Washblog

Here, in very blunt terms, is why Mark Wilson dropped out of the primary race.  He was losing.  He never wanted to be a "protest vote".  He never wanted to be the "perpetual candidate".  He wanted to put the progressive message that he had learned from running for office and listening to us over the last 6 years to bear, and those of us who have actually listened to his message know that he learned a lot, and he knows our values.  He is now, and always will be from this point forward, a Democrat.  Big D.  Because he shares our values, and he knows our message.

But like I have been saying for two + years, there are two things that are needed to turn values into public policy via the voting booth.  You need a message, and you need the infrastructure to get that message out.  For a state-wide multi-million voter race like US Senate, you need the infrastructure capable of getting your message to every one of those voters.  In the 21st Century, that means you need TV coverage, radio coverage, newspaper coverage, and house parties on a regular basis constantly bringing in new donations from new people and getting the names and contact information of all these new people back to a central headquarters so you can follow up.  And while your message needs to resonate with all of these people, without the kickback of funding sources to help you build that central campaign, you don't have a campaign.

Without the campaign infrastructure, and enough backing of the grassroots of the party, the party leadership, and the general election voters, you certainly don't have a campaign that can win.  And Mark didn't have what he needed, because we couldn't give it to him.  Anyone who says they are disappointed cannot be as disappointed as Mark.  Anyone who says they sacrifice for the cause cannot have sacrificed as much as he did.  When you have a 4 year old little boy holding onto your leg begging you not to go away for another 2-3 days of travel around the state, then you'll understand.  When you have to watch a business that you've worked hard to build for the last decade or more start to fall apart because you don't have the time to make sure it succeeds, and if the failure of that business would destroy your family's financial foundation, then you'll understand.  And when you see a political party that is more divided than united before a (yet another) super important national election, and you recognize that you are a main cause of that division that might result in that party losing, then you'll understand what kind of political capital you need, what you have, and what you should really be doing with it.  Mark made his decision, and I'm going to stand by him.

There's more.  During the heart to heart with Maria, Mark told her some of the facts that he learned while campaigning, facts that her staff on the Senate and Campaign side has been keeping from her.  Like the fact that Washington State has some of the highest cancer rates of the nation thanks to Hanford and Bangor.  She didn't know.  You gotta wonder what else has been kept from her ears.  Cantwell is a policy wonk.  She is focused on writing good legislation and trying to pass that legislation through the Committees and on the Senate floor.  But without staff that are willing and able to tell her what she needs to know beyond what she asks for, she's swimming these waters in the dark.  Like David Domke has been saying, Democrats are great at governing, but poor at campaigning.  But without effective and successful campaigns, and without staff members that make sure she has everything she needs, all the governing ideas we have only have a place in fiction novels that we might be able to sell.

Mark Wilson's campaign was a reality check.  Having the right message isn't enough.  Having a strong infrastructure isn't enough.  You have to have both, or you're either going to be a shout in the political wilderness or you're going to make some paid campaign consultants very rich.  So the lesson we need to learn is how to have both.  We are learning messaging, but we don't have infrastructure.  This is what many of us have been saying for years.  It's what Markos and Jerome talk about in their book.  It's why Dean has the 50 state strategy.  It's why Aaron Dixon is the wrong way to turn, because he is not running to win.  Sorry Aaron.

People liked Mark's message.  He stood up for the values that we believe in.  But I attended one single house party for Mark, and I couldn't afford to give any money.  Mike McGavick is having house parties all over the state, and his campaign is raking in millions.  Plus he personally has upwards of $60 Million dollars to throw in if he really needs to, which he won't because he has the support of the Oil and Gas industry, the Health Insurance industry, and who knows what else.

Maria is taking some PAC money, to supplement the 90% of her donations that comes from individuals like us.  Maria Cantwell needs the help of the "good Democrats" that Justin is talking about to win, because if we don't win this race, we're going to be kicking ourselves for 6 years for being so damn stupid as to allow this seat to turn from blue to red.  On November 8th, do we want to look forward to what a Democratic Congress will be able to do to help us, or do we want to put all of our hopes on 2008 to save us from the greatest nightmare this country has ever had?

Mark's campaign was never about Mark Wilson.  It was about our values and how to get a seat at the table.  Now, with direct access in a part time position within that campaign, Mark can focus on using his political capital and making sure that Maria actually hears what we need her to hear.  And he can learn how to build successful campaign infrastructure, something he can teach us when this election year is over.  As a spokesperson for the Cantwell campaign, maybe now the party leadership will actually listen to him, and through him maybe they will listen to us.  According to Mark, Maria is listening.  With a seat at the table, our values will lead the way.  Without that seat at the table, or worse if we actually lose this seat, we'll be more divided as a party, weaker nationally and within this state, and we'll be watching the Bush administration on the nightly news do whatever the hell they want with our country.

Don't like the troops in Iraq?  Neither do I.  And neither does Maria.  Her original vote was consistent with what she knew and what she believed.  Now from the minority, she can't even get our veterans the support they need.

Want national health care?  So do I.  And so does Maria.  But from a minority position, she can't create it.

Want to prevent a military adventure in Iran?  So do I.  And so does Maria.  And she can't help to stop one from the minority.

Battles must be fought with the right weapons AND at the right time.  Some battles we have to push to the future.  After talking to Mark, I believe this is one of them.  WE can stand up for our values, while giving the Democrats in the Senate the ability to stand up for us.  Or we can write fiction novels about how things should have gone.  I'm not standing down on my values.  Nobody should.  I'm not telling anyone how they should vote.  I'm saying this is why I'm voting for the Democrat in the General Election.  Because I want a seat at the table, a table that we control.