Tom Davis: 10th CD "in play" for Judy Feder!

It's not often that you get to read a memo written by one Republican arguing that one of their Republican colleagues (and neighbors) is in electoral danger. But now we've got one, courtesy of Rep. Tom Davis (R-11). It's a long memo, but here's the part we particularly enjoyed reading over at Feder for Congress:

A look at key House races shows Democratic candidates much better funded than their GOP counterparts. This is in addition to the major advantage held by the Congressional campaign committees and their liberal 527s. Even second tier Democrats have substantial fundraising cash on hand, allowing a well stocked DCCC to put races in play that are not currently on radar. The following chart illustrates the point (bolding added for emphasis):

District Republican COH Democrat COH

California 04* McClintock $125K Brown $590K
California 11 Andal 531K McNerny 1.153M
Florida 16 Valeche (pr.) 589K Mahoney 1.032M
Rooney (pr.) 442K
Florida 24 Feeney 549K Kosmas 581K
Idaho 1 Sali 124K Minnick 327K
Illinois 10 Kirk 2.25M Seals 745K
Indiana 3 Souder 293K Montagna 267K
Michigan 7 Walberg 604K Schauer 751K
Missouri 6 Graves 1,132M Barnes 954K
New York 29 Kuhl 355K Masas 565K
Virginia 10 Wolf 735 K Feder 700K
Washington 8 Reichardt 695K Burner 921K

That's right, Tom Davis himself says that the 10th CD is in play, that Judy Feder could defeat his pal Frank Wolf this November. I doubt this makes Frank Wolf very happy, but Tom Davis is known as one of the GOP's most astute political analysts and that's his analysis. At least Frank Wolf won't be surprised when, come November, we're all saying "Farewell Frank!" :)

Frank Wolf Opposes Voting Integrity

Congressman Frank Wolf apparently does not want any verified records of elections. Given the opportunity to vote with Rep. Davis and 27 other Republicans for passage of a bill that would provide funding for paper trails in the November elections, Rep. Wolf chose to side with the Administration and unverifiable, hackable voting instead.

Here's what the bill's sponsor, Rep. Rush Holt, had to say.

Rep. Rush Holt today strongly criticized House members for blocking legislation – the Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act of 2008 (H.R. 5036) – that would encourage states to conduct verifiable elections by converting to a paper ballot voting system, offering emergency paper ballots, and conducting hand-counted audits. Two weeks ago, the same legislation passed the House Administration Committee with bipartisan, unanimous support, including from some of those who voted to block the bill’s passage today.

“This bill would represent a real step forward in our effort to protect the accuracy, integrity and security of the November elections,” Holt said. “The bill that the House leadership scheduled for a vote today is the same one that passed two weeks ago without the objection of a single Committee member. There is no reason why this should be a partisan issue but the Republicans evidently have chosen to make it so. The White House issued a statement opposing the bill and 176 of 203 Republicans voted that way.” - Rep. Rush Holt

That's our Representative, Frank Wolf. When George W. Bush says "jump," he replies, "how high?"

What's interesting is that the rationale for his vote - that the bill was to costly - is only applicable when trying to improve our system. If it's a bad idea, like limitless war funding, Rep. Wolf is all for it.

The cost of the voter verification bill? Probably $600 million.

The cost of the Iraq war through November? Probably $600 billion.

Rep. Frank Wolf believes that security in Iraq is one thousand times more important than the security of your vote. Needless to say, we need to elect Judy Feder to Congress and realign our national priorities.

Frank Wolf Hearts Tom Davis

Rep. Frank Wolf surfaces from hiding once again, not to meet with his constituents or to comment on important matters like why the rail to Dulles project is on its deathbed, but instead to blabber on about how much we're all going to miss his good friend Tom Davis:

U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10) said Fairfax County will miss Davis. The 11th district representative worked to get funding for metro and other transportation projects. He also spent a lot of time trying to fix the federal procurement process, said Wolf, who is the other Republican from Fairfax County in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Awwww, ain't that sweet? Yeah, it's sweet, except for Tom Davis' ties to the infamous Abramoff/DeLay "K Street Project." Oh, and the fact that "Davis...collected more money from lobbyists than 428 of the 435 members of Congress," then "worked closely with Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff at the Republican National Congressional Committee." Then, there's this sweet story about how Davis helped his wife a sweetheart of a deal -- $78,000 in one year "for working "10 to 20 hours a week,' primarily at home on her cellphone" -- by a government contractor (Donald W. Upson of ICG Government) with close access to Davis. This is classic:

Davis went on to Congress, where he became a leading voice on government contracting and an advocate for his technology industry constituents in Fairfax and Prince William counties. Upson became the top technology official for the Virginia government before reentering the private sector and starting ICG.

From the beginning, Upson worked with Davis and his staff as he built his consulting business, which holds seminars on procurement and advises clients on winning government technology contracts worth billions of dollars. Those contracts often came under the oversight of Davis's committee. One of Upson's first hires was Jeannemarie Devolites, a Virginia politician who later married the congressman.

Yes, that's how Frank Wolf's best friend forever Tom Davis did business, which makes it even more revealing that Wolf would credits Davis for "spen[ding] a lot of time trying to fix the federal procurement process." Yeah, "fix it" is right, but not in the sense of the word that Wolf intends.

Frank Wolf Finally Comments!

Well, well, Frank Wolf has finally opened his mouth and commented on an issue we all care deeply about. No, it's not the $5 billion Metro to Dulles project, the troubled economy, global warming, or the disastrous situation in Iraq. No, it's something much more important than any of those things -- at least to Frank Wolf. I'm talking about, of course, the retirement announcement of Wolf's buddy Tom Davis.

"He led the way on a lot of things," Wolf said.

"He can tell you what the margin was for some race in North Dakota in 1956," said Wolf. "I don't know anyone who knows more about government and politics, and he loves it."

So there you have it, leadership by Frank Wolf. No, not on things we care about like Metro to Dulles, Iraq, the housing meltdown, children's health care, or anything trivial along those lines. But when it comes to NOVA losing the encyclopedic political knowledge of Tom Davis, now THAT is something Frank Wolf wants to talk about. I mean, c'mon, it's Frank Wolf's buddy Tom Davis! And he knows the margin for some race in North Dakota in 1956! And he's retiring! And...oh, forget it.

Tom Davis to Retire. Hint, Hint FrankWolf!

What is this, the day for withdrawals and retirements? Giuliani, Edwards...now it's Tom Davis:

U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) said today he will retire from Congress at the end of the year, bringing to a close a 14-year stint in the House of Representatives during which he rose rapidly through the ranks of Republican leadership and championed such issues as D.C. voting rights and a vibrant defense-contracting industry.

"It's time for me to take a sabbatical," Davis said. "I would say I'm not ruling out future public service, but it's time to be refreshed, to see what it's like in the private sector. That doesn't mean I will or won't come back."

Hey, that sounds like a great idea -- retire and go make big bucks in the private sector. In fact, it sounds like SUCH a great idea I hereby suggest it for Frank Wolf as well. I've even got a job suggestion for Wolf. Kidding! :)

Why Won't Wolf Endorse Climate Action?

The National Wildlife Federation (employer of The Green Miles) put out its Final 50 report this week, detailing House of Representatives members who've said they support climate action in theory, but have yet to step it up and endorse tough global warming legisation. Two Virginia representatives made the list:

Tom Davis (R-VA, 11th District)

Rep. Davis voted for the Sense of Congress resolution calling for Congress to pass legislation that mandates reductions in global warming pollution. But, he has not supported comprehensive global warming legislation.

Frank Wolf (R-VA, 10th District)

Rep. Wolf voted for the Renewable Electricity Standard and passage of the final House energy bill. He also voted for the Sense of Congress resolution calling for Congress to pass legislation that mandates reductions in global warming pollution. He states on his website that, "While there are many factors which affect the price of a gallon of gasoline, I believe we must leave no stone unturned as we work to address this issue, including finding ways for our nation to become energy independent," But, he has not supported comprehensive global warming legislation.

If you're in the 10th or 11th, please write Davis or Wolf right now and ask him to cosponsor the Safe Climate Act or the Climate Stewardship Act, two bills that cut global warming pollution by 2% per year!

Cross-posted from RaisingKaine.com