FDL and Glenn Greenwald are both noting something very significant - the $200B that Bush is asking for will probably be doing to initiate a new war with Iran. Blue America, which raised a little over a half a million last cycle, will be pulling off of their Actblue page any candidate who votes for this money. That's very significant, a line in the sand.
The Iran link is another reason WA-03 Brian Baird's support of the surge, and his support of the $50B, is so pernicious. Even if he only wants to support the surge, the money will probably be diverted to military operations in Iran. Hopefully, we can recruit state Senator Craig Pridemore to challenge Baird in a primary. Pridemore is a veteran, has won in the district, is well-respected and liberal, and can beat incumbents.
I added some content yesterday on the Bush Dog campaign. Here's a FAQ on what a Bush Dog is, and here are instructions on how to profile one. We've had new profiles written on AR-02: Vic Snyder, AR-04: Mike Ross, IL-08: Melissa Bean, NC-11: Heath Schuler, and TX-23: Ciro Rodriguez. I particularly like Ciro's profile, since he was a netroots candidate yet won his last race without our endorsement or help. You'll also note that Melissa Bean has two profiles now on the Bush Dog Blogroll, and that's very good. It's useful to have multiple perspectives. Getting to know these people, who are probably going to support money for Bush and a war with Iran, is important.
Democratic Representative Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23) is tagged in 151 dailykos diaries, having gained fame in the netroots world during his ultimately unsuccessful primary against Bush Dog Henry Cuellar in TX-23. As you may recall, Rodriguez served in Congress from 1997 to 2004, but the 2003 Texas redistricting added Laredo, and he lost a primary to Cuellar by 58 votes! The 2006 primary rematch features strong (see, for example, this endorsement by Chris Bowers:
By way of contrast, during the 108th Congress, Ciro Rodiguez voted with the Democratic majority on 28 out of 32 occasions. His loyalty rate of 87.5% is almost twice that of Henry Cuellar's pathetic 44.4%. In fact, Rodriguez's loyalty was above the Demcoratic average of 82.3%, and identical to the non-blue dog Democratic average of 87.7% in the 108th congress. Republicans essentially gained half of a seat in the House when Cuellar replaced Rodriguez last year. A real Democrat was replaced with a fake one, and I say it is time to gain that seat back.
The odd way it all worked out is after the flip...
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