Tag Archives: John Campbell

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Sukhee Kang to Challenge John Campbell

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UPDATE: One correction from the comments.  Both Dana Rohrabacher and John Campbell are from Irvine and may well be in the race for this seat.  If that’s the case, the June primary may be far more interesting than what I’ve indicated in the post.  Dems would likely stick to Kang, but DTS are a big wildcard.  Who knows who emerges from that 3-way tussle to fight in November.

We still aren’t sure exactly what the district lines will be, but we do know that a perhaps newly competitive Orange County district based in Irvine will have a real race.  The popular Mayor of Irvine, Sukhee Kang, has announced that he is running for the seat.

“I look forward to running in California’s new open primary system in which all candidates are on the same ballot, and every voter regardless of party registration can vote for any candidate.” Kang said.

“As someone who has served in local government for close to a decade, I will bring a direct, hands-on approach and vast regional experience to Congress. Our district deserves a representative who will protect and fight for the interests of the people of Orange County,” said Kang.

Kang was the first Korean-American Mayor of a major US City (Irvine is the 96th largest US City) and is a well-known figure throughout the Korean-American Community.  The top-2 race seems unlikely to have a major impact in this race, as you wouldn’t expect to have any high-profile challengers to either Campbell or Kang within their own parties.  We’ll likely see a Kang/Campbell showdown in November in the same way we did last year.  You would think Campbell would win the lower-turnout June primary, but who knows what our election schedule next year will really look like.

Kang is a serious candidate for this race, and fits the district.  He certainly won’t contend with Rep. Barbara Lee on the progressive spectrum, but he would represent that district in a far more pragmatic and less dogmatic way than John Campbell.

IRVINE MAYOR SUKHEE KANG EMBARKS ON HISTORIC CAMPAIGN FOR UNITED STATES CONGRESS

Vows to Bring the Same Forward-Thinking Leadership to Washington that has Helped Irvine become one of the Safest, Smartest and Greenest Large Cities in the Country

Irvine, CA – Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang today announced his candidacy for the newly reconfigured Orange County Coastal seat with the support of local constituents and leaders from throughout the Orange Country region.  The new seat has not yet been assigned a number, but the current proposed outlines correspond generally to Congressional District 48.

“I look forward to running in California’s new open primary system in which all candidates are on the same ballot, and every voter regardless of party registration can vote for any candidate.” Kang said.

“As someone who has served in local government for close to a decade, I will bring a direct, hands-on approach and vast regional experience to Congress. Our district deserves a representative who will protect and fight for the interests of the people of Orange County,” said Kang.  

After two successful terms on the City Council, Mayor Kang was elected by the citizens of Irvine in 2008, becoming the first Korean American to serve as mayor of a major U.S. city. In November 2010, Kang was overwhelmingly reelected with more than 64 percent of the vote.  During his term in the Irvine City Council, Mayor Kang has been recognized as an effective leader who finds solutions to public safety, education, quality of life and economic vitality.  Under his leadership, Irvine has continued to be recognized as one of the safest, smartest, greenest and best-managed cities in America.  Some major accomplishments include:    

FBI’s Safest Large City in America (seven years in a row)

Money Magazine’s Best Places to Live in California 2008

Business Week’s Best City to Ride out the Recession (2008)

2008 National Resources Defense Council’s 2009 Smartest Cities (2nd in California)

One of the 100 Best communities for Young People.

“Mayor Kang is known as Irvine’s ‘education mayor’ for his leadership efforts fighting against state budget cuts,” said former Irvine Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Gwen Gross.  “I am supporting his candidacy because I know he will continue fighting for the right issues as a member of Congress.”

Mayor Kang’s own American success story has helped guide his inclusive and engaging leadership style.  Active throughout the Irvine community, he has forged strong and supportive relationships with the business community, education community, and many cultural, service and non-profit organizations that serve the citizens of Irvine.  Prior to his service on the Irvine City Council, Mayor Kang served as a Governor’s appointee on the California Workforce Investment Board and was the Mayor’s appointee to the Irvine Finance Commission.  

