Five Vulnerable Dems in. . .California!

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a list of fourteen already vulnerable Democratic incumbents.

Five of them are in California:

Julia Brownley

Scott Peters

Raul Ruiz

Ami Bera

Peter Aguilar

Julia Brownley

Brownley has won election twice, and yet the Democrats still treat her as vulnerable. Isn't that interesting? What does this discussion reveal? Republicans need to offer a strong candidate with deep ties to the area, who has a clear, respectable platform which all Republicans can appeal to.

Raul Ruiz

Raul Ruiz is a moderate Democrat who must play the bipartisan card if he wants any chance  of staying in office. Once again, Republicans must coalesce around one strong candidate. Even though the registration is not as strongly in their favor now as it was four years ago, there is still plenty of fight in this district.

Ami Bera

Ami Bera's seat in Sacramento still remains up for grabs, and it should. Republicans need to find one candidate whom they can get behind, and unite all interests to turn out and vote for that person. Sources in the area informed me that Tea Party affiliates were turned off to Doug Ose, who had served as a Congressman in the region ten years ago. I had endorsed former US Senate candidate Elizabeth Emken because I had met her. Igor Berman received the endorsement of US Senator Rand Paul. As anyone can see, the disparate interests in the primary made it very difficult for any one candidate to stand out. These divisive primaries are causing more problems than they should.

Scott Peters

Scott Peters is on this list again? No kidding. He still represents a Congressional district that is slightly more Republican than any other party. Why the San Diego Republican Party went all out for a left-leaning, openly gay city councilman escapes me entirely. That was the stupidest move I have seen in a long time in this state. I had hoped that Brian Bilbray, who had lost, then won, then lost election at one time, would run again. Sources have informed me that he is not interested at all. Please, San Diego GOP, choose a well-qualified, well-know, and well-respected candidate. Then without a doubt, Peters will peter out.

Peter Aguilar

I have to admit that I am surprised to see Peter Aguilar on this list. He just won election in a +15 Democratic seat, recently vacated by long-time conservative Congressman Gary Miller. Paul Chabot ran a strong campaign, despite having very little money. The Democratic Party brought in the biggest guns to secure the seat, including Vice President Joe Biden and Bill Clinton. They took this race seriously, and were well aware from the outset that another Republican could have done very well here.

The current legacy of the California Democratic Party is that they have to outspend their conservative opposition ten to one, and yet they hold onto the seats with the barest of majorities. What does that say about the Democratic Party platform?

The only selling point for the Democratic Party in the state of California is brute force and threats, nothing more. If  Republicans can deliver a  better message, and have a good messenger to boot, then these vulnerabilities will turn into liabilities very quickly. Besides, the Democratic Party once again will be spending big money defending seats rather than gaining seats in the House. If this political fundamentals remain unchanged, Democrats may find themselves losing more seats in 2016, especially if Republicans have a strong enough candidate who will not only turn out the base, but bring in interested independents and disaffected Democrats seeking reforms on unions, education, pensions, and environmental policy.