Grassroots Democrats Doing The Job The DCCC Refuses To-- In Michigan

This week Blue America has been concentrating on our ads in Maine exposing Susan Collins (as of yesterday over 180,000 impressions in Maine with more than 20,000 Mainers watching the ad) and our advertising in southwest Michigan exposing Fred Upton, which counted over 90,000 voting age viewers in the district and close to 10,000 MI-10 eligible voters watching it. And that was just yesterday!

Thanks to Steve Israel's bungling, all the Michigan House seats the DCCC had targeted have been abandoned and left to the Republicans-- even while Gary Peters is cleaning up statewide against unqualified GOP lunatic Terri Lynn Land by wide margins. Luckily for Paul Clements, as it turns out, the most winnable seat in Michigan, Upton's, was studiously ignored by Israel, even after polling showed how vulnerable Upton was. Pelosi, who many say has been asleep at the wheel for some time now, should have fired Israel back then; but she didn't-- and Clements has run a far more vigorous and successful campaign than any of Israel's now-abandoned recruits. As a result, even Beltway pundits are now trying to find out where MI-06 is on a map.

No one is writing about Israel's Michigan CIA agent, Bobby McKenzie, Israel's Guantánamo gulag ex-commandante, Jerry Cannon, former state Rep. and EMILY's List priority Pam Byrnes or ex-congressional staffer Eric Schertzing, the bungled opportunity the Democrats had to win MI-08 when Mike Rogers decided to retire. Instead, all the attention is on the race Paul Clements is running against Upton with ZERO help from the DCCC. (In fact, Israel is still calling outside groups and trying to bully them into not supporting Clements against his pal Upton, as he did several days ago with the League of Conservation Voters.)

This week, Alex Brown at the National Journal assessed how deep the shit is that Upton-- who, thanks to DCCC protection, has never faced a real race before-- has now found himself in.

Upton, the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is facing the most credible Democratic opponent of his career, and a late infusion of outside money has energized Democrats on the ground. Still, there's been little polling or non-anecdotal indicators to prove the race is winnable. But even if Upton prevails this year, his opponents hope to at least put him in the conversation of future Democratic targets-- and lay the groundwork for a better-financed 2016 campaign in a presidential year that offers a strong climate for Democrats.

And if, as some have speculated, Upton calls it quits in 2016 when term limits end his Energy and Commerce tenure, Democratic efforts this cycle could leave them well-positioned to contest what stands to be be a wide-open race.

Western Michigan University professor Paul Clements is the 13th Democrat to test Upton's electoral mettle, and, his backers say, the best. A newcomer to federal politics, he has more than doubled the fundraising of any previous Upton challenger. Veterans of previous Democratic campaigns in the district call Clements's operation the first "professional" challenge they've seen.

Clements's prowess has garnered interest both inside the district and out, but anyone who wasn't paying attention before certainly raised their eyebrows this month when an outside super PAC announced plans to pump nearly $2 million into efforts to oust Upton. The group, Mayday PAC, aims to target politicians beholden to moneyed interests. On Oct. 9, it named Upton among its handful of targets for the 2014 cycle.

The late swarm of money has excited local Democrats-- who say the race was competitive even before the cash infusion-- and left consultants wondering whether a district long excluded from any toss-up rankings could really oust its powerful incumbent without much warning.

...[L]ocal Democrats say his days as a little-contested, taken-for-granted incumbent are over. "Paul has a built a historic campaign here," said Clements spokesman Connor Farrell. "Any outside observer that looks purely based on data should see that this is a competitive race." But the campaign would not release any polling to back up its claims of a close contest, and no public polling has been conducted on the contest either, an indication of the district's longtime noncompetitive status.

Mayday PAC also sees a tight race. "We are only investing in races where we believe there's a path to victory," said spokeswoman Allison Bryan. "We've done internal polling that shows Fred Upton is vulnerable." Mayday PAC also declined to make those numbers public.

Still, Bryan said even making the race close could be considered a success. Mayday PAC is investing in only a handful of races this cycle, with the aim of making a statement and preparing a full-fledged operation two years from now. "The best way to describe it is setting us up for what we want to do in 2016," she said, asserting that efforts to damage Upton now-- even if he keeps his seat-- could pay dividends later.

The group says its sole purpose is to oust politicians too close to special interest money, and it calls Upton the "worst of the worst." Its backers say they recognize the irony of spending big money to get money out of politics, but they hope groups like theirs won't be necessary if they can elect enough politicians who support campaign finance reform.

Mayday PAC founder Mark McKinnon said earlier this month his group plans to "give Fred Upton the fight of his political life" and "perhaps we can be a giant killer."

That enthusiasm hasn't been shared by national Democrats. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has targeted four other Michigan GOP-held seats this cycle (they've since pulled out of all four races), but has not put its weight behind Clements's campaign.

The 6th is "the most Democratic seat in Michigan that's held by a Republican," said Mark Miller, the Michigan Democratic Party's district chair. "Why the DCCC has been unwilling to invest in this district is perplexing."

The Cook Partisan Voting Index rates the district as a +1 Republican seat.

"[Clements has] raised money without a lot of institutional support from the Democratic Party," said John Curran, who managed Democrat Don Cooney's 2010 campaign against Upton. "It's always been considered this Republican bastion.… Our activists, donors, and candidates feel left out in the statewide and national picture."

The financial picture isn't too great for Democrats in the district, either. One national-level Democratic operative noted that while Upton still has $1.6 million in the bank, Clements has already spent almost all of the $700,000 he's raised this cycle, leaving a heavy burden on any outside group looking to make a late money surge. The operative also said the district's split-ticket voting tendencies didn't necessarily spell vulnerability for a political institution like Upton.

A source familiar with Democratic polling of the district said Upton held a substantial 54 percent-to-35 percent lead in June, before the Mayday PAC investment. Most analysts consider incumbents polling above 50 percent to be in relatively safe position.

"On both sides of the political spectrum, they put the money where they hope to have the most impact," said Victor Fitz, who chairs the Michigan GOP's efforts in the district. "If the [DCCC is] not putting it in the 6th District, you can read something from that."

Upton's campaign says they've never taken the race for granted, and the Mayday PAC money infusion doesn't change their calculus. "From Fred's perspective, there's two ways you can run—unopposed or full speed ahead," said campaign manager Tom Wilbur.

"Most of of us on the ground look at this with a smile on our face," Fitz said. "I don't see any traction in this at all. [Mayday PAC] can spend their money, but I don't think it's going to have much of an impact."

While Upton maintains the super PAC attacks haven't changed his strategy-- or made him any more vulnerable-- his opponents see a candidate on the defensive. Mayday's first ad targeted the incumbent on Medicare drug prices and failing to protect patients with preexisting conditions. Days later, an Upton ad lamented the "lies" opponents were spreading and touting his efforts to help seniors on Medicare and patients with preexisting conditions. It's an unusual tack for a Republican who has been one of the most outspoken opponents of Obamacare.

Wilbur acknowledged the ad was a response to the Mayday PAC attacks. "When the Mayday folks start spreading lies, it's important that we start spreading the truth," he said. That's a far cry from the campaign's apolitical, feel-good first ad from two weeks before.

Clements' allies see it as something more. "We think that he's responding," Mayday PAC's Bryan said. "He's obviously threatened by what we're doing." Added Curran, who ran the 2010 campaign against Upton: "His latest ad is a pretty strong deviation from what we've seen from him so far."

Another Democratic operative in the district agreed. "He's absolutely defensive on it," the operative said.

And while Upton finds himself unexpectedly defending certain tenets of Obama's signature law, Democratic message discipline on the other side has been strong. To a person, Clements' supporters characterize Upton as a good moderate who lost his way in Washington as big-money oil and insurance groups financed his rise through the House GOP ranks and pushed him to the right each step of the way.

Upton's camp argues that as chair, he's given precedence to bills that have bipartisan sponsors. They also point to his role in the bipartisan "Gang of 12"--a group of legislators who tried and failed to break Capitol Hill's impasse over the federal debt in 2011.

Whether or not Clements can upset the near three-decade incumbent, his backers says he's opened some eyes. Curran contrasted this cycle with previous Democratic campaigns, including his own work on Cooney's 2010 campaign as a 20-year-old who "didn't really know what I was doing." Typically, he said, "we've been scrambling in April or May of the election year to get someone on the ballot."

When Clements launched his bid in early 2013, "a lot of people laughed at him," Curran said. But the early start gave him time to fundraise, and while he hasn't matched the cash numbers of his well-connected opponent, he's come far closer than any previous challenger. Even if the Mayday PAC money isn't enough to put him over the top, Democrats in the district say the race has ensured the the 6th won't be left behind in the next cycle.

If you'd like to help us keep our ad up until election day, please consider contributing what you can on this special page for Independent Expenditures.

UPDATE: More Trouble For The Corrupt Upton

The American Democracy Legal Fund has requested the Office of Congressional Ethics investigate whether Upton violated federal law and House rules by improperly threatening with retribution those who contributed to a super PAC that supports his challenger in the upcoming election.

Upton thug Gary Andres, who is being paid with taxpayer money, threatened the CEOs who contributed to the MayDay PAC with harsher regulatory treatment from the House Energy and Commerce Committee if they don't back Upton. Steve Israel and his DCCC are still working overtime to protect Upton, who the L.A. Times called the most dangerous man in the United States when it comes to destroying the country's environment. Who's side is Steve Israel on? Good question!

Fred Upton Cancels The One Debate He Had Agreed To With Paul Clements-- And It Wasn't Even About A Fan

Fred Upton only agreed, reluctantly, to one debate— and only after Paul Clements started gaining tremendous traction in the southwest Michigan 6th congressional district. Upton, an heir to the Whirlpool fortune that once— but no longer— was the biggest employer in the area, doesn’t like being questioned or reminded of his record. Shipping all those Whirlpool jobs— i.e., Republican-backed “outsourcing”— doesn’t go over well with his constituents.

Western Michigan along the 94 in towns from Three Oaks, New Buffalo, Sawyer up through Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, and over to the 196 through Lake Michigan Beach, South Haven and Saugatuck is one of the most environmentally sophisticated areas of the country and they are not supporters of Upton’s GOP agenda of despoiling the natural beauty of one of America’s most beautiful areas for the benefit of a few wealthy corporate exploiters.

Yesterday, though, Upton suddenly canceled the one debate. He claims it interfered with the Ebola hearings in his committee, which ended at 3pm and had been scheduled almost 2 weeks ago. Yes, the hearings ended in plenty of time for Upton to hustle his ass back to Lake Michigan College— if he wanted to— for the 8:15 PM debate. Mark Miller, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party's 6th District Committee: “Last month, he ducked a debate request in Kalamazoo, and now he's cancelled the debate he agreed to over a month ago in Berrien County. The hearing he cites as a conflict started at noon, and he's known about it for two weeks. The debate was scheduled to being at 8:15 PM. I'm not a travel agent, but a quick search online shows multiple flights available that could have allowed Congressman Upton to keep his commitments to the people of southwest Michigan. I am sure that Congressman Upton has more than enough money for a flight after taking millions from the special interests, including over one million dollars from the health insurance industry. Members of Congress should be able to do more than one thing at once.”

Upton is starting to unravel in the face of the first campaign to ever give him a real challenge. He had been counting on his fellow Establishment shill, DCCC chairman Steve Israel, to protect him again— and Israel has put tremendous effort into preventing Democratic donors and PACs from helping Paul Clements. But the slimy Israel was unable to stop Lawrence Lessig’s non-partisan, good government, crowd-sourced operation, the MayDay PAC, from jumping into the race to finally let MI-06 voters know the truth about what Upton has been doing in DC and how he’s changed since they first elected him in 1986.

Upton has now focused his campaign on inchherent attacks against Lessig, calling him— falsely— “a Harvard billionaire,” whatever that’s supposed to convey. This race is turning into the single most important House race in the country— one that pits The People against the Beltway Establishment (Upton’s GOP crooks and Israel’s Democratic crooks).

Republican heavyweight Mark McKinnon, the former George W. Bush adviser, who co-founded MayDay PAC with Lessig: “Fred Upton obviously couldn't sit still while we told the truth about his record of putting the big-money special interests ahead of the people so he put up this misleading ad. At least he's wasting a bunch of that special interest money he has raised over the years. Chairman Upton is welcome to air all the ads he wants, and we intend to keep telling the voters of Southwest Michigan that we can't afford Fred Upton anymore." 

Yesterday, Fred Upton’s campaign released a new ad making provably false claims that Fred Upton has protected seniors’ access to Medicare and worked to secure coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.

The truth is that Fred Upton is not on the side of regular people:

•        Upton has taken nearly $10 million in special interest money from PAC’s.
•        Upton voted against legislation that would have allowed lower drug prices and later voted in favor of the Ryan Budget, which was described by ABC News as the ‘end of Medicare as we know it’.
•       Upton has also been steadfast in support for changing federal health insurance law to eliminate insurance coverage for some of the most vulnerable patients.

…MYTH: “Fred Upton has always been on our side.”

FACT: Upton has received nearly $10 Million from special interests.

According to records maintained by CQ Political MoneyLine, Upton had received $9,996,939 from PACs during his career.

MYTH: Upton is “Working to protect seniors’ access to life-saving medications.”

FACT: In 2007 Upton Voted against Medicare Prescription Drug Negotiation Act. According to Govtrack.us, the bill “require[s] the Secretary of HHS to negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers the prices that may be charged to prescription drug plan sponsors and Medicare Advantage organizations [Roll Number 23, 1/12/07; Govtrack.us]

FACT: According to the New York Times, this proposal “would allow medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for millions of older Americans.” [New York Times, 4/18/07]

MYTH: Upton is “Fighting for and winning a Medicare prescription drug plan that saved seniors money on prescription drugs.”

FACT: In 2011, Upton Voted for the Ryan Budget, which would have turned Medicare into a voucher Program. [House Vote 277, 4/15/11]

FACT: According to ABC News, “Critics Have Called Ryan’s 2011 Proposal, the ‘End of Medicare as We Know It,’ and That’s True...Individuals Would Have to Pay More under His Plan.” [ABC News, 8/11/12]

FACT: In 2011, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported that the typical 65-year-old’s out-of Pocket Expenses would more than double— from $6,150 to $12,500—in first year vouchers would apply. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 4/7/11]

MYTH: Upton is “fighting to ensure those with pre-existing conditions can stay covered. That’s the real Fred Upton, fighting for us.”

FACT: According to Upton’s Website, he “Supports Full Repeal of Obamacare…” [Upton.House.gov, 5/16/13]

FACT: According to the Kaiser Family Foundation “Obamacare Bars Insurers from Denying Coverage to People with Pre-Existing Conditions…Or Conditions that Began before Coverage Began.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 10/1/13]

Right now Clements looks like he’s going to win handily in the Kalamazoo area. His campaign needs help with field operations in the western part of the district, where the Michigan Democratic Party isn’t doing anything. If you can volunteer, here the place. If you can contribute, this is the page.

Can Paul Clements And His Grassroots Army Beat The Sick Fred Upton-Steve Israel Beltway Establishment?

everything that's wrong with American politics in one little picture

Steve Israel, Chairman of the DCCC, had managed to keep Fred Upton's blue-leaning district off the radar for years. Even after Obama won the district 184,186 (53%) to 156,835 (45%), Israel stepped in to make sure Upton would have an easy rise to reelection. Even after polling showed a Democrat could beat Upton by double digits, Israel refused to let the DCCC engage in the race and Israel continued calling Democratic organizations and donors and demanding they not help fund Democratic candidate Paul Clements.

There are two categories of Republicans that Israel has taken off the table at the DCCC-- fellow members of his old Center Aisle Caucus and Republican Party senior policy makers, leaders and committee chairman. Upton fits both categories and he has been one of the most protected Republicans by the DCCC. The pathetic DC pundits who take all their direction for the Beltway committees, have been too lazy and stupid to even ask why MI-06 was never in contention.

This year, however, thank primarily to a spectacular grassroots campaign by Paul Clements and his team and to the herculean efforts by the nonpartisan, crowd-sourced, good government MayDayPac, Israel has been suddenly thwarted. Even as Gary Peters is running up immense statewide polling numbers in his Senate race, Israel has abandoned his 4 pathetic congressional candidates. The only Democrat facing off in a Republican-held district that is still standing-- standing and gaining momentum-- is Paul Clements, the candidate Israel has worked to sabotage. (Last week he called LCV and begged them to not go up against Upton. Being LCV, they said "Yes, sir"-- and spent more money on Susan Collins instead.

Last week 11 shady right-wing super PACs sounded the alarm and came running to Upton's aid in the 6th district. Who knows which corporate crooks are funding Republican operations like the Road to Freedom PAC, Stand Tall America PAC, The Good Fund, Main Street Advocacy, etc and who knows what favors the Congressman is promising them in return for tech 6 figure contributions? Even the Wall Street Journal noticed something different was happening than the usual in southwest Michigan. "[I]n a year in which voters are questioning their allegiances," wrote Siobhan Hughes, "the Clements campaign sees Mr. Upton’s incumbency and financial support from corporate interests as weaknesses they can exploit."

Mr. Clements’ campaign is betting it can overcome Mr. Upton’s built-in advantages in part because of a unique feature of the political landscape: Michigan is a state of  ticket-splitters. A poll conducted for Mr. Clements campaign found that voters in the sixth district support the Democratic Senate contender by 50% to 38%, but back the Republican for governor. It also found that some 73% of those surveyed didn’t know who Mr. Clements was, suggesting the challenger has an opportunity to build support from independents provided he can improve his name recognition. Mr. Clements’s pollster is Dave Beattie, who has also worked for third-party candidate Greg Orman, who is now in an unexpectedly close Senate race in Kansas.

Upton and his operatives have been so busy threatening MayDayPAC donors with retribution that he cancelled the district's one debate and adamantly refused to reschedule it. Are MI-06 voters starting to wonder what Fred Upton has turned into after all those decades in Washington? Blue America is running an ad in the district that asks them to think about it. If you'd like to contribute to Clements' Get Out The Vote efforts directly, you can do that here. Or if you'd like to help us keep that ad up where it's needed most, along the Lake from Saugatuck down through South Haven to Coloma, Benton Harbor, St. Joseph, Sawyer and Three Oaks and over to Niles, Decatur and Paw Paw, please contribute what you can here.

I Wonder Why The DCCC Keeps Overlooking Michigan's 6th CD And Fred Upton

Fred Upton, Steve Israel-- corrupt cronies in Congress

The DCCC announcement this week of another batch of candidates has been called their "worst recruitment effort in history." No one should be surprised that most of Steve Israel's picks for their Jump Start program could be barely described as "the lesser of two evils" in comparison to their opponents. Of the 9 new candidates, there appear to be two worthwhile ones, Erin Bilbray (NV) and Martha Robertson (NY). And on top of being inherently bad-- take anti-Choice, antigay gun loon Jennifer Garrison (OH)-- they're also a bunch of losers.

Let's look at a comparison of the races in OH-06, where Israel is backing Garrison against hapless and ineffectual Republican backbencher Bill Johnson, and MI-06, where Israel isn't even seriously considering grassroots progressive Democrat Paul Clements, who is running against Israel's crony, the powerful and destructive chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Fred Upton. First, let's look at the two districts:

OH-06 has a PVI of R+8 and MI-06 has a PVI of R+1. Last year Democrats lost every race in an R+8 district (or redder), with the exception of four long-term incumbents who vote with the Republicans on nearly everything, Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT), John Barrow (Blue Dog-GA), Nick Rahall (WV) and Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog-NC). That's 154 districts with R+8 PVIs or worse that the Democrats lost in. There are 11 districts with PVIs of R+1. Last year Democrats won 5 and only one was an incumbent. Democratic challengers can win in R+1 districts. In fact, of the 6 R+1 districts the Democrats didn't win last year, 2-- Upton's and Peter King's-- were under the protection of Steve Israel and the DCCC only made a serious effort in one district, CA-10, where they spent serious bank (over $3 million) on Jose Hernandez against Jeff Denham but lost anyway. They did not seriously contest NJ-03 (Jon Runyan), NY-02 (Peter King), PA-08 (Michael Fitzpatrick), MI-06 (Fred Upton), WA-08 (Dave Reichert), or FL-13 (Bill Young). Here's how Obama did in these districts. Oh, first OH-06, where Garrison is facing off against Johnson next year. In 2008, McCain beat Obama 53-45% and Last year Romney did even better, beating Obama 55-43%. But Steve Israel finds this anti-Choice, antigay, right wing nutjob who is known as the Sarah Palin of Ohio, so compelling that he's betting (your money) on her in this district. So here are the 7 districts with GOP incumbents and PVIs of R+1:

• MI-06 (Upton)- Obama beat McCain 53-45% and lost to Romney 49-50%
• FL-13 (Young)- Obama beat McCain 51-48% and beat Romney 50-49%
• WA-08 (Reichert)- Obama beat McCain 51-47% and beat Romney 50-48%
• CA-10 (Denham)- Obama beat McCain 50-48% and beat Romney 51-47%
• PA-08 (Fitzpatrick)- Obama beat McCain 53-46% and lost to Romney 49-49%
• NY-02 (King)- Obama beat McCain 51-48% and beat Romney 52-47%
• NJ-03 (Runyan)- Obama beat McCain 51-48% and beat Romney 52-48%

Refocusing on just OH-06 vs MI-06, Obama did well in the Michigan district and miserably in the Ohio district. Despite spending $2,086,390 plus $397,242 from their House Majority PAC last year, the DCCC lost a rematch between Blue Dog/New Dem Charlie Wilson, a former congressman, 53-47% in OH-06. And Wilson isn't even hated by the Democratic grassroots the way Garrison is. The district has 18 counties and Johnson won 14 of them, including biggies Mahong, Columbiana, Washington, and Lawrence and effectively tying in Jefferson, a must-win for Democrats.

So what about MI-06, where Clements has already been endorsed by Blue America? Steve Israel will not allow the DCCC to get involved because Upton is one of his old buddies for the Center Aisle Caucus and they've pledged not to fight each other-- which is something Pelosi should have considered before appointing and-- inexplicably reappointing-- Israel to head the committee charged with winning seats (not protecting GOP incumbent pals). This week Hannah Northey did the deepest examination of who Paul Clements is for the environmental community. The article is behind an E&E Daily paywall so I'll draw from it:

Paul Clements (D) is the furthest thing from a household name, but that's not stopping the college professor from trying to unseat one of the most powerful members of Congress.

In fact, Clements, a political scientist at Western Michigan University, is the earliest candidate in the state's history to announce his intention to oust the deeply entrenched and wealthy 26-year House veteran Fred Upton (R), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, from Michigan's 6th District. And he's planning to use the issue of climate change as a cornerstone of his campaign.

Idealistic? Some analysts think so.

"It would require a tidal wave election and every possible contention to go correct for a Democratic challenger for Upton to begin to be considered vulnerable," said Jake Davison, president of the Lansing-based political consulting firm Advantage Associates, which serves GOP clients.

Upton has held a political vice grip on the Republican-leaning district for years and last year took almost 55 percent of the vote against Democrat Mike O'Brien. Clements, in comparison, doesn't have Upton's deep pockets or well-sourced political campaign. According to the Federal Election Commission, Upton had $720,000 on hand as of June 30, whereas Clements had $47,000.

Some political wonks in the state haven't even heard of the professor.

But Clements says Upton's increasing extremism on issues like climate change makes him vulnerable. He accuses the congressman of pandering to donors and special interests and says the district-- made up of six counties straddling the shores of Lake Michigan on the border with Indiana-- is ready for something new.

"It was Upton's turnaround on climate change that pushed me into running for this," Clements said. "He used to say we needed to regulate greenhouse gases, but it seems to get promoted to the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, you have to cut a deal."

Clements, who studied at Princeton and Harvard and grew up in India and Hong Kong while his parents worked for the Methodist Church, says he wants to address income inequality, ensure Michigan manufacturers produce and export more clean energy technology and bolster education and health care in the state.

He also says he has already raised more than $100,000 and plans to get his name out through a grass-roots campaign.

...But the GOP and analysts in the state reject the notion that idealism is a match for Upton.

"I think this guy from Western, I don't know if he's the sacrificial lamb or running on his own accord," said David Worthams, chairman of the Republican Party of Kalamazoo County. "I honestly would be surprised if there's anything but a solid victory in November of next year" for Upton.

Bill Ballenger, a longtime Wolverine State political analyst who publishes the newsletter Inside Michigan Politics, said it would have to be the "perfect" storm for Democrats to successfully take on Upton, one that includes a "quality opponent," for the GOP lean of the district-- currently hovering around 54 percent-- to wane.

"It's almost laughable," Ballenger said. "The one thing about it is that he's announced it so early, but where he goes from here remains to be seen."

Although [Mike] O'Brien [who Israel sandbagged and sabotaged in 2012] recently announced his intention not to run against Upton again, Clements is taking a lesson from the previous Democratic nominee's handbook.

He's focusing on Upton's careful dance on the issue of climate change that all began when the congressman took the helm of the House Energy and Commerce Committee three years ago.

Notably, O'Brien attempted to paint Upton during their debates last year as a moderate who lost his independence to wealthy interest groups and the most conservative elements of his party. O'Brien made the point that Upton's website once featured the statement that "everything must be on the table as we seek to reduce carbon emissions."

These days, such language is absent from Upton's website and the congressman is better-known for his adamant opposition to a carbon tax, for his desire to stop the "war on coal" and for supporting legislation to strip U.S. EPA of its authority to regulate heat-trapping emissions linked to climate change.

The Los Angeles Times noted the change in 2011 when the newspaper's Opinion staff declared Upton the top "Enemy of the Earth," calling him the "gatekeeper for many of the disastrous anti-environment bills that have been approved or proposed in the House this year."

The newspaper went on to note the irony in that Upton was once known among his state's conservatives as "Red Fred" because of his "somewhat pro-environment voting record, but a recent electoral challenge from his right changed all that."

In the past two elections, Upton has been challenged in the Republican primary by former state Rep. Jack Hoogendyk, a conservative. Upton won the primary 57 percent to 43 percent in 2010, and by a 2-to-1 margin in 2012, outspending his challenger significantly in both contests.

...David Pawloski, chairman of the Kalamazoo County Democratic Party, said Upton at one time described himself as an environmentalist to voters, but that description no longer fits.

"Fred ran back in the '80s, he said he was a strong environmentalist, that's what he told people," Pawloski said. "But now that he's chair, people have noticed that he's not so much for the environment like he said."

Republicans reject the characterization.

"I don't think he's flip-flopped," Worthams said. "When you're in the majority in Congress, Senate Democrats or House Republicans, you have to find those policies that would protect our natural resources while not providing something that's overbearing on small businesses."

Worthams said Upton has protected the country against "an EPA that's overzealous in their mandate" and that he's seeing very strong local support for the congressman.

Joshua Freed, vice president for clean energy at Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank, suggested that Upton's stance on energy and environmental matters is a reflection of the modern GOP.

"The House Republican caucus these days is like driving on a very narrow, one-way street," he said. "One has very few options at all to deviate from the dominant path. That's seen in members' positions on climate, as well as a host of other issues, including spending and the budget, health care, gun safety, and on and on."

But Clements said Michigan voters want to see Congress take action on climate change, and Upton has failed them.

"I've met with farmers in Van Buren County," he said. "We completely lost our apple and cherry crops last year because of the weird weather going up to the 80s in March and freezing again."

NRDC Action Fund Director Heather Taylor-Miesle predicted that the issue will resonate with voters and said Clements is improving his chances by getting out early and attempting to frame the energy debate.

Just how vulnerable Upton is depends on whom you ask. When it comes to Clements, Democrats are hoping the early bird gets the worm.

Having a 14-month head start gives the party time to get Clements' name out, and the professor is already on track to raise as much as-- if not more than-- O'Brien's $200,000, which set a record for Democratic fundraising in the district last year, Pawloski said.

Clements can also campaign full-time, which is needed when running against a sitting congressman, he added.

"I think Fred's vulnerable simply because he's been there 26 years, he's been there forever," Pawloski said. "People are dissatisfied with the way things are going in Washington."

Clements is quick to point out that President Obama carried the district by 10 points in 2008, and the decennial redistricting process did little to change the district's political makeup. The district also voted for Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D) and Carl Levin (D).

...Clements said his past experiences have fostered a desire to tackle issues like poverty and cleaning up the environment, and that will shine through in his campaign.

He grew up in Hong Kong and India, where his father, Jesse Clements, was a social worker for the Methodist Church. Jesse Clements worked with refugees from China and started a social service agency in Hong Kong with Paul's mother, Mollie, who worked on economic and social development issues in the slums of Mumbai and in villages around India. Jesse Clements died last year; Mollie Clements is a retired Methodist minister.

"I did 10th and 11th grade in India and spent most of my holidays helping out in the village and slum projects," Paul Clements wrote in an email. "I figured that this kind of extreme poverty didn't need to happen."

Clements went on to earn a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a doctorate from Princeton University, and he's now the director of the master's program in international development administration at Western Michigan University.

In addition to tackling economic problems in Michigan, Clements said he plans to call for more energy efficiency and conservation and wants to see Michigan manufacturing windmills and solar equipment. He also believes federal incentives are a way to reach that goal, despite the debacle surrounding the bankruptcy of the government-backed Solyndra solar energy company.

Upton led a politically charged investigation into Solyndra that prompted the House to pass legislation that would have wound down the loan program.

"I appreciate the federal government doesn't get these things right every time, but Upton's response was 'If there's one bad apple, you should stop supporting clean energy,'" Clements said. "That's completely wrong."

If you'd like to help Paul Clements replace Upton, you can chip in at the Blue America ActBlue page.

Dear Nancy Pelosi-- You're Letting Steve Israel Throw Away A Winnable Seat In Michigan

If there's one district that demonstrates the venality of Steve Israel and his utter unfitness to head the DCCC, it is the race in southwest Michigan between the hereditary multimillionaire chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Fred Upton, and Paul Clements, a professor at Western Michigan University, an advocate for middle class families and for environmental sanity. MI-06 has a PVI of R+1, one of only a dozen districts in the country with that rank. Five of those seats are held by Democrats and 7 are held by Republicans. For Democrats to ever think about taking back the House, they have to win those 7 seats. Steve Israel isn't contesting 4 of the 7, which should be enough of a reason for Nancy Pelosi to fire him on the spot. People often ask me why he isn't going after MI-06, since it would be a much more likely win than almost any of the Red to Blue seats he is going after.

There are several reasons, aside from just general incompetence. First of all, Upton was a member of Israel secret society, the Center Aisle Caucus which joined Blue Dogs and mainstream conservatives into a pact to never oppose each other in elections. And second is Israel's sweet little deal with the NRCC that if he doesn't target Republican leaders or committee chairs, they won't target… Steve Israel, the only member of either party in a district with a zero PVI that doesn't have a contested race.

MI-06 is the highest Democratic performing seat currently held by a Republican in Michigan; Obama in 2008 and hometown boy Mitt Romney only won by one percentage point in 2012. Despite that, Israel has decided to ignore Paul Clements and ignore MI-06 and dump money into MI-01 where an anti-Choice conservative Democrat is trying to win in an R+5 district and into MI-07 where a moderate, garden variety Democrat is trying to win in an R+3 seat. If Israel's CIA spy wins the primary in MI-11, he says he'll spend money there too-- a district with an R+4 PVI. But nothing, not a nickel in MI-06. Someone might ask, "Is Pelosi asleep at the wheel?" I would rephrase that: "Can anyone wake Pelosi up, or is it too late?"

And what makes this even worse is this poll that Israel and the DCCC saw last October, clearly showing just how vulnerable Upton is: 53% disapproval, 51% ready to elect a Democrat, 56% saying they would be even less likely to vote to reelect Upton after his vote to shut down the government and a final score of Upton- 36%, Democrat- 56%, undecided 8%. Steve Israel may be a moron (he is) but even he can read a poll this clear and obvious.

Israel is throwing money at districts between R+8 and R+19. He's not going to win even one of them-- NOT ONE. And he's throwing away MI-06 (and WA-06), primarily because he's a Blue Dog who hates progressives. Maybe Pelosi should have thought of that before reappointing him after his catastrophic losses in 2012 while Obama was being reelected and Patty Murray at the DSCC was cleaning the Republicans' clocks in impossible state after impossible state after impossible state. Israel couldn't even win the easy ones! And Pelosi is allowing him to replay the same ugly scenario this cycle.

People in southwest Michigan deserve better; people all over America deserve better. And what if Upton loses his primary to teabagger Jim Bussler a week from Tuesday? It's not likely-- but more likely than it was for David Brat to beat Eric Cantor. Last cycle, Upton won by the smallest margin of his career, and the local media has finally-- after all these years, started telling voters about what he;s been up to in Washington. Had Israel helped 2012 Democratic candidate Mike O'Brien, Upton would have probably lost-- or at least set the state for a loss this cycle. And Clements is an even better candidate than O'Brien… and a better fundraiser. Clements has already raised over half a million dollars (with 100 days to go) while O'Brien raised only $293,987 for the entire cycle, Israel telling institutional donors not to "waste" their money on either candidate.

In the past, no one would have read this kind of unfriendly editorial about Upton from the Kalamazoo Gazette. "Dear Fred," they wrote. "Knock it off. Let go of this irrational desire to dismantle the Affordable Care Act through unending legislative maneuvers. And, stop heeling to the extremes of the Republican Party."

Your obsession, the Republican party’s obsession, with attempting to dismantle the law has now resulted in a government shut down, because you and 227 other representatives voted in favor of a plan tying government spending to a one-year delay in the ACA's mandate requiring Americans to purchase health insurance.

In August, during a live chat on MLive.com, you wrote in response to a reader's question about a potential government shutdown over the Affordable Care Act: "I know some of my colleagues have suggested that they will not support [a Continuing Resolution] unless the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is defunded. I think this would be a lousy idea and certainly harm the most vulnerable."

It was a lousy idea in August, and it was still a lousy idea a few days ago. And, yet, you decided to go along with it. Saying Tuesday, just hours after the shutdown, "The Affordable Care Act is not ready for primetime, but shutting down the federal government is not a solution” does nothing to ease the frustration of voters.

If shutting down the government is not the solution, then don’t vote for a measure that results in that. The American public is now being made to pay the unreasonable price of reduced services-- or no services-- for this partisanship.

Which brings us to the bigger point. There is serious work to be done, be it improving Obamacare, dealing with the budget and the debt ceiling, jobs, tax reform. There is serious work that requires serious statesmanship with a decidedly bipartisan bent.

Upton is too in thrall to the teabaggers he fears to be that statesman. It's time for him to leave. He's failed miserably on Climate Change, where as committee chair he could have done more than just bottling up solutions to the greatest problem facing mankind today, which has a great deal to do with why the Sierra Club has ignored Steve Israel and endorsed Paul Clements, the loudest voice on behalf of Climate Change solutions of any candidate for Congress this year-- and running against the Republican who the L.A. Times rated as the #1 enemy of planet earth. Please consider helping Clements keep his field operation and his grassroots outreach strong. You can contribute to his campaign directly on this page. No contribution is too small. This is one where we can make a very real and very important difference.

Why Is Pelosi Allowing Steve Israel To Gratuitously Screw Over Working Families In Southwest Michigan?

The ruin of Franklin Roosevelt's great political party

In a recent report from the Kalamzoo Gazette, Upton challenger Paul Clements sets new record for Democratic fundraising in 6th district, the photograph caption was "WMU Professor Paul Clements, who is looking to unseat U.S. Rep. Fred Upton in 2014, speaks to a packed crowd at the Kalamazoo County Democratic headquarters." Packed crowd? Maybe someone should tell DCCC chairman Steve Israel. Or perhaps mention the title to Israel, the part about setting new fundraising records, supposedly the only thing Israel really cares about anyway.

But no one will, because everyone knows it won't do any good. Israel doesn't challenge Republican committee chairs and policy-makers-- no matter how heinous their policies (and few are as heinous as Upton's). And he especially doesn't challenge his old fraternity brothers, like Upton, from his beloved Center Aisle Caucus. So here's the DCCC prioritizing and wasting money on dreadful deep red districts with even more dreadful conservative candidates, while a true blue progressive in a district ripe to be plucked (MI-6 with a PVI of R+1) is absolutely off the table. How can Nancy Pelosi abandon the working families of southwest Michigan to the tender mercies of Steve Israel this way… again?

Heading into the 2014 election season, Congressman Fred Upton's Democratic challenger announced that he has raised more money than any prior Democratic congressional candidate in Michigan's 6th district.

Paul Clements, 52, a political science professor at Western Michigan University, had raised $365,469 as of March 31, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Clements appears to be the first Democratic candidate in the 6th district to surpass the $300,000 threshold. In 2012, Democrat Mike O'Brien, who at the time had raised more money than any Democratic congressional candidate in the 6th district in 20 years, raised a total of $293,986, according to the FEC. (The current 6th district was formed in 1992, combining parts of the third and fourth districts.)

"Our report shows a broad movement that wants bipartisan solutions on job creation, education and investments in our future," Clements said in a statement. "The people of Southwest Michigan deserve an independent voice focused on their needs, and that's not what they have been getting with Congressman Upton."

During the first quarter of 2014, Clements raised $122,178. Of the more than 2,500 individual contributions, 86 percent were for less than $200, Clements' campaign reported, citing strong grassroots support. According to the FEC, Clements took in $3,950 from political action committees (PACs).

John Taylor, chairman of the Kalamazoo County Democratic Party and a county commissioner, confirmed that Clements had broken the Democratic congressional fundraising record set by O'Brien in 2012 for the 6th district.

"The really impressive thing about Paul's number is there's very little PAC checks in there," he said in a phone interview. "Individuals are stepping up for his race and that's a positive sign."

Israel, instead, is staying focused on Jennifer Garrison an anti-Choice, gay-hating, pro-NRA, pro-fracking conservative who is said to look an awful lot like his former mistress (his latest former mistress, the one his most recent wife divorced him over). Her district doesn't have a PVI of R+1, like Upton's. It has a PVI of R+8. And even with all the help Israel and Steny Hoyer are giving her, she isn't raising the kind of money grassroots progressives like Clements are. This quarter she brought in a meager $89,000, about a third of what the DCCC had assigned her. And she isn't the only Steve Israel recruit who fell flat on their face, rejected by the Democratic grassroots. Among other big Israel Q-1 recruiting failures were Red to Blue designees Jackie McPherson (AR-01)- $112K, Jerry Cannon (MI-01)- $143K, Bobby McKenzie (MI-11)- $133K, and Kevin Strouse (PA-08)- $115K, who is losing the money race to a more grassroots primary candidate Shaunghnessy Naughton, who, unlike him, is campaigning against fracking, which he foolishly supports in the very environmentally-conscious Bucks County (which he is unfamiliar with).

I asked a Member of Congress today if it is too late for the Democrats to win back the House in November. He wasn't optimistic but offered his opinion that damages could be minimized if Pelosi replaced Israel as DCCC chairman. "We'll never win it back with Steve calling the shots there, but I could name half a dozen Members who could walk in there tomorrow, shake the place up, get rid of some of the dead weight, and stop the bleeding… Steve will be lucky to break even. And I don't think Lady Luck has been kind to him in recent years… Nancy should kick him upstairs and give Keith [Ellison] the job. Even [he called me back and asked me to omit this name] would do a better job than Steve."

Fred Upton Lies About Republican Healthcare Initiatives For His Pal Boehner

Fred Upton represents a blue-leaning district in western Michigan that Obama won 53-45% in 2008 and lost to Romney by a handful of votes. The biggest county in the 6th district, by far, is Kalamazoo. Upton only got 49% of the vote there last year (same as his under-funded opponent). On the same day, Obama took Kalamazoo County with 56% and Senator Debbie Stabenow swamped her GOP opponent 57-39%.

The only reason Upton, an out-of-touch hereditary multimillionaire, keeps winning is because DCCC chairman Steve Israel has given him a free reelection pass and refuses to back anyone running against him. This year Paul Clements is the candidate and Israel has again gone out of his way to tell Democratic donors to not contribute to Clements' campaign. Blue America disagrees-- and we hope you'll see it our way and lend a hand.

Upton is part of Boehner's inner circle and Boehner gave him the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, despite as shocking number of conflicts of interest. Upton was once a dependably mainstream conservative but his fear of a Tea Party primary has made him into a kind of right-wing robot in the last couple of years. He votes almost the exact same way as Louie Gohmert and Michele Bachmann, even if "his heart's not in it." He's so concerned by extremists who could vote him down in a GOP primary, that he's taken to ignoring the best interests of the normal people in his district.

So it was with some surprise last week when Boehner started touting Upton's OpEd on a Fox website as the long-waited Republican answer to healthcare-- beyond, "go to an emergency room" or "die quickly." Upton must be hoping his Tea Party constituents can't or don't read. He sure agrees with a lot of what President Obama says is good about the Affordable Care Act-- and what the crazed, drooling teabaggers call Obamacare. In fact, most Republicans would reject almost everything Upton claims about Republican Party healthcare intentions. Among the most blatant lies:

• We support expanding affordable insurance options for all Americans, but not in a one-size-fits-all way.

• We will protect people with pre-existing conditions, so they are not denied insurance coverage through no fault of their own.

• We preserve and improve Medicare for our seniors by giving them better options and more choices.

• We strengthen the safety net for the poor and disabled by giving governors flexibility to provide higher quality, innovative services for the most vulnerable. And we ensure medical research continues to find cures for challenging diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.

Clements seems almost amused by Upton's disingenuous approach. "Mr. Upton," he asked him, "if you agree so much with President Obama on health care solutions, why not work with him?" His statement:

I am delighted to learn from Congressman Fred Upton’s recent letter on FoxNews.com that he supports so much of the President’s Affordable Care Act. He supports expanding affordable insurance options for all Americans, protecting people with pre-existing conditions, expanding affordable individual-based options, preserving and improving Medicare, and strengthening the safety net for the poor.

Mr. Upton, since you agree with President Obama on so much, why not work with him?

Although the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, confirmed by the Supreme Court, in a stunning waste of legislative energy Upton and his fellow House Republicans have voted against it 40 times in the past three years.

Now Mr. Upton announces that he supports many of its principles, but still he wants to sweep it away and start over.

Mr. Upton, whatever dream world you have drifted off to, please come home. The way to improve something you largely support is to discuss, negotiate, and compromise. This is how we get government that works.

We will also make a big step towards a government that works by replacing Fred Upton in Congress with Paul Clements. If you'd like to help, you can do that here. It makes a lot more sense than contributing to the DCCC and seeing your money go to support the Republican-lite candidates favored by Steve Israel.

Why Is The DCCC Leaning So Heavily In Favor Of Conservatives And Against Progressives?

Steve Israel works to elect conservatives to Congress; Garrison and Aguilar

Sean Sullivan covers national politics for The Fix. Prior to joining the Washington Post in the summer of 2012, Sean was the editor of Hotline On Call, National Journal Hotline’s politics blog. He has also worked for NHK Japan Public Broadcasting and ABC News. Sean is a graduate of Hamilton College, where he received a degree in Philosophy. He lives in Washington, D.C. If you read Sean's latest for the Post, Democrats Are Looking To Exapnd The 2014 House Map, Here's Where, you will have a better understanding of the depths political journalism has sunk to inside the Beltway. Sean, apparently, sees his job-- as do most of his colleagues-- as a stenographer for the two parties' political committees. He recycles their talking points and the Post passes it off as journalism in a world where anything smacking of "analysis" is strictly avoided (unless it's by someone really credible, like Richard Cohen. And it is just like all the other crap that gets passed off as "political journalism" in Washington… so no one even notices. And a p.r. person gets a gold star for placing the client's messaging in a prime location. Can't the Post afford actual journalists aside from Greg Sargent? Or do they just not want to disturb the apple cart by hiring them?

"House Democratic strategists," he writes, "are aggressively looking to expand the 2014 map by competing in some districts that were not major battlegrounds in the 2012 campaign in the hopes of giving themselves a bit of a margin for error next November." OK, who are these House Democratic strategists? Steve Israel? And what's behind this strategy? Aren't "who?" and "what?" something they teach on the first day of journalism school anymore? He quotes from DCCC staffers, all of whom are presumably working towards the same goal: personal wealth and never gets into any of Steve Israel's motivations.

Although there is absolute truth to say that the Democrats stumbled into some good luck with James Lee Witt in western and southern Arkansas (AR-04), let's be clear; this is a district with an R+15 PVI, where Obama took 37% against McCain and did even worse against Romney and where the last Democrat who ran-- also in an open seat situation-- managed to win just 3 of the district's 17 counties.

The other targeted incumbents mentioned are:

• Tim Walberg (MI-07) R+3, good target, decent candidate
• Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) D+1, good target, decent candidate
• Stevan Pearce (NM-02) R+5- interfering in a viable primary on behalf of the more conservative candidate
• Lee Terry (NE-02) R+4- plausible target, plausible candidate
• Tom Reed (NY-23) R+3- good target, good candidate

Had Sullivan bothered to glimpse at the DCCC's Jumpstart page-- Israel's priority candidates-- he might have found some interesting names that weren't mentioned and wondered about some interesting races that Israel is ignoring and leaving off the radar entirely. There are twenty Jumpstarters so far and surely an article about expanding the map should include Israel recruits like Jennifer Garrison, in deep red OH-06 (R+8), and John Lewis in Montana's at-large district, where Obama took 42% last year, Jon Tester was reelected with 49%, a Democrat retained the governor's mansion with 49% and Republican Steve Daines was elected over the conservative DCCC hack Israel recruited in 2012, Kim Gillan 53-43%. And then there's Pete Aguilar in solid blue CA-31, an empty suit who Israel recruited in 2012 and who lost to two Republicans back then but who Israel is determined to back again, despite a far better candidate, Eloise Reyes. Israel's endorsement of proven losers like Aguilar and Garrison, are a key to understanding his recruitment strategy. Aguilar, a conservative who raises money from local Republicans (like GOP mega-donor Jack Dangermond), has a scant record (although he did admit that he would vote to cut Social Security benefits, unlike Reyes) but Garrison is the embodiment of everything Democrats are fighting against. She is Ohio's most homophobic Democratic politician and single-handedly prevented her state's ENDA bill from passing. And she voted against the Ohio minimum wage increase. Both of these are inconvenient facts that Israel is desperate to hide from his House colleagues just at the time the Democrats are trying to pass ENDA and raise the minimum wage. I guess Sullivan couldn't connect those dots for the Post; maybe they pay badly.

And then there are the better targets that Israel is determined to ignore for personal and political reasons, like these obvious vulnerable incumbents:

• Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27)
• Fred Upton (MI-06)
• Buck McKeon (CA-25)
• Dave Reichert (WA-08)
• Mike Rogers (MI-08)
• John Kline (MN-02)
• Paul Ryan (WI-01)
• Erik Paulsen (MN-03)
• Pat Meehan (PA-07)

All of these districts have a few things in common aside from Israel's refusal to engage. Obama won each in 2008 and/or 2012. Each has a far easier PVI than most of the districts Israel has chosen to spend money on. Upton and Reichert, for example is in R+1 districts, unlike Garrison's R+8. Garrison, however, is the kind of corrupt conservative Israel loves and Upton's and Reichert's opponents, respectively Jason Ritchie and Paul Clements are progressives and ethically solid.

So Steve Israel is trying to expand the map. Perhaps Sullivan should have looked at these two independent polling results from MoveOn and PPP, one for OH-06 (Johnson vs Garrison) and one for MI-06 (Upton vs Clements). Keep in mind, Israel and his cronies are already squandering thousands of dollars in OH-06 on behalf of the anti-Choice, anti-gay, anti-environment, anti-worker Garrison… and not a cent in MI-06 on behalf of the progressive Democrat, Paul Clements. Even an Inside-the-Beltway fake journalist might notice something amiss here:

If you'd like to help offer an alternative to Steve Israel's efforts to stock the House Democratic Caucus with conservatives, you can contribute to any of these progressive candidates.

The Perfect District For The DCCC-- MI-06-- Has Been Taken Off The Table By Steve Israel

Fred Upton is one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the House. But he's considered safe by the Beltway Establishment, with another nice free reelection pass signed by his old crony from the Center Aisle Caucus, Steve Israel. The Center Aisle Caucus alumni don't try to defeat each other. Since Pelosi made the colossal mistake of appointing Israel chair of the DCCC, the corrupt, conservative Long Island Democrat has protected some of the most obvious seats needed for a Democratic takeover of Congress. Southwestern Michigan's 6th district is one of the most obvious.

In 2008 Obama smash McCain 53-45% in the district, easily Obama's best showing in any of the 9 Michigan GOP-held districts. Even a remotely competent DCCC chair-- or one that was being properly supervised-- would have targeted MI-06 in 2010 and 2012. In 2008, while Obama was stacking up a substantial lead in the district, the DCCC ignored Kalamazoo City Commissioner Don Cooney, the Democratic nominee. He spent $84,883 against Upton's $1,527,587 and Upton beat him 59-39%. Two years later, the DCCC was perfectly content to see him as the party's candidate again-- and ignore him again. In 2010 Upton spent even more money-- $2,083,790-- and Cooney only managed $61,614 and scored a dismal 34%.

Steve Israel took over as DCCC chair for the next cycle and he didn't do anything about recruiting but, fortuitously, ended up with an excellent candidate in Mike O'Brien. Upton was worried and more than doubled his spend-- $4,724,798-- but with no help whatsoever from the DCCC, O'Brien only managed to raise $293,987. He held Upton down to a 54-43% win and tied him in Kalamazoo County, the district's biggest county.

This is a district where the DCCC should be recruiting. Are they? I don't think so. Israel doesn't recruit against his fraternity brothers. There's a very qualified political science professor from Western Michigan University who is backed by local Democrats, Paul Clements who is running, but the DCCC is studiously ignoring his race, the same way they ignored O'Brien and Coons in the last three races. If Pelosi was paying attention, this district alone would have her kicking Israel's ass out of the DCCC chair. This is district has a PVI of R+1, a MUCH better bet than most of the districts Israel has decided to stake the 2014 congressional battle in. And voters there are sick of the way Upton, formerly a mainstream conservative, has been dragged further and further right by the racists and teabaggers who control the House Republican Caucus. His overall career-long ProgressivePunch score is a respectable-- for a Republican-- 12.38. But for 2013 it's a shocking 1.67... pure Tea Party territory. His constituents now see Upton as a political coward.

Paul Clements teaching about international development administration but when he spoke with me on the phone yesterday, he mostly talked about how there can be no democracy-- here or anywhere else-- without economic justice. BINGO! He also wanted to talk about green energy alternatives and how that could make life better for people in western Michigan-- a topic that puts him at odds with Upton, a dedicated shill for Big Oil and Gas. (Upton has accepted $517,250 in legalistic bribes from Big Oil and their payoffs have accelerated since Boehner named him chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In his "heart" he may agree with Paul Clements about climate change-- but not in his voting record. Clements:

Climate change is the greatest threat to Michigan and to the world in the 21st century. We need to keep global warming under two degrees Celsius, but this takes a strong international agreement limiting greenhouse gas emissions in each country. Such an agreement can only be reached with American leadership.

Recently Michigan has seen failures of apple and cherry crops, Lake Michigan at historic lows, some of the hottest and driest summers in our history, and increased flooding from stronger storms and heavier rainfall. These and other influences from climate change are likely to get worse. With runaway climate change we could lose half our species of plants, trees, animals and birds. West Michigan could have a climate similar to West Texas by the end of the century, with summers seven degrees Fahrenheit hotter than today. But around the world it would be even more disastrous. Runaway climate change is likely to cause droughts and floods that drive millions from their homes, collapsing governments, and wars over water and other resources.

The technology exists to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius. Southwest Michigan must lead in manufacturing based on this technology. America must take the lead to negotiate an international agreement, address the harms from climate change, and develop the technologies for a clean energy future.

...In America and around the world we are “mining” natural resources such as water supplies, fisheries, and forests. We are withdrawing more each year than nature regenerates. Also, polluters and others who harm the environment usually do not pay the cost of their pollution.

We should move toward full cost accounting, taxing polluters for environmental harms. For example, coal-based power plants should be taxed for the health effects from their pollution, and nuclear energy and natural gas companies should be held liable for accidents and other harms they may cause.

Michigan is blessed with great lakes, forests, rivers and wildlife. It is our responsibility to sustain these blessings for future generations.

Please consider joining me in giving Paul a hand in his uphill-- but very winnable-- battle against Fred Upton.