In addition to his official City responsibilities, Mayor Kang serves on the Orange County Great Park Board, Orange County Fire Authority, Southern California Association of Governments Regional Council, Orange County Council of Governments, League of California Cities Orange County Division, U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the National League of Cities.

Mayor Kang and his wife Joanne have lived in Orange County for 34 years.  Their son Alan, a graduate of UC San Diego and earned his MBA from USC Marshall School of Business, is a Senior Scientist at Johnson & Johnson ; their daughter Angie, a graduate from UC Berkeley’s School of Law (Boalt Hall,) is currently an attorney with Latham and Watkins.

California

Playing Offense – When Beltway Wisdom Says “Defense”

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With a conventional wisdom that would make David Broder blush, the New York Times issued a dire warning to Democrats yesterday: 2010 will be a bad year, no incumbent in Congress will be safe, and expect to spend much of the time playing defense.  Here in California, progressives should not let such talk intimidate them, and focus on playing offense.  No matter how angry voters are at Democrats and Congress, they hate the Republicans even more.  California has eight red congressional districts that Obama carried in 2008 (with demographics in their favor), so there’s no reason not to have credible challengers everywhere.  I met recently with such a candidate – Beth Krom from Orange County’s 48th District.

Eager to narrate a sequel of 1994, the Times’ Adam Nagourney and Jeff Zeleny focused their front-page story on the “plight” of Democratic Congressman David Obey – the powerful Appropriations Committee Chair who has represented Wisconsin’s 7th District for 41 years.  But despite a challenger who’s popular with Teabaggers, the Times’ own chart pegs the race as “solid Democratic” (meaning that Obey is heavily favored to win.)  For Republicans to take back the House, they must win every “toss-up” seat – plus a handful of races currently leaning Democratic, and defend all 20 seats now leaning their way.

Forget momentum has shifted since Congress passed health care reform, to the point that G.O.P. elders are starting to get worried about their Party’s chances.  Never mind that Latinos continue to be a larger share of the electorate, and that Arizona’s racist new law will galvanize that community to vote in higher numbers.  Ignore that Republicans have been so taken over by the Nativist – Teabagger wing of their Party that they will alienate swing voters in the general election.  And forget millennial voters turned out in record numbers over the past three elections – which is important, because such a pattern makes them voters for life.

In California, Secretary of State Debra Bowen just released new voter registration figures – with good news for Democrats.  Over the past four years, Democrats have gone from 42 to 44 percent of the statewide electorate.  Republicans, on the other hand, have shrunk from 34.5 to 31% – or a three-point decline.  Decline-to-state voters, of course, also increased a couple percentage points (as they have for years now), but independents in California heavily favor Democrats over Republicans.  While the Tea Party movement may measure voter intensity, it certainly doesn’t show a political shift.

Last year, I wrote a piece for Beyond Chron called “Red California Death Watch” – where I outlined the eight Congressional districts in California represented by a Republican that Obama won.  The Democratic Party ignored most of these districts that year (but a couple came close), so there was no excuse not to field eight serious challenges in 2010.  Far from 2008 being a “high-water mark,” demographics is a big reason why these districts are trending blue.

Even when it’s too early to tell whether it will be a good election cycle, Democrats must leave no district behind.  1998 was a good year for Democrats (due to a backlash against Kenneth Starr’s witch-hunt), but they didn’t win control because they didn’t contest enough seats.

In Orange County, Irvine City Councilmember Beth Krom is running for Congress this year – taking on two-term incumbent John Campbell.  The district has never had a serious Democrat run, and demographics still make it a daunting task.  But while Teabaggers are giving Republicans all this grassroots “energy,” G.O.P. registration in the 48th dropped 3 points in two years (47 to 44%), or twice as fast as the statewide trend. Democrats are up one percentage point (28 to 29%), and “decline-to-states” are up two points (20 to 22%.)

