House of Representatives

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, has just sent out a fundraising letter criticizing her House colleague Paul Ryan, saying a Vice President Ryan would be a "nightmare" and that "we cannot afford to let this man be a heartbeat away from the presidency." Read the email below:

A Florida super PAC affiliated with a Democratic congressional candidate has a new ad criticizing Florida Republican Allen West. The ad depicts West, a freshman House member, as a boxer who "socked it to seniors" and "whacked women." The animated West punches an elderly woman, a younger woman, and a family. Watch the ad below, along with a statement about the ad from West himself:

House minority whip Steny Hoyer, speaking with reporters at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, said Democrats in Congress "didn't have the votes" in 2009 or 2010 to raise taxes, even though the party had a majority in both the Senate and the House and Barack Obama was president. 

The House of Representatives voted 414-2 Wednesday to pass the Sequestration Transparency Act, a bill requiring President Barack Obama to release to the public a plan to implement the forthcoming automatic budget cuts, including drastic cuts to the Department of Defense.

Illinois Democrat Jesse Jackson Jr., who had mysteriously taken a leave of absence from Congress a month ago, is reported to be at a rehabilitation clinic in Arizona. The Free Beacon has the story:

Tomorrow, the House of Representatives is expected to hold another vote to repeal Obamacare, and the American Action Network is encouraging voters to tell House Democrats in potential swing districts to support repeal.

Arkansas Democrat Gene Jeffress, who is running for Congress in Arkansas's Fourth District, offered a strange story about health care reform at a recent campaign stop. The video, picked up by Caleb Howe at RedState, contains some offensive language from Jeffress, who suggests that Republican opposition to universal health care is racist. Watch it below:

In another sign that an endangered Georgia congressman is distancing himself from the Obama administration, Democrat John Barrow has released a statement saying he will vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt when the House votes on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

Democrats in New York's Eighth Congressional District are projected to overwhelmingly choose Hakeem Jeffries over controversial city councilman Charles Barron in Tuesday's primary. So far, Jeffries has won 74 percent of the vote with 49 percent of precincts reporting, while Barron has received support from only 26 percent.

The Emergency Committee for Israel (ECI) has a new ad running on New York television documenting a series of radical, racist, and anti-Israel statements from Democratic congressional candidate Charles Barron of New York's Eighth District. Watch the ad below:

Anti-Israel advocate and professor Norman Finkelstein posted on his personal blog that there were "four reasons" to support Democratic congressional candidate Charles Barron in next Tuesday's primary for New York's Eighth Congressional District: "Ed Koch, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), City Councilman David Greenfield and state Assemblyman Dov Hikind."

Democratic candidate for Congress Charles Barron of New York's Eighth District has picked up the endorsement of white supremacist David Duke. The Daily Caller reports: