A few weeks ago we mentioned that Tom Wakely had decided not to seek the Democratic nomination for Texas' 21st Congressional District. I know Tom well enough that won't be the last time we'll be hearing from him.
-by Tom WakelyI just returned from the People’s Summit in Chicago. It was a jammed-packed long weekend of progressive politics. It culminated on Saturday night with remarks from Senator Bernie Sanders who gave the 4,000 plus crowd at the Arie Crown Theater a reason to believe. Now, depending on what you wanted to get out of the Summit, you had your choice of attending any of a dozen workshops or group sessions like the "Voices of Resistance Power" and learning from the likes of Jorge Aguilar with the Food & Water Action Fund.
It was a big ha, ha/LOL moment when the GOP House leaders decided to make crackpot Texas Christian Scientist Lamar Smith chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee. One Republican staffer told me "one of them" (presumably Boehner but he would;t confirm my suspicion) was "slightly drunk" and laughing so hard that he pissed in his pants and had to go change.
We've been talking about TX-21 for over two years now. Blue America backed Berniecrat Tom Wakely, who defeated a Democratic establishment candidate in the primary and then went on-- with no support from the DCCC or the establishment and very little money-- to hold long-time Congressman Lamar Smith to his lowest win number ever.
Texas has been ignored by the DCCC for too long. I fear 2018 isn't going to change much either, despite rumblings of some early interest. Is the new DCCC regional Vice Chair even paying attention-- or just running for governor of Colorado?
What is the DCCC looking for in candidates?
Today was the March for Science. It's kind of embarrassing we even need a march like that. But as Bill McKibben wrote in the NY Times this week, The Planet Can't Stand This Presidency. "Trump’s environmental onslaught," he wrote, "will have immediate, dangerous effects... [T]here’s an extra dimension to the environmental damage. What Mr. Trump is trying to do to the planet’s climate will play out over geologic time as well. In fact, it’s time itself that he’s stealing from us.
I guess eventually Trump will stand in front of bit and pieces of border wall and claim he built it. I maybe Congress will feel sorry for him and toss him a few dollars to build a little piece of wall himself. Other than that-- despite what the neo-Nazis claim-- that wall ain't happening. A few days ago Sessions was in Nogales, a border town in Raúl Grijalva's district.
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.
