As Rep Nick Lampson continues recovering from his heart surgery, he's making plans for his political future that seem likely to leave a lot of his supporters in the district very unhappy.
The Battle for TX-22 was a hard fought one in 2006. Replacing a wounded Delay (who left the race after the primary in vain hope of allowing the RPT to name a successor) took the combined efforts of a determined candidate, the DCCC and other established Dem powers, and bloggers and other activists sowing blue seeds in a determinedly red district.
One of the frequent questions at house parties dealt with the "carpetbagger" meme the right wing was smearing Lampson with. In response candidate Lampson always said he was not running as a one off, but to be the Rep from TX-22 for many years to come.
Now incumbent Rep. Lampson seems preparing an altogether different tune, as the rumors swell that pressure is on to clear the field to anoint him as the Senate candidate against beleaguered John Cornyn (R-Box Turtle).
Not only is he preparing for different race, but apparently having exhausted his rolodex looking for a Dem to step in and run, he's now wooing a Republican, Tom Abraham, to crossover and run on the Dem ticket. What are the odds?
Look, politicians are all ambitious. I don't begrudge that. I just want the ambition to be a bit more tempered with consideration for the people who make it possible for those ambitions to be achieved.
To abandon TX-22 without having an adequate replacement smacks of a political one-night-stand that reeks of beer sweat and cheap cologne. Those folks deserve better.
In addition, my pro-Noriega biases aside, I feel a bit used, and I'm just a blogger. I'm not a FBC activist who put skin in the game on behalf of Nick Lampson.
Adding insult to injury, I just don't believe Lampson will win, even with the Texas Democratic Party on the rise in enthusiasm and finances. Lampson doesn't define a strong enough contrast with the incumbent. And we need that contrast to win.
Oh, and in anticipation of the cries of "mean blogger" picking on a still recovering Lampson, I will simply say this. If he's well enough to manipulate things in an attempt to clear the field for his candidacy, he's well enough to be criticized for doing so...
Crossposted on Texas Kaos
Update: For those not familiar with Rick Noriega, I'd like to point you to my favorite recent story over on Draft Rick.