I'll be forever grateful for the work
DavidNYC, Bob Brigham and Tim Tagaris did, and the attention they brought to Paul Hackett's campaign. By calling out the latest tactical smear on Democratic veterans, they awoke a sleeping tiger. The contributions simply would not have poured into Hackett's coffers, and there would not have been an actual race for the open congressional seat. I've just become the newest registered member at Swing State Project, and look forward to reading them cover the races we all need to be aware of.
For everyone who contributed, again...wow. Every time I hit the refresh button on the ActBlue Hackett page, I was overwhelmed that so many people across the country cared about the race in this corner of the world. "Thank you" sometimes doesn't even come close, but the outpouring of support here left me speechless at times. I honestly believe that you all helped change the political landscape here, and for the first time in years have hope that our message can get through. So yeah...thank you.
Kudos to DCCC for the great ad--it was genuinely effective. I have a family member who was brought on board only by that commercial. But as to the timing...strategy or not, my opinion is they could have done far more. Hackett was clearly a candidate worth investing in.
Here's where they lose me:
We knew if this race simply became weeks and weeks of Spy vs. Spy/NRCC vs. DCCC, it would become a Republican smear campaign of national liberal vs. Bush conservative, and we would lose that fight.
It was precisely in confronting the smear campaign in no uncertain terms, and without apologizing for being a liberal, that won Paul Hackett votes in rural southwestern Ohio. They (still) apparently don't get that.
I've had my fill of blushing Democrats. They're not fighting hard enough. The substitution of the word "strategy" every time they avoid a direct head to head fight for the minds of voters is not the political courage we need from our party leaders. Not after the last five years.
I received several emails from the DCCC during the last week. Not one mentioned this election or mentioned Hackett's name. Not one from DCCC reminded me to vote on Tuesday. Rahm Emanuel asked me to become a 'Victory Partner' last week, and on election day Nancy Pelosi's email bemoaned John Bolton's appointment to the UN.
And today, the DCCC email informed me the election yesterday was a "wake up call" for Republicans due to the "near upset" in my own district.
During the Schiavo debacle, I posted a few times about the useless emails being sent out by DCCC with screaming subject titles like "Stop The Republican Abuse Of Power". Yet I could never find a word, not one syllable, about the actual attack on the judiciary. Nor was there ever a word, or one syllable, about the need to defend the right to privacy as a core Democratic Party value. And this when public opinion was overwhelmingly united (76%) in opposition to government intrusion in personal decisions of this kind.
Here's a wake up call for the DCCC--I just unsubscribed from your email list. I'll look elsewhere when funding a "Victory Partner". I prefer one who won't blush at the word liberal and the core values some of us actually do hold dear.