Tag Archives: MI-09

Darrell Issa Hates 9/11 Heroes, Who Loves Darrell Issa’s Money?

Cross posted at DailyKos and OpenLeft

So as we’ve established by now, Darrell Issa thinks very little of 9/11 rescue workers and would prefer that the federal government not concern itself with their welfare.  Cause according to him, 9/11 is not and presumably was not a national issue.  We’ve also established that he has no qualms about throwing federal money around on local pork as long as it benefits him directly.  So the next logical question for me is “oh hey, are there any familiar names that don’t mind taking Darrell Issa’s money?”  As you may or may not know, Darrell Issa is filthy rich.  So he’s spread a lot of money around on Republicans and conservative causes.  So as it turns out, there are quite a lot of Republicans currently running around the Capitol funded in part by Darrell Issa (partial list):


Dean Andal (candidate, CA-11)

Rep. Michele Bachmann (MN-06)

Rep. Brian Bilbray (CA-50)

Rep. Gus Bilirakis (FL-09)

Rep. Charles Boustany (LA-07)

Sen. Richard Burr (North Carolina)

Rep. John Campbell (CA-48)

Rep. Shelley Moore Captio (WV-02)

Rep. Steve Chabot (OH-01)

Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04) [head of NRCC]

Rep. Geoff Davis (KY-04)

Rep. John Doolitte (Retiring, CA-04)

Rep. Thelma Drake (VA-02)

Rep. Tom Feeney (FL-24)

Rep. Mike Ferguson (Retiring, NJ-07)

Rep. Randy Forbes (VA-04)

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (NE-01)

Rep. Jim Gerlach (PA-06)

Rep. Phil Gingrey (GA-11)

Rep. Robin Hayes (NC-08)

Rep. Ric Keller (FL-08)

Rep. Mark Kirk (IL-10)

Rep. John Kline (MN-02)

Rep. Joe Knollenberg (MI-09)

Rep. Randy Kuhl (NY-29)

Rep. Doug Lamborn (CO-05)

Rep. Tom Latham (IA-04)

Rep. Bob Latta (OH-05)

Fmr. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (What the hell? ha.)

Rep. Candice Miller (MI-10)

Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (CO-04)

Rep. Randy Neugebauer (TX-19)

Fmr. Rep. Anne Northup (Candidate, KY-03)

Rep. Steve Pearce (Retiring, NM-02; Candidate, NM-SEN)

Rep. Mike Pence (IN-06)

Rep. Ted Poe (TX-02)

Rep. Jon Porter (NV-03)

Rep. Deborah Pryce (Retiring, OH-15)

Rep. Dennis Rehberg (MT-AL)

Rep. Dave Reichert (WA-08)

Rep. Rick Renzi (Retiring [to prison?], AZ-01)

Rep. Mike D. Rogers (AL-03)

Rep. Mike J. Rogers (MI-08)

Rep. Peter Roskam (IL-06)

Fmr. Rep. Jim Ryun (Candidate, KS-02)

Rep. Jean Schmidt (OH-02)

Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (Candidate, TX-22)

Rep. Pete Sessions (TX-32)

Rep. Chris Shays (CT-04)

Rep. John Shimkus (IL-19)

Fmr. Rep. Mike Sodrel (Candidate, IN-09)

Sen. John Sununu (New Hampshire)

Fmr. Rep. Pat Toomey (President, Club for Growth)

Rep. Jim Walsh (Retiring, NY-25)

Rep. Heather Wilson (Retiring, NM-01; Candidate, NM-SEN)

Rep. Rob Wittman (VA-01)

More than 50, and there are a lot of familiar names in there. Swing districts, notorious wingnuts, Senators in tough races.  How many of those people agree with Darrell Issa that the welfare of the heroes of 9/11 are no business of the United States government?  How many of them really want to be forced to answer such questions?  Rep. Issa has, for a number of years, been a bit of a hero in GOP fundraising circles.  Do people really want to be associated with his money now? Presumably the answer is “yes” in private and “maybe” in public.  If it’s even slightly possible to isolate Issa and his money, in this of all election cycles when the NRCC is desperately poor, it’s worth the effort.  Isn’t it time we start finding out how these politicians feel about taking money from just a soulless jerk?

Last chance to support CA’s McNerney over MI’s Skinner

(I hate to interrupt Brian’s roll, but ONE hour left — go vote for McNerney. – promoted by jsw)

Democracy for America‘s Grassroots All-Star competition is coming to a close in just 2 and a half hours, at 2 PM PST. The top spot has been flipping between Jerry McNerney and Nancy Skinner, both deserving candidates possessed of unquestionable true-blue credentials. The endorsement, however, can only go to one. Of course, my natural tendency is to support McNerney as the home team competitor, but even failing that McNerney would be the best national candidate to receive the endorsement, for two big reasons explained below the fold.

1. The Incumbent Nancy Skinner is running in the MI-9 against, as Skinner champion and Kos diarist GOTV put it yesterday, “Mr. Inertia” Joe Knollenberg. Joe Knollenberg doesn’t do anything. Ever. When was the last time you were outraged over “the Knollenberg Bill”? I can’t think of one. He’s also 72. So basically, while we want to get rid of him, he’s more or less harmless, and close to retirement besides. Rick Pombo in the CA-11, on the other hand, undoubtedly has a place among the congressional pantheon of villains. He’s ambitious, conniving, corrupt as a bastard, and universally acclaimed as the most environmentally rapacious member of the United States Congress (which of course explains why he’s chairman of the house Natural Resources Committee. On top of all that, he’s young (just 45) and already broke his term limits pledge. He’ll be there for a long time, and is already slated to take over the Agriculture Committee in 2008. If we have a choice between hastening the departure of a doddering fool by a few years or nipping the arsenic-tainted bud of a “conservative” mastermind, doesn’t the latter seem the wiser course of action?

2. Positioning The CA-11 is 53/47 Republican, but Jerry McNerney is up by 4 points in the latest poll, despite still lacking name recognition. He’s fighting from a position of strength. Pombo, however, has the corporate backing to launch a counterattack that would overawe Marshal Pétain. Fleets of sewage-laden bombers will soon be plastering Stockton and Pleasanton with every sort of libelous charge you can imagine. When this happens, one of two things will happen. Either McNerney will have the resources to beat back Pombo’s bull charge, or he won’t. Skinner, on the other hand, despite coming from a somewhat more Democratic district (50/50), has not yet seen fit to release any of her internal polling, which suggests to me she hasn’t yet seen any numbers she likes. Skinner is fighting an uphill battle. She may be able to parley additional support into concrete results – or she may not. Name recognition isn’t her problem – she’s a radio host in the district, for Pete’s sake! With McNerney, we know exactly how the money’s going to help him. With Skinner, the race may never get close enough for the money to do anything.

No matter what kind of netroots Dem you are, McNerney’s your man. If all you want is to take back Congress, he’s better positioned to take your support and do just that. If you want to take out one of the most odious men ever to hold a Congressional seat in the bargain, electing Jerry McNerney is a twofer. I wish Nancy Skinner all the best, but not at the expense of Jerry McNerney. Come on, he’s our man!

As the A-1 Commercials say, “It’s just that important.” Vote now. You can’t hear them, but the spotted owls are thanking you.