OC Congressman Dana Rohrabacher admitted this week what Democrats and, well, most thinking people knew for years now: the Iraq War was a mistake. Oh, and Tom McClintock seconds that:

Going into Iraq “was a mistake because I thought we had to finish the job in Afghanistan,” Rohrbacher told the panel, echoing a popular Democratic talking point at the time.

“In retrospect, almost all of us think that was a horrible mistake,” Rohrbacher said. “Now that we know that it cost a trillion dollars, and all of these years, and all of these lives, and all of this blood … all I can say is everyone I know thinks it was a mistake to go in now.”

Asked by panel moderator Grover Norquist what percentage of Republican congressmen agree with that view, McClintock said, “I think everyone in Congress] would agree that Iraq was a mistake.” ([Raw Story)

Well, several thousands American and many times that in Iraqi lives, and now we have that. Of course, it doesn’t do anything that helps at this point. Rohrabacher and his fellow Republicans laughed at the Dirty Hippies that would dare to say that the Iraq War was a mistake. Those of us on the left were apparently “not serious” for wanting to stay out of a morass from which we would soon pour large sums of money and terrifying amounts of blood into.

Do you think the media will notice now and think about how they covered the run-up to the war? Doubtful. Attack first, apologize later. It’s a stunningly audacious way to run the world’s richest nation, but for eight years, that’s how we rolled.

Dana Rohrabacher has been out front in yipping about the need for the President to rhetorically confront Iran, a stupid idea given our history in the region, and the opposite of what actual Iranian dissidents and experts like Shirin Ebadi, Trita Parsi and Akbar Ganji suggest.  As OC Progressive notes, he is undermining the protests and demonstrations by giving credence to the complaint of the ruling regime that foreign interests are intervening in their election.  By saber-rattling, like in the passage of a resolution in support of the protests and then wielding it as a club to criticize the President for not being belligerent enough, you just play into the hands of the regime.  And Rohrabacher and his colleagues never had this kind of commitment to human rights when it involved the systematic, needless torture of detainees at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.  In fact, Rohrabacher called those cruel, inhumane and degrading tactics fraternity hazing pranks – when Dick Cheney orders them.  When the Iranians or North Koreans order them, it’s a whole different ballgame.

But I have to step back and admire – and kind of marvel – at Rohrabacher’s comments yesterday about the Uighurs, a group of 18 Muslims held at Guantanamo for seven years without charges, despite having been proven to commit no acts of terrorism or crimes of any kind.  Several were released to Bermuda this week, amidst clamoring by many conservatives, in particular Newt Gingrich.  But Rohrabacher smacked the former House Speaker down pretty hard on this point, decrying him for raising needless fears.  It’s idiosyncratic, of course, because it’s Rohrabacher, and it mostly constitutes a conspiracy theory about the Chinese government.  But embedded in the madness are some true statements about Republican fearmongering and overhyping of threats.

ROHRABACHER: And also, right off the bat, I’d like to express my deep appreciation to the leader in Bermuda – it’s Premier Brown – for his courage to do what is morally right in this situation. He’s demonstrated, I think, the best of democracy. That’s what leadership is all about: being willing to take such tough stands. I’m sorry that our own leadership here at home, and even in my own party, seems lacking at this moment. […]

Much to my dismay, some pundits in the Republican party have fallen for this bait and are lumping the Uighurs in with Islamic extremists. The Bush administration did not help matters. It held Uighurs in Guantanamo as terrorists, and they did this, I believe, to appease the Chinese government in a pathetic attempt to gain its support at the beginning of the war against Iraq, and also to ensure China’s continued purchase of U.S. treasuries. Many, if not all, the negative allegations against the Uighurs, can be traced by to Communist Chinese intelligence, whose purpose is to snuff out a legitimate independence movement that challenges the Communist party bosses in Beijing.

No patriot, especially no Republican who considers themselves a Reagan Republican, should fall for this manipulation, which has us do the bidding of a dictatorship in Beijing.

