WILL JOHN McCAIN PROVE HE'S NOT A HYPOCRITE BY DEMANDING CROOKED REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN GARY MILLER GIVE BACK THE MONEY?

Gary Miller (R-CA): extremist AND corrupt

Last night before turning in I did a short post about political hypocrisy. The GOP has been hysterically demanding that New York Democrats whose campaigns had had funds donated by Governor Spitzer return the money. I decided to check on what happened with the hundreds of thousands of dollars some of the Republican crooks had donated to each other. It was an eye-opener.

And then I got an e-mail from Blue America congressional candidate Ron Shepston (D-CA). Ron told me about something far more serious than penny-ante hypocrisy going on. And it got me thinking and wondering if John McCain, who claims to be the scourge of earmarks would join Ron in demanding Rep. Gary Miller, California's most far right member of Congress, return a $1.28 million earmark that is not only unethical but probably illegal. Here's what Ron had to say:

"Gary Miller should reimburse the taxpayers for earmarks that help his personal business. Like almost everyone else in this country, I work hard, pay my taxes and worry about my financial future. I don't think my tax dollars should be used to personally enrich Gary Miller and his biggest campaign contributor... Rep. Miller has abused the public trust. Earmarking federal funds to pay for road improvements by developments you and your biggest campaign contributor own is not acceptable. There is a clear line between right and wrong and Rep. Miller has crossed it."

Miller, a millionaire developer, has been under several ethical clouds in the past for using his position in Congress to benefit himself financially, while avoiding millions of dollars in taxes on suspect transactions.

The ethical problem Ron is talking about was in the 2005 highway bill where Miller surreptitiously inserted an earmark for road improvements to Diamond Bar Village, a residential and commercial development that he co-owns with Lewis Operating-- who just happens to be his #1 campaign contributor. That's illegal. Members of the House are prohibited from, "taking any official actions for the prospect of personal gain for themselves or anyone else."

Someone should have told Miller and his staff. Oh... come to think of it, they've been warned over and over again. But his staffers have lamely claimed, in the L.A. Times, no less, that "There was never a clear line between what was Congressional business and what was just business. The expectation was that you would do both."

Regular Americans pay their taxes and follow the rules. Gary Miller doesn't and neither does John McCain. I bet they'll be campaigning together in an Orange County subdivision near you in the not so distant future. Meanwhile, Ron-- even apart from how awful his opponent is-- would be an extraordinary member of Congress and I'd like to urge you to read the live blog session Ron did last September at Firedoglake. And if you would like to replace a rich, out of touch, corruput wingnut (who likes dressing up in Confederate uniforms) with a progressive, well-informed regular guy-- who enlisted in the Air Force and then went back to college and now makes a living as an avionics engineer-- please consider making a donation of any amount to Ron Shepston's Blue America page.

WHO WOULD FAVOR TORTURE? ALMOST EVERY SINGLE REPUBLICAN IN CONGRESS... + JIM MARSHALL

In a largely party-lined vote, the House failed to override Bush's veto of the legislation that would have re-iterated long-standing American policy to not engage in the barbaric use of torture of prisoners. Bush "vetoed the bill over the provision that extends to U.S. intelligence agencies and personnel the current prohibitions in the Army Field Manual against waterboarding and other torture." Senator Double Talk Express (R-AZ), Bush's political heir, supports Bush on the veto while telling the public that he opposes torture. He is a very confused or a very deceptive man-- or both.

Failing to prohibit in statute the use of waterboarding and other torture undermines our nation's moral authority, puts American military and diplomatic personnel at risk, and weakens the quality of intelligence. Indeed, in 2007, General David Petraeus wrote, "Some may argue that we would be more effective if we sanctioned torture or other expedient methods to obtain information from the enemy. That would be wrong. Beyond the basic fact that such actions are illegal, history shows that they also are frequently neither useful nor necessary."

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "In the words of retired Rear Admiral Donald Guter, a former Navy Judge Advocate General: 'There is no disconnect between human rights and national security… they're synergistic. One doesn't work without the other for very long.' Failing to legally prohibit the use of waterboarding and other harsh torture techniques also risks the safety of our soldiers and other Americans serving overseas. In a letter to the Congressional intelligence committee chairmen, 30 retired generals and admirals-- including General Joseph Hoar, the former head of U.S. Central Command-- stated: 'We believe it is vital to the safety of our men and women in uniform that the United States not sanction the use of interrogation methods it would find unacceptable if inflicted by the enemy against captured Americans…'"

There were 5 brave Republicans who joined the Democrats in trying to override Bush's veto: Roscoe Bartlett (MD), Wayne Gilchrest (MD, who lost his primary to a wingnut), Tim Johnson (IL), Ron Paul (TX) and Chris Smith (NJ). There were also 2 Democrats who voted with the Republicans because the bill wasn't good enough (Dennis Kucinich and Maxine Waters) and one disgrace to the Democratic Party who joined the GOP today, as he often does: Jim Marshall (GA).

Among the Republicans desperately seeking re-election by telling their constituents they are moderates and independent of Bush who voted for torture-- again-- were Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Dave Reichert (R-WA), David Dreier (R-CA), Randy Kuhl (R-NY), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Jim Gerlach (R-PA), Ric Keller (R-FL), Tom Reynolds (R-NY), and Mr. Moderate himself, crazyman Chris Shays (R-CT).

The DSCC is supporting a right-of-center "business Democrat," Kay Hagan for Elizabeth Dole's senate seat in North Carolina. Grassroots support goes to Jim Neal. Jim has been campaigning hard against retroactive immunity and Hagan admits that she favors it. In a brand new poll the under-financed campaign of the guy who knows it pays to emphasize the contrast in positions with right-wing Republicans pulled ahead of the Insider shill.

Many people have pointed to the deteriorating state of Chris Shays' mental capacity lately. Even with Attorney General Mukasey and GOP presidential nominee-designate McCain admitting that waterboarding is torture, Chris Shays is still splitting hairs and playing word games. The slippery Liebermanlike Republican, who has voted for virtually every single item on Bush's war agenda from Day One, had this to say about his contemptible pro-torture vote:

"I don't know where to draw the line on some of these issues," Shays said, adding that torture used to involve pulling out fingernails and maiming people with knives.

"I wouldn't be able to go through each item and tell you," Shays said, "because I don't know the sensation. I haven't had anyone do it to me."

The progressive Democrat running against Shays in November is Blue America-endorsed Jim Himes. We asked him how he felt about Connecticut's one GOP congressman voting for torture.

"I am appalled that the President vetoed a bill that would have simply forced interrogators to abide by the methods approved by our own military. I am equally appalled that Chris Shays and the Republicans in Congress voted to sustain Bush's veto.

"Chris Shays continues to provide cover for Bush's torture policy-- a policy which has eroded our standing in the world, endangers our own troops in the field, and makes us less safe. That the President and Chris Shays can't say clearly and loudly that Americans do not torture is inexplicable and outrageous."

"Our country was founded on and draws its strength from noble ideals. We are Americans, and we don't torture. It's that simple."

Several other Blue America stalwarts are facing pro-torture Republicans in November. Dennis Shulman, who is running against the Northeast's last remaining right-wing extremist, New Jersey nutcase Scott Garrett has this to say:

"We need members of Congress who take issues of morality seriously. Instead of a reliable vote for torture like Scott Garrett, we need representatives who recognize that torture inherently generates unreliable information while reducing our standing in the world. Our great strength as a nation is that, to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., while the arc of our history is long, it bends toward justice."

And the Scott Garrett of the West Coast is California's most extreme right wing member of Congress, Gary Miller. Ron Shepston, his Democratic opponent doesn't favor torture any more than Dennis or Jim or any rational American. "I find it incredible that anyone would agree to put our soldiers now and in the future in danger by letting us engage in something as unproductive and in fact as counter-productive as torture. In short, it doesn’t work and makes things worse for our troops. Anyone who says that it does is wrong. Those who voted to sustain should be ashamed of themselves."

VA-11's incumbent, Tom Davis, is retiring, as his constituents turn more and more against the war and against the entire shameful and disastrous Bush agenda Davis has rubber stamped. Today Davis was still voting for torture. The woman Blue America has endorsed to win in that northern Virginia district is Leslie Byrne and she came straight to the point: "Torture is against our fundamental democratic ideals and our Constitution. We ask our military to defend these rights and principles with their lives. If we disregard these fundamental rights, we dishonor their commitments."

If you'd rather see people in Congress like Jim Himes, Leslie Byrne, Ron Shepston and Dennis Shulman, please show them a little love at Blue America.


UPDATE: THE MILITARY OPPOSES TORTURE

Eric Massa, the Democrat running against Randy Kuhl in upstate New York, is a highly decorated ex-military officer with more understanding about military matters than Bush and his 5 closest advisers combined. Like most military officers and retired military officers, he understands why going back to Spanish Inquisition forms of torture are damaging, first and foremost, to our own fighting men and women. Having never been one, Bush, Cheney and their gaggle of Neocons is completely clueles. Here's what Eric told DWT this evening after Kuhl voted, again, to rubber stamp Bush's torture policies: "I am terribly disappointed that the roadblocking rubber stamps in Congress have decided to stand with George Bush and against the Geneva Conventions. The topic of 'should we or shouldn't we condone torture' should not even be part of the public discussion. Torture is wrong on every level and I very much look forward to casting a vote against it when I am a part of the 111th Congress."

Alan Grayson is running for Congress in Orlando against reflexive rubber stamp Ric Keller, who, naturally voted in favor of torture again today. I asked Alan what the hell is going on with a vote like that. He was as outraged as I was: "We somehow managed to get through two World Wars without torture, but in those wars we were led by the 'Greatest Generation,' not their clueless, AWOL offspring. I'm wondering what else the current Republican leaders hope to revive? Witch-burning? Serfdom? Absolute monarchy?"

BLUE AMERICA WELCOMES RON SHEPSTON, A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BLOGGER WHO'S CHALLENGING THE MOST EXTREME RIGHT-WINGER IN THE STATE

Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the DCCC, is more the kind of guy who reaches out to the grassroots than his odious predeccessor, the Democrats' version of Tom DeLay, uber-insider Rahm Emanuel. Unlike Emanuel, CVH has regular conference calls with grassroots and netroots Democrats and solicits information from many diverse sources. On recent conference calls he has been adamant that Democrats have a golden opportunity to pick up a southern California congressional seat because of the ethics mess CA-42's Rep., Gary Miller, has made for himself.

CA-42, an Inland Empire district where Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange County meet, is very Republican. Only 37% of votes cast there in 2004 went for Kerry and last year the extreme right-wing incumbent ran unopposed. A great many people commute back and forth to work and spend an awful lot of time in miserable traffic being brainwashed by Hate Talk radio.

Progressives and anti-war activists in Southern California have been even more determined than the DCCC that Miller's days of free rides were over. Netroots activists recruited a fellow blogger, Ron Shepston, a Kossack, and we're really proud to welcome him to Blue America for a chat this morning at FDL. (For background, here are a dozen excellent blog posts about this race.)

I spoke with Ron a few days ago, who's still figuring out how to juggle a full-time job, a family life and his campaign. He lives in Silverado in the foothills of the Cleveland National Forest, not far from Mission Viejo. He reminds me a little of Charlie Brown, probably because he's an Air Force vet who served in the Vietnam War. He's 60 years old and he supports impeachment and an end to the occupation of Iraq... now. He's very much a "won't back down" kind of guy-- the opposite of a mealy-mouthed, overly cautious apologist for Republicans and Inside the Beltway Democrats.

"The facts," he said, "warrant impeachment hearings. We have to do the right thing. Without a doubt the facts warrant the process." In honor of one of the only candidates to have the cajones to come on here and say it in plain English, the first 20 people who donate at least $30 to Ron's campaign today at Blue America get a free "Impeach Cheney" cap. His position on Iraq is also straight forward. He thinks it's a complicated situation but our presense is "only making things worse... The American people don't want this war and Democrats should be leading the country, not following the politics of fear."

And Ron's own website gets right to the point on page one. No shilly-shally beating around the bush:

Defending Rule of Law under the Constitution
Honoring-– not needlessly sacrificing-– troops
Supporting fiscal responsibility: Americans deserve decent medical care and pensions-– not huge budget deficits.
Making policy based on facts-- not fantasies
Working for the district-– not big contributors

Too radical and liberal for Orange County? Ron doesn't think so at all. "There are plenty of Republican voters who are excited about having a decent candidate running against Miller. People in the district don't feel he represents them. He seems to help his developer friends and doesn't bring much to the district... People here are angry about the assault on the Constitution."