I sat down with Krom, when in Los Angeles for the California Democratic Convention.  She’s not fazed by the tough road ahead – citing her record of winning elections at the local level in Irvine, which is a Republican town. “I’ve never had an easy race,” she said.  Municipal elections are non-partisan, but her Republican opponents always tried making her Democratic affiliation an issue.  Having started her career as a neighborhood activist, Krom is running on her record as a “results-oriented” collaborator in local government.

The incumbent Congressman she’s challenging – John Campbell – has made a name of himself for pandering to the “birthers.”  He introduced legislation requiring all candidates for President to submit their birth certificate, which earned him some ridicule on the Daily Show.  But as Krom pointed out to me, the 48th may be Republican-leaning – but it’s also a highly educated district.  And, moreover, it has a thriving immigrant population.

The conventional narrative in the media is that Democrats had a “good thing going” in 2006 and 2008, but now political momentum dictates that 2010 will be a year where they have to play defense.  In California, pundits will say the race to watch is whether the East Bay’s Jerry McNerney can hold onto the seat he took away from Richard Pombo in 2006.  What they ignore is that McNerney didn’t just win that seat because it was a Democratic year – he won because Republicans are increasingly out of touch with Californians.

McNerney’s win in 2006 was an extension of Ellen Tauscher’s victory in 1996 over GOP Congressman Bill Baker.  As the Bay Area expands, suburban sprawl means Democratic progress.  In Orange County, Loretta Sanchez defeated Bob Dornan in 1996 – turning Anaheim blue.  There’s no reason why Beth Krom can’t do the same in Irvine this year.

Which is why there’s no reason Democrats shouldn’t stay on the offense in 2010 – taking on Republicans like John Campbell, who act as if Orange County hasn’t changed since the 1950’s.  Beth Krom’s campaign is what we need to be seeing more of this year.

Paul Hogarth is the Managing Editor of Beyond Chron, San Francisco’s Alternative Online Daily, where this piece was first published.

California, Health Care, Orange County

Birther Congressman John Campbell one of the Crazy Five; Republicans Targeted by new PAC

Well, that’s what I would call it, Politico puts it a bit more tactfully,  Targeting controversial House Republicans.

The Stand up America PAC is going after Wilson, in addition to other Republican lightning rod Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), Jean Schmidt (Ohio), John Campbell (Calif.) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor.

I think the Crazy Five has a better ring to it.  And it’s not shocking to find John Campbell on this list.  He’s my representative and sure, I’m used to the crazy here in Orange County but not only is his time up, but we have an amazing candidate to run against him.

The thing is, John Campbell is not as well known as the other four, but he’s been working on it, from “going Galt” to all out birther craziness.  Politico knows this well and as a constituent, we’re glad others are paying attention.

“Michele Bachmann questions the patriotism of the President and First Lady and advocates armed sedition against her own government; John Campbell introduces legislation to inflame “birther” crackpots; Eric Cantor intentionally misrepresents facts in House debate; and Jean Schmidt questions the patriotism a Vietnam veteran and fellow colleague in the House,”

….

Obama actually carried Campbell’s district last year, and is facing a Democratic city councilor who served as the mayor of Irvine, the largest town in the district.

That Democratic city Councilor is non other than Beth Krom and amazingly engaged and vibrant local leader who has decided that the do nothing mentality of the party of “NO” is no longer enough for the 48th district.

We must support the ousting of these extremists from our Congress and the list of five is a good start.  We also have to support those who are willing to run these tough races.  This is not an easy race for Beth Krom but its one that means a great deal to me, I would love nothing more than to have her represent me in Washington (Well, the public option would be another thing I would love).

Speaking of the public option, I’m going to post an op-ed that Beth wrote for the Laguna Beach Independent entitled, Setting the Healthcare Record Straight.

