Today about 20 volunteers congregated at the White Point Nature Preserve in San Pedro to give back to the community as part of Democrats Work and their national day of service.  I know community organizing and community service is teh suck, but that didn’t stop us, for some reason.  Democrats Work is a really great organization that brands service and volunteerism as a Democratic value, part of protecting the commons and creating a more livable world.

We arrived around 9am and immediately set to work clearing tumbleweed from a large area of the preserve, which formerly housed a naval missile silo.  For 2 1/2 hours we picked, pulled and chopped away at the weeds.  And joining us was Congressional candidate in CA-46 Debbie Cook (San Pedro is in her district).  Now, most candidates would spend about 10 minutes there, get their photo-op, shake a few hands and go home.  Cook drove up in her car and spent the entire volunteer session with us.  Pretty interesting.

I talked to Cook a bit about her race against Crazy Dana Rohrabacher.  Obviously, the big hurdle right now is financial.  While Cook has outraised Dana Rohrabacher since she entered the race, she still is at a disadvantage of 3:1 in cash on hand, and until she shows more fundraising strength, outside groups like the DCCC won’t jump in.  It’s kind of a vicious cycle – you can’t get money until you raise money.  Cook has released a TV ad that’s running in the district on local cable, and she has an ActBlue site up for supporters to adopt an ad.  She also raised close to $10,000 in Blue America’s recent contest, and while she didn’t win to receive the extra $10,000, it was still a success.  Cook has challenged Rohrabacher to debates but he’s been cool to the idea.  Local PBS station KOCE has committed to running the debate with or without Crazy Dana, so she may be debating an empty chair.  Cook discussed her plan for Iraq (if the oil companies require security to do their business in the country, they can pay for the private security contractors like Blackwater and let us leave), her energy ideas (the drillusion is backwards thinking that will never move us forward), and Sarah Palin (as the mayor of Huntington Beach, she said that she never received such federal largesse from earmarks that Palin did as mayor of Wasilla, despite having 20 times as many constituents), among other things, while helping clear the tumbleweed.  Cook is an impressive and dedicated citizen legislator who would truly be a breath of fresh air in Washington.

Overall, not a bad morning.  Pics on the flip:

It was a wide expanse.





This one’s me.



Debbie Cook and a volunteer.





The whole gang and the fruits of our labor

You’d think this would be bigger news on the last night of the Republican Convention, that the guy that used to be their go-to lobbyist got sentenced today.

Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose corruption scandal shook up Washington’s power elite and contributed to the Republican loss of control in Congress, was sentenced on Thursday to four years in federal prison.

Abramoff is already serving a nearly six-year term on unrelated charges and the new sentence will be served at the same time, meaning he will not spend any extra time behind bars once his original sentence ends in 2012.

Judge Ellen Huvelle issued the sentence after federal prosecutors recommended leniency due to Abramoff’s cooperation in pursuing corruption cases against lawmakers and former administration officials. He faced a maximum of 11 years under a plea deal reached in 2006.

Abramoff has major ties to John Doolittle, Ken Calvert and several other California Republicans, but the Debbie Cook campaign has been pressing the connections between this twice-convicted felon and Dana Rohrabacher.  To wit:

Abramoff Funded Trips

Rohrabacher’s ties to Jack Abramoff date from the 1980s. In 1999, Rohrabacher went on an Abramoff-funded trip to the Marshall Islands with John Doolittle (R-CA), Ken Calvert (R-CA) and eight staffers. (http://talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/RMItravel.html)

Rohrabacher Used As Reference By Abramoff

In 2000, Abramoff listed Rohrabacher as a reference on a loan application for the purchase of SunCruz Casinos. “I don’t remember it, but I would have certainly have been happy to give him a good recommendation,’ Rohrabacher said. “He’s a very honest man.” (LINK)

Another Overseas Trip Paid For By Abramoff

In 2002, Rohrabacher and his wife and campaign manager Rhonda, took a trip to Malaysia, accompanied by two Abramoff partners at the firm Greenberg Traurig. House records indicate the trip to Malaysia focused on terrorism and trade. Rohrabacher’s spokeman called the trip “very positive.” (LINK)

Rohrabacher Calls Abramoff “a fine man”

In April 2005, with Abramoff the target of a grand jury, Rohrabacher said “Jack has made some mistakes…but he is not the dishonest, malevolent, arrogant, wheeler-dealer that people are portraying. He is a fine man.”

