reichert voted to allow warrantless wiretaps to be used against American citizens and why he voted to give retroactive immunity to telecom executives who committed crimes, look no further than the $81,611 in donations the companies wanting the retroactive immunity "donated" to him. In fact, after just 2 terms, Big Business knew a patsy when they saw one and has been showering Reichert with legalized bribes-- $341,172 from the Real Estate Industry, which has pushed an agenda that has led to the bursting of the housing bubble, an agenda he went right along with. (Another $143,766 from the Investment Industry and $70,409 from commercial banks and you can see how Dave Reichert became complicit in the worst spate of home foreclosures since the Great Depression.)

Yesterday Reichert's campaign orchestrated a bizarre press conference, rolling out a self-professed right-wing Blue Dog, Jim Vaughn who ran against Darcy in the primary. (He managed to get 3,568 votes, against Darcy's 46,144. At the 8th district nominating convention earlier this year, he didn't receive even one vote.) Vaughn showed his Democratic Blue Dog colors yesterday by endorsing Reichert and spewing his vicious reactionary hatred at Darcy. But it was only a day before when his website was saying even worse stuff about the Republican he was endorsing!

Dave Reichert has not passed one piece of legislation. Congress.org provides the following information. Currently he is ranked 419 out of 439 congressmen, which is below representatives from Guam, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico that are non-voting members. Dave Reichert has sponsored 32 bills since Jan 4, 2005, of which 28 haven't made it out of committee and zero were successfully enacted.

Typically, new employees have a 90 day probationary period to prove themselves. Dave Reichert has had a two year probationary period. The job is not a good fit for him or for us. The Republican Party wants to keep Dave in office and not because he is a strong congressman. Dave will do whatever the party tells him to do in order to survive. We have seen that he is a yes man for George Bush. I ask you, “If Dave Reichert were in the board room with Donald Trump on the apprentice, what would Donald say?”

No doubt Vaughn and Reichert would both be voted off the island-- and hopefully that's exactly what will happen in November. In this week's primary Reichert could not get over 50%. His total was 47.93 %, very, very bad news for an incumbent. If you're thinking about investing in the political process, your dollars will go a lot further and work far more effectively if you give to Darcy's campaign than if you toss it into the hundreds of millions of dollars that make up the Obama ocean.

TONIGHT'S VIDEO: WHY DARCY BURNER IS GOING TO REPLACE DAVE REICHERT

Matt Stoller turned me on to this clip of Darcy debating Reichert. It captures his essense completely. Do you know anyone, anywhere, who would vote for a person like Dave Reichert?

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.

LIKE PIGS TO THE TROUGH-- REPUBLICANS TEARING EACH OTHER APART OVER PLUM POSITION-- MUSGRAVE JUMPS IN

So many Appropriations Committee members! No coincidence there

What makes Republicans tick? Is it the hatred and bigotry? The fear? The loathing of free will-- ala Ms. Coulter and the rest of the authoritarians in the film adaptation of Philip Pullman's brilliant Dark Materials book, Golden Compass-- or is it something more prosaic, just plain old greed and selfishness. I vote for the last door there (although I heartily recommend the movie) because, at heart, what makes a right-winger a right-winger usually boils down to the uncontrolled avarice and unquenchable lust. And no one practices that better than a professional 24/7 Republican: their political leaders.

Today's Hill carries an hilarious story about the piggy squabbling over the coveted open seat on the Appropriations Committee-- the source of most congressional bribes. (Roger Wicker gave up the seat when he was appointed to fill in in the U.S. Senate for a spell after Trent Lott's official move from Capitol Hill to K Street.)

The funniest part about the bitter and vicious battle is that it pits NRCC Chair Tom Cole, whose job is to try to save the necks of as many endangered Republican rubber stamps as he can, against some of the most endangered rubber stamps who think the only way to save their worthless necks is to get on the Appropriations Committee and start gobbling up bribes. The undercurrent is that the few Republicans who are desperate for their corrupt party to shed the DeLay-Abramoff "Pay to play" Culture of Corruption reputation, are now on the warpath against Cole, Blunt and the rest of the DeLay hold-overs.