Those in Congress who oppose healthcare reform are focused on the wrong patient. They want to keep the insurance industry healthy at the expense of the long-term healthcare interests of the American people. They want to preserve a marketplace that benefits the bottom line of pharmaceutical companies, even if it means that millions of Americans cannot afford the medicines they need to live.

The debate that is raging over healthcare is as important to the future of our country as any we have had in the history of our nation. Unfortunately, the focus has been on the noise in the periphery and not on the sub- stance of the discussion. When Republicans had leadership in Congress, they did nothing to reform healthcare. Today, their plans for healthcare reform are to do nothing and oppose every other idea on the table. If we allow this to happen, we will continue to pay more and get less and millions of Americans will remain uninsured or underinsured.

Healthcare reform is not about socializing medical care. It is about building accountability back into a system that is broken, and providing basic healthcare access to every American. Without health security, every other aspect of a person’s life is adversely affected. Rich or poor, young or old, regardless of race, creed or color, no one wants healthcare access compromised or denied.

There was a time when people paid for healthcare out of their own pockets. When I was born, the bill to my parents from the hospital was $200. My dad was making about $300 a month at the time, so the economic impact was significant, yet manageable. They weren’t wealthy. They didn’t have insurance, but they controlled their healthcare decisions.

Enter the health insurance industry and decades of shifting accountabilities that have brought us to the unsustainable place we now find ourselves. A healthcare system that is driven by the profit motives of insurance companies rather than the well being of patients. A system in which people have been reduced to profiles, statistics and actuarial projections. A system in which even those with insurance benefits often pay thousands of dollars a year in cost-sharing, co-payments and deductibles just for access to catastrophic care. That is simply wrong.

Ironically, those who have been whipped into a frenzy, disrupting Town Hall meetings to create the false perception of grassroots opposition to healthcare reform, may stand to benefit the most from the enhanced healthcare access it will provide. It would not be the first time political strategy has been employed to get people to vote against their own interests. Without change, those who can afford healthcare access will have it, those whose health access is tied to employment may lose it, and those without health benefits through an employer will continue to be at the mercy of insurance companies who can deny coverage at will.

If you care about this issue, do not rely on talk radio or TV pundits for information. They regard themselves as personalities and entertainers and so should you. Get engaged and educate yourself with non-partisan resources such as www. FactCheck.org. It takes courage to make affirmative change. Courage rarely comes without pressure. Your dollars are already on the table. It is time to reclaim your seat. Reform is needed and our government must take the lead. Nearly nine million Americans have lost their health insurance since 2000. One in six Americans have no healthcare insurance at all. With more than $2.2 trillion spent on health care in America this year, we deserve a better return on our investment. Basic health access for all Americans is in our national interest. That is why I support meaningful reform that makes healthcare accessible for all.

An Irvine councilmember and former mayor, Beth Krom is a candidate for Congress in the 48th district.

Please help support Beth Krom, she needs our support and we need to get rid of the “Crazy Five” to bring a little more sanity to our legislative process.

Donate to Beth Krom

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John Campbell: Barack Obama Was Born in the US…to the Best of My Knowledge

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A slight pause in your all-budget all the time Calitics.  User mbayrob posted this in the open thread, but IMHO, it is worthy of its own thread.  So, here it is, John Campbell hemming and hawing when asked about the “birther” claims that Barack Obama wasn’t really born in the United States.  This is despite the fact that Obama has released his birth certificate which has been duly certified by the State of Hawaii.

Yet Rep. John Campbell is once again using these weasel words to give foundation to, as Chris Matthews called them, the crazies in the Republican Party.  You might notice that Campbell was not co-sponsoring such a bill when the president at issue was George W Bush, but alas, we need certainty! Like, um, a birth certificate showing that he was born in Hawaii.

Meanwhile, Irvine Mayor Beth Krom, a Democrat, is running for the 48th Congressional District in 2010.

