CA-25

The 1st idiot to run the DCCC, James Rood Doolittle, and the current incompetent, Steve IsraelPatty Murray did a legendary job running the DSCC in the 2012 election cycle.

I've never missed an election in my life-- even while living in difficult to vote places like the mountains of Afghanistan-- and I've never voted for a Republican, although before I was old enough to vote, I was a volunteer for John Lindsay, a liberal Republican-- they had them back then-- running against the conservative machine hack Abe Beame. Lindsay responded to the GOP's inexorable drift rightward by switching to the Democratic Party while he was mayor.

CA-25 is the northeast corner of L.A. county-- Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley-- plus a sliver of Ventura County (Simi Valley). It's a suburban area that has long been held by Republicans but in 2012 Lee Rogers won in the Antelope Valley and came closer to dislodging forever-incumbent Buck McKeon than anyone else ever had. So close, in fact, that McKeon decided to trade his job in Congress for a job on K Street this year.

Israel, Aguilar-- a victory for the Republican wing of the Democratic PartyThere were, at least in theory, 53 congressional seats up for grabs in California last night. Almost all of them, however, were't really up for grabs, at least not last night.

L.A.'s dirtiest politician, Wendy Greuel, learned her political skills while she was still openly admitting she was a Republican. Vicious, negative campaigning is all she's ever knownA week from today there are important primaries in Iowa-- where progressive champion Pat Murphy is leading comfortably in his crowded House race-- in New Jersey and in California (as well as in some other states without significant Democratic contests).

Tony Strickland inadvertently stumbled into putting himself in the middle of the horrific controversy around the crazed shooting spree in his old district. The carpetbagger currently running for Buck McKeon's seat in CA-25 represented the state Senate district that included this weekend's Isla Vista murder rampage.

Wednesday, the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted a debate between the candidates running to replace Buck McKeon as congressman from the 25th CD. The two Republicans in the race, Tony Strickland and Steve Knight, have basically one idea: repeal Obamacare.

The L.A. Times is a Republican-owned newspaper and-- in a heavily Democratic city-- they tend to bend editorially towards as conservative a direction as they can get away with.

Tomorrow is the last day of our Beatles contest celebrating Barbara Lee's endorsement of Lee Rogers. The winner is going to get that very collectible, 32" x 24" iconic Beatles image up top. The portrait was shot by Robert Freeman, the band's favorite photographer, for the cover of With The Beatles. Freeman, who did 5 album covers for them starting in 1963, signed this one.

Right-wing ideologue and career politician Tony Strickland-- likely to continue making horrible hiring decisionsI wonder if Tony Strickland wishes he had stayed in Ventura County's congressional race against Julia Brownley instead of hopping into the crowded field to replace Buck McKeon in the district next door.