If the candidate is Mike Lumpkin, victory in November is not only possible, but perhaps likely. Granted, there is still a primary election in June, but at a forum last week hosted by the League of Women Voters, Vickie Butcher proved once again that she had no command of the issues. For much of the debate she seemed lost and unable to formulate a coherent answer for questions on healthcare, the economy and the war on terror. It was painful, at times, to watch her struggle with issues on which she clearly had not researched. Though a pleasant and accomplished educator, Vickie Butcher is simply over her head in this race. As dismal as her prospects for congressional success are, however, those of Mike Lumpkin not only give Democrats encouragement, but the best likelihood for victory since 1980 when a young Duncan Hunter edged out a victory against a Democrat incumbent by the name of Lionel Van Deerling.
Lumpkin is a retired Navy SEAL Commander with both combat and leadership experience. Those qualifications alone will earn him a significant number of cross-over votes, which will be necessary in the conservative 52nd. If that isn't enough, he is moderate and pragmatic on the issues and can pull off what Duncan Hunter was unable to do in his entire time as the district's representative-provide fair representation to all citizens of the district, not just those who support his campaign.
Lumpkin's campaign will not be an easy one, however. Though Duncan Hunter is relinquishing his seat, his name may still be on the ballot. Duncan D. Hunter, Jr. has moved back to California to keep the seat in the family, though not without a fight. His strongest opponent in the Republican primary-Brian Jones-is mounting an aggressive, but bleak grassroots campaign. Jones has not been intimidated by the Hunter dynasty and has repeatedly attacked Jr. for his lack of commitment to curb the use of earmarks.
Any of the Republican candidates will have to face a formidable Mike Lumpkin in the General. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which will help fund the top 29 congressional races in order to attain a super-majority in the House, has recently upgraded Lumpkin's campaign from 20 to 14 and considers his resume the best of any congressional candidate in an open-seat race. Additionally, a recent Rasmussen poll suggests 2008 is not going to be a good year for the Republicans. He's the underdog now, but keep an eye on Mike Lumpkin. His will be the race to watch.
[War's] glory is all moonshine; even success the most brilliant is over dead and mangled bodies, with the anguish and lamentations of distant families ... It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation.
You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war to our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out.
-William Tecumseh Sherman
On March 19, 2003, Pres. George W. Bush declared war against Iraq and the US attacked that country. Six weeks later and exactly five years ago today, Bush landed a fighter jet onboard an aircraft carrier, far from any dangers of real battle, and declared "Mission Accomplished." He appeared almost giddy from the excitement of his most excellent adventure.
"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."
-- George W. Bush
Today, on that anniversary, Lt. Col. (Air Force Ret.) Charlie Brown appeared at a townhall meeting for veterans accompanied by former Army Capt. and Sen. Max Cleland. Both Charlie Brown and Max Cleland served in Vietnam; indeed, that's where Cleland had both legs and his right arm blown off by a grenade.
There was some question whether or not this would actually happen, but I'm proud of the ILWU for putting principles first and pulling this off.
Thousands of dockworkers at all 29 West Coast ports, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, took the day off work today in what their union called a protest of the war in Iraq, effectively shutting down operations at the busy complexes.
The action came two months before the contract expires between the dockworkers, represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and the Pacific Maritime Assn., which represents port operators and large shippers, many of them foreign-owned.
"We are supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it's time to end the war in Iraq," said union President Bob McEllrath.
This is the first major general strike against the war I can think of in my personal memory. Two years ago most truckers stayed away on May Day to protest immigration policy and attend rallies in LA. But this is the entire west coast of the US and Canada.
The longshoremen understand what our politicians must: this war is immoral, unnecessary, catastrophic, and damaging to our national character. It needs to end.
(This is also why a strong labor movement needs to be sustained. Not only does it provide an engine to upward mobility for the working class, it takes the role of our national conscience.)
UPDATE: Here's an example of why the ILWU is out in the streets today.
Sgt. 1st Class David L. McDowell, 30, of Ramona, California died Tuesday in Afghanistan of "wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked using small arms fires." The San Diego Tribune reports, "He had been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq seven times and was a recipient of two Bronze stars and a Purple Heart."
Seven tours of duty. No end in sight. What a tragedy.
