Washblog

It's all well and good to want a "progressive" candidate, whatever that means and whoever is to decide. But where is that candidate? Until one steps forward, this is what you're going to get.

I think she's a terrible candidate, for exactly the reasons you state, plus she didn't even bother to vote in many recent elections. To me, that's intolerable. Reichert is going to crush her like a grape, and she isn't worth lifting a finger for.

If I lived in the Eighth District, I probably would vote for her because she had a D next to her name. But that would be the extent of it.

There's plenty to do in the Eighth CD. Claudia Kauffman has an especially odious Republican challenger for her State Senate seat in the 47th LD. Geoff Simpson always draws opposition for his House seat in the 47th. Both of them, and Pat Sullivan in the other 47th House seat, deserve everyone's support.

Dean Willard is challenging the posturing fraud Glenn Anderson for a House seat in the 5th LD, and we should get behind him. The sooner we build Democratic strength in the Eighth CD, the sooner we'll have a better candidate for Reichert's House seat. We agree that DelBene isn't it.

If perception is reality, then the world must be flat and the sun must revolve around it.

They'll help us get good candidates when there's really no work to do - because the money, majority and popular mood are right. Of course when they do have everything going for them they'll just pick a lame insider or incumbent, but that's another matter. It is impossible to explain to people in the Democratic leadership how destructive it is to run a candidate who undermines the basic message of the party - impossible.

The party is such that the only alternative Dems like you have is to recruit candidates yourself. You'll just have to accept the tirades, insults and disloyalty you'll get from party leaders when the losses come. They'd much prefer to lose THEIR way.

Under now circumstances should you accept "who you'll get". This is a recipe for defeat and disaster, as we saw last night. If nothing else, for your own self-respect insist on a candidate who shares your values. Even if you lose, you'll contribute more to your community than if you go along with a plan you know to be destructive to the long-term health of the party.