Tag: House of Representatives

Re-Elect Dr. Ami Bera to a House of Representatives Seat in California’s 7th District (GOOD UPDATE March 2019)
Elections

Re-Elect Dr. Ami Bera to a House of Representatives Seat in California’s 7th District (GOOD UPDATE March 2019)

otycd

Update March 24, 2019: Dr. Bera won re-election in November 2018.

 

He’ll be up again in November 2020. You might want to keep him in mind for your next Core Four.

 

Update, June 9, 2018: Bera came first in the top-two primary held on June 5, earning almost 52 percent of the vote. We at OTYCD encourage you to support his re-election campaign.

 

Re-elect Dr. Ami Bera to a fourth term as the Congressional representative for California’s 7th District.

 

Bera served as the chief medical officer for Sacramento County and as a clinical professor of medicine at UC Davis before running for Congress in 2012 and defeating the Republican incumbent, Dan Lungren.

 

Bera has continued to win, but Ballotpedia regards his district as a battleground. All three times Bera has run, the numbers have been close. He got 51.7 percent of the vote to Lungren’s 48.3 percent in 2012. In 2014, Bera won with 50.4 percent of the vote to Republican Doug Ose’s 49.6 percent. And in 2016, Bera claimed victory with 51.2 percent of the vote to Republican Scott Jones’s 48.8 percent.

 

Bera opposes any attempts to weaken Medicare and Social Security. He sits on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, as well as the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

 

He voted against a bill that would criminalize abortion after 20 weeks. He also voted no on Kate’s Law, the GOP tax bill, denying federal funds to sanctuary cities, and a bill that would have undercut the Affordable Care Act.

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page or checking the About & Subscribe page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

See his website:

http://www.beraforcongress.com

 

 

See his “About” page:

http://www.beraforcongress.com/about

 

 

See his “Issues” page:

http://www.beraforcongress.com/issues/overview

 

 

Consider Bera for your Core Four in 2018:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/24/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

Donate to Bera:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/314action_bera?refcode=314website

 

 

Like him on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/BeraForCongress

 

 

Follow him on Twitter:

@BeraforCongress

 

 

Bera is supported by 314 Action. See his 314 Action page:

http://www.314action.org/ami-bera

 

 

See his Ballotpedia page:

https://ballotpedia.org/Ami_Bera

 

 

See the Ballotpedia page on California’s 7th District:

https://ballotpedia.org/California%27s_7th_Congressional_District

Re-elect Democrat Seth Moulton, House Rep for Massachusetts’s 6th District (Mixed Update May 2019)
Candidates · Choose Your Core Four · Elections

Re-elect Democrat Seth Moulton, House Rep for Massachusetts’s 6th District (Mixed Update May 2019)

otycd

Update, May 11, 2019: Moulton successfully defended his seat in November 2018. He’ll be up again in 2020. Maybe consider him for your next Core Four.

 

But! But but but! He was among those who opposed re-electing Nancy Pelosi to the Democratic House leadership after the Dems won the house in the 2018 midterms, and he has since joined the crowded field of Democratic candidates running for president in 2020. Which, ugh. We are oversubscribed. No thank you, sir.

 

Help re-elect Seth Moulton, a Democrat who represents Massachusetts’s 6th District.

 

Moulton was first elected in 2014. He is a graduate of Phillips Andover Academy and Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor’s in physics and an MBA as well as an MPA. Between his undergraduate years and graduate school, he served four tours in Iraq with the U.S Marine Corps.

 

While serving, he earned a Bronze Star as well as Navy and Marine Corps Commendations for his valor. He told no one about these awards, not even his parents. News of his decade-old heroism broke in October 2014, not long before he was first elected.

 

Moulton is a progressive who believes in legalizing marijuana. He supports same-sex marriage, reproductive rights, and better gun laws.

 

 

He also administered a nooice Twitter burn to President Trump over his mid-May 2017 complaints of being the subject of what he called “the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!”

Moulton won the Internet for the day when he countered:

As the Representative of Salem, MA, I can confirm that this is false.

 

 

Moulton won’t face any party competition in the September 4, 2018 primary, but there will be a Republican and a Libertarian running against him. The Cook Political Report rates the Massachusetts 6th District race as Solid Democrat.

