Listen to Rev and Call Hoyer. Then Call Rev and Tell Him to Run for Congress in Hoyer's district!

By Dave Lindorff

All the attention in the breaking story about John McCain's 2000 relationship with a blonde young telecom lobbyist has been focussed on the question of whether or not they were "doing it."

As George Stephanopoulos claimed on ABC, the importance of the story depends upon whether McCain is shown to have had a "relationship" with the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman.

But really, who cares whether they were shacking up on the campaign trail? McCain, after all, already double-timed his starter wife and dumped her for a trophy wife, the statuesque and wealthy beer industry heiress Cindy Hensley, so it's not as though he is campaigning on a strong pro-family platform.

In 2006, we were lucky that voters held Republicans accountable for Iraq and corruption.   Luck is not the only thing on our side this time. While Republicans usually out-raise us in campaign funding, this election cycle we Democrats have sensed opportunity and reversed the relation.  However, if we are to begin winning elections not by chance but because of our ability to consistently out-fundraise Republicans, we must first understand why, aside from rare, anomalous, instances, Republicans routinely raise more cash than we do.  Upon analysis, the answer becomes glaringly obvious.  

ABC News reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi selected El Pasoan Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) as the next chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, the committee on which he has served for the past six years. Prior to his election to the House in 1996, Representative Reyes was a border patrol agent for more than 26 years.

But it isn't Representative Reyes' border patrol experience, or his service in the military during Vietnam, his vote against the Iraq war, or his experience on House Select Intelligence and Veterans Affairs Committees that makes his selection so intriguing. After all, Reyes was instrumental in leading opposition to the WI Republican Jim Sensenbrenner's House immigration proposal and is credited with keeping Fort Bliss and White Sands military bases open, as well as previously chairing the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Representative Reyes has been a strong critic of the administration's border security failings. "The Republican House leadership spent the entire month of August holding media events and hearings on the border, and the message from those who work on the border every day is that we don’t need 700 miles of new fence. We need a comprehensive plan that addresses the three main priorities of the Border Patrol: manpower, technology, and infrastructure. After six years of controlling the White House, the Senate, and the House, their ‘signature achievement’ on border security is a 700 mile fence along a 2,000 mile border. This fence doesn’t come close to solving our problem."

Dear Friends and Activists,

We all worked enormously hard this election for the most progressive candidates we could find, and we had a couple winners. In addition, Ciro Rodriguez is in an upcoming runoff in TX-23 with very excellent prospects. In truth we probably had even more winners but for the election shenanigans we knew would be a handicap and which certainly took place. But the good news is that in spite of them, and thanks to your valiant participation, the people have regained both the House and the Senate. This at least allows us the power and opportunity to fight another day, and it is critically important that we continue to speak out in ever increasing numbers now that we have majorities who are more likely to influenced.

In the meantime, we have put a lot of thought into the next major strategic move. There will be bills in Congress to attempt real election reform, but there is no assurance that anything of substantive impact can survive a veto, assuming we can even pressure its passage. Therefore, we propose opening up a collateral front by putting together as many state ballot initiative campaigns as possible where laws can be passed directly on to the books. What we have in mind are two separate propositions in each such state, with the idea that there is synergy in collecting signatures for two related initiatives at the same time.

1) A paper ballot initiative of some kind

2) A clean money campaign financing measure

PAPER BALLOT REFERENDUM: http://www.usalone.com/paper_ballots.php

Our friends at Think Progress report that the House of Representatives just passed by a vote of 217-213 the conservative version of a reform bill that the Washington Post called a “sham,” “diluted snake oil” and “an insult to voters.”

Missing from this legislative act of smoke and mirrors were things such as restrictions on lavish gifts and free trips from lobbyists and any increase in transparency on donations made by those trying to curry favor with people in Congress.