Donating to the DCCC means helping Dems who vote like Republicans by Gaius Publius

[Demeter]

http://americablog.com/2013/03/dccc-corporatist-opposes-progressives.html

The DCCC is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the group of congresspeople and staff supposedly responsible for electing House Democrats. It’s led by “ex”–Blue Dog and New Dem Steve Israel, Nancy Pelosi’s hand-picked choice for the job. We’ve written about Israel before.(SEE LINK AT OP) To the world his job is simply to elect Democrats, but to the moneymen and -women behind the corporate wing of the party, his job is to:

▪ Elect corporate Democrats to the House
▪ Keep progressives out of office
▪ Make sure pro-corporate Republican leaders like Cantor and Paul Ryan never face credible challenges

That last makes sense, right? If you’re a billionaire Wall Street owner (sorry, selfless funder) of the Democratic party — and you also pay good money to keep people like Paul Ryan in office — your message to Mr. Israel goes like this:

“I got boys in both parties. Hands off my boys.”

… to which Mr. Israel says: “Sure thing, boss. So, when will this check be good?”

I’m not joking, and I’m definitely not the only one writing about it. It’s an open “secret” in DC, and all you need to do to prove it is (a) look at Israel and the DCCC’s funding strategies for House races, or (b) read Howie Klein regularly. I’ve done both.

So what did the DCCC do lately?

Six House Dems voted No to raising the minimum wage; four are on the DCCC “extra help” list

Last week there was a vote in the House to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour. It failed. Every Republican voted against it, along with six extremely conservative Democrats:

John Barrow (Blue Dog/New Dem-GA)
Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT)
Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog/New Dem-NC)
Bill Owens (New Dem-NY)
Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)
Kurt Shrader (Blue Dog-New Dem-OR)

What’s special about that? Four of them are also on the DCCC’s “Frontline” list, House Democrats who will get extra help financing their return to office:

John Barrow (Blue Dog/New Dem-GA)
Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT)
Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog/New Dem-NC)
Bill Owens (New Dem-NY)

Here’s Klein on the Frontline list (my emphasis):

Most of the money the DCCC collects from donors is spent on reelecting incumbents– but not just any incumbent. They have a list of Democrats who they say most need the help. The majority of the Democrats on that list [are] on it because they can’t raise money from the Democratic base on their own because they vote with the GOP so frequently on the most important issues. And wouldn’t you know it– all the ConservaDems who voted against the minimum wage increase (except Collin Peterson and Kurt Schrader who [fund] their campaigns by extorting legalistic bribes from lobbyists with business before their committees)– are on the DCCC’s Frontline list.

That’s pretty straightforward, isn’t it? When you give money to the DCCC, they give lots of it to people who vote with Republicans. And they protect Republicans like Paul Ryan, whom they pretend to hate. And again, Nancy Pelosi put Israel where he is, twice...The money the DCCC wastes on these Members … is money that could have elected dependable progressive leaders like Rob Zerban [Paul Ryan's 2012 opponent] and Nate Shinagawa, each of whom came close to beating their Republican opponent but got no help from the DCCC…. Just say No to the DCCC, no matter how many War on Women ads they send you. When it comes to your wallet, they’re not your friend.

[TheDebbieDee]

1. Since that whole healthcare debate, when Sen Blanche Lincoln and Sen Mary Landrieu

seemed intent on holding up their "YES" votes for better deals for themselves/their states, I decided that I didn't want to do anything to benefit their candidacies by one thin dime.

Lincoln got voted out but Landrieu is still around. Sen Ben Nelson pissed me off greatly as well but he retired this past year.

[bvar22]

10. The biggest betrayal was the White House support for Lincoln in the Arkansas Democratic Primary 2010

We did everything RIGHT to "give Obama Progressives in Congress to work with so he can implement his Liberal Agenda."
We did EVERYTHING we were asked to do.

We had a popular Pro-HealthCare/Pro-Union Democrat who had a proven track record of WINNING elections, and an Up & Running Political machine that was polling BETTER than Lincoln against the Republican in The General, Democratic Lt Governor Bill Halter.
And GUESS WHAT HAPPENED?
.
.
.
Turned out, our BIGGEST enemy wasn't the Republicans.
Our BIGGEST enemy was the White House!

The White House gave an Oval Office Endorsement to The Witch that Killed the Public Option that played repeatedly on the TV.
They even sent the Old (Blue) Dog, Bill Clinton, back to Arkansas to fund raise, rally, and stump for Lincoln.

Watching this show, one would be forced to conclude that the LAST thing this White House wanted was MORE Progressives in the Senate. They spent OUR money in a grandiose and successful attempt to keep things EXACTLY LIKE THEY ARE.

"But we don't have 60 votes."


"The Arkansas primary fight illuminates some unpleasant though vital truths about the Democratic establishment "

"So what did the Democratic Party establishment do when a Senator who allegedly impedes their agenda faced a primary challenger who would be more supportive of that agenda? They engaged in full-scale efforts to support Blanche Lincoln. Bill Clinton traveled to Arkansas to urge loyal Democrats to vote for her, bashing liberal groups for good measure. Obama recorded an ad for Lincoln which, among other things, were used to tell African-American primary voters that they should vote for her because she works for their interests. The entire Party infrastructure lent its support and resources to Lincoln — a Senator who supposedly prevents Democrats from doing all sorts of Wonderful, Progressive Things which they so wish they could do but just don’t have the votes for.

<snip>

What happened in this race also gives the lie to the insufferable excuse we’ve been hearing for the last 18 months from countless Obama defenders: namely, if the Senate doesn’t have 60 votes to pass good legislation, it’s not Obama’s fault because he has no leverage over these conservative Senators. It was always obvious what an absurd joke that claim was; the very idea of The Impotent, Helpless President, presiding over a vast government and party apparatus, was laughable. But now, in light of Arkansas, nobody should ever be willing to utter that again with a straight face. Back when Lincoln was threatening to filibuster health care if it included a public option, the White House could obviously have said to her: if you don’t support a public option, not only will we not support your re-election bid, but we’ll support a primary challenger against you. Obama’s support for Lincoln did not merely help; it was arguably decisive, as The Washington Post documented today:"

<much more>

http://www.salon.com/2010/06/10/lincoln_6/

Ed Schultz on White House support for Anti-HealthCare Blanche Lincoln
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/ed-schultz-if-it-wasnt-labor-barack-obama-

I worked on the Halter Primary campaign in Arkansas, 2010.
The Slap in the Face to Organized LABOR and the Grass Roots will not be forgotten. We got a peek behind the curtain, and it isn't pretty.


If you Work for a Living, never, EVER donate to the DCCC or the DSCC.
They WILL use your money AGAINST your Working Class interests.



You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their rhetoric, promises, or excuses.
[font size=5 color=green]Solidarity99![/font][font size=2 color=green]
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[djean111]

2. I have answered all pleas for funds with the statement that I need to save my money up for cat food.

I have not gotten any requests for money for a while.

[Demeter]

3. Good answer!

But we need to do more than just piss them off.

[forestpath]

4. I wouldn't spit on them if they were on fire.

[hack89]

5. So what does it mean to support Mike Bloomberg?

he seems to be the flavor of the day.

[Lifelong Protester]

6. Only cash to those I trust

None to DCCC, DSCC, or DNC.

[onenote]

7. If you think a progressive has a chance of getting elected in any of those four districts

I have a bridge to sell you.
Want to take over the House? We need 17 seats. Except some of the folks posting in this thread want us to need 21 seats since they seem to think its no biggie if we lose the seats that the DCCC has singled out for support.

Frankly, I think the DCCC cares more about recapturing the House than some DUers, which is sad.

[tabbycat31]

8. I agree with you 100%

Not every district is San Francisco.

I've worked in Blue Dog districts before (because the progressives' districts are usually ultra safe and they don't require a large campaign staff to get elected) and I can tell you that someone who is more liberal is simply not electable in those districts.

I'd rather have a Blue Dog who votes with the Democrats 85% of the time than a Republican who votes with them 0% of the time.

[Tennessee Hillbilly]

9. We need the blue-dogs

When the Repugs captured the House in 2010, it was mostly blue-dog seats that went over to them. Those are the seats we need to win back to regain control, and the only way to win them is with blue-dog candidates. The DCCC tries to spend the available money in the closest contests, where it is most needed, and a lot of those are the same seats that we lost in 2010.

[blkmusclmachine]

11. .

.

[bemildred]

12. Correct.

I only give money to individual candidates. "Political contributions" ought to be outlawed, they are bribes plain and simple, corruption by definition, but insofar as they remain legal, I only give them to politicians who support my views, and I never give them to big national political organizations, which always have their own agenda: power.