The most desperate of the endangered Repugs is Dave Reichert of Washington, who is clearly going to lose his seat to Darcy Burner in November. Goldy at Horsesass.org explains Reichert's dilemma, which has transformed a pitiful cry-- "I need that seat"-- into a call for transparency and accountability. Far right reformer are backing ideologue Jeff Flake (R-AZ) for the seat, who is denouncing his own colleagues as the greedy earmarking swine they are.

Rep. Marilyn Musgrave’s (R-CO) entrance into the contentious battle for the open Appropriations Committee seat pits the House campaign committee chairman against two of his most vulnerable members.

...Musgrave and Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.), who is also seeking the seat, are members of the Regaining Our Majority Program (ROMP), a National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) fundraising effort that is geared toward retaining members who sit in targeted districts.

...NRCC Chairman Tom Cole’s (Okla.) decision to run for the open seat has ruffled feathers inside and outside the Capitol. Some Republicans believe that the coveted seat should go to a vulnerable member of the conference, while other GOP officials and groups are pushing for earmark foe Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).

Cole’s office declined to comment specifically on the race Tuesday.

...During an interview with The Hill last week, Cole declined to answer questions about his bid for the spending panel.

“I don’t have anything to say about it,” Cole said.

The NRCC spent $1.8 million to defend Musgrave and $2.3 million defending Reichert last cycle. Both members narrowly won reelection and are once again targets for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). [Blue America is strongly backing Darcy Burner for the seat Reichert now holds. Please donate if you can.]

“Tom Cole is challenging his own vulnerable members using the same‘pay to play’ tactics that were a hallmark of the old corrupt GOP majority,” said DCCC spokesman Doug Thornell. “If he gets the appropriations seat, it is further evidence that the legacies of Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay still rule congressional Republicans. Just goes to show you that Republicans can change their leaders but can’t change their culture.”

...In addition to Reichert, Cole, Flake and Musgrave, GOP Reps. Henry Brown Jr. (S.C.), Jo Bonner (Ala.) and Michael Turner (Ohio) declared their intentions to run earlier this month.

Brown, Bonner and Turner just want access to the bribes and don't want to get involved in any philosophical disputes.


UPDATE: GOP TO GIVE REICHERT THE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE JOB BECAUSE HE'S THE LEAST QUALIFIED?

In today's Washington Post GOP mouthpiece Bob Novak slams his own part as the The Pork-as-Usual GOP, whining how the Republicans won't give Jeff Flake the open seat on the Appropriations Committee and how they won't put a moratorium on earmarks and pork barrel spending that has become a key to continued GOP dominance in scores of congressional districts.

Republicans are staring into a 2008 election abyss, having lost credibility as upholders of lean government by sponsoring profligate pork-barrel spending during 12 years in the congressional majority. And they have not reformed since the 2006 Democratic takeover. The message out of West Virginia this week predictably will be business as usual.

Rep. Jerry Lewis, the Appropriations Committee's ranking Republican, is leading fellow appropriators against the moratorium. They are joined by the most seriously challenged Republican incumbents, who see political salvation in bringing funds home to their districts, principles be damned.

...The most likely winner of the Appropriations derby will be Rep. Dave Reichert, a former sheriff of King County, Wash., who has not distinguished himself during three years in Congress and gets only a 60 percent rating from the American Conservative Union. His sole qualification appears to be that he is the most endangered Republican House member in 2008 and needs to bring home the bacon to Seattle.

Same old GOP; some things never change!

AND THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE IN WASHINGTON'S 8TH CD IS... DARCY BURNER, OF COURSE

A few weeks ago we mentioned how the opportunist who tried honing in on the tremendous success Eric Massa built up in his battle to bring progressive values to New York's Southern Tier dropped out. Massa came tantalizingly close to defeating rubber stamp Republican Randy Kuhl last year and that aroused the interest of some wealthy, establishment type Democratish person who thought it would be kewl to have the honorific "congressman" in front of his name. He soon learned that someone with a few dollars to pass around couldn't buy the grassroots activism that built the ground operation that Eric has built up in New York. He dropped out and fled with his tail between his legs.