Tomorrow is May Day, and the combination of anniversaries - the traditional holiday for workers (that started in the United States, it is most certainly NOT a Communist holiday), a day of action in the Latino community, and the 5th anniversary of "Mission Accomplished" - means that there are goings-on all over the state tomorrow.
• Latino groups will stage a May Day rally for immigrant rights tomorrow in downtown Los Angeles. You may remember that last year's event in Macarthur Park ended in chaos with tear gas and brutality marring a peaceful protest. The cops have actually been practicing and preparing so that there are no such incidents this year. Organizers expect anywhere between 25,000-100,000.
• There's at least one budget cut/fee increase protest being planned at Cal-State Northridge, organized by students. It should start around 12:00 on the bookstore lawn. I believe this is part of a continuing action by students to raise awareness about the crime Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to commit on public education this fiscal year. There's more at The Alliance for the CSU.
• On the anniversary of "Mission Accomplished," True Majority and CREDO Mobile are teaming up to deliver the Responsible Plan to End The War in Iraq to incumbent House members, and urge them to sign on to the bills in the plan that have already been proposed. The House leadership is planning on cravenly offering more money in the war supplemental than even George Bush asked for, funding it through 2009 without any checks or conditions. This is dead wrong, and there are steps Congress can take right now to rein in military contractors, aid in the humanitarian crisis, and increase regional diplomatic efforts, instead of allowing Bush to muddle through and pass off the disaster to his successor. You can find one of the 210 events in your area by clicking this link.
• The west coast chapters of the International Longshoreman Worker's Union (ILWU) is planning on shutting down all west coast ports on May Day to protest the ongoing occupation of Iraq. Information on Bay Area events is here. There's also information at this blog. This is the biggest general strike I can remember, and coming from longshoremen it can hardly be considered the work of dirty hippies. This is a very important event.
• And in what may in the final analysis be the most revolutionary event, word has it that Tesla Motors will open their very first store tomorrow in West LA, on Santa Monica Boulevard just east of the 405 Freeway, which paradoxically is one of the most congested spots in the city. Tesla has created an electric vehicle that runs like a sports car, and in future years their sedan model will be relatively affordable while getting the equivalent of 135 miles per gallon. As this event is the closest to me, I might actually get to this one. :)
[Tauscher] then raced to catch the last minutes of an Armed Services Committee hearing, just in time to question Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As five women from the antiwar group Code Pink stood in protest, Tauscher asked two quick questions: Why didn't Bush's budget increase production of the C-17, a plane based at Travis? And how much would the president's troop increase cost?
[...]
But Code Pink activist Zanne Joi, whose shirt read "Stop Funding, Start Impeaching," was not impressed. She said she was horrified that Tauscher hadn't challenged Gates about Iraq, that she had treated the increase as a done deal. "We need her to stand up and end this war," said Joi.
(I was happy to co-host this event last night. After a day where there was a lot of sturm und drang among the grassroots, what I remember about this week is the incredible events I've been fortunate enough to witness, both with Tim Goodrich and last night with Darcy Burner. The grassroots is strong when we are all working for incredible candidates who can bring about progressive change. - promoted by David Dayen)
I met Darcy Burner for the second time last night.
It was pretty exciting, meeting a future president. If you have to ask why I would say that, why, then, you haven't had the pleasure of meeting Darcy Burner.
(Let's keep our eyes on the ball here, people. - promoted by David Dayen)
It's been another interesting week in Washington, with General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker asking Congress to maintain current troops levels. Their plea comes despite the lack of security stabilization and political progress by the Iraqi government.
The conditions in Iraq continue to worsen. Newly released figures by the military indicate that the number of attacks against civilians and American and Iraqi security forces in Baghdad have more than doubled in March over the previous month. There has also been an increase of sectarian violence in other large cities and provinces. The Green Zone has become the target of a wave of increased violence and casualties. Our troops and our nation continue to make sacrifices for an Iraq that is unable to secure its people and unwilling to reach political reconciliation.
Meanwhile, the cost of staying the failed course in Iraq continues to take a toll on our troops, their families, the American taxpayers, our national security, and our homeland defense readiness. The war on Iraq has claimed the lives of nearly 4,017 and close to 30,000 servicemen and women have been injured or permanently disabled. More than half of those will not be able to lead a normal life because of the severity of their injuries impacting not only them but also their families. Yet, we continue to burden our troops and their families with the all too common multiple tours of duty and extended 15 month tours. Since the war in Iraq began, we have spent more than $500 billion, unnecessarily risking financial security and reducing needed domestic investments in priorities such as health care and education.
