This is an advice column in reverse. That is I’m seeking the advice of my fellow Kossacks.
I live in Arizona which went pretty red in 2010. We lost 2 seats AZ-01, now held by Tea Party favorite Paul Gosar (formerly held by Ann Kirkpatrick), and AZ-05, now held by David Schweikert (formerly held by Harry Mitchell). We also came very close to losing AZ-07 (Raul Grijalva) and AZ-08 (Gabby Giffords). The district I live in, AZ-06, will be open in 2012 as Jeff Flake is running for Senate to replace Jon Kyl, who is retiring (Hey AZ Democratic Party, where’s the Senate candidate?). There’s a repeat candidate, Rebecca Schneider, who says she’ll run for the Dems but she’s poorly funded and not really supported by the party. And to be honest, unless my district has a personality transplant due to redistricting, this is a very tough district for Democrats. (An aside: you may have seen posts about John McCain getting challenged by Tea Party activist at recent town hall in Gilbert, AZ. That’s AZ-06.) Arizona will also be gaining a seat from redistricting and AZ-06 may be split. Depending how that works out there may be an opportunity for a Democrat but probably not in whatever district I end up in.
Here’s my dilemma. The goal here at dkos is to elect better Democrats. If the situation were different, people like Ann Kirkpatrick and Harry Mitchell, even Gabby Giffords if you look at her record, would be targets of a “Better Democrat” campaign. Maybe they’re the best Democrats we can expect from these districts.
But what about candidates like Ann Kirkpatrick? There is another candidate running an exploratory campaign for the Democratic nomination in AZ-01, Wenona Benally Baldenegro. But, so far, her campaign seems to amount to this Facebook page and I know nothing more about her. But Kirkpatrick is asking for money NOW! I don’t want to show too much early support for her and scare off other potential challengers. However, if it comes down to her or Gosar, I want her to have a strong campaign and send him back to his dental practice.
So what’s a frustrated liberal to do? Obviously, if there is a primary I will support who I think is the more liberal progressive candidate. But I’m having trouble supporting the Democratic Party, especially locally, because they’re so weak and they tend to prefer establishment candidates, like Ann Kirkpatrick, over more liberal/progressive challengers that would provide a contrast to the Republicans. A district like AZ-01 is mostly rural but it also includes Flagstaff, the Navajo Nation, maybe a plus for Wenona Benally Baldenegro, and parts of Tucson. At least Flagstaff and Tucson are the most liberal parts of the state. If a Democrat, and I mean a real Democrat, can’t win here Arizona is in pretty bad shape.
I am so pissed at the Democrats generally; I have recently refused to support the DNC, DCCC, and DSCC. I even changed my registration to PND, Zoney for something like Party Not Declared, in October 2009 after Democrats refused to vote on ending the Bush tax cuts. My wife and I are regular contributors to DFA and PCCC and will continue to be. We also intend to support candidates directly that we can fully support both in Arizona and elsewhere. People like Raul Grijalva, Alan Grayson, and Bernie Sanders.
Do I donate early to candidates like Ann Kirkpatrick knowing early support only encourages them? Your feedback is hereby solicited.