DCCC

There have been a lot of rumors lately that Jared Polis may be contemplating ditching his safe Boulder, Colorado congressional seat for a very iffy gubernatorial run in a crowded field for an open seat. I wish him well. But he was just elected Regional Vice Chair of the DCCC for a region that includes Texas, likely to be one of the hottest 2018 battlegrounds. Ummm... likely... likely...

A staffer at the DCCC called me the other day out of the blue-- me... who usually has some pretty unkind words for the committee-- and asked me if I knew anyone who wanted to run against Jeff Denham in CA-10, a district at the northern end of the Central Valley that includes Modesto, Turlock, Manteca, Ripon and Tracy. It's a nice blue district east of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. Obama beat McCain there 50-48% and beat Romney 51-47%. Even Hillary won, albeit without a majority: 48.5% to 45.5%.

The biggest Democratic delegation in Congress is, by far, from California. Of California's 53 House members, 39 are Democrats. Only 14 are Republicans and it's realistic to imagine that 14 being cut in half in the 2018 midterm cycle. Yesterday's L.A. Times noted without flinching that last month’s state registration report reveals an accelerated erosion of Republican strength.

The first thing people tell you when you decide to run for office is that you need a 30 second statement on why you are running. I am running for Congress in the IL 6th District because, just like many people in my District, I am pissed off.

OK-02 is right-wing crackpot country; it's one of the most backward congressional districts in the country. Trump won there 72.9- 22.8%.

Every cycle I write this damn story. Maybe when Pelosi isn't Democratic Leader appointing her horrible losing DCCC chairs anymore, I'll be able to finally retire it-- maybe. For as far back as I can remember the self-loathing Democrats at the DCCC give potential congressional candidates extra points for serveral things-- being wealthy first and foremost, but being an "ex"-Republican a close second. In 2006.

Guess who the DCCC has another free pass for this yearThe DCCC which is positively loathed by the California Democratic Parry county committees is bringing their circus to town-- or at least to Orange County, where the DCCC had been dormant for so long no one knows much about how horrible they are.

People need to remember something important. While we LOVE that Democrats in Congress are standing up to Trump and standing up to Trumpism, the participation in a kind of resistance is NOT the same thing as progressive politics. Believe it or not, quite a few people are missing the distinction.

Hey, who does the candidate recruiting around here?As everyone knows by now, Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy pulled their TrumpCare proposal off the floor of the House for the second-- and final-- time yesterday. Good riddance to a bill that basically no one liked except Ryan himself and some fellow Ayn Rand devotees.

I believe McCain when he stated yesterday that "Congress no longer has the credibility to handle this alone, and I don't say that lightly." He was referring to the investigation into Putin-Gate, which he's come to realize that his own party is approaching as a partisan endeavor meant to impede and perhaps coverup rather than get to the bottom of what happened. And no one has been worse player than California Republican Devin Nunes.