I received this email last night from a reader who is also the finance director for a Democratic congressional campaign. While the letter below is anonymous, I know the name of the author and the candidate they work for - this is for real.
John,
I got home tonight from my job as finance director for a top-tier Democratic Congressional challenger and read your post regarding the negative impact of Hillary's staying in the race upon our Congressional candidates' fundraising. I can say definitively that what you wrote is absolutely true. My candidate speaks every day to donors who tell him directly that they're more focused on the Presidential right now, or that they're tapped out because they've given so much to the Presidential. Or simply, as you say, because they're just pissed off about the Presidential.
And that's not even counting those who simply don't return our calls, or blow the candidate off when we do get them on the phone. We'll never know how many of those people would have been max-out donors to us, but are simply too involved in (or turned off by) the Presidential race to give a damn about someone who's running for a House seat.
We had a good 1st Quarter anyway, but I don't think we can continue to reach our fundraising targets unless this thing gets settled, and quickly. For her to wait until June is a nightmare that may well guarantee that not only my guy, but dozens and dozens of other challengers will come up badly short of their goals for the 2nd Quarter. And my candidate is in the very top level of targeted races. I can only imagine what the lower tiers of challengers are facing (well, no, actually I've heard from some of them, including the finance chair for a candidate in the Midwest to whom I spoke today).
We need her to drop out now, not only for the sake of our real Presidential nominee winning in November, but so that the rest of us can finally have a fighting chance with donors.
UPDATE: More analysis of what this means from the Washington Post.
Here's some good news for a Saturday night. The Democrats picked up a House seat tonight in Louisiana.
Democrat Don Cazayoux beat Republican Woody Jenkins in the seat formerly held by Republican Richard Baker. With all but three of the 512 precincts reporting, Cazayoux is ahead by just under 3,000 votes.
The NRCC was, of course, very shady in this race. The GOPers pumped in lots of money to keep the seat, and even ran negative ads featuring Obama and Pelosi. Freedom Watch was also involved in this race. That group's t.v. ad was pulled off the air by a Baton Rouge station -- and the DCCC has filed FEC and IRS complaints against it.
The best and brightest (or shall we say the greediest and biggest freeloaders?) keep telling everyone that the worst is behind us. The truth is it's not. A few more big names are ready to post hideous losses, yet again, and the ones who aren't going to post losses will deliver ugly numbers. Lehman Brothers just liquidated a few billion of rubbish thanks to the Fed bailout (i.e. on the backs of US taxpayers) so they may be able to avoid complete destruction.
With all of this bad news, what is it going to take to motivate Congress to demand change? Any agreements that may exist need to be torn up and shredded. The rules are now different since Wall Street has had to be bailed out. At the moment it's the US taxpayers who are funding the lifestyle of Wall Street millionaires. Wall Street wouldn't recognize the free market if it hit them in the ass and it did, but we bailed them out. Nobody wants to see Wall Street collapse but dammit, why are we funding their luxurious lifestyle? We are paying for their salaries and excessive bonuses and don't even get the upside of lower lending rates. Most Americans would love to have seven or eight figure incomes but most Americans actually have to work for that. Why is Wall Street being treated differently? Enough already, let's see some action on this.
I'm sure the Japanese people were pretty outraged a couple of years ago when there were anti-Japanese riots in China that somehow (gosh, I wonder how?) were tolerated by the usually strict government. I'm also pretty sure that the people of Tibet are outraged that the communist government in Beijing doesn't respect human rights or cultural heritage. China has repeatedly criticized the US for it's bad policy and that's fine, that's how the game works. The government is in desperate need to figure out the whole global politics game because at the moment, they are failing miserably and only infuriating the rest of the world.
Is the communist government really that naive to think they will find sympathy for cracking heads and killing people? Do they know so little about their existing perception in western countries where manufacturing jobs have disappeared and moved to China? Really? Seriously? Someone please educate that government because real or not, people already perceived China to be a threat to their jobs and future, even before the recession. Instead of looking like an important world player, they just look silly and it's getting worse by the day. Save the outrage for people who care because that stops at the border.
