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We’ve posted my story for tomorrow’s print editions on how Rep. Pete Stark’s defeat marks both the end of an era and, probably, the start of another Democrat-on-Democrat race for the 15th Congressional District in 2014. Here’s a few final thoughts for which there wasn’t room in that story, but which seem noteworthy nonetheless. This was a contest for which our editors wanted election-night photographs, but Stark’s campaign refused to tell us Monday and Tuesday where he would be Tuesday night; I still don’t know where he watched the returns. I take this as a sign that his campaign staff...

Pete Stark's days in Congress might be numbered The nearly four-decade reign of Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, is about to end. Stark finished first among three candidates in the 15th Congressional District, but the message of discontent with his boorish and increasingly erratic approach to his job as a public servant could not have been louder. Nearly 59 percent of voters in the freshly realigned district preferred someone other than Stark: 36 percent for Eric Swalwell, a 31-year-old prosecutor and Dublin City Council member, and 22 percent for Chris Pareja, an independent who ran a spirited low-budget campaign. In years...

When Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., lost the GOP primary to challenger Richard Mourdock this month, Beltway types saw the voters' verdict as a victory for the Tea Party and a defeat for the kind of Republican who could work across the aisle. I think Lugar, 80, lost because he was out of touch with Indiana. He started the primary registered to vote at an Indiana home he had sold in 1977. The Lugars have resided in Virginia ever since. Lugar had been working in Washington for so long that he didn't realize he needed to keep up at least the...

Even as he faces his most competitive Congressional challenge in decades, 19-term East Bay Democratic Rep. Pete Stark, 80, has cut back on local campaign appearances –and turned down two upcoming debates sponsored by five area Chambers of Commerce and an Asian Pacific Islander group in his district. Stark’s retreat from public and campaign appearances in the East Bay in the midst of a heated campaign has been noticeable since he made headlines recently with some eyebrow-raising campaign gaffes at a Chronicle editorial board and at a public debate in Hayward. The California Congressional delegation’s longest serving member, who has...

Nineteen-term congressman Rep. Pete Stark has taken a lot of heat lately — some of it dished by The Chronicle here and here and here — for his unfounded accusations and Congressional record. His Democratic opponent in June’s primary, Alameda County prosecutor Eric Swalwell, went so far as to tell us “I don’t think he’s fit to be in office.” Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, disagrees. At least that’s what the five-term congressman said after we chased him down the hallway and up half a flight of stairs with the SF Chronicle/SFGate.com’s Shaky Hands Productions video crew. ..

California Democrat confuses Solyndra with electric car companyBy Daniel Strauss - 05/05/12 12:37 PM ET Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) confused failed solar energy firm Solyndra with the electric car company Tesla. "I wish I had enough expense allowance to get one of those new S's that Solyndra's going to make down there - the electric car," Stark said in a Saturday report by the San Francisco Chronicle, after being asked about the defunct solar energy company. "They run $60,000 to $90,000." Solyndra fell under scrutiny after failing despite recieving a guaranteed $535 million low-interest loan from the Obama administration. House...

It was a revealing moment for California Rep. Pete Stark, the irascible East Bay liberal who has forged a reputation as a firebrand during four decades in Congress. The 80-year-old Democrat, in a meeting with Chronicle editors and reporters this week, appeared to be confused about Solyndra, the Fremont solar power company whose collapse has fueled Republican criticism of the Obama administration's energy policies this election year. "I wish I had enough expense allowance to get one of those new S's that Solyndra's going to make down there - the electric car," Stark said, after being asked about the company....

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, has made some nasty charges during his 19 terms in Congress. Stark has called a female colleague a "whore," a male colleague a "little fruitcake," and a black Cabinet member "a disgrace to his race." At a political debate last month, Stark accused Democratic challenger Eric Swalwell, a Dublin city councilman, of accepting "hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes" - without presenting any proof. Later, Stark issued a lukewarm apology. At a Chronicle editorial board meeting Tuesday, Stark completed the crazy circle when he accused someone in the room of giving money to Swalwell's campaign...

