Mike And Julie, The Key To Winning Back Texas

 

Republicans have controlled Texas for too long and have grown comfortable enough to overlook arrogance and embrace corruption. It's time for them to be put out to pasture. Many Texas voters-- particularly in the suburbs and exurbs around Dallas-Ft Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio-- are sick of Trump and giving up on his enablers. And whether Biden wins the state's 38 electoral votes or not, Texas is likely to flip as many as half a dozen congressional seats and possibly the state House as well.

Today, as the election barrels towards a denouement, we want to focus on the two most important congressional candidates running in Texas, Mike Siegel (TX-10) and Julie Oliver (TX-25), each in a gerrymandered district carved out of Travis County (Austin) and meant to dilute the votes of Austin Democrats by including rural and suburban counties that were GOP safe zones when the districts were drawn. Those safe zones are no longer safe and both Siegel and Oliver made tremendous headway against the GOP incumbents in 2018. Each is back to finish the job in November.

And each is polling so strongly that a reluctant DCCC-- never eager to endorse outright progressives in "red" districts-- was forced to add both Siegel and Oliver to their Red to Blue list this month. This morning, Siegel told us how clearly he understands the stakes. "When I beat Michael McCaul on November 3," he said, "it will send shockwaves through the political establishment. I'm running hard on the Green New Deal, to create millions of jobs while addressing climate change and the legacy of environmental racism. And when I defeat one of the wealthiest members of Congress, a person who has more money personally invested in oil and gas than any person in the House or Senate, in a district specifically gerrymandered to protect him (because his father-in-law is a media empire billionaire), and in a district that contains numerous fossil fuel concerns in the Houston "oil patch"-- that victory will make history. It will help to dispel this idea that to flip a red seat you need to be 'moderate.' It will show that progressive policies like the Green New Deal are winning issues BECAUSE they are bold, because they meet the scale of the crises we face. This victory will be about more than one seat, it will be about the movement.





Siegel, a civil rights attorney and a life-long union guy, is all about solidarity. He was quick to turn the conversation towards his neighbor and fellow-progressive. "And the same goes for my compatriot Julie Oliver. She is probably the most articulate House challenger right now when it comes to Medicare for All. Because of her personal story and her family's struggles with health care companies, and also because of her work as a lawyer with intricate knowledge of health insurance and spending, she is the perfect advocate for a national, comprehensive, single-payer healthcare system. And her opponent is a caricature of a wealthy, bigoted, out-of-touch Texas Republican. Who would you rather have as a representative, a grifting car salesman or a healthcare advocate and mom who is unafraid to knock every door in her 13-county district, who has fought for Medicare for All even when it wasn't universally popular, and who continues to lead on the most important issue during a national health crisis? I'll take Julie, thank you very much!"

He concluded that "The two of us-- staunch progressives who have built powerful campaigns that are even winning support from the political establishment-- have the opportunity to change the narrative of Texas politics. We can help usher in a new wave of progressivism in the South. As Bernie's recent town hall said, 'As Texas goes, so does America.' So let's make that real-- and win in November!"

Please consider contributing what you can to both Mike Siegel and Julie Oliver by clicking on the Blue America 2020 Texas thermometer on the right. Julie told us that "As the mother of a kid with pre-existing conditions and as someone with 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, I understand exactly how the healthcare industry has failed Texans, how we can fund it more equitably and responsibly, and how our own Republican members of Congress worked to undermine care for millions of Americans. Both Roger Williams and Mike's Republican opponent Michael McCaul have voted more than 50 times to take healthcare from millions of Americans, including cancer patients, sick children, the elderly, and people with disabilities right here in Texas. They've voted at least ten times to end protections for people with pre-existing conditions, like the one my son has. So for me--just as it is for hundreds of thousands of people here in our district whose healthcare is threatened by our own Congressman--this was deeply personal."

As much about solidarity as Siegel, she said that "both Mike and I believe that real change is never top-down-- it is built and informed by Texas communities. That is why both of us have run such organizing-first, grassroots campaigns, with an emphasis on coalition building, working in solidarity with communities that the political status quo has ignored for too long-- whether that's blue collar Texans who haven't seen a pay increase; those who are being priced out of their own communities due to the soaring costs of healthcare, tuition, and housing; or the communities in Texas most severely impacted by climate change. And the natural byproduct of actually showing up and listening to the people that Congress is supposed to serve-- not corporations, not DC elites-- is that we're rooting out corruption and ending the era of pay-for-play politics. Both Mike and I are political outsiders. I'm confident that neither of us can be arm-twisted behind closed doors, and we're not afraid to stand up to corrupt politicians and special interests. For too long, career politicians like Roger Williams and Michael McCaul have taken advantage of hardworking families while they use their office to enrich themselves. And it's time for real, positive change for Texas."





