Ivanka Hits The Campaign Trail In California

No GOP candidates want Cocaine Mitch campaigning in their districts

Mitch McConnell is the least popular politician in America. Only 16% of Americans have a favorable opinion of him, while 47% have an unfavorable option and 37% have either never heard of him or have no opinion. Among public figures McConnell is even less popular than Jared Kushner (18%), the only elected official who is. Kushner's wife, Ivanka Trump, is much more liked-- 38%-- although her unfavorables are 41%. There are no Republican candidates anywhere asking for McConnell to come stump with them in their districts. Many candidates are pledging not to vote for him as GOP Senate leader if they're elected.

As you can see, neither the Republicans nor the Democrats in Congress are well-liked. Voters have a 56% unfavorable opinion of congressional Republicans and a 50% unfavorable opinion of congressional Democrats. So who's going to districts around the country to campaign for party candidates? No one has ever heard of House Republican majority leader Kevin McCarthy so it's safe for him to go campaign for candidates-- but the problem is that no one is interested in coming to see him-- except lobbyists. So... they're throwing in Ivanka as part of the deal, one in Fresno and one in Los Angeles, both on June 18. Neither is an actual rally with real voters, just fundraisering events for fat cats. The money goes to McCarthy's and Pence's SuperPAC, Protect the House.

Most of Fresno is in CA-16, a safely Democratic district held by Blue Dog Jim Costa. But northern and eastern neighborhoods of the city are in Devin Nunes' district (CA-22) and Fresno's southern suburbs are part of CA-21, David Valadao's district. Fresno County is no longer Republican-friendly. Hillary beat Trump there in 2016 and you can assume there will be lively protests when McCarthy and Ivanka show up, especially if Nunes is in tow. The locations of the events in both cities are closely guarded so far but are sure to leak out.

Valadao's seat is considered very vulnerable (PVI is D+5) and though Nunes' district is redder (PVI- R+8), he is especially hated and could also lose.

The Democratic Party-- Which Way?

Last month, Justice Democrats commissioned an important report, The Future of the Party-- A Progressive Vision For A Populist Democrat Party by Sean McElwee. You should read the whole thing at that link. The short version: "The Democratic Party is at a crossroads as the 2018 election approaches."

Generic ballot polling, historical trends, and recent special elections suggest that Democrats will perform well in November, likely enough to take back the House of Representatives.

But which Democratic Party will take the House?

Will it be a Democratic Party ready to combat plutocracy, white supremacy, and militarism, or a Democratic Party ready to be complicit in continuing the policies that have harmed so many Americans? While pundits debate the future of the party, the Democratic Party’s base is united around policies that would create a fair economy for all, racial justice, and gender equality. Still, many in the party leadership and wealthy donor class express concerns that such policies will endanger the party.

The report shows that a pivot toward the "center" is poison with the Democratic primary electorate, that marginal voters and nonvoters support key progressive policies and could form a durable base for the Democratic Party and that many Democratic incumbents are failing their constituents by opposing progressive policies with broad-based support.

These are the key findings:

The Democratic base is ready for multi-racial populism.

• Democratic primary voters want aggressive government action: More than 90 percent of Democratic primary voters support a tax on millionaires and increased regulation on banks. Eighty-six percent of Democratic primary voters support a government guarantee of health care. Eighty percent support the government taking actions to reduce inequality.

• Democratic primary voters increasingly reject racism:

Eighty-five percent of Democratic primary voters support a path to citizenship, and nearly 1 in 5 believe that it should not involve any penalties. For the first time since it’s been polled, a majority of white Democrats are more likely to blame discrimination than “willpower” for racial inequality.

It's time for a new nonvoter revolution.

• Nonvoters preferred Clinton to Trump 53/44.Full turnout would have lead to a Democratic Presidential victory in 2016.
• Nonvoters and marginal voters are more supportive of progressive policies. For example, 68 percent of nonvoters support increased regulation of big banks, compared to 52 percent of consistent voters.

Democrats can win elections without rejecting their base.

• The general public supports key, over-the-horizon Democratic priorities, from marijuana legalization and ending mandatory minimums to a $15 minimum wage and single-payer health care.
• Medicare for All and a $15 minimum wage are popular in purple states across the country.

Democrats are not representing the progressivism of their constituents.

• Many Democrats reject policies supported by the general public in their states and districts.

• Ninety-two percent of Democrats in the House represent districts where modeled support for repealing the Hyde Amendment is greater than 55 percent, but only 70 percent of House Democrats support repealing the Hyde Amendment. 

• Sixty-seven percent of Democrats in the Senate represent states where modeled support for Medicare for All is greater than 55 percent, but only 33 percent of Senate Democrats support Medicare for All.

This is one point that we often grapple with at DWT: "Democratic Politicians Falsely Believe Voters Are Less Progressive."

Politicians from both parties dramatically overestimate the conservatism of the voters they represent.

Academic research suggests that Democratic politicians may vote more conservatively because they fundamentally misunderstand the electorate. Political scientists David Broockman and Christopher Skovron surveyed 3,765 politicians and compared their views to modeled support for policies in their districts. They find that politicians from both parties dramatically overestimate the conservatism of the voters they represent. Another study examined party leaders, who often determine which candidates will end up running and who will gain the party’s backing. They find that Democratic Party leaders were far more likely than Republicans to favor centrist candidates and that leaders in both parties overestimated the conservatism of the electorate. In another study, political scientists Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, Matto Mildenberger, and Leah Stokes surveyed senior congressional aides as well as public opinion polling and find that these staffers “had a more conservative picture of their constituents’ opinions than the constituents actually expressed in polls.”

