self-funders

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?

Bernie with Ben Jealous-- the best news in this post about Maryland politicsMaryland Congressman John Delaney is barely a Democrat. Or, to be fair, he's the archetype member of the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

Recently Eric, a longtime Blue America supporter in Mandeville Canyon, contributed $500, over ten times the average Blue America contribution. He divided it evenly between 15 candidates and each candidate got $33.33, except Mary Ellen Balchunis, Doug Applegate, Paul Clements and DuWayne Gregory, who got $33.34 each. The same day, another long-time supporter, Susan in Swarthmore sent in $5,000 and each candidate got $333.33.

Maryland's 8th congressional district was gerrymandered by a Democratic controlled state legislature eager to make sure just one Republican would ever go to Congress from Maryland. The district has a PVI of D+11 and Obama won there with over 60% both times he ran.

Florida politics is a case study in campaign finance corruptionIf you like conservative spoiled rich kid Patrick Murphy-- and apparently voters along Florida's Treasure Coast do-- there's no reason why you wouldn't like conservative spoiled rich kid Randy Perkins, the newly-minted "Democrat" who's running for the congressional seat Murphy is giving u

I've never seen as many self-funders running for House seats with million dollar checks from their own accounts as I'm seeing this year. We looked into it a couple weeks ago and I'm sure everyone knows by now that David Trone's $12 million didn't buy him anything but second place.

Richard Hanna is an old fashioned conservative multimillionaire who hasn't served long in Congress but has had enough of it's pointless, hyper-partisan dysfunction. He's retiring and doesn't seem to regert that he won't be enmeshed with his Republican congressional colleagues in the future.

Money always buys access-- the Trones and you-know-whoA week from tomorrow Maryland's wealthiest wine and beer distributor, David Trone of Total Wine and More, is likely to come in 3rd in a primary contest for the seat in the DC suburbs Chris Van Hollen is giving up to challenge Donna Edwards for the open U.S. Senate seat.

Many concerned Californians felt very let down when the establishment shills inside the California Democratic Party-- the Gavin Newsom wing basically-- backed away from holding reactionary New Dem Ami Bera accountable at the recent state convention by ending the short-lived withholding on the Democratic Party endorsement.

Thursday evening we saw how Ro Khanna, a corporate shill posing as a Democrat while willing to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits, is being bankrolled by some of the most insidious anti-democracy forces in America.