CA-24

Blue America endorsed Bill Ostrander in the 9 person race for the Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo CA-24 congressional seat. He ran a strong issues-oriented campaign, very much in line with Bernie's political revolution, to which he ascribed. He wasn't left standing on election night and voters in the 24th will have to pick between a garden variety careerist Democrat or a corruption-tainted GOP extremist.

Same as the last generation conservatives-- steeped in ugly corruptionA few weeks ago I blogged about how I was in the middle of investigating a shady campaign finance situation up in Santa Barbara on behalf of an entitled young right-wing up-and-comer, Justin Fareed.

Over the weekend, the NY Times speculated that the "early optimism" in the Clinton camp for an easy landslide win against a Trump campaign weighed down with so much baggage "is evaporating." The hopeless party hacks and mercenary lobbyists who control her dull, utterly conventional campaign have no idea how to fight Trump.

Congressmen Alan Grayson (D) and David Jolly (R) are running against each other for the open Florida Senate seat but are also co-sponsoring a bill that would prohibit federal elected officials from soliciting campaign donations-- which everyone in DC knows are bribes. Yes, bribes, but bribes redefined in such a way as to keep those who write the laws and those who underwrite their careers out of prison.

Not the BeltwayWilliam Ostrander, the congressional candidate in CA-24-- Santa Barbara and San Luis Obsispo-- who has endorsed Bernie and is running on his issues, tends to get left out of the Beltway coverage of the race for open seat created by the retirement of backbencher Lois Capps. Capps and the DCCC picked their candidate, Salud Carbajal, and as far as the media wen, that was the end of the story.

Since inheriting her late husband's seat and then ignoring her own term limits pledge, Lois Capps hasn't been a bad congresswoman. She doesn't stand out as a leader but ProgressivePunch grades her a solid B-- not as good as progressive a record as California Members like Barbara Lee, Mike Honda, Judy Chu, Linda Sanchez, Alan Lowenthal, Mark DeSaulnier, Maxine Waters, Grace Napolitano or even establishment-oriented liberals like Xavier Becerra, Jared Huffman and Nancy Pelosi. But nothing to be ashamed of.

Bill Ostrander's e-mail sign-off is "Elections must depend upon the Voters, not the Funders." You get an idea where he stands right away. And lot of independent-minded voters are starting to question the Establishment case for the "inevitability" of Salud Carbajal, the anointed candidate of the DCCC.