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Q1 Congressional Reports

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So the first quarter of fundraising for the 2010 cycle ended, and this week the reports were filed.  Swing State Project has a good roundup.  Here’s what I found interesting:

• In CA-48, Beth Krom had an unusually strong quarter, considering she entered the race in the middle of it.  She raised $63,000 for the quarter, actually beating the incumbent, John Campbell, who raised $55,000.  Now, in 2008 candidates like Nick Leibham and Debbie Cook beat their incumbent counterparts in fundraising repeatedly, but had major disadvantages in cash on hand because the incumbents had assembled war chests from prior fundraising.  And that’s the case here too – Campbell has $300,000 CoH, while Krom has $61,000, a 5-to-1 advantage.  But to beat Campbell so early in the cycle shows a lot of potential.

• Debbie Cook, Charlie Brown and Bill Durston basically raised no money in the quarter, dampening any expectation that they will run again in their respective districts.  Durston raised $9,000, but that was probably all before he hinted at dropping out due to medical troubles.

• In CA-44, Bill Hedrick may be getting national attention, but he’s not raising national numbers, and if he continues to put up $14,000 for a quarter, the D-Trip will either walk away or look for another challenger.  I respect the hell out of Hedrick but he’s got to do better than that.

• CA-37 is absolutely ripe for a primary challenge.  Noted deadbeat Laura Richardson raised a paltry $28,500, as an incumbent, and her $39,000 cash on hand is dwarfed by $363,000 in debt.  We deserve better than Laura Richardson in that very blue district.

• Jerry McNerney put up a $275,000 quarter in CA-11.

• His numbers weren’t spectacular, but Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet is drawing some attention for his challenge to Mary Bono Mack in CA-45.  This is another “Obama Republican” district, and Pougnet, a gay father of two, has an interesting profile for the district and a proven record in the community.  This one bears watching.

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Friday Open Thread

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Enjoy your weekend, and that is a direct order.  Some items:

• The Obama Administration is finalizing the formulas for how much stimulus money will get delivered to each state, and based on my press releases from the White House, it looks like so far, we’re getting $42 million dollars from the Dept. of Transportation to fund airport repairs across the state, $48 million from HHS to expand and support community health centers, and $351 million in block grants from the Dept. of Energy to support energy efficiency measures.  This last part includes retrofits of community buildings, projects to capture methane from landfills, and financial incentives for weatherization and efficiency projects.  Further, the Obama budget would provide direct college aid to 27,547 additional students if passed with current language.

• In other White House news, on May 16 First Lady Michelle Obama will deliver the very first commencement address at UC-Merced, which opened in 2005.  Hopefully that will be all right with Darrell Issa.

• In CA-32 news, Judy Chu received a few endorsements.  She earned the support of the League of Conservation Voters.  Then the California Teachers Association endorsed, though given their financial commitment to Prop. 1B it’s unclear whether the endorsement will come with any resources.  The other was from Baldwin Park Unified School District Board President Blanca Rubio, who had previously announced as a candidate.  She dropped out and endorsed Chu.

• Southern California Reps. Howard Berman and Lucille Roybal-Allard introduced this year’s version of the DREAM Act in the House, which would offer a path to permanent residency for undocumented students who have spent most of their lives in this country, and would like to apply for college or serve their country in the military.  These are good quotes by Berman:

“It makes no sense to me,” said Berman, “that we maintain a system that brings in thousands of highly-skilled foreign guest workers each year to fill a gap in our domestic workforce, and at the same time do nothing to provide an opportunity to kids who have grown up here, gone to school here, and want to prepare themselves for these jobs or serve their country in the military.  This is the illogical outcome of our current immigration laws that the Dream Act will fix.”

“The issues addressed in the American Dream Act”, continued Berman, “are just a fraction of the problems in our immigration system.  This bill came about because our immigration laws are, and have been for some time, broken.  It is my great hope that we will put together a comprehensive immigration reform package that includes the Dream Act as it was introduced today, and it is my intention to work for and pass that comprehensive immigration reform package this year.”

• Please read Charles Lemos’ amazing post about recent events in Oakland.  And by the way, the Modesto Bee Ed Board gets it completely wrong – the fact that Lovelle Mixon responded violently because he missed a parole meeting doesn’t argue for more stringent parole, it argues for a less insane system where parolees don’t feel like hopeless fugitives because they miss one meeting.

• This is completely embarrassing work by the LA Times.  Apparently they’ve fired all the headline writers or something.

• John Myers is up again with your second favorite California politics podcast. This week he and Anthony York discuss the special election amongst other topics.

• CalPERS wants a better deal on its hedge fund investments. They are demanding lower rates and more transparency from funds in which the massive pension fund invests in.

• OC Progressive has more than you need to know about Rep. John Campbell and his friends the Ponzi schemers, including Asm. Diane Harkey.

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Beth Krom Makes it Official, and Wow, Campbell’s Worse than Rohrabacher

Beth Krom goes up with her interim website and invites folks to her first fund-raiser on March 22nd.

The current Congressman, has been a national laughingstock for his comments about Atlas Shrugged finally coming true, but Beth Krom’s opening email also includes one amazing fact about John Campbell.

In four years as Mayor, I was never once contacted by Congressman Campbell to express interest in, or offer assistance on our community priorities.  He never attended a single city event, nor did he ever contact me to commend the city on any of our achievements. If the largest city in the 48th District is not being served, what hope is there for the other cities in the district?

What can you say about the arrogance of a Congressman who never once shows up or talks to the Mayor of the largest city in the district? At least Rohrabacher occasionally shows up at stuff to rant about immigrants and deny the science of climate change.

(Crossposted from Orange County Progressive)

Here’s Beth!

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CA-48: Could Beth Krom Beat John Galt?

Last week, OC Progressive (which has really attracted a good group of writers and provided a vital progressive voice in Orange County) revealed that Beth Krom, an Irvine City Councilwoman, is considering a run against Rep. John Campbell.  In a subsequent post, Joe Shaw explained why Krom would make a worthy challenger.

She can win elections.

Beth Krom has won five campaigns, In 2006, she garnered 60% of the vote in her re-election as Mayor and in 2008, won her current City Council seat with 8000 votes more than the next candidate.

She gets things done.

We need elected officials who have experience getting things done for their constituents. Beth Krom is a strong advocate for environmental stewardship. Her vote was instrumental in cleaning up the water along the Orange County coast: she was the first “inland” representative to advocate for full secondary treatment of the effluent the OC Sanitation District pumped out into the ocean and was the “swing vote” in getting the board to fund implementation.  

She’s a visionary.

Beth Krom understands that Orange County needs leadership that will advance innovative, integrated transit solutions, sustainable development practices and green technology and jobs initiatives.

She can work across party lines.

Beth Krom has the respect of so many people throughout Orange County because she works with people, regardless of political affiliation, to get things done.

Irvine is one of America’s best run cities.

What other Orange County elected, at the local, state or federal level, can lay claim to the legacy of forward-thinking leadership that Beth Krom has provided in the City of Irvine? “Safest City in America” four years straight; a balanced budget and more than tripling city reserves during her term as Mayor, and advancing a project of regional importance – the Orange County Great Park.

I’m a little gun-shy to out and out predict victory in these California Congressional races.  We are know that they are tough slogs, and were disappointed by the performance of many promising candidates last cycle.  Nonetheless, we cannot leave these red areas behind, and there’s no question that the threat of candidates like Bill Durston and Debbie Cook forced the national GOP to spend money where they didn’t want to spend it, leading to other losses around the country.  Everything is connected, and thus solid candidates should continue to be recruited everywhere.

What’s more, President Obama actually beat John McCain in CA-48, despite the district’s Republican tilt.  And, far from distinguishing himself, Campbell has most recently looked to Ayn Rand novels for inspiration in setting public policy:

Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.), who gives his departing interns copies of Ayn Rand’s novel “Atlas Shrugged,” told me today that the response to President Obama’s economic policies reminded him of what happened in the 51-year-old novel.

