The banksters still have a powerful sway over members of Congress. Yesterday, they stopped cramdown in the Senate, which would have allowed bankruptcy judges to treat primary residences the same way as yachts and vacation homes in a bankruptcy. And there was much rejoicing.
On the same day, the House bucked the trend, passing the Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights by a wide, bipartisan margin.
In 2008, credit card issuers imposed $19 billion in penalty fees on families with credit cards and this year, card companies will break all records for late fees, over-limit charges, and other penalties, pulling in more than $20.5 billion. Credit-card debt in the U.S. has reached a record high of nearly $1 trillion - and almost half of American families currently carry a balance, and for those families the average balance was $7,300. One-fifth of those carrying credit-card debt pay an interest rate above 20 percent [...]
The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act passed today levels the playing field between card issuers and cardholders by applying common-sense regulations that would ban retroactive interest rate hikes on existing balances, double-cycle billing, and due-date gimmicks. It would also increase the advance notice of impending rate hikes, giving cardholders the information they need and rights to make decisions about their financial lives. Our economic recovery depends on a shared prosperity - and we must put an end to these abusive practices that continue to drive so many Americans deeper and deeper into debt.
I'm glad this ends double-cycle billing, where cardholders pay interest on debt that they've already paid off, and forces credit card companies to allocate payment to the debt with the highest interest rate. But overall, these are very modest protections that simply prohibit the credit card companies from ripping off the American people. And 105 Republicans agreed yesterday. But among those who didn't we're the usual suspects of arch-conservative Yacht Party wingers like Tom McClintock, joined by supposed "moderate" David Dreier.
Of course, as Dick Durbin noted yesterday, the bankers who own the Senate will return to try and ditch this bill. They've killed the same legislation before, and Harry Reid didn't exactly sound confident this time around. But I want to focus on Dreier and McClintock, both of whom and their pals in the GOP caucus have been well and truly bought by banking interests in exchange for votes like this.
Ed Royce (CA-40- $2,506,414)
David Dreier (CA-26- $2,118,538)
Gary Miller (CA-42- $765,988)
Devin Nunes (CA-21- $499,235)
Kevin McCarthy (CA-22- $461,138)
Tom McClintock (CA-04- $353,294)
Here's what newly-announced candidate Russ Warner had to say about this yesterday:
Dreier will once again be forced to face a top rate challenge in 2010, Russ Warner, who has every intention of making sure voters from Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, and Claremont to San Dimas, Monrovia, Sierra Madre, San Marino and La Crescenta know that Dreier is strictly a representative of the special interests that have done such grievous damage to the state's economy and to the financial well-being to his own constituents. "Time and time again," Russ told us this morning after going over the vote yesterday, "David Dreier proves the interests of his corporate donors take precedent over the people he was elected to serve. Dreier's never felt the pressure of supporting a family and has lived off the taxpayer dime for nearly three decades, so its not surprising he has no idea how harmful these predatory credit card companies are."
We're going to have to fight in the Senate to make sure this passes. But this vote should not be forgotten next year. Everyone has felt the pinch from credit card usurers, and so votes like this are signatures, marks of where you stand. Hopefully Warner and whoever challenges these other Republicans will use it.
Yesterday over at DWT we looked at the dynamic between congressmen who have taken large quasi-legal bribes from the banking sector and their willingness to always support the banksters' special interests regardless of how gravely it impacts their own constituents. Yesterday's occasion was the overwhelming passage, by the House of the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009 which seeks to protect consumers from predatory and unscrupulous banksters and credit card lenders by:
· Ending unfair, arbitrary interest rate increases;
· Letting customers set hard credit limits, stops excessive "over the limit" fees;
· Ending unfair penalties for cardholders who pay on time;
· Requiring fair allocation of consumer payments;
· Protecting cardholders from due date gimmicks;
· Preventing companies from using misleading terms and damaging consumers' credit ratings;
· Protecting vulnerable consumers from high-fee subprime credit cards;
· Baring Issuing Credit Cards to Vulnerable Minors;
· Requiring Better Data Collection from Credit Card Industry;
· Swiftly Implementing the 45-Day Notice Requirement
Pasadena DFA has been working for him since March of this year. Precint walking, phone calling, and soon GOTV. We're very excited about our chances to defeat 28 year incumbent David Dreier!!
Our campaign manager, Ryan Sandoval, wanted to update folks on this blog as to where California's 44th Congressional District race currently stands, what sort of support we have in the district, what our chances of winning are, what we've been doing to ensure victory, and what our opponent has been up to.
