CA-33

Friday was the last day of the 2014 session of the California legislature-- and the last day as a state legislator for Senator Ted Lieu of Los Angeles County.

A few weeks ago a some people alerted me to an issue they knew I would be concerned about-- a tendency for doctors to over-medicate foster kids with dangerous drugs. I knew exactly what to do. The good thing about having a candidate like state Senator Ted Lieu running for Congress, is that you don't have to make up your mind about him based on campaign promises.

During the primary for Henry Waxman's congressional seat (the legendary CA-33-- Malibu, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Venice, Beverly Hills, Westwood, Bel Air, Brentwood, Rancho Palos Verdes, Marina del Rey, El Segundo), Blue America did a first-ever dual endorsement.

Ted Lieu-- leading the way, not following safely from behindYesterday, in light of the horrendous rulings against organized labor and against a woman's right to Choice, was a strange day for a progressive to congratulate the Supreme Court. California state Senator Ted Lieu didn't agree with either of those decisions, of course.

Leave it to EMILY's List to find the most negative candidates anywhereYou know what Democratic primary voters don't like? They don't like negativity against other Democrats. No one minds going negative on Republicans, but sizable numbers of Democrats recoil when Democrats attack other Democrats, especially when they attack women.

I was heartbroken that so many of my friends-- almost entirely male-- refused to even consider Marianne Williamson in her congressional bid. It wasn't even entirely sexist, since some of them were willing to consider the entirely conventional political hack Wendy Greuel. Instead it has to do with Marianne's spiritual perspective, which I found not entirely unlike Martin Luther King's or Mahatma Gandhi's spiritual perspectives.

Many years ago, I was new to the big left blogger listserv and had the temerity to harshly criticize then-DCCC chairman Rahm Emanuel. The push-back was overwhelming, one progressive blogger going so far as to suggest I might be a Republican operative. The left blogosphere has matured since then and Rahm and corporate Dems like him regularly come under more thoughtful scrutiny than they did back them.

Israel, Aguilar-- a victory for the Republican wing of the Democratic PartyThere were, at least in theory, 53 congressional seats up for grabs in California last night. Almost all of them, however, were't really up for grabs, at least not last night.

The big endorsement news in L.A. yesterday was when Mayor Eric Garcetti-- or as many people around here refer to him, future POTUS Eric Garcetti-- backed Ted Lieu for Congress in the CA-33 seat Henry Waxman is giving up. "Tuesday's election is extremely important for the future of our region," said Mayor Garcetti.

I've never seen such a negative Democratic candidate for Congress like Wendy Greuel. Maybe she just hires especially awful, cutthroat people to work for her like this operative, and this operative and this operative.