(LINK)

Rohrabacher: Abramoff’s Crimes Are Business As Usual

Rohrabacher defended Abramoff to the Washington Post: “I think he’s been dealt a bad hand and the worst, rawest deal I’ve ever seen in my life.” Words like bribery are being used to describe things that happened every day in Washington and are not bribes.”

Abramoff pleaded guilty in January 2006 to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials. (LINK)

Rohrabacher Alone in Praising Abramoff, Despite Guilty Plea

Following Abramoff’s guilty plea for his role in the fraudulent purchase of a fleet of casino cruise boats in Florida, Rohrabacher was the ONLY member of Congress to request leniency from the federal judge sentencing Abramoff.

(LINK)

Today, Debbie Cook released this statement: “Rohrabacher’s ongoing relationship with Jack Abramoff and his willingness to excuse his crimes, even now, as Abramoff is sentenced for bribery, speaks volumes about the Congressman’s judgment and his Washington D.C. mindset.”  The words “culture of corruption,” which Democrats successfully branded in 2006, can be thrown in there as well.

Good to see some aggressiveness out of Cook.  They just released their first ad of the cycle, too, designed for local cable, which also displays some toughness against Rohrabacher.  It’s the first ad run against Crazy Dana in 20 years.  What’s more, they’re asking supporters to buy an ad through Act Blue.

The Cook campaign will be on hand at this Democrats Work event, along with me, on Saturday.

Huntington Beach, CA – Debbie Cook has formally asked Congressman Dana Rohrabacher to join her in at least three town-hall style debates throughout the 46th distict.

“The voters in our district should have meaningful opportunities to hear our very different goals and visions for the 46th district,” said Cook. “The Congressman has been willing to debate in previous elections, I hope he will agree to join me in a series of forums that will present our positions directly to the voters.”

The Cook campaign has asked for three debates located across the district, two in Orange County and one in Los Angeles County.

“There are two very different media markets in this district, so along with Orange County, it’s important to schedule at least one town hall debate in Los Angeles County, possibly in Long Beach or the Palos Verdes Peninsula.” said Kevin Thurman, Cook’s campaign manager.

Thurman said he is waiting for an official response from the Rohrabacher campaign. Thurman sent a certified letter to Rhonda Rohrabacher, the Congressman’s wife and campaign manager, early this week.

Cook, the Democratic nominee and mayor of Huntington Beach, is challenging incumbent Dana Rohrabacher. She has devoted much of her adult life and her legal career to environmental protection and energy policy.  She considers reducing America’s dependence on fossil fuels an environmental and national security imperative.

The 46th Congressional District covers a two-county area bounded by Costa Mesa on the south and the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the north. For more information about the campaign, please visit www.debbiecookforcongress.com.

• Do you know how many houses you own? Well, John McCain doesn’t. Check the ad to the right. Also, Check out this site from the Montana Dems.

• Are you as impressed with the hard work and dedication that Dr. Bill Durston has put into his campaign for the 3rd Congressional district against the social-security despising, cake-eating, swimsuit-cavorting, lobbyist-junketing Dan Lungren. Do you live in the Bay Area? Well, great! You can come to a fundraiser for Durston on the Stanford campus.

• AD-15: Joan Buchanan has a spiffy new website and will be having a fundraiser with Assembly Speaker Karen Bass on September 10.

• Debbie Cook will be having house-parties to watch Barack Obama’s acceptance speech on 8/28. More information on her house party ActBlue Page.

Fiona Ma is doing a “Citizen Co-sponsor” thing for AB 1778, a bill that would require people selling over 2,000 cans ($100) to provide their name. It’s an interesting idea aimed at stopping people from rummaging through garbage cans in the middle of the night. However, there’s some risk to homeless and low-income folks in this as well. Many of them will sort public trash cans looking for recyclables, and that’s tough work.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee and our allies at the Leadership Conference on Guaranteed Healthcare are debuting a new feature: The Healthcare Heroes Caucus, which will honor candidates who are running on a platform of supporting HR 676, John Conyers’ bill for an expanded and improved Medicare for All.

