PAC Spending for the CA 48th Congressional District
First, my motivational messages for why Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher is no longer representative of the 48th California District. We start with the rising sea level and its projected damage to Newport Harbor and Beach. I covered and reported on a Newport Beach presentation on future steps needed around the Newport Harbor and included islands, and the peninsula, due to sea level rise. The cost during this century to rebuild retaining walls was going to be at least a half billion dollars, and possibly as high as a billion dollars. You can bury your head in the sand on this, but if you do, the sand will soon be gone.
Also, as I type this, I am watching news of the Aliso Viejo wildfire inland from Laguna Beach, causing the evacuation of 2,150 homes in Aliso Viejo, and 1,500 people from Top of the World in Laguna Beach. Update: All residents have been allowed to return to their homes. Update: Soka University is now safe. Wildfires will increase with global warming and more severe droughts. Laguna Beach uses a Goat Corp which is used to trim the vegetation in the canyons, and I have seen them eating the brush on the edges of the Top of the World hilltop.
Also, as if you needed anything more motivating than drowning or burning, the Trump Tax Law Punishment for Well Funded States puts a $10,000 limit on deducting state taxes and mortgage payments. This doesn’t completely cover the mortgages of anything near the coast. We need a Representative who understands climate change, and who will act to prevent it. Of course, a tax cut that benefits the top 1% does cover a few that live by the coast, but the odds may be 99 to 1 that that is not you or me.
The Orange County Register reports on June 2, that “the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) has spent $5.4 million in three Orange County congressional races in recent weeks”. In California’s Top Two primaries, Democrats need to defeat the non-leading Republican candidate in order to get a Democrat on the November runoff ballot. Otherwise, Rorhabacher and the second place Republican candidate, Scott Baugh, will be the only two on the ballot. So the DCCC has spent $1.7 million opposing Baugh and backing the third place Republican candidate, John Gabbard, with $137,000, in order to take votes away from Baugh.
I looked up the new June 2 PAC or Independent Expenditures funding accounting in the 48th on OpenSecrets.org, the Center for Responsive Politics. A whopping $2.70 million of PAC money has been spent just opposing Baugh, while only over a fourth of that, $725,000, has been spent backing him. Also, more PAC money has been given opposing Rohrabacher, $268,000, as backing him, namely $137,000. Gabbard has had $176,000 in PAC outside support, with $120,000 from the DCCC. Baugh has spent $103,000 of PACs against Republicans.
On the Democratic side of the 48th, Hans Keirstead leads with $203,000 in support PAC funding, while Harley Rouda has $82,000 opposed to him, and only $4,000 for him.
The leading outside spending PACs in the 48th are the DCCC with $1.8 million, the Democratic House Majority PAC with $0.83 million against Baugh (live report: I just watched a Baugh opposition add by them), the Republican American Future fund with $0.60 million for Baugh, the Democratic 314 Action Fund with $0.26 million, and the Republican New OC Future fund for $0.20 million.
In another live action report besides the fire, I just saw a Baugh opposition ad on TV which was placed by the DCCC.
The 314 Action Fund backed Democrat Hans Keirstead with $200,000, and spent $60,000 against Democrat Harley Rouda. (They also backed Brian Forde in the CA 45th with $300,000.)
The Environmental Defense Action Fund spent $100,000 against Baugh.
The Republican New OC Future fund spent $180,000 against Rorhabacher, and $23,000 against Rouda.
The PACs are used to run negative ads, so that they can’t be held against the candidates.
Anyway, the political ads are more interesting, and a change from, the ads for extremely expensive medicines, along with their warnings of the many ways that they can kill you. And that reminds me, Republicans have not done anything to lower the cost of medicine.