In case you are wondering who is on the front line of protecting the American food source, here's a perfect example of why it all needs to change. In recent weeks we've watched clueless CEOs deliver everything from sorry excuses to shoulder shrugs when explaining why Americans have become sick and even died because of food production problems. Notice the quick "hot under the collar" moment shortly into the video as the slaughterhouse executive is asked whether he ordered a recall in 2005 after a previous problem.
All of us would like Congress to do more in many areas and we get frustrated but what jumps out for me is that none of this would have happened under a GOP Congress. Congresswoman DeGette and her Democratic colleagues are doing exactly what we want Congress to do. The Republicans were fine with letting people like this exec produce potentially dangerous if not illegal products. The GOP was always so focused on how they could help characters like this instead of American families. Even now as we watch the economy go down because of bad Republican policies, think about how a Republican Congress would have handled this meltdown. Would I like to see more from Democrats? Of course. It seems obvious that we need more DeGettes and fewer Steve Mendells and friendly Republicans shaping our future.
The sooner, the better. The same needs to be done elsewhere because in one department after another, there's much too much concern for what industry wants without any consideration for consumers. Pick any industry and it's always the same. The Republicans have been more than content to have this system in place but thankfully Democrats are finally standing up and taking action. Well done by Congressman James Oberstar who is chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Oberstar also said he believes similar violations may have occurred involving other airlines, but that those who have such evidence are afraid to come forward.
"Complacency has likely set in to the highest levels of FAA management," the Minnesota Democrat said in a Capitol Hill news conference. "I think we have seen the pendulum swing away from vigorous enforcement of compliance toward a carrier-favorable, cozy relationship with the airlines."
Right. I'm sure he is struggling with whether or not to stick around for another term in the minority or accept the $1,000,000 per year position. Congressman Baker (R-LA) has followed the new procedures and filed paperwork with the House ethics committee as he talks to the increasingly power hedge fund lobby. The revolving door between Congress and wealthy lobbyists continues. Tell me again what the ethics and lobbying reform bill was supposed to do last year? The best democracy that money can buy.
Clueless. The Democrats need to splash some cold water in his face to wake him up from his dream. Now is not the time to cave because the decisions made on the economy will have a major impact on the next president.
Just because we have a crisis on our hands doesn't mean we need to fold and give in. We are in this mess because of Republican policies. A Republican President along with a Republican Congress all lead the country into this trashed economy and they have no idea how to get us out. You wouldn't call an arsonist to put out a house fire and you don't ask the guy who ruined the economy to fix it.
The good ol' Bush-FDA. They're always there for industry, when industry needs them. Just don't ask them to care about safeguarding the food for consumers though. I know it's asking for a lot, but could the Democrats in Congress back up the broad majority of Americans who hate this idea? Would this be asking too much?
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to declare as early as next week that meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring are safe to consume, the Wall Street Journal reported without naming its source.
Did we ever have political leaders that cared or am I just having flashbacks to a time that never existed? Whether we are talking about 79 million records or 162 million, that's a lot of lost records in 2007. I know this isn't easy but it's quite obvious that there are no plans in place to protect data or to protect consumers.
The loss or theft of personal data such as credit card and Social Security numbers soared to unprecedented levels in 2007, and the trend isn't expected to turn around anytime soon as hackers stay a step ahead of security and laptops disappear with sensitive information.
And while companies, government agencies, schools and other institutions are spending more to protect ever-increasing volumes of data with more sophisticated firewalls and encryption, the investment often is too little too late.
So how will companies such as Mattel respond to the new legislation that Congress passed this week? Among other things, this will help run tests for lead, which is what caused this latest (among many) recall by Mattel. Selling lead tainted toys to kids strikes me as borderline, if not actual, criminal negligence.
Not only from outside consumer groups, but also from another member of the Fed. Mr Bubble can spin it anyway he likes, but this problem is jointly owned by Greenspan and Bush. Neither had any interest in stopping the good times and blindly ignored all of the warnings for the bad times ahead.