We will highlight the stories of these healthcare heroes, and work to get them the attention and support they need.  It’s not always easy to run in the face of insurance companies and a sold-out political culture…but it is smart.  Poll after poll shows the American people are open to an expanded and improved Medicare for All, and are desperate for the kind of solutions that will improve care while saving money.

Debbie Cook is our first Healthcare Hero candidate and she’s a great one.  She is a committed progressive running in a district that is ready to toss out Bob Dornan Dana Rohrbacher and elect a real leader.

Donna Smith’s write up of Debbie Cook is below but in the meantime, please visit Debbie’s ActBlue page and help her out.  Check in on the Guaranteed Healthcare Blog for regular updates from Debbie’s campaign, and the rest of the healthcare heroes.

Per Donna:

But during her Congressional campaign, she hears over and over again from citizens struggling with healthcare costs that are too high or the lack of any health insurance coverage or even those who are forced into bankruptcy.  “I think other countries might look at us as a Third World country when it comes to what happens to so many Americans faced with healthcare expenses they cannot afford.” She went to say that huge insurance industry profits often come before getting patients the care they may need.

It’s no wonder Debbie hears about healthcare issue out on the campaign trail.  California ranks number one in the nation with the number of people uninsured well over 6.5 million and the number of citizens struggling with “underinsurance” rated nearly as high.  Efforts by State Senator Sheila Kuehl to pass SB840, state single payer legislation, have been thwarted by the governor’s pen, not a lack of political support from citizens and healthcare professionals who know just how bad things are for so many Californians.

“Healthcare decisions need to be made by patients and their doctors, not by insurance companies,” Debbie said when asked how much influence insurance companies should have on patient care.

“Healthcare professionals in growing numbers are supporting single payer health care where we use a system similar to Medicare to pay bills, and focus our efforts on improving the efficiency of care, especially treatment of chronic diseases.,” Debbie noted when she reflected on RNs fighting for single payer legislation in California and nationally.

So today I drove back down to my old stomping grounds of Palos Verdes to see Debbie Cook’s “ice cream social” at the lovely Hesse Park.  Admittedly, the crowd was mostly older folks, and I felt a bit out of place.  The head of the Palos Verdes Democratic Club opened with a joke about how Democrats do exist in Palos Verdes, which people chuckled at.  I mean, surface appearances would make you think P.V. was 100% Republican.

Anyway, not only was Debbie Cook there, but the people running for the state assembly and senate were there also.  (The Democratic incumbents in those seats are term-limited out.)  Rod Wright, who worked for Maxine Waters, is running for the State Senate, and Beth Loewenthal, a member of the Long Beach City Council, is running for the State Assembly.  Both should be elected when all is said and done; the districts seem to be more or less safe for Democrats.

Some rambling thoughts from me after the fold.

And in a surprise to me, someone who was recently on TV was there too.  Watch this clip from the Colbert Report last month about Donald Trump’s huge flagpole.  (No, really.)

Well, I had no idea, but Rancho Palos Verdes mayor Doug Stern is actually a Democrat!  And he was there to introduce Debbie, and made mention of appearing on the show, where they took a 2-hour interview with him and cut it down to about 2 minutes.  In fact, three members of the RPV City Council are Democrats.  You could have knocked me over with a feather.  Growing up there, finding a Democrat in P.V. was like going on a snipe hunt.

From what I gathered talking to several folks, the biggest chance is on social stances.  Even just a decade ago, it was simply unheard of for a high school kid in P.V. to come out of the closet.  And now, it’s no longer a big deal in P.V.  If you haven’t lived there, you won’t realize how big of a sea change just that actually is.

Anyway, the candidates all spoke about themselves briefly, before the audience asked some questions.  From what I can remember….

