Republicans have been frantically working to frame the debate over the national suffering that's being caused by historically high energy prices that.

They are blaming environmentalists. You know the Drill

They are talking about cutting taxes and sending out $600.00 checks.

But it's really Republican gas prices, and we need to be emphasizing this every day, every way.

It was a vicious and cynical attempt to bleed the campaign of progressive hero Mayor Debbie Cook, orchestrated by the Treasurer of the California Republican Party, Keith Carlson (plaintiff) and the Secretary of the California Republican party Steve Barish (one of the attorneys)

After losing in Orange County on Wednesday, they were back in Sacramento on Thursday, and a Superior Court judge humiliated them again today.

Wednesday the ruling of the Court of Appeals was that the Republicans leaders were suing the wrong people in the wrong court using the wrong law.

What does a  sleazy Republican mired in ethical problems do when he faces a strong challenger who truly represents the values of his conservative district? If you're Dana Rohrabacher, you bring in the lawyer Mike Schroeder, the Dark Lord of the Orange County Republican party to sue the candidate, call her a scofflaw attorney, and tie up time, resources, and money with bogus charges. As one commenter on Red County says about the ongoing maneuverings,

This lawsuit will bleed Debbie out of money for as long as it lasts. Her "stay" only ensures that the bleeding continues for longer.

Debbie Cook is the Mayor of Huntington Beach, and a formidable grassroots progressive who has the ability to challenge one of the vilest Congressmen in America. Debbie's been winning battles against the local slimeballs since 1989, when she started a grassroots battle against corrupt out-of-touch developers intent on developing public beaches and parks for profit.

In the Batman comics, Mayor Gordon would shine a special spotlight onto the clouds above Gotham City when he needed Batman's help.

I had a frisson of that feeling when I received an email from Howie, John, Digby and Jane that started out,

Dear friend,

It's an email list that's never been used before, never even been looked at before.

Ok, I'm a bucks-up Kossack. We're out there, accidental millionaires true to our values.

I met John Laesch at the first Kossack Convention, and my son and I decided to give him our entire candidate contribution budget.

John took the battle to Denny Hastert, and tied up the Meat Puppet and his money so other Dems could win.
Now Hastert's leaving early.

If you want to give to the gutsy veteran who represents us best, and have a chance to win a piece of history, this is your chance.

Click here to give and enter

You could give a few dollars and have a chance to win the Yearly Kos 1 Banner

Sure you're burned out and slightly crazed by the FISA vote. Who wouldn't be?

There's one thing we can do to take back America - elect better Democrats.

If you attended Yearly Kos, you had a chance to see and meet this group of battle-hardened patriotic candidates, all of whom ran great campaigns in tough districts in 2006, and all of whom are coming back again to win in 2008. Click here to give and enter

These patriots need our support. They deserve our support.Let's make our statement about FISA to the current group by supporting a group of candidates who won't let us down.

The LA Times reports this morning on one more level of massive incompetence by Bush Republicans which is inconveniencing millions of Americans.

A combination of new restrictions on our freedoms and managerial incompetence has turned the simple act of obtaining a passport into a nightmare.

This is more stuff to add into talk around the water cooler, to speak out loud in lines at the airport, to bring up vocally any time someone mentions passport problems. "Is there anything Republicans can't screw up?" "I guess they needed to give another tax cut to the rich instead of hiring a few employees."

Desperate to obtain their U.S. passports, world travelers have been flying to Seattle, where the passport office is considered one of the nation's most efficient. But even there, more than 110,000 backlogged applications are piled in closets, the supervisor's office and the break room.

Many won't be touched for months. Half of the staff is trying to help the crowds jamming the lobby and spilling out the door.

How did it get this bad?

Living deep in the OC, surrounded on a daily basis by highly partisan Republicans, I tend to hear the emerging talking points on a regular basis.

This link to a Sopranos themed video is an example of the emerging Republican campaign for 2008.

Why is this so important?

Through an email campaign to previous contributors, Move On PAC is asking for $200,000.00 for organizers to work on ending the war.

Can you chip in $500 to put an Out of Iraq organizer on the ground for one day in a key district?
You can choose whether you want to help firm up the backbone of a wavering Democrat, or raise hell against a pro-Bush Republican.

We've got some work to do this summer.

For Republicans, we've got to show that they face political extermination if they keep siding with President Bush on the war.  And for Democrats, we've got to make sure every last one of 'em is pushing to end this war—not standing on the sidelines acting helpless.

Let's put some faces on the escalation of Bush's failed war in Iraq.

We've been lucky enough to have a "bonus son". He was my younger son's best friend since third grade, and he's a person whose smile lights up a room, who could make a grumpy math teacher laugh or gather a crowd with some goofy impromptu skit. His family background is semi-tragic. His father spent time in jail. His mom was a druggie, and remains deeply disturbed. He ended up being tag-teamed between grandparents, and ended up in our neighborhood where the schools were better.

He was, in a sense raised by the neighborhood, always a part of every one else's family activities, with an extra place setting at one of several houses.

When his step-grandfather kicked him out of house during high school, he moved in with us, and lived in our home on and off for several years. He's an absolutely wonderful person, who turned out incredibly well despite all of the issues in his life.

Here in the deep Republican stronghold of the OC, my fine local progressive blog, The Liberal OC links to the top stories on the Red County Blog and the Caveman Republican Flash Report.

Today I had to click through to read what was beneath this headline, EXPOSED: How Dem Party Operatives Plan on "Youtubing" Republicans in 2008 – and what every GOP candidate and staffer needs to know

I found this warning to Republican candidates and staff

Deep in the heart of The OC, there was speculation that lobbyist turned B actor Fred Thompson would announce his candidacy at a meeting of the shadowy ultra-conservative Lincoln Club.

This didn't happen, but he did outline some of the themes of a campaign he is expecting to join in the next few weeks. With widespread dissatisfaction for the pathetic crop of Republican candidates, Thompson already polls ahead of Romney.

The lede in today's LA Timesfocuses on national security, but the shocker comes when he suggests a full-on assault on senior citizens.

And he said looming financial crises in the Social Security and Medicare programs were key domestic problems that had not been resolved because Congress lacked the will to do so. Thompson suggested that the solution to the forecast shortfall in Social Security and Medicare might rest in cutting benefits.

I  want to amplify some of the comments that Psifighter made in  this diary and add some thoughts about what it's like to run for office, to offer up your heart and soul, your family, friends, faith, and everything you have ever done.

Your life is up on a bloody spit, where savage jackals come to gnaw and howl.

As my signature says, I believe in Barack Obama, but my heart also goes still at the passion and commitment of the Edwards family and the Clintons.

Litter and graffiti?

In Los Angeles, Clinton helped launch a national volunteer drive to clean up litter and graffiti.

"She's been fighting for a brighter and cleaner future for all our children," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat, said to cheers from a throng gathered around City Hall. "She knows that our environment is not just the key to our health and happiness; she knows it's the defining issue for our children's future."

OK, that link was to the Orange County Register, never a friend of any progressive. Let's go to the LA Times to see what really transpired.

Secret Service agents scrambled this week to add additional layers of security to the home of a former Vice President, after terrorist sympathizers widely publicized the private utility bills of Al Gore’s home, which includes offices for Gore and his wife, as well as for security teams.

A spokesman for the service was highly critical of the phony group that released information for political reasons, "We’ve looked at their tax records, and it’s obvious that this is a radical group, perhaps affiliated with domestic right-wing terrorists. Their funding and patterns of operation also link them to known financial supporters of Islamic regimes, like Exxon-Mobile."

As I waited for the valet to return my car at the Beverly Wilshire after a fund-raising breakfast with Senator Barack Obama, I talked briefly to the guy standing beside me. We agreed that we had both seen and heard everything that we had hoped for, and then some, that Barack Obama could be the transformational candidate that our country needs so badly.

" And I really don't think Hillary could win," said the guy, who will remain nameless.  "It's not that", I replied, "I don't think any Republican could win." "Yes, but can you imagine Giuliani winning?" "No," say I, "But I can imagine a race between Clinton and Giuliani where we all lose."

And that, really, is why I believe we need Barack Obama as our next President.

My response to this joke,

Dear Abby:

My husband is a liar and a cheat. He has cheated on me from the beginning, and, when I confront him, he denies everything. What's worse, everyone knows that he cheats on me. It is so humiliating. Also, since he lost his job five years ago, he hasn't even looked for a new one. All he does all day is smoke cigars, cruise around and shoot the bull with his buddies while I have to work to pay the bills. Since our daughter went away to college he doesn't even pretend to like me and hints that I may be a lesbian. What should I do?

Signed,

Clueless

Dear Clueless:

Grow up and dump him. Good grief, woman. You don't need him anymore. You're a United States Senator from New York. Act like one.

You’ve been a dear friend of mine for many years.

I hope that this email doesn’t destroy our friendship.

Frankly, I think that George W Bush and Dick Cheney have violated their sworn oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

They have corrupted every agency of our government with incompetent cronies

You may remember me from diaries like this this where I challenged Kos and ended up donating $5,000 to run ads for John Laesch against the evil, corrupt meat-puppet, Denny Hastert.

We've put the kids through college without loans, our house is paid for, and we have have, IMO, been financially rewarded for living a virtuous life where we brought my mother-in-law into our home and let her die at home, worked hard, risked a lot, and now have some assets, a low carbon footprint, and a commitment to our childrens' unborn childrens' future.

Yes, I've been waiting for Al Gore, because he has been so consistently right about the most important issues.

Yes, John Edwards' theme of the Two America's resonates strongly with my populist sympathies.