However, there is hope; research from political scientists Daniel Butler and David Nickerson suggests that when politicians are given accurate polling about their constituents, they move to align their policies with constituents.

Examining policies such as the minimum wage and racial justice, as well as tax policy, we find that Democrats are wrong to target the mushy middle. In fact, there is durable and consistent support for even over-the-horizon progressive policies across the country. Voters reject mandatory minimums, which have inflamed mass incarceration. Voters also reject the Hyde Amendment, an unnecessary limitation on a woman’s right to choose. Voters are more than ready for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take action on climate change and new investment in infrastructure.

Data from the 2016 American National Election Studies further confirm that Democrats can run unabashedly pro-choice and pro-climate campaigns. ANES asks respondents to place themselves on a scale from 1-7, with 1 being “Some people think the federal government needs to regulate business to protect the environment. They think that efforts to protect the environment will also create jobs” and 7 being “Others think that the federal government should not regulate business to protect the environment. They think this regulation will not do much to help the environment and will cost us jobs.” Fifty-eight percent placed themselves on the 1-3 side, 20 percent at 4, and only 22 percent on 5-7. According to the Cooperative Congressional Election Studies 2016 survey, 58 percent of adults agree with the statement, “Always allow a woman to obtain an abortion as a matter of choice.”

"Since Democrats in DC decided that the way to win is to pretend to be Republicans, we have lost over a thousand legislative seats nationally" said Levi Tillemann (CO-06). "Voters want someone with real principles who they know will fight for them, not for corporations, millionaires, and DC insiders. Our campaign for medicare for all, requiring millionaires and billionaires to invest in America (not just their stock portfolios), and moving to 100% renewable energy by 2035 is resonating because people know it's what I actually believe and people know it's what's best for the country."

Yesterday, John Herrick, writing for the Colorado Independent noted that Diana DeGette is facing progressive primary challenger Saira Rao who wants to shape the future of the Democratic Party. Saira told him that "Blue isn’t working. We’ve got to go true blue." A former Hillary voter, she's broken with the corporate establishment side of the party and "says corporations are buying votes from Democrats through campaign contributions. As part of her campaign, Rao has pledged to not take any money from corporations. And so far, she has narrowly outraised DeGette this year pulling in $255,000 to Degette’s $240,000."

DeGette says one of her proudest accomplishments while serving as a representative is the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act, which increased funding for disease research. Congress passed the bill and it was signed by former President Barack Obama in 2016. This legislation helped DeGette earn the Jacob K. Javits Prize for Bipartisan Leadership.

But liberals seem uninspired by consensus making. Rao points out that Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sanders of Vermont claim the law eased regulations and was essentially a giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry. One of DeGette’s top donors this year is AbbVie, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company. ...Rao’s supporters also criticized DeGette for having voted for Hillary Clinton as a superdelegate at the Democratic National Convention when Sanders won the Colorado caucus.

These comments from some the Blue America-endorsed candidates about the Democratic Party came from a post asserting that the Democratic Party would be doing better if they had some discernible economic policies that voters identified with them. Alan Grayson was the first up to bat: "Polls show that voters-- not just Democrats, voters-- overwhelmingly favor a minimum wage increase, paid sick leave, universal healthcare, Social Security and Medicare increases, lower taxes on working people, etc. You have to wonder how long Democratic 'leaders' are going to continue to wear the hair shirt." Last night he added "Nature abhors a vacuum, and so do the voters. A vacuous Democratic Party is a loser Democratic Party. The voters are shouting, 'please-- stand for something!'"

"I feel like I’m being completely unoriginal" Paul Clements (MI-06) told me, "but still it should be said: people don’t know what the Democratic Party stands for. I’ve heard it time and again at house parties and Democratic events around the district. I’ve given my stump speech so many times: (besides Trump) economic inequality is the issue, money in politics the cause, yes fix taxes and raise the minimum wage but we need to fix the basics: health care for all, education, and criminal justice. Then I fudge a fourth one, calling it a forward looking economic policy, and include renewable energy, energy efficient technologies, agricultural research, and major infrastructure investments. Then, oh, of course, we have to deal with climate change or all of this is off the table. The details matter, but you can probably pretty much fill them in. I know that these planks and more are in the last Democratic Party platform, but, seriously, so what? The Democratic Party does not have a clear agenda and people don’t know what it stands for. I think the agenda should address the basics. It should speak to economic inequality. But at least there should be a vision, there should be a program, so in house parties and such we don’t have to do all the work."

James Thompson is the progressive Democrat running in the Wichita-centered 4th Kansas district. His primary is August 7. And then he'll be facing right-wing Republican Ron Estes. He's all about the issues that Democrats need to speak to the voters about. Here's what he told me today:

When I was homeless and struggling to make ends meet I didn’t give a damn about the stock market, I was worried about putting food on the table and keeping a roof over the heads of myself and my baby brothers. The stock market and trade agreements are important parts of our economy, but until Democrats get back to protecting the kitchen table economy it will be hard to pull people back into the Democratic Party. Before people can care about things outside their own circle, they must feel confident in their own financial situation, which means they must have a stable job with a livable wage. That means a guaranteed jobs program and affordable healthcare and education. It means expanding Medicare and Social Security not cutting it. It means taking care of the farmers who feed us. It is the basic hierarchy of needs. Democrats as a party need to return to being FDR Democrats looking out for working people rather than corporate shills for Wall Street. We must remember that this is a government not of corporation interests, but a government of the people, by the people and for the people. We can get there, we just need to keep moving forward with electing progressives.

Sam Jammal, running in Orange County against a pack of carpetbagger multimillionaires who are trying to buy the seat, is also a progressive trying to talk with the CA-39 voters about issues. "Democrats win," he said, "if we have a positive economic message focused on lifting up the middle class. This means focusing on the cost of prescription drugs, student debt, housing affordability and creating good-paying jobs so families can enter the middle class. We won't win by just being anti-Trump. We also won't win if our campaigns are not focused on people's pocketbooks. The reality on the ground is that families are still struggling. We need to be identitied as the party that actually has a plan for lifting people up."

Kara Eastman, the progressive Democrat who won her primary against a Blue Dog last Tuesday, was victorious, in large part, because she campaigned on issues that real people are excited about. "It is time for policy makers to put people first. Common sense policies that prevent illness, ensure families can make a living wage and provide jobs should be at the core of what elected officials want to accomplish. Raising the minimum wage (which is actually supported by 74% of Americans) is one federal policy that would have a huge ripple effect in the nation. Universal healthcare (also supported by more than 60% of Americans) would also boost the economy by freeing employers from the shackles of being in the healthcare business. In addition, investing in infrastructure such as replacing lead service lines and creating green and healthy housing would create jobs while making our children healthier and safer."

Over in Maine, Jared Golden, a proud working class progressive who understands what solidarity means, is running for Democratic nomination in a June 12th primary. "If America had its priorities straight we could fix our economy. We need to fight for a fair tax plan that doesn’t give away trillions to the wealthy-elite and multinational corporations that aren’t investing in America. Take that revenue back and put it to work rebuilding American roads, rails and bridges. We need to stand with unions for better pay, and healthcare and retirement benefits. And renegotiate and reject bad trade deals that undermine wages and safety for workers. We need to stop allowing corporations and billionaires to waste so much capital on buying elections, so they can instead put that money to work on Main Street, creating jobs and paying people their real worth."

Tom Guild is running in the Oklahoma City Metro and he's warning the party establishment that progressives are the heart and soul of the Democratic Party, not just corporatists. "Channeling what President Lyndon Johnson said decades ago, 'I’d rather have people inside the tent pissing out, instead of outside the tent pissing in.' If we don’t support progressive ideals and policies, too many progressives who are registered as members of the Democratic Party, will be outside the tent when the November election arrives. This lack of enthusiasm among our foot soldiers will be fatal to many of the party’s candidates. Independents who identify with the progressive movement will lose interest and opt out of the process. This seems to happen in Oklahoma and nationally in election after election. To maximize our turnout, we must chart a progressive course, support progressive proposals, and maximize the support of our progressive base. Paraphrasing President Harry Truman, if voters are forced to choose between a Republican and a Democrat pretending to be a Republican, they’ll pick the Republican every time!"

Ricardo Franco is the progressive Democrat up against Devin Nunes in California's Central Valley (CA-22). But, of course, there's also a conservative-- a very, very conservative-- establishment Democrat in the race as well. Ricardo read the Justice Democrats report and told me what he thought about it and how what it uncovers impacts his own race:

This report and recent election results throughout the country have confirmed what we hypothesized last summer: Progressive policies are what it takes to mobilize the Democratic base and swing over independents and Republicans. In my opinion this is because progressives speak directly to the issues affecting working-class Americans rather than traditional party politics.

When I started this campaign I was told I was too progressive to win. Now another Democratic candidate has adopted my platform and moved more towards the left. The centrist Democratic candidate in our race refused to even appear on television last night with another Democratic challenger and myself because they are presumably too afraid of going on the record on any issues.

Across the country we have seen progressives win elections and beat out establishment Democrats. In addition to having a winning policy, progressives are also proud of who they are and not afraid to stand for what they believe in. It's this combination of policy smarts and strong moral character that is leading progressives to victory.

Who's Embarrassed By Devin Nunes?

What does "off the deep end" mean exactly? The Urban dictionary's take: "To degenerate cognitively, to be in the process of having a mental breakdown, the process of going crazy." The Cambridge Dictionary is a little more formal and less emotive: "to get very angry about something or lose control of yourself." And Wikipedia had the best take of all, although, alas, unrelated to my purpose: Off the Deep End is the seventh studio album by 'Weird Al' Yankovic, released in 1992. This album was the first album self-produced by Yankovic, after six albums with Rick Derringer. Recorded between June 1990 and January 1992, the album was a follow-up to the unsuccessful soundtrack to Yankovic's 1989 film UHF. Off the Deep End and its lead single 'Smells Like Nirvana' helped to revitalize Yankovic's career after a lull in the late 80s."

The reason why everyone was buzzing about the phrase yesterday is because Chuck "Chucky Schmucky" Schumer gave a speech on the Senate floor and said the "White House has put extraordinary, unusual and inappropriate pressure on the Department of Justice and the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election... A man like Devin Nunes, who, I hear privately from my Republican colleagues-- they think he's off the deep end."

Is Nunes literally off the deep end? People in his district-- CA-22, a compact Central Valley district that stretches from Clovis and the northern and eastern outskirts of Fresno south through Dinuba and Visalia past Tulare-- tell me they see him as infrequently as everyone else does. He's another absentee Representative. An old friend who I met while I was attending UNLV inherited his parents dairy farm near Visalia. He told me everyone he knows voted for Nunes in 2016 and no one he knows he sure they're going to do so again. "Tulare County," he told me, "is the more Republican party of the district. Trump beat Hillary by double digits here. And Nunes' vote gets up around 70%. It won't be that in November... People think he drank the kool-aid. Everyone I know thinks he's more concerned about Trump than about us. We have problems here-- water is what we're concerned with, not getting Trump off the hook with all that Russia stuff."

Eric Bauman, chairman of the California Democratic party is no fan of Nunes, to put it mildly. This morning he told me that "Nunes has all the time in the world to serve his number one constituent, Donald Trump, but never has even five minutes for his district-based constituents. It’s time we help him spend all of his time with number one." And, it isn't only Democrats like Bauman who are sickened by Nunes' Trump-worship. Jeff Flake is a Republican too, an Arizona senator nothing like Devin Nunes. He's giving the commencement address this year at Harvard Law. Among his assertions: "Our presidency has been debased by a figure who has a seemingly bottomless appetite for destruction and division and only a passing familiarity with how the Constitution works. And our Article I branch of government, the Congress is utterly supine in the face of the moral vandalism that flows from the White House daily." None of that bothers someone with a low sense of ethics and lower sense of integrity like Trump lackey Devin Nunes.

I caught up with Nunes' progressive opponent yesterday, Ricardo Franco, the guy who made that awesome video up top. [If you haven't watched it, please do.] This is what he had to say about this race. If you'd like to help him win his campaign, please click on the ActBlue "Bluer California" thermometer on the right, below.

Nunes' refusal to do anything about immigration shows you he doesn't work for his constituents. His lack of opposition to the President's trade war shows he doesn't care about local farmers and other commodity industries. Now, with his fellow Republicans calling him out on not helping the cause of his own party it's clear that Nunes only works for one person: Trump.

Our region has some of the highest concentrations of poverty in the United States. Instead of working to get us access to clean drinking water, clean air or access to healthcare Nunes is hijacking a traditionally non-partisan oversight committee to act as the political bodyguard of the Trump administration. This is exactly what we DO NOT want our tax dollars funding. The investigation should be left to Mueller. Congressman Nunes would do better to work on solving real, local issues that we have instead of spending all of his time out of the district fundraising for his friends like Rohrabacher or making a celebrity of himself on Fox News at our expense.

I am out talking to voters in the district every single day. Most of the Baby Boomers now admit that the country will be worse off for the next generation of millennials and it will take a progressive agenda to fix it. On the international stage our biggest threat is economic: China will surpass us as the world's largest economy and we must find a way to make sure the basic needs of our citizens are attended to. Domestically, our largest threat is Devin Nunes and others that are trying to destroy our democratic institutions. It's frustrating for all of us as we see our tax dollars going to the destruction of America as we know it instead of preparing ourselves for the challenges on the near horizon.

This district and the country at large deserve better. Someone who will passionately fight for Medicare for All, protect our environment while helping small businesses thrive and ending our system of welfare for American's wealthiest corporations. The government should be there to work for all of us, not be the piggy bank for the top 1%. Lastly, we all deserve a representative that will WORK for us, not alienate themselves by name-calling the opposite side of the aisle. More than resistance, what we demand is immediate action. Nunes doesn't have an ounce of it in his body.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Devin Nunes Officially Scored A Zero-- But That Doesn't Tell The Full Story Of How Awful He Is

Earlier we noted in passing that Devin Nunes' voting record was one of only 22 Republican (+ one fake Democrat, Conor Lamb) who had scored a ZERO. I immediately got attacks from Nunes and Lamb fans (different people so far). These aren't my findings; they got spit out by the ProgressivePunch algorithm. 22 Republicans (plus Lamb, a conservative Pennsylvania Blue Dog) have never voted-- this cycle-- for anything "progressive." Only 22 Republicans? Yep, but there are 13 more-- hardcore reactionaries like Mimi Walters (CA), Kevin McCarthy (CA), John Culberson (TX), Don Bacon (NE) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA)-- who think they have a right to point to their bipartisan nature because they scored 1.02, meaning they voted with progressives a grand total of... once. Another 14 have scores under 2.

So, I'm just reading the numbers and, in any case, there are many serious considerations for voters in CA-22 (Fresno, Clovis, Dinuba, Visalia, Tulare) to strenuously oppose Nunes and support Ricardo Franco for the Central Valley congressional seat. Nunes doesn't live in the district at all any longer; he lives full time up Trump's ass. And his latest stunt is to threaten to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt-- as soon as this week-- for not complying with one of his spurious Trump-dictated subpoenas. There was a time, not so long ago, that all 22 of the Republicans with zero scores would have been carrying photos Jeff Sessions around in their wallets to they could smooch them whenever the mood struck them.

Yesterday was on Fox bellowing about Sessions. As you may know, Nunes sent Sessions a letter demanding to see classified information regarding its probe into FISA abuses and counterintelligence investigations, including the targeting of Russian spies like former Trump campaign official Carter Page. Sessions, of course, ignored to obey the law and ignored Nunes' latest stunt.

'Now that he's been on Fox with the "news," the next step will be to waste more taxpayer money with a silly lawsuit to try to enforce Nunes' illegal and moronic subpoena. Predictably, Nunes told the Fox viewers who hadn't switched channels when he plodded onto the set that he refuses to take the excuse that handing over the information would harm national security.

“How many times have we heard that argument?” he said. “This just can’t continue where we don’t get information in a timely manner.”

Sarah Isgur Flores, a spokesperson for the Justice Department, said the DOJ sent a letter to Mr. Nunes Thursday, which was the deadline for his subpoena.

The letter, signed by Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd, said after evaluation of the committee’s request by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the White House, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it can’t comply with a request for information about a specific individual.

The letter said the Justice Department is open to other ways to accommodate the committee’s inquiry.

“Disclosure of responsive information to such requests can risk severe consequences, including potential loss of human lives, damage to relationships with valued international partners, compromise of ongoing criminal investigations, and interference with intelligence activities,” the letter read.

Doug Andres, a spokesperson for Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, told the Washington Times on Sunday that Mr. Nunes hasn’t discussed the push to hold Mr. Sessions in contempt with the speaker.

Rep. John Ratcliffe, Texas Republican, said he’s unsure what exactly the subpoena relates to, so members of Congress need more information about it.

“We all need to have that information before we would go to that extraordinary measure of holding an attorney general in contempt of Congress,” Mr. Ratcliffe said on Fox News.

How about in contempt of Nunes-- like most normal Americans? Ricardo Franco is the progressive taking on Nunes (there is also a very conservative Democrat running). Today Ricardo told us that "Everyday our canvassers hear the same thing while knocking on doors: Nunes has got to go! The primary reason his own republicans locally are leaving him is because of his refusal to work with the other side. In fact, he vilifies the other side. That's not a winning message when we have households with no running water and millennials constantly getting priced out of the rising costs of the American Dream. Indeed, our progressive message of supporting Medicare for All, defending Social Security and ending the Corporate Welfare Trump-Ryan Tax Plan is seeing bipartisan support locally. While hard-working Americans are busy restoring America from the bottom-up Nunes is destroying our democratic institutions with a sledgehammer." If you'd like to help Ricardo win his race and replace Nunes, please consider contributing to his campaign here.

Can A Democrat Defeat Devin Nunes?

Alas, it looks likely that the $1,390,505 Andrew Janz has managed to generate in anti-Nunes contributions may power him into Congress. Why "alas?" Janz is a dreadful candidate who will undoubtably make a dreadful member of Congress. How do I know? I spoke to him right after he declared he's running-- before he rented any Beltway consultants who taught him how to speak like a Democrat. How he, more or less, speaks like a Democrat. But when I spoke with him, he didn't. When I asked him if he supports single payer healthcare he didn't know what it is. I said, Medicare for All and he got snippy... "Can I just tell you what is motivating me to run?," he asked. Sure, I said. He had two motivations, he volunteered. One was to make sure the death penalty was used more frequently. The other was to protect the Second Amendment. I thought he might be joking around. He wasn't. He said Valley Democrats aren't like you people on the coasts. Oy!

While I was regaining my equilibrium, I asked him a real softball-- if there were any members of Congress he admires and would like to work with on legislation. He had an instant reply: Jim Costa, another Valley Democrat. Costa's voting record is the worst of any Democrat in California. He's an especially wretched Blue Dog who ProgressivePunch has not just rated an "F," but whose 2018 crucial vote score (32.97) is actually worse than some Republicans' scores.The next worst Democrats' scores are Blue Dog Lou Correa (51.02) and New Dem Scott Peters (52.58). At least those two reactionaries vote with the Democrats around half the time-- unlike Costa.

Will Janz be a better member of Congress than Nunes? Of corse he will-- just like Costa is. But on almost two-thirds of votes he's likely to be exactly as bad as Nunes. And Janz-- like Costa-- will be able to do something Nunes never can: drag the Democratic caucus further to the right in everything it does. He'll be shitting on the party brand at every opportunity, confusing voters and people who have given up on voting at all. And-- for the sake of the primary-- there happens to be a better, a much better, candidate running for the Nunes seat, Ricardo Franco. He's an actual progressive who would make a stellar member of Congress. Right now Nunes has a campaign warchest of $4,535,099, to Janz's $612,273 and Franco's $2,188.

If anything defeats Nunes, it will be his disgraceful involvement in covering up for Trump. Yesterday Jim Comey dismissed the findings of Nunes' absurd report purporting to have found no evidence Señor Trumpanzee's campaign colluded with Russians. On Meet The Press Sunday, Comey referred to Nunes' report as "a political document... That is not my understanding of what the facts were before I left the FBI and I think the most important piece of work is the one the special counsel's doing now." Comey pointed out that Nunes and his work "wrecked the committee, and it damaged relationships with the FISA Court, the intelligence communities. It's just a wreck."

Nunes has transformed the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence into "a beachhead" to gather support for President Donald Trump against his enemies, according to an article published this week in the New York Times Magazine.

Written by contributor Jason Zengerle, "How Devin Nunes Turned The House Committee Inside Out" looks at the Tulare Republican's rise from Central Valley farming roots to leading one of the nation's most powerful congressional oversight bodies.


Zengerle writes how Nunes' close ties to Trump were forged after an August 2016 fundraiser the then-presidential candidate held in Tulare, "cementing a political alliance that would have become one of the most consequential of the Trump era."


According to the article, after the election Nunes and Trump had discussed the possibility of him becoming director of national intelligence, overseeing a reorganization of the intelligence community.

However, Trump's circle saw Nunes as more valuable in Congress leading the Intelligence Committee.

"Some 17 months later, that looks to have been a remarkably prescient decision-- as Trump appears to have been able to influence Nunes to a remarkable degree. So much so that during Trump's time in the White House, Nunes has transformed the Intelligence Committee into a beachhead from which to rally his fellow Republicans in support of the president against his perceived enemies-- not just the Democratic Party but also the FBI, the Department of Justice and the entire intelligence community."


Zengerle also wrote Nunes has begun "laying the groundwork" to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether there was collusion between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia before Mueller's report is completed.

The article mentions how Nunes earlier this year pushed for the release of a memo he wrote that describes alleged Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice bias against Trump during an investigation of his campaign.

Additionally, Republicans on the Intelligence Committee in March concluded there was no collusion or coordination between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia.

In the article, Nunes spokesman Jack Langer responded by saying the facts sent by the New York Times Magazine to check for the piece are "filled with laughable fictional stories and some entertaining conspiracy theories" that "are great examples of why so few people trust theNew York Times anymore."

So what paper does Nunes trust? Certainly not the biggest newspaper in his own district, the Fresno Bee. A few days later, it pointed out that Nunes is in jeopardy of losing his reelection bid. Yes, even to as crappy a candidate as Janz. CA-22, which goes from Clovis and Fresno and it's northern and eastern suburbs down through Dinuba and Visalia past Tulare, has a PVI of R+8. Obama lost both times he ran and Trump beat Hillary 52.1% to 42.6%. That's off for a district where just 41.9 of the population is white. Perhaps someone will persuade the DCCC about the efficacy of voter registration someday. Opps... no-one will since the corrupt staffers who run the DCCC haven't figured out how to line their own pockets with voter registration drives. The Fresno Bee was informing its readers that Nunes' district, CA-22, had been downgraded by Sabato's Crystal Ball from safe Republican to likely Republican.

The House Intelligence Committee Republicans Screwed America. Can America Screw Them Back?

The Republicans suddenly decided that the investigation into Putin-Gate is over and that Trump and Putin didn't do anything wrong. Pretty horrifying that these people are attempting a white-wash and putting Trump ahead of America. There are 13 Republicans on the House Intel Committee but many of them are in deeply red districts and not really likely to be held accountable for this. Mike Conaway, for example represents TX-11, a district so red that the PVI is R+32. Trump beat Hillary there 77.8% to 19.1%. And that wasn't an aberration of some kind. Romney beat Obama 79.2% to 19.6%. Conaway usually gets reelected with around 80%. There was no Democrat running against him in 2016, 2014 or 2012. This cycle Democrat Virginia Louise Leeder has raised $17,117 to go up against Conaway's $1,536,342 war chest.

Early yesterday morning, Eric Swalwell (D-CA), a member of the committee, was on CNN with Chris Cuomo. He told Cuomo that he hopes "the public gets to see these transcripts (of the hearings). They will see... how much they tried to protect the President when our job was to protect the ballot box." In terms of voter accountability,3 Republicans on the committee are retiring voluntarily-- Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL) , Frank LoBiondo (NJ) and Trey Gowdy (SC). There are 4 other intelligence Committee Republicans who are in severely gerrymandered districts that are considered very safe:

• Rick Crawford (AR-01)- PVI R+17
• Chris Stewart (UT-02)- PVI R+16
• Tom Rooney (FL-17)- PVI R+13
• Brad Wenstrup (OH-02)- PVI R+9

So that leaves 5 who either are or could be vulnerable in November. Voters should focus on defeating these five:

• Will Hurd (TX-23)- PVI R+1
• Peter King (NY-02)- PVI R+3
• Elise Stefanik (NY-21)- PVI R+4
• Michael Turner (OH-10)- PVI R+4
• Devin Nunes (CA-22)- PVI R+8

Will Hurd andPeter King look like they have probably reached the end of their roads, politically. The big fish, of course, would be Nunes-- but, by the numbers, his district is the toughest. Trump beat Hillary there by 10 points... a pretty steep-- albeit not impossible-- climb. The Democratic establishment is behind an uninspiring Republican-lite candidate, Andrew Janz, who venerates the death penalty and an NRA interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. The candidate who could actually beat Nunes is Ricardo Franco, who has a good connection to the voters but who is severely underfunded-- please help him here. "Today I spoke to a Poli Sci class at Fresno State," he told us, "where they are learning about Congress as well as propaganda techniques people use to get elected. Nunes calling local news outlets 'fake news' was a prime example and tonight's headlines did not go over well with them at all. Our local students are smart. Our constituents are smart. However, our youth are particularly keen on sniffing out BS when they see and hear it. Devin Nunes can spin things all he wants, but won't pass through the thorough lens of the students and constituents I talked to tonight. In fact, they sniff it out and reject it from the left as much as the right. Nunes' partisan political games and Dems that fall into the trap turn them off very quickly. You know what they did like speaking about? How for years Washington has been taking from the poor to feed the rich. These students know a statutory corporate tax rate of 20% effectively means zero. They know 'tax cuts for the middle class' are a lie after 5 years. If Mueller doesn't take Nunes down along with Trump, our voters certainly will."

There's also a great choice-- DuWayne Gregory-- in the Democrats' quest to dislodge Peter King on Long Island. King's vote with Nunes could be another brick in that road. DuWayne Gregory, the chief executive of the Suffolk County legislature, ran last time into a Long Island GOP headwind; this time he has the wind at his back. He told us that "King and his Republican cronies on the House Intel committee have failed us. This abrupt decision to shut down the investigation of Russia meddling with our elections created more questions than it answers. It is clear Peter King has not only abdicated his responsibility as a member of Congress, but as an American citizen, as well. This is a fireable offense and the voters on Election Day should do just that." Please consider helping DuWayne finish off King's shameful career by clicking on the congressional thermometer on the right and contributing whatever you can to his campaign. Let's make King and the rest of these guys symbols of this kind of treachery against the country.

Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap... California

Progressive woman, Katie Porter, vs Dave Min, backed by the corrupt reactionay New Dems

Do you want to hear something funny? Last week I was talking with someone about Dave Min, a truly reprehensible New Dem, trying to claw his way into Congress by telling everyone he meets whatever he thinks they want to hear. He actually managed to use some really gross tactics to win the California Democratic Party endorsement just over a week ago. My DCCC contact told me the DCCC should back him now out of respect for the California Democratic Party. Min won their endorsement, which was disputed by all the other candidates, by 1 vote. On the same day, Emilio Huerta won the endorsement of the California Democratic Party in a massive landslide. That triggered an avalanche of DCCC activity to pressure Huerta out of the race for a ghost candidate. Among the congressmembers who landed on Huerta-- or chatted with him respectfully-- were Zoe Lofgren, Jim Costa, Pete Aguilar and DCCC regional vice chair Ted Lieu.

Min was also able to use that "respect for California" argument to block progressive Katie Porter from being endorsed by the Congressional "Progressive" Caucus. So what about these reprehensible tactics Min has been using. If you're following the race, you know Min and his backers-- including Rep. Mark Takano-- used intimidation against signature gatherers at the Democratic state convention. Republican Mimi Walters has already started advertising Min's vile behavior towards progressive Democrats at the convention She sent out this video of Min in action in an e-mail which also used these tweets (among others):







But that's out there already and it isn't what I want to discuss today. This I believe hasn't been reported previously. Although when he was caught Min has been trying to worm out of this by claiming it was done by an unaffiliated supporter of his, I know from first hand experience with him that this has his stink all over it. He had one of his staffers call Katie Porter's Asian law students to see if they had been discriminated against. And now there are rumors that the dean of the law school got win of it and flipped out and demanded Min apologize. I haven't been able to get my hands on whatever apology he sent to the students but this is the bullshit he sent to the convention delegates:

So how do I know this isn't just campaign gossip? Min is an asshole. As soon as he noticed I was writing about him being a New Dem-- long before I had ever called him an asshole-- he went whining to friends of mine in DC that I'm an anti-Asian racist. I got three calls about that in one day-- from Asian friends.

More DCCC skuttlebutt that I just heard, although this sounds like it is wishful thinking from another conservative candidate, gun-nut and death penalty fanatic Andrew Janz. The rumor he's spreading is that the DCCC is trying to get Ricardo Franco, the progressive running against Devin Nunes, to run against Valadao. Total bullshit. And the good California progressives running for Congress this cycle are easily found by clicking on the ActBlue congressional thermometer in the right. I asked Ricardo if he has anything of the rumors Janz and his allies are spreading. He hadn't. He did send me a statement though:

I was made aware of Emilio Huerta's resignation from his race this morning through various media outlets. I was saddened to see my friend Emilio would no longer be fighting for labor rights, income inequality or better healthcare as a candidate for congress, but am confident he will still find a way to serve the good people of his district in another fashion as he always has. He and his family always have been and will continue to be an inspiration for all of us working-class folks from the Central Valley.

I also want to clarify that I have not had any contact with any members of the DCCC regarding my campaign jumping ship from CD-22 over to CD-21. I have great respect for CD-21; our districts are incredibly similar. However, the communities in CD-22, specifically Fresno, Dinuba, Clovis and Visalia have played an important role in my family's history for the last 100 years. I buried my uncle last year in Dinuba and have already purchased my burial plot in Fresno. My god-children live in Clovis and my cousins are in Visalia. These are the faces I will remember when I am making tough decisions in Congress. Theirs, along with the faces of countless volunteers that have supported me over the last 9 months with their blood, sweat and tears remind me why we cannot give up nor get distracted by issues out of our control.

I did not enter this race to simply win. I got into it to improve lives. Until we have Medicare for all, clean air in our valley, affordable housing, water with which to live, repatriated deported veterans and provided affordable means of housing for all of our citizens I will not stop fighting. Hasta la victoria!

And now, despite the DCCC, some good news for 2018-- another poll. Voters are pissed off at Trump and his Regime and at the Republicans who enable him-- and they're looking towards 2018 as a way to remedy that. That's what a wave is and that's what we've been seeing in those tremendous red to blue swings in special elections in every part of the country. Republicans are happy enough... but normal Americans are out for blood. Sure Democrats are anti-Republican and that accounts for gigantic voter enthusiasm. But even more important is that independents have turned away from the GOP in staggering numbers. USA Today reported that "Seven in 10 Republicans say the country is headed in the right direction. But more than eight in 10 Democrats say it's off on the wrong track, and seven in 10 independents agree with them... If the election were held today, though, those surveyed say they are more likely to vote for the Democratic candidate for Congress than the Republican one by 47%-32%-- a yawning 15 percentage-point advantage. Democrats need to flip 24 seats now held by Republicans to gain control of the House of Representatives. Winning control of the Senate is more difficult in a year in which 26 Democratic seats and just eight Republican seats are on the ballot.

Sixty percent of those surveyed say they disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president, his highest negative rating in the USA TODAY Poll since he was inaugurated last year. Thirty-nine percent "strongly" disapprove; just 16% "strongly" approve.

Ratings for the Republican-controlled Congress are even worse: 75% disapprove of the job its doing. Thirty-six percent "strongly" disapprove and just 5% "strongly" approve.

That intensity of feeling could affect efforts to convince voters to go to the polls. Turnout traditionally is lower in midterm elections than in presidential years.

...The Republican Party has a dismal rating: 27% had a favorable opinion of the GOP; 60% an unfavorable one. That's a net negative rating of 33 percentage points.

That's not to say voters have a rosy view of the Democratic Party. Its favorable-unfavorable rating was 37%-48%, a net negative of 11 points.

Attitudes toward the nation's two major parties are so dyspeptic that even a share of partisans who claim membership in them express a dim view. One in five Republicans and one in five Democrats say they have an unfavorable opinion of their own party. Among independents, half have an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party; two-thirds have a negative view of the GOP.

Are Central Valley Voters Onto Devin Nunes' Bullshit Yet?

If I was an editor of the Fresno Bee, I would have suggested not endorsing anyone in years of Nunes reelection races. But the Bee just kept on endorsing Nunes, over and over and over. Yecchhh! But I sense from their coverage that that's probably over. They seem to have figured out just how awful he is. Marek Warszawski does work at the Fresno Bee and Marek is totally over Nunes-- with a vengeance! You'd think a headline about forgetting about Putin-Gate and evaluating Nunes about everything else would come as a relief for Nunes; not this time. "We deserve better," he wrote in an open letter to Nunes after he did a contentious interview with The Bee, "than your absent brand of leadership."

This isn’t about Russia, the infamous memo or how you’ve become, in the words of Bloomberg News, “the face of Republican capitulation to a corrupt presidency.” I’ll leave that stuff to the pundits in D.C. and the angry Twitter mobs.

This is about what you’re doing-- or aren’t doing-- for the people in your district. In other words, us.

After reading your Q&A with Bee reporter Rory Appleton, I’m left to wonder: Exactly what have you been up to during those eight terms on Capitol Hill? Certainly not serving us.

Let’s start with the immature, petulant response to Rory’s question about whether you’re planning to hold any town hall meetings between now and November.

The subject of the question didn’t matter. You knew Rory’s allotted 20 minutes were nearly up. He could’ve asked about your favorite color or your go-to Chipotle order. You were waiting to unleash a diatribe. This was your opportunity, since you avoid local media scrutiny like a hemophiliac avoids straight razors, and you pounced. The only thing missing was a Soros reference.


Incidentally, if The Bee is a “left-wing rag,” as you insist, then how come we’ve endorsed you on multiple occasions? Explain that one, Devin.

It’s odd to me why you’re so reluctant to appear at an open forum in your own district. The 22nd is 55 percent Republican. In the last election, you received 67.6 percent of the vote. Plus, you get to pick the setting. It’s not as if the town hall has to be in Clovis, home base to all those angry leftists. (How’s that for an oxymoron?) You could hold it at a dairy farm in Tulare.

Yet the only time we hear from you, aside from Fox News, is when you’re fielding softball questions on KMJ-580 or appearing at $2,700-a-plate fundraisers for wealthy donors.

Instead, you “communicate” with us through inane mailers packed with phony science and cherry-picked quotes and stats.

Exactly what are you so afraid of? You completely rule the roost, and still you operate like some frightened chicken.


Most striking to me was when Rory asked you to describe your major accomplishments over the last 15 years. It was a question you had to know was coming. Your answer only served to illuminate how short that list is.

Thanks to you, the citizens of the United States know the San Joaquin Valley has a “big water problem.” That’s your doing? Get real, Devin. Water has been a hot-button topic for decades, since before you were wearing a mullet in high school.


Other than complain about enviros and the Endangered Species Act, what have you done to help find a solution?

Just for fun, I looked up a few water bills. Know whose name I found as the sponsor of H.R. 4127, the Upper San Joaquin River Storage Act of 2014 that proposes the Temperance Flat Dam? Rep. Jim Costa’s. Know whose name I didn’t find? Yours.

You say you’re a friend to agriculture, and yet you’re one of the loudest climate-change deniers. Who do you think will get hurt most as the Sierra snowpack continues to dwindle? Valley farmers. But instead of championing a potential solution, like desalination, you blame some poor fish.

And what about poverty, immigration, education, air and water quality and all the other issues that plague your constituents? For such a powerful member of the political establishment, you sure don’t bring home the bacon.

...[Y]ou’re our congressman, Devin. The question we should be asking ourselves is a simple one. What have you done for us?

The answer, based on your own answer, can be summed up in two words: very little.

There's an excellent alternative to Nunes for Fresno, Tulare, Dinuba and Visalia voters this year: Ricardo Franco, a progressive Democrat with a message of hope, not the Republican-lite attitude Andrew Janz embodies. Franco told us that "The Fresno Bee stated before that we should leave the Russia investigation to Mueller and that Nunes needs to focus on local issues. Healthcare is broken and needs to be fixed. Republicans took a swing and a miss. The next rep needs to have a workable solution on this. We have deported veterans who fought for this country that have been separated from their families, including one from Nunes' high school alma mater. Even as a candidate I'm working to actually solve issues. At the California Democratic Convention I was even named the chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Deported Veterans of the Veterans Caucus. The voters will have a clear choice to either follow our congressman who delivers no results for us or to support the only candidate with a viable vision and plan of execution to improve our region."