Illinois 6: Goodwin Simon Victoria Research poll shows a dead heat, with both Democrat Tammy Duckworth and Republican Peter Roskam standing at 41 percentNote to 6th District progressives who, like me, are still very bitter and quite angry about the events of the past primary season: The degree of your participation will likely have decisive effect on the outcome of this election.
Of course, it's up to you to decide what that outcome should be.
7 comments:
Hey, even though I have one day off a week and am completely consumed with my job on another race, I am canvassing my precinct for Tammy.
Speaking of that, I emailed you about something. Did you get it?
So now you are saying it will be our fault if the person who screwed us over does not win.
Please! If, or when in my opinion, Tammy looses is will be her fault.
I'm not saying it will be anyone's "fault" if the Democratic candidate loses. I'm not even saying that anyone should be in favor of the Democratic candidate winning -- the members of my immediate family haven't decided if they will even bother to cast votes in this race.
I am merely saying that, with the race this close, any action or inaction by the Democrats of this district may well be decisive in the outcome of the race.
There is power in the hands of Dems pissed-off by the primary and we can chose to use that power against the prospect of "Congressman Peter Roskam" or against our party's nominee and the party bosses who backed her in the primary.
I'm not saying either decision is the principled one, I am merely saying that that is the choice we must make.
Heck, if you're going to get out and help candidates but are still bitter about March why not work for a local candidate whose district overlaps the 6th. Dan Kotowski is an amazing candidate and needs all the help we can give him. And while you're out for the local candidates, bring along some Duckworth brochures and leave them in the door. Don't even have to talk about her if you don't want.
My opinion on the primary is y'all need to get over yourselves -- it's politics, not "The Dating Game" and what's done is done. By that I mean remember what happened and work that much harder in the next primary but for right now the challenge is November -- and we're all Dems come November. Every ballot left blank is a vote for the winner, and in a right-leaning district like the 6th that may very well be Roskum.*
Besides, Durbin found Duckworth, not Emanuel. Emanuel just gave her the tools. Jim Dean and others tried giving Cegelis the tools she needed but she was practically throwing money out the window when she should have been saving it. Cegelis as an idea person is great but as a candidate didn't make the grade. How much of that has to do with her campaign managers I don't know... but Dan Seals picked up some of her staff and his ground ops are having some troubles too. Organization is key when you're the challenger and primaries have a way of weeding out the unorganized.
* - That bit about every ballot left blank is a vote for the winner is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Voters (esp. Dems in traditionally GOP strongholds like DuPage and NW Cook) get in this mentality that their one vote won't matter so who cares if I only mark half the ballot or even just stay home.
If enough people think that way elections get lost when they could've been won.
I'd take a moderate Tammy Duckworth over an arch-conservative Peter Roskum any day. Any minute in fact.
I'm amazed by how many folks out here (I'm in the 10th) tell me they thought they were the only Democrats around. Never vote in a primary and only vote in the general evry now and then because they think they're the only ones out here.
It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. They don't vote so Dems don't get elected so they go back to thinking there's hardly any Dems out in the NW burbs.
BS. There are more of us than anyone, including ourselves, realize.
We just need to get off our duffs and vote and volunteer and work.
Enough soapboxing.
I am taking the long view. The following can happen.
If Tammy wins then in 08 no one will be able to successfully challenge her in the primary without being castigated for being a bad Democrat and wasting money by challenging the incumbent. There will be cries of why are you working against the Democratic majority when you should be going after the Republicans. In addition to the massive war chest she will have there will be no support for a primary. Same reason a primary against Bean will fail.
If she looses then in 08 when the electorate will be even more negative against the Republicans and with the Presidential election there will be more voters. Rawscum will have had two years to prove how bad a rep. he is and a progressive will have a better chance. If this means the Democrats don’t get the majority then so be it. If they get it then the Republicans will blame them for the failure in Iraq, ( I know this makes no sense but they will) and there won’t really be any serious investigations let alone impeachment because of the Democratic party’s timidity to look like they are attacking the ‘Commander in Chief’ and not fighting the War on Terra. Even if the Democrats get the majority in both houses the only thing that will result is deadlock that the repukes will use to get their president elected.
Also,
There are four things that can happen in the election.
1) Tammy looses by a wide margin. The national party then will say IL-06 is un-winnable and will not support anyone in this district again. The local party will be the bastard stepchild once again.
2) Tammy wins by a wide margin. This will cement the idea that the grassroots in the district don’t matter. All subsequent races will be run by the national party, or out of Chicago Again the local party will be marginalized and down ticket races will not be focused on.
3) Tammy wins a slim victory with the support of the grassroots and the disaffected Cegelis voters. Well I think this will be ignored by the national party because I don’t think they respect the local organizations. If they did then they would have talked to them before bringing in Duckworth. They will say that the win was all the hard work of Tammy and how great a personality she is. Etc.
4) Tammy looses because of the lack of support of the disaffect Cegelis voters. Well the will blame the sour grapes and vilify them but maybe, just maybe, they will respect them as a political force. They might in petulant attitude write the district off yet again but then we are just back to where we were while Hyde was in office. No real loss. The local party then can rebuild without Chicago or national interference and maybe win some local races and build from there.
You might not like my attitude but this how I think it will take place.
anonymous,
Thanks -- now I uderstand why Republicans control all three branches of government.
goethean;
They control all three branches of government because to them power is more important than morals or ideals. For example rep. Foley.
Shall we imitate them.
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