 

 

See House Rep Seth Moulton’s homepage:

https://moulton.house.gov

 

 

Choose Seth Moulton for your Core Four:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/24/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

Donate to Moulton’s campaign:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/moultonleadership-web

 

 

Like Moulton on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/RepMoulton/

 

 

Follow him on Twitter:

@sethmoulton

 

 

Moulton is endorsed by 314 Action, an organization devoted to electing more people with STEM backgrounds to office. See his page there:

http://www.314action.org/seth-moulton

 

 

See his Ballotpedia page:

https://ballotpedia.org/Seth_Moulton

 

 

Read about how Moulton downplayed his combat medals rather than making political hay from them:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/10/17/moulton-underplays-military-service/lY9FfmOrviwL2LAFHr61dO/story.html

https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2014/10/18/mass-congressional-hopeful-seth-moulton-kept-his-military-awards-a-secret

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/reporter-exposes-candidates-secret-valor-345543235726

 

 

GOOD UPDATE! Katie Porter BEAT Republican Mimi Waters for the House Seat in California’s 45th District
Candidates · Choose Your Core Four · Fighting Bigotry, Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Transphobia... · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends

GOOD UPDATE! Katie Porter BEAT Republican Mimi Waters for the House Seat in California’s 45th District

otycd1 Comment

Update, March 24, 2019: YES YES YES! Democrat Katie Porter defeated Republican incumbent Mimi Waters with 52.1 percent of the vote to Waters’s 47.9 percent.

 

Porter, a protege of Elizabeth Warren, quickly proved herself a worthy new member of Congress when she expertly exposed the ridiculous position of Equifax with a devastating quiz of its CEO, which you can see here:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90312551/watch-a-congresswoman-destroy-equifax-ceo-mark-begor-in-an-epic-privacy-burn

 

If you have money to give, please consider adding Porter to your 2020 Core Four. As a House of Representatives member, she runs for re-election every two years.

 

Original text of the 2018 post follows.

 

Support Democrat Katie Porter’s run to unseat California House Republican Mimi Walters.

 

To flip the House of Representatives to Democratic control, the party needs to pick up at least 24 seats. Those who know say that the Democrats need to gain at least a third of those 24 in California.

 

Katie Porter has a harder road to walk than, say, Harley Rouda or Gil Cisneros. Unlike those two, whose California Congressional districts the Cook Political Report rates as Toss-ups, the 45th district carries a Lean Republican tag.

 

Republican Mimi Walters, first elected in 2014, has fallen in behind Trump and has consistently voted for bills he likes. That should rankle those in her district, who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016.

 

Porter is a professor at University of California, Irvine and a protege of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. She specializes in fighting home mortgage lenders who mistreat their clients. When Kamala Harris was still the state’s attorney general, she chose Porter to monitor a $25 billion mortgage settlement on behalf of California.

 

Porter has an opening, but she’ll need support to make this happen. Have a look at the links below and see if she’s the right candidate for you.

 

 

See Porter’s campaign website:

https://katieporter.com

 

 

See her Issues page:

https://katieporter.com/issues

 

 

See her Endorsements page:

https://katieporter.com/endorsements

 

 

Choose Porter for your Core Four:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/04/08/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

Donate to Porter’s campaign:

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/kp18?refcode=header_donate

 

 

Like Porter on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/katieporteroc

 

 

Follow her on Twitter:

@katieporteroc

 

 

Read additional articles about Porter that predate the June 5, 2018 primary:

https://www.ocregister.com/2017/04/03/all-the-facts-on-katie-porter-challenger-to-rep-mimi-walterss-re-election-bid/

http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article142177884.html

GOOD UPDATE! Support Conor Lamb’s Run for a Pennsylvania House Seat in a March 2018 Special Election (Another Good Update March 2019)
Candidates · Choose Your Core Four · Elections

GOOD UPDATE! Support Conor Lamb’s Run for a Pennsylvania House Seat in a March 2018 Special Election (Another Good Update March 2019)

otycd2 Comments

Update, March 24, 2019: Lamb was up for re-election with the newly redrawn state of Pennsylvania electoral map in 2018. He ran in the 17th District, against fellow incumbent Republican Keith Loftus. Lamb defeated him with 56.3 percent of the vote to Loftus’s 43.7 percent.

 

Lamb is due up again in 2020. Please consider him for your next Core Four.

 

This OTYCD entry originally posted in January 2018.

 

Update March 24, 2018: This was a nail-biter. Lamb had a slight but clear lead of 627 votes by the end of the night on March 13, 2018–a margin that was smaller than half a percentage point, and smaller than the number of votes cast for the Libertarian candidate. A recount begun on Friday, March 16 increased Lamb’s lead slightly, nudging it past 800 votes.

 

Republican opponent Rick Saccone called Lamb to concede the election on March 21. Lamb will lead Pennsylvania’s 18th District until November, when new electoral maps, designed to combat the effects of pro-Republican gerrymandering, go into effect. Lamb will run in the 17th District, and Saccone will run in the 14th District.

