Democrats in Venice

One GOP operative considering Venice a foregone wasteland, no point in reaching out to the Democratic stronghold covered with alternative artisans and bums and marijuana clinics.

I was surprised when one campaign advocated reported that Venice residents consider Henry Waxman "right-wing". That sounds a lot like the single-payer junta, a measure which Waxman had pledged to pursue, yet failed to bring to the table in the discussions over ObamaCare.

I do not condone going after Henry Waxman because he has not been "leftist" enough. He is one of the most left-leaning Congressman in the country, a politician who has voted out of step with his own party, voting down tax cuts over and over again.

I had an interesting excursion in Venice today, notwithstanding the "People's Republic" rhetoric which sand-bags some areas of Los Angeles as a no-man's-land for Congressional challengers who do not have a (D) in front of their name.

I was pleased by the warm reception which I received from a number of prospective voters. The younger people whom I spoke with liked the idea of getting rid of a long-termed incumbent. I even spoke with  a Jewish Republican who chafed at the idea of getting rid of Henry Waxman.

One voter who had just moved from Oklahoma expressed his support for President Obama because he did not care for the "trickle down" theory of economics. "It's not trickling down fast enough," he shared with me. When I talked about the partisan gridlock in Congress, he admitted that he believed that was a big part of the problem. After establishing Bloomfield's "No Labels'" background, he was singing a different tune. "Well, at least you got me to think about it."

And sometimes that's all it takes. The mood is anti-incumbent, a mood that conservative voters in the South Bay can take comfort in and take advantage of in taking down Waxman the Taxman.