We encourage you to watch the video and then make up your own mind as to whether you think our race is winnable. If you agree with us that this is a completely winnable race (given the right support), we ask that you help us out by donating to the campaign or signing up as a volunteer to help in spreading the word about Bill.
This has always been a grassroots campaign so we're doing what we've done all along - reaching out and asking that the grassroots activists out there step up and help the good guy win in November!
Things are happening very quickly in the most hotly contested campaigns in California. Here's an update:
• CA-04: Watching himself falling behind in the race to replace John Doolittle, perennial candidate Tom McClintock decided to borrow one of his predeccesor's smear campaigns and release an ad claiming that Charlie Brown dishonored servicemen by appearing at an anti-war rally.
The idea that wearing a camouflage jacket constitutes being "in uniform" is ridiculous, and so is the idea that a retired military officer has no free speech rights. But the idea is to smear Charlie as some kind of radical leftist and anti-military, despite Brown's long record of supporting veterans and McClintock's longer record voting against them.
The ensuing press conference put on by the McClintock campaign was a wild affair.
SACRAMENTO - A press conference on congressional candidate Charlie Brown's actions in 2005 at the home of an anti-war display nearly descended into conflict itself, with disruptions before, during and after the event and a near-appearance by police officers [...]
But before the event even began, a handful of Brown supporters - accompanied by Brown's campaign manager, Todd Stenhouse - were asked to leave so that they wouldn't cause a disruption.
One man loudly protested that as a military veteran and the father of an active-duty U.S. soldier, he felt he could stay. "This is not Russia," he said.
McClintock campaign consultant John Feliz and Stenhouse eventually got the man to agree to leave, but not before security at the Hyatt hotel where the press conference took place made calls to Sacramento police to remove the man [...]
But a third man who was with the veterans pointed out that Brown was within his First Amendment right to do so, prompting Feliz to ask him to leave as well, while also saying Brown should re-enlist and face a court martial for his actions.
The man, who gave his name as Bret Sherlock, said afterward that he attended because he was tired of non-veterans like McClintock smearing veterans like Brown.
"Did he do anything illegal?" Sherlock said of Brown, adding that if anyone should be able to protest the war, it should be Brown, as both a veteran and a father of a soldier who has served four tours of duty in Iraq.
McClintock campaign spokesman Bill George said the video came from a "concerned citizen." Neither McClintock nor Brown appeared at the press conference.
After the press conference concluded, Stenhouse tried to give McClintock's campaign a pledge to join a Brown program that donates 5 percent of Brown's campaign contributions to nonprofit community groups that work with charities.
Feliz angrily took it and threw it down without looking at it.
They don't want to talk about issues. So McClintock tries to smear a decorated veteran to win an election. Typical.
• CA-04: I love this video from the Charlie Brown campaign. They traveled 412 miles down to Thousand Oaks to talk to constituents of California's Alan Keyes, State Senator and professional office-chaser Tom McClintock. It's really funny and drives the point home that McClintock is a do-nothing at best and a dangerous radical at worst:
And get this, McClintock is now running on the state budget, the Republican version of which has a 19% approval rating. That's like putting Nixon, Bush and Cheney in your campaign ad.
• CA-26, CA-45: Not one but two! Both Russ Warner AND Julie Bornstein have been added to the DCCC "Races To Watch" list. This is a prelude to being listed as Red To Blue candidates. If the D-Trip comes through with some money, maybe threatened incumbents like Dreier will have to stop mouthing off about other GOP races and start paying attention to their own. UPDATE: Mike Lumpkin (CA-52) is on that list now too, which is a pleasant surprise.
• CA-46: When John Fund tries to target a Dem challenger, you know something's going wrong. Fund is sounding the alarm on Debbie Cook, as Dana Rohrabacher tries to greenwash himself with a scheme to build solar-power plants on federal land without environmental impact studies. Fund says that Cook called this "an extreme position," but he chopped the quote:
Democratic challenger and Mayor of Huntington Beach Debbie Cook agrees that the process of approving solar power plants is sluggish and needs to be sped up, but not at the expense of the environment.
"This is just another extreme position by Dana Rohrabacher. What we need to do is come up with a balanced approach that streamlines these projects, because they're critically important to our energy future, but at the same time recognizes the impacts to the environment," Cook said.
Rohrabacher's doing the equivalent of saying he'll grow jobs by hiring 10,000 federally funded serial killers, and then wondering why everyone's worried about the mass death ("You wanted jobs, didn't you?"). There's a sensible way to free up the bottlenecks and a rash one. Rohrabacher chose door #2.