 

Read a Washington Post story about the conclusion of the Pennsylvania special election:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/03/21/republican-rick-saccone-concedes-defeat-to-conor-lamb-in-pennsylvania-special-election/?utm_term=.fab09594cdc3

 

Original text of the post follows:

 

Support Democrat Conor Lamb’s run for the open house seat in Pennsylvania’s 18th district. The special election takes place on March 13, 2018.

 

Lamb, 33, is a former federal prosecutor who did notable work tackling the opioid crisis in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is also a veteran of the Marine corps, where he rose to the rank of captain. He comes from a political family; his grandfather and his uncle prominently served in high-profile state posts.

 

Lamb is facing Republican state rep Rick Saccone, who likes to say that he “was Trump before Trump was Trump.” Lamb has never held elected office, and PA-18 has a strong Republican reputation. Given the overperformances by Democrats in special elections and state and local elections since Trump was elected, the Democrats believe that Lamb has a decent shot at the House seat.

 

Republican Tim Murphy vacated the seat in October 2017 after news broke that the pro-life Congressman had evidently urged a pregnant mistress to abort. He had held the Congressional seat since 2003.

 

 

See Lamb’s campaign website (scroll down for his bio):

https://conorlamb.com

 

 

Consider Lamb for your Core Four for 2018 (if he wins the special election, he’ll be up for re-election in November 2018; if he loses in March, he could choose to run again):

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/24/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

Donate to Conor Lamb:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/lamb-for-congress-1

 

 

Like him on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ConorLambPA/

 

 

Follow him on Twitter:

@ConorLambPA

 

 

See Ballotpedia’s page on Pennsylvania’s 18th District:

https://ballotpedia.org/Pennsylvania%27s_18th_Congressional_District_special_election,_2018

 

 

Read about the Democrats choosing Lamb for the special election (there were no primaries in this case):

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-local/2017/11/19/Conor-Lamb-Democrats-pick-replace-Tim-Murphy-18th-Congressional-district/stories/201711190199

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/11/19/democrats-pick-former-federal-prosecutor-for-special-congressional-election-in-pennsylvania/?utm_term=.a8c9eb22c663

 

 

Read a Politico story about how the Lamb-Saccone contest could be a bellwether for the 2018 midterms:

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/23/republicans-brace-for-competitive-pennsylvania-house-race-316206

 

 

Read about the circumstances of Murphy’s retirement from Congress:

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/04/tim-murphy-abortion-mistress-243456

GOOD NEWS! Democrat Chrissy Houlahan WON the Race for Pennsylvania’s 6th District in 2018
Candidates · Choose Your Core Four · Elections

GOOD NEWS! Democrat Chrissy Houlahan WON the Race for Pennsylvania’s 6th District in 2018

otycd2 Comments

Update, March 24, 2018: Houlahan won the Pennsylvania 6th District seat on November 6, 2018, defeating Republican Greg McCauley with 58.9 percent of the vote to his 41.1 percent of the vote. Please consider her for your 2020 Core Four.

 

Update, May 26, 2018: Houlahan ran unopposed in the May 15 primary and will meet Republican Greg McCauley in the general election on November 6.

 

Support Chrissy Houlahan, a Democratic candidate for a house seat in Pennsylvania’s 6th District in 2018.

 

Houlahan is an Air Force veteran who earned her Stanford engineering degree by participating in ROTC. She later earned an M.S. in technology and policy from MIT. She’s been a COO for businesses as well as a nonprofit. She taught chemistry in Philadelphia. She’s the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and a naval officer, and the mother of two grown children. She was moved to run by the outcome of the November 2016 presidential election.

 

She believes health care, public safety, and public education are all basic rights, and she would legislate accordingly. She wants campaign finance reform. She’d fight climate change and attacks on scientific facts as well.

 

Houlahan is endorsed by 314 Action, a nonprofit that is devoted to promoting a pro-science agenda on all levels of government, and electing more candidates with STEM backgrounds to office. She’s also endorsed by Emily’s List, VoteVets.org, and End Citizens United, among others. She is committed to defending Planned Parenthood and would resist attempts to undermine Roe v Wade. She supports getting veterans what they need to transition to civilian life and treat their injuries.

 

The Democratic primary takes place on May 15, 2018. Two other Democrats are running against her. If Houlahan wins the primary, she would face Republican Ryan Costello, who is in his second term as a house rep.

 

Update March 25, 2018: Costello announced that he would retire from Congress. The candidate filing deadline passed on March 20, so it looks like Houlahan will face Republican Greg McCauley. The two other Democrats have since dropped out, so Houlahan will be the sole candidate on the primary ballot in May.

 

In 2016, Ballotpedia considered Pennsylvania’s 6th district race safely Republican. Costello won 57.2 percent of the vote to his Democratic challenger’s 42.8 percent.