Rod Wright is a very engaging speaker, and delivered some great lines.  One of them that he picked up in church was, “Everyone wants to get into Heaven, but nobody wants to die.”  Cook said she may use that line to talk about getting ourselves off of fossil fuels.  🙂

Debbie Cook was very pragmatic and wasn’t sugar-coating anything for the crowd.  She said that to truly wean ourselves off of fossil fuels, we were going to have to make sacrifices.  I can’t remember the exact words (sorry, short term memory here), but she was the opposite of one of those “elect me and everything will be better” politicians.  She’s a tough realist when it comes to our energy problems.  Wright also chimed in, saying that if you think you’re helping the environment by driving a car with ethanol, you’re only fooling yourself.  Ethanol is simply not the answer.  Even as a short-term solution, it’s not a good thing.

One of the speakers mentioned that Props. 6 & 8 are designed to drive up the Republican vote in November, and that it was no coincidence both of those are on the ballot, that this is a strategy by the GOP to get the social conservatives out to the polls.  Now while they said “California is not a slam dunk” for Democrats, well……  But where it could have devastating effects is on downticket races.  Will the presence of those two propositions be enough to get enough Republicans to the polls that Debbie Cook can’t win?  Or Charlie Brown?  Russ Warner?  What about that state assembly seat we want to pick up?  That’s where these initiatives could cause us problems, and we’ll have to counteract that with our own massive GOTV effort.

Cook said she spent most of Thursday filming TV commercials, and now just needs the money to get them on the air.  The bottom line to getting her message out is still $$$.  That’s just how it is.

One fellow asked how we could tell the national Democratic Party to wake up when it comes to offshore drilling.  Debbie had a great answer: “Send me to Congress!”  But everyone agreed there that from now until November, for those currently in Congress, it’s basically a lost cause.  The head of the San Pedro Democratic Club said that we simply have to make our voices heard, from calling our representatives to writing letters to the editor.

A great analogy Debbie Cook used when talking about offshore drilling was comparing it to finding loose change on the ground to help pay for your mortgage.  I suggested to her afterwards that instead of loose change on the ground, how about loose change underneath the couch cushions, and ripping up the upholstery to get to it?  She said her husband had suggested the same analogy.  Great minds, ya know.  😎

One thing that pleasantly surprised me was finding out that in 2004, when the high school kids in P.V. held a mock election, Kerry did beat Bush.  Coming from Palos Verdes, again, let me stress, that is a sea change.  Although in 2006, when asked about party affiliation, the numbers I heard were that 60% of P.V. high school kids still considered themselves Republican, with 40% Democrats.  So old habits die hard.

Anyway, seeing all those fine folks from P.V. made me more optimistic.  I’ve always maintained that P.V. would be the toughest nut to crack, given the long-standing Republican tilt of the district.  Remember, Rohrabacher himself went to high school here.  But events like today give me some hope.

Today Americans United for Change, the progressive advocacy group that is visiting districts throughout the country on the “Bush Legacy Tour,” hammered David Dreier for being a tool to Big Oil and special interests.  From their release:

With gas prices above $4, Americans United for Change, the progressive issue-advocacy group that recently launched its national Bush Legacy Bus tour, blasted Rep. David Drier today for standing in the way of lower gas prices for California families by voting against meaningful legislation to release 70 million barrels of light, sweet crude oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve into the open market and replace it with heavy, sour oil that is tougher to refine – a move that has historically brought down gas prices and strengthened our national security.

The SPR has been tapped or suspended before by the current President Bush, President Clinton, and the first President Bush and each time oil has been released the impact on prices has been dramatic and immediate.  For example, in 1991, oil prices immediately dropped by 33 percent. The 2000 exchange drove oil prices down by 19 percent. And the release by President Bush in 2005 resulted in a 9 percent drop.

“With gas prices hovering above $4 a gallon, Rep. Dreier was given a chance today bring real relief now to California families forced to make incredible sacrifices choosing between bills, gas, and food,” said Caren Benjamin, for Americans United for Change. “But without apology or question, Congressman Dreier chose to put his loyalty to Bush and his addiction to big oil cash ahead of relief for struggling Californians.”

