Is Washington's 3rd CD Too Conservative For A Real Progressive? Heck, No!

If you follow our Blue America endorsements, you're probably aware of the great enthusiasm we have for Washington state Senator Craig Pridemore. Rarely do voters get such a clear record of accomplishment as Craig's with which to judge a candidate. But what about his Democratic primary opponent, Denny Heck? What does anyone actually know about him other than the power elite wants him to inherit Brian Baird's seat? Baird has endorsed him as have several big names in Democratic state politics. I'm hearing whispers that the DCCC is telling donors to stop giving to Pridemore and that sounds a lot like their normal modus operandi.

It was obvious from the beginning they would feel more comfortable with a conservative candidate with flexible ethics like Heck. But I'm thinking that when Craig started picking up serious support-- from the Majority Leader of the Senate (Lisa Brown) and the Speaker of the House (Frank Chopp) as well as the local firefighters unions, the International Longshoremen, and, last week both the Sierra Club and the Washington Federation of State Employees (AFSCME)-- the DCCC decided that they had to do more than just tell Heck to make sure to take no positions on anything controversial. So now they're trying the old Rahm Emanuel/Steny Hoyer routine of starving primary campaigns by progressives of contributions.

But it isn't just ideological. The DCCC powers, like sugar lobby queen Debbie Wasserman Schultz, bend over backwards to help elect easily corruptible shills whether it's Tim Mahoney in 2006 or Lori Edwards in 2010. And Heck meets their standards well. A blogger in Washington who knows him well sent me this column from the Seattle P-I from 1991:

Denny Heck, Gov. Booth Gardner's strongman chief of staff, got $4,550 in campaign contributions from Washington chiropractors last April after their request for $2 million got restored to the state budget.

Heck denies any connection between their request for Medicaid funds to compensate welfare clients treated by chiropractors and the money kicked in to help him pay off a 1988 campaign debt.

The Department of Social and Health Services' funding for chiropractor patients got chopped from the 1989-91 state budget. The governor's office played a key role in its restoration early last year.

"There's no question it looks funny," said Heck, who, nevertheless, claimed the budget decision was made by Budget Director Len McComb.

Yeah, real funny... a barrel of laughs. McComb admitted he had discussed the matter with Heck, who was eager to pay off a campaign debt from one of his losing runs for office and "at least 90 chiropractors chipped in $4,550 to his campaign treasury in mid-April 1990, 17 months after the election campaign." Funny... and a coincidence? If Denny Heck wants to be a corrupt wheeler dealer, isn't that what the Republican Party is for. Why does the DCCC want to saddle us with another one like this?

Unlike the pitiful turnout for primaries in most states, Washington's vote-by-mail system is likely to generate as many as a quarter million voters, quadruple the number of people who vote in House primaries around the country. People in Olympia know Heck as a bully and a ruthless wheeler dealer but in WA-03 he's just the guy who's been endorsed by the outgoing Congressman Baird. Craig's going to need all the help we can give him. Please consider contributing to his campaign through Act Blue. When the Sierra Club endorsed him last week they pointed out that Craig would be continuing his work to protect the environment.

Pridemore has advocated for smart growth as a Clark County Commissioner and as a state legislator. He fought for increased transit funding and options as well as better land use policies. He wrote one of the country’s first successful pieces of legislation to cap greenhouse gasses. Senate Bill 6001 saved Washingtonians from asthma, heart disease, cancer and chronic lower respiratory diseases. Pridemore has worked to enhance economic opportunities to incentivize clean technology development. He proves that protecting the environment and promoting jobs can happen together; his bill directed state agencies to attract green business and prepare our work force for them.

"We are deeply grateful to Senator Pridemore for his work,” said Holly Forrest, a Sierra Club activist in Vancouver. "He is a true environmental champion who not only does the right thing on environmental issues, but also leads the fight to protect our state’s clean air, clean water and special places."

Along with the endorsement, the Sierra Club will lend its strength to Pridemore's campaign. "We pledge to do all we can to help ensure Craig Pridemore is elected," concluded Holly Forrest. "Scores of Sierra Club volunteers will contact voters on his behalf and we will speak to the public as often as possible about his exemplary environmental record. We look forward to a victory party for the environment on election night and to many more years of Senator Pridemore fighting for the environment as a US Representative.”

Blue America has worked with the Sierra Club on behalf of candidates in the past. I'd take them over the DCCC any day of the week.

How Badly Out Of Touch With Their Constituents Are Democratic Members Of Congress?

Elected leaders in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii proved to be wildly out of synch with their Democratic constituents Saturday. I wonder if any of them are wondering how their own careers are jeopardized by the overwhelming rejection of their candidates and the establishment. A staffer for Senator Brian Schatz, a policy liberal who endorses strictly establishment candidates, told me while the votes were being counted that Schatz had backed Hillary, at least in part, because he is related to Madeline "Place in Hell" Albright, a rabid, unhinged Clinton supporter. But Schatz, who's #1 priority in the Senate seems to be Climate Change and the environment, was talked into endorsing the very conservative, anti-environment Democrat running as the establishment pick for the open Florida Senate seat, Patrick Murphy. I've been told that Schatz made his endorsement without knowing anything about Murphy except that he was Chuck Schumer's candidate-- and certainly not that Murphy had voted for the Keystone XL Pipeline every single time he had an opportunity to do so-- even joining the GOP to attempt to unconsitutionally remove President Obama from the decision-making process. Worse yet-- from how one would expect Schatz to look at an endorsement-- Murphy had voted with the Republicans for drilling off Florida's pristine beaches.

Schatz's excuse?

