DCCC: Democrats Can't Comprehend Columbus

The Democrats just don't get it. Only slightly more than a month since taking an electoral thumping of historic proportions the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has gone negative with their first attack (of the 2012 election, that is) against Congressman-Elect Steve Stivers. The attack itself is neither noteworthy nor memorable as it's just more of the same "former bank lobbyist" rubbish that resonated so poorly in the 2010 campaign (the Democrats are fond of repeating failed strategies). This time the old attack is aimed at Congressman-Elect Stivers's assignment to the House Financial Services Committee.

Stivers's assignment to the Financial Services Committee is one of the most logical and intelligent committee assignments that could be made in the 112th Congress. The only thing the Democrats demonstrate by attacking it is how out of touch and totally disconnected from reality they remain.

Stivers has an MBA (that's Master of Business Administration for any Democrat readers), worked as a Vice President for Bank One, worked for the civic-minded investment firm The Ohio Company, and served in the Ohio Senate as Chair of the Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee and Vice Chair of the Finance and Financial Institutions Committee. His professional background is a veritable checklist of desired qualifications for a member of the House Financial Services Committee.

Congressman-Elect Stivers

Where leftist ideologues see a "former bank lobbyist" the American people see someone who understands banking. The Columbus Dispatch explained this very clearly in their endorsement of Stivers: "Kilroy has vilified Stivers for his work in the banking industry, but this background ensures that Stivers understands something that Kilroy does not: that ledgers must balance and that red ink is destructive."

The Democrats don't understand the intelligence of the American people; we're not simple rubes who fall for sound bytes and cynical narratives about all bankers being evil incarnate. If we were, then maybe Stivers wouldn't have dominated incumbent Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy by 13 percentage points and nearly 30,000 votes--actually at that margin, rubes or not rubes, Kilroy was toast!

We voted for Stivers because he understands us. He promised he would view legislation through the lens of our number one issue: jobs. In this district you can't talk about jobs without talking about bank jobs.

The OH-15 is home to almost 60,000 financial and insurance industry jobs. Huntington Bancshares Inc. is headquartered in the district, as are Nationwide Insurance, Grange Insurance, Motorists Insurance, Safe Auto Insurance, and State Auto Insurance. J.P Morgan Chase & Co., which acquired Stivers's former employer Bank One, also maintains a major presence in the district, as do PNC Bank, KeyBank, U.S. Bank, Citigroup, and Fifth Third Bank.

The Ohio 15th District is a major banking and insurance hub, and it is only fitting that our representative should sit on the House Financial Services Committee. Historically, this has been the case with Congressman-Elect Stivers's three most immediate predecessors serving on the Financial Services Committee or its ancestor, the House Banking Committee. That the Democrats would seek to deny us this representation only further demonstrates that they don't understand our needs or share our values.

Of course, after they voted Nancy Pelosi back in as their leader was there really any doubt as to if they shared our values?

Mary Jo, Nancy, and The Pimp

Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy gets her money from some disreputable places. As previously reported in this blog, Kilroy has received money from the man who modernized the prostitution industry, Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark. Yesterday, Third Base Politics highlighted a CNN investigation into the role of Craigslist in the underage sex trade and suggested Congresswoman Kilroy should donate the money she received from Craig Newmark to charity. When you think about the flow of cash used to make this particular donation, it's impossible not to agree.

Craigslist makes nearly one third of its $122 million in revenues from "adult services" ads--that's more than $36 million of revenues earned from what are, essentially, pimping fees. With his company raking in pimping revenues hand over fist, it's safe to say a good chunk of Craig Newmark's net worth came in the form of sweaty, fluid-encrusted cash from the hands of gratified johns.

According to the CNN investigation, "A 20-year-old identified only as 'Jessica' works out of low-rent hotels on Washington's busy Interstate 95 corridor. She posts [Craigslist] ads mid-morning for $10 and says she earns up to $250 from each man who answers and shows up."

$250--that's the exact amount of money Craig Newmark has donated to Congresswoman Kilroy so far this election cycle. It's almost as though the john was paying Kilroy directly. Sleazy. And it's all happening right there in our nation's capital, right under Kilroy's nose.... I thought they were going to drain the swamp?

Over the course of the Congresswoman's career Newmark has basted her with $2,000 in direct donations. Indirectly, Newmark has furnished Kilroy with even more money by donating $15,500 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Barack Obama's Hopefund, Inc., Al Franken's Midwest Values PAC, and Howard Dean's Democracy for America, all of which have given sizable donations to Kilroy over the course of her career as a politician.

I don't know how many sex acts that all translates into, but I'm sure it's more than enough to have crushed the spirits of more than a few young women. The flow of money is sickening:

Sweaty, gratified palms of a john --> involuntary prostitute --> Craigslist/Craig Newmark --> Mary Jo Kilroy

What's particularly disgusting is Mary Jo Kilroy's hypocrisy. The Congresswoman has accepted a lot of money from well-meaning "Women's Issues" groups. She has two daughters; we've seen them in her ads. Congresswoman Kilroy should be out front showing some leadership to stop sex trafficking. Instead, she and her party are all but supporting it by accepting donations from the world's most notorious pimp.

Of course, as in everything, Mary Jo Kilroy is just following the example of her mentor, Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi has also accepted graft from Newmark. Together they're making a mockery of women's empowerment by abandoning the truly helpless to a cruel fate. Apparently, the Pelosi-Kilroy bond is strengthened by a mutual willingness to be blind to anything so long as it helps them gain the cash they need to stay in power.

Birds of a Feather
(Original photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/speakerpelosi/3748460352/in/photostream/)

The issue shows a stark and meaningful contrast between Congresswoman Kilroy and her opponent, Lt. Colonel Steve Stivers. Stivers, while a State Senator, voted to strengthen anti-human trafficking laws by mandating prison terms for persons found guilty of human trafficking and payment of restitution to victims.

Steve Stivers knows what is right, and he does it.

Mary Jo Kilroy doesn't care what is right. She cares about cash for her re-election, and she'll accept it from anyone--even a pimp.