 

 

Visit Chrissy Houlahan’s campaign website:

https://www.chrissyhoulahanforcongress.com

 

 

See her Priorities page:

https://www.chrissyhoulahanforcongress.com/priorities-2/

 

 

*Consider her for your Core Four for 2018:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/24/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

Donate to Houlahan’s campaign:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/314action_houlahan?refcode=314website

 

 

Like her on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/HoulahanForPA/

 

 

Follow her on Twitter:

@HoulahanForPA

 

 

Visit the Mission page for 314 Action:

http://www.314action.org/mission-1

 

 

Follow 314 Action on Twitter:

@314Action

 

 

Like 314 Action on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/314Action/

 

 

Read pieces about Houlahan and her campaign:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/congressional/key-womens-group-backs-dem-congressional-challenger-houlahan-20170612.html

http://www.dailylocal.com/article/DL/20170411/NEWS/170419965

 

 

Read Ballotpedia’s page on Pennsylvania’s 6th District:

https://ballotpedia.org/Pennsylvania%27s_6th_Congressional_District

 

 

*Sarah Jane Smith, lead writer and editor at OTYCD, chose Houlahan for her Core Four.

Support Democrat Mike Levin, Who’s Running for Darrell Issa’s House Seat in California’s 49th District (GOOD UPDATE March 2019)
Elections

Support Democrat Mike Levin, Who’s Running for Darrell Issa’s House Seat in California’s 49th District (GOOD UPDATE March 2019)

otycd1 Comment

Update March 24, 2019: YES YES YES! Democrat Mike Levin won the seat vacated by Darrell Issa in California’s 49th District. He defeated Republican challenger Diane Harkey  by getting 56.4 percent of the vote to her 43.6 percent.

 

Because he’s a member of the House of Representatives, Levin will be up for re-election in 2020. Please consider him for your next Core Four.

 

Update, June 9, 2018: Congratulations to Mike Levin, who placed second in the top-two primary held on June 5 in California’s 49th District! Please support his campaign so that Democrats can win this House seat in the fall.

 

Support Mike Levin, a Democrat who’s running against incumbent Republican Darrell Issa for the House of Representatives seat in California’s 49th District. 

 

Darrell Issa was long considered vulnerable to defeat in 2018. He won reelection in 2016 by just one point. Nate Cohn, writing for The Upshot in the New York Times, deemed him “probably the nation’s most vulnerable incumbent.”

 

Issa, evidently seeing the writing on the wall, announced on January 10, 2018, that he would not run for a tenth term.

 

Mike Levin, a California lawyer and a married father of two, entered the race before Issa retired. He’s a democrat who embraces sustainable energy and has long experience with it, having co-founded Sustain OC (Orange County) and serving on the board of the San Diego-based Center for Sustainable Energy.

 

Levin also supports campaign finance reform, defends public education, and wants to increase funding for the National Institutes of Health. He favors shoring up the ACA with an eye toward shifting to Medicare for all in the future. He is pro-choice and pro-LGBT rights.

 

Issa’s departure invited a scrum of candidates to sign up for the June 5, 2018 primary. Remember also that California uses a top two primary system, which means the top two vote-getters proceed to the general.

 

As of late May, 2018, there were three other Democrats in the race, as well as eight Republicans, representatives from three other parties, and someone who bills himself as ‘nonpartisan’. The Cook Political Report rates California’s 49th Congressional District as Lean Democrat.

 

 

See Levin’s website:

http://mikelevin.org

 

 

See his ‘Priorities’ page and his ‘About’ page:

http://mikelevin.org/priorities/

http://mikelevin.org/about/

 

 

Consider Levin for your Core Four for 2018:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/24/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the blue button on the upper right or checking the About & Subscribe page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

Donate to Levin’s campaign:

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/mikelevin

 

 

Follow Levin on Twitter:

@MikeLevinCA

 

 

Read about House races where Republicans are regarded as vulnerable:

 

Read about how Issa and his Republican House colleague Dana Rohrabacher are already being targeted by ambitious Democratic challengers:

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/04/17/congressional-challengers-in-o-c-already-raising-big-money/

 

 

GOOD UPDATE! Gil Cisneros WON His Race for the House Seat in California’s 39th District
Candidates · Choose Your Core Four · Elections · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends · Vote with your Dollars

GOOD UPDATE! Gil Cisneros WON His Race for the House Seat in California’s 39th District

otycd1 Comment

Update March 24, 2019: YES YES YES! Democrat Gil Cisneros defeated Republican Young Kim for the House seat vacated by Republican Ed Royce. Cisneros pulled in 51.6 percent of the vote to Kim’s 48.4 percent.