California Rep. Pete Stark, the 20-term South Bay Democratic Congressman, raised eyebrows in a public debate last month by accusing his primary challenger of misconduct — taking “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes — without any evidence. On Tuesday, he was at it again — but this time his target was columnist Debra J. Saunders, whom he wrongly accused during a Chronicle editorial board meeting of contributing to Democratic opponent Eric Swalwell’s campaign.Stark was forced to publicly apologize to Swalwell last month after his unsubstantiated charges. On Tuesday, he had to apologize again, after he said he had documentation proving Saunders – who writes the Chronicle’s “Token Conservative” blog”...

A short YouTube video for voters in California's 15th district concerning incumbent and candidate Pete Stark, his residency and apparent senile dementia. Pete Stark, the representative from Maryland?

Democrats in House of Reps. joined J Street in supporting Obama administration's attempt to force Israel into making painful concessions Seventy-four Democrats in the House of Representatives have joined the dovish J Street organization in supporting the Obama administration's attempt to force Israel into making painful concessions to the Palestinian Authority. “In our view, support for a two-state resolution is inseparable from such support for Israel, its special relationship with the United States, and its very survival as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people,” the letter said. Seven Jewish members signed the letter, including Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), John...

An East Bay congressional candidate is on the warpath after the longtime incumbent he's challenging him publicly accused him of accepting bribes, yet hasn't produced evidence. Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, leveled the accusation against fellow Democrat, Dublin councilman and Alameda County prosecutor Eric Swalwell during a candidates' forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Eden Area on Tuesday night at Hayward City Hall. Stark, 80, said Swalwell, who was elected to the Dublin council in 2010, has taken "hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes" from the Lin family -- among the city's most prominent real estate...

The House of Representatives passed a bi-partisan resolution Tuesday night reaffirming “In God We Trust” as the official motto of the United States. The 396-9 vote came at the request of Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) – in part over President Obama’s refusal to correct remarks he made that misstated the motto as “E pluribus unum” instead of “In God We Trust.”Lawmakers voting against “In God We Trust” include Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich), Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA),...

Our favorite psychotic statesman, Pete Stark from the San Francisco Bay Area, has a rigged poll (analysis of rigging here) to which he invited his socialist-leaning constituents to respond.Might be worth providing your opinions.Drop by the survey site (https://forms.house.gov/stark/webforms/survey.htm) and when asked for your zip code, use any of the following zip codes which are in Pete’s district.9408394536-9453994540-9454694552, 94555, 94557, 9456094577-9457994580, 9458794603, 94605, 94614, 94621950029503595132, 95134, 95152

Yes indeed. Everyone knew. That was the point of last night’s post. And in fact, what you’re about to hear isn’t the first case of a Solyndra employee insisting that the whole enterprise was widely known to be a bust inside HQ. Remember this snippet from a recent Mercury News story? One former employee, Mohammed Walahi, who began working as a process technician for Solyndra in 2005, showed up at the company Thursday morning to file a workers’ compensation claim for a repetitive stress injury and was surprised to see FBI agents instead of security guards. Solyndra’s employees were laid...

At a townhall meeting on July 23, 2011, Rep Pete Stark said that he believes the debt limit is a 'political charade'. Stark says, "You've heard a lot about the Debt Limit. And I guess that's - I don't know how many of you are worried about it or concerned about it. The fact is I think it's a political charade." "I'm afraid that the Democrats have done that in the past, threatened to shut down the government. I don't think there's a chance that it will happen. I think the last time somebody did, they lost enough seats in...

Wha-wha-what?? I look at someone like Pete Stark and wonder how in the world did he make it in any career– and with utter bewilderment on how he has been elected over a dozen times to be the representation for his constituents! His arrogance has already been on display when he said at this very same townhall meeting that the government has the right to do whatever they want. But someone was saving this little jewel for a new day as he goes on to say that E-Verify and denying illegals the right to work would be unconstitutional. This was...

Power: The federal government, according to Democratic Rep. Pete Stark, can do anything it wants. If there are indeed no checks on the state's power, as the congressman claims, then the state is a tyrant. Stark, who represents San Francisco's East Bay area, let the left's secret slip when he told constituents at a July 24 town-hall meeting in Hayward that he believes "there are very few constitutional limits that would prevent the federal government from rules that could affect your private life." His response came in reply to a constituent's thoughtful question about the federal health care overhaul. She...