There are a number of progressive grassroots candidates who came very close to winning in 2006 and are on the verge of success now-- but who face opportunists and anti-grassroots Establishment creeps. Angie Paccione (CO-04) has some hack from the reactionary Salazar political machine trying to steal the Democratic nomination from her. John Laesch (IL-14) has an admitted Blue Dog opposing him-- another millionaire trying to buy a seat for himself, who thinks what Illinois needs is another representative who would vote just like Denny Hastert. And Victoria Wulsin has a similar situation in OH-02.

A few minutes ago I got an e-mail from Chris Bowers of OpenLeft telling me that Republican Democrat Rodney Tom took a good look at the strength of the Darcy Burner grassroots support and dropped out. That little fundraiser we all did for Darcy last week ago... establishment candidates can't do things like that. Tom was smart to drop out before making a fool out of himself. He endorsed Darcy. We helped Darcy bring in $125,000 as a response to Bush's visit to the district. And that's all it took for Tom to realize there is something special happening in WA-08, something he hasn't been part of. He's seen it up close and let's hope he learned that becoming a Democrat means more than just changing the R to a D on your registration card. Friends in the area think he's got some potential.

And that was the easy part. Next step: bye-bye Reichert. Darcy's Blue America page is taking contributions today.

DARCY SAYS THANKS

Darcy Burner's campaign raised even more than the original goal. And her teach-in style virtual Town Hall on Iraq was a smash (unlike the one Brian Baird had in the southern part of the state). No one knows how the Bush-Reichert fandango was because it was closed to the public (perhaps because they didn't want to draw attention to the fact that Karl Rove, who had deployed millions of dollars in dirty tricks money to defend Reichert last time and has publicly targeted Darcy for 2008, was along for the ride?) and the ticket prices started at a grand and went all the way up to $10,000. But Darcy sent the Blue America activists at Crooks & Liars, Firedoglake and DownWithTyranny a big thank you just now. With donations still trickling in, it is clear that Bush's visit to suburban Seattle helped raise over $114,000.

This weekend, you all changed the ground rules in politics. I am incredibly impressed and deeply touched, and I have this odd desire to bring you all home with me.
 
But you changed politics.
 
There is no PAC in the country that can do what you just did, raising more than $100k from more than 3000 contributors for a House candidate over an August weekend fourteen months from the election. Not EMILY's List, not anybody. You've just blunted the only advantage Reichert got from bringing Bush into the district, and over the next several weeks I'll work to eliminate it entirely-- which is probably possible because of the work you've done and the support your communities have given me.
 
This was an amazing show of people-powered politics, and I'm deeply honored you did it to help me.  I promise to do my utmost to live up to the trust you've placed in me.
 
Now I've got to spend a bit figuring out who's going to help General Eaton draft the Iraq exit plan I asked him to chair this morning...
 
Darcy

One thing I can tell you for sure. Congresswoman Burner will never turn into a Chris Carney. Let the DCCC try to keep reactionaries and Bush Dogs like Carney and John Barrow and Jim Marshall and Melissa Bean in office. We'll keep helping real Democrats with real progressive values, like Darcy, Donna Edwards, Steve Cohen, John Laesch, Victoria Wulsin, Angie Paccione and Carol Shea-Porter.

BUSH REGIME IS FALLING APART BUT THEY WILL FIGHT LIKE CORNERED RATTLE SNAKES 'TIL THE BITTER END-- JOIN DARCY BURNER IN FIGHTING THEM IN WASHINGTON

Clearest choice you'll find anywhere

Having reluctantly accepted the long overdue resignation of his hapless, incompetent and corrupt Attorney General, Bush flies off to Albuquerque to headline a fundraiser for Pete "Sneaky Pete" Domenici, the doddering New Mexico rubber stamp Republican senator who inadvertently brought so much of the inner workings of the Bush Justice Department to light by demanding that Rove and Gonzales fire David Iglesias for not being a willing tool to the politicization of his office. If Bush were anything more than a pitiful and grotesque hack himself he would tell Domenici to retire now. Instead he hopes to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for his re-election campaign.

From Albuquerque, Bush wings his way to Seattle where he will perform a similar service for one of his most rubbery of rubber stamps, WA-08's pathetic and robotic congressman, Dave Reichert, a handwringing Republican who represents a moderate suburban district but votes like his constituents are a bunch of Neo-confederates in Alabama or Texas.

While Bush and Reichert party down with wealthy donors, Darcy Burner, the progressive Democrat running for Congress against him is having a virtual Town Hall meeting to discuss the tragic occupation of Iraq. When Darcy and a distinguished panel-- including Ambassador Joe Wilson, General Paul Eaton, VoteVet.org founder Jon Soltz, and Daily Kos writer Joan McCarter-- discuss the Iraq catastrophe and talk about solutions, two of the authors of that disaster, George Bush and his local enabler, Reichert, will be catering to GOP fat cats willing to cough up $2,300 for an opportunity to have a picture taken with the world's most hated man. The Reichert-Bush shindig at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue will not, of course, be open to the general public. The VIP reception costs $10,000 each and less wealthy Republicans can pay $1,000 to watch from the sidelines.

Blogs like this one have banded together to try to raise $100,000 for Darcy's campaign while Bush is in the district. When I went to sleep last night over 2,100 people had donated just over $75,000. Here at Blue America we crossed the $4,000 mark for Darcy yesterday afternoon. This morning Darcy's campaign is closing in on $80,000.

Darcy's Town Hall starts at 3pm, Pacific Time (6pm back East). You can submit an advance question at this link. And if you're feeling good about Gonzales finally stepping down, celebrate by taking a look at what a real progressive Democrat sounds like on this clip and then think about donating a few dollars to her campaign here.




NEW MEXICO IS FIGHTING BACK AGAINST BUSH TOO

Although Darcy's campaign is pushing back hard and effectively in Washington State, grassroots and netroots activists in New Mexico-- where there isn't a clear consensus yet about who will oppose the contemptible Heather Wilson and Sneaky Pete-- are hardly letting Bush's visit pass unnoticed. Democracy for New Mexico and NM FBIHOP, the two largest and most influential progressive blogs in New Mexico, have launched the "Beat Back Bush New Mexico" campaign.


3PM UPDATE

YOU CAN HELP CHANGE AMERICA-- AND DARCY BURNER IS AN OUTSTANDING AGENT OF CHANGE

Wave bye-bye, boys. Your time is up

You may have come to the conclusion that DWT and our Blue America partners at Firedoglake and Crooks & Liars are very enthusiastic about Darcy Burner's candidacy for the suburban congressional seat currently being held by rubber stamp Republican Dave Reichert. Your conclusion would be very correct.

Our strong feelings about this race go beyond the issues, on which Darcy is always correct and Reichert is always wrong. (Even when Reichert, fearful of his moderate constituents, mouths mainstream nostrums about the environment or Iraq in the district, he then goes back to DC and always votes with the hard right and against the feeble attempts he makes from time to time to claim that he is either an "independent voice" or a "moderate." He is neither.) But Darcy is worth our enthusiasm because she is a real leader, not just a dependable vote.

One of the most intelligent and thoughtful of all the candidates we have talked to at Blue America, she is also one of the most plainspoken and clear. Darcy Burner doesn't hide behind rhetorical nuances. When someone asked her how she felt about the passage of the FISA bill-- which saw over 40 reactionary and cowardly Democrats joining the Republicans-- she didn't beat around the bush. The Fisa bill... completely sucks... We have got to elect more and better Democrats."

More and better Democrats is like a motto for Blue America and "better" is something we will never, never, never sacrifice in pursuit of "more."