 

Cisneros faces re-election in 2020. Please consider him for your next Core Four.

 

Original text of the post follows.

 

Support Democrat Gil Cisneros, who’s running for the House of Representatives seat in California’s 39th District that Republican Ed Royce is leaving.

 

To flip the House of Representatives to Democratic control, the party needs to win at least 24 seats in the fall elections that are currently Republican.

 

California offers many opportunities for Democratic pickups–at least eight. The 39th District is one of them. Ed Royce, a particularly noxious Republican who held the Orange County seat for the last 26 years has announced he would retire.

 

Cisneros came second in a very crowded June 5 primary. California uses a top-two system where the two candidates who get the most votes advance to the general, no matter what party they’re from. He beat 15 other candidates to earn the right to compete.

 

The only person who got more votes than him, the Royce-endorsed Young Kim, drew almost 22 percent of the vote to Cisneros’s 19.3 percent.

 

The California 39th seat is gettable. The Cook Political Report rates it as a Toss-up.

 

Please learn about Cisneros and see if he is someone you can support.

 

 

See Cisneros’s campaign site:

https://cisnerosforcongress.com

 

 

See his Meet Gil page:

https://cisnerosforcongress.com/meet-gil/

 

 

See his Issues page, which includes sections on health care for all, getting corporate money out of politics, and holding President Trump accountable:

https://cisnerosforcongress.com/gilsplan/

 

 

Donate to Cisneros’s campaign:

https://secure.ngpvan.com/cS9iYUBauE2-Znc9wKbzkA2

 

 

Choose Cisneros for your Core Four:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/04/08/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

Like him on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/GilCisnerosCA/

 

 

Follow him on Twitter:

@GilCisnerosCA

 

 

Read a July 2017 Los Angeles Times piece about Cisneros’s entry into the race, in which he mentions that he left the Republican Party in 2008 because he didn’t like the direction in which the party was going:

http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-ed-royce-challenger-gil-1500080377-htmlstory.html

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

Read stories about Ed Royce’s retirement from Congress:

http://www.anaheimblog.net/2018/01/10/veteran-rep-ed-royce-wont-run-for-re-election/

https://www.ocregister.com/2018/01/08/ed-royce-longtime-o-c-congressman-plans-to-retire/

 

GOOD UPDATE! Harley Rouda Beat 15-Term (!) Republican Incumbent Dana Rohrbacher for a House Seat in California’s 48th District
Candidates · Choose Your Core Four · Elections · Russian Scandal, Emoluments Clause · Stand Up for Civilization · Stand Up for Norms · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends · Vote with your Dollars

GOOD UPDATE! Harley Rouda Beat 15-Term (!) Republican Incumbent Dana Rohrbacher for a House Seat in California’s 48th District

otycd

Update, March 24, 2018: YES YES YES! Democrat Harley Rouda beat 15-term Republican incumbent and creepy Vladimir Putin fan Dana Rohrabacher for the House of Representatives seat in California’s 48th District.

 

As a member of the House, Rouda will be up for re-election in 2020. Please consider including him in your 2020 Core Four.

 

Original text of the 2018 post on Rouda’s campaign follows.

 

Support Democrat Harley Rouda’s campaign to win the House of Representatives seat in California’s 48th Congressional District and unseat Republican Dana Rohrabacher.

 

It was inevitable that the 2018 race in California’s 48th would command attention. Republican incumbent Dana Rohrabacher has held the seat since 1988 (that’s not a typo, you read that right, he’s been there almost 30 years) and he is widely seen as being in the pocket of Vladimir Putin and Russia.

 

This goes beyond an affinity for blinis and borscht.

 

In 2012, the FBI warned Rohrabacher that the Kremlin regards him as being so Russia-friendly that they gave him a code name:

 

 

In October 2017, news broke that House Republican leaders restricted his ability to use Congressional funds on travel because of his closeness to Russia:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-leaders-refusing-to-pay-for-dana-rohrabachers-travel-over-russia-fears

 

 

A June 2016 recording, which was subsequently heard and confirmed by Washington Post reporters, captured House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy stating, “There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump.” House Speaker Paul Ryan reportedly stopped the conversation and swore everyone listening to secrecy.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-mccarthy-ryan-trump-putin-20170517-story.html

 

 

Politico wrote a November 23, 2016 story on Rohrabacher that bluntly calls him “Putin’s Favorite Congressman”:

https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/putin-congress-rohrabacher-trump-231775

 

 

There’s enough there there that Special Counsel Robert Mueller was reportedly scrutinizing Rohrabacher as of November 2017:

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/11/robert-mueller-dana-rohrabacher-russia-investigation

 

 

The good news is Rohrabacher’s entanglements with Russia have put his House seat in danger. Here are two stories on that theme, both from April 2018:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/everyone-is-painting-gop-congressman-dana-rohrabacher-as-putins-puppet

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-rohrabacher-gop-20180405-story.html

 

 

The Cook Political Report shows the trouble the Republican incumbent is in. It rates his seat as a Toss-up.