Last week, one of Texas' sharpest reporters, Abby Livingston, wrote that another Texas congressional candidate-- neither a real progressive nor a conservative but more of a moderate-- Wendy Davis, who was slaughtered in her 2014 in her high-profile run for governor, was thinking a lot about why she lost by 20 points but 4 years later Beto O'Rourke lost by just 2.5 points in his statewide race against Ted Cruz. Livingston wrote that Davis figured it out: in "2018 there was a robust lineup of Democratic candidates down ballot running for the U.S. House, the state Legislature and other local campaigns. That wasn’t the case in 2014. Those candidates knocked on doors, raised money, showed up to Rotary Club meetings and de-stigmatized Democrats in once-hostile territory. Some even won. Davis said those down-ballot races were key to O’Rourke’s performance." Beto agrees.

Livingston's point is that Biden's fate in Texas next month "could rest on the backs of dozens of mostly obscure Democratic candidates who are competing for legislative and congressional seats in the suburbs that have been strongly Republican... And with more national and local money pouring into those down-ballot races, political experts say that could have a major effect upstream on the ballot. 'Normally, House and down-ballot candidates are desperate for presidential investment,' said Amy Walter, a political analyst at the Cook Political Report. 'In this case, I think that all the money being poured into suburban [congressional districts] and battleground state [legislative] districts could help boost Biden.'"

When Will Republicans Start Physically Beating Up Women Colleagues?

The story about how a pro-slave fanatic, Rep. Preston Brooks (D-SC) brutally beat an abolitionist, Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA), unconscious on the floor with a cane on the Senate floor in 1856, is well known by anyone who has studied the lead up to the Civil War. Less well known is that by 1858 "partisan tensions over slavery erupted into a 'full-fledged sectional combat on the floor.' This was one year after the U.S. Supreme Court enraged abolitionists by ruling in Dred Scott v. Sanford that black people couldn’t be citizens and the federal government couldn’t ban slavery in western territories. The brawl started around 2:00 a.m. during an overnight session when a southern representative grabbed a northern representative by the throat and said he would teach the 'black republican puppy' a lesson. As the two white men struggled, their colleagues ran over and a fistfight broke out. The end result was a free fight in the open space in front of the Speaker’s platform featuring roughly thirty sweaty, disheveled, mostly middle-aged congressmen in a no-holds-barred brawl, North against South... Acts of violence like this showed how intensely southern congressmen wanted to preserve the economic, political and social power that they and their constituents held through owning slaves. They also presaged the larger fight between North and South that broke out three years later, when southern states seceded and declared war on the Union. After all, civil wars don’t just come out of nowhere."

No, they don't, do they? And yesterday it was cowardly southern dogs, doing what they do best: threatening women colleagues. First it was a concerted attack, led by pig-person Matt Gaetz of the Florida panhandle, demanding that Liz Cheney step down as Republican House Conference chair-- the only woman in the Republican leadership-- for not supporting Trump enough. The whole neo-fascist wing of the House GOP piled on, from Gym Jordan to Louie Gohmert-- and all the scarping from the bottom of the sewer system between. Apparently the anti-mask contingent were all in a huff because Cheney is pro-mask. Jordan and Andy Biggs screeching about her being pro-Fauci and Biggs "accused Cheney of undermining the GOP’s ability to win back the House and said that if someone has a problem with Trump, they should keep it to themselves."

The way the beat down started was weird. Gaetz was bitching about how Cheney supported Thomas Massie's primary opponent before he complained she was supportive of Trump. The problem there is that the person leading the charge against Massie was... Señor Trumpanzee himself. Aside from Jordan, a Confederate at hearts, only southern males attacked her: Gohmert (TX), Chip Roy (TX)-- who is about to be beaten by a woman for his seat and is flipping out-- Ralph Norman (SC)...




Meanwhile two more Southern gentlemen of the radical right, very much like Preston Brooks-- neo-fascist Ted Yoho of Florida and crooked used car salesman Roger Williams of Texas-- accosted AOC and started hurling expletives at her. Neither took a crap in their hands to throw it at her because there were witnesses around. Yoho was heard by a reporter called her a "fucking bitch," Williams chimed in and then when the news broke, they both denied it and called her a liar, refusing to address the problem of the witnesses, let alone apologizing. (This morning, Yoho made a disingenuous non-apology ("I cannot apologize for my passion... the offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues and if they were construed that way...") apology on the House floor. Williams is still claiming nothing happened.)

Roger Williams-- The Personification Of Congressional Corruption

Who would you trust more, a used car dealer or a congressman?

A few years ago, the Texas Tribune published an investigative piece by the Center for Public Integrity's John Dunbar about one of Texas' most corrupt politicians, Congressman Roger Williams. "Buried within a massive federal transportation bill," wrote Dunbar, "is a little-noticed provision that is of great interest to automobile dealers. The man who offered the amendment is U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, a second-generation car dealer... The provision, an amendment offered just before midnight on Nov. 11, would allow dealers to rent or loan out vehicles even if they are subject to safety recalls. Rental car companies, meanwhile, don’t get the same treatment under the proposed law. In essence, the amendment would allow an auto dealer to loan you a vehicle under active recall while you are getting your own fixed for the same defect. The man who offered the amendment is no stranger to car dealerships. In fact, that’s his business. U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin, sponsored the amendment. In introducing it on the floor of the House, he noted, 'I am a second-generation auto dealer. I have been in the industry most of my life. I know it well.'"

Williams knows how to feather his own nest and seems to think doing that is the reason-- the only reason other than parroting Trump-- is why he's in Congress. Williams sits on the House Financial Services Committee, consistently serving the interests of the banksters over the interests of his own constituents-- or at cleats his own constituents who aren't banksters. Since being elected to Congress in 2012, Williams has taken a massive $3,012,716 from the finance sector his committee is supposed to be doing oversight of. Although Congress conveniently doesn't define Williams' outrageous behavior as criminal bribery, that's exactly what it is.

So far this cycle, Williams has raised $1,409,203 (compared to the $461,863 his Democratic opponent has raised). In the current cycle, over 77% of his contributions come from PACs and other political committees (including joint fundraising committees like Take Back the House and Take Back the House 2020 joint fundraising committees). Many of the PAC contributions come from the industry he's supposed to oversee-- the financial services industry (see example in screenshot below-- everything highlighted in yellow is a financials services-related PAC). In fact, by far, Williams' biggest source of "contributions" comes from the Finance Sector-- almost 4 times more than his next closest money source. Securities and Investment companies and executives, the insurance business, the real state business, commercial banks, the finance and credit card industry, payday lenders, etc have flooded his campaign with "contributions," absolute blatant bribery to a crook always eager to sell his votes.

Back to the Center for Public Intergrity investigation, Dunbar noted that "The possibility that his action might be considered a conflict of interest was apparently not on his mind, though it certainly occurred to others. 'It seems to me that if it isn’t illegal, if it isn’t an ethics violation, it ought to be,' said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a consumer group. 'His amendment benefits nobody but car dealers. And he’s a car dealer.'"

The rental car provision in the legislation, which is also in the Senate bill, was spurred by the deaths of Raechel and Jacqueline Houck, ages 24 and 20. The two sisters were killed in 2004 while driving a rented, recalled vehicle that caught fire and crashed head-on into a semi, according to consumer groups that have backed the rental car proposal.

Williams’ amendment would make the act apply only to companies whose “primary” business is renting cars, which would effectively exclude dealerships. No such provision exists in the Senate bill.

The amendment received little attention in the press, which may have been due to the late hour it was offered.

...“It was the House floor, almost midnight, there was hardly anyone there,” said Shahan. It passed on a voice vote.

Speaking in favor of the amendment on the floor that night was another auto dealer, Rep. Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania Republican who sells Chevrolets, Cadillacs, Hyundais and KIAs.

  ...Williams is chairman of Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM SRT in Weatherford. In his remarks on the House floor, Williams said the bill was bad for small businesses.

“Vehicles would be grounded for weeks or months for such minor compliance matters as an airbag warning sticker that might peel off the sun visor or an incorrect phone number printed in the owner’s manual,” he said.

Democratic Rep. Lois Capps of California didn’t agree with that reasoning, however.

“This is ridiculous. NHTSA (National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration) does not issue frivolous recalls,” she said. “All safety recalls pose serious safety risks and should be fixed as soon as possible.”

Members use the House “Code of Conduct” in guiding their actions. One section appears to be relevant. A member can’t receive compensation “the receipt of which would occur by virtue of influence improperly exerted from the position of such individual in Congress.”

The House ethics manual states that “whenever a member is considering taking any such action on a matter that may affect his or her personal financial interests,” he or she should contact the House Ethics Committee for guidance.

It’s not clear whether Williams did that or not. A spokesman for the House Ethics Committee declined comment.

So why dredge this up again now? Well, yesterday there were two related pieces in Politico pointing to Williams' continuing corruption. One, Members of Congress took small-business loans — and the full extent is unknown, featured a photo of him at the top of the page. A Politico team reported that "At least four members of Congress have reaped benefits in some way from the half-trillion-dollar small-business loan program they helped create. And no one knows how many more there could be." The first crook mentioned, of course, was Williams who they described as "a wealthy businessman who owns auto dealerships, body shops and car washes." The other three are all conservatives, Republican Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, whose family owns multiple farms and equipment suppliers across the Midwest and two New Dems, Susie Lee (NV), whose husband is CEO of a regional casino developer, and Debbie Mucarsel Powell (FL), whose husband is a senior executive at a restaurant chain that has since returned the loan.

Democrats have tried to pry free the list of recipients. But their push in the House to require disclosure of at least some companies was blocked on the floor late last month by Republicans-- including Williams and Hartzler, who voted against the bill. Lee and Powell joined all Democrats in supporting it. All four lawmakers have previously voted in favor of the small-business program.

...While it is not illegal for lawmakers to apply for or accept the money, it has raised new questions about lawmakers’ potential conflicts of interest as they craft the next coronavirus rescue package as well as the administration’s fierce secrecy of the $670 billion program. The program already faced intense scrutiny over charges it was helping the well-connected after reports revealed that large corporations were among the first to be awarded loans, while the smallest businesses were stuck in line.

...Much of the scrutiny surrounding lawmakers taking PPP loans has centered on Williams, one of the wealthiest members of Congress with a net worth of over $27 million in 2018. He received a PPP loan for an undisclosed amount for his Roger Williams Chrysler Dodge Jeep dealership in Weatherford, Texas. The same dealership employs his wife, according to his most recent financial disclosure form.

“If you’re a multimillionaire taking taxpayer money in the middle of the biggest unemployment since the Great Depression, get ready to explain that decision to the American people,” said Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) as she introduced new transparency legislation last month and called out Williams by name in a news release.

No one expected a crook like Williams to work with the 38 House Republicans who joined every single Democrat to pass the Truth Act transparency amendment. Just the concepts of "Truth" and "transparency" are, to Williams, like a cross is to a vampire. 4 Texas Republicans voted against Williams: Chip Roy, Dan Crenshaw, Michael McCaul and Will Hurd.

Kyle Cheney and Zach Warmbrodt wrote the second piece yesterday, Inspectors general ask Congress for help in monitoring coronavirus relief payments, which isn't specifically about Williams, just general GOP corruption in the same matter. "Federal watchdogs," they reported, "are asking lawmakers for help after Trump administration legal rulings appeared to sharply limit their ability to monitor more than $1 trillion in coronavirus relief programs-- including huge payouts to protect businesses threatened by the pandemic. In a two-page letter to several House and Senate committees last week, but disclosed for the first time on Monday, the inspectors general responsible for coronavirus relief oversight said an “ambiguity” in the main coronavirus response law-- the CARES Act-- allowed administration officials to sharply limit how much of the law’s spending requirements they must collect and report. This narrow interpretation of the law, the inspectors general warn, would dramatically impede their ability to gather information about some of the most expansive programs in the law, from the $670 billion Paycheck Protection Program to the $454 billion Treasury fund to protect businesses and industries damaged by the outbreak. The legal opinions are the latest squeeze put on inspectors general by the Trump administration, which has gradually chipped away at the ability of internal watchdogs to monitor aspects of the administration’s conduct independently."

As you may know, Blue America has endorsed Julie Oliver, who won her primary handily and is now taking on Williams in this gerrymandered Texas district that includes all or parts of 13 counties and snakes down from the GOP-leaning suburbs south of Ft. Worth into the heart of progressive Austin and down into Texas Hill Country. It was drawn by Tom DeLay to always send Republicans to Congress. But last year, Julie ran up big victories in Travis and Bell counties and made significant inroads in Hays and Coryell, closing to red/blue gap by 12 points. Her campaign increased Democratic vote share by an astounding 211% and she has just 9 more points to go. I might add that in 2018 her campaign’s data team piloted a targeted voter registration program that was instrumental in flipping 3 Republican-held Texas state House seats, and even as they take on Williams they are still focused on building the coordinated campaign to defend those seats. Please consider giving Julie a hand by clicking on the Blue America 2020 congressional thermometer on the right.

Kathi Thomas, progressive Texan: "The Difference Between Running To Be Elected And Running To Serve"

TX-25 is another one of those gerrymandered Texas districts created as part of Tom DeLay's plan to disenfranchise Democratic voters. It twists and turns and winds its way from East Austin and the UT campus west and and south to Dripping Springs and north through Lake Travis and Gatesville all the way up to Burleson in the Fort Worth suburbs. There are 13 counties in the district, most of the voters living in Travis, Johnson, Hayes, Burnet and Coryell counties. McCain beat Obama there 56-43% and Romney did even better-- 60-38%. Trump underperformed both McCain and Romney, but he still beat Hillary 55.1% to 40.2%. The PVI went from an R+12 to an R+11. Still very tough ground for a Democrat-- though not nearly as tough as the Oklahoma state senate district where progressive Democrat Allison Ikley-Freeman beat Republican Brian O'Hara last week. Trump beat Hillary in that district by nearly 40 points! Races Beltway prognosticators said were "impossible"-- like TX-02 (Poe), TX-06 (Barton), TX-07 (Culberson), TX-10 (McCaul), TX-14 (Weber), TX-21 (open), TX-22 (Olson), TX-24 (Marchant) TX-25 (Roger Williams), TX-27 (Farenthold), TX-31 (Carter), TX-32 (sessions) and even TX-36 (Babin) are all, at least theoretically, in play. The DCCC is so not taking any of these seats seriously, that the imbecile chairman, Ben Ray Lujan, hasn't even used the several months since Jared Polis resigned as regional vice chair to find a replacement. Texas doesn't have one at all. Brilliant.

Anyway, back to TX-25. Progressive activist Kathi Thomas is the leading candidate, although Chetan Panda, Chris Perri and Julie Oliver are also in the race. In 2016 Williams spent $1,189,561 to Kathi Thomas' $50,015 and beat her 180,988 (58.3%) to 117,073 (37.7%). Williams is a far right crooked used car salesman, a multimillionaire scam artist who has been under various ethics investigations since he wormed his way into Congress by self-funding to the tune of $330,000. I asked Kathi to introduce herself to DWT readers, using a story she told me on the phone about her motivations for running. This is worth reading:

My Texas roots go back to before Texas was a state, but my daughter is an immigrant, born in Guatemala. We adopted her as a baby. She became a U.S. Citizen when, holding her in my arms, my feet touched American soil. She’s 16 now, and will have her driver’s license soon. Obviously Latina, she carries a copy of her Certificate of Citizenship everywhere in case she is stopped and asked for “her papers.” We’ve had that difficult discussion about what she says if she’s pulled over. She’s to say, “I’m an American citizen, I was born in Guatemala and adopted as a baby, but I’m American.” At a recent candidates’ forum, a Latino man told me that it seemed like all the candidates were saying the right things about what’s going on with Latinos and the xenophobia, but I had “real empathy,” because it was my family.

I've been a strong advocate for equality, public schools and social justice for many years, through my church and as an individual. I've been a school band director, worked in the corporate world for a floral wire service, and I know firsthand how difficult it is to grow a small business from scratch. I started mine 27 years ago. I'm a parent and a wife; the product of a hard-working middle-class family, public schools, and state university. I think this broad background makes me a stronger candidate, because I can relate to many different people through my experiences.

I am well-known in the District, particularly in the three most populous counties: Travis, Johnson, and Hays. I was the CD-25 Democratic nominee in 2016. That provides unmatched name recognition. I've worked on behalf of progressive issues for years, and with my 16-year-old daughter facing an uncertain future, I'm not about to quit now. We must leave this Earth a better place for our children.

Although the primary will likely be won by the sheer number of Travis County Dem voters, for the general election, the more rural areas have most of votes to cast. I grew up in a small town in the Piney Woods area of southeast Texas, and easily connect with folks living in small towns across the District. We speak the same language and share the same Texas values. My faith is important to me. I'm comfortable talking about progressive Democratic values as supportive to my faith. In short, like my faith teaches, I care for people. That pulls the rug out from under far right-wingers who claim they're people of faith, like Roger Williams.

Williams says "faith, family and country matter the most" to him, but then he takes positions that don't align with any faith with which I'm familiar. I don't know what kind of country he wants, but it sure as heck isn't the kind that most of us want for our kids. It seems like the only family that matters to him is his own. All his stances on the issues support the richest of the rich, and while CD-25 is slightly above average in income for Texas, Williams does not support the typical constituent. He’s even right of his own party on gun control. When other Texas Republicans were saying we need to reconsider bump-stocks, he said it was a left-wing knee-jerk reaction.

How do I beat him? He's voted to cut Medicaid time and again-the vital federal program that keeps most rural and country hospitals open. It isn't just healthcare for people that’s affected, but also jobs where rural hospitals are often the first- or second-largest employer in the county. He also supports school vouchers. That just does not align with rural Texas where public schools are the heart and soul of the town. Vouchers divert precious resources from those institutions and will cause irreparable harm. You’ve seen it across Texas--there was even a TV show devoted to this slice of Texas culture. Friday nights in the fall find just about everyone in small towns at the football games.

I'm not kidding myself, it won't be easy, but my opponent has come out of the closet as a right-wing ideologue who refuses even to meet with his constituents in open forums.

We are implementing a strategic plan of attack. We're block-walking in neighborhoods that lend themselves to it. A personal letter-writing campaign from supporters helps get the word out in more rural areas. And we have been visiting every county in CD-25.

Another big plus, unlike Williams, I live in the District and have for two decades. When I tell folks that Roger doesn't live in it, they're shocked, and many times, angry. If we get someone who doesn't have the deep roots I've got in the District, we lose true representation of the voters.

I know it is easy to say you're progressive, but it is a different thing to be able to show results. I introduced forward thinking resolutions years ago at our County Democratic Conventions. Two examples: support to decriminalize cannabis and to endorse marriage equality. I'm a longtime advocate of prison reform, healthcare for all (universal, not just Medicare for All.) I've been active in our local community in our schools with many support groups including PTA. I testified many times for public education at the Texas State Capitol.

A friend of mine told me, “There’s a difference between running to be elected and running to serve. You’re running to serve.” That sums it up quite nicely. I do want to serve the people of Congressional District 25.

To do that, our campaign needs support. We're running a lean, grassroots campaign but even efficiency needs donations and volunteers. I will appreciate whatever you can do to help me serve the people of TX CD-25.

A Competent DCCC-- Which Doesn't Exist-- Would Be Having A Field Day Rebuilding The Democratic Party Brand In Texas

Texas has been ignored by the DCCC for too long. I fear 2018 isn't going to change much either, despite rumblings of some early interest. Is the new DCCC regional Vice Chair even paying attention-- or just running for governor of Colorado? There are 10 Republicans worth challenging in Texas in a 2-cycle strategy that could lead to the end of the disgraceful political careers of Pete Sessions, Joe Barton, John Culberson, Mike McCaul, Lamar Smith, Pete Olson, Kenny Marchant, Will Hurd, Roger Williams and John Carter, each of whom-- for example-- just voted to strip 24 million Americans of health insurance.

One of the most obvious targets is TX-07 Rep., John Culberson, whose Harris County district has gone from red to purple without the DCCC having taken note until last year when Hillary-- who didn't campaign there or spend a nickel in the market-- beat Trump 48.5% to 47.1%. As usual, the DCCC had no candidate running against Culberson and he was reelected 143,542 (56.2%) to 111,991 (43.8%) over conservative Democrat James Cargas. Culberson spent $1,193,411, compared to Cargas' $62,159. (The DCCC spent zero.) Cargas is running again, but so are 5 other candidates: Jason Westin, Alex Triantaphyllis, Debra Kerner, Joshua Butler and Laura Moser.

Aside from all the bad policy emanating from Culberson, he's also caught up in an insider trading scandal that has begun rocking Congress and which could land him in prison instead of back on Capitol Hill.

Innate Immunotherapeutics, the tiny but controversial Australian biotech company with ties to Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY), has picked up another financial backer in Congress. On January 26, Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) purchased Innate stock worth between $1,001-$15,000, making him the fifth current member of Congress to follow Rep. Collins in investing in the company.

The purchase on January 26, 2017 came at the height of scrutiny of trading in the company by former congressman and now-Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, though Rep. Culberson didn’t file the transaction report revealing the purchase with the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives until April 6, 2017.

In March, CREW reported that four other members of Congress – Mike Conaway (R-TX), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Billy Long (R-MO), and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK)-- had purchased Innate stock after Secretary Price’s purchase drew attention following his nomination. One of those members, Rep. Conaway, made an Innate purchase on the same date as Rep. Culberson.

Unlike Rep. Culberson, however, Rep. Conaway quickly disclosed the purchase, notifying the Office of the Clerk of the House within days. It is unknown why Rep. Culberson waited so long to disclose his investment in Innate.

Rep. Culberson did not report the purchase until April 6, well outside the 30-day period in which members are required to inform the Office of the Clerk of the House of stock sales or purchases. The deadline is 45 days if the trade was made through a broker and the member learned of it later.

...Purchases of Innate’s stock have been a point of controversy ever since it was revealed that Secretary Price had purchased between $50,001 and $100,000 of it last August in what has been called a “sweetheart deal.” During his confirmation hearings, several senators questioned if he used non-public information to trade health-related stocks, a potential violation of the STOCK Act if he did. They also questioned Rep. Collins’ role in encouraging him to invest in the company. Initially, Secretary Price said that all of his trades were initiated and executed by a broker, but later admitted he decided to invest in Innate after discussing the company with Rep. Collins.

Rep. Collins, who is Innate’s largest shareholder and sits on the company’s board of directors, was overheard by reporters in January speaking loudly into his cellphone in the House lobby, bragging about how many “millionaires” he had made in his hometown of Buffalo in recent months. In addition, after investing in Innate, Rep. Collins took legislative steps that would help the company, including authoring a clause in the 21st Century Cures Act that would accelerate Food and Drug Administration approval of certain drugs, a provision that could benefit Innate in the future.

Culberson had also voted for the bill. The progressive Democrat likely to face off against Culberson in 2018, Jason Westin, told us that "Culberson needs to play by the same rules as the rest of us. He must explain his Innate Pharmaceuticals stock purchase:

1. Did he receive any insider information that prompted his and his four congressional colleagues purchase of this stock?
2. If no, what public information prompted their buying together?
3. Why did he fail to disclose this purchase by the House required deadline?
4. Has he failed to disclose other similar purchases in the past?"

The race to replace Lamar Smith in the gerrymandered 21st district (the Austin-San Antonio corridor) has an even more crowded primary field than the one to replace Culberson. A district where Berniecrat Tom Wakely beat the conservative Democratic establishment candidate in the 2016 primary and then went on to score better against Smith than any previous Democrat, now has a growing list of candidates, from Wakely (endorsed by Blue America again) on the left to DCCC-favored "ex"-Republican multimillionaire Joseph Kopser on the right. Others include Derrick Crowe, Chris Perri, Chad Kissinger, Elliott McFadden, and Rixi Melton.

Smith has been leading the Republican war against Science and, especially against Climate Science and against the EPA. This week, Austin's Statesman reported that it was Smith who laid the groundwork for Trump that led to the ouster of the EPA's science advisors.

America's worst

What Trump and Smith have in mind is replacing the scientist advisors (the Board of Scientific Counselors) with lobbyists and industry reps. "I really don't know what to say about Lamar Smith anymore," Wakely told us this morning. "He has repeatedly shown he just doesn't care what his constituents or for that matter what anyone says about him. He will be 70 years old this November and he is already telling people in the district he won't be running in 2018. I believe he plans to go out with a big bang, leaving a trail of destruction behind him. Destroy the EPA... who cares. This man has always been a conservative but he never was just plain crazy. But over the last decade or so his policy positions on pretty much everything have increasingly become more extreme, even dangerous. This hardening of policy is not rational. Something else is at play here. Maybe he just wants to cash in and the oil and gas companies would be more than happy to oblige. Or maybe it is as simple as advancing age. Some of us stay alert well into our 90's and beyond, while others start falling apart years earlier, I know, I have a brother who just turned sixty and he has Alzheimer. So, as far as Smith is concerned, there is nothing we can do about him or his policies right now. We have to just wait until he retires or is forced into retirement in 2018." The NY Times reported that an EPA spokesman claimed that the Regime "believes we should have people on this board who understand the impact of regulations on the regulated community."

The move-- which has been criticized by government watchdog groups and associations of scientists-- is out of the playbook of U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, who represents parts of Central and South Austin and who chairs the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

Smith told the American-Statesman that he supported the move by EPA administrator Scott Pruitt for “being proactive in addressing issues related to EPA’s science advisory bodies.”

“This decision increases transparency, reduces conflicts of interest, and ensures balance on expert panels,” he said, adding the EPA’s science advisory boards serve as “echo chambers to rubber stamp costly and burdensome regulations.”

The EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act, which Smith co-sponsored and which passed the House in late March, bars anyone who has an ongoing research grant from the EPA to serve on the Science Advisory Board, another board that helps oversee work at the EPA, and prohibits board members from applying for grants for three years after they step down from the panel.

The upshot is that it would effectively prevent many scientific experts from serving on the oversight board.

“This valuable bill opens the door to increased outside input, wider expert opinions, and more balanced recommendations in EPA’s Science Advisory Board,” Smith said at the time of its passage in the House.

Smith has long vilified the EPA, accusing federal scientists of pushing an “extreme climate agenda.”

The American-Statesman reported in February that Smith has called far fewer scientists to testify before his committee than people associated with the types of industries the EPA is charged with regulating.

In February Smith convened a hearing called “Making EPA Great Again.”

“EPA has long been on a path of regulatory overreach, and the committee will use the tools necessary to put EPA back on track,” Smith said at the time.

Most scientists say emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases help trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, leading to a warming planet. Smith has told the American-Statesman in the past that evidence scientists provide is “wishy-washy.”

“Today, I was Trumped,” Robert Richardson, an ecological economist at Michigan State University, wrote on Twitter on Friday. “I have had the pleasure of serving on the EPA Board of Scientific Counselors, and my appointment was terminated today.”

Another Texas district the DCCC isn't looking at this cycle-- which means they're not even going to start a process to win it back in 2020-- is the 25th, represented by crooked Republican Roger Williams, currently being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for trying to pass legislation meant to enrich himself. The district , which Trump won with just 55.1%, begins up in Burleson south of Ft. Worth, and twists south into Travis County and Austin itself. So far the only Democrat in the race is self-described "fiscal conservative" Kathi Thomas, who Williams beat in 2016, 58.4% to 37.7%.

