Hispanic voters

Last night, in her brilliant essay on the political dilemma facing the Republican Party over immigration reform (above), Rachel Maddow never mentioned California GOP congressman Jeff Denham, who represents the 10th congressional district, part for the Central Valley, including Modesto, Manteca and Tracy. The backward-looking Cook Report still claims the district has a PVI of R+1, even though President Obama's 50-48% win over McCain in 2008 grew to a 51-47% win over Romney in 2012.

The latest Gallup poll shows that 76% of Americans favor raising the minimum wage-- including 58% of Republican voters. A bill doing so will pass the Senate and probably be blocked by Boehner and Cantor in the House where it won't even be voted on. Americans are noticing a pattern emerge-- the Senate passing popular bills and the GOP House refusing to take them up.

Buck'n'Schmuck- California anti-Latino RepublicansCA-25 is divided into three valleys: Simi Valley in the west, the Santa Clarita Valley in the center, and the Antelope Valley in the east. Last year, Buck McKeon lost the Antelope Valley third of his district (Lancaster, Palmdale, Pearblossom). Latino voter participation has exploded in CA-25, but especially in the Antelope Valley.

Allan Hoffenblum, a Republican consultant in California politics since the Nixon era, told the NY Times that “Until we solve our Latino problem, we’re not going to be a viable state party, and it’s hard to understand how that’s possible without fixing immigration.” The Times explains what everyone in California is already well-aware of:

Republican House Whip Kevin McCarthy used to be in a safe Central Valley red seat. CA-23 shares Bakersfield with Republican David Valadao, Lancaster with Republican Buck McKeon and Visalia with Republican Devin Nunes. Valadao and McKeon are likely to be serving their last terms as Members of Congress now and the demographic changes in their districts have already started changing McCarthy's as well.

After giving up his House seat to run a losing battle for an open Republican Senate seat in New Mexico, Stevan Pearce was reelected to his former House seat two years later (2010) by defeating, 55-44%, a very weak Blue Dog Democrat Harry Teague, who had depressed Democratic turnout by voting with the GOP on too many critical issues.

Simi Valley makes up almost a third of Buck McKeon's congressional district (CA-25) but it was added to the district in the last cycle and McKeon-- the former mayor of Santa Clarita who has long since become a creature of Washington-- virtually never bothers going there. Preparing for a possible reelection challenge-- he's told the media he's running again and confided to local Republican politicians he's going to retire-- he ventured in Republican-friendly Simi Valley this week.

RepublicanThere's a mirror image in the GOP to the ConservaDems who embrace Choice and equality and other social issues but are nearly as conservative and anti-working family as Republicans. We've talked a lot lately, for example, about gay Democrats who get into Congress and are great on LGBT issues but vote with the GOP on their destructive economic agenda.

George Prescott Bush shouldn't even exist. By all rights, his great grandfather, Prescott Bush, should have been tried for treason and executed for a Wall Street coup attempt against Franklin Roosevelt and for his simultaneous collaboration with Hitler. No Prescott, no George H.W. Bush and no Jeb Bush, George P's grandfather and father. But Prescott was rich, white and well-connected-- and got off almost scott free for his treason.

But it isn't Boehner that keeps Ros-Lentinen in office; it's Debbie Wasserman SchultzLast week, Nate Cohn did a superb analysis of how the GOP is blowing it's chances to thrive politically in purple Florida, a state with a mighty 29 electoral votes.