This is PRICELESS. Why is it that people out in CA elect over and over again Representative Pete Stark? (D/CA). What he said about the USA Constitution, which makes me wonder if we are even in the next couple of years if we will EVEN have a United States of America. At the rate things are going with the take over of the auto, health, energy, and financial industries we could very much be on our way to having what national radio talk radio show host Mark Levin calls a “soft tyranny”. The skids have been greased. Give the lady...

Pete Stark: The Federal Government Can Do Most Anything in This Country http://www.breitbart.tv/congressman-at-town-hall-the-federal-government-can-do-most-anything-in-this-country/The questioner has a good understanding of the Constitution. Pete Stark is just one more example of the ruling class. Good Hunting... from Varmint Al

Congressman Peter Starks takes questions at a town hall meeting in Hayward CA... Pete Stark telling constituents how much power the Federal Government has over us. "The Federal Government can do most anything in this country" Link Youtube Video

In response to an excellent question during a town hall meeting, Congressman Pete Star of California says "The Federal Government can do most anything in this country." Video

At the end of June, the nation witnessed firsthand the behavior of California Congressman, Fortney "Pete" Stark, towards what he clearly regards as the commoners in his district. This video received over 259,000 hits from a populace tired of being told by elected officials across the land to "talk to the hand." Stark's contemptuous behavior just reared its ugly head once again this past Saturday, July 24th at another town hall meeting in his district. (video link) As evidenced by the endless repertoire of snarky comments and silly hand gestures, Fortney "Pete" Stark is consistently contemptuous of the good people...

California Congressman Fortney "Pete" Stark was caught on tape in June insulting a constituent at a town hall meeting. When the voter identified himself as a member of the Minutemen, Representative Stark asked him, "Who are you gonna kill today?" The taped exchange has gone viral. I watched Mr. Stark with fascination and a bit of nausea, incredulous that he's been representing his district since 1979. Reading his words is disturbing, but watching the video is astonishing. A few minutes into it, I discovered that I know Pete Stark. In fact, every single one of us knows Pete Stark. Congressman...

Democrat Congressman Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) introduced a bill to create a tax on currency yesterday. He says it will create a U.S. fund to assist developing countries with the impacts of global warming, and create a Global Health Trust Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, and other diseases, and well as funding Obama's pledge to the U.N. This legislation is right out of the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goal, which Obama is required to follow if his Global Poverty Bill ever passes.

WASHINGTON - At a time when both political parties are worrying about the federal deficit, an unexpected and unorthodox proposal is coming back from the shadows of last year's health-care debate the "public option." The idea of creating a major government health insurance program was roundly rejected last year, but the 128 House Democrats pushing to reconsider the idea are now advancing the argument that it would help hold down federal spending. Their bill, which faces long odds, would allow Americans who do not get insurance at work to choose a government plan for their health coverage starting in 2014....

Rep. Pete Stark, California Democrat, appears to think security on our borders is not an important issue. The Golden Gate Minutemen posted video of an exchange during a recent town hall meeting on June 26 in Fremont, where the congressman asked a border security advocate in attendance, "Who are you going to kill today?" Mr. Stark continued to heckle and mock the town hall attendees who reacted in disbelief as the congressman disrespected his own constituents. (all emphasis is mine) Mr. Stark made such outrageous statements like: "If you knew anything about our border, you would know that's not the...

FNC host Glenn Beck aired a compilation of video clips showing Rep. Pete Stark, California Democrat, mistreating his constituents and the press. One particular clip shows Mr. Stark making physical threats to a reporter.

Idiot Pete Stark (D, Calif.) says that the more we borrow as a nation the "richer" we get. You see, says Congressman Stark Raving, that trillions of dollars in debt proves that we are a rich people. Sadly, I see nothing to separate Rep. Stark Raving from any other Democrat. This video is pretty prosaic, really. This sort of economic ignorance piled on top of such arrogance is the Democrat Party personified. See the video at Publiusforum.com...

