DCCC-- No Shame Whatsoever In Exploiting Women

A good case can be made-- should be made-- that conservatives are waging a relentless war against American women and that it has to be stopped by voters at the polls by defeating the Republican Party. The GOP anti-women jihad is out of control in every state where they've seized power and in the U.S. House of Representatives. But the DCCC isn't the organization to make the point, not if anyone is expected to believe it. Here's the e-mail the DCCC sent out to tens of thousands of Democrats this week:

Last night, Republicans rammed through an extreme and unconstitutional bill that bans abortions after 20 weeks.

Republicans continue to bend to the will of their radical, anti-women, right-wing base. We can’t let their lack of backbone translate into a country where women are systematically denied basic rights.

Don’t let Republicans take us back to the 1950s. Join our campaign to defeat Tea Party extremists today.

Because of the great showing last night, we’ve decided to match all donations through the end of the month.

Click here to donate $3, unlock our matching program, and double your impact >>

So far, 8,259 supporters have donated to our Women's Health Rapid Response Fund since we learned of the radical Republican plan last week. That's a good start, but we can't sit back.

Our midyear fundraising deadline is right around the corner, and we need to reach 10,000 donations for the Rapid Response fund to fight back against this reenergized Tea Party base. Will you chip in to help us fight back?

The DCCC was bragging in the Beltway trade papers this week that it had raked in $6.1 million in May, bringing their total for 2013 to $34.1 million. They emphasized that the monthly haul is $700,000 more than the party raised in April and brings the DCCC’s cash on hand to $11 million. What do they do with all that money? Well, of course, as we've explained before, first comes the rake-offs and the nest-feathering. OK, and after that? Do they run campaigns against the misogynistic Republicans setting GOP policy? Oh... never. Last cycle Steve Israel, the DCCC's inept and incompetent chairman, took Republican party leaders like Boehner and Cantor and committee chairs like Paul Ryan, Buck McKeon, John Mica, John Kline, Fred Upton, Darrell Issa, Dave Camp, Mike Rogers, etc absolutely off the table. There are rumors that Israel is rethinking that disastrous policy after being pressured by angry House members and angrier donors. We'll see. But whatever happens, the bulk of the DCCC haul goes to bolster what they call their Frontline candidates-- incumbents who are often so unpopular with Democrats-- generally because they vote with Boehner and Cantor on core issues-- that they can't expect much support from the grassroots.

This year for example, a hefty portion of the cash that donors give the DCCC-- including money raised in the above appeal-- will go to help reelect anti-Choice fanatics Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog/New Dem-NC) and Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT) who actually voted with the Republicans on the very bill the DCCC is whining about. Is that the height of hypocrisy? "Give us money because Republicans voted to kill Choice so we can reelect these two Democrats who also voted to kill Choice." No shame... none whatsoever.

Who remembers Faith No More? What would you give to see Rahm Emanuel, Steve Israel, guitarist Joe Crowley, Steny Hoyer and Debbie Wasserman Schultz getting up on stage and performing the song?




UPDATE From The DCCC

More spam from the DCCC, this time from Executive Director Kelly Ward: "As of 9am, we are $830,000 short of what we need to take on Boehner, Cantor, and the Tea Party Republicans.

"Right now, Republicans are bowing to the Tea Party by passing the most radical anti-choice bill in decades and voting to sabotage Obamacare. They have the power to make the next couple years the least productive in Congressional history.

"The only chance we have to prevent the Tea Party agenda is by calling out their lies, loud and clear, across the country. We need you with us..."

Send money, send money, send money... and no word about the 6 Democrats who voted with the Republicans, let alone the two Dems the DCCC will use the money to help reelection-- you know, the two anti-Choice fanatics who are guilty of the exact crime the DCCC is citing as evidence that you need to contribute to them. If you want to help elect committed PRO-Choice Democrats who will actually fight back against the Republicans-- unlike the DCCC-- then you can do that right here.

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Does The DCCC Actually Care About Immigration Policy?

I was invited to the White House yesterday for a briefing. I passed on the hassle and the opportunity. I suppose I would have heard President Obama reiterating his strong support for commonsense reform legislation to fix our broken immigration system, and the economic and national security benefits that reform will deliver. Tom Donohue of the US Chamber of Commerce, always pumping for cheap labor, was there-- as were labor leaders Mary Kay Henry and Richard Trumka. The President also invited two DREAMers, Gabriela Pacheco and Tolu Olubunmi. Later in the day, despite opposition from ugly little Texas fascist Ted Cruz and the KKK's Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (R-AL), the Senate stopped the GOP filibuster against the comprehensive immigration bill 82-15. Meanwhile, Boehner was even heard muttering that the House might pass it with mostly Democratic support in the House and just a few Republican votes there. “It’s not about what I want," said a Speaker clearly caught between a rock and a very, very hard place. "It’s about what the House wants…we’re gonna let the House work its will.” Forget the Hastert rule... again.

The old video at the top of the page-- and from the top of the current DCCC website geared towards Spanish-speaking voters is dramatically out of date and hints at how "important" to DCCC Chair Steve Israel (D-Princesses: Long Island) Hispanic voters are-- i.e., not at all. Israel takes them for granted and expects they'll vote for Democrats because the Republicans are so absolutely horrible. And the Republicans are horrible. As we saw last week, Republicans sent Hispanic voters a signal by voting overwhelmingly to deport DREAMers. Luckily Boehner and Issa weren't waiting outside the Rose Garden yesterday with the House Seargant-at-arms to arrest Gabriela Pacheco and Tolu Olubunmi. Only 6 Republicans voted against the bigoted Steve King Amendment that demanded DREAMers be deported. And only three Democrats voted for it (while 195 Democrats opposed it).




So the DCCC response, predictably, has been to take out Spanish-language ads against some of the Republican miscreants, vulnerable Republicans in swing districts. Mike Coffman (CO), Blake Farenthold (TX), John Kline (MN), Joe Heck (NV), Buck McKeon (CA), Gary Miller (CA), Erik Paulsen (MN), Steve Pearce (NM), and Frank Wolf (VA) were the targets.

"The Republican party insists that they have changed, but once again, House Republicans like Gary Miller have betrayed our community, rejecting President Obama’s executive order that ended the deportation of DREAM Act-eligible young people," the ad's narrator says in the version targeting Miller. "What’s more, Congressman Miller wants to restart the deportations of 800,000 young people who grew up in this country, worked hard, and are just looking for their chance to achieve the American Dream. Now, instead of celebrating the first anniversary of the deferred action program, our young DREAMers again face an uncertain future."

Decent targeting and a decent and effective ad. There is a problem with the DCCC delivering it though. Any money the DCCC raises through these efforts will be used, in part, to bolster their Frontline program. The Frontline program is the top priority for the DCCC. It is all about rescuing Democratic incumbents who look like they could lose their seats for one reason or another. And two of the most likely Democrats in this loser category are reactionary Blue Dogs/New Dems John Barrow (GA) and Mike McIntyre (NC). Both crossed the aisle and voted with the Republicans to deport the DREAMers. A case study in hypocrisy? Is this what Nancy Pelosi was talking about when, on reappointing Steve Israel to head the DCCC despite his abysmal job performance in 2012, she remarked that he's sufficiently "reptilian" to do the job? Just keep in mind, if you contribute even one dollar to the DCCC, some of that money goes to bolster the miserable careers of bigots like John Barrow and Mike McIntyre.

Si usted aporta ni un dólar al DCCC, parte de ese dinero se destina a impulsar las carreras miserables fanáticos como John Barrow y Mike McIntyre.

Pardon my French.

McKeon (R) and Barrow (D) both voted to deport DREAMers

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