Wash Post: “Democratic Victory May Be a Bellwether”

Posted by Brandon English
May 14, 2008

From the front page of today's Washington Post:

Democratic Victory May Be a Bellwether

A Democrat won the race for a GOP-held congressional seat in northern Mississippi yesterday, leaving the once-dominant House Republicans reeling from their third special-election defeat of the spring.

Travis Childers, a conservative Democrat who serves as Prentiss County chancery clerk, defeated Southaven Mayor Greg Davis by 54 percent to 46 percent in the race to represent Mississippi's 1st Congressional District, which both parties considered a potential bellwether for the fall elections.

Democrats said the results prove that they are poised for another round of big gains in the November general elections, and they attacked the Republican strategy of tying Democrats to Sen. Barack Obama, the front-runner for the party's presidential nomination, saying it had failed for a second time in 10 days in the Deep South. Democrat Don Cazayoux won the special election for a GOP-held House seat in Louisiana on May 3.

"No one could have imagined the tsunami that just crashed on Republicans in Mississippi," Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in an interview after the victory. "There is no district that is safe for Republican candidates."

House Democrats now hold a 236 to 199 majority, up from 203 seats they controlled two years ago.

Read the rest of this story ...

MS-01: DEMOCRAT TRAVIS CHILDERS WINS

Posted by Brandon English
May 14, 2008

IL-11: Ozinga Ordered to Appear in Court After His Affidavit Contradicted by 5 Witnesses

Posted by Brandon English
May 12, 2008

This past Friday, political insider and concrete mogul Martin Ozinga III unsuccessfully attempted to get out of a deposition involving his concrete empire, which is suing to force an 83-year old farmer to sell his family farm. After Ozinga's statement under oath was contradicted by five witnesses, Ozinga was ordered by the Court Friday to give a deposition which is scheduled for later this month.

"Concrete mogul Martin Ozinga III is the consummate political insider who has made a career of gaming the system and engaging in the pay to play politics that Illinois struggling middle class families have grown to resent," said Ryan Rudominer,  Midwest regional press secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.  "Ozinga needs to immediately come forward and finally tell the truth about the growing number of ethical and legal questions raised by his inside deals  -- this latest report of him possibly lying under oath is no exception." 

Background 

• According to news accounts, "After hearing five people had directly contradicted statements Ozinga made in a sworn affidavit, Circuit Judge John Barra denied his lawyer's request to block the deposition and ordered it to go forward later this month." [The Peoria Journal Star, 5/12/08] 

• Concrete mogul and consummate political insider Martin Ozinga IIIsaid that pay to play has, "been an interesting experience of ours." [The South Town Star, 5/1/08]

• Ozinga's concrete firm Ozinga Bros. was the focus of a 2005 Chicago Tribune investigation that documented how his company created a sham business to exploit a City of Chicago affirmative-action program, made thousands in political contributions, and won lucrative contracts. [The Chicago Tribune, 1/27/05]

Childers Sweeps Endorsements of Major MS-01 Papers

Posted by Brandon English
May 12, 2008

Democrat Travis Childers was endorsed yesterday by the Commercial Appeal (Memphis) for tomorrow's Mississippi special election.  Childers has been endorsed by every major newspaper in MS-01, including the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and the The Commercial Dispatch. 

Childers for Mississippi's 1st District [The Commercial Appeal]:

Travis W. Childers is best to speak for the concerns of citizens in Mississippi's 1st Congressional District

May 11, 2008

Voters in Mississippi's 1st Congressional District have two accomplished candidates from which to choose Tuesday in the runoff election to fill the remainder of Roger Wicker's congressional term.

The Commercial Appeal believes Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis W. Childers of Booneville is the best person to complete the U.S. House term, which expires in early January. Childers is opposed by Southaven Mayor Greg Davis, who is serving his third term as head of the fast-growing city in DeSoto County.

Tuesday will be the fourth election since March regarding Wicker's old seat. Childers, a Democrat, and Davis, a Republican, both won primary runoff elections to represent their parties in the November general election. Gov. Haley Barbour called a special nonpartisan election to fill Wicker's unexpired term. Childers and Davis were the top two vote-getters in that election, but neither garnered a majority of the vote, necessitating Tuesday's runoff. The House seat became vacant in December when Barbour appointed Wicker to succeed former U.S. Senator Trent Lott, who resigned before his term ended.

Voters in the 1st District have been without representation in the U.S. House for more than five months. That means they have not had a voice in discussions on some of the nation's pressing issues, such as the mortgage crisis, the war in Iraq, the ballooning national debt and soaring gasoline and food prices. The person who fills the 1st District seat needs to be able to hit the ground running.

Childers, we believe, will be able to do that. The district, which is basically rural in character, stretches across North Mississippi to the Alabama state line. It includes growth juggernaut DeSoto County and cities such as Oxford, Tupelo and Columbus. Farmers in the rural areas have been hit hard by diesel fuel and fertilizer prices. The district's northeast corner has seen the loss of textile and furniture manufacturing jobs.

Childers, who labels himself a conservative Democrat, has stressed the importance of voting against trade deals that cost American jobs. He is a strong supporter of public education, saying it's time for the nation, as a whole, to provide schools with the materials and support they need. That is important in a district where only 65 percent of teens graduate from high school and only 10 percent of the population has a college degree.

As for Iraq, Childers believes it is time to bring the troops home "honorably, safely and soon," while providing them with material support until that happens. He recently told this newspaper's editorial board that it is time to bring the troops home and spend the money we are sending to Iraq on projects in the United States.

Davis has done an admirable job helping Southaven grow smartly and prosperously. Southaven, along with the rest of DeSoto County, has become a model for how economically slumping rural areas can grow.

Over the years, however, this editorial board always has looked favorably at candidates who have shown a degree of political independence. Davis has given no indication that he'll stray far from the Bush administration's stand on important issues, including the war in Iraq. That fact should not be lost on 1st District voters, especially when opinion polls are showing that the majority of citizens believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.

As for the way the race has been conducted, we have to say that both candidates' advertising campaigns have been sorry spectacles. Davis' and the Republican Party's efforts to tie Childers to Barack Obama and Rev. Jeremiah Wright, for example, border on race-baiting. Childers' ads painting Davis as a big spender of taxpayers' money are a stretch.

There are too many important issues affecting the nation and the 1st District for this type of folderol.

Republicans Oppose Mother’s Day—Seriously

Posted by Brandon English
May 09, 2008

Republicans Vote Against Moms; No Word Yet on Puppies, Kittens [Washington Post]:

Now, on the cusp of Mother's Day, comes this: A majority of the House GOP has voted against motherhood.

[...]

Republicans, unhappy with the Democratic majority, have been using such procedural tactics as this all week to bring the House to a standstill, but the assault on mothers may have gone too far.

The DCCC would like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all of the mom's out there -- including the mothers whose children that turned out to be ungrateful Republican politicians.

“Mr. Fossella, resign”

Posted by Brandon English
May 09, 2008

Today's Staten Island Advance calls on on Rep. Vito Fossella (NY-13) to resign.

"Mr. Fossella, resign" [Staten Island Advance -- Editorial]:

When you are forced -- by events, not personal integrity -- to make two public statements within a week apologizing for two separate instances of opprobrious behavior, and tell the truth only grudgingly in the second, your viability as a public official is finished.

You have forfeited the trust of your supporters as well as the right to represent the people of Staten Island in Congress.

It is now time, given all the damning information that has been revealed as the result of an initially shameful, but forgivable, act that he step down immediately.

DCCC Files 3rd FEC Complaint Against Freedom’s Watch

Posted by Brandon English
May 08, 2008

DCCC Press:

The DCCC filed a complaint today with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against Freedom's Watch, a shadowy outside group, for failing to report its spending on television ads it's running against Democratic candidate Travis Childers (MS-01) and ran against Congressman Don Cazayoux (LA-06).

Freedom's Watch is operating as the cash-strapped NRCC's de facto independent expenditure campaign. 

