Wed 7 Jun 2006
Another Big Win For the NRCC (UPDATEDx4)
Posted by Editor under Democrat , Republican , tips[9] Comments
NYT > Republican Wins House Race in Calif.
Democrats have been stepping up their game to try and punch a breech in the Republican House lines going into the 2006 elections. Republicans have stepped up their game more. Busby’s loss in the CA-50 is a big victory for the NRCC who have consistently demonstrated that they can out spend, out organize, and out hustled the Democrats to protect their control of the House even in the face of horrible approval numbers.
A key last minute move was the use of recorded audio of Busby telling a Latino crowd that “You don’t need papers for voting“. Republican blogs were quick to use the recording against Busby, to the point where they were able to get some serious traction with the local media. The fact that Busby and her online supporters made a good online effort to defend against the attack didn’t matter in the end. When you’re that close to the buzzer in politics all you need to do is foul. There is no such thing as a free throw.
(One key tip from all this that campaigns should take to heart is to RECORD EVERYTHING you can that your opponent says. You never know when you’ll be able to use it against them.)
Many will see this as another big loss for the progressive blogosphere. Well, OK, sure… but it isn’t our jobs to win elections. We’re a bunch of crazy kooks with too much time on our hands, and an intense frustration with the people running our country and our Party. It is the DCCC’s job. As I’ve been hammering on this site for almost a year now, if Dems are serious about taking over the House, they needed to fight full out on these head to head matches. A victory in the CA 50th would have resulted in a 10 to 1 return on their investment. So too would have a victory in the Ohio 2nd. A victory in the solidly Democratic Kentucky 2nd was what lead to the takeover of the House back in the 90s. How much is that worth to the Democrats? Obviously not as much as the Republicans.
Democrats who care need to pull their heads out of the 2008 elections and focus on winning NOW. You won’t get control of Washington by obsessing about Hillary Clinton. The battle is being waged right here, right now. If you want to win, get those points on the scoreboard. Every Congressional race is critical. Every statewide race. Every state House race. Every state Senate race. And if you don’t like the candidate, tough. People are fighting in Iraq right now because of Republican lies. People are still wondering where Usama bin Laden is because of Republican stupidity. People are losing their jobs right now because of Republican greed. People are without health care right now because of Republican selfishness. Do you think the family that just lost their home gives a damn what some staffer wrote on a blog? Likes got nothing to do with it. I’ll gladly sip a beer with Mike DeWine as he ponders his next career move, and I’ll love telling Senator Brown that he can go to Hell. I ain’t got time for like. This is America. Winning is everything, and I love America.
(via Psychobilly Democrat)
UPDATE: Good analysis by Matt Stoller @ MyDD. Democrats don’t win from hiding who you are. Passion… energy… agression… vision. That’s what wins elections, NOT being safe and appealing to as many people as possible. Politics is not like selling toilet paper, even if the results of the product are the same.
UPDATE 2: Rush is right: “Moral Victories” Do Not Exist, Democrats
UPDATE 3: More excellent analysis at The Fix.
UPDATE 4: DKos > Hesiod > Busby Loss=Wakeup Call to Beltway Moron Democrats
Well put. And here’s to hoping that the DCCC keeps doing what it’s doing. I, for one, think they’re doing a heckuva job.
Wow Editor….passionate to say the least. It is too bad the overall Democrats do not see to put that kind of passion in their races…it might generate results.
Speaking of passion in races, has anyone heard from Vic Wulsin. She is WAY too quiet right now. With the crazy waste of time in the Senate over the past couple of days on the attempted legislation banning same sex marriage (which did go down today), and the LAME reform legislation, she should be hammering away….I have not heard a damn thing. Is this indicative? I sure hope not.
Didn’t think I’d ever see you quote Rush Limbaugh, but after reading the transcript from his show, I’m convinced that was just a sick ploy to get me to read this part at the start of the last paragraph:
“I know these libs like every square inch of my glorious naked body…”
Man, I miss Nixon. We could sure use him right now.
BTW, if you dig deep enough you’ll find me saying nice things about Karl Rove. I respect my enemies. I’m a big fan. I study them in detail. It’s that much easier to gut them.
Remember keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer
I always love the reactions I get from Republicans when I agree with something that someone on their side says. Like everything has to be in pure black and white. When I agree with Rush I say so. It’s rare, but it happens.
This is my problem with Wulsin and my problem with Sherrod Brown. Heaven forbid a democratic candidate fight for a freakin office.
Mrs Editor….I agree totally. Tis a shame too.
Dear Democratic Political Powers that be in Washington,
Wake up! If you are not willing to demonstrate the leadership necessary to move the Democratic Party a little bit more towards the middle, you will continue to lose elections nationwide. I sure hope this California House seat wasn’t one of your necessary 15. You will not win the US House of Representatives unless you win 15 seats. You will not win 15 seats unless you are willing to listen to what is wrong with the Democratic politicians in Washington. And not only do you need to listen to people, YOU NEED TO CHANGE.
I can only wonder if there was some other candidate out there in a California primary who you ignored because they didn’t fit your broken mold. Because they didn’t deliver the message of the extreme left wing of the Democratic party. Please, for your own good, wake up and recognize that America is changing. And that if you don’t change by opening up the Democratic Party to candidates who can actually win general elections, you will continue to receive the same results. And even worse, if you don’t open the Democratic Party to more moderate candidates, how do you expect to win the votes of the moderate Republican voters that you need in order to win general elections? Not every person in America subscribes to extreme left or right wing ideologies. Most people in America live their lives in the middle.
I don’t like to say I told you so. But if you lose the House of Representatives in 2006, I am going to deliver a message to millions of people from sea to shining sea. And your repeated failures to recognize your own shortcomings will be at the center of my message. There is no excuse for the Democratic politicians in Washington to continue their path of most resistance.
I speak from experience when I say that the best thing about the Democratic Party is the people who live in our local communities and work tirelessly for something that they believe in. It is an honor to have met so many good people. I am a better person because of all of you. But the leadership in Washington is blind. They are failing you. They cannot deliver victory becasue they act like every single District in the United States is like New York, Massachussetts, or California. As a matter of fact, they can’t even win in California.
The Democratic politicians in Washington need to change. They need to change now. Or America is going to change the Democratic politicians in Washington.
How many times do you need to get hit on the head before you realize what is hitting you on the head?
Jim Parker
Former Democratic Candidate for US Congress
Southern Ohio – 2nd District – 2005 & 2006