“People are starting to feel like we’re living through the scenario that happened in ‘Atlas Shrugged,'” said Campbell. “The achievers, the people who create all the things that benefit rest of us, are going on strike. I’m seeing, at a small level, a kind of protest from the people who create jobs, the people who create wealth, who are pulling back from their ambitions because they see how they’ll be punished for them.”

It would be a terrible thing if the titans of industry that have burned through trillions of dollars in American wealth were to pull back and not be so ambitious, wouldn’t it?  And it’s certainly a rational reaction, to forcibly crumble what’s left of the American economy due to an increase of 4 cents in the top marginal tax rates.  Even more certainly, there’s no question that it would turn out just like the fictional novel – that every high-earner would leave their job and nobody would pick up the slack.  Conservatives are nothing if not selfless.  And daring, rational men who live by their minds.

This guy is obviously a buffoon, but we know that is sadly not enough in these districts.  And repeat candidates, who have built up their name ID and volunteer base, always have a better shot.  If I were to forecast the early prospects for a flipped seat in California right now, I would go:

CA-44: Bill Hedrick is already announced as a candidate, and he lost by just 2.6% to Ken Calvert last time.

CA-03: The trendlines in the district are favorable, but it’s unclear if Bill Durston will make a third try.

And then, pretty much, nothing, until there’s clarity about who’s running.  Charlie Brown writing an op-ed in the Auburn Journal trashing Tom McClintock suggests he might try again in CA-04, but I’m not sure.  Given the current state of affairs, I’d say CA-48 isn’t looking too badly, though it’s early.

California

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

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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?

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Primary Turnout: Might Be A Good Year to Compete Everywhere

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(bump cause I like congressional and numbers – promoted by Lucas O’Connor)

Turnout from Tuesday’s primary by party.  Every district with a Republican leaning PVI plus Barbara Lee just for fun and comparison’s sake. Of the Republican leaning districts, Dem turnout was higher in 8 and close in several others.  Might be an interesting November. Just sayin.

Numbers on the flip.

Update: I should have mentioned in the first place, there are still no Democratic candidates in CA-02, CA-19, CA-22, or CA-25.  Turnout was dead even in the 19th and higher for Dems in the 25th, just for starters.

CA-02; R+13

Wally Herger (R)

R 80,090

D 70,563

CA-03; R+7

Dan Lungren (R)

R 70,544

D 80,070

CA-04; R+11

Open (R)

R 107,757

D 89,717

CA-09; D+38

Barbara Lee (D)

R 13,384

D 124,070

CA-11; R+3

Jerry McNerney (D)

R 69,766

D 81,650

CA-19; R+10

George Radanovich (R)

R 63,766

D 62,331

CA-21; R+13

Devin Nunes (R)

R 51,272

D 44,053

CA-22; R+16

Kevin McCarthy (R)

R 86,234

D 61,123

CA-24; R+5

Elton Gallegly (R)

R 78,422

D 82,293

CA-25; R+7

Buck McKeon (R)

R 60,837

D 64,048

CA-26; R+4

David Dreier (R)

R 73,144

D 74,934

CA-40; R+8

Ed Royce (R)

R 66,027

D 59,372

CA-41; R+9

Jerry Lewis (R)

R 68,055

D 59,833

CA-42; R+10

Gary Miller (R)

R 79,622

D 63,182

CA-44; R+6

Ken Calvert (R)

R 57,083

D 57,317

CA-45; R+3

Mary Bono (R)

R 53,635

D 59,067

CA-46; R+6

Dana Rohrabacher (R)

R 81,427

D 74,084

CA-48; R+8

John Campbell (R)

R 92,187

D 75,845

CA-49; R+10

Darrell Issa (R)

R 62,658

D 53,493

CA-50; R+5

Brian Bilbray (R)

R 78,489

D 82,358

CA-52; R+9

Open (R)

R 74,593

D 67,849