Monday Bush will be in Seattle trying to help Reichert raise more money from right-wing fat cats to stave off his nearly inevitable defeat. Jane, John and I are joining other progressive bloggers in urging people who don't agree with the Bush-Cheney-Reichert agenda to participate in Darcy's virtual Town Hall Meeting at the same time. Our goal, articulated by Atrios: a headline in the Seattle Times something to the effect of "Burner Raises $100K On Bush Visit to Rival Reichert."

And so far it's going really well. We're over halfway to our $100,000 goal and it's only Saturday. Over 1,600 people have contributed online. Here's part of a press release her campaign sent out today:

Democrat Darcy Burner’s campaign announced today that it has raised more than $57,000 over the web since Friday morning, pushing the campaign well past the halfway point in its quest to raise $100,000 from netroots contributors by early next week.
 
The astounding fundraising burst comes as President Bush prepares to visit the hotly contested 8th Congressional District, covering Seattle’s eastern suburbs, on Monday for a $10,000 a head fundraiser for his friend and close political ally, Republican incumbent Congressman Dave Reichert.
 
“I am overwhelmed at the levels of support we are seeing from thousands of engaged citizens from across the district and the nation who are responding to this campaign’s message of positive change,” Burner said. “We still have a long way to go to counter the mistaken Bush-Reichert agenda, but a growing number of ordinary Americans are determined to send a direct message to Congressman Reichert, President Bush and our go-along Congress that the time has come to bring this war to a responsible close.”

Just as Lieberman's fundraising for Maine's rubber stamp Republican Susan Collins resulted in even bigger contributions for her opponent, Tom Allen, it looks like a certain albatross from Inside the Beltway is about to do the exact same thing in Washington state for Reichert and Darcy. "The visit is Bush’s first fundraising trip since the 2006 election on behalf of a member of the House. That the White House chose Reichert for this trip is an indication of how close the Bush-Reichert relationship really is-- and how vulnerable Reichert has become because of his poor judgment in supporting Bush’s misguided policies, particularly his enthusiastic backing of the president’s never-ending Iraq War."
 
You can join us in donating directly to Darcy's campaign here. There aren't enough Democrats, let alone Republicans, who are willing to stand up at a public forum and speak like this:

WHAT TO DO WHEN REPUBLICAN POLS JUMP SHIP, CLAIM THEY'RE DEMOCRATS AND ASK TO BE ELECTED

I love it when Republicans see the error of their ways and join the Democratic Party. Sometimes they join the Democratic Party for more opportunistic reasons and might not see any errors, certainly not in their own ways. I've talked to a number who saw errors in Bush's and Cheney's ways. But their own? Not so much.

Last year Rahm Emanuel and other Inside the Beltway slimeballs were maneuvering full-time to replace dedicated progressive, grassroots, antiwar, lifelong Democrats like Jan Schnieder and Dave Lutrin be replaced by... Republicans who had switched parties. Tim Mahoney may now have a voter registration card that says "Democrat," but he's basically a Republican. Democrats who don't know any better are excited because Christine Jennings-- who was cheated out of an electoral victory against right-wing extremist Vern Buchanan-- has decided to run again. Oh for joy, for joy? Not so fast. Jennings, should she win, will in all likelihood be another fake-Dem, voting for the agenda of her former party-- just like other former Emanuel candidates who are now reactionary members of Congress: Heath Shuler, Harry Mitchell, Tim Mahoney, Baron Hill, Brad Ellsworth and Joe Donnelly.

Even worse, is when Republicans, sniffing the tides of fortune turning in favor of Democrats, jump the fence, declare themselves not just a Democrat, but a leader and run against a real Democrat. Friends in the Seattle suburbs have been gritting their teeth, watching Rodney Tom putting in jeopardy Darcy Burner's race against rubber stamp Republican Dave Reichert, who she nearly beat last November. Tom, a craven opportunist, has tossed his hat in the primary ring against Burner.

If he wants to be the Democratic nominee to take on U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert in the 2008 election, state Sen. Rodney Tom might have to convince his party's rank and file that his past sins as a Republican are behind him.

For example, his campaign contributions to such Republicans as state Attorney General Rob McKenna, Secretary of State Sam Reed, Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland, King County Councilman Reagan Dunn and Dino Rossi, the 2004 and likely 2008 candidate for governor.

