That's right, on Tuesday, March 21, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the DCCC, won their first election--against another Democrat.
Washington knows best
They brought in the big guns. Hillary Clinton hosted a big-ticket fundraiser in New York. John Kerry sent out emails to raise more money. Barack Obama taped TV spots. By the end of the campaign, the Tammy Duckworth for Congress campaign had sent eleven different pieces of direct mail to voters in the 6th District in Illinois, covered the airwaves with commercials, and had spent close to $1,000,000.
They had to. Because Tammy Duckworth had no name recognition, no supporters, no track record in politics, and no consistent stands on the issues. She doesn't even live in the district. But the DCCC declared her the candidate against another Democrat with deep grassroots support who almost unseated Henry Hyde in 2004--Christine Cegelis. With all that, Duckworth got 43.8% of the vote to 40.4% for Cegelis. The margin of victory for Duckworth was exactly 1080 votes. The 6th District has 512 precincts, which means Duckworth's margin of victory was 2.1 votes per district. With the money her campaign raised and spent to win this race, the price tag on those 2.1 votes per district is staggering.
Blowing $1 million to defeat a Democrat
Imagine how many candidates the DCCC could have supported in the general election. Imagine how many seats the Democrats might pick up in the house if they backed existing candidates with viable local support.
But they're not. And Illinois isn't the only place the DCCC is doing this.
Next on the DCCC list, Jerry McNerney
In California's 11th District, Jerry McNerney is facing much the same situation.
McNerney also ran in 2004 against a sitting Republican incumbent nobody expected to lose. So nobody bothered to run. Except Jerry.
With little money or official Party support, he ran a write-in primary campaign and got a higher vote total than the last Democratic challenger to Rep. Richard Pombo in the general election.
But, as in Illinois, the DCCC decided McNerney had proven Pombo was vulnerable, but not that Jerry was the man to beat him. As in Illinois, the party came up with a complete unknown with no local name recognition, no local support, and no discernable positions on the issues. As in Illinois, the DCCC candidate has been duly endorsed by local politicians and has received hefty contributions by out-of-state PACs--mostly from Washington D.C. McNerney is running again with grassroots support and mostly small, local donations.
Does the Democratic Party believe in democracy?
The purpose of a primary election is to determine who local voters want to lead their party ticket. Who best represents their values and understands their local issues. It's not about who Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Ellen Tauscher, DCCC chair Rahm Emanuel, or the big-money donors inside the Washington Beltway think is the best candidate. It's supposed to be up to us, the voters.
Do you?
If you believe, as I do, that we need to send a clear message to the DCCC and all the Party insiders who think it's their job to tell the little people what's best for us--there's still time.
Cegelis lost her fight. But McNerney has until the June primary to show what a grassroots candidate can do. To show that the voters are still more important than the D. C. power structure.
In the interest of full disclosure, I worked for the Cegelis campaign and for McNerney. I know them both and admire them for their dedication to democratic principles. For their belief in this country and its potential. For their desire to solve the problems in their communities. I don't live in either district. Still, I can't help but support ordinary people who are willing to go to extraordinary lengths for what they believe in. I hope you feel the same.
To volunteer, go to www.jerrymcnerney.com
To donate, go to www.actblue.com/page/saynotopombo and add 11¢ to whatever you can give, to identify yourself as a grassroots donor.
Don't wait. Democracy is depending on you.