DCCC

I was a 2016 Democratic Party candidate for Congress. I ran against thirty-year Republican incumbent, Lamar Smith who is the climate change-denying chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Even though I am an independent voter (by that I mean I have voted for Greens, Republicans, Libertarians and Democrats) Bernie Sanders drew me into filing to run as a Democrat. I figured if he could do it, so could I.

Nunes: Masterminding the GOP PutinGate coverupDevin Nunes' Central Valley House seat is pretty safely Republican-- but not nearly as safe as it was when he was first elected in 2002. The PVI is still rated a daunting R+10 but the demographics have shifted precipitously. Only 41.9% of Nunes' constituents are white now and one day-- who knows?-- the DCCC might decide to target him. They should. Nunes shouldn't be given any more free rides.

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.

Carol Shea-Porter and friendYesterday we looked at opportunities Democrats have in congressional districts where Hillary did better than Democrats normally do. But not every district is about opportunities. Some are about defense. There were a dozen districts that Democrats now hold where Trump beat Hillary.

How many suburban congressman besides Issa will live to regret backing Trump?I have a part-time job-- congressional recruiting. It's voluntary and it's GRUELING. In between the time I wrote "congressional" and "recruiting" in the last sentence, I had a 30 minute conversation with a top recruit for a swing district. He's run before. He hates the DCCC. Everyone I talk to hates the DCCC. The DCCC screwed him over.

Most people agree-- it's time for this bum to say good-byeDid you read Bill Moyers' piece Friday, Donald Trump's Demolition Derby. Who would disagree with him that "in just a few days, Donald Trump seems to have set out to wreck government and turn over the remains to his plutocrat friends?"

Blue America's operating plan for 2017-18 is based on 2 simple premises-- first that Trump will be the worst and most destructive and hated president in history, and second, that Ryan, McConnell and the Republican Congress will drastically overreach, cement themselves to him, and make themselves vulnerable to a massive backlash in the 2018 midterms.I spend a significant part of my days-- every day-- on the phone with pers

Lamar and Darrell, 2 top targets for 2018Hillary's electoral strategy may not have done well in working class areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan-- where she lost the election-- but it had a great deal of appeal in upper-income, moderate, white suburbs that always go Republican, like in Orange County, California, which she won, although didn't need and didn't bring her a single extra electoral college vote.

Fran Person and Mick MulvaneyLate Friday, Trump announced that he's nominating South Carolina's far right, libertarian-leaning Mick Mulvaney Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Steve Israel, flanked by Steve Horsford & John Ewing, 2 politicians whose careers he ruinedLast week we talked about the experience recent congressional candidate-- and long-time North Carolina Democratic political operative-- Thomas Mills had when trying to deal with an imperious DCCC.