And the money he gave Mainstream Republicans of Washington and the state Republican Party.

And some of the votes he took in the Democrat-controlled state House against a number of Democratic causes, including an oil spill prevention bill and a symbolic measure urging Congress to oppose the Bush administration's ill-fated plan to permit private Social Security accounts.

Local progressives aren't worried about Tom winning; that's beyond his capabilities. They worry that he will force Darcy to spend money desperately needed to challenge the free-spending Reichert. Tom, still a Republican to his core, has continued to vote for GOP agenda items-- like privatizing Social Security. He claims he's "bipartisan."

The King County Democratic Chairwoman, Susan Sheary, who Tom had falsely claimed endorsed him has declared she will stay neutral in the primary. Unlike last year's DCCC chair, Emanuel, the new head, Chris Van Hollen, will not take sides against progressive grassroots Democrats in favor of Insider hacks and "ex"-Republicans. Blue America has very much taken a stand in this race-- in support of Darcy-- and we urge our community to support her campaign with a contribution at our Blue America page.

BLUE AMERICA WELCOMES DARCY BURNER-- DON'T ASK ME WHAT TOOK US SO LONG

Maria Cantwell and Barack Obama campaigning with Darcy Burner

The most astounding thing about Blue America endorsing Darcy Burner this week is that we're just getting around to it now. Darcy is the quintessential Blue America candidate and we missed her last year. Join us over at Firedoglake this morning for a discussion with Darcy and let's make up for it this year and go the extra mile in helping her get elected in 2008! She nearly did make it last year when she first challenged rubber stamp Republican Dave Reichert in an upscale suburban Seattle district, WA-08, and drew 122,021 votes to his 129,362-- an incredible accomplishment. In fact, it has made a few careerist pols start licking their chops thinking they could step in and take over where she left off. One, a Republican with two first names who says he's a Democrat now, is going to declare Tuesday. I suspect Darcy will make mincemeat of him.

There were three big differences between last year and the current election cycle and all three work in Darcy's favor. First of all, last year was her first run and the voters didn't know who she was, although nearly 49% of them voted for her by the end of the campaign. Her name recognition now is super high. Second, in 2006 voters weren't sure how they felt about Iraq; they are now-- and guess who's got a 100% perfect Cheney voting record. If you said "Dave Reichert," give yourself a pat on the back. Since being elected to Congress Reichert participated in 17 roll calls about Iraq, the latest being Thursday's vote to stay the course. He could have just as well given Cheney his proxy and gone to play golf. 17 roll calls in a distinctly anti-war district and 17 votes for endless war. And the third difference between the last cycle year has to do with the voting patterns of the district. Far more people come out to vote during a presidential year and Bush only took 47% of the vote in 2000 and 48% in 2004. It's by far the most prosperous district in Washington and it leans in a decidedly progressive and Democratic direction. A presidential year will help Darcy beat Reichert.

Although Darcy and Reichert spent approximately the same amount of money in 2006-- $3 million-- Rove funneled another $3 or 4 million into the race. In his infamous powerpoint presentation to the GSA in March, Rove emphasized that bolstering Reichert against Darcy must be a top priority for all loyal Bushies. Last year the Republicans made 585,000 calls into the district, the most of anywhere in the country and the aim was to suppress Democratic turnout and to encourage Republicans. In the last few days of the campaign Rove operatives were calling every household in the district telling voters that Darcy was about to be indicted as a felon, that Darcy was suppressing minority voters and that Darcy was an investor in Big Oil. It was all smear and lies; typical Rovian tactics.

Darcy sounds sweet, hip and disarming. But her mind is razor sharp and she's one of those Big Picture Democrats the country is crying out for. She's had backing from Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, both of Washington's senators, Emily's list, labor unions and the DCCC and this year she will get her message out much more effectively than before when the institutional players had no idea who she was at first. And that message... it's why we're here today.