In the hall of shame, of course, is our former speaker, Newt Gingrich. His positioning on this should be of no surprise – and is of no surprise – to those of who, during Newt’s leadership, were dismayed by his active support for Clinton-era trade policies with Communist China.

Video here.

Would that Rohrabacher would listen to his own words when saber-rattling against Iran.  That moment of clarity – all right, about 1/3 of a moment – ought to be repeated.

(Rohrabacher is openly talking about losing in a Democratic landslide.  Go Debbie Cook! – promoted by David Dayen)

If the name Pete McCloskey sounds familiar, you may remember him as a 7-term Republican congressman from California. Paul Norton “Pete” McCloskey, Jr. comes from a long line of Republicans, going back to the 1850s. He served in the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Marine Corps Reserves, and served our country in Korea.

So why’s a former Republican congressman at a rally today endorsing Democrat Debbie Cook for Congress? Because he, like millions of Americans, knows that the Republican party has lost its way. Unlike today’s breed, McCloskey has stood up for ethics and our country’s future. He protected our environment by co-authoring the 1973 Endangered Species Act. He ran for President on an anti-Vietnam war platform. And he was the first representative to call for the impeachment of Nixon after Watergate. He truly put Country before party.

So, rather than traveling to other states to help Obama, McCloskey decided his time was better spent staying home for change in California – and working to get Obama the congress he needs to deal with a country in crisis and desperate for change.

Debbie Cook is an amazing candidate who’s neck and neck with Republican Dana Rohrabacher despite the tough odds in the district. People here are sick of our do-nothing representative who denies the real problems that face our country and our world. How are we to deal with the challenges of global climate change if – like Rohrabacher – we fail to acknowledge that there’s a man-made problem? How can we handle the rebuilding of our foreign policy if we – like Rohrabacher – buddy up with the Taliban? And how can we deal with our disastrous economic situation if we – like Rohrabacher – practice crony capitalism with the likes of Jack Abramoff?

Pete McCloskey knows that the way to do so is to elect better Democrats like Debbie Cook. Sarah Palin brags about her city of 6,000 – but Debbie Cook has been leading Huntington Beach’s population of 200,000 for 8 years. And unlike Palin, Debbie recognizes that our true energy future lies away from oil and gas, and in renewable, sustainable energy sources.

While at Netroots Nation, Pete got his first chance to meet this great candidate. And like many of you, he was won over. So Pete is out this weekend working to help send Debbie to Washington.

And it’s working. The Long Beach Press-Telegram reports that Rohrabacher’s afraid Republicans will stay home. Let’s ensure that those who are sick of the way the country’s been run during his terms turn out in force.

Pete knows that Californians don’t need to travel to other states to bring change to this country. If you are anywhere near Orange County or Long Beach, the Cook Campaign needs you in these closing days of the race. Give them a call at 714-842-6358 to find out how you can help turn voters out on Election Day. And if you’re not in the area, please give to help a great candidate close the deal and represent us in Congress.

(And this just in: Orange Juice Blog shares a great, convincing letter that McCloskey wrote to Republicans in the district.)

Gary DeLong represents the 3rd District of the Long Beach City Council, and he holds a monthly meeting – at taxpayer expense – with constituents.  This month he abruptly decided to invite Dana Rohrabacher – his preferred candidate for Congress – to the meeting.

Walking a legal, ethical and political tightrope just before Election Day, Long Beach City Councilmember Gary DeLong has suddenly invited the candidate he supports for congress-conservative incumbent Republican Dana Rohrabacher-to speak Thursday at DeLong’s monthly lunchtime meeting with his Third District constituents.

Debbie Cook, the Huntington Beach mayor who is presenting Rohrabacher with his strongest challenge in his 20 years in the House of Representatives, had not heard about the event when contacted by The District Weekly late Monday night. “I was not invited,” she said.

Long Beach Police Chief Anthony Batts had been scheduled for more than a month to address the Third District Neighborhoods meeting, but DeLong abruptly disinvited Batts so that Rohrabacher could appear.

DeLong has made three financial contributions to Rohrabacher’s re-election campaign in the last 16 months. He donated $200 on June 27, $250 on Feb. 14 and $200 on June 16, 2007. Additionally, DeLong wrote a $1,000 check to the National Republican Congressional Committee on October 1.

But juggling the guest list at the Third District Neighborhoods meeting may constitute DeLong’s most-valuable gift to Rohrabacher, providing the congressman with a late-in-the-campaign appearance before some of Long Beach’s most-affluent and influential residents.

Hilariously, A DeLong spinner explains that the city staffers for the event are going on their lunch hour and the invites weren’t sent on city time, so everything’s above board.  Oh, and where’s it being held?

THE LONG BEACH YACHT CLUB.  Perfect setting for a Yacht Party get-together.

What’s most notable about this is that Rohrabacher is showing up in Long Beach at all.  I’d be surprised if he knows where it is.  Rohrabacher usually runs up the score in the Orange County strongholds.  This year, he has to search for votes everywhere.

Support Calitics Match candidate Debbie Cook.

…oh yeah, if you want more of an incentive, Dana strongly supports Prop. 8.  He says that we do not need to change the definition of marriage in order to “make a small number of people comfortable with themselves”.  

I think that says it all.

So Debbie Cook and Dana Rohrabacher debated yesterday afternoon.  I could write 1000 words about it, but I could also just provide you with this picture, which says it all:

As in, “I can’t believe I actually have to run for my seat.”

But if you want to know about the substance, Todd Beeton, who was there, has a writeup.

But even though crazy Dana is always likely to say some crazy shit, and he did, what I took away from the debate most of all was how unabashedly progressive Debbie Cook is and how lucky we would be to have her in Congress. This is a fairly red (albeit getting bluer every day) district, one where you might expect the Democratic challenger to moderate her views for the electorate. Nope, not Debbie. I’ll write about the debate more later, hopefully with video, but here are just three of the issues where Debbie shined today:

• On global warming, Cook, who is an energy expert, in response to Rohrabacher’s global warming denier nonsense, asserted “The debate is over. I can’t get into a discussion over climate change, to me it’s just a fact, we need to move on to solving our oil depletion problems.”

• On Proposition 8: “I strongly oppose Proposition 8, I am in favor of full marriage equality.”

• And on healthcare reform, Cook advocated for a single-payer Medicare for all model. “Health care is a right every American should enjoy.”

Yes, Crazy Dana denied global warming.  Again.  Not sure if he attributed it to dinosaur flatulence this time.  But here’s the actual discussion:

Rohrabacher went on to accuse those “who claim that humankind is changing the climate,” including Cook and his other opponents, of fear mongering.

“[They are] trying to stampede us into policies that will take us towards technologies that just deal with carbon dioxide and have nothing to do with personal health,” Rohrabacher said.

Cook, who led Huntington Beach in joining the U.S. Mayor’s Agreement on Global Warming, dismissed Rohrabacher’s claims, stating that the scientific debate over climate change had ended.

“Debating climate change is just a distraction from the real work that we all need to do,” Cook said. “Humans are overtaking the ability of the planet to sustain itself. Now, we need to move toward a green future because that’s the only thing that can save us.”

Apparently, Rohrabacher’s plan was to relate everything back to illegal immigration and the Wall Street bailout package, which he would have replaced with capital gains tax cuts and more deregulation, so I’m not seeing Mr. Populism in there.

Cook stayed on message and did not take the bait.  Here was her explanation.

After the debate, Cook explained why she refused to go after the incumbent.

“It’s not my style,” she said. “You don’t want to make the same mistake that the Republicans have made with McCain in going negative, negative, negative. I think it’s quite apparent that he’s done nothing for this district in 20 years. And if people don’t understand that, me telling them isn’t going to change anything.”

