Our Blue America buddy Howie Klein just wrote a great investigative piece on the DCCC's pay to play scam, which uses campaign consultants tied into members of the group: Have Contributions From Donors Been Finding Their Way Into DCCC Officials' Pockets?

Howie has the goods on the DCCC. It's not a partisan problem, by the way; I wouldn't doubt that this happens on the other side of the aisle too. And it might be the way that things work in Washington, but it's just not right. I gather the Beltway media don't have a problem with this corrupt form of government either and are comfortable with it -- because, you know, that's the way things are done in the Village -- but they should. There are relationships between members of Congress and consultants that really should be outlawed in our political system. Please read the entire article.

Outside of the corrupt relationships, we now also find that a Blue Dog will be heading the DCCC and not Debbie Wasserman Schultz. She was not very good overall, but she was much better than a Blue Dog will ever be.

Friday Nancy Pelosi didn't pick supposed front runner Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the next chair of the DCCC. She picked someone just as bad, Steve Israel. In fact, he's actually worse that Wasserman Schultz in one key way. She at least supports progressive legislation. Until 2 years ago the conservative Suffolk County congressman was a member of the Blue Dog Caucus. He's the epitome of the DLC/Third Way hack. The Washington Post describes him as someone who "joined the Blue Dog Democrats in the House and crossed party lines to support President George W. Bush on a number of key issues, most notably Bush’s 2001 tax cut package [one of only 28 mostly right wing Democrats who did] and the GOP prescription drug bill the following year. He has also espoused more hawkish views on foreign policy, voting to authorize military force in Iraq."...read on

Isn't that just charming? There weren't many people looking to replace Chris Van Hollen, so Israel wasn't picked over a Progressive. I believe only three people applied for the job, but it's still frustrating to see a Blue Dog at the helm. Especially because we need a DCCC that understands we don't need a repeat of the failed Blue Dog experiment; we need to support candidates who will actually stand up for the party banner they got elected under.

How will Israel treat Progressive members in the House in 2012? We'll be keeping an eye out and let you know for sure.