The American people are frustrated and want a new direction in Iraq and an end to the war. I agree. This grave situation requires a policy to secure and stabilize Iraq, one that constructively engages in diplomacy and partners with neighboring countries and the region to create a stable and peaceful nation, and one that supports our service men and women by redeploying them from Iraq - not a strategy to keep more of our men and women in harm's way. I will continue to work with my colleagues to bring an end to this war and bring our troops home.
Mary Pallant's support of the Responsible Plan marks the fifth Congressional challenger in California to endorse. At Calitics, we feel that this is a plan that not only makes sense for Congressional candidates but progressive organizations and grassroots groups as well. Therefore, the editorial board of Calitics proudly endorse the Responsible Plan and urge all candidates for federal office in the state to follow suit, be they challengers or incumbents.
Given the current situation in Iraq, leaving 60,000 or 80,000 troops to babysit the Iraqis will do about as much as having 160,000 troops do the same; in other words, nothing at all (Russ Feingold understands this). There is no military solution and the goals of the surge have not been met; indeed what meager gains have been established have now essentially vanished, as Basra, Baghdad and beyond grow more violent. Until the fundamental question - whether a continued presence in Iraq is making us safer now and in the future - is addressed, we're doing nothing but spinning our wheels. Keeping troops in the region to try and put a lid on violence until George Bush is safely tucked away creates a huge moral hazard which actually increases the potential for chaos.
The Responsible Plan reflects the opinion of a significant wing of the Democratic Party which is simply not willing to wait around anymore while the leadership in Washington tries to come up with a coherent endgame strategy. Well over 50 Congressional challengers have endorsed the plan, understanding that a comprehensive strategy to end the war and repair the broken institutions that enabled it not only makes political sense but is absolutely vital to our national security. Ilan Goldenberg sums up the plan nicely.
Next week, General David Petraeus will travel to Capitol Hill and make his report to Congress on the war in Iraq. If, as expected, he announces a pause in the withdrawal in troops from Iraq, our Congress must say "no" for the sake of our military and of our servicemembers.
We can not pause the withdrawal of our troops because we are seeing, everyday, the absolute devastation our wars, with frequent, long, often extended deployments, are having on our men and women in uniform.
How can we constantly churn our troops like this? How can we consciously compound the wounds of war? We are sending men and women back for fourth and fifth tours of duty when the Department of Defense, by its own estimation, says that with each additional tour, troops are 60% more likely to develop severe post-combat mental health issues.
Here's what I wrote yesterday about CA-46 challenger, the best we've had in years, Debbie Cook:
Debbie Cook (CA-46): Cook, running against certified loon Dana Rohrabacher in a district mostly in Orange County and part of Long Beach, is running on the environment, but not as an advocate against global warming necessarily. She is on the board of directors of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO-USA), and really is passionate about moving to a post-carbon future and radically reinventing our energy infrastructure. When I asked about carbon taxes or cap and trade systems, she really looked beyond that debate about greenhouse gas emissions and toward a debate about sustainable living. This is about land use, about smart growth, about living closer together, adopting mass transit, eating locally grown foods, reorganizing society to deal with the prospects of a world without as much oil. It's an interesting message for a Congressional campaign, especially when going up against someone who speculates that global warming may have been caused by dinosaur flatulence. But Cook also supports the Repsonsible Plan to End the War in Iraq and understands the post-carbon fight as a national security and an economic issue as well.
Cook has a total command of these issues, and on a day when the heads of the top oil companies bobbed and weaved on Capitol Hill, it would have been great to see her up there doing the questioning. The video is in three parts, and it's below. There's actually quite a bit more of the interview on Robert's microcassette recorder, and he will copy it and mail it to you. (just kidding)
When I began my campaign last year to represent California's 44th Congressional District, I was motivated by the many policy failures of the Bush Administration embraced by the incumbent congressman. These included the President's failure to provide a universal health care proposal, an education program designed to undermine our public schools, and trade agreements that have killed good jobs for working families. But personally, for me and my family, the most egregious disappointment has been this Administration's failed policy in Iraq.