 

Democrats need to gain at least 24 seats in the House of Representatives to take control of the chamber. Those who know say that eight of those 24 could flip in California. The 48th is one of those eight.

 

After a ferociously fought June 5, 2018 top-two primary that included eight Democrats among 15 challengers for Rohrabacher’s seat, Harley Rouda took second place by 126 votes. (Thanks again for your efforts, Hans Keirstead.)

 

This seat is eminently gettable, and Rouda is raring to get it. Please look at the links below and see if you can support him. Rouda promises to be tougher on Russia than Rohrabacher is, but to be fair, it’s mathematically impossible not to be tougher on Russia than Rohrabacher is.

 

 

See Rouda’s campaign website:

https://harleyforcongress.com

 

 

See his About page:

https://harleyforcongress.com/about-harley/

 

 

See his Issues page:

https://harleyforcongress.com/issues/

 

 

 

Choose Rouda for your Core Four:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/04/08/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

Donate to Rouda’s campaign:

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/rouda?refcode=www

 

 

Volunteer for Rouda:

https://harleyforcongress.com/volunteer/

 

 

Like him on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/HarleyforCongress/posts/

 

 

Follow him on Twitter:

@HarleyRouda

Support Democrat J.D. Scholten’s Bid to Unseat Noxious Iowa House Rep Steve King
Candidates · Choose Your Core Four · Elections · Fighting Bigotry, Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Transphobia... · Stand Up for Civilization · Stand Up for Norms · Support Immigrants and Refugees

Support Democrat J.D. Scholten’s Bid to Unseat Noxious Iowa House Rep Steve King

otycd

Support Democrat J.D. Scholten’s bid to unseat noxious Iowa House Rep Steve King.

 

In the age of Trump, Republican incumbents in garnet-red parts of America are finally drawing Democratic challengers. Steve King leads that list. He’s represented Iowa’s 4th District since 2002, and he’s running again in 2018.

 

He is also a racist. He has enough self-awareness to avoid tweeting slurs or saying them when microphones are live and cameras are rolling, but there’s no doubt–the man is a racist.

 

In a 2013 interview with the right-wing news and opinion website NewsMax, and evidently in the context of discussing legislative protections for people who came to the U.S. as undocumented children, he said:

For every one who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert. (Cite is below.)

https://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/24/no-comment-necessary-drug-mules/

 

 

In 2017, King tweeted praise for a far-right Dutch politician and said, ‘We can’t restore civilization with someone else’s babies.’ (Cite is below.)

 

Most recently, King was revealed as the source of false information that Donald Trump mentioned in a June 22, 2018 event where he tried to smear all undocumented people. Trump claimed that since September 11, 2001, 63,000 Americans had died at the hands of who he called “illegal aliens.”

 

Snopes and the Washington Post traced the claim to a mid-2000s blog post by King, and both laid out evidence that debunked it:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/06/22/the-original-source-for-trumps-claim-of-63000-immigrant-murders-bad-data-from-steve-king-in-2005/?utm_term=.fa80bc5ed3e4

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/have-undocumented-killed-63000-us-9-11/

 

Where does J.D. Scholten come in, you may ask? He’s stepped up to run against King as a Democrat.

 

 

Scholten is a fifth-generation Iowan, a former professional baseball player, a current litigation paralegal, and a first-time candidate for office. He works Twitter well, and he has the support of the student activists from Parkland, Florida, who got behind him after King’s campaign shared a Facebook meme that mocked Emma Gonzales, a prominent member of the Parkland group.

Read an April 2018 Slate story about how the Parkland activists came to champion Scholten:

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/04/can-parkland-activists-help-democrat-j-d-scholten-defeat-iowa-rep-steve-king.html

 

 

But let’s be clear-eyed here. Of all the Democratic candidates for office who OTYCD has featured to date, Scholten might have the toughest climb. King fought off a Republican  challenger in the June 5 primary with ease, beating her 3-to-1. The Cook Political report rates Iowa’s 4th as Solid Republican.

 

King is the longtime incumbent and he’s won re-election after saying toe-curlingly awful things before. It seems that a fair number of Iowans shrug and vote for him (and there are some who grin and vote for him, don’t be fooled). And registered Republican voters significantly outnumber registered Democratic voters in Iowa’s 4th.

