which Democrats did this-- Barrow (Blue Dog/New Dem-GA), Matheson (Blue Dog-UT), McIntyre (Blue Dog/New Dem-NC), Owens (New Dem-NY), Peterson (Blue Dog-MN) and Kurt Shrader (Blue Dog/New Dem-OR)-- because they do it all the time. Here are their ProgressivePunch career-long crucial vote scores: The other day, we mentioned that every single Republican-- no exceptions-- voted against George Miller's modest proposal to gradually increase the minimum wage to $10.10/hour. And almost every Democrat voted to increase the minimum wage. Almost? Yes, 6 of the most conservative, anti-working family Democrats-- each of whom votes far more frequently with the GOP than with the Democrats-- crossed the aisle and voted with Bohener and Cantor against working folks. It's not even a big deal aboutDemocrats did this-- Barrow (Blue Dog/New Dem-GA), Matheson (Blue Dog-UT), McIntyre (Blue Dog/New Dem-NC), Owens (New Dem-NY), Peterson (Blue Dog-MN) and Kurt Shrader (Blue Dog/New Dem-OR)-- because they do it all the time. Here are their ProgressivePunch career-long crucial vote scores:

• John Barrow- 37.95

• Jim Matheson- 43.22

• Mike McIntyre- 45.92

• Bill Owens- 38.08

• Collin Peterson- 40.43

• Kurt Shrader- 59.09

any incumbent. They have The other thing they have in common is the kind of massive support they get from the DCCC. Most of the money the DCCC collects from donors is spent on reelecting incumbents-- but not justincumbent. They have a list of Democrats who they say most need the help. The majority of the Democrats on that list and on it because they can't raise money from the Democratic base on their own because they vote with the GOP so frequently on the most important issues. And wouldn't you know it-- all the ConservaDems who voted against the minimum wage increase (except Collin Peterson and Kurt Schrader who funds their campaigns by extorting legalistic bribes from lobbyists with business before their committees)-- are on the DCCC's Frontline list. If you donate to the DCCC you are donating to Democrats who will vote to end Choice, vote against equality for the LGBT community, vote to do whatever the NRA tells them to do and, as we saw this week, vote against working families. Donate to the DCCC and you are sending money to John Barrow, Jim Matheson, Mike McIntyre and Bill Owens.





The money the DCCC wastes on these Members Boehner and Cantor have come to depend on is money that could have elected dependable progressive leaders like Rob Zerban and Nate Shinagawa, each of whom came close to beating their Republican opponent but got no help from the DCCC and didn't quite go the distance. Needless to say, within minutes of the anti-minimum wage vote Friday the DCCC and all the Beltway shills who parrot their line were screeching about how the Republicans killed a minimum wage increase. But have Barrow, Matheson, McIntyre, Owens, Peterson and Shrader switched parties? I don't think so. Here's a fundraising letter the DCCC sent out within an hour of the vote:

VOTE ALERT: Congressman Shithead Just Rejected Minimum Wage Increase



Congressman John Shithead just rejected a commonsense measure to increase the minimum wage.



Working families have gone without an increase in the minimum wage since 2009, and according to a Pew Research/USA Today poll last month, 71 percent of Americans favor increasing the minimum wage. The latest Census Bureau numbers show that income rose for the top fifth of American households last year while median income fell to a level that is 8 percent lower than pre-recession levels.



“In our country, it’s not right when men and women work hard at a full-time job and can’t earn enough to make ends meet or support their families, but Congressman Shithead would rather chose Tea Party ideology than help hardworking families,” said Emily Bittner of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “The people of California work hard and play by the rules but they’re getting squeezed by higher prices and lower earnings-- and now Congressman Shithead just said no to a commonsense way to put more money in their pockets: raise the minimum wage.”



BACKGROUND



Congressman John Shithead Voted Against Increasing the Minimum Wage from $7.25 to $10.10 Over Three Years. Upon enactment, the measure would have increased the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.20 within three months. A year from this date, the federal minimum wage would increase from $8.20 to $9.15. A year from this date, the federal minimum wage would increase to $10.10. [HR 803, Vote #74, 3/15/13]



Raising the Minimum Wage Would Benefit as Many as 30 Million Americans. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “Increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 by July 1, 2015, would raise the wages of about 30 million workers, who would receive over $51 billion in additional wages over the phase-in period.” [Economic Policy Institute, 3/13/13]



· Raising the Minimum Wage to $10.10 Would Generate 140,000 Net New Jobs. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “Across the phase-in period of the minimum-wage increase, GDP would increase by roughly $32.6 billion, resulting in the creation of approximately 140,000 net new jobs (and 284,000 job years) over that period.” [Economic Policy Institute, 3/13/13]



Wealthiest Get Richer While Middle Class Income Shrinks, according to Census Bureau. “Income for the top fifth of American households rose by 1.6 percent last year...All households in the middle of the scale saw declines...The numbers helped drive an overall decline in income for the typical American family. Median household income after inflation fell to $50,054, a level that was 8 percent lower than in 2007, the year before the recession took hold.” [New York Times, 9/12/12]

In other words, the DCCC wants you to contribute to them because, for example, Paul Ryan voted against raising the minimum wage. But they won't use the money to help defeat Ryan and replace him with Rob Zerban who wants to raise the minimum wage but will instead use it to help reelect reactionary anti-working family shills John Barrow, Mike McIntyre, Jim Matheson and Bill Ownes who voted with Ryan against the minimum wage. This, by the way, makes perfect sense to people who have spent too much time Inside-the-Beltway.