"Clearly, Freedom's Watch thinks they are above the law," said Jennifer Crider, Communications Director at the DCCC.  "Freedom's Watch is trying to hide their spending on attack ads against Travis Childers and that's illegal.  As the NRCC looks to Freedom's Watch to save them, the NRCC, Republican Members, and Republican candidates need to decide whether it's worth it to return to the hay days of Republicans' culture of corruption by being tied to a group that regularly breaks the law." 

This is the third complaint the DCCC has filed with the FEC on the political attack ads that Freedom's Watch is running in the LA-06 and MS-01 special elections: 

• On April 16, 2008, the DCCC filed an FEC complaint against Freedom's Watch and the NRCC for illegal coordination of their attack ads. A script from one of Freedom's Watch's ads contained electronic identifiers linking it to the NRCC. The message, images, and citations in both the Freedom's Watch ad and NRCC ad are nearly identical.

• On April 23, 2008, the DCCC filed an FEC complaint for running a political attack ad that directly and illegally advocates the defeat of a Democratic candidate and also for failing to disclose the names of the donors funding that ad.  

• On April 29, 2008, the DCCC requested the Internal Revenue Service investigate Freedom's Watch.  Freedom's Watch violated its tax exempt status by running political attack ads against Democratic candidate Don Cazayoux in the LA-06 special election, designed to benefit the NRCC and the Republican candidate.  Freedom's Watch meets five of the six criteria the IRS uses to determine that a group is political - not a tax exempt 501(c)(4).

The text of the letter follows:

Read the rest of this story ...

DCCC Names Congressman Don Cazayoux to Frontline Program

Posted by Brandon English
May 07, 2008

You can support newly-elected Democrat Don Cazayoux and the rest of our Frontline Candidates on our ActBlue page.

DCCC Press:

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced today that Congressman Don Cazayoux (LA-06) is the newest Member of Frontline, a program that assists Democratic Members of Congress who are running in the toughest districts around the country.

"Congressman Don Cazayoux is already hard at work as an independent voice for middle class Louisianans concerned about risings gas costs, health care and education," said Chairman Chris Van Hollen, Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "The Frontline Program will give Congressman Cazayoux an added boost so he can continue focusing on the issues his constituents care most about."

The Frontline Program

The Frontline Program is a partnership between the DCCC and Members which lays the ground work for the 2008 cycle by supporting and expanding their fundraising and outreach operations. This competitive program requires members to meet aggressive fundraising goals, accelerate volunteer and recruitment efforts, and increase on-line networking.

Last cycle, the Frontline Program's early success helped make half of the most competitive Democratic seats safe by the fall of 2006, allowing the DCCC to expand its offensive opportunities. Democrats have an outstanding record of defending tough seats with battle tested incumbents and have successfully protected 95 percent of their incumbents since 2002.

DCCC Exec Dir Wolff: “Mississippi”

Posted by Brandon English
May 07, 2008

DCCC Executive Director Brian Wolff sent the following message to DCCC supporters:

Dear Friend,

Midnight tonight is the deadline to help Democrat Travis Childers in his bid to win our third straight Republican pick up in a special election. His special election is less than a week away and tonight is the last time to get contributions in enough time to still purchase more ad time, tanks of gas to drive voters to the polls, and help get canvassers on the ground. Please give to Travis at https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/childers.

This November we will be playing in races like this nationwide, but next week with this special election we can set the tone by winning in a ruby-red district in Mississippi. Let's help put Travis Childers over the top and go three-for-three in special elections. We already won both the former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert's seat and another red seat this past Saturday in Louisiana -- let's finish the deal. Give generously and give now at https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/childers

We are just a few thousand dollars away of meeting our goal and there are just hours left before our midnight deadline. And, we are all counting on you.