I don’t know if the “Free Our Oil” campaign and focusing on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the most effective message, but clearly somebody has to show some leadership on the energy front.  Contrary to popular beliefs, Democrats are NOT being pushed out of this debate.  In a recent poll by The Wilderness Society, the public is split on the question of drilling or protecting arctic lands and offshore areas, and they believe 76%-19% that the best way to secure our energy future is to invest in new technologies and renewable sources rather than continue to drill.  In addition, by a 63%-31% score, those polled believe that the President’s proposal to open up ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf to drilling “is more likely to enrich oil companies than to lower gas prices for American consumers.”  That’s why it’s so crucial for AUFC to note that David Dreier has taken $129,400 in contributions from oil company executives over the years.

There’s starting to be some real pushback on this “drill now” blather.  The Democrats put forward this SPR bill today and most Republicans took the bait of voting against it.  Jimmy Hoffa Jr. of the Teamsters, in a real game-changer of a move, came out with a very strong statement rejecting “drilling our way out” of this crisis, and demanding long-term energy solutions.  Democratic Congressional candidate John Boccieri from Ohio made this amusing Web video to mock his opponent’s reliance on drilling:

And just to your left, CA-46’s Debbie Cook has put together a comprehensive 10-point plan to realize Al Gore’s vision of receiving 100% of our electricity from renewables by 2018.

There’s work to be done – by candidates, policy wonks, advocacy groups, and regular people – but together we can beat back these shortsighted solutions and expose those who want to wed our energy needs to the failures of the past.

Greetings and welcome to the latest installment of the California House races roundup.  We’re just around 100 days to go until the election, and things are starting to take focus.  There are about a half-dozen seats where Democratic challengers have an outside shot at dumping the incumbent, and another six on the watch list in case something spectacular occurs.  One thing to note is that the Cook numbers are tied to the 2004 election, and given the demographic changes and cratering of the Republican brand I think they mean significantly less now – it’ll be interesting to see how all these districts change in November.

We have plenty of new information to judge these races, including 2nd quarter fundraising reports, national ratings from Charlie Cook and Swing State Project, additional DCCC targets, and the appearance of many challengers at Netroots Nation.  So this list is really about who I think has the best chance to retain or take over a seat, not necessarily who should (though that may come through in the writing).  Here are some helpful bits of information that I used to help judge.

FEC disclosures (you can search by candidate name)

Voter registration by Congressional district.

Swing State Project fundraising roundup

On to the report…

DEMOCRATIC SEATS

1. CA-11. Incumbent: Jerry McNerney.  Challenger: Dean Andal.  Cook number: R+3.  % Dem turnout in the Presidential primary: 53.7%.  DCCC defended.  This remains the only opportunity for Republicans in the state, and it is starting to slip away.  Dean Andal is proving to be incredibly weak at fundraising, having raised under $200,000 for FOUR STRAIGHT QUARTERS.  He’s not going to be able to get up on TV, and his opponent has not only outraised him but will get about a million dollars in ad help from the DCCC.  Freedom’s Watch threw in a few anti-McNerney robocalls, but that’s really no match for the political muscle of the D-Trip.  Plus, there’s a brewing Andal scandal over his participation in passing privileged information and securing developer contracts for a San Joaquin Delta College contractor.  As for McNerney, his vote for the FISA bill has caused outcry in the district, and national groups like Blue America won’t be lending a hand.  He has changed his position on medical marijuana in response to constituents, a symbolic piece of support with activists.  But I think he’s largely on his own in this race.

McNerney: raised $416K in the second quarter, $1.37m cash on hand

Andal: raised $174K Q2, $663K CoH

REPUBLICAN SEATS

I’m going to do four tiers in setting apart the top seats where we have challenges to Republican incumbents.