• CA-42: The internal poll results released by Ed Chau are intriguing (showing him up 44-38 after a mix of positive and negative information released on the candidates), but I don't think candidates who have minimal bank accounts should do polls stating the numbers after a mix of information if they don't have the money to get that information out. But if Gary Miller truly has a 28% re-elect number as the poll states, he could be in trouble.
I simply have not had the time to do a full update of all the Congressional and legislative campaigns. And sadly, it doesn't look like that time will be forthcoming soon. So I think I'll do mini-updates where possible.
• CA-46: Debbie Cook has been endorsed by DFA (Democracy for America). Jim Dean, the Chair of DFA, said in a statement, "Debbie Cook has been a grassroots champion for over 20 years and has a proven record of success in the private sector and as a public servant ... Debbie Cook is running because she's a committed advocate and activist who fights for her constituents and delivers results."
In the past, DFA has been able to move some resources into districts, so we'll see if they're going that route in this race. DFA has also recently endorsed Bill Hedrick (CA-44).
• CA-26: Russ Warner's campaign is announcing via email that the DCCC named his race as "one to watch." That doesn't mean they'll get any money, but it puts them in the queue if the race tightens. Unfortunately, the DCCC has kind of a deliberate style, where they hoard their money for the races they know are toss-ups, and then wait until the very last minute for these emerging races, sometimes beyond the point at which that money can be effective. I understand the strategy but it wouldn't be smart from Warner's perspective to bank on any help from Washington in his race against David Dreier. He needs his own resources as well as money from California lawmaker's PACs.
Which reminds me, California Democrats, it's time to use it or lose it. We have a number of races where the challenger can win if they have enough resources, and in the seats where an incumbent has token or no opposition and a huge war chest, that money should not be sitting in an account somewhere. Help our own candidates! Expect more pressure on this very soon.
• CA-03: It's kind of fun watching Dan Lungren try to humina-humina his way out of supporting Prop. 8. He really has no idea what he's talking about. It would be bad enough if a citizen of the state had this atrocious an understanding of basic civics, but this guy is not only a US Representative but a former state Attorney General!
• AD-80: The GOP tried to get Manuel Perez' occupational status as an "educator" thrown off the ballot, but they failed. Now he has received the endorsement of the highest-ranking law enforcement official in Imperial County, D.A. Gilbert Otero. Considering that his opponent, Gary Jeandron, is the former police chief of Palm Springs, I'd consider this endorsement to be significant... UPDATE re: CMR, seems that Gary Jeandron supports "traditional marriage." In Palm Springs. Now, so did Bonnie Garcia, but she was able to win enough in Imperial County to offset it. Jeandron needs the Palm Springs vote to be huge to win.
Beacon Media News, publishers of Sierra Madre Weekly, Monrovia Weekly, Pasadena Independent, and Arcadia Weekly, note the results of a Russ Warner-paid-for poll of the 26th district that shows Dreier's vulnerability in the district.
Republican Congressman David Dreier falling below the crucial 50% support threshold for re-election. After voters hear biographical statements on both Warner and Dreier, the race pulls into a statistical tie.
The poll was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, a respected national polling firm, with a sample size of 400 likely voters in California's 26th district.
Thursday night, August 14th, from 6:30-8:00 pm at the Monrovia Community Center (119 West Palm Avenue), Russ Warner will be holding the first of many "Coffee and Conversation" meetings (or, as I put it Coffee, Dessert, and Democracy) throughout the district, to give voters in CA-26 an opportunity to meet him.
Each week (he's taking Democratic Convention week off, tho), the meeting will be in a different part of the district. See below the fold for meetings over the next few weeks.
We've been hearing rumblings about this poll for a while, but it's finally been released. In the 26th District, where Bush rubber stamp David Dreier hasn't had a legitimate opponent practically since being elected in 1980, Russ Warner is absolutely within striking difference with 88 days to the election.
The poll, conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, has all kinds of interesting information. IN the baseline poll, Dreier does not reach 50%
CA-26 (GQRR, margin of error +/- 4.9%)
Dreier 49
Warner 37
The sample size is pretty small, but Dreier not breaking 50 after being the Representative for 28 years is significant. What's more, after information about each candidate is delivered to those polled, the numbers change dramatically.
Dreier 47
Warner 44
Other significant findings:
• Independent voters in the initial poll, before bios, support Warner 49-32.
• 63 percent disapprove of the job George W. Bush is doing as president, with half of all voters (50 percent) strongly disapproving.
• Only 45 percent of voters say they approve of the job Dreier is doing as Congressman, while 33 percent disapprove.
• Nearly four out of five voters (78 percent) say the country is off on the wrong track.
• Barack Obama is in a statistical tie with John McCain in the district, 44 percent to 47 percent, and their favorables are identical (46 fav-36 unfav).
• Dreier has high negatives in the district. An equal number of those polled have a negative opinion of Dreier (32 percent) as have a positive opinion of him (32 percent).
The race is going to come down to resources. Right now, Dreier has a huge war chest, and he's undoubtedly going to use it to smear Warner and drive up his negatives. However, if Warner has enough cash to compete, things will get very interesting in the 26th.
Last week, David Dreier sent a letter to residents in his district. It was signed by nine "Democrats for Dreier" announcing their support of his re-election campaign, because he is a "different kind of leader" who is a passionate advocate for the San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire.
The letter was signed by the following 9 Democrats:
Paul Eaton, Mayor of Montclair
Roberto Campos, small businessman, Glendora/Upland
Karen Davis, Mayor of Glendora
Mary Ann Lutz, Monrovia Councilmember
Kurt Zimmerman, Mayor of Sierra Madre
Joe Garcia, Monrovia Councilmember
Anthony Fellow, Director, Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, Arcadia
Dorrie Bryan, HR Manager, Rancho Cucamonga
Eugene Sun, San Marino Councilmember
The questions arose almost as soon as the letter was sent. On the flip...
Greetings and welcome to the latest installment of the California House races roundup. We're just around 100 days to go until the election, and things are starting to take focus. There are about a half-dozen seats where Democratic challengers have an outside shot at dumping the incumbent, and another six on the watch list in case something spectacular occurs. One thing to note is that the Cook numbers are tied to the 2004 election, and given the demographic changes and cratering of the Republican brand I think they mean significantly less now - it'll be interesting to see how all these districts change in November.
We have plenty of new information to judge these races, including 2nd quarter fundraising reports, national ratings from Charlie Cook and Swing State Project, additional DCCC targets, and the appearance of many challengers at Netroots Nation. So this list is really about who I think has the best chance to retain or take over a seat, not necessarily who should (though that may come through in the writing). Here are some helpful bits of information that I used to help judge.
By my count, we had nine local and federal candidates or elected officials from California joining us in Austin for Netroots Nation. So much for the adage that us dirty hippie bloggers are to be avoided at all costs. These candidates and politicians represent the foundation of a progressive alliance that can transform the party and the state over the next decade. And they all received varying degrees of support at the convention. Here is a brief roundup in alphabetical order:
1) Secretary of State Debra Bowen - Debra apparently accepted the invitation to appear on a panel about election reform by replying on Facebook. She is one of our favorites because of her progressive credentials, her commitment to election reform, and her accessibility. Far from dropping in for the panel and dropping out, she took time to hang out with plenty of us Caliticians. In fact, during the netroots candidate event, she was simply watching the proceedings when Christine Pelosi called her to the stage - it was not her intention to come as a candidate, but to just attend the conference. That said, there was a lot of talk among the California delegation about Bowen's plans for the future. At least four California convention-goers told me they would quit their jobs to work for Bowen if she sought higher office than the Secretary of State. She has a bright future and, judging from the reception she received, a national profile. She is one of our best hopes to get a real grassroots progressive into a legitimate position of power.
UPDATE: We're going to be caucusing from 3-4:15 in room 18B. It'll be free-form, so bring your own topics and get ready to connect! From the budget to CDP reform to our chances for a 2/3 majority in the legislature and pickups in the House, there's a lot to discuss. We're also in the Netroots Nation agenda now. Please come by.
[UPDATE by Lucas] - We've got a number of special guests lined up now, but if you're reading this (even though it's NN), it might be too late to do anything about it.
[UPDATE: by Dave] - Mad props to Tracy Russo, online diva, who has helped confirm us in this spot. So tomorrow at 3, be there for the California caucus. Place to be determined, but check the online agenda, as it will shortly register up there.
For all of you who will be in Austin tomorrow for Netroots Nation, we're going to attempt to pull together a California caucus for Thursday afternoon, probably in the 3-4:15pm slot. I'll be posting info on "The Wall" outside 17A&B first thing Thursday morning (which means 9am), so be sure to check in for the finalized details (3pm slot is not set in stone and we need to find a room). Also, there's a whole mess of Californians who aren't likely to be checking in on this post (especially this late), so spread the word as you filter in to Austin and help pull together a great turnout.
Last year's California caucus was a great opportunity to hear from Congressional candidates (We have Mike Lumpkin, Debbie Cook, Charlie Brown, Russ Warner, and Steve Young attending NN at various points this year [I might be forgetting some]) discuss California's role as an incubator of national ideas (marriage equality is a great example this year), and discuss ways to better tie state and local politics to national activism.
This one is coming together last minute, so spreading the word will really drive how effective this can be. Hope to see everyone there!
UPDATE: Just to remind everyone, on Saturday night Calitics is one of the many hosts of the Alternet Book Party. I've confirmed today that Mayor Gavin Newsom will be joining us at the event to hang out, so it should be fun. Visit this link for more information.
In the last couple days, there have been several posts across the blogosphere citing what various candidates running for Congress have said on FISA and retroactive immunity for the telecoms. But so far, it's been all over the map. I've tried to corral all their statements into my diary on Daily Kos, so you can see who the "good guys" are.
First, let's start off with the current House and Senate members who voted against this bill. They do deserve credit, as it's their jobs on the line.
Below the fold, I've modified the original diary to list just the California Democratic challengers running who are standing up for the Constitution, and are against this FISA bill and retroactive immunity.
Well, the votes are in, the matchups are set, and so I thought it was time for a baseline roundup of where I think the California House races stand as of now. The main pieces of information that are causing me to reset my expectations are the primary results, the April 1-May 15 fundraising numbers and the new registration numbers from the Secretary of State's office. You can track all three yourself:
I'll have another House roundup probably by Monday, but I wanted to toss out a few items of note:
• CA-26: I have to applaud Russ Warner's rapid response team for jumping on David Dreier's voting record immediately and choosing the issues where he can reveal that Dreier is not the moderate he portrays as being to his district. On the heels of yesterday's House vote on the GI Bill, Warner released this:
David Dreier voted against a bill to increase educational opportunities for veterans today. The legislation expands the education benefits veterans receive under the GI bill to restore the promise of a full, four-year college education. It passed the House with broad bi-partisan support, 256 to 166.
"I would have voted differently on this bill," said Russ Warner, a successful small businessman and the Democratic candidate for Congress from California's 26th district. "It's important to make the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan part of an American economic recovery, just like the veterans of World War II were. They put their lives on the line for us, and deserve to be able to come home and go to school if they so choose. We need new leaders with new priorities in Washington, and that's why I'm running for Congress."
Russ Warner's eldest son, Greg, is in the U.S. Army and served in Iraq for 17 months. Upon his return, he challenged his father to make a difference by running for Congress.
Down With Tyranny has more, including a great pic of Warner and his son Greg.
• CA-41: Please take some time to read IndieinSF's piece introducing the community to Dr. Rita Ramirez-Dean, a progressive candidate running for slimebucket Jerry Lewis' seat in the San Bernardino area. It's also linked at DWT. The post talks about the picture on the ground and the changing demographics in the district. Our growth potential in California is dependent on winning seats like this. I've met Dr. Dean and found her to be someone of character. She has also endorsed the Repsonsible Plan To End The War in Iraq, elements of which passed through the House yesterday (Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington even mentioned it on the House floor).
• CA-42: Next week, Ron Shepston has two fundraisers with Amb. Joseph Wilson. One is in Oak Canyon Park near Irvine on Wednesday, May 21, (purchase tickets here), and one is in Santa Monica on Thursday, May 22 (info here). Ron also snagged the endorsement of DFA Orange County.
• CA-04: Try to get the logic of this: by taking welfare payments in per diem checks from the state, Tom McClintock was denying benefits to soldiers. That's the premise of Doug Ose's new ad. Quite a logical leap, but potentially effective.
Getting this one in under the wire. On the last day of April, with just over a month to go until the June primaries, and six months to go until Election Day, there's a lot going on all over the state in the Congressional races. Of the 19 seats in California currently held by Republicans, 17 will be contested in the fall, and some strongly so. And we now have a full 34 Democrats with the election of Jackie Speier early in the month, and only one of them is a serious challenge. We also have the first quarter of 2008 fundraising numbers, which will raise some eyebrows. You can track these races yourself with the 2008 Race Tracker wiki.
A note: I'm mainly getting my numbers on cash-on-hand competitiveness from the Swing State Project. Fundraising information comes from the FEC.
