CA-48

The last time I spoke with Dana Rohrabacher was on a staircase in Pasadena. We were talking about how Ted Lieu, who is helping Democratic candidates for Rohrabacher's Orange County seat hone their messages, was working with him on a bill to legalize marijuana.

Hans-- a congenital liarOne of the problems with the DCCC pretending not to be a bunch of scummy politicians and recruiting "clean" non-politicians is that politicians who have been coming up in the ranks are usually well-vetted by the voters. The garbage candidates the DCCC digs up from under rocks invariably have a little something horrible they've been hiding-- perfect for GOP opposition research firms to find.

Most of the top pick-up congressional districts have half a dozen of so Democratic candidates vying for nominations this cycle. And often there are multiple viable candidates, racing good money and putting together competitive campaigns. So how do you know who to support?

Putin's favorite congressman, Dana RohrabacherThis NY Times headline could have only been referring to 2 congressmen, both Californians-- and both of whom having made spectacles of themselves in relations to Putin-Gate: Dana Rohrabacjer from Orange County or Devin Nunes from the Central Valley. Both are in big trouble with voters in their districts.

I'm afraid that if Pelosi stays on as House Democratic Leader for another decade-- she'd only be 87, barely older than DiFi when she starts her next 6-year Senate term-- there will be no Democratic members of Congress who aren't multimillionaires. Pelosi's net worth is around $192 million. She likes-- and encourages-- candidates like what she sees in the mirror to run as Democrats.

As you may know-- I hope so-- Frank Schaeffer is driving around the country making a film. He's interviewing progressive Democrats who can beat Republicans next year. Meanwhile he's been posting videos each time he gets to a district. He started with Randy Bryce in Wisconsin and then went to Forsyth County, North Carolina to see Jenny Marshall.

Kara Eastman (Democrat) and Brad Ashford ("ex"-GOP Blue Dog)Alixandria Lapp, a poster child for the DC Dem's revolving door problem worked for New Dem Adam Smith (WA) from 1997-2005 and then went to work for the DCCC. In 2007 she became executive director of the New Dems, the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

Dana Rohrabacher's district, CA-48, covers 42 miles of coastal Orange County-- the primest of the prime residential real estate in Southern California. It stretches from Seal Beach in the north through Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach down to Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel and Three Arch Bay where Darrell Issa's district starts. It's been a very Republican district for a very long time.

That was some Daily Beast post yesterday about Comrade Rohrabacher! I wonder if it means he'll retire?