TIME Magazine's latest article on the race in Washington's Eighth District, where Darcy Burner squares off for the second time against Republican Dave Reichert, is a vintage example of GOP-inspired concern trollery in the traditional media. It ought to win some kind of award. Check out the headline:
Races to Watch: Will the Netroots Sink a Microsoft Dem?
Ah, yes. If Darcy Burner loses - which is certainly possible, as Dave Reichert has already won two competitive races and still carries a halo effect from his time as sheriff - it's going to be our fault. It won't have anything to do with Reichert's popularity, for example; it will be all the netroots.
The article does a fine job of setting expectations, too, implying that Burner should actually have been expected to knock off an entrenched incumbent (apparently, TIME doesn't quite understand how hard that is to do):
The battle to be Bill Gates' congressman should have been over by now. Although Dave Reichert, the incumbent GOP representative from Washington State's eighth congressional district, is still a largely popular figure, this is a Democratic year. The percentage of Americans who think the country is on the "right track" just hit a record low. Every morning brings another day when Americans peek through their fingers at plummeting stock market numbers. Further dragging down the Republican brand are the dual anchors of an unpopular President and an unpopular war.
Now, even in Democratic years, Republicans can hang on in Democratic districts. Reichert did it in 2006; so did Chris Shays, and so did Jim Gerlach, and so did Michael Castle. Meanwhile, dozens of Democrats held their seats in Republican districts in Republican years, like 2002 and 2004. Gene Taylor did, Bud Cramer did, Earl Pomeroy did, Chet Edwards did. This is the nature of politics.
But in this case, the race "should have been over by now", apparently. There's little explanation why, though I assume it has something to do with wanting to blame the netroots if Burner loses, yet not wanting to have to give the netroots any credit if she wins.
Even as Burner's campaign has become more of a long shot, she is increasingly a cause celebre in the liberal blogosphere. The website Daily Kos calls her "a netroots hero" and sees her struggle as a crusade for liberal bloggers as well. "Taking Darcy down, in their minds," wrote one of Kos' main posters, McJoan, about national Republicans, "means taking us down, Neutering us." But her tight ties to the liberal blogosphere may well be her ultimate downfall.
There's no explanation why, exactly, a Burner loss would be the fault of the netroots. The only section in which reasons for a potential Burner loss are discussed, is here:
Now, however, the antiwar position Burner staked out at the beginning of her campaign has become less important to voters in the midst of the country's financial crisis. While some of the 8th district's residents work in high-tech sectors, there are large areas of Pierce County where living standards are more modest and whose communities are less insulated from economic downturns. And yet Burner has focused surprisingly little on the pocketbook issues that are drawing voters to Democratic candidates around the country.
Not surprisingly, all of that has very little to do with Burner's ties to the netroots "sinking" her.
The article goes on to discuss Reichert's relative popularity in the district from his days as sheriff (his biggest asset, and the reason he has won election twice), as well as his low profile in Congress (which is his biggest liability aside from his party label). All of that is accurate, and those are the reasons the race is competitive right now.
But the fundamental assumption in the article - that Burner should have this race in the bag - is ridiculous given Reichert's popularity (which even TIME acknowledges), and the implication that if she loses, it will be because of her ties to the netroots, is completely unsupported by fact. Outside of one quote from Reichert's campaign manager - hardly an unbiased source - there's no support for the fact that Burner's association with the netroots would be any kind of liability. No interviews with constituents, no Reichert ads demonizing Daily Kos, nothing like that.
TIME's concern-trollery is even more farcical, however, when viewed next to the latest Burner internal poll:
Lake Research Associates for Darcy Burner. 10/11-14. Likely voters. MoE 4.4% (9/23-25 numbers)
Burner (D) 47 (45)
Reichert (R-inc) 40 (48)
That's a 10-point swing in just three weeks for Burner, and it's coupled by a DCCC poll showing Burner up five points.
Yup, looks like the netroots are just killing her!
On the web:
Darcy Burner for Congress
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