Why do they leave the easy ones on the table?
by digby
Howie is going to be doing a long series of posts over at Down with Tyranny analyzing one of the fundamental problems with the Democratic strategy and why they are not maximizing what should be their advantage in quite a few races. And the Party isn’t going to like it. Here’s a taste of the first installment:
When David Broder first wrote about the determinedly centrist Congressional Center Aisle Caucus in 2005, he almost ejaculated for joy on the editorial page of the Washington Post over the sheer civility of the project. I wonder why they didn’t make him an honorary member. Broder claimed there were 47 invited members (which later grew to 60), roughly equally split between the two parties, although that membership roll isn’t readily available anywhere, almost like it’s being hidden. They meet, or met, secretly, in a Chinese restaurant two blocks from Capitol Hill; no joke. The caucus was founded by Republican Tim Johnson (IL) and the-Blue Dog… Steve Israel (NY) with the stated purpose of bypassing Congress’ partisan ways.
Applicants for membership weren’t admitted unless they recruited companion members from the opposite party. Caucus members avoided lightning-rod issues and focused only on areas that most likely would produce agreement. Under one unwritten bylaw, members vowed never to engage in political campaigns against other members. That’s nice… but does it make sense to appoint the person who came up with that chairman of the DCCC? I’ll answer that for you– NO! These are the exact candidates the DCCC should be going after… but regardless of how vulnerable they are, Israel keeps the DCCC off their backs one way or the other. In a rational world, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen would have been a top tier DCCC candidate, but Steve Israel doesn’t live in a rational world; he lives in a Center Aisle world and ignores the fact that Ros-Lehtinen is in a blue district that Obama won– and by a way stronger margin than just about all of Israel’s targeted districts. But Ileana gets a reelection free-pass from Israel and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Last year Wasserman Schultz was complicit in recruiting a cardboard candidate, Manny Yevancey, who no one ever heard of, who raised zero dollars and who campaigned exactly zero days. His only job was to occupy the Democratic ballot slot so no one else could run against Wasserman Schultz’s and Israel’s BBF.
There are 21 seats like this in the House, winnable seats Steve Israel willfully ignored, even if they were much easier than impossible targets in deep red districts where he ran his handpicked Blue Dogs and New Dems.
There’s something rotten in the state of Democratic institutions and Party infrastructure. It has to do with collusion with money and power. Read DWT regularly over the next few weeks to get a good idea of the details. It’s not pretty.
Update: Here’s one on the problem with the Senate. Same as it ever was.
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