 

But as they say, you can’t win if you don’t play. Scholten is suited up and ready to go. Have a look at his campaign site and the links below and consider supporting him.

 

 

See Scholten’s website:

https://www.scholten4iowa.com

 

 

See his Meet JD page:

https://www.scholten4iowa.com/Meet-Jd

 

 

See his Endorsements page:

https://www.scholten4iowa.com/endorsements

 

 

Read a May 31, 2018 Op-Ed in the Sioux City Journal in which Scholten explains why Iowans should vote for him:

https://siouxcityjournal.com/opinion/columnists/j-d-scholten-here-s-why-you-should-vote-for/article_5162d965-a0a2-539a-b3ec-e6971f2fe9c5.html

 

 

Choose Scholten for your Core Four:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/04/08/choose-your-core-four-for-2018/

 

 

Donate to Scholten’s campaign:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/scholtenhome

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!

 

 

Like him on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Scholten4Iowa/

 

 

Follow him on Twitter:

@Scholten4Iowa

 

 

Read stories, both from 2017, about why Steve King’s political career doesn’t seem to suffer when he says racist things:

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/why-steve-king-keeps-winning-214913

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/steve-king-nearer-the-throne/519336/

 

 

Read a March 2017 Vox piece about King’s history of saying racist things:

https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/3/13/14908184/steve-king-racist

 

 

 

Call Your Senators to Oppose SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Oct 6 Update
Action Alerts · Call Your Senators · Community Activism · Marches and Protests · Postcard Campaigns · Stand Up for Civilization · Stand Up for Norms · Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) · Use Your Power, Recruit Friends

Call Your Senators to Oppose SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Oct 6 Update

otycd

Update from Sarah Jane, Oct 6: The Senate invoked cloture early yesterday. The move closed debate on Kavanaugh’s nomination and started a 30-hour clock leading to the final floor vote.

 

Lisa Murkowski delivered a surprise when she voted no on cloture, which also signaled her intention to vote no on the nomination.

 

Unfortunately, the other three Senators who had been undecided–Jeff Flake, Joe Manchin, and Susan Collins–voted for cloture and stated they would vote yes.

 

I won’t rehash their rationales. I will only remind you that today is the last day to call and oppose Kavanaugh.

 

Yes, you can still do that, provided the vote hasn’t been held when you read this. The Senators can change their minds right up until they formally enter their choices.

 

Odds are too many of them will do the wrong thing. You can still thank those who will do the right thing and make it difficult (politely! Always politely!) for those who will do the wrong thing.

 

Scroll down for calling scripts, which come courtesy of Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter).

 

Another way to fight is to join an anti-Kavanaugh #NoJusticeNoSeat protest. Several are planned for today across the country. See this link to find one near you:

https://act.weareultraviolet.org/event/no-justice-no-seat_attend/search/?akid=s691842..oEaapt

If you can’t attend, watch and boost the #NoJusticeNoSeat hashtag.

 

Continue to check the feeds of Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter) and Ben Wikler (@BenWikler) for news on the vote and on protests, respectively.

 

Taking some time away is perfectly legit. This Kavanaugh madness has been long and tiring. If you need my dispensation to get extra rest, you have it. Just please come back. You’ve got to stay here and carry on the fight.

 

Still another good way to direct your energy is to pour it into the campaign of a worthy Democrat or two. You’re familiar with our Core Four strategy, yes? If not, learn about it here:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/08/17/choose-your-core-four-for-2018-2/

 

Then get to work. Choose two Democrats per chamber, one incumbent and one challenger for each. Work to make sure Democrats take the House of Representatives and do what you can to help Democrats win control of the Senate (this is a longer shot but it’s not impossible).

 

The Senate is the tougher get. The map favors Republicans. If the Democrats hold all their Senate seats and gain two, they’ll win control.

 

The Road to 2018 showcases incumbent Senate Democrats (and one Independent, Angus King of Maine) who are perceived as vulnerable.

Site is here: https://www.roadto2018.com

The Road to 2018 is one of Celeste Pewter’s projects. She encourages you to adopt a Senator by supporting him or her however you can–donating, phone-banking, canvassing, spreading the word.

 

The most endangered among those shown on the page include Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, who bravely came out against Kavanaugh the day before the cloture vote; Bill Nelson of Florida, who is in a tough battle with Republican Governor Rick Scott for the seat; and Claire McCaskill of Missouri.

 

Several strong Democratic challengers are aiming to push Republican Senate incumbents out of their seats. They include:

Beto O’Rourke, who aims to unseat Ted Cruz in Texas

Kyrsten Sinema, who’s seeking the Arizona seat that Jeff Flake is vacating

Jacky Rosen, who wants to push out Nevada Republican Dean Heller

 

Once you settle on a few candidates to boost, go to ActBlue and donate, then visit their websites and see what other sorts of help they need.