"I'm committed to the long battle for progressive values that we're going to have over the next 30-40-50 years," is what she told me on the phone earlier this week. "We're at a huge inflection point in terms of the direction this country is going to move. We have to have people in position in Congress and in political leadership whose top priority is making sure that government does treat all people equally and that opportunity really does exist for everyone. That's what I'm committed to spending the rest of my life doing and working hard for."

And hearing her speaking, you know you want her on your team. Her policy positions couldn't be more in sync with our own. She's for what we're for and against what we're against. When I asked her about the Bush Cheney Iraq agenda there was no if's or but's in her answer. "I'm the mother of a four and a half year old and I know that when somebody throws a temper tantrum, it's counterproductive to reward it. I would have voted for the bill with milestones-- the one Bush vetoed-- and against the one I call "the capitulation bill.'" Right down the line, Darcy is our kind of candidate.

"The voters in my district tend to be fiscally conservative and socially progressive. Congressman Reichert is fiscally irresponsible and socially conservative." He also happens to be terrible on environmental issues and WA-08 is one of the most environmentally supportive districts in the United States. Reichert's environmental voting record is tailor-made for Big Business and willy-nilly development. "He tries to vote on every side of every issue so he can pull a vote out of his pocket to please whoever he's talking to."

Darcy is constantly out talking with the voters in the district about Iraq-- "they've had enough and they want out"-- the environment and global warming and health care, the main issues that keep popping up over and over. But in one of the most high tech savvy areas in America there's something else that Darcy, the former lead product manager for Microsoft.net, uniquely offers the voters, of Washington and of the U.S. She's the antidote to a dangerous dinosaur like Senator Ted Stevens. "We live in a world that is being transformed completely by technology and we have a Congress that doesn't begin to understand technology. I'll be the most tech-savvy member of the United State House of Representatives. And when we think about making the complicated decisions that Congress is going to have to make about technology and everything it changes, that experience is going to be incredibly important."

After Jane's enthusiastic endorsement of Darcy last month many in our community started donating to her campaign. She's up against a flim flam man backed by the full might of Karl Rove and she's going to need all the help she can get. Please join me today in letting Darcy know what we think of candidates who stand for the kinds of things she stands for. A visit to our Blue America page is one very effective way to let her know.

WHO YOU GOING TO BELIEVE-- KARL ROVE OR DARCY BURNER?

I just finished interviewing Darcy Burner. She's going to be the Blue America guest this coming Saturday at Firedoglake (11am, PT) and I was asking her questions to help with the intro I need to write. When I asked her what the issues that resonate most strongly in her district-- the ones the voters bring up to her she wasn't sure which was #2 and which was #3 between safeguarding the environment and fixing the healthcare system. But she had no hesitation about which was #1-- Iraq. "Last year," she told me, "about a third of the voters I talked to opposed the Iraq occupation and about the same number supported it. The other third seemed unsure; they felt uncomfortable about the direction Bush was taking us but they were also convinced by the Republicans and the GOP media that all the Democrats could offer was surrender and defeat." That isn't what she's hearing now; not even close. "When I'm out talking with people in the district now, they've had enough and they want out."

No one fought harder to defeat Darcy last year than Rove, as we saw in the now infamous powerpoint presentation his office illegally gave at the GSA. The GOP dumped as much as $7,000,000 into a race they managed to win for the pathetic rubber stamp incumbent by just over 2,000 votes (out of over 120,000 cast). Saturday at FDL I'll try to explain why I think Darcy will swamp them next year. Today I just want to tell you how wrong Rove is about his latest pronouncement, namely that Iraq won't be a big issue next year. Rove will be as correct about that as he was about his absurd prediction that the GOP would keep control of both the House and the Senate last year.

I don't think I've spoken to a single candidate or incumbent who didn't tell me that his or her constituents felt that there was something that was a bigger and more important issue for them than Iraq. It sounds to me that Rove is just trying to prevent a stampede of Republican members of Congress, paralyzed with fear for their career mortality, for the exits.

Here's a clip of Darcy Burner and the phony-baloney, rubber stamp Republican hack she's running against debating Iraq. You can see why Karl Rove is so nervous: