DCCC

What a contrast between Gil Cisneros, a fabulously wealthy "ex"-Republican lottery winner from Newport Coast who is bribing DCCC power players to back him, and Sam Jammal, a lifelong homegrown progressive who worked in the Obama administration and then as a clean energy executive. Although Cisneros' $10 million beach-front mansion is as far from CA-39's middle class neighborhoods as if it were in Scarsdale, NY or Darien, Connecticut or any other self-segregated rich-people-only enclave, he now vowing to buy another home in the district. Why not?

In 2006, the Republicans greeted the midterms as a spent force. George W. Bush was historically unpopular-- bogged down in an unpopular war and-- along with congressional Republicans-- an unending parade of scandals. Democrats defeated 22 GOP incumbents and won 8 open seats that had been held by Republicans who retired. And, for the first time since the GOP was founded, Republicans didn't beat a single Democrat or win a single open Democratic seat.

Yeah, that's Sean Duffy on the right... helping wreck America with impunityFunny how elections focus the minds of politicians-- or at least elections where there is real opposition.

The only primaries these 4 should be involved with is defending themselvesForget that you may have an inkling that here at DWT we feel Pelosi's incompetent and corrupt DCCC has become a source for both evil and failure over the last decade, rather than a worthwhile and constructive party organ.

Texas hasn't been a big part of progressive plans for winning back Congress in recent years-- nor even Democratic Party plans. Most of the few Democrats the DCCC has backed there have been dreadfully corrupt conservatives like Pete Gallego, Vicente Gonzalez, Henry Cuellar and Filemon Vela. They were certainly openly hostile to Beto O'Rourke when he first ran for Congress in El Paso against another of their corrupt conservatives, Sylvester Reyes.

Still, a better candidate than the lottery winner A couple months back, a Democratic Party operative called me and told me he couldn't wait to introduce me to the "dream candidate" the DCCC had recruited to run in Orange County against Dana Rohrabacher. Hans Keirstead is a super rich-- a DCCC requirement-- stem cell scientist who looks GREAT... at least on paper.

David Feldman interviewed me yesterday for his radio show and he threw me for a loop with one of the questions that suddenly popped up out of nowhere. He wanted to know, basically, if millionaires should be driven out of the Democratic Party. I can understand why he asked me, inasmuch as I sometimes go on and on about how the DCCC is always undermining working class candidates in favor of wealthy self-funders. But that's an entirely different proposition from kicking any class of people out of the party. The Democratic Party is out of balance at this point.

New Mexico has 3 congressional districts, a very Democratic one in the north (PVI is D+8), a very Democratic one in the center around Albuquerque (D+7) and a pretty Republican one in the south (R+5). Weak moderate Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham represents the Albuquerque district and she's running for governor. Ethically-challenged DCCC head Ben Ray Lujan represents the northern one and he's not going anywhere.

Yesterday Mark Pocan (D-WI), arguably the most progressive member of Congress, introduced iron worker and union activist Randy Bryce at his "Where's Paul Ryan" town hall in Racine, one of the cities in Ryan's district.

One way for Democrats to start winning elections and rebuilding their tattered brand would be to pay very close attention to all the advice they get from Mark Penn-- and then do the exact opposite.