Cheryl Ede, a Congressional candidate in CA-50 (Bilbray), just informed me that she has signed on to endorse the Responsible Plan. This is the third Congressional candidate in California to endorse the plan, joining Ron Shepston (CA-42) and Debbie Cook (CA-46). By the end of the weekend I expect several more.
It's time for Nick Leibham to sign on as well. This is a intelligent and important set of policies that will create a legitimate mandate to end this war, not a vague nod toward a "new direction" in Iraq. Plus, it will seek to repair the broken institutions that led us into this disaster in the first place. The candidates that have signed on nationwide seek to represent some of the reddest districts in the country, some of the bluest, and everything in between. There is no reason for a candidate who wants to best represent the Democratic Party not to sign on.
(Disclosure - I've just signed on as Ron Shepston's netroots coordinator. And I'm proud that he's the first California challenger to endorse the Repsonsible Plan to End the War in Iraq. Ron is in a contested primary and needs your help to continue the leadership he's shown in supporting this plan all the way to Congress. Please consider making a donation to his campaign today. - promoted by David Dayen)
I was working in Brisbane, Australia on 9/11. I'd long past gotten over jet lag but something woke me in the middle of the night. When I turned on the TV to CNN International and saw the graphic "America Under Attack" my first thought was that it was simply more media over-the-top hype. As I watched, I saw that was not the case and my anger grew at whoever it was who attacked us. I'd never felt so much anger in my life and I doubt that ever will again. I called friends and family to "be" with them, but I knew that I couldn't, not only because of the distance, but because all air travel was suspended.
Five years ago today, I went to check out the San Francisco protests with one of my interns. Today, I went downtown to Market and Montgomery at noon and in retrospect am quite glad I didn't bring anyone with me. I did however, bump into my buddy Luke Thomas from Fog City Journal. You'll see him in some of the pics below (with his bright pink SFPD press pass clearly visible against his black jacket). He's also in the video, trying to protect his camera while he is treated like a human pinball. This is the craziest video I've ever shot.
The Responsible Plan to end the war in Iraq is the first tangible and conprehensive strategy to not only end the war, but to reform the structures that caused this disaster in the first place. It accords with the first principles of all Democrats, to responsibly protect our citizens while restoring our moral and political authority at home and abroad, renewing our capacity to self-determination in our national economy, and return the rights and protections of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to the American people. I urge you to watch the presentation and read the Responsible Plan, as I have done. And then please understand that, speaking just for myself, the only way you can earn my support in your electoral battles in 2008 is by endorsing it.
When I say "support" I do not mean voting; I would happily vote for any California Democrat over any California Republican in a head-to-head matchup. I mean my SUPPORT. That means my time, my energy, my effort, my enthusiasm, and my dollars. For five years, progressives have stood by helpless as they watched their country taken to war based on deception, and kept in an occupation based on fecklessness. While this plan, which encompasses not just the military, humanitarian and diplomatic solutions for Iraq, but stopping torture, restoring habeas corpus, starting a new green energy economy, media consolidation reform, ending the use of signing statements, and all of the other structures that have brought us to this point, parallels in its comprehensiveness the Contract With America, there is one crucial difference. Newt Gingrich supplied the Contract With America from the top-down, giving it to Congressional candidates as a tool to use in their campaigns (also, he didn't do it until 6 weeks before the election and it was used mostly as a media tool). This is a candidate-written, candidate-implemented, candidate-structured proposal from a group of progressive challengers who hold no current power in the Congress or the leadership of the party, culling from the ideas and concerns of the rank and file to put forth a full set of policy options to end the war and radically change how we view national security. This is the FIRST plan that citizens can use to do something real and tangible to truly revolutionize the debate in Washington. This is coming from the bottom up, and as a Congressional candidate you can catch the wave and join the commitment of the people, or sit at home.
As a California Congressional candidate, you have a unique role to play in this debate. You can support this plan and avow that you are committed to this nation's security, and earn my support, or you can choose not to support it, and earn nothing. This is non-negotiable. There are 10 candidates signed on to this plan, and plenty of others that I'm sure will welcome the support from myself and millions of others like me who are desperate to end this war and change our failed national security strategy. We are the people who stuff envelopes and walk precincts and write about candidates and generate buzz and enthusiasm. And we will work like hell for the candidates behind the Responsible Plan. And they will win, and receive a mandate to implement these policies and change the conversation on national security in this country.
Incidentally, as a California congressmember, you have the ability to co-sponsor a number of these initiatives, as they have been introduced in the House already. Please do so immediately. Thank you.