But Schatz wasn't the only liberal politician in Hawaii who endorsed Hilary. Sen. Mazie Hirono also backs a progressive agenda and so, more or less, does Congressman Mark Takai, yet both campaigned for the conservative Democrat who stands for preserving the status quo and against the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt wing progressive. The only federal elected official who backed Bernie was the most conservative of the 4, Tulsi Gabbard. (Schatz's for opponent, ex-Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa, a conservative New Dem very much like Hillary, also endorsed Hillary. It makes a lot more sense for her than it does for him.) Progressive Punch lifetime crucial vote scores:

• Mazie Hirono- 96.18 (A)
• Brian Schatz- 93.17 (A)
• Tulsi Gabbard- 74.31 (F)
• Mark Takai- 79.12 (F)

In Washington state, both the state's senators, Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and all 6 of the Democratic House members-- from progressive Jim McDermott to right-of-center, Wall Street-oriented New Dems, Denny Heck, Rick Larsen, Adam Smith, Suzan DelBene and Derek Kilmer-- endorsed and campaigned for Hillary Clinton. The 5 New Dems make a lot of sense; they're all just as bad or even worse than Clinton when it comes to the Republican-lite agenda they all embrace. McDermott, of course, was a disappointment. He's retiring and likely to be replaced by Pramila Jayapal, an ardent Bernie supporter.

Bernie's win in Washington was massive. With a record turn-out, he won 72.7% of the votes to Hillary's 27.1%. He won every single county in the state and she only managed to hit 1/3 in one county, tiny Garfield County in the far southeast of the state, where she won 40%. Garfield was Romney's biggest Washington County against Obama, where he took 72% of the votes to Obama's 26%. These are the ProgressivePunch lifetime crucial vote scores for the Washington Democrats in Congress. Note that the voting records of the 5 New Dems in the House are significantly to the right of their constituents.

• Maria Cantwell- 84.90 (C)
• Patty Murray- 87.14 (B)
• Jim McDermott- 94.34 (A)
• Denny Heck- 76.15 (F)
• Rick Larsen- 74.93 (F)
• Adam Smith- 71.87 (F)
• Suzan DelBene- 70.92 (F)
• Derek Kilmer- 69.70 (F)

In Washington, the congressional primaries are on August 2-- and the filing deadline is May 20-- but, of the 5 conservaDems in the House delegation, only Denny Heck-- the excruciatingly bad and ideologically-motivated chair of the DCCC Recruitment Committee-- has a primary and his opponent, Jennifer GiGi Ferguson, isn't considered a serious threat. She ran in the 2014 primary and only took 4.8% of the vote, down from the 11% she took against Heck in the 2012 primary.

[Alaska has no federal elected officials at all.]

Yesterday on CNN's State of the Union, Bernie told Jake Tapper that because of his momentum and the will of their own constituents, "a lot of these superdelegates may rethink their positions with Secretary Clinton... "I think when they begin to look at reality, and that is that we are beating Donald Trump by much larger margins than Secretary Clinton... And then you've got superdelegates in states where we win by 40 or 50 points. I think their own constituents are going to say to them, 'Hey, why don't you support the people of our state and vote for Sanders?'"

The Seattle Times pointed out that Democratic voters in the state are already demanding their elected officials-- superdelegates-- switch from Hillary to Bernie.

The Sanders triumph went against the advice of Washington’s top elected Democrats, who largely backed Clinton. From Bainbridge Island, Gov. Jay Inslee posted a “selfie” on Facebook of him and his wife, Trudi, who both caucused for Clinton.

“We have two great candidates, but I was proud to caucus for Hillary Clinton today … It was energizing to see so many Democrats passionate and engaged in electing a Democrat this November and beating Donald Trump,” Inslee wrote.

Inslee is one of the state’s 17 unpledged “superdelegates,” who are allowed to vote for the candidate of their choice at the Democratic National Convention.

Pramila-- time for a change

A majority of the superdelegates have said they back Clinton, including Inslee, U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and all six Democrats in the state’s U.S. House delegation.

But an online petition launched by Sanders backers called on those officials to heed the caucus results and commit to supporting Sanders instead of Clinton.

Jaxon Ravens, chair of the state Democratic Party, downplayed the superdelegate controversy. He said such delegates, including himself, do not have to commit to vote either way until the national convention in July.

At that point, he predicted superdelegates will coalesce behind whichever candidate has locked up the nomination.

One warning: one of the most far right of any Democrat still in the House, Minnesota Blue Dog Collin Peterson, who votes with the GOP on a consistent basis and certainly on every issue that is important to Bernie and his followers, announced that if he bothers to go to the Democratic Convention at all, he'll use his superdelegate for Bernie. Bernie won his congressional district on March 1 and Peterson said, "I'm voting my district. I'm going to vote for Bernie... He's got something going. He's tapped into something."

Blue America is asking our members to consider contributing to the two progressive running in Washington congressional primaries, Pramila Jayapal and Angela Marx, which you can do by tapping the thermometer below:

Will Southwest Washington State Opt For A Fresh Start? Or More Of The Same Tired Special Interests Politics?

More of the same-- Heck and Baird, Inc.

Brian Baird was one of the 39 disgruntled, rogue Democrats who voted against healthcare reform last November, along with a gaggle of mostly reactionary Blue Dogs-- from John Barrow (Blue Dog-GA) and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (Blue Dog-SD) to Parker Griffith (Blue Dog, now R-AL) and Heath Shuler (Blue Dog-NC). Baird was the only Washington Democrat to cross the aisle and join John Boehner and Eric Cantor in trying to defeat healthcare reform.

State Senator Craig Pridemore, the Blue America endorsed candidate for Baird's House seat isn't challenging Baird to a primary battle. Thankfully Baird is retiring from politics-- although not before endorsing a multimillionaire corporate lackey to take his place, Denny Heck. All the lobbyists, special interests and business-as-usual shills are backing Heck. Democratic grassroots and netroots activists in WA-03 are what's propelling Craig's campaign.

The video below explains Blue America's enthusiasm for Craig a lot better than I could in a few hyperbolic words. Please take a look at it as he explains why he supports a clearly flawed healthcare reform bill and how clearly he sees how corporate money is behind almost everything that's wrong Inisde-the-Beltway.

“As I’ve traveled around Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, one of the things that’s clear is that our citizens and our businesses are hurting. We need to step up and help our small businesses and workers succeed by implementing reforms to reduce their health care costs. The problem right now is that we have a health care system dominated by insurance and pharmaceutical companies and Wall Street.
 
“I believe we deserve a public option. It is essential that we encourage competition in the health care market place, and the only way to do that is to hold the special interests in Washington, D.C. accountable to the struggling families across our nation. I also know that the bill before us means progress. It will provide coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and end the inhumane practice of cutting off those with pre-existing conditions.
 
“What’s clear is that my opponent, Denny Heck, is standing on the sidelines when it comes to this issue.  He wants to wait it out, see what happens, and then decide where he stands. Make no mistake, I support health care reform and I support a public option and when elected, will step up and do everything I can to lower costs and check the power of the special interests in Washington, D.C.”

What hacks like Baird and Heck don't want to understand is that less privileged, more exposed families than their own, right in southwest Washington very much need the reforms offered in the healthcare bill neither of them is supporting. Yesterday the House Energy and Commerce Committee put out a report that shows how the bill would impact Baird's constituents:

* Improve coverage for 478,000 residents with health insurance.

* Give tax credits and other assistance to up to 176,000 families and 16,800 small businesses to help them afford coverage.

* Improve Medicare for 116,000 beneficiaries, including closing the donut hole.

* Extend coverage to 53,500 uninsured residents.

* Guarantee that 12,500 residents with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage.

* Protect 1,500 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.

* Allow 61,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their parents’ insurance plans.

* Provide millions of dollars in new funding for 18 community health centers.

* Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and other health care providers by $21 million annually.

Craig has a long record of courageous, principled and progressive public service. He's a good investment for progressives! Please watch the video and consider making a contribution to his campaign.

Have Contributions From Donors Been Finding Their Way Into DCCC Officials' Pockets?

Friday Nancy Pelosi didn't pick supposed front runner Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the next chair of the DCCC. She picked someone just as bad, Steve Israel. In fact, he's actually worse than Wasserman Schultz in one key way. She at least supports progressive legislation. Until 2 years ago the conservative Long Island congressman was a member of the Blue Dog Caucus. He's the epitome of the DLC/Third Way hack. The Washington Post describes him as someone who "joined the Blue Dog Democrats in the House and crossed party lines to support President George W. Bush on a number of key issues, most notably Bush’s 2001 tax cut package [one of only 28 mostly right wing Democrats who did] and the GOP prescription drug bill the following year. He has also espoused more hawkish views on foreign policy, voting to authorize military force in Iraq."

I've been working on a DCCC investigation since September and, just by coincidence I ran across an interesting relationship I wasn't aware of-- or looking for-- one between top DCCC operatives John Lapp, Jon Vogel and... Steve Israel. And now they'll all be together again, just like they were when they all worked on Israel's first congressional campaign in 2000 to win the seat being vacated by hapless Long Island Congressman Rick Lazio. Although I tried contacting every DCCC source I know for my story-- from out-going chair Chris Van Hollen and incoming chair Steve Israel to Lapp and Vogel, the only person who would speak to me on the record-- and only partially on the record as a matter of fact-- was Jon Vogel. Vogel played the role of DCCC Executive Director this year. He assured me that "all our decisions were based on polling with the strategy of winning a Democratic Majority... We were working off a poll that gave us an instrument that tested different ways that we could move numbers in a district.” I kind of wish I could have gotten Lapp on the phone instead (or at least as well)-- a mere senior advisor to the I.E. committee-- but he didn't want to talk. I can understand why.

First off, I need to say that I don't really care that what I've found is standard operating procedure for the NRCC, the DSCC and the NRSC and that "this is the way it's always done Inside the Beltway." I sincerely hope Republicans and like-minded insiders choke on their own corruption, and I'll leave it to right-wing bloggers, who are already onto the trail, to work it out for themselves. This is about the DCCC. More specifically, it's about the systemic corruption inside the committee and how they allocate money and where that money goes. Maybe "corruption" is too strong of a word. Maybe. "Devoid of ethics" might be a fairer description.

How were all those insane Republicans able to win?

Some of them-- too many of them-- really are dangerous crackpots. Was it really just because Obama didn't deliver enough of the Hope and Change agenda? Or was it because some of the very Democrats tasked with victory were focused on something entirely different from winning-- focused instead on personal enrichment? This is a story of, at best, horrifying dysfunction at the DCCC. What if one, single person:

(a) could decide-- or even influence-- which candidates got the DCCC's $82 million in independent expenditures this year, and which didn't;

(b) could get payments that looks a lot like kickbacks from the DCCC, for "advising" those candidates; and

(c) could "earn" 15% "media" commissions on millions upon millions of dollars in TV, radio and other ad buys, from those candidates to whom he directed DCCC support?

Well, at least one person could-- and did. One person could put his own money-making opportunities ahead of what was good for the Democratic Party. One person could help to waste much of that $82 million-- and send so many Democratic House candidates down to defeat-- by diverting some of that firehose of DCCC money into his own and his cronies' bank accounts.

Below, I would like to introduce you to DCCC revolving door operative John Lapp.

We've already talked quite a lot at DWT about how so much of the DCCC 2010 budget was allocated to the Democrats who least supported the party's legislative agenda. Bobby Bright was the perfect case, since he supported the party agenda least of any member and still found himself the recipient of $1,411,243.95 worth of DCCC Independent Expenditures in his failed quest for reelection. Stalwart Democrats who supported the agenda-- and who were defeated by millions of dollars of concentrated negative ad campaigns against them from GOP front groups, like Rove's two Crossroads machines and the foreign-financed U.S. Chamber of Commerce-- were cut off by the DCCC, including progressives Alan Grayson, Mary Jo Kilroy and Carol Shea-Porter. Just for reference, here's the list of the Democrats whose campaigns benefited by over a million dollars each (over half the total spent by the DCCC) in Independent Expenditures against their opponents, courtesy of the DCCC's $65 million I.E. fund:

Chad Causey (Blue Dog-AR)- $1,771,176.95- LOST
Denny Heck (WA)- $1,747,599.58- LOST
Dan Seals (IL)- $1,746,828.70- LOST
Larry Kissell (NC)- $1,705,392.71- WON
Gerald Connolly (VA)- $1,602,785.32- WON
Frank Kratovil (Blue Dog-MD)- $1,514,468.48- LOST
Zack Space (Blue Dog-OH)- $1,512,696.39- LOST
John Boccieri (OH)- $1,449,104.74- LOST
Bill Keating (MA)- $1,433,411.49- WON
Joe Garcia (FL)- $1,422,238.20- LOST
Bobby Bright (Blue Dog-AL)- $1,411,243.95- LOST
Dina Titus (NV)- $1,382,353.12- LOST
Mark Schauer (MI)- $1,377,652.69- LOST
Baron Hill (Blue Dog-IN)- $1,376,746.34- LOST
Gary McDowell (MI)- $1,319,440.14- LOST
Colleen Hanabusa (HI)- $1,304,253.42- WON
Debbie Halvorsom (IL)- $1,303,014.50- LOST
Mike Oliverio (WV)- $1,264,731.94- LOST
Ike Skelton (MO)- $1,256,818.68- LOST
Kurt Schrader (Blue Dog-OR)- $1,247,472.30- WON
John Salazar (Blue Dog-CO)- $1,192,722.15- LOST
John Spratt (SC)- $1,124,025.67- LOST
Harry Mitchell (Blue Dog-AZ)- $1,089,932.74- LOST
Phil Hare (IL)- $1,067,804.37- LOST
Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ)- $1,056,844.12- LOST
Jerry McNerney (CA)- $1,031,192.02- (leading)
Julie Lassa (WI)- $1,027,637.45- LOST
Mike Arcuri (Blue Dog-NY)- $1,008,038.47- LOST

Who Or What Is Ralston Lapp?

I bet you've never heard of Ralston Lapp Media, Global Strategy Group, Dewey Square Group or GMMB... unless you're an Inside the Beltway politico, steeped in Democratic Party politics. Then you know them quite well; you have to to do business in DC. Let me start with Ralston Lapp, a K Street media company whose website's front page justifies itself with a Washington Post quote from another year: "One of the principal architects of the Democrats’ takeover of the House." Among their clients this year were Arizona Blue Dog Gabrielle Giffords and Kentucky Blue Dog Ben Chandler, each of whom eked out a narrow win against a reactionary opponent. Another client, Jerry McNerney (CA-11), is slightly ahead as votes are still be tabulated almost three weeks after election day. Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23), another of their 2010 clients, was defeated by Quico Conseco 49-44% (just half of Rodriguez's 2008 voters turning out for him 3 weeks ago). Here's a list of checks reported to the FEC from the DCCC's I.E. Committee to Ralston Lapp Media:

AZ-05 (Harry Mitchell)- $10,695.89
AZ-05 (Harry Mitchell)- $11,698.72
AZ-05 (Harry Mitchell)- $10,381.47
AZ-07 (Raul Grijalva)- $13,500.00
CO-04 (Betsy Markey)- $ 2,177.65
IL-14 (Bill Foster)- $ 1,537.04
IL-14 (Bill Foster)- $11,993.63
MI-07 (Mark Schauer)- $10,914.56
MI-07 (Mark Schauer)- $10,736.25
MI-07 (Mark Schauer)- $10,860.28
MI-07 (Mark Schauer)- $10,543.12
MI-07 (Mark Schauer)- $10,502.24
MO-04 (Ike Skelton)- $13,498.37
MO-04 (Ike Skelton)- $11,065.59
MO-04 (Ike Skelton)- $10,435.39
NY-23 (Bill Owens)- $10,218.71
NY-23 (Bill Owens)- $ 1,222.34
NY-23 (Bill Owens)- $10,395.01
NY-23 (Bill Owens)- $ 2,153.67
NY-23 (Bill Owens)- $11,365.29
NY-24 (Mike Arcuri)- $11,965.12
NY-24 (Mike Arcuri)- $ 1,959.64
NY-24 (Mike Arcuri)- $10,332.42
NY-24 (Mike Arcuri)- $10,990.35
OH-16 (John Boccieri)-$10,536.29
OH-16 (John Boccieri)-$11,120.01
OH-16 (John Boccieri)-$13,102.34
OH-16 (John Boccieri)-$10,040.16
PA-08 (Patrick Murphy)-$13,390.55
VA-11 (Gerry Connolly)- $11,342.61
VA-11 (Gerry Connolly)-$2,497.43
WA-03 (Denny Heck)- $10,900.74
WA-03 (Denny Heck)- $11,927.69
WA-03 (Denny Heck)- $10,415.96

Now this is what they claim to offer their clients:

Ralston Lapp Media is a full-service communications agency providing strategic communications services to political and issue campaigns.

• Strategic consulting and message development

• Creative advertising and production for TV, Radio, Newspapers and the Web

• Media planning and placement

• Press strategy and media training

• Speech and debate prep

I don't have the Ralston Lapp fee structure, but I've been told that they probably get a 15% commission on any advertising created, although my guess is that they share that percentage with the media buying firm.

Now, Who Is John Lapp?

One of the two partners in Ralston Lapp is John Lapp, somewhat better known as a longtime DCCC insider. This is what the current DCCC website says about him:

John Lapp, Independent Expenditure Senior Advisor-- John Lapp served as DCCC Executive Director in 2006 under then Chairman Rahm Emanuel, and later as the DCCC Independent Expenditure Director. Lapp is credited with being one of the principal architects of the Democrats’ winning the House Majority in 2006. He served as a consultant to the DCCC during the successful 2008 campaign that strengthened the Democratic House Majority. Lapp has had a long career in Democratic politics, leading successful candidate and issue advocacy campaigns for many years. He is a partner at Ralston Lapp Media.

He's got power. Incumbents told me they would go to DCCC Chair Chris Van Hollen or Debbie Wasserman Schultz and ask for financial help for their campaigns, only to be told that it was up to Lapp. One Member even told me that Van Hollen promised him help on four separate occasions, help that was never authorized by Lapp... and never came.

Lapp's biography at the Ralston Lapp website doesn't mention he was the senior advisor for the I.E. Committee at the DCCC this year. Maybe it just hasn't been updated. Maybe it was viewed as just too unseemly... even in Washington.

Lapp served as Executive Director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee under former Congressman Rahm Emanuel, and later, Independent Expenditure Director for the Committee. For the first time since 1994, Lapp helped deliver a Democratic majority to Congress and without sacrificing a single Democratic incumbent-- something not achieved since 1922. The Washington Post called Lapp, “one of the principal architects of the Democrats’ takeover of the House in 2006.”

The Problem Isn't Really Lapp; It's Systemic

GMMB is a real powerhouse in Democratic politics, consulting for a wide range of politicians, from Obama and Clinton to Harry Reid, Mark Warner, Max Baucus, Barbara Boxer and Donna Edwards. I noticed that this year they made and placed ads for the DCCC that ran to help the campaigns of dozens of Democratic candidates, including many of the big-name losers the DCCC was fighting the hardest to keep, like Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD), Frank Kratovil (MD), John Salazar (CO), Ciro Rodriguez (TX), Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ), Baron Hill (IN), Mike Arcuri (NY), Chris Carney (PA) Scott Murphy (NY), Travis Childers (MS), etc. Lapp's partner at Ralston Lapp Media, Jason Ralston, whose official bio brags he was "a chief media consultant for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Independent Expenditure effort" in 2006 and 2008, was a partner in GMMB before he and Lapp founded their own firm.

Global Strategy Group is another Inside the Beltway Democratic campaign firm. They say they offer their clients the following services:

• Research

• Strategic Communications

• Grassroots & Grasstops Organizing

• Branding & Marketing

• New Media & Interactive Solutions

Among their clients are now ex-Congressmembers Mike Arcuri (NY- $1,008,038.47), Bill Foster (IL- $1,303,014.50), John Hall (NY- $502,692.18), Phil Hare (IL- $1,067,804.37), Patrick Murphy (PA- $557,612.95) and Scott Murphy (NY- $686,418.54), each of whom had something in common, very large DCCC I.E. media buys (indicated after the state abbreviations above). DCCC Executive Director Jon Vogel assured me he has no ownership stake in Global Strategy Group and that he only worked there for three weeks. He's mostly scrubbed from their website, although I did manage to find a news release from March 13, 2009:

GSG's Jon Vogel becomes Executive Director of DCCC

March 13, 2009

Jon Vogel, partner at Global Strategy Group, has been named the Executive Director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC).

During the past two election cycles at the DCCC, Jon has been at the center of unprecedented back-to-back gains that have resulted in the largest Democratic majority since 1992. Jon was one of the DCCC’s top strategists during the historic 2008 cycle where Democrats picked up 24 seats. Jon served first as the Political Director overseeing candidate recruitment and campaign planning and strategy, and finished the cycle as director of the Independent Expenditure Program.

Jon directed an $85 million Independent Expenditure Program that operated in over 60 Congressional districts and tracked 135 races nationally. He won races in every corner of the country and oversaw successful programs in conservative districts across the Deep South (Alabama and Mississippi), the Rustbelt (Ohio, Michigan and Western Pennsylvania) the Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada), the Mountain West (Colorado and Idaho) and in the suburban Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.

In passing, I'll mention that when Rahm Emanuel was Chairman of the DCCC, his Executive Director was Karin Johansen, a former Steny Hoyer Chief of Staff and a principal partner in DSG (Dewey Square Group), and Michael Whouley, a DSG founder, also worked for Rahm, overseeing the DCCC's GOTV (get out the vote) efforts. DSG describes itself as "delivering winning public affairs strategies for our clients, from creating grassroots and strategic communications campaigns around federal legislation to building lasting relationships with customers and consumers."

During the 2008 cycle Rodd McLeod headed the DCCC efforts in the Northeast and sent quite a bit of direct mail business to MSHC Partners, which was grateful enough to hire him on as a vice president immediately after the election. At least he wasn't a vice president while he was directing checks MSHC's way. UPDATE: McLeod says he is unaware of any business he "directed" to MSHC during the 2008 cycle.


On the other hand, every time DCCC Independent Expenditure Program senior advisor Lapp had a check cut to Global Strategy Group, Ralston Lapp Media or some of these other well-connected consulting agencies that are routinely pushed onto congressional candidates, were they actually personally benefiting? I was told that the DCCC built a kind of Chinese wall around Lapp so that he had no part in the discussions involving any of the clients his firm was working with. No one I mentioned this to seems to find that credible. I called Chris Van Hollen, who headed up this year's failed DCCC efforts, and he refused to discuss it or anything about the DCCC with me. I've been talking with people at the DCCC for years. No one wanted to discuss this matter on the record, particularly not Lapp. Several Members of Congress told me the situation is outrageous and at the very least creates an impression of serious abuse.

One congressman was willing to state categorically that when he was first running, Rahm bluntly and unambiguously told him that if he didn't hire a consulting firm owned by Lapp, he would get no I.E. help from the DCCC. He did hire Lapp's firm, and did get a hefty I.E. buy, a percentage of which of course wound up in Lapp's personal bank account. Sounds vaguely illegal to me... but what do I know?

As we look at the direct business the DCCC Independent Expenditure committee sent Ralston Lapp's way for media production, let's remember it's just one little case study from this particular cycle. Far vaster sums went through GMMB for media placement this year and this is something that has certainly been going on for at least the three cycles I've studied. The crowd running the DCCC likes to point to their brilliance and success as a kind of excuse for behavior that is, at least, by appearance, shady, They think their incredibly overpriced ads-- which Madison Avenue and Hollywood ad makers laugh at as amateurish at best and counterproductive in too many cases-- are brilliant and unassailable. I just hope that if Darrell Issa decides to investigate, he investigates all four party committees, since they're all operating the same way.

TO BE CONTINUED

(1) Planet Denny needs to throw a Republicrook out of Congress. (2) Duncan Hunter needs to be thrown out of Congress. (3) You do the math.

I was just reading Howie's and Mac Duncan's report below, "Time to Throw Duncan Hunter Out," and it occurred to me that our Duncan would be an excellent candidate for a project I have in mind for the Best Darn Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives We Have, "Planet Denny" Hastert.

We know that Planet Denny and his henchmen have been trying like heck to throw that bum Bob "Don't Hate Me Because I'm a Crook" Ney the heck out of the House, just because he's accepted a slap-on-the-wrist sentence for owning up to some of his crimes. Apparently, it just can't be done while the House is in recess, no matter how much huffing and puffing they do. (And that Planet Denny looks to me like one heckuva huffer-and-puffer.)

Here's the idea:

We know that Planet Denny and the gang want that goddamn Republicrook Ney out of their effin' chamber, right? And we know that now, contrary to the prognostications of most of the professional prognosticators, the idea of the "Republican culture of corruption" is actually beginning to seep into the American political consciousness. The parade of frog-marching Republicrooks is only likely to increase this trend.

One tactic that Planet Denny and the boys have tried in the Mark Foley mess is to make believe that they're on top of it. (Hmm, that could be a poor choice of words. And with Planet Denny, you can't tell if it's an accidental gay joke or an accidental fat joke.) After all, didn't our Denny leap into action--figuratively speaking--the very second he found out about it? (Answer: No, even if the speaker weren't lying about when he found out about it. We all know that he had nothing to do with getting Foley to resign. But still, let's play along! It'll be worth it--you'll see.)

The suggestion was that the GOP leadership wanted to show that--

"We Clean Up Our Own Mess"

It doesn't actually sound like that potent a political strategy when you put it in the form of a campaign slogan, does it? Still, it's probably better than the alternative:

"Vote for Us 'Cause We'll Probably Keep Makin' More Messes"

Okay, so the GOP is now the Party That Cleans Up Its Own Messes. And here's Planet Denny just itchin' to throw a Republicrook bum out of the House.

Isn't it obvious? It's--

REPUBLICROOK THROW-OUT OF THE WEEK

Instead of waiting for all the i's to be dotted and t's to be crossed on every last House Republicrook plea bargain, Planet Denny starts throwing the bums out before they're indicted!

Now the details still have to be worked out. The frequency, for example. Of course they could do a Republicrook a day and still just be gathering steam by the time Election Day rolls around. But that might be seen as "show-offy"--a little too squeaky-clean, even if the Republicans are supposed to be the party of "values." And of course it might suggest a too-generous supply of Republicrooks to be tossed over the cliff.

No, weekly seems to me good. But then there will be the inevitable jockeying for position on the list. Obviously, for example, Pennsylvania's Curt Weldon is going to command a lot of attention off his recent publicity, but there are a lot of felons-to-be who have been toiling long and hard in the fields of House Republicrookery who will resent Weldon as a damned publicity hound and line-jumper. Shouldn't he have to pay his dues and wait his turn to be the Face of Republicrookery? Isn't it bad enough that a two-bit chump like Duke Cunningham got to be their First Felon?

Surely, though, however the GOP draws up its Honor Roll, Duncan Hunter has to be jostling for the top spot. Why, if he were chosen to be the very first Republicrook Throw-Out of the Week, could anyone argue the merits?

That's all I'm saying.

Some "Democrats" Say Progressives Are Being Too Mean To Trump And His Cronies

The DCCC recruited some real dogs for the 2016 cycle. Most lost and the few who won are now in Congress voting with Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy for the Republican agenda. That would be "ex"-Republicans Charlie Crist (FL) and Tom O'Halleran (AZ) and wretched Blue Dogs Josh Gottheimer (NJ), Stephanie Miller (FL), and Lou Correa (CA). House Democrats would be better off without them. The DCCC wasted millions and millions of dollars on electing and trying to elect these crap conservative candidates. The ones in Congress have exactly one function: allowing Ryan and McCarthy to tell the media that their horrific legislation is "bipartisan," thereby infuriating and alienating the Democratic bases. In committee, corrupt conservatives, especially Crist and Gottheimer, are already helping the Republicans to push their agenda forward.

On top of that, the DCCC and Pelosi's House Majority PAC wasted immense amounts of money on dreadful losers-- some in blue districts that Hillary won-- but who just couldn't motivate voters. Plenty of voters who, for example, cast their ballots for Hillary in CA-25 just couldn't pull the lever for a crap candidate like Brian Caforio. Same in VA-10, where Hillary beat Trump by a very hefty 52.2 to 42.2%, but where the DCCC's horrid candidate, LuAnn Bennett, lost against a very weak Republican incumbent, Barbara Comstock by nearly 25,000 votes, 52.9% to 47.1%. The DCCC and Pelosi wasted around $6 million on that race. Shit candidates like Lon Johnson (MI-01- $2.2 million), Joe Garcia (FL-26- $5.5 million), Pete Gallego (TX-23- $3.5 million), Colleen Deacon (NY-24- $1.1 million), Monica Vernon (IA-01- $1.5 million), to name just a few, were horrendous recruits who no one is held accountable for.

Hillary beat Trump in TX-23 49.8% to 46.4% but the Blue Dog who TX-23 Democrats had already been ousted in 2014 after disgusting them, Pete Gallego lost a race in a district where the population is 71% Hispanic. So what does Pelosi do? She re-ups DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Lujan to another term. And what does Lujan do? He re-ups conservative shithead Denny Heck as chairman of-- wait for it-- the DCCC Recruitment Committee. And scared-of-her-own shadow Republican-lite shill Ann Kuster was put in charge of incumbent protection-- which always amounts to protecting (as in financing) the Democrats who can't get any grassroots enthusiasm going because they vote with the GOP (like Kuster does). And so on...

Heck was whining at the House Democrats' retreat the other day that the special election districts are too tough for the DCCC. Maybe someone should sit him, Lujan and Pelosi down and explain to them that in business, real success depends on developing a long term strategy, not going to a one-cycle quick fix. Under Pelosi, who has zero understanding of how business works, the DCCC has never looked beyond the current cycle, which is why they not having losing ingrained in their DNA. That's going to be very hard to break free of but I can guarantee one thing-- re-hiring losers like Denny Heck and Ben Ray Lujan ain't gonna do it.

And then you have Garbagcrat Jim Webb, the ultimate fake Democrat-- remember when he ran for president and couldn't even get to 1% in any polls?-- on Meet The Press for some reason. And what does he want to moan about? What do racist pigs like him always want to talk about? Yes, that the Democratic Party has moved too far to the left and that they're not honoring slaveowners and are being mean to Trump and his fascist goons. That's the kind of messaging the Republican wing of the Democratic Party in Congress loves to hear-- the New Dems, the Blue Dogs, assholes like Lujan and Heck... and the horrible recruits Rahm Emanuel disciple Cheri Bustos (Blue Dog-IL) is trying to re-recruit the garbage candidates who lost last year, last cycle. These people never learn. Let's hope this new Dan Sena guy is smarter than his bosses and learns how to ignore them.

Trump's Concentration Camps-- Funded By 176 Republicans And 129 Pelosi-Democrats

American Dream Revisted by Nancy Ohanian

The bad news: on June 27 129 Democrats joined with the GOP to vote to authorize funds for Trump's concentration camps. Briana Urbina is a top progressive candidate taking on Stony Hoyer this cycle. She told me she "cannot forgive my representative for voting in support of the cruel and inhumane treatment of immigrants at the border. The practices of this administration cannot be divorced from the system that funds it. Steny should be using his power in leadership to dismantle this system not bolster it. Our district has a vibrant and beautiful immigrant community. I have been honored to serve immigrant families as a pro bono attorney. I will continue my service to all Marylanders, native and foreign born when I am sworn in as the first Latina elected to Congress from Maryland."

The good news: 95 Democrats voted against funding the concentration camps despite Pelosi and Hoyer having shit-fit. These are the 95 who are fit to call themselves Democrats:

• Alma Adams (D-NC)
• Pete Aguilar (New Dem-CA)
• Nanette Barragán (D-CA)
• Karen Bass (D-CA)
• Don Beyer (New Dem-VA)
• Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
• Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)
• Brendan Boyle (New Dem-PA)
• Anthony Brown (New Dem-MD)
• G.K. Butterfield (D-NC)
• Tony Cárdenas (New Dem-CA)
• André Carson (New Dem-IN)
• Judy Chu (D-CA)
• David Cicilline (D-RI)
• Gil Cisneros (New Dem-CA)
• Katherine Clark (D-MA)
• Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
• Lacy Clay (D-MO)
• Gerry Connolly (New Dem-VA)
• Lou Correa (Blue Dog-CA)
• Danny Davis (D-IL)
• Pete DeFazio (D-OR)
• Diana DeGette (D-CO)
• Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
• Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA)
• Debbie Dingell (D-MI)
• Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
• Eliot Engel (New Dem-NY)
• Veronica Escobar (New Dem-TX)
• Adriano Espaillat (D-NY)
• Dwight Evans (D-PA)
• Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)
• Chuy García (D-IL)
• Sylvia Garcia (D-TX)
• Jimmy Gomez (D-CA)
• Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
• Deb Haaland (D-NM)
• Brian Higgins (D-NY)
• Katie Hill (New Dem-CA)
• Steven Horsford (New Dem-NV)
• Jared Huffman (D-CA)
• Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
• Pramila Jayapal (D-WA)
• Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
• Joe Kennedy (D-MA)
• Ro Khanna (D-CA)
• Brenda Lawrence (New Dem-MI)
• Barbara Lee (D-CA)
• Andy Levin (D-MI)
• John Lewis (D-GA)
• Ted Lieu (D-CA)
• Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
• Alan Lowenthal (D-CA)
• Nita Lowey (D-NY)
• Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)
• Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
• Betty McCollum (D-MN)
• Donald McEachin (New Dem-VA)
• James McGovern (D-MA)
• Gregory Meeks (New Dem-NY)
• Grace Meng (D-NY)
• Gwen Moore (D-WI)
• Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (New Dem-FL)
• Jerry Nadler (D-NY)
• Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
• Joe Neguse (D-CO)
• Donald Norcross (New Dem-NJ)
• AOC (D-NY)
• Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
• Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
• Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)
• Mark Pocan (D-WI)
• Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)
• David Price (D-NC)
• Mike Quigley (New Dem-IL)
• Jamie Raskin (D-MD)
• Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
• Linda Sánchez (D-CA)
• Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA)
• Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
• Brad Sherman (D-CA)
• Adam Smith (New Dem-WA)
• Darren Soto (New Dem-FL)
• Jackie Speier (D-CA)
• Mark Takano (D-CA)
• Dina Titus (D-NV)
• Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)
• Paul Tonko (D-NY)
• Norma Torres (New Dem-CA)
• Lori Trahan (New Dem-MA)
• Juan Vargas (New Dem-CA)
• Marc Veasey (New Dem-TX)
• Filemon Vela (Blue Dog-TX)
• Nydia Velázquez (D-NY)
• Peter Welch (D-VT)

It must have stung Pelosi especially hard when she wasn't even able to control members of her own leadership team and inner circle-- like Hakeem Jeffries and Ben Ray Luján, each fearful of primaries from the left. But these were Pelosi's "good soldiers" who told themselves a nice story that made it ok to vote funding for concentration camps. If any of them call you for a contribution to their reelection efforts, ask them why they decided our taxpayer money should go for locking children seeking asylum in cages inside concentration camps.

Babies in Cages by Nancy Ohanian

Colin Allred (New Dem-TX)
Cindy Axne (New Dem-IA)
Joyce Beatty (D-OH)
Ami Bera (New Dem-CA)
Sanford Bishop (Blue Dog-GA)
Lisa Blunt Rochester (New Dem-DE)
Anthony Brindisi (Blue Dog-NY)
Julia Brownley (New Dem-CA)
Cheri Bustos (Blue Dog-IL)
Salud Carbajal (New Dem-CA)
Matt Cartwright (D-PA)
Ed Case (Blue Dog-HI)
Sean Casten (New Dem-IL)
Kathy Castor (D-FL)
Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO)
Jim Clyburn (D-SC)
Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Jim Cooper (Blue Dog-TN)
Jim Costa (Blue Dog-CA)
Joe Courtney (D-CT)
TJ Cox (D-CA)
Angie Craig (New Dem-MN)
Charlie Crist (Blue Dog-FL)
Jason Crow (New Dem-CO)
Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)
Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC)
Sharice Davids (New Dem-KS)
Susan Davis (New Dem-CA)
Madeleine Dean (New Dem-PA)
Suzan DelBene (New Dem-WA)
Antonio Delgado (D-NY)
Val Demings (New Dem-FL)
Ted Deutch (D-FL)
Michael Doyle (D-PA)
Anna Eshoo (D-CA)
Abby Finkenauer (D-IA)
Lizzie Fletcher (New Dem-TX)
Mike Foster (New Dem-IL)
Lois Frankel (D-FL)
Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
John Garamendi (D-CA)
Jared Golden (D-ME)
Vicente Gonzalez (Blue Dog-TX)
Josh Gottheimer (Blue Dog-NJ)
Al Green (D-TX)
Josh Harder (New Dem-FL)
Jahana Hayes (D-CT)
Denny Heck (New Dem-WA)
Jim Himes (New Dem-CT)
Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK)
Chrissy Houlahan (New Dem-PA)
Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
Hank Johnson (D-GA)
Bill Keating (New Dem-MA)
Robin Kelly (D-IL)
Dan Kildee (D-MI)
Derek Kilmer (New Dem-WA)
Andy Kim (D-NJ)
Ron Kind (New Dem-WI)
Ann Kirkpatrick (New Dem-AZ)
Raja Krishnamoorthi (New Dem-IL)
Anne Kuster (New Dem-NH)
Conor Lamb (D-PA)
Jim Langevin (D-RI)
Rick Larsen (New Dem-WA)
John Larson (D-CT)
Al Lawson (New Dem-FL)
Susie Lee (New Dem-NV)
Mike Levin (D-CA)
Dan Lipinski (D-IL)
Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
Elaine Luria (New Dem-VA)
Stephen Lynch (D-MA)
Tom Malinowski (New Dem-NJ)
Sean Patrick Maloney (New Dem-NY)
Doris Matsui (D-CA)
Ben McAdams (Blue Dog-UT)
Lucy McBath (New Dem-GA)
Jerry McNerney (D-CA)
Joseph Morelle (D-NY)
Stephanie Murphy (Blue Dog-FL)
Richard Neal (D-MA)
Tom O'Halleran (Blue Dog-AZ)
Jimmy Panetta (New Dem-CA)
Chris Pappas (New Dem-NH)
Donald Payne (D-NJ)
Ed Perlmutter (New Dem-CO)
Scott Peters (New Dem-CA)
Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)
Dean Phillips (New Dem-MN)
Chellie Pingree (D-ME)
Katie Porter (D-CA)
Kathleen Rice (New Dem-NY)
Max Rose (Blue Dog-NY)
Harley Rouda (New Dem-CA)
Raul Ruiz (New Dem-CA)
Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)
Bobby Rush (D-IL)
John Sarbanes (D-MD)
Adam Schiff (New Dem-CA)
Brad Schneider (Blue Dog-IL)
Kim Schrier (New Dem-WA)
Bobby Scott (D-VA)
David Scott (Blue Dog-GA)
Jose Serrano (D-NY)
Terri Sewell (New Dem-AL)
Donna Shalala (New Dem-FL)
Mikie Sherrill (Blue Dog-NJ)
Albio Sires (D-NJ)
Elissa Slotkin (New Dem-MI)
Abigail Spanberger (Blue Dog-VA)
Greg Stanton (New Dem-AZ)
Haley Stevens (New Dem-MI)
Tom Suozzi (New Dem-NY)
Mike Thompson (Blue Dog-CA)
Bennie Thompson (D-MS)
Xochitl Torres Small (Blue Dog-NM)
David Trone (New Dem-MD)
Lauren Underwood (D-IL)
Jefferson Van Drew (Blue Dog-NJ)
Pete Visclosky (D-IN)
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (New Dem-FL)
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)
Jennifer Wexton (New Dem-VA)
Susan Wild (New Dem-PA)
John Yarmuth (D-KY)

"Denny Heck voted to give money to concentration camps," his progressive primary opponent, Joshua Collins told me. "And he did it with no expectations of improved oversight or improved conditions. We might as well be burning money because they're already getting over $700/day per detainee, and still won't even give them toothpaste and soap. That vote was despicable. And it signifies why we have to replace Representatives like Denny Heck. He's not just a lazy centrist who won't budge on important issues like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal. He's actively helping the Republicans. And when asked why he makes all these bad votes, and why he refuses to support impeachment, his office says it's because he takes his marching orders from Nancy Pelosi. If he is being funded by large corporations and controlled even more explicitly by Nancy Pelosi, why in the hell should he be representing Washington's 10th? He needs to retire already. He's gotta go. That's why I'm running against him."

23 hours to go on this poll, but the trend seems set

Progressive Democrat Matt Tirman is running for the House seat occupied by New Dem chief Derek Kilmer in the sprawling 6th district west of Seattle. "The vote to give $4.6 billion in funding to ICE was not one to help the children being kept in cages at the border," he told me this morning, "but one to assuage the enormity of guilt felt by those in Congress. This was not a way to help reunite families, or help provide the humanitarian aid so desperately needed. This was simply a way for congressional members, like Rep. Kilmer, to stick a band aid on the issue and hope the American people will be placated so they could go march in their hometown parades without having to worry about messy questions about kids in cages."

Dean Obeidallah penned an OpEd for CNN yesterday, Why is Nancy Pelosi slamming AOC and helping Trump?. He was as pissed off as every progressive I know about Pelosi's slide over to the Dark Side, in terms of Trump's concentration camps and in her vicious attacks against progressives who opposed her collaboration with America's #1 enemy. She has especially singled out freshmen women Ilhan Omar (MN), AOC (NY), Rashida Tlaib (MI) and Ayanna Pressley (MA) for the full scale viciousness many Democrats would rather see her aiming at McConnell and Trump. She's become a real detriment to the Democratic Party and with her legacy in shreds, should step down and disappear immediately.

"Whatever"

Pelosi's criticism came after a June 25 vote in which the four were the only Democrats to oppose a House bill to provide funding for the crisis at the southern border because as they put it in a statement, "in good conscience, we cannot support this supplemental funding bill, which gives even more money to ICE and CBP and continues to support a fundamentally cruel and broken immigration system."

In response to that vote, Pelosi told Dowd, "All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world," adding, "But they didn't have any following. They're four people and that's how many votes they got."

by Jack Spencer

In response, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter, focusing in on the dismissiveness of the speaker's "public whatever" remark. "That public 'whatever' is called public sentiment. And wielding the power to shift it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country," she tweeted.

What makes Pelosi's remark so stunning is that it flies in the face of her often-repeated philosophy that she has espoused to House Democrats since taking control of the chamber in the 2018 midterms. "Our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power," she wrote last November.

Pelosi is 100% correct with that approach. That means, though, that diversity of opinion needs to be respected-- not belittled. This unity is vitally needed in the time of Donald Trump, since the Democrat-controlled House is the only chamber that serves as a legitimate check on the President.