A California congressman known for edgy sarcasm mocked an opponent of illegal immigration during a town hall meeting last week, asking, "Who are you going to kill today?" before the constituent, a self-identified Minuteman, posed his question. Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., no stranger to controversy, mocked the idea that the borders are not secure when asked about the federal government's lack of activity on border security. "We can't get enough Minutemen armed. We'd like to get all the Minutemen armed so they can stop shooting people here," Stark said. Eventually, members of the audience urged Stark to offer a serious...

Looks like Pete Stark is back and more disrespectful of his constituents than ever. Check out this exchange between Stark and members of the Golden Gate Minutemen (who shot the video): Wow. I know that liberals are generally out of touch with reality but this is simply ridiculous. In the strange world that Pete Stark lives in the Minutemen are simply out shooting people and our borders are perfectly secure. Thus mocking the Minutemen and illegal immigration as an issue is the logical thing to do in his mind. But, hey, at least he didn’t threaten to throw anybody out...

Pete Stark opens: "Minuteman want to have something to say? Who you gonna kill today?....Person asks a quesion about securing the border and Congressman Stark relentlessly mocks him at a Town Hall in California...(Video)

“I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.” -- William F. Buckley At this point, I would go Buckley one better: I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 254 people we could pull out of a minimum security prison rather than the Democrats who are currently in Congress. In all fairness to the Democrats we have in charge now, that change probably wouldn't make Congress any less corrupt (not much more corrupt either), but at least...

I received a mass email from Congresscriminal Pete Stark (D-California) tonight about Obamacare, presumably because I previously sent him a love letter telling him to reject Obamacare. Apparently the dimwit failed to notice that I live thousands of miles away. Here's my snarky reply:

Rep. Pete Stark won't become interim chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Stark, D-Fremont, was the next-most-senior Democrat on the tax-writing committee after former Chairman Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., 79, who temporarily stepped aside Wednesday pending the conclusion of an Ethics Committee probe into his corporate-paid travel. House rules said Stark, 78, would automatically ascend to the chair unless he declined, or unless House Democrats voted to pass him over. But other Democrats on the committee reportedly were concerned about Stark's hot-tempered tendencies — which has included some eye-watering tirades and blunt speech on the House floor, in...

Before she became House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi promised that if Democrats won control of the House, she would "drain the swamp" in Washington. How is she doing? Last week, the House ethics committee scolded House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel for corporate-sponsored travel to the Caribbean. In that the panel had yet to resolve multiple charges involving Rangel's personal finances, rank-and-file Democrats joined GOP calls for his ouster as Ways and Means chairman, while Pelosi remained publicly silent. Wednesday, Rangel temporarily stepped aside as chairman. Now for the funny part: Next in line to chair the tax-writing committee is...

Rep. Pete Stark took the gavel of one of the House's most powerful committees today — at least temporarily. Stark, D-Fremont, will be interim chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, with jurisdiction over all taxation and other revenue-raising measures, as well as other programs such as Social Security; Medicare; unemployment benefits; foster care and adoption programs; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a federal welfare program; and child-support enforcement. The committee's second-most-senior Democrat, Stark has served as the Health Subcommittee's chairman. Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., temporarily gave up the committee's chair Wednesday, days after the House Ethics Committee publicly...

Rep. Pete Stark (D – CA) (Charlie Rangel's replacement) says that the more debt we have the wealthier we are. When questioned about it, he tells Jan Helfeld to “get the f**k out of here” and then threatens to throw him out the window. Nice choice, Nancy. Video here

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., is taking over for Rep. Chairman Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., as the latter eases into a questionably voluntary leave of absence from the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee under a cloud of multiple scandals. What sort of chairman will Stark be? Try extremely thin-skinned and...to edit myself for charity, "volatile." That is not intended to be a slur -- it's just true. Don't take my word for it. Here's a video of Stark telling a constituent...well, you have to hear it for yourself, you really won't believe it if I write it out: In...

File this under, be careful what you wish for. As expected Charlie Rangel temporarily stepped down from the Chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee this morning. His replacement Pete Stark who is just a few fries short of a happy meal. The Hill's description is a bit more gentle. The 19-term Democrat has a penchant for making controversial remarks, and when Republicans controlled the House, Stark challenged then Rep. Scott McInnis (R-Colo.) to a fight during a Ways and Means Committee hearing Truth is this guy is CRAZY, he has thin-skin and is constantly exploding publicly into racial...