What Can Austin Texas Teach Us About How A Widely Hated Republican Party Consolidates Power

Lamar Smith and Roger Williams-- this is not Austin, Texas

In 2003, Tom DeLay did Travis County in. It was part of a masterplan that brought Texas from a state with 17 Democrats and 15 Republicans in Congress to one with 21 Republicans and 11 Democrats. Among other things, he gerrymandered up Texas' fifth most populous county-- Austin and it's suburbs-- to deprive the citizens an opportunity to elect their own congressional representative. Two actually. Nationally, the average House district has a population of 710,767 and Travis County's population is 1,151,145-- two congressmen. Both would be Democrats-- by a wide margin. Instead the DeLay-engineered gerrymander cut the county up and divided it among 5 districts, TX-10, TX-17, TX-21, TX-25, and TX-35, only one of which is Democratic, but still isn't a Travis County district.

In 2012, Travis County voted for Obama over Romney by a wide margin-- 231,540 (60%) to 139,503 (36%). There was also a U.S. Senate race that day and Travis County voters went heavily for Paul Sadler, the Democrat, over Ted Cruz. 224,070 voters went for Sadler (59%) and just 133,354 voted for Cruz (35%). You get the picture; it's a nice blue county. But here's how it worked district by gerrymandered district.

TX-10- stretched from the deep red suburbs west of Houston in Harris County across a hug swathe of rural Texas and right into northern Austin. Almost 40% of the district is in Travis County, which votes reliably Democratic but has it's voice muffled by the rest of the R+11 district. In 2012 over 88,000 votes came from Travis County and the multimillionaire right-wing Republican incumbent, Michael McCaul, only got 40% of them. But he took 74% of the 90,000 votes that came from Harris County and most of the votes in the smaller, rural counties.

TX-17 is a red hellhole (R+13) with a right-wing nut, Bill Flores, as a congressman. The district is dominated by McLennan County (Waco) which is overwhelmingly Republican. Over 60,000 of them voted in 2012 and 51,459 backed Flores (85%). Brazos County has the second biggest population of the 12 counties in the district and about 47,000 voted for Flores (83%). Travis is the 3rd biggest; over 32,000 voted but their voice was drowned out.

TX-21 is almost as red (R+12) and with an even worse congressman than Flores, Lamar Smith. We've been talking about this district a lot this cycle because we're trying to help Tom Wakely turn it blue. In 2012 Smith took 61% of the vote against a weak candidate. There are 10 counties, #1 being Bear (San Antonio) and #2 being Travis. Smith only got 32% of the Travis vote. Over 73,000 voted there, but they were drowned out by Bexar (over 101,000 voters) and Comal (about 40,000 voters).

TX-25 starts up in the suburbs south of Fort Worth and goes into the Texas Hill country southwest of Austin, grabbing a chunk of Travis County on the way. It's another R+12 district with another right-wing nut as a congressman, Roger Williams, who was just charged by the House Ethics Committee for trying to pass legislation to enrich himself. There are 13 counties and although Travis is the single biggest (109,000 people from there voted in 2012) their voices were drowned out by Republican votes from Johnson and Hays counties.

TX-35 is the one blue district that includes a piece of Travis County, not that the GOP didn't try to gerrymander Lloyd Dogged out of a seat. In the end though he wound up in this district that parallels TX-21 but tries stuffing in as many Democrats as possible so that neighboring TX-21,TX-10 and TX-31 would all remain safely red. The PVI is D+11 and includes southeast Travis county and a big chunk of Bexar (San Antonio). The district is about 65% Hispanic and 9% black. In 2012 over 72,000 votes came from an overwhelmingly Democratic part of San Antonio, while 42,000 voters from Travis County were able to join with them to elect Doggett.

None of this is news, except for the part about the Office of Congressional Ethics stating that "there is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Williams' personal financial interest in his auto dealership may be perceived as having influenced his performance of official duties." He had slipped an amendment into a transportation bill to allow car dealers (like himself) rent cars and use loaners under recall, a clear conflict of interest. (He's already one of the richest members of Congress-- with a 2014 net worth of $28 million-- but usually the richer someone is, the greedier they are as well.) Normally-- in a non-gerrymandered district-- he could be beaten. The DCCC didn't recruit a candidate and isn't supporting Kathi Thomas the district's nominee.

Tom Wakely

As of the June 30 FEC reporting deadline Williams had raised $1,382,855-- primarily by leveraging his position on the House Financial Services Committee (the banksters have given him a hefty $1,871,616 since he was first elected in 2012)-- to Kathi's $24,699. He had $978,997 cash on hand and she had $4,467. And it isn't as though the DCCC didn't know about the pending charges against Williams, which started bubbling up last November.

The only Republican-held Travis County seat we see as winnable this cycle is TX-21, where a combination of Trumpophobia in the Bexar suburbs and anger at Lamar Smith for his role in the Zika crisis and for his support for Trump. If you can spare some cash to help turn a Texas district blue, please give to Tom Wakely here.