“He’s an a**,” Cook continued. “I can’t respond to him. He’s a liar.”

Meanwhile, I noticed something very interesting in Rohrabacher’s latest fundraising report:

Donald Segretti

self

09/27/2008

250.00

attorney

Yes, that Donald Segretti.  The head of the “dirty tricks” division of the Nixon campaign, the guy who stole stationery from Ed Muskie and wrote all kinds of lies about possible Nixon opponents in 1972, alleging Scoop Jackson had an illegitimate child and Hubert Humphrey was guilty of sexual misconduct and Muskie had insulted Franch-Canadians.  By the way, Segretti was a co-chair of John McCain’s Presidential campaign in 2000.  And he was Karl Rove’s mentor in ratfucking.

Donald Segretti offered J. Timothy Gratz $100.00 per month, plus expenses, to co-ordinate these projects. Gratz agreed to work on the project and he was given an advance payment of $50.00. Gratz later told Anthony Ulasewicz that “although the whole incident seemed strange” he agreed to help “as most of the ideas he suggested seemed like they were worth doing anyway”. However, Gratz claimed he told Karl Rove, Chairman of the College Republican National Committee, about this dirty tricks campaign. We now know that Rove himself was part of Segretti’s campaign. In fact, he probably played a leading role in this dirty tricks operation. Rove had become friends with CIA asset, Robert F. Bennett in 1968. According to one report, Bennett became a “mentor of Rove’s”.

In 1970, Karl Rove used a false identity to enter the campaign office of Democrat Alan J. Dixon, who was running for Illinois State Treasurer, and stole 1000 sheets of paper with campaign letterhead. Rove then printed fake campaign rally fliers promising “free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing,” and distributed them at rock concerts and homeless shelters, with the effect of disrupting Dixon’s rally.

Nice company that Rohrabacher attracts.

Donate to Debbie Cook: Having the money to get her message out is all that stands between her and victory.

If you’re in Orange County Tuesday morning, please come to the one and only debate between Debbie Cook and Dana Rohrabacher. (The Green candidate and the Libertarian candidate will also be there.)

With momentum going her way, Debbie Cook needs you to come and cheer her on. Also to bring your questions! The eight questions the candidates will answer will come from audience members.

Here are the details:

Tuesday,

October 21, 11:15 am – 1:15 pm

Orange Coast College

2701 Fairview Road

Costa Mesa, CA 92628  

Robert B Moore Theatre  

Call for more information: 714-432-5796.

Dana Rohrabacher refused to debate earlier before the absentee ballots went out. He refused a debate offer from Ner-Tamid synagogue in Rancho Palos Verdes. He also refused to appear on Inside OC on KOCE TV alongside Mayor Cook.

So this one’s it.  

The Capitol Weekly reports, in an article about dimming GOP prospects, that Dana Rohrabacher is in a world of trouble.

The third contest is in the 46th Congressional District in Orange County, where incumbent Republican Dana Rohrabacher faces Huntington Beach Mayor Debbie Cook.

According to GOP sources, internal polling shows the difference between Rohrabacher and Cook, the mayor of Huntington Beach, to be within the margin of error, although Rohrabacher has heavily outspent Cook.   Hoffenblum believes Rohrabacher faces “possibly the strongest Democrat to run against him since the current district lines were drawn in 2001.”

I don’t think it’s accurate to say that Rohrabacher has heavily outspent Cook.  He only spent a paltry $38,000 in the third quarter, though that may be ramping up now.  I don’t think the NRCC is going to have a lot of money to help him either, though they’re making noises about it.

The strapped National Republican Congressional Committee, which at the end of August had $14 million in the bank, compared with $54 million for the Democrats, last week took out an $8 million loan to fund races in the final days of the campaigns. With scant resources, the fight for dollars is intense.  

