Today's Fresh Meat

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

It's official. Disgraced former Congressmember Richard Pombo will not try and win back his seat from Rep. Jerry McNerney. "I spent 14 years in Congress fighting for what I believe in and doing what I knew was right," Pombo said. "But the fight is far from over." Indeed, now that he's finished trying to gut every environmental protection our country provides as a member of Congress, he's been hired on by a high-priced consulting firm to do the same. Who says life doesn't provide second chances?

Oh, and about those corrupt GOP Congressmembers, the Congressional Quarterly reports that Rep. Jerry Lewis' control over his seat is a "little wobbly," now that the Dems have been given sufficiently advanced notice about his ethics improprieties. It's a still a deep red seat, but we've got a shot.

But don't worry, the corrupt Cali GOP Congressional bench runs deep. Rep. Ken Calvert, who was recently appointed to the House Appropriations Committee to replace FBI raided Rep. John Doolittle (also part of the Golden State's proud GOP delegation), has his own ethical foibles. The usual improper monetary gains are there, but he's got a juicy prostitute story too!

It's beginning to look like a classic identity politics showdown in the 37th Congressional District to replace recently deceased Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald. The district was traditionally African American-loaded, but Latinos have continued to make inroads. And while Latinos can unite behind Senator Jenny Oropeza, there are two black candidates in the race: Assemblywoman Laura Richardson and Valerie Josanne McDonald, Millender-McDonald's daughter. "I'm holding out hope that someone will get a clue," Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas said. "I wish we could resolve this in such a way to maximize the opportunity to retain the seat. The current path is untenable."

The gold goes to California, the silver to Connecticut... My Left Nutmeg reports some good news and some bad news on the marriage equality front. The good: with the CT State Senate Judiciary Committee voting 27-15 to back marriage equality, the Constitution State "has become only the second state to have a legislative body vote in favor of same-sex marriage." The bad: they won't seek a full body vote this year.

There's more...