6 Disastrous Moments From This Democrat Congressman’s Interview With MSNBC
This morning, DCCC Chairman Steve Israel appeared on MSNBC and I’m still trying to wrap my head around the spin.
House Democrats will tell anyone that will listen that they have a shot at taking back the House this fall, but the truth just sounds different.
Here are 6 disastrous moments from Steve Israel’s interview with MSNBC…
1) Too Early To Take Back The House? Not What You Said Last Year…
In his interview, Israel told Chuck Todd that “it’s too early to say” whether or not Democrats will take back the House in November. That’s a remarkable change from just last year, when Israel told USA Today he thought they had a “good chance” to win it. What happened, Congressman?
2) No Trouble Recruiting Candidates? Not True
When asked–point blank–by Chuck Todd whether or not he’s had difficulty recruiting candidates this cycle, Steve Israel told a blatant falsehood. Israel said he had no trouble recruiting candidates and that it wasn’t hard getting them to run in a midterm year. That contradicts a BuzzFeed article last year in which he said exactly that. See for your yourself (in Israel’s own words)…
“This is an interesting phenomenon right now,” Israel told BuzzFeed in an interview Friday. “We have some recruits who say, ‘You know, I don’t know if I want to do it in ‘14, but if Hillary Clinton runs in 2016, I’m in.’”
Israel said he’s heard this from candidates “almost everywhere,” but particularly in rural and former blue-dog districts where they “feel like it’s gonna be easier,” he said. “And why is that? Because Clinton won those blue-dog districts when he was president.”
3) “Red To Blue?” Not Exactly.
Israel was on MSNBC to promote the DCCC’s “Red-to-Blue” program. However, one glance at the list and you see it’s not exactly what it seems. The program is supposed to target Republican incumbents with Democrat challengers. The only problem is that they included NY-04’s Kathleen Rice on the list. That district is an open-seat and is currently held by a DEMOCRAT. Not exactly “Red to Blue.” It certainly shows how limited their options are though…
4) Dems Don’t Even Know How Many Seats They Need To Win.
Another great failure from the list. The DCCC and Israel named 16 candidates to the list this morning. Except they actually need 17 to win back the House. Oops.
5) Candidate He Touted Isn’t Even On The List
Another candidate he and Chuck Todd touted during the interview is Suzanne Patrick. The only problem: she’s not even on the list.
6) A Tossup District? Nope.
Looks like Congressman Israel isn’t too confident about the Florida-13 special election next week. He claimed that the district was “a tossup.” The problem with his spin is that Obama won it in both 2012 and 2008. And he appears to be outright making up his claim that the district is R+ 13. Not even close. It’s an R+ 1. That’s a fact. So, in summary, if you were to believe Israel’s desperate spin, the district is “a tossup” that votes 13 times more Republican than Democrat? That’s laughable.