GOP insiders believe some funds may flow to Rohrabacher in the 46th C.D., but that money for any of the others is problematic. Democrats declined to say whether Cook would get last-minute cash from national Democrats.

Calitics Match candidate Debbie Cook is a better Democrat.  She supports the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, quality health care for every American, and a post-carbon economy with green energy pushing out the dirty fuels of the past.  She would be an amazing legislator.  This can be done.  She needs your support.  Donate here.  I will be down in the district over the weekend to get a report.

And don’t just believe me about all this, check out theCook Political Report.

Here’s yet more evidence that the Dems are poised for huge gains in Congress: The Cook Report has released a new set of updated rankings on 25 House races — and all 25 are shifts in the Dems’ direction.

CA-03 Dan Lungren (R) – Solid Republican to Likely Republican

CA-04 OPEN, Doolittle (R) – Likely Republican to Lean Republican

CA-46 Dana Rohrabacher (R) – Solid Republican to Likely Republican

CA-50 Brian Bilbray (R) – Solid Republican to Lean Republican

That’s right, Charlie Brown, Nick Leibham and Bill Durston are looking very impressive.  And Charlie Cook is being very conservative with these picks.  We have the momentum, now we have to go out there and pull it off.

By Randy Bayne

The Bayne of Blog

Republican campaigns all over are starting to tank as Election Day approaches. California, long considered the land of “safe seats” because of the 2000 redistricting plan that basically secured the status quo for both parties, is no exception. The news is not good for incumbent Republicans.

Politico.com says even Dan Lungren is in danger of losing.

GOP Reps. John B. Shadegg of Arizona, Lee Terry of Nebraska, Henry Brown Jr. of South Carolina and Dan Lungren of California are all fighting for their political lives, a reversal of fortunes that has caught even the most astute campaign observers by surprise. [Emphasis added]

Recent polling by his challenger, Dr. Bill Durston, has the race for CA-03 in a virtual dead heat. Lungren leads 33% to 30% with a whopping 30% still undecided. Obviously, it is among these undecided voters that the election will play out. Lungren’s own polling, two done just after the Durston survey, show Lungren polling under 50%. The same polls show Durston at around 26%, leaving a high number of undecided voters as mail voting begins in the state.

This has concern the Lungren campaign. Incumbents who don’t break 50% in polling this close to Election Day tend to not do well. In other words, they often lose. The Republican Party is concerned. According to Swing State Project,

The GOP is publicly confessing to being worried about the challenges posed by Linda Ketner (SC-01) and Bill Durston (CA-03)? Either this is the most monumental of all head-fakes, or they’re looking up at a tsunami that even we at SSP are underestimating. Other names cited in the article as causes for concern include Lee Terry, Mark Souder (both victims of recent huge DCCC expenditures), Dana Rohrabacher, David Dreier, and Brian Bilbray, all of whom would be well behind a GOP firewall any other year. [Emphasis added]

Politico.com points to the toll the economy is taking and the high foreclosure rate in CA-03 as one reason for GOP concerns.

Two years ago, Lungren – who is completing his seventh term in Congress – beat physician and Vietnam War veteran Bill Durston by 21 points. But the economy has taken its toll, and Lungren’s district has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. In a newly released Democratic poll, Lungren leads Durston by just 3 percentage points.

Former GOP consultant Allan Hoffenblum said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and other California Republicans, including Reps. David Dreier and Brian Bilbray, are also at risk.

As the economy continues its downward spiral, voters realize that Republicans have had charge of economic policy for most of the last eight years. They look at where they were when Bill Clinton left office and compare it to where they are now. It isn’t a pretty picture. As Barack Obama said the other day, people aren’t asking if they are better off than they were four years ago, now its are you better off than four weeks ago.

Perhaps we have come to the end of the era of voting against your own best interests. One can only hope. More certain is that the GOP is a party in decline and candidates with an “R” behind their name have no safe haven this time around.