Why Does Steve Israel And The DCCC Keep Recruiting Conservative Republicans To Run For Congress As Democrats?

Almost a decade ago, Blue America was toiling away on behalf of school teacher and union member Dave Lutrin, running for Congress in the Palm Beach area of Florida, pretty red district then represented by hypocritical Republican closet case Mark Foley. We knew that sooner or later Foley would slip up-- they always do-- and expose himself and become very defeatable. But suddenly Lutrin was getting all this pressure from Rahm Emanuel, then head of the DCCC, and Steny Hoyer to withdraw from the race. It made no sense. Florida's 16th congressional district was pretty red and not a district that the DCCC paid any attention to. It turns out though that my hunch about Foley was more than a hunch for Emanuel. Foley's alcoholism and closeted homosexuality were widely known Inside-the-Beltway but it was not widely known that those two factors had combined to create a very sick yen for being caught molesting underage boys. And he was. But congressional leadership, primarily Republican congressional leadership, covered up for him. Rahm Emanuel saw Mark Foley's crumbling world as an opportunity to pick up a House seat they weren't counting on. So he kept his mouth shut too-- complicit in allowing Foley to have his way with young congressional pages (primarily the sons of big GOP donors). Long story, short: Emanuel with Steny Hoyer, froze Lutrin, the legitimate Democratic candidate, out of the race and enticed a wealthy lifelong, conservative Republican, Tim Mahoney, into the race (delivering on their promise of an uncontested primary and a "special circumstance" for the general). The special circumstance was how the media exploded into an orgy of Mark Foley Caught With His Pants Down (in a boys dorm).

Although Foley resigned and checked into a posh clinic for naughty Republicans, it was conveniently too late to get his toxic name off the ballot and Mahoney was elected-- though just barely (49-48%). Mahoney immediately joined the Blue Dogs and reverted to voting with his fellow-Republicans... and to chase women all over town. His one term ended in scandal, amid sexual escapades, payoffs, hush money and all sorts of things normally associated with Republicans (which, of course, he was, despite the deceptive blue jersey). He lost his seat to a Republican. The district was soon redrawn and re-numbered and came to be represented by war criminal and right-wing extremist Allen West who was eventually beaten by yet another DCCC-recruited Republican, Patrick Murphy.

Now, to placate Wall Street banksters angry about Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders disrespecting them, Chuck Schumer promised to put their boy Murphy in the Senate to balance out the "radicals" he (and they) detest. So Schumer is trying to deep-six Alan Grayson's Senate campaign, not unlike the way Hoyer and Emanuel deep-sixed Lutin 9 years ago. And Wall Street is footing the bill. But Grayson is not Dave Lutrin and he may actually beat the DC/NY Axis of Evil. (You can help him do that here.)

It used to surprise me when conservative Democratic leaders like Rahm Emanuel, Steny Hoyer, Chris Van Hollen, Jon Tester and, worst of all, Chuck Schumer, recruited Republicans to run as Democrats. Now it's practically standard operating procedure for the DCCC and DSCC. The worst congressional candidate the DCCC has this cycle is Iowa Republican Monica Vernon, who is running in a blue district against Iowa progressive icon and former state House Speaker Pat Murphy-- nothing like Florida's horrendous Patrick Murphy. But Vernon is far from the only Republican who the DCCC is trying to pass off as a real Democrat. Despite the fact that Obama beat Romney in NY-21 52-46%, Steve Israel has persuaded everyone around him that only corrupt right-wing Democrats like himself can win that district. Bill Owens, the last Democrat to represent it, was, like Israel a wretched and hated Blue Dog. Now Israel has recruited a Republican, Mike Derrick who won't win-- Republicans already have their own real Republican candidate so why vote for a fake Republican/fake Democrat like Derrick? No one will but Steve Israel insists he's the nominee. Period. Israel prowls the country looking for these kinds of Republicans willing to switch parties for DCCC backing, the same way Emanuel did. It never works out because even if they do manage to win in a presidential election year, they immediatelyy start voting with the Republicans and then get defeated in a midterm because grassroots Democrats don't come out to vote for them. It;'s the story of Steve Israel's catastrophic history at the now destroyed and useless DCCC.

That said, let's wander back to the Palm Beach area and to the district Murphy is giving up in the hopes of serving Wall Street in the Senate, FL-18. Like Murphy, Randy Perkins doesn't live in the district and like Murphy he's a wealthy spoiled Republican donor. He personally wrote Mitt Romney a $2,500 check on June 21, 2011 and the company he owns, AshBritt has spent nearly a million dollars on boosting Republican campaigns, although AshBritt has also given some money to conservative Democrats like Joe Lieberman ($46,700) and to Hillary Clinton ($16,100). But generally it's lots of moolah to right wing Republicans like McCain ($18,400), Mel Martinez ($28,000), Tom Rooney ($13,800), Susan Collins ($20,900), Ruddy Guiliani ($11,500), Mark Foley ($11,500), etc.

In the crowded race to replace Murphy in Congress, there are 5 Democrats and as many as a dozen Republicans in or talking about getting in! Among them Perkins decided to try it as a Democrat, where the primary competition won't be as tough. According to Isadora Rangel at TCPalm, Perkins "is expected to spend more than $1 million to win U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy's open seat as a Democrat, but his past as a prolific Republican donor could serve as ammunition for his opponents."

Perkins of Delray Beach, the founder and CEO of disaster-recovery company AshBritt Inc. in Deerfield Beach, was registered to vote with no party affiliation for 21 years and became a Democrat days before he filed to run for District 18 this month.

Although he has also contributed to Democrats, his closeness to the GOP could be used against him in the highly-contested race much like Democrat Murphy has been criticized for being once a Republican and for giving money to the GOP... It is difficult to determine exactly how much Perkins has given in races across country and to groups that don't disclose their donors. An analysis of $925,300 donated by him and AshBritt since 2002 to federal and Florida candidates, as well as political committees, show 70 percent went to Republicans.

...Perkins' candidacy sent shock waves in the Democratic Party. Potential front-runner Melissa McKinlay dropped out less than a week later, saying having a well-funded opponent would force her to forego some of her duties as a Palm Beach County commissioner to dedicate herself more to campaigning.

Candidate Jonathan Chane, of Palm Beach Gardens, went on the offense, sending out a news release the day after Perkins entered the race questioning whether he would protect Democratic values in Congress.

Another Democratic candidate, Palm Beach County Commissioner Priscilla Taylor, said Perkins' money doesn't guarantee he's going to win. She doesn't plan to leave the race as McKinlay did, despite having raised less money than McKinlay and Chane.

...Murphy has faced similar scrutiny for being wealthy and from switching his party registration to Democrat just before he filed to run for Congress in 2011. Murphy's Senate opponent, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, has gone after him for giving to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign in 2007. Murphy's father, the owner of a construction company, also has donated to several Republicans and Democrats.

Perkins and Murphy also share another similarity: neither lived in District 18-- Martin, St. Lucie and northern Palm Beach counties-- until they filed to represent it. Murphy moved from South Florida to Jupiter and Perkins is moving from Delray Beach soon, probably to Martin County, his campaign said. The race to replace Murphy has attracted other outsiders from both parties.

Everyone knows Murphy never really moved into to his Jupiter condo and actually lives in South Beach and on his daddy's yacht, Cocktails, on Fisher Island.