California Rep. Pete Stark — a controversial lawmaker who has a history of volatile comments about Republicans — is now chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, automatically moving up from the second slot after New York Democrat Charles Rangel relinquished his gavel Wednesday morning. It would take an affirmative action of the House to remove Stark and replace him with another member of the Ways and Means Committee, according to aides familiar with House operations. Stark, one of the chamber's most liberal, partisan and pugnacious members, has had his own recent run-in with the ethics committee, exhibiting bizarre behavior...

New York Democrat Charles Rangel, admonished last week by an ethics panel, will give up the powerful chairmanship of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives, NBC reported on Tuesday. Three Democratic leadership aides told Reuters they were unable to confirm or comment on the NBC report. A fourth indicated that no immediate announcements were planned. NBC quoted a Democratic House member as saying the party did not have the votes to save Rangel, who has faces calls from Republicans and some Democrats to step down as chairman. Representative Sander Levin of Michigan or Representative Pete...

Pete Stark's bizarre ethics interview By: Jake Sherman March 1, 2010 10:16 AM EST Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) sounds like an ethics investigator’s worst nightmare. During an interview last summer with the outside Office of Congressional Ethics, Stark was belligerent. He insulted his interviewers. And he apparently was videotaping the interview. “Throughout the interview Rep. Stark was extremely belligerent and frequently insulted the OCE staff members interviewing him,” Kendric Payne, the investigative counsel, wrote in a memorandum deep in the 122-page report recently released. “Approximately 15 minutes into the interview it also became apparent to the OCE interviewers that Rep....

(CNN) — Rep. Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts, raised eyebrows last month when he told a constituent at a raucous health care town hall event, "Trying to have a conversation with you would be like arguing with a dining room table." Now Rep. Pete Stark, D-California, is involved in a similar instant YouTube classic, telling a town-hall participant over the weekend that he wouldn't "waste the urine" to pee on the man's leg. First reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and confirmed by a YouTube clip of the event, the longtime congressman made the remark after the participant launched into a long,...

One of Pete Stark's Town Hall meetings was held in Fremont, California. Although the media reported that only one person was in opposition to Stark in San Leandro, Fremont was a different story. A senior citizen told Pete "don't pee on my leg and then tell me it's raining", Pete's reply: "I wouldn't dignify you by peeing on your leg - I wouldn't waste the urine". Not exactly Congressional level behavior in my opinion... Here is a condensed version of the meeting which gives you a flavor of the questions that opponents and supporters alike asked Stark. VIDEO

Michelle Malkin: Independent TV documentarian Jan Helfeld asks California Democrat Rep. Pete Stark about the national debt and the economy. Stark tells him repeatedly to “shut up,

Watch Congressman Pete Stark blow up when Jan Helfeld asks him why Stark believes, "the more we owe, the wealthier we are."

I attended a Congressman Pete Stark town hall meeting today (8/15/09). It was everything I thought it would be….and that ain’t good. I arrived well over an hour before the event and there was already a line. The people in front of me actually counted the numbers of people ahead of us and there were only 72. This is important because when I entered the hall I was given a number that might be “randomly” called. That number was not 72, it was 97. Since the hall only held a couple of hundred that raised some suspicions that the event...

U.S. Rep. Fortney “Pete” Stark, D-Calif., the No. 2 man on the U.S. House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee, responsible for writing the tax code, could be the latest in a list of prominent Democrats in Washington with tax problems. According to a Bloomberg News report, he has allegedly been taking advantage of a tax break on a Maryland home he claims as his principal residence. Homeowners in Maryland qualify for a tax credit for residences they use “for the legal purposes of voting, obtaining a driver’s license, and filing income tax returns,” according to the Maryland Assessment Procedures...

Republicans danced on tabletops last week after Bloomberg News reported that longtime Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, claims a Maryland home as his "principal residence," thereby snaring a tax break. "My message to Pete Stark," said Ron Nehring, chairman of the California Republican Party, "is that California is a wonderful place to visit — and it's an even better place to live. He should try doing that. "It's an outrage," Nehring added, "for someone to purport to represent California but take a tax deduction claiming that they don't live in California." A senior member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee,...