Edward M. Gramlich, a Federal Reserve governor who died in September, warned nearly seven years ago that a fast-growing new breed of lenders was luring many people into risky mortgages they could not afford.
But when Mr. Gramlich privately urged Fed examiners to investigate mortgage lenders affiliated with national banks, he was rebuffed by Alan Greenspan, the Fed chairman.
(More warnings that were ignored, after the jump.)
In 2001, a senior Treasury official, Sheila C. Bair, tried to persuade subprime lenders to adopt a code of “best practices” and to let outside monitors verify their compliance. None of the lenders would agree to the monitors, and many rejected the code itself. Even those who did adopt those practices, Ms. Bair recalled recently, soon let them slip.
And leaders of a housing advocacy group in California, meeting with Mr. Greenspan in 2004, warned that deception was increasing and unscrupulous practices were spreading.
John C. Gamboa and Robert L. Gnaizda of the Greenlining Institute implored Mr. Greenspan to use his bully pulpit and press for a voluntary code of conduct.
“He never gave us a good reason, but he didn’t want to do it,” Mr. Gnaizda said last week. “He just wasn’t interested.”
Today, as the mortgage crisis of 2007 worsens and threatens to tip the economy into a recession, many are asking: where was Washington?
Indeed. Where was Washington and why are they asking everyone else to pay for problems that the allowed?
A few years too late, but fine. It has to be addressed and with Congress breathing down the backs of the Fed, there is suddenly great interest. On the flip side, just what do you think Wall Street is thinking now that they are being assisted with a bailout plan? So the lesson learn by Wall Street is to get while the gettin' is good and then Uncle Sam will bail everyone out? Same goes for the buyers who jumped on to the bad loans and are now asking for a bailout.
The Fed needs to quit propping up every bad business idea that comes out of Wall Street and start thinking about consumers. Congress is going to have to promote the issue of responsibility as well because bail outs are only showing support for failures to accept personal actions. There should be no doubt that plenty of people were tricked into bad loans, but there were also plenty of people who did not make the jump into the market because they had reservations.
Should those people and the people who acted responsibly be punished? We needed a voice when this problem was unfolding, both on the issue of Wall Street greed and buyers blissful ignorance that defied traditional logic. It is getting there, slowly, but we need to quit doling out bailouts like this unless we want to create more trouble later. If Congress wants to give free money to everyone, fine, but that's not what they are doing. They are rewarding both rich and poor who gambled and lost.
The Northern Rock run on the bank announced to the world that credit within the banking industry was collapsing. The easy money, high flying days of wrapping up lousy subprime with other equities and selling them amongst themselves came crashing down leaving the banks with billions of the so-called SIVs that saw their market dry up practically overnight. It was all fun and games until someone actually realized that SIVs had about as much value as dotcom stock in 2002, probably even less. The bad news in banking continues.
The embattled UK banking sector is likely to be dealt another blow this week when HSBC reveals more writedowns from its American sub-prime business.
Shares in financial stocks plummeted last week with Barclays shedding around 11 per cent of its value amid frenzied rumours of an imminent £10bn writedown, strongly denied by the group. The other big loser was Royal Bank of Scotland, which lost 16 per cent of its worth in the past five days as fear of greater losses intensified.
Any sensible Congress would step back and take a look at whether or not such massive, intertwined banks are really serving the interest of consumers. I can see how these beasts benefit deal-makers and executive boards who want bigger bonuses though it's never been clear to me why a Bank of America (for example) would even care about an individual bank account for someone in the middle class. It's almost a hassle to the bank to bother with such small amounts and they seem to punish small account owners with high charges. Then again, how else are they going to afford CEO exit packages worth tens of millions of dollars?
So here it is, unraveling right in front of us and no matter how many rate cuts the banks make, Humpty-Dumpty won't be put back together again. The "experts" made a mess and nobody in power anywhere - the US or Europe - did a damned thing to stop it. Will the Democrats bother to revisit the structure of banks and provide oversight? Considering their recent string of inactions, we should expect it but let's not count on it. It might help out the middle class too much and we know appealing to the middle class is such dangerous territory. They only vote and can win or lose an election.
The fox guarding the hen house in real life. How many more examples of failure with programs such as this do we need?
The Food and Drug Administration is moving with unprecedented speed to launch a drug research center to be paid for by companies it regulates.
The goal of the Reagan-Udall Foundation, approved by Congress and signed into law late last month, is to streamline and improve the development of drugs and medical devices, a goal long sought by regulators and the biggest players in the industry, such as Merck & Co., Pfizer Inc., Wyeth, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, and Johnson & Johnson.
Considering the excessive number of pharmaceutical recalls (even cough medicine for kids!) how is this cozy relationship going to deliver results that are good for consumers?
* Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-NM) * Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) * Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) * Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) * Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) * Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA) * Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) * Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) * Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) * Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-LA) * Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) * Rep. Gary G. Miller (R-CA) * Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV) * Rep. Timothy F. Murphy (R-PA) * Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA) * Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) * Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) * Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY) * Rep. David Scott (D-GA) * Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL) * Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-NM) * Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
The two to watch are:
* Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-ID) * Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)
New poll from CNN shows the American people think the Democrats in Congress would move the country in the right direction. They sure don't feel that way about Bush. So, lead us in the right direction by leading us out of Iraq. (and if the GOPers on the Hill were paying attention, they'd follow the lead of the Democrats, not Bush)
Mark Foley is on the hot seat because investigators want a peek at the former congressman's computer. Under Florida law, the age of consent is 18, and some of Foley's ham-handed, lurid online IM pickup lines to pages would be considered a crime if the intent was to seduce the minor. The problem is that neither Foley nor the House will allow access to the computers. (CF News):
Florida's top police agency said Wednesday its investigation into former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley's lurid Internet communications with teenage boys has been hindered because neither Foley nor the House will let investigators examine his congressional computers.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says it hopes to conclude its investigation next week. Foley, a Florida Republican, resigned from Congress on Sept. 29 after being confronted with the computer messages he sent to male teenage pages who had worked on Capitol Hill.
"We have requested to review federally owned computers that Mr. Foley used during his time as a representative, but the U.S. House of Representatives ... cited case law restrictions that prohibited them from releasing those computers," said Heather Smith, an FDLE spokeswoman.
Smith said that the House claims the computers are considered congressional work papers, and that only Foley can release them for review.
...After his resignation, Foley checked himself into an Arizona facility for what his attorneys said was treatment of "alcoholism and other behavioral problems." At the time, his attorney said Foley was gay, an alcoholic and had been molested by a priest as a teenage altar boy in Florida.
Investigators have contacted the Committee on House Administration and the House general counsel -- none of the calls have been returned.
Maybe the Iraqis could learn something from the Democratic leaders in Congress. When the job isn't finished, you keep working:
The House of Representatives will remain in session on Saturday to consider an energy bill, delaying the start of the August recess by a day.
The House plans to consider the rule and the energy bill, according to a statement from Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) sent to reporters. The bad news for members and staffers awaiting the start of their August vacation comes hours after the House erupted in chaos during a vote on the agriculture appropriations bill.
However, that does mean Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid will miss the YearlyKos convention:
UPDATE [9:42pm, Chicago Time]: - It has now been confirmed that all of the Meet the Leaders panelists are not going to make their previously scheduled panel. There will be no 8am keynote Saturday. The regular schedule picks up again at 9am. Sleep in, Kossacks! - Nolan
Work on Saturday? Only our favorite politicians in Washington who must be there this weekend for a vote.
It's too bad they won't be here. Reid gave the keynote at last year's YearlyKos and was really well received.
But, hey, at least Pelosi and Reid are making the decision to work this weekend. We don't have to be afraid of the legislation they'll pass.
UPDATE: We shouldn't have to be afraid of any legislation the Democrats would pass, however, the Senate approved the FISA bill tonight. Reuters calls it the "Bush-backed spy bill." That just can't be good.
Florida's top police agency said Wednesday its investigation into former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley's lurid Internet communications with teenage boys has been hindered because neither Foley nor the House will let investigators examine his congressional computers.