My congressman, Mike Thompson, not my "representative,"

[roody]

voted for more war. We need to have some high-quality challengers in the primaries. What did your rep do?

[Auggie]

1. I live in his district too

And he doesn't represent me either. He does fight for the wine industry, but unfortunately, any other industries that will pay him too. I don't like him. I don't like the way he answers voter questions so patronizingly and vague (just like any politician would, I guess). I think he's part of an old boys network -- nobody of any substance will run against him. He won the last Democratic primary in a landslide.

[roody]

2. His opponent was a nut. We have to find some real opposition.

I'm a Green and our candidate was lackluster.

[Auggie]

3. Tough job. It's a large district. Qualified candidates in Eureka

would be unknown in Santa Rosa and vice versa. It would take a pile of money to unseat Thompson.

Interesting how wikipedia describes the CA 1st District:

California's 1st Congressional District was once conservative in nature; it was dominated by the GOP and was represented for many years by Rep. Donald H. Clausen. The trend toward the Democrats started in the 1970s with the migration of many environmentally conscious people from the San Francisco Bay Area who wanted to experience their lifestyle in a more open setting. Today, areas in Humboldt County and Mendocino County are known for their artist villages and the production of marijuana crops.

The GOP last held the seat in 1998 when Rep. Frank Riggs (R) decided to run for the U.S. Senate. Riggs was replaced by long-time Assemblyman and State Senator Mike Thompson (D). Redistricting in 2001 added Democratic-leaning areas of Yolo County.

[ourbluenation]

4. He doesn't represent me either, Roody.

But he seems to have a lock on the job. Ugh.

[Peace Patriot]

5. I think that Mendocino would vote for an alternative Democrat; maybe Humboldt

and Sonoma as well. But the district is gerrymandered, access to higher office is strictly controlled by the rightwing state Democratic Party establishment, and you have to have a million dollars in hand, these days, to even think of running for Congress. All of these things are outrageously corrupt.

I would love to see a challenge to it all--a candidate, say, who is savvy about the Twitter circuit (et al), refuses donations over $50, announces this as loudly as possible, and maybe does "whistle-stop" train and electric car campaigning--something innovative. Maybe walking--say walking the entire (huge) district. Someone who will tell it like it is--about the rigged money scene, the rigged voting machines, the war and its funding, gerrymandering, Corporate Rule, the corrupt, failed, murderous "war on drugs," Enron and the California budget surplus, and all.

But who? Who would be willing to walk (or bicycle?) CA-1, to start the leftist revolution that is so long overdue in California?

Maybe I'm dreaming, but I would LOVE to see such a candidate unseat Mike Thompson!

[roody]

6. I wouldn't care if that person were a Repug!

[clixtox]

8. Shirlee Zane...

was recently elected to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to represent the Third District.

I met Shirlee while we were both on the board of directors of a Sonoma County arts related non-profit about 20 years ago. Shirlee is very smart, sincere, I believe she is "progressive", an expert on issues related to our aging population, dedicated to preserving our environment and our health, gracious and a very attractive woman. I don't know if she would be interested though.

We are now facebook "friends" so I could ask her sometime...

I am in Lynn Woolsey's slice of Sonoma County and would love to see another Representative of Lynn's extraordinary caliber take the seat now occupied by the Republican "lite", Mike Thompson.

[metrodorus]

14. Agreed!

[mike_c]

7. I'd LOVE to vote for a real progressive liberal in this district....

I'm not a Mike Thompson fan either. And I will NEVER vote for anyone who supports the imperialist U.S. wars. NEVER. My vote will go green the next time around, presuming there is a GP candidate (or a progressive dem primary challenge).

[Auggie]

9. From Big Mike to me, on single-payer:

Dear Auggie:

Thank you for contacting me regarding health care. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with me.

I agree with you that our health care system is broken, and I also agree that we cannot wait any longer to fix it. As you know, Congress is in the final stages of preparing comprehensive health care reform legislation, and I have been actively involved in this process. Although the details of this legislation have not been finalized, you should know that I strongly support the inclusion of a public plan option and I oppose any arbitrary "trigger" provision that might be attached to this plan.

Since this debate began, I have received hundreds of emails and letters on all sides of this issue. There is widespread agreement that something must be done. But as is usually the case when making public policy, the devil is in the details. Changing our health care system will be very difficult, and much compromise will be necessary. No one will get everything they want and after it is done there will be more reform to do.

One proposal is to move to a single-payer system, which has been introduced in the House by Representative John Conyers (D-MI) as H.R. 676. On June 10, the Education and Labor Committee, one of the three committees leading the efforts to craft health care reform legislation in the House, held a hearing to consider this bill and hear from experts supporting and opposing this bill. There are interesting arguments to be made on both sides, but, the reality is that there is not enough support across our country or in Congress to pass such a plan. The American people want access to quality health care but are most concerned with being able to afford it and if they already have coverage most don't want to lose their current plan.

We need to make sure that people who are happy with the coverage they have can keep it. We need to make sure that the American people will be able to keep their doctors, and have a say in their health care decisions. But we must expand the options, so that Americans who don't like their plan, or don't have health care coverage, have an affordable choice. And we can't afford to wait for an arbitrary "trigger" to be pulled to put this reform into operation. If that is part of the bill, reform will likely never happen.

A public plan that provides true competition will be an important part of this reform. According to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a widely respected non-profit health policy research foundation, nearly two thirds of Americans agree with me that we need to make sure that all Americans have access to affordable health care by providing an alternative to the private insurance options that are on the market. We must ensure that every American has health care coverage, regardless of pre-existing conditions, and that we have adequate protections in place for the doctor-patient relationship. And we must also make sure that people can keep their coverage if they change jobs, get divorced, or their employer changes their options.

Reform won't be easy, but it is urgent that we act now to make sure that all Americans can access quality, affordable health care. For the families in our district, and families across the country who can't afford to go to the doctor, or can't afford the medicine they've been prescribed, it's more urgent than ever that we reform our broken health care system as quickly as possible.

Again, thank you for sharing your concerns with me. Please continue to contact me on all issues of importance to you and to our district.


Sincerely,

MIKE THOMPSON
Member of Congress
http://www.mikethompson.house.gov

[clixtox]

10. I hope this attempt at bamboozlement elicited a response!

Obviously "Big" Mike has a low regard for the truth and your intelligence.

Write him back please and protest his allegiance to the "special interests" suborning our congress critters by purchasing their votes against the best interests of those he was actually elected to represent.

Ha must believe that he represents a district with the same political savvy as those districts that always vote Republican.

[Auggie]

11. I did. This is the response to my response.

And it's identical to the first they sent, if that makes sense

[Auggie]

12. I didn't know Thompson is a BLUE DOG

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6148087

[metrodorus]

13. Last I heard, he was their treasurer.

I sure wish he'd get a strong primary challenge from the left. The last challenger ran a very weak campaign and got 12% of the vote, I think. A serious challenger would have a chance, I think. Particularly now that the Blue Dogs are associated with trying to kill healthcare reform.