With Steve Israel's policy of never targeting GOP leaders, policy makers and committee chairman keeping the DCCC out of the MN-02 race that pits progressive Mike Obermueller against reactionary incumbent John Kline-- chair of the powerful and destructive House Committee of Education and the Workforce-- Blue America was over the moon that Bill Maher has stepped into the breach.
You can contribute to Mike Olbermueller's campaign hereAmerica Rising LLC-funded America Rising PAC, a right-wing front group for the Republican Party, is pretty much acknowledged to be one of the shadiest political operations in the country, the bottom of the barrel for the anti-American right.
One of the tragedies around Pelosi's decision to appoint and reappoint corrupt Blue Dog Steve Israel to head the DCCC for the last 2 cycles is that he has taken all Republican leaders and all Republican committee chairs off the table. None, not even ones in vulnerable seats, have been or will be opposed by the DCCC.
Actual wrong guyFriday night, Bill Maher ended his big-buzz Flip A District competition by announcing the right-wing jerk he would work to defeat in November: John Kline in southeast Minnesota. Democrats have grown unaccustomed to anyone holding any Republican Party leaders or committee chairmen, like Kline, accountable for their destructive policy agendas.
Republicans got rid of their head of corrupt practices; the Democrats haven'tSomeone-- or a few someones-- must be responsible for the rules change that allows Members of Congress to take bribes in the form of lobbyist-sponsored travel without reporting it on financial disclosure forms. I read about the "rules change" and how "it happened" and how it has "occurred behind closed doors." But nowhere does it say who was behind those closed doors.
The battle over refinancing student debt has been playing out-- badly-- in the Senate. Senate Republicans have filibustered Elizabeth Warren's bill so that it couldn't even be formally devoted on the floor.And in the House? Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman, John Kline, has bottled up the House version, H.R.
Since 1990, the Insurance Industry has contributed $306,387,653 in congressional races, almost two-thirds of it to Republicans. So far this year, they've doled out $17,600,207, again, most of it to Republicans. So far in the cycle they have carefully selected the incumbents who have been most willing-- in each house-- to put the special interests of the insurance industry ahead the interests of their own constituents and of the American people.
John Kline is a right-wing extremist from southeast Minnesota. His district, MN-02, stretches from south of St. Paul through Eagan, Burnsville, Apple Valley, and Northfield all the way down to Wabasha and the Zumbro Bottoms State Forest. Although the PVI is still classified R+2, Obama took the district in both 2008 and 2012. Kline is the chairman of the House Workforce and Education Committee, where he has been able to do a great deal of damage to working families.
Over the weekend Minnesota Democrats had their congressional district nominating conventions. There were two we were watching. One ended badly and one ended well. The one that ended badly was for the open red district (PVI is R+10) that Michele Bachmann is leaving. Joe Perske, a hopeless conservative won the right to challenge whomever wins the GOP primary, in all likelihood, far right sociopath Tom Emmer.
