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CD17: Ro Khanna, Rep. Mike Honda
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CONGRESS 17 | “Almost every Democrat in delegation gets behind Mike Honda,” said a headline in Roll Call, the congressional newspaper and Web site. The most intriguing word in that sentence is “almost.”
Curiously, one of the three House Democrats from California who have yet to endorse Honda is run likely brutal campaign for re-election next year against Ro Khanna, is nearby East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell. The others are Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) and Susan Davis (D-San Diego).
Two East Bay politicos told The Citizen this week they had differing opinions on Swalwell opting-out, at least for now, in endorsing a fellow incumbent in his neighboring district to the south. Maybe Swalwell is holding out to prove his convictions for change is real, one guessed. Like Pete Stark, whom Swalwell defeated last year on a platform of youth and vitality, Honda is another of the delegation’s aging and entrenched House members facing a vastly younger upstart in Khanna.
Another wasn’t buying it, saying Swalwell is merely waiting to gauge the coming political winds generated by the Honda/Khanna race. They also posited the absence of Swalwell’s name from a roll out of 34 congress members, on top of a consistent roll out of the biggest names in the state and national party, including the president, would be newsworthy, only if, Khanna covets his endorsement. However, Swalwell’s backing may be poisonous to any progressive candidate. Swalwell’s rise came with a certain price, not to him, but to the Alameda County Democratic Party.
Swalwell’s courting of Tri Valley conservatives, including Tea Party supporters, not only delivered a stunning five-point victory for himself last November, but also installed a deeply conservative mayor in Pleasanton, of which Swalwell endorsed over the more liberal Councilmember Cheryl Cook-Kallio, and ushered the narrow defeat of Measure B1, the crucial transportation sales tax initiative in Alameda County.
With that sort of baggage, it’s not likely Swalwell’s endorsement would be very attractive to Khanna whose stalwart backing among Democratic operatives, suggest he won’t be strenuously courting South Bay conservatives with as much vigor as Swalwell exhibited last year to justify an ends to his own means.
ebcitizen.com 
Swallwel types are the ones we need in Congress. someone who is left of center and is willing to reach to to those that are reachable on the other side. Pete Stark was denied the chairmanship of a committee in 2008 by his own party members. Pete went on national TV and called President Bush names, something that a responsible party member should never do. Even his party member agreed that he failed to demonstrate that he failed to demonstrate a degree of responsibility. And Alameda County Democratic Party Committee members continue to have their heads up their ass. I hope the Santa Clara County folks do not emulate their Alameda counterparts and come out and endorse youth and dispatch Honda to go enjoy his retirement.
What was Honda's role when Google got booted out of China and Apple was moving jobs to China. What role did Honda play during the Solyndra crisis. Where is he on the H1B issue. These are the questions his constituents want to know particularly so when his opponent is a former under Secretary of Commerce with a stellar record of job creation.
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Mike Honda wins this race easily. He has Obama's endorsement as well as Boxer, Feinstein and Pelosi. This district is heavily Democratic and Honda doesn't make the mistakes that Stark did. In fact, Mike is very popular and polls well in his District.
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The Alameda County Democratic party needs to get it's head out of you know where!! They should have jumped in for Swalwell and put Pete out to pasture. Pete was an embarassment to the party!!
As for Swallwell being responsible for measure B and the Pleasanton Mayor's race why not add global warming. The dymanics of the next election are very interesting and I do agree with the rest of the article.
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I wonder, as both these candidates probably speak glowingly about the proposed immigration bill, do you think they ever consider the plight of so many Americans who are unemployed right now.
Read yet another picture of some of these folks as seen in the NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/sunday-review/the-idled-young-americans.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Exactly who do you think all the new lower skilled immigrants will be replacing?
These young men and women, seemingly the only ones not represented in the Gang of Eight's meetings.
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Damage? What are you talking about Tavares? Oh wait, you don't know what the Hell you're talking about. So go ask Tony Santos for more advice.
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Oh OK, Swalwell is responsible for “damage” because he ran and won the election. I guess he should have never run unless the incumbent and the party insiders said it was OK. Perhaps Khanna should also drop out so as to not risk “damage” and scorn from the party pros.
I'm sure the all the voters think of their votes for Swalwell as damaging.
I'd like to see Corbett try to blame Swalwell for this in the November election when the same voters are voting again.
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First stage: denial. You're taking this as a criticism. The thing about running for office is you try to win. Swalwell did what he needed to do to win. He just needs to reconcile the damage in his victory and reorientate himself for the next race.
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“and ushered the narrow defeat of Measure B1, the crucial transportation sales tax initiative in Alameda County.”
Talk about a stretch.
Two things happen. People voted to not raise taxes on themselves. Because of Swalwell?
He rallied the anti-tax crowd? Stretch.
Might as well blame the B1 defeat on Pete Stark for being a jerk.
Look, Swalwell ran, Period!
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