First Tier

1. CA-04.  Last month: 1.  Open seat.  Dem. challenger: Charlie Brown.  Repub. challenger: Tom McClintock.  PVI #: R+11.  % Dem turnout in Feb. primary: 44.7.  DCCC targeted.  Tom McClintock actually raised quite a bit of money in the second quarter, but it all got plowed into the divisive primary with Doug Ose.  Plus, he was able to go above individual spending caps because of the “Millionaire’s Amendment,” which was recently ruled unconstitutional, putting constitutional literalist McClintock in a bind over what to do with that money.  We’ve seen real awkwardness from McClintock over how to handle disgraced incumbent John Doolittle, with shows of support and rejections happening on alternate days.  Meanwhile, Charlie Brown is humming along.  He has a 6-1 cash on hand advantage, and he’ll also be the recipient of some ad love from the DCCC.  His courageous stand against the FISA bill, outreach to parts of the district harmed by wildfires, and the release of a good energy plan which stresses tax credits for alternative energy and government fleets going renewable (and opposing opening up new lands for offshore drilling, in line with the “Use It Or Lose It” plan from Speaker Pelosi).  Brown was beloved at Netroots Nation and looks good in polling.  This is obviously our biggest-priority pickup.

Brown: raised $355K, $675K CoH

McClintock: raised $1.27m, $117 CoH

Second Tier

2. CA-46.  Last month: 4.  Incumbent: Dana Rohrabacher.  Challenger: Debbie Cook (Responsible Plan endorser). PVI #: R+6.  % Dem. turnout: 47.2.  I’m still concerned that the numbers aren’t quite there in the district, but I’m upping Cook this high because I have to acknowledge her achievements.  First, she’s outraised Rohrabacher two quarters in a row, and from what I’m being told, this has a lot to do with Dana and his wife (also his fundraiser) calling Republican backers and getting the phone slammed in their ears.  The Cook Political Report moved the race to Likely Republican, the only such move among competitive California races.  And there are indications that the D-Trip is at least taking a look at this race.  Most of this is happening because Cook is a compelling candidate.  Read her interview with Open Left or watch her interview with Talking Points Memo and you can see why.  Her environmental activism, competent fiscal management in Huntington Beach, and the fact that she’s not a ridiculously corrupt nutjob like Dana Rohrabacher makes for a fantastic profile.  This is probably too high, but there are some great signs here.

Cook: raised $110K, $97K CoH

Rohrabacher: raised $86K, $388 CoH

3. CA-50.  Last month: 5.  Incumbent: Brian Bilbray.  Challenger: Nick Leibham.  PVI #: R+5.  % Dem. turnout: 50.8.  DCCC targeted.  Nick Leibham outraised Brian Bilbray in the second quarter, and took in a nice haul of $245K in his own right.  He’s been gaining some attack points for criticizing Bilbray on wanting to debate on the radio and not in the district, and calling on other states to drill offshore but not California, an incoherent position.  The D-Trip put Leibham on their Red to Blue emerging races list, and dropped radio ads in the district tying him to Bush (MP3 here).  Leibham needs to articulate an agenda rather than just slam Bilbray forever, and that agenda needs to be a true contrast, but there is some movement here.

Leibham: raised $245K, $267K CoH

Bilbrary: raised $210K, $528K CoH

4. CA-26.  Last month: 2.  Incumbent: David Dreier.  Challenger: Russ Warner.  PVI #: R+4.  % Dem. turnout: 50.2.  DCCC targeted.  Warner was very focused on fundraising in June and yet came up short of beating David Dreier in the second quarter.  The problem is that Dreier has nearly two million dollars in the bank, so there’s a nearly 40-1 cash disadvantage, including campaign debts.  And despite the positive signs in the district, that’s tough to overcome.  Warner is going to need outside help, and the Bush Rubber Stamp project is a step in the right direction, but I don’t know if they’ll have the kind of money needed to meet the challenge.  There’s not much here to get me excited at this point.

Warner: raised $161K, $125K CoH

Dreier: raised $247K, $1.9m CoH

5. CA-45.  Last month: 3.  Incumbent: Mary Bono Mack.  Challenger: Julie Bornstein.  PVI #: R+3.  % Dem. turnout: 51.3.  The district is ready for a Democrat, and the symbiosis between Manuel Perez’ hotly contested Assembly campaign and Bornstein’s is going to help her in ways that aren’t being respected by the experts.  I still think this race is being undervalued.  However, Bornstein has been fairly invisible, from what I can tell, since the June primary.  And Bornstein got significantly outraised in Q2 as Mary Bono recognized the challenge she is facing can only be overcome with money.  In cash on hand she’s not far out of sight, however, and if Bornstein proves to be a solid and aggressive campaigner and benefits from increased Latino turnout in the Eastern Coachella Valley, there’s still a shot here.

