It's
this sort of bullshit that keeps pushing me further away from the party committess:
This is a very good opportunity for a Democratic pickup. This a district that is every day becoming Democratic," said Greg Speed, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
"Bucks County was carried by [Gov.] Ed Rendell [D-Pa.] by over 50,000 votes. We're watching developments closely and are optimistic should the seat open up," Speed said.
Speed declined to comment on whether Schrader could -- or even would -- be replaced with another candidate.
What these DCCC should realize is that you never, NEVER, talk down a candidate. Now, assuming
Schrader is staying in the race as promised, Speed has made it look as though she's second choice. That given the chance, the DCCC would've preferred someone else in the race.
Well, if the fucking DCCC wanted someone else in the race, they should've recruited that person to begin with. But from where I'm sitting, Ginny is doing just fine. She has great creds, and has been working the district tirelessly over the last few months. And that $7,000 in the bank has taken a turn for the better over the last 8 hours, no thanks to the geniuses at the D-trip who have handicapped the Democrats into long-time minority status.
Let them try to touch her. Just let them.
The rules are changing. The party committees no longer have unquestioned control over such decisions. We now have a voice, and I'm taking this chance to flex ours.
As Jerome notes, Ginny is now a bona-fide blogosphere celebrity. Keep an eye on Technorati to gauge how the story spreads.
Update: Perfect example of what I'm pissed about. As the story breaks, Jesse Lee enthusiastically blogs the outpouring of support for Schrader over at the DCCC blog, linking to the ActBlue fundraising page and all. Then, a few hours later, he is forced toe the party line:
I know a lot of folks are wondering about our candidate situation, but if Greg Speed has no comment, nor do I - sorry.
The way to respond to the reporter's question whether the party would seek a replacement candidate would've been to say, "We look forward to working with Schrader to pull the district into the Democratic column." And
then, they could've done whatever backroom maneouvering they felt necessary, however unsavory that might be.
But refusing to end speculation that the party may try to replace Ginny simply harms her efforts. Especially considering they can't force her off the ticket and she doesn't intend to go.
Update: Much of the commentary runs along the lines of, "well, maybe the reporter misinterpreted Speed" when writing that "no comment" line. Well, that's the nice thing about having a blog. The DCCC could easily clarify their position at the Stakeholder. Instead, they merely reinforced the "no comment" line.
I also cleaned up some of the language in this post.