Yesterday, in a
diary that was swallowed up by dkos' afternooon tech problems,
Marcy Winograd officially endorsed Francine Busby, laying to rest the concerns of a few fellow Kossacks.
I Endorse Francine Busby
As I am dedicated to the proposition of taking back the House for the Democratic Party, I endorse Francine Busby for Congress in CA-50. I hope when she wins that seat she will strongly oppose the Bush administration's war policies, help this country withdraw from Iraq, and help keep us from venturing into any other needless war.
Although personally I have never had any reason to question the shade of blue Marcy bleeds, a few here have questioned her commitment to the party, suggesting her ideology superseded her Democratic credentials.
I found that issue odd, even as I, among her supporters, was branded `pathetic' by a fellow Democrat and Kossack, and watched the retributive troll ratings fly.(please don't worry, this is not a meta diary-I actually considered them proof positive that we as a community were finally dealing with those issues that truly resonate.)
I won't hypothesize as to why this had become an 11th hour issue, but Jeff Lieber did suggest this:
IMHO, the reason a Harman endorsement helps Busby is that they are both conservative Democrats (and its the exact reason Harman is no longer appropriate for very liberal CA-36), but a (liberal) Winograd nod might cause those in CA-50 to flinch.
The House is all about local representation.
Busby is the EXACT RIGHT Democrat for CA-50.
Winograd is the EXACT RIGHT Democrat for CA-36.
Anyway, the question is now moot.
Rep. Harman showed up again on Kos thurseday, and I respect that, even given what I consider the impersonal nature of her post and replies, and more importantly, the hornet's nest of opposition to her record by Kossacks.
A few Kossacks found the way she was treated by commenters as disrespectful. One mentioned the respect Rep. Conyers receives when he posts.
Marcy's husband Buddy and prolific poster stated,
Winograd should not be judged by the behavior of her DKos supporters, any more than Harman should be judged by the behavior of hers, which I for one, at this site and at others, have found occasionally rude, hostile, patronizing and insulting. I'm a big boy, I can take it (haven't trolled anybody), and while it may frankly give me some satisfaction to see the other team sniveling, I don't let it color my view of Harman herself, whose positions and performance I disapprove as a matter of substance.
I consider Rep. Conyers a personal hero, and as I have had scant few in my lifetime, I considered what could be causing the disparity. It didn't take long to arrive at an answer, and the answer was a `matter of substance'.
The war.
The war that will ultimately define our peculiar period in history.
The war that is bankrupting our country.
The war that has led to the loss and destruction of tens, if not hundreds of thousands of lives, and the erosion of our civil liberties.
We can have lengthy and substantive discussions here at Kos as to whether or not single-payer health care is the desired option, whether or not public financing of campaigns is feasible, whether or not we need to reign in the military industrial complex, and they will most likely be devoid of ad hominem comments and threats of troll ratings.
But apparently not when it comes to support of this war and the degradation of our Constitutional rights. I hold that these issues should rightly inspire the passion of our fellow Kossacks, our fellow Democrats, and our fellow citizens.
Our 230 year old experiment in democracy hangs in the balance, and it seems we as Democrats are the last line of defense. I have stated that I will vote Democratic until they pry my paper voting receipt from my cold, dead hands, but I will not buy into the myth that this primary in any way adversely affects the electoral prospects of the Democratic party on Tuesday, or in November.
Quicksilver, a resident of 36, and someone whose opinion I have come to greatly respect, stated that he initially `wanted to think the best' of Rep. Harman. I echo that as a fellow 36er, but this war, this matter of substance, this ongoing horrific threat to the very core of our American character calls, pleads, begs for strong and vocal leadership.
And this is why I must support Marcy.