I do not imagine this diary will get me a lot of love while we're in "GOTFV" mode, but I am compelled to write based on some information I have just learned.
I apologize in advance for anyone who dislikes what I have to say.
But I firmly believe that for the party to grow, there must be growing pains. This is one of them.
Scott Rigell has an ad that I've just seen for the first time during the local news hour.
I just tried searching for it on his website, but unfortunately did not find it.
The has Rigell saying things like:
If you think government spending creates jobs, government run healthcare is better, and that Nancy Pelosi should keep running Congress, then I'm not your candidate.
He's right. I do believe those things, and he's not my candidate.
So he blathers on about how bad the government is, and then he flashes that he got endorsements from the Daily Press and the Virginian Pilot, two local newspapers.
I was a little shocked that the Pilot would endorse Rigell, so I rushed to their website to see what compelled them to endorse Rigell.
And quite frankly, their endorsement echos a lot of the reasons why I have abandoned Glenn Nye.
You can read their whole editorial here if you are so inclined, but I am going to quote a few sections that I feel succinctly explain what I am talking about when I talk about how I feel.
Nye, meantime, is wrapping up a bruising first term, one in which he voted for the $787 billion stimulus plan but dismayed his liberal base by opposing two of his party's signature bills: health care reform and cap and trade. He has weathered bipartisan criticism and earned every bit of it.
Bolded by me. This is what I've been saying for a while now, and I have even wrote to Mr. Nye on several occasions outlining this very problem as plainly and as bluntly as possible. His office failed on each occasion to actually address the issue, and instead sent me boilerplate that essentially said "No, I didn't do what you wanted, but look I did undertake some other ineffective task because I'm a moderate and I'm awesome."
Yeah.
Let's continue.
Nye pledged two years ago to be an independent voice for his district. That pledge, along with his experience as a foreign service officer and a lackluster opponent, led this page to support his bid for Congress. On paper, he has delivered.
While I'm not sure exactly what the Pilot has determined that Nye has "delivered", even if on paper, but I enthusiastically supported Nye's bid because our previous Congressperson was Bushie rubber stamp Thelma Drake who spent her entire term regurgitating Bush Co. talking points and failing to actually do anything worthwhile for the 2nd District.
I figured that Nye would be different. Instead, all he's done is disown his own party and the people who elected him to cuddle up next to the right wingers in hopes of riding their support back into Congress. Newsflash Mr. Nye; The right wingers already have a candidate to send to Congress. His name is Scott Rigell. You might recognize him by the "R" next to his name.
But this race will not be decided entirely on paper, and that is largely of Nye's own doing. His decision not to hold town hall meetings to discuss the health care bill deprived constituents of a chance to engage him in the defining political battle of his term. Worse, he remained coy about how he would vote on the bill, even into the night before the vote and just moments before his staff issued a statement saying he would oppose it.
Throughout his term, Nye has offered little in terms of vision, either for the country or for the people of the 2nd District, and he has shown no willingness to take political risks or assume political leadership on difficult issues. This has made it exceedingly difficult for his constituents, and this board, to know what he stands for and when he'll stand for it, or whether his votes have been based on principle or political calculation.
Emphasis is once again mine.
Glenn Nye has proven to be the anti-Tom Perreillo. While Tom over in the neighboring 5th District has busted his ass standing up for progressive votes and the President's agenda, Glenn Nye has wasted precious little time to flap his gums about how much he's not a fan of the Democratic Party, Democrats, Nancy Pelosi, or Barack Obama. His naked political calculation that he'll get re-elected by cozying up to right wing Republicans in addition to carrying what I will politely call "Undeterred Democrats" has thrown everything I and many others on the left down the toilet. He couldn't flush away our support fast enough.
The Pilot goes on to talk more about Rigell a little bit, and they state up front that their endorsement of Rigell comes "after hesitation". Clearly, they aren't 100% sold on Rigell either. But their editorial board has decided that Glenn Nye just hasn't really done anything to merit getting sent back to Congress.
This is the conclusion I have come to, and I know it brings chagrin to the hearts and minds of most here. But I have seen some very rapid shifting and evolving of political thought on this and other progressive sites as 2009 wore on and as the 2010 midterms have raced towards us.
I have come to the firm conclusion that I am not going to waste time, energy, money, or my vote on a candidate with a D next to his name unless he's going to actually try to represent me.
You can call me a "purity troll" or any other epithet here, and I will not be swayed. You can try and blame me if the House Republicans reclaim the majority by 1 seat. Hell, you can blame me if Glenn Nye loses by one vote, and I could have been that one.
But who you really should be blaming is Glenn Nye. The Democrat you'd never know was a Democrat because it's politically more palatable for him to disown it, and by association disown me.
Rigell may end up being as bad or as worse as Thelma Drake. I don't know yet. Nye may end up winning anyway.
But I know that Nye has done his damnedest to lose this race. He has lost the support of plenty of his core supporters, and now he will have to sleep in the bed that he has made.
Let this be a lesson to Democrats everywhere, especially if Tom Perriello can eke out a win in VA-05.
Embrace your base, keep your place. Toss them on the track? Get sent back.
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PS: For all the awesome Democratic candidates out there, like the aforementioned Tom Perriello, you should spend some money, spend some time, do something. GOTV. Help keep great Democrats in their seats.