You may not remember Dick Gephardt, once a powerful congressman from Missouri with ambitions to be Speaker and vice president and president. None of that worked out for him and he's just a sleazy K Street lobbyist now working for Goldman Sachs and other criminal enterprises… but he was the House Democratic leader from 1989 until 2003.
Israel and Ryan, bad for veterans, bad for AmericaAlthough the NRCC has a deal with Steve Israel not to back Republicans who oppose his reelection efforts, Stephen Labate, a straight-shooting 25-year Army officer now in the Army Reserve, is taking him on again.
Tomorrow, Monday, is the last day of Blue America's fundraiser for Keith Ellison and Mike Obermueller, two Minnesota progressive champions. You still have time to click this link, watch a little "Policy of Truth," see a photo of the prize-- a rare and collectible RIAA-certified double platinum award for the Mode's Violator-- and help us make sure Keith and Mike win next year.
LGBT activists in Ohio were shocked when they heard Steve Israel was recruiting virulent homophobe Jennifer Garrison to run for Congress. Israel is now pressuring pro-equality Democrats in Congress-- including gay members-- to contribute money to Garrison's campaign. She isn't a garden variety anti-gay politician. She built her entire political career on intense homophobia.
I don't suppose Lizard Man conferred with Elizabeth Warren before he offered a free pass to reelection to Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown. But the reptilian Schumer was boasting to Isaac Chotiner for an interview in the New Republic that that is exactly what he did in 2012.
I speak to plenty of Democrats who want Clinton as their party's presidential nominee for one reason: she's seen as the Democrats' best chance to hold the White House. A policy agenda almost never comes into play in their thinking. Democrats look at the ideological civil war wracking the Republican Party now and they don't want any of that in their own party.
No doubt, if you read DWT with any regularity, you've noticed that we keep an eye on the DCCC. We rarely have much to say about the NRCC, not because they're any better than the DCCC or less corrupt or incompetent, but,… who cares what they do? Unlike the DCCC, the worse the NRCC are, the better for normal Americans. Yesterday, though, they announced there 36 top districts for 2014 challengers, the "The On The Radar" list.
I bet Steve Israel wishes he had never recruited Jennifer Garrison, "the Sarah Palin of Ohio," to run for Congress as a Democrat in OH-06. Garrison is extremely conservative-- anti-Choice, anti-environment, virulently anti-gay, anti-worker, pro-NRA and pro-coal.
Malcolm and JenniferMy grandfather was a Socialist. He told me to always be wary of anyone from the Democratic Party. Funny because Malcolm X and he had similar views of the Democrats back them. Mal: "We won't organize any black man to be a Democrat or a Republican because both of them have sold us out. Both of them have sold us out; both parties have sold us out.
Steve Israel works to elect conservatives to Congress; Garrison and AguilarSean Sullivan covers national politics for The Fix. Prior to joining the Washington Post in the summer of 2012, Sean was the editor of Hotline On Call, National Journal Hotline’s politics blog. He has also worked for NHK Japan Public Broadcasting and ABC News. Sean is a graduate of Hamilton College, where he received a degree in Philosophy. He lives in Washington, D.C.
