[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

In light of yesterday's FISA capitulation, in which Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barack Obama surrendered to Republicans to give the Bush administration and telecoms immunity over spying on Americans, it's worth remembering it could be worse. There are actual Republicans out there like Rep. David Dreier who have been far more reliable rubber stamps for the worst president in modern American history, and the Courage Campaign says it's time for a change.

(And for those keeping track at home, yes I just combined two completely unrelated stories through an incredibly tenuous connection. Deal with it. Our server was down when the Bush Rubber Stamp video was released. But since I have your attention, if you believe the Fourth Amendment is worth protecting, as did Senators Barbara Boxer, Russ Feingold, Patrick Leahy, Jon Tester, and Hillary Clinton, the ACLU wants to include your name in an ad that will appear in a major national newspaper.)

by Todd Beeton [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Today, I am excited to announce that the Courage Campaign has officially launched our campaign to expose David Dreier (who represents CA's 26th district) for what he really is: one of George W. Bush's most reliable rubber stamps in congress. Check out our new ad below and please rate it up, spread the word and contribute to get it on the air in the district HERE.

More on Courage's Dreier Bush Rubber Stamp campaign over the flip...

by Lucas O'Connor [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By David Dayen
d-day

I noticed this before Swing State Project codified it, but there were some stunning numbers in the Q1 Congressional fundraising reports that augur well for Democratic upsets in November.

We know that Charlie Brown is raising tons of money and has close to $600,000 cash on hand, and his challengers are spending all their money in a bruising primary race (Doug Ose has a million dollars in debts on his books). We know that three California challengers raised six figures in the first quarter (Brown, Russ Warner and Nick Leibham) and have been consistently doing so. What's notable is the lack of fundraising prowess among key Republicans.

Dean Andal is supposed to be one of the top GOP challengers in the whole country. Yet he could only manage $90,000 in the first quarter, which considering how much effort the GOP is putting into his race is embarrassing.

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee just released its target list and three California GOP House seats are in the cross-hairs -- those currently held by David Dreier, Brian Bilbray and John Doolittle. Doolittle has, of course, already announced his retirement. While the lame-duck Doolittle faced a tough race in 2004 due to a whole mess of legal trouble that ultimately lead to his retirement and Bilbray is on his second tour through the House, having been defeated in 2000 by Susan Davis, the inclusion of Dreier is a surprise, albeit a pleasant one.

Dreier's district is R+4.1. So, its Republican, but not prohibitively so. Bilbray's district is R+4.6. The Doolittle seat is heavily Republican, but Charlie Brown did pretty well there in 2006 garnering 46% of the vote compared to Doolittle's 49%, although part of that success must be attributed to Doolittle's legal woes. I suspect that the DCCC powers that be determined that the GOP primary between Tom McClintock and Doug Ose is likely to be costly and bloody. I am sure the fact that both Republican candidates are carpetbaggers factors into the equation.