It seems that Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA) not only has judgment problems when it comes to his ethics, but also in the way he dresses on the Hill. On Monday, he apparently wore slippers and a Hawaiian shirt in the Captiol while conducting business.
Granted, it is summer, when dress codes tend to get a little looser in the face of Washington's starched-shirt- wilting heat. But a slipper-clad Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.) apparently took the summer casual look a little too far and he got a dressing down for, well, dressing down!
ROLL CALL reports: During a House vote at about 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Miller strode onto the floor wearing a look better suited to a backyard cookout than the House chamber: a loose-fitting Hawaiian shirt, linen pants and slippers.
The sartorial faux pas even prompted Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), who was presiding over the chamber at the time, to weigh in: "The chair must remind Members that the proper standard of dress in the chamber is business attire, which includes both coat and tie for gentlemen."
Something amazing is happening tomorrow. DFA Campaign Academy is coming to Southern California! Tomorrow, progressive activists from all over Southern California will be coming to Orange County to learn how to win next year and in future elections. And guess what? All of us activists will be learning from the experts who know a thing or two on how to win.
Oh, and here's some more good news. Even though registration for attendance is already at 160 people, DFA is still accepting sign-ups for tomorrow! That's right, even if you haven't signed up yet, you can still come to DFA Training! So what's happening at DFA Training? Follow me after the flip for more...
It's great that the netroots candidacy of Ron Shepston for Congress is getting so much attention. His race against the unfathomably corruptGary Miller represents a progressive hope and a decided alternative, and people are so excited that, at press time, he's raised over $5,300 dollars through ActBlue in just a couple days.
Superlative. Outstanding. Fantastic.
Now let's really look at what he's getting into. The campaign has asked me to contribute a guest column to the rollout providing the lay of the land. We'll start with the bad news and move slowly into the good.
(And if you're in Southern California, YOU can also meet Ron Shepston at EITHER ORANGE COUNTY DRINKING LIBERALLY TONIGHT! Come to Rancho Santa Margarita at 7:00 PM and/or Santa Ana at 9:00 PM tonight, and meet the candidate! : ) - promoted by Andrew Davey (atdleft))
Yesterday, if you made your way to DailyKos, The Liberal OC, or right here to Calitics, you probably got the word that the blogosphere's own Ron Shepston is running for Congress in California's 42nd district against Dirty Gary Miller. His campaign is being managed by DailyKos and Calitics poster Greg Diamond (aka Major Danby), and as you can see from his rollout yesterday Shepston's starting out on the right foot. He's already hit on many of what I consider to be the most important elements of a campaign that's insurgent and forward-thinking without abandoning everything good about traditional values and expectations. So, for these and the other reasons I'll dig into on flip, and in keeping with the newly established procedure for gaining Calitics endorsement, I nominate Ron Shepston to join Charlie Brown, Jerry McNerney and Mark Leno as an official Calitics Endorsed Candidate for 2008.
(OMG, THIS IS HUGE!!!! Oh yes, and you can see this at Daily Kos as well! : ) - promoted by atdleft)
Blogging is largely about talking the talk – and that’s important. This diary is about walking the walk.
A few months ago, another member of this community and I made a pair of expensive decisions -- decisions to do what we felt we were obligated to do as patriotic Americans. He -- the good-looking, likable, established-in-the-community one -- decided to run for Congress if I would manage his campaign full-time. And I agreed to manage his campaign (at a steep discount from standard “Democratic consultant” rates) if it would be more than a token run.
A brain trust of Southern Californian bloggers – people like thereisnospoon, hekebolos, Shockwave, OrangeClouds115, occams hatchet, dday, atdleft, vernonlee, honorary Californian clammyc, and many others – were there at the beginning and have provided support and sage advice since. Others have joined the train since then. Tomorrow at 9 a.m. PDT, with the announcement of the name and handle of the nominee, the train leaves the station.
We want you on that train with us. We're ready to crash that train right through the gates of Congress – and you know that that means we’re going to make a lot of noise.
The best way to answer this question is to answer two other questions. Why should we allow such a corrupt individual to stay in office? And what has Gary Miller done for his constituents that has earned him the privilege of earning our votes for reelection? Once we figure out these answers, we can answer those other questions.
You may be surprised by these answers, so follow me after the flip for more...
(OMG, I can hardly wait for the 18th! : ) - promoted by atdleft)
It is a rare privilege to be present at the creation of something extraordinary--but it is an even rarer priviliege to be the first to announce that creation to the public. Today, I am greatly honored to introduce to the netroots community and the world the creation of a new kind of campaign--a campaign of bloggers and onine activists, run by bloggers and online activists, managed by managed by online activists, and with a homegrown blogger as its candidate.
And it's not just any campaign: it's a campaign for Congress. It's a campaign against one of the most corrupt and reactionary Republicans on Capitol Hill (which is really saying something). It's a campaign that, until a few short months ago, had no credible Democratic candidate to offer--until that is, someone stepped forward to take on the challenge. And that someone turned out to be one of us.
It is a rare privilege to be present at the creation of something extraordinary--but it is an even rarer priviliege to be the first to announce that creation to the public. Today, I am greatly honored to introduce to the netroots community and the world the creation of a new kind of campaign--a campaign of bloggers and onine activists, run by bloggers and online activists, managed by managed by online activists, and with a homegrown blogger as its candidate.
And it's not just any campaign: it's a campaign for Congress. It's a campaign against one of the most corrupt and reactionary Republicans on Capitol Hill (which is really saying something). It's a campaign that, until a few short months ago, had no credible Democratic candidate to offer--until that is, someone stepped forward to take on the challenge. And that someone turned out to be one of us.
