Look no further than Kent Conrad and Max Baucus in the current health care debate as an example of why for the DSCC, the Senate.
Yes, I know that even Baucus, Conrad, Lincoln, Bayh etc are better than having a Republican serving from these conservative States, but I'll be damned if I am going to take what I have of my limited money and give it to them at the expense of more deserving liberal and progressive candidates.
Each time I get calls from either the DSCC or DCCC I tell them the same thing - I donate directly to the candidates I choose. I used to donate to the DNC, too but since Howard has gone, I don't do that now. I cannot be sure of the direction of the DNC anymore.
I'm not "a Democrat". But I do support Democratic candidates. To paraphrase Rogers, "I belong to no organized party. I am a democrat."
But that's with a lower case 'd'.
Not just more Democrats; more and better Democrats.
That's an important distinction.
I am a liberal and progressive, before I'm a Democrat. I have yet to give a dollar to an Independent candidate challenging a Democrat, but I do donate to liberals and progressives in Democratic primaries as well to Democrats who 'have no chance of winning' in General Elections. My key qualifiers for who I donate to are their liberal/progressive credentials, and their need. If I were wealthy enough to contribute the maximum to all the of liberal progressive candidates, then I'd consider donating to the national Democratic Party machinery. But short of hitting the lottery, that will never happen. So rather than let others decide for me where my limited contributions go, I'll choose for myself.
The reference points have shifted, and liberals and progressives need to grasp the concept now; things on the ground have changed. Giving your money and time to a national effort [excluding of course POTUS] can be counterproductive.
The Republican Party's days are quickly coming to an end.
The spectacular images of the last few years, from Sarah Palin's entry onto the national stage to the Party takeover by right wing AM talk radio pundits like Rush Limbaugh, lunatics like Glenn Beck and liars like Newt Gingrich have doomed them to permanent minority status. Republicans are at best now a regional rump Party of the South and Mid West. The leadership of the Republican Party have tied themselves to images of people who carry guns to political events in attempts to intimidate people; they have tied themselves to images of people carrying signs with swastikas on them. They've bolted themselves to raving lunatics.
They are done. It's all over now except the shouting.
The influence of the right wingers and conservatives will continue to be seen in the Senate. Remnants of the worst of the corporatism and right wing thinking will be reflected in Democrats serving from 'Red States', conservative areas. We're seeing it right now with health care; just one example. Many more to come.
The battle for the soul of the Democratic Party is fully joined now; while the House has its share of Blue Dogs, it's more clear that the Senate remains more shifted to the right than the House - the very disproportionate nature of the Senate makes it resistant to change, due to the 6 year cycle of elections and the disproportionate influence of rural States. A small group of Blue Dog Senators from rural States can make or break liberal/progressive ideas and ideals. The health care reform battle is just one example of what is going to be reality for the next few years.
So where I think liberals and progressives need to be concentrating on is influencing the voters in red rural States. It may be even more important than contributing to campaigns. If the liberal blogosphere concentrated as whole on bringing truth and facts to these rural and conservative States, we'd get a lot more traction than we are now. We need to actively commit to long term outreach, education and influence of voters in rural America. Changing their minds will have a direct impact on the politicians who represent these regions.
{I'll expound upon that concept in a later diary}.
Meanwhile, when the phone calls come in from the Democratic national campaign committees, I have to politely say 'sorry, no thanks'.
Part of this pressure for change needs to be directed at Chuck Schumer, Chris Van Hollen, Tim Kaine who are the head of the DSCC, DCCC, and DNC respectively. They need to know that the times they are a changin' and that liberals and progressives are an important part of the Democratic Party. The impression I get is that we liberals and progressives are needed to be cash cows and dutifully show up for the rallies and GOTV, but shut the hell up when it comes time to buckle under.
Sorry Rahm. This is one person who is not going to be a cash cow for Blue Dogs ever again. This is one person who is not going to shut the hell up because the Blue Dogs hold a crucial fulcrum point in a debate like health care.
As to what we can do for push back against Blue Dogs and the lock they have in the Senate - I'll be writing about that a bit later.