Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is one of those politicos that I can't figure out.  She was absolutely great taking down Chris Shays, terribly frustrating talking to Ed Schultz about impeachment, and now, she's downright infuriating with her refusal to assist fellow Democrat Annette Taddeo over incumbent Republican Ilena Ros-Lehtinen, an even more heinous betrayal considering that Wasserman Schultz has a leadership position in the DCCC, whose job it is to -- get this -- increase the number of Democratic seats in Congress.  AmericaBlog:

DavidNYC reports that leading House Democrat, Debbie Wasserman Schultz (DWS), still won't help Annette Taddeo's campaign. It's ludicrous. Taddeo's opponent is the Bush-loving, right winger Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. It's especially galling considering DWS has a leadership role in the DCCC -- and may even try to run that organization in the next cycle. So, you'd think supporting all Democrats running for Congress, especially those in her home state, wouldn't be a tough call for DWS. But, it is. (Also, it should go without saying that supporting all Democratic House candidates should be THE main criteria for anyone in DCCC leadership.)

It's not like DWS is lacking funds. Besides her own campaign account (where DWS is sitting on over half a million with no real opponent this year), she has a leadership PAC, Democrats Win Seats PAC (DWS PAC, get it?). Check out her list of expenditures here. She's managed to contribute to a lot of House candidates across the country and to groups like the Ohio Democratic Party. But, she can't help Annette? What's up with that? If DWS wants to be a Democratic leader, DWS needs to help all Democrats -- and not put her friendship with a Republican ahead of party loyalty. That's not too complicated, is it? 

Since Wasserman Schultz is a no-show on trying to turn this seat for the Democrats, won't you consider donating to Annette Taddeo's campaign through Blue America?  At least we're committed to getting more and better Democrats in Congress.

Perhaps I'm dating myself, but do you remember the first season of "Real World" on MTV?

Kevin Powell was the poetry-writing community organizer that was (fairly or unfairly, I'm not sure) portrayed as the "angry young black man" on that season.  Now he's challenging moderate Democrat Edolphus Towns for his congressional seat.  Howie: 

There is a serious challenge in another part of Brooklyn, a very different part of Brooklyn. Yesterday's NY Times focused on the insurgent primary against shady Bedford Stuyvesant/Ft Greene incumbent Edolphus Towns, a corporate shill for Big Pharma and telecoms and one of the notorious CAFTA-15. He's another Al Wynn in terms of voting for The Man both on the bankruptcy bill that has devastated his own constituents and on the estate tax, which is basically fine for people who have hundreds of millions of dollars but not too good for inner city working and middle class families. [..]

Brooklyn's 10th Congressional District, home to more African-Americans than any other in New York, gave Senator Barack Obama his highest margin of victory in the state. But the district's longtime congressman, Edolphus Towns, did not share his constituency's preference for Mr. Obama. Now some of those voters are pushing to oust him.

"His decision not to back Obama shows he is out of touch with his constituents," said N. Chandler, a former city corrections officer who lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant and who had supported Mr. Towns in the past. "And I think the people of this district are ready for a change."

...An emerging young black political class is seeking to assert the neighborhood's power against what it sees as an older establishment, based in Harlem, that has long exercised disproportionate influence in New York. The younger Democratic activists link... Mr. Towns, the son of a North Carolina sharecropper and a 25-year veteran in Congress, to that structure.

Mr. Towns cannot afford to take the challenge lightly. Two years ago, he won with less than 50 percent of the vote in a three-way race. The man who is running against him now, Kevin Powell, is a community organizer who has the backing of celebrities like the comedian Dave Chappelle, who is scheduled to headline a fund-raiser for Mr. Powell. [He was on the first season of MTV's The Real World back in 1992, "the brooding, angst-ridden young black man with the hi-top fade" and then went on to be a star journalist for Vibe Magazine.][..]

If elected, he would become the first and the most identifiable member of the hip-hop generation ever to serve in the U.S. Congress. On national issues, both Powell and Towns oppose the war in Iraq and support a single-payer healthcare system. But while campaigning on Memorial Day, Powell told practically every resident he encountered about the catalyst for his candidacy: The incumbent's "absent and ineffective advocacy" on a host of local needs. "What we need in Congress from this district, as we enter a new presidential administration and a new decade, is active leadership that deals with the concerns of regular working-class people," he says.

I'm not sure if Powell has a good shot at overtaking a 25 year incumbent, but I'm all in favor of putting challengers out there to remind these long-term politicos that they are supposed to be representing their constituency.

At this point, we can finally agree that Cheney is the Vice President, and the Vice President is part of the executive branch, right? Apparently not. Cheney’s reclusive chief of staff, David Addington, told the House Judiciary Committee this afternoon that the VP is “attached” to the legislative branch.

In fact, Addington had all kinds of odd things to say today, including his inability answer questions about torture policy because "al Qaeda may watch C-SPAN," and his alleged unfamiliarity with the Unitary Theory of the Executive, which Addington has used for years to justify all kinds of shameful behavior.

Just as an aside, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen any government official express the kind of contempt for Congress as I’ve seen from Addington today. Every response to every question is soaked in pure revulsion. I keep expecting him to spit at the members of the committee after every exchange.

It made for an interesting afternoon. We'll have more videos up shortly...

Congratulations to The House for the passing of this bill.

The House has just passed H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act by a vote of 268-148. This bipartisan legislation will end discrimination against patients seeking treatment for mental illnesses by prohibiting insurers and group health plans from imposing treatment or financial limitations when they offer mental health benefits that are more restrictive from those applied to medical and surgical services.

Pelosi: "This legislation will be especially relevant for our returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who later become employed in the private sector. This will be potentially lifesaving for those brave men and women who served in the National Guard and Reserves, but who don’t receive VA care for their entire lives.”

It seems like the people that might need this assistance the most are against it.

Although FRC doesn't fully support the Senate bill, it does not mandate (as the House version does) that employers offer coverage to people who need therapy because of their extreme sexual lifestyle. We will continue to fight for the inclusion of a conscience clause, which would exempt businesses who find the long list of mental "illnesses" morally objectionable. Without an exemption, there's a real danger that mental health treatment could be used as a loophole to provide coverage for abortion. For these reasons, FRC encourages you to contact your leaders and urge them to protect employers' rights.

You know once they push for exemptions, a lot of people will get excluded. Why--oh--why do they hate the troops so?

The Gavel:

Washington, DC - Congressman Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo, San Francisco) today released the following statement:

"Routine medical tests have revealed that I have cancer of the esophagus. In view of this development and the treatment it will require, I will not seek re-election.

"It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a Member of Congress. I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country.[..]

Tom Lantos was elected to Congress in 1980 and is in his 14th term in office. His Democratic colleagues elected him chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in January 2007. He is a senior member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress, Tom is the founding co-chairman of the 24-year-old Congressional Human Rights Caucus, for which (Lantos' wife) Annette has directed as a volunteer since its inception.

Speaking as a Bay Area resident, I dearly hope that Lantos is able to fight and prevail against the cancer. He has been a strong Democratic voice in Congress for many years. The SF Chronicle (his local paper) calls him a giant among men for his work on human rights. For those keeping track, Jackie Speier (a very progressive candidate) has already declared her intent to run for Lantos' seat.