2014 congressional races

DCCC will never win back the House until they get Republicans like this out of Democratic seats-- but that means recruiting candidates and fighting to win-- which Steve Israel refuses to doNow that the DCCC has officially launched its Red-to-Blue program, what happened to Steve Israel's vaunted Jumpstart program and the candidates he tapped, many despite primary races back home? The program itself has been "disappeared" from the DCCC website.

Instead of interfering in primaries, Israel should be allowing local Democrats to pick their own candidates and have the DCCC concentrate on going on the offense against the Republican excesses that have brought so much pain to the country.

I don't expect lazy Beltway reporters to dig this deep, but the real story of yesterday's DCCC Red-to-Blue announcement was less about a bunch of lame recruits like Blue Dog Gwen Graham (FL) and "mystery meat" no issues candidates like Domenic Recchia (NY) and Ann Callis (IL), than it was about which candidates and which districts got left out again.

I had a long talk about the crucial issues facing the country with Arlington, Virginia Delegate Patrick Hope. His vision is progressive and his temperament matches his vision. He'd make a great addition to the Congressional Progressive Caucus. I asked him to introduce himself to DWT readers. He just sent this today:Thank you for this opportunity to write a guest post on Down With Tyranny.

DCCC downgrades 2 of its worst recruits, Aguilar and GarrisonToday the DCCC announced its Red-to-Blue program. Not every one of Steve Israel's ridiculous Jump Start candidates made it to the Red to Blue List and two, empty suit Pete Aguilar (CA-31) and ex-CIA agent Kevin Strouse were downgraded completely.

Two of the most reactionary and bigoted Democrats to have served in Congress in modern times were Mississippi Blue Dogs Gene Taylor and Travis Childers. Both amassed voting records that would make any right-wing, hate-filled yahoo delighted. Yesterday each announced his far-fetched plan to get back into Congress. Taylor, who represented Mississippi's Gulf Coast between 1989 and 2011, finally admitted what I've been saying for over a decade: he's nothing but a Republican.

Pete Aguilar, Steve Israel's idea of a successful "businessman"All the corrupt, vehemently anti-democracy/anti-grassroots Beltway committees -- on both sides of the partisan divide--revel in self-funders. They live for millionaires candidates, although they tend to refer to them as "businessmen," not multimillionaires. Before I retired and became a full-time blogger, I was a businessman.

Rep Carol Shea-Porter (D) and Dan Innis (R)So far this year, Blue America has only backed two incumbents on a special page designed for true-blue progressives who need electoral help this cycle. Each of them is an independent-minded and stalwart fighter for equality and for a shining progressive vision of America.

Here we go again-- because losing once is never enough for a discredited strategyThe demise of the furthest right faction of Republican wing of the Democrat Party, the anti-Choice, gay-hating, gun-loving, Austerity champions know as the Blue Dogs, has been widely exaggerated.

Paul Ryan-- wrong on everything/protected by Steve Israel's DCCCHave you ever heard of Vote Them Out 2014? The organization has picked half a dozen crucial House roll calls and suggests voters use them to see if their incumbent is really who they want to represent them in Congress. They emphasize that they're a non-partisan outfit and back defeating both Democrats and Republicans with bad voting records.