Bornstein: raised $125K, $121K CoH

Bono: raised $336K, $421K CoH

Third Tier

6. CA-03.  Last month: 6.  Incumbent: Dan Lungren.  Challenger: Bill Durston. PVI #: R+7. % Dem turnout: 51.8.  This remains my sleeper pick in California.  The fundraising numbers were close, with Dan Lungren raising $173K to Durston’s $125K.  Lungren is trying to pivot to the center, coming out for nuclear warhead reduction with Russia, and the “X Prize” for battery technology promoted by John McCain.  But he’s firmly in the drill now, do nothing camp (despite voting against the “Use It Or Lose It” plan), and he’s lying about Democratic plans for tax increases.  Then there’s this bit of hilarity:

At a town hall meeting a few months ago Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Gold River) was adamant about denying citizenship to babies born in the United States to non-citizens. He lumped the infants into the same category as immigrants who cross the border illegally. He went so far as to sponsor a bill to deny citizenship to babies born to non-citizens.

In a classic flip-flop, Congo Dan “is backing the bill giving the Department of Homeland Security 30 days to process visas for entertainers,” says the Los Angeles Times.

Durston has publicly challenged Lungren to debates, and has a nifty comparison chart on his website that shows he’s truly running a campaign of contrast.  Keep an eye on this one.

Durston raised $125K, $189K CoH

Lungren raised $173K, $615K CoH

7. CA-52.  Last month: 7.  Open seat.  Dem. challenger: Mike Lumpkin.  Repub. challenger: Duncan D. Hunter.  PVI #: R+9.  % Dem. turnout: 47.2.  Calitics got to chat with Mike Lumpkin at Netroots Nation, and we were fairly impressed.  He talked up all the “Conservative Republicans for Lumpkin” signs he’s seeing in the district.  One thing he mentioned worried me, however: well over half of the voters in the primary thought they were voting for Duncan Hunter’s father, the incumbent.  That makes this almost not an open seat, and with Hunter’s fundraising advantage, it’s going to be an uphill battle.

Lumpkin raised $129K, $54K CoH

Hunter raised $338K, $198K CoH

Also Noted

8. CA-44.  Last month: 8.  Incumbent: Ken Calvert.  Challenger: Bill Hedrick (Responsible Plan endorser).  PVI #: R+6.  % Dem. turnout: 49.3.  Bill Hedrick tried to hit Ken Calvert over earmarks, and certainly there’s still a lot of smoke surrounding Calvert’s dirty dealings.  But in a low information district, Hedrick needs a lot of money for name ID, moeny he doesn’t have.

9. CA-42.  Last month: 11.  Incumbent: Gary Miller.  Challenger: Ed Chau.  PVI #: R+10.  % Dem. turnout: 44.0. Ed Chau has only $12,000 in the bank compared to Gary Miller’s $950,000.  That’s game, set and match, but questions have been raised once again about Miller’s potentially criminal actions (like his financial stake in getting an OC tollway built), so indictment is still on the fringes of possibility here.

10. CA-48.  Last month: 12.  Incumbent: John Campbell.  Challenger: Steve Young.  PVI #: R+8.  % Dem. turnout: 45.1.  Young is touting a poll (and I like that he’s touting it on ActBlue) showing that he’s up six points after biographical and issue information is distributed.  The problem is he has no money and lots of campaign debt, so how will that information get out there?  

11. CA-24.  Last month: 9.  Incumbent: Elton Gallegly.  Challenger: Marta Jorgensen.  PVI #: R+5.  % Dem. turnout: 50.6. Marta Jorgensen has a fairly nice website, but the money isn’t there to make this all that competitive, and she’ll need an Elton Gallegly slip-up. (Of course, she spent $1,375 on the primary and won, so ya never know…)

12. CA-41.  Last month: 10.  Incumbent: Jerry Lewis.  Challenger: Tim Prince.  PVI #: R+9.  % Dem. turnout: 46.3.  Tim Prince is also challenging Jerry Lewis on earmark requests, but Lewis has been pretty adept at escaping scrutiny in the district.