With 16 months to go before Election Day, some Democratic challengers are getting a little more visible in their efforts to unseat Republican incumbents. I see good news at the very top of the target list, and elsewhere we're still waiting to see who will run. Let's focus on the top 10 races where a Republican is currently serving, knowing that we are still going to have a fight in CA-11 to re-elect Jerry McNerney (although that probably won't be against Guy Houston, who may be on trial for fraud at the time).
So let's take a look at the top 10 challenges. I'm going to rank them in order of most possible pickup, including their number from the last roundup. I'm also adding the "Boxer number." Basically, seeing how Boxer fared in her 2004 re-election against Bill Jones in a particular district is a decent indicator of how partisan it is. If I put "57," that means Boxer received 57% of the vote. Anything over 50, obviously, is good. (over)
Well, you can still listen to the show! Yesterday's show is now in the online archives. Go ahead and listen now, or download the podcast and play it in whatever you use to play mp3 files later.
So would you like a little sneak peek as to what we talked about on the air yesterday? And would you like to know who will be coming on to Ken Burke's radio show soon? Well then, follow me after the flip for more...
"When your seat is so safe that you're not concerned about perception, you become too wedded to Washington and you lose touch with your constituency, and you lose touch with your real purpose."
Want to guess who said that? Believe it or not, that was Karen Hanretty, a Republican strategist and former California Republican Party spokeswoman. And she was talking to the AP (via The Guardian [UK]) about the lovely Republican Congresscritters like John Doolittle and Gary Miller who
have been caught up in some naughty behavior lately. So what's happening? Are even Republicans starting to desert these crooked cons?
Hey, have you heard the big news? We have a new progressive radio show in Southern California! The Liberal OC reported yesterday that longtime Orange County Democratic activist Ken Burke now has his own radio show on Sundays at a local radio station in the Inland Empire.
Now today, I have some more good news for all of you. One of our very own local bloggers at Calitics and Trash Dirty Gary will be among the guests on the very first "Red, White, and Burke" show. Yes, I will be on the radio to talk about Orange County/Inland Empire Congressman Gary Miller (R-Culture of Corruption), his many scandals, and why we need new representation in the 42nd Congressional District.
But wait, that's not all! I hear that there will be another special guest on Ken's radio show at noon on Sunday. I've heard that someone who'd like to challenge Gary Miller next year will also be on the air on Sunday. This might be a chance for all of us to learn more about just how serious of a challenge Dirty Gary might get next year. I know I'm looking forward to it!
But wait, there's more! Follow me after the flip to find out how YOU can participate in this very special radio show on Sunday...
Gila has a great story on The Liberal OC about the Birthright Citizenship Act, Rep. Gary Miller's (R-Culture of Corruption) new bill that would deny US citizenship to infants born in the US to undocumented immigrants. He says that this would end the practice of "rewarding illegals" by granting citizenship to children born in the US to "illegal aliens". But would this legislation really solve the problem? Would it just create more problems?
How many of you get the "Capitol Connection"? It's Gary Miller's weekly newsletter. You can sign up to have it delivered in your email inbox every Friday at Gary Miller's official Congressional web site.
After more than a hundred days of delay, the House on Thursday finally passed a responsible troop funding bill to meet the needs of our men and women in uniform. The measure funds ongoing combat operations in the War on Terror and protects members of our military from harm by providing added funds for body armor and mine resistant vehicles. Congressman Miller was proud to support this bill because, unlike previous legislation, it does not tie the hands of our commanders on the ground or set a date for surrender. Following passage by the Senate, the bill now heads to the President's desk where it is expected to be signed into law shortly.
Follow me after the flip to see why Gary Miller is wrong...
OK, so perhaps people in Southern California are finally starting to notice the immense corruption of members of Congress like Gary Miller, Ken Calvert, and Dana Rohrabacher. However, these everyday citizens and typical voters wonder how all this corruption applies to their typical everyday lives.
This is a must see video, with special guest appearances by a number of California Republican Congressman. Four in fact (including the former Congressman from CA-50). It is not suprising -- but somewhat shocking -- that when the DCCC puts together a video on GOP corruption it is full of Californians.
Following up on dday's great early look at vulnerable GOP seats, it is clear that California could play a huge role in picking up more seats for Speaker Pelosi. Especially considering that the Culture of Corruption could play a huge role against John Doolittle in CA-04, Jerry Lewis in CA-41, and Gary Miller in CA-42. And who knows who else, corruption doesn't just happen in swing districts.
There are no Senate seats up in California in 2008, and no statewide offices up for election, so the biggest seats outside of the Presidency will be in the House of Representatives. While we're 18 months out, I thought I'd give a snapshot of what races are most inviting for a Democratic pickup.
I'm going to concern myself solely with pickup opportunities, because the only realistic possibility of a GOP pickup is in CA-11, and I'm confident that Jerry McNerney and his grassroots army can handle whatever's thrown at him, plus he'll have the power of incumbency and the focus of the CDP. There may be some retirements that would make things interesting (Lantos, Stark, Woolsey), but those are very blue areas. So let's look at the best opportunities to add to the Democratic majority:
In 2005, Rep. Gary Miller was the only California Republican on the House panel that shaped the 2005 transportation bill. It would be expected, therefore, that Miller would do everything he could to maximize the amount of money the bill steered to California. But The Hill newspaper is reporting that several of the earmarks he attained benefitted not just his state, but were also quite a boon to his business partner and top campaign donor Lewis Operating Corp.
Join me over the flip for connections between Miller and Lewis Operating and how the company benefitted from the 2005 bill.
Including a strong candidate to take him on next year? Follow me after the flip for more on what I've been hearing about one good candidate who may be ready to knock the socks off of Dirty Gary...
