Gretchen Clearwater is a progressive Democrat running for Congress here in Indiana's 9th District. It's a seat held by millionaire trucking magnate and Tom Delay pal
Mike Sodrel.
This is a contested primary. The other candidate is Baron Hill, who represented the district from 1998-2004, and who is a Blue Dog Democrat.
You can find links to both candidates' websites at, among other places, the DCCC site (and right here). The problem? The leadership of the Indiana Democratic Party has decided to preempt the right of the people to decide their candidate, by endorsing Mr. Hill and listing only his campaign on their official website, here. (more...)
Now, I am not here right now to tell you why Gretchen Clearwater is the best candidate for this seat, nor why she's the best Democrat to win in November, nor even why her running is good for Democrats whether she wins or loses. I plan to get to all those issues in future diaries (as well as on my
campaign blog).
Right now, I'm mad. I'm mad that the Democratic leadership in Indiana thinks that primaries don't matter, that rank-and-file Democrats don't deserve to make their own choice, that we'd be better off with party bosses in smoky back rooms calling the shots. Gretchen Clearwater is a lifelong, loyal Democrat, and she deserves better treatment than this.
I know that if I were Baron Hill, I wouldn't want any unfair advantages in this race. I'd want to tell people why they should vote for me, without pretending that they don't have a choice. I personally would hope that Mr. Hill hears about this and asks the party to change its policy.
[UPDATE-- I'd just like to clarify: Baron Hill didn't exclude Gretchen Clearwater from the website. No one should be angry at him, although I do believe that if Mr. Hill asked the party to be neutral, they would comply with his request. But I've heard that Mr. Hill has received some angry e-mails on this subject and that's unfortunate. No one needs to be uncivil in this situation. And I think that Dan Parker (see below) is the one to contact if you have an opinion on this-- and I think that opinions are more effective when they're expressed politely.]
I believe that the party leadership has a responsibility to ensure a fair primary, and that that means treating Democratic candidates more or less equally. I believe that we as Democrats should encourage citizens to vote in primaries for the candidates of their choice.
So, whether you support Gretchen Clearwater or Baron Hill, or if you're not a Hoosier but believe in fairness, I think you should be mad about this too. Here's what you can do. First, check out the candidates. Make your own evaluation. Second, donate to the Clearwater campaign if you agree with our progressive ideals. Third, contact Dan Parker, Chair of the Indiana Democratic Party and tell him how you feel (phone 317-231-7100; e-mail dparker@indems.org). Thanks for reading this far.