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

On to victory,

Brian Wolff
DCCC Executive Director

DCCC Chair Van Hollen: “3-For-3”

Posted by Brandon English
May 06, 2008

DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen sent the following message to DCCC supporters.
You can support Democrat Travis Childers' campaign on ActBlue:

Dear Friend,

Last weekend, we shocked the political establishment yet again. Our victory in Louisiana -- a district that Republicans have held for more than three decades -- sent shockwaves across the political world for the second time this year. We already won the former Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert's old seat in Illinois. Now we won in Louisiana. Let's make it 3 for 3 by winning in Mississippi.

Right now, our Democratic candidate Travis Childers is running neck-and-neck in a special election fight to win another seat that was supposed to be safe for Republicans.

With Vice President Dick Cheney and his deep-pocketed Big Oil special interests working hard to try and defeat Travis, I need your help today so Travis can stay strong and help turn another red seat blue.

Please give a generous gift to Childers for Congress to deliver the next blow to the GOP's hopes of giving America a third term of Bush-Cheney policies.

Travis Childers is exactly the kind of candidate that Republicans fear the most. He shares the values of hardworking families in his district and is committed to creating good-paying jobs, fighting for children's health care, and restoring fiscal responsibility.

The Republicans are so terrified at the prospect of watching a third straight district go from red to blue that they're sending in none other than Dick Cheney to campaign for Travis's opponent.

These days, Dick Cheney and his Big Oil friends need all of the allies in Congress they can get to protect the oil industry's surging profits at the expense of middle class families. But you and I know that whenever Cheney is called in to try and save the day, it shows how desperate the Republicans are. In addition to sending in Cheney, the Republicans are gearing up their favorite shadowy attack-machine, Freedom's Watch, to spend millions of special interest dollars in slash-and-burn style attacks against Travis.

Please give a generous gift to help Travis Childers fight back against the Cheney- Freedom's Watch 'betting the ranch' style of attacks.

By winning in Illinois and Louisiana, our Democratic candidates proved that they could beat the Karl Rove attack machine. While the Republicans tried to run special interest-fueled campaigns of distraction, our Democratic candidates talked about bringing change on the greatest challenges facing struggling families in the district.

Together we can make it 3-for-3 by making Travis Childers our newest fighter for change in Washington.

Thanks for everything you do.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen
DCCC Chairman

Newt Gingrich’s Plea to Republicans: It’s Time for Real Change to Avoid Real Disaster

Posted by Brandon English
May 06, 2008

Even former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is remarking on the Republicans' failed strategy to nationalize Congressional elections in his most recent Human Events column.  Check out these excerpts:

My Plea to Republicans: It's Time for Real Change to Avoid Real Disaster

The facts are clear and compelling.

Saturday's loss was in a district that President Bush carried by 19 percentage points in 2004 and that the Republicans have held since 1975.

This defeat follows on the loss of Speaker Hastert's seat in Illinois. That seat had been held by a Republican for 76 years with the single exception of the 1974 Watergate election when the Democrats held it for one term. That same seat had been carried by President Bush 55-44% in 2004.

Two GOP Losses That Validate a National Pattern

These two special elections validate a national polling pattern that is bad news for Republicans. According to a New York Times/CBS Poll, Americans disapprove of the President's job performance by 63 to 28 (and he has been below 40% job approval since December 2006, the longest such period for any president in the history of polling).

A separate New York Times/CBS Poll shows that a full 81 percent of Americans believe the economy is on the wrong track.

The current generic ballot for Congress according to the NY Times/CBS poll is 50 to 32 in favor of the Democrats. That is an 18-point margin, reminiscent of the depths of the Watergate disaster.

Read the rest of this story ...

DCCC Chair Van Hollen: “Thanks to You”

Posted by Brandon English
May 05, 2008

DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen sent the following message to DCCC supporters:

Dear Friend,

Thanks to you, Democrats won a critical victory on Saturday in Louisiana's 6th congressional district picking up yet another Republican seat in a ruby-red district.

Democrat Don Cazayoux won despite efforts from Republicans and their outside shadowy groups to viciously attack and distort Don's fine record.

The truth is we could not have won this past weekend if not for the support of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) supporters like you. You have stood with us time and time again and we can't thank you enough.