 

Here are links to several past OTYCD stories on Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives. Most are challengers. This is far from a comprehensive list, and probably doesn’t include everyone we’ve written about who advanced to the general; this is just to give you ideas.

 

Katie Porter, California’s 45th District, where she faces Republican Mimi Walters:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/08/25/support-katie-porters-run-to-unseat-california-house-republican-mimi-walters/

 

Amy McGrath, running in Kentucky’s 6th District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/08/20/support-democrat-amy-mcgraths-run-for-a-house-seat-in-kentucky-s-6th-district/

 

Gil Cisneros, running for the open seat in California’s 39th District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/08/22/support-democrat-gil-cisneross-campaign-for-ed-royces-old-california-house-seat/

 

Andrew Janz, who is running against Dana Rohrbacher in California’s 22nd District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/06/09/keep-an-eye-on-andrew-janz-whos-running-for-devin-nuness-house-seat/

 

Maxine Waters, who needs no introduction:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/06/09/support-democrat-maxine-waters-for-re-election-to-a-house-seat-in-californias-43rd-congressional-district/

 

Mike Levin, who is running for the open seat in California’s 49th District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/06/09/keep-an-eye-on-mike-levin-who-is-aiming-to-push-california-republican-darrell-issa-out-of-his-house-seat/

 

Jana Lynne Sanchez, who is running in Texas’s 6th District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/05/26/keep-an-eye-on-jana-lynne-sanchez-who-is-running-for-a-texas-house-seat-in-2018/

 

Chrissy Houlihan, who is running in Pennsylvania’s 6th District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/05/26/support-chrissy-houlahan-democratic-candidate-for-a-pennsylvania-house-seat-in-2018/

 

Joseph Kopser, who is running for a seat in Texas’s 21st District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/05/26/support-democrat-joseph-kopser-who-is-challenging-republican-lamar-smith-for-his-texas-house-seat/

 

Adrienne Bell, who is running in Texas’s 14th District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/05/26/support-adrienne-bells-run-for-the-house-seat-in-texass-14th-district/

 

Conor Lamb, who is running for a corresponding Pennsylvania seat now that the state has redrawn its maps to be less gerrymandered:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/05/18/support-conor-lambs-run-for-a-pennsylvania-house-seat-in-a-march-2018-special-election/

 

Randy Bryce, aka Ironstache, who is running for the seat that Paul Ryan is leaving in Wisconsin’s 1st District:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/04/08/support-randy-bryces-bid-to-unseat-house-rep-paul-ryan-in-wisconsin/

 

Same again here as with the Senators. Once you’ve made your picks, donate through ActBlue and contact their campaigns to see how you can help.

 

If you’re a regular OTYCD reader, it’s unlikely that Postcards to Voters is new to you. But! Tony the Democrat says that they’d need to recruit a few thousand more writers before they could consider assisting Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota.

This is not to imply Tony has a Heitkamp campaign lined up, or even under discussion; he simply said the postcarder army would have to add many more recruits before they could give her the help she’d need to get out the vote across the entire state.

So! How about recruiting new writers to the Postcards to Voters cause? Here’s the FAQ page for Postcards to Voters. Get fluent in these answers, and start convincing others to sign on.

https://postcardstovoters.org/faq/

 

Now, the calling scripts from Celeste Pewter (@Celeste_Pewter). Scroll past them to learn how to show your appreciation for her outstanding work.

 

For Dem Senators who are firm no votes [don’t forget to thank them]:

 

Script for bullheaded GOP Senators who are tilting toward yes:

 

 

Script for Joe Manchin (only call if you live in West Virginia):

Script for Susan Collins (only call if you live in Maine):

Script for Lisa Murkowski (only call if you live in Alaska):
Script for Jeff Flake (only call if you live in Arizona):

Script for all Senators (but only if you live in their home states, please):

Lastly, here are general tips for leaving a voicemail message:

You can show love for Celeste Pewter in many ways.

 

You can follow her on Twitter: @Celeste_Pewter

 

You can tweet about calling your Senators, using the #ICalledMyReps hashtag.

 

You can follow @ICalledMyReps on Twitter.

 

You can adopt a vulnerable incumbent Democratic Senator by checking out The Road to 2018, an organization Pewter created. Read about it here:

 

https://onethingyoucando.com/2018/08/08/support-the-road-to-2018-which-defends-democratic-senators-2/

 

You can follow The Road to 2018 on Twitter: @Roadto18

 

And you can subscribe to her peerless newsletter, It’s Time to Fight:

http://itstimetofight.weebly.com

 

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!