Senator Schumer, What Are You Thinking?

Its our primary (0.00 / 0)

Chaz, I agree that this is our primary, and it is up to NH Democratic primary voters to nominate our candidate. I don't expect the pundits from outside NH to ignore the race, this senate seat is too critical to the goal of having 60 Democratic senators.  However, they do need to respect the voters up here.  That is why I never asked for, accepted or wanted any help from national committees with draftShaheen; my goal was to show Governor Shaheen that there was a solid base of New Hampshire Democrats who wanted to run.  And we succeeded!

That is also why I've been going on Openleft to talk about why I support Jeanne Shaheen; just as it is important for people in the national party committees to know that there is more than one person in the race, so too is it important for the national blogging community to know that Jeanne Shaheen is a progressive candidate with incredible grass roots support. 

We've got 11 months before the primary; lets forget about what people outside NH think, no matter who they are, and lets focus on why John Sununu should be fired.  Like voting to give himself pay raise after pay raise, and then voting against minimum wage increases. 

Energy and persistence conquer all things.


Benjamin Franklin


 

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by: Kathy Sullivan @ Wed Sep 19, 2007 at 00:41:23 AM UTC

Inside works out (0.00 / 0)

What you are talking about is the presumptuous standpoint taken by DC insiders who believe that because they control the purse of national campaign funds they have the right to handpick our reprsentatives to the body they serve in.  This is not the first time this has been done.  It happened in 2006 with the massive attempt to hamper Paul Hackett and to insure that no one could challenge their chosen cadidate.  It's not that the candidates they pick are bad or not exactly in line with what their respective state is demanding (Sherrod Brown has done a fine job as Senator from Ohio) but they seem to want to usurp our role as voters in choosing whom we want to represent us.  This doesn't have anything to do with Jeanne Shaheen deciding to run for the Senate, per se, but it does reflect upon the loss of the all important primary.

In the last election, the influence of people like Schumer and Emmanuel helped in funneling huge amounts of dollars to chosen candidates.  But as we learned here in the NH, we don't necessarily need the power and influence of beltway insiders.  I don't want to balk at the efforts of Gov. Shaheen's organizors.  What I do not like is the arrogance that DC pols display in trying to control our election by remote control from outside our region.

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by: Northwoods @ Wed Sep 19, 2007 at 03:59:30 AM UTC

Again-- (4.00 / 1)

It's my position that no elected official should participate in any other campaign, other than his/her own for re-election.  Giving money to candidates is, in my book, an anticipatory bribe--an effort to buy votes before the issues even come up.  