Yesterday I received the following letter from Francine Busby, who ran against the unlamented former Congressman Randy Cunningham.  She writes:

A "stealth" Republican is running as a Democratic candidate in the 78th Assembly District.  Until November 2006 he was a loyal Republican who contributed thousands of dollars to Brian Bilbray and the powerful Republican Lincoln Club.

Help me stop Republicans from hijacking our Democratic primary.

For those who may not have been able to view them, follow me below the fold for 8 we've posted.

My recommendations are below he flip.

Only another Kossacks would know how odd it would feel not to check Kos at least once a day. And that's why I think this little motivational tool will help keep me honest, be the carrot in front of me to keep me going. Who will join my pledge??  More on things you can do, even if you're homebound, or live in the bluest of blue oases, below the fold.

Yes, one must wonder.

But never let it be said that the GOP forgets a useful lesson in slimy, gutter politics.  No, like a dog returning to its vomit, this particular stunt was reprised just the other evening, in Southern California.

But it's only a start. Search results position 20 position is crap; the clickthrough rate at that position has been estimated at 0.3%. Bilbray now owns the first three positions, which should give him over 60%. So right now, Bilbray's sites should generate over 200 times the hits compared with our bomb.

Our results should improve over the next several days.  Right now, most googlers are greeted with a fawning editorial from the Republican San Diego Union Tribune. As the bomb grows in effectiveness, more googlers will learn that Bilbray is the target of a criminal investigation. And like I said, right now the ratio is 200 to 1 against us.

Bilbray claims to be living with his mother in Carlsbad while also owning a house in Imperial Beach and another home in Virginia. His family lives in the home in Virginia.

One of Bilbray's mothers neighbors has come forward and admitted he was subpoenaed by a Grand Jury and gave his testimony in August.

Democrat Francine Busby is trailing current CA 50 Republican Representative by only a few points in the latest polling (no link provided).  I have heard this from a few sources including emails from the Busby campaign.

I have known Francine Busby personally for many years and she is obviously a hard-working, conscientious and principled woman who will devote her time in Washington to the interests of her constituents to the fullest possible extent.

However, I question whether Francine truly has what it takes to follow in the footsteps of Duke Cunningham, Michael Zucchet, Ralph Inzunza, and other southern California politicians who have done so much recently to raise the nation's awareness of our region.

Please see my prior diaries about Will Pryor here (first), here (second), here (third), and here (fourth)

Please also review CoolOnion's diaries about this race here, here, and here

I have an announcement to make about this race.  This "unwinnable" "republican stronghold" race is now very much winnable.  Let's all jump on board and make this actually happen!

There is a lot in the story, but this was my favorite part:

Sweeney was quoted in the Saipan Tribune on Jan. 15 [2001] as saying reports of poor working conditions in the CNMI were overblown, and that he had seen worse sweatshops back home in New York. Carlson said Sweeney was "absolutely not" aware of any severe mistreatment of workers or forced prostitution before he made these comments.

U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., a longtime champion of legislation to change CNMI wage and immigration laws, traveled to the islands in 1998 [snip].

Problems were obvious "unless you choose not to look at the facts on the ground," Miller said, adding: "A blind pig could run into the human rights violations and the exploitation of workers on the islands."

That sums up the modern Republican Party: Blind Pigs.

And we have three weeks to take them out.

To the jump...

The 50th is the race in which Francine Busby (D) is challenging Brian Bilbray (the Republican who replaced Duke Cunningham).

Bilbray's campaign is up to more dirty tricks.  They have been "auto dialing" people in the 50th District with a message that sounds like it's a Busby Campaign message.  Many of these calls are set to auto-dial late at night, intentionally waking people up.

People are furious, and Busby responds:

At the time the residence issue did not resonate with voters.  Seems all anybody cared about on the Republican side was illegal immigration, and the Democrates just didn't get out and vote in mass.    

Brian Bilbray has been very quiet recently. Yeah, he's heavily favored in CA-50 in the rematch with Francine Busby, but still you'd think he'd show up somewhere, anywhere in his district.  But, according to Words Have Power, he's been hiding out.  He's not been updating his web site, and he failed to show up at an AARP-sponsored debate. Strange.

Or maybe not so strange. According to the San Diego County Democratic Party, Bilbray is being investigated a grand jury impaneled by the District Attorney.  Follow me over the flip.

RJB points out that Tom Reynolds (NY-26), Chair for the NRCC, claims he talked to Dennis Hastert about Rep. Mark Foley's sexual instant messaging issues.  He claims he should have done more to stop the incident and protect the paiges.

Just recently, he has been running ads against Francine Busby.  He has been making claims that she "praised" a teacher who was caught in a "Foley-esque" situation.  Busby sets the facts straight in this ad.

http://www.busbyforcongress.com/...

Yet, to this day Tom Reynolds signs the checks on those hit pieces that Busby had nothing to do with.  Just another sign of how shameful this Republican party has become!