I shared breakfast with Nick Leibham last week and discussed where he stands on a number of issues. I mostly just lobbed topics and let him talk; this is the relevant transcript edited to be a remotely reasonable length and minus fun stuff like us chatting with the waitress and our occasional divergence into non-relevant shop talk. Some parts I liked, some parts less so. But here it is. Note this is a contested primary.
Iraq
Each and every day we remain in Iraq we're compromising our national security further. It's a blood feud that goes back 1400 years between the Sunnis and Shiites. American military forces are not going to be able to sort this out for them and at the end of the day they've got to want peace; they've got to want their own stable form of government; they've got to want democracy more than the American Marine Corps wants it for them
The longer that we're there, the more strain it puts on our own men and women in uniform. They're going out on third, fourth, fifth tours of duty, and you read about it all the time of course because we're just miles away from Camp Pendleton
We need to come out and we need to set a date certain for when we are going to redeploy out of Iraq.
(It's live now. Check out the stream. - promoted by Brian Leubitz)
At the NOI blogger summit yesterday, Darcy Burner, who is running for Congress against Dave Reichert in Washington's 8th District, dropped by to talk about her plan for Iraq. She ran a very strong race in 2006, and local Democrats have high hopes for the race. But Burner, who got an influx of cash from the Burn Bush Fundraiser, isn't just running on the same old milquetoast campaign. She's running a policy focused campaign, a rarity in modern politics.
Her latest effort, is the Responsible Plan. The link will go live at about 5:30 EDT/2:30 PDT. At the launch of the site, Darcy will be hosting a launch live here at TBA that will be streamed live here. Already 10 congressional challengers have signed on to the plan, and hopefully more will sign on soon. This could be a really big boost to the anti-war movement in Congress. This will be a clear mandate to those who are elected that they should end the Iraq war.
Over the flip, I've posted the stream channel. If it works properly, I'll boost it up.
So-called Pres. George W. Bush initiated a war of aggression and limitless occupation against the sovereign nation of Iraq in order to exact revenge on Sadaam Hussein over Hussein's assassination attempt on former Pres. George H.W. Bush and to secure Iraqi oil for Bush's Texas oil cronies. Sen. John McCain and Rep. Mary Bono Baxely Mack, absentee Congresswoman, have supported every Bush war policy without reservation. In fact, McCain is prepared for the U.S. to continue the occupation of Iraq 'for 100 years.'
The U.S. Army recently released a study on the impact of the Bush war of aggression on the mental health of U.S. troops (The Associated Press, by Pauline Jelinek, dated March 7, 2008). The findings of the report are devastating to the Bush occupation efforts and reveal the harmful impact on a significant percentage of U.S. troops.
(Xposted from www.mydesert.com, the online edition of Palm Springs' The Desert Sun)
Well, well, well. Proud progressive Democrats and their Independent and Republican supporters in Riverside County, and especially in the Coachella Valley, repudiated The Desert Sun endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama in the California primary by giving Sen. Hillary Clinton approximately 67% of the vote. State-wide, Clinton appears to have won 54% of the vote while Obama has won about 39%. Shows how relevant The Desert Sun is to the Riverside County Democratic Party, to the California Democratic Party, and to our supporters amongst the Independents and Decline to States now.
The Democrats of Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Indio, Coachella, La Quinta, and other Desert Cities gathered tonight in a Unity Rally at Dale's Lost Highway to celebrate our common democratic and Democratic principles. Fiscal responsibility, universal healthcare, education, withdrawal from the Iraq morass and occupation, economic recovery, human rights, equal rights, and more.
The Democratic Unity Rally was sponsored by Richard Oberhaus, campaign manager of the Greg Pettis for 80th Assembly District, Greg Rodriguez, activist for the Clinton for President campaign, and Rob Simmons, Palm Springs Airport Commission and activist for the Barack Obama for President campaign. A conservative estimate of the attendance at the soiree would run about 200 given the steady to-and-fro of the enthusiastic crowd.
On March 19, 2003, Pres. George W. Bush declared war against Iraq and the US attacked that country. Six weeks later and exactly five years ago today, Bush landed a fighter jet onboard an aircraft carrier, far from any dangers of real battle, and declared "Mission Accomplished." He appeared almost giddy from the excitement of his most excellent adventure.