With just six months left until Election Day, there is no longer any time to waste. Our candidates are facing crunch time and staff is being hired, trainings have begun and soon ads will go into production. We hope you will continue to stand with us in this critical final stretch.

I know there's lots of excitement out there. Thousands of people participated in our Match It By May campaign for a chance to attend the Democratic Convention in August. Thanks to everyone who entered the contest and to those who gave critical contributions to our candidates. We will announce the winners of our Match It By May contest on May 17th, so stay tuned.

Thanks again for all you do,

Rep. Chris Van Hollen
DCCC Chairman

IL-11: Dogged by Scandal, Ozinga Calls Pay to Play an “Interesting Experience”

Posted by Brandon English
May 05, 2008

Last week, concrete mogul and consummate political insider Martin Ozinga III said that pay to play has, "been an interesting experience of ours." [The South Town Star, 5/1/08]

"Concrete mogul Martin Ozinga III is the consummate political insider dogged by scandal, who has made a career of gaming the system, and engaging in the pay-to-play politics that Illinois' struggling middle class families have grown to resent," said Midwest Regional Press Secretary Ryan Rudominer.

"In the midst of Senator Halvorson helping to lead the charge to end pay to play politics in Illinois and Ozinga's bizarre admission that his own 'pay to play experience' has been 'interesting,' Marty Ozinga should back up his claim that he's 'completely transparent' by releasing all the information about his 'inside deals,' said Midwest Regional Press Secretary Ryan Rudominer.

Background

• Last week, State Senator Debbie Halvorson and her colleagues, weary of Illinois' national reputation for "pay-to-play" politics, reached a compromise to ban those who get or even seek major state contracts from making political donations. [The Chicago Tribune, 5/01/08]

• "Our efforts with Metro Mix were always completely transparent, on top of the table, done in conjunction with many, many, many discussions of all the government agencies involved," Ozinga said from his new campaign office in Mokena. [The Chicago Tribune, 4/23/08]

• Ozinga's concrete firm Ozinga Bros. was the focus of a 2005 Chicago Tribune investigation that documented how his company created a sham business to exploit a City of Chicago affirmative-action program, made thousands in political contributions and won lucrative contracts." [The Chicago Tribune, 1/27/05]

LA-06: CAZAYOUX WINS!

Posted by Brandon English
May 04, 2008

DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen released the following statement on Don Cazayoux's victory in the special election runoff in Louisiana's 6th Congressional District. With tonight's win, the Democratic majority in Congress has expanded to 235-198.

"Congratulations to Don Cazayoux on his hard fought victory. Don's independence and commitment to putting middle class Louisianans first inspired people from across the political spectrum to support his fight for change.

"For the second time this cycle, Republicans were reminded that 'all politics is local.' House Republicans tried to nationalize this election, illegally coordinated with Freedom's Watch, used false and deceptive special interest smears, and funneled nearly a million dollars into a district that Republicans held for more than three decades. Don won by focusing on the concerns of LA-06 voters -- good paying jobs, affordable health care, and better education.

"Don Cazayoux will be a tremendous asset to our Democratic Caucus, as we continue fighting to strengthen our economy and ease the squeeze on America's struggling middle class families."

UPDATE: Speaker Pelosi's Statement on Don Cazayoux's Special Election Runoff Victory in Louisiana's Sixth Congressional District:

"On behalf of the Democratic Caucus, I welcome Congressman-elect Don Cazayoux to the House of Representatives and congratulate him on his stunning victory. As I tell every new Member, your title 'Representative' is your job description.

"Don will be an independent Representative for the people of Louisiana's Sixth District. They showed today that they, like the vast majority of Americans, demand a New Direction for our country. Louisianans embraced Don's positive message of strengthening America's middle class by investing in education, creating jobs, making health care more affordable and bringing our brave men and women home from Iraq. His ability to work across party lines and build consensus will be a wonderful addition to the New Direction Congress.

"Don Cazayoux's victory this evening proves once again that Americans across our country want real solutions and reject Republicans' negative attacks."

5 Years Later: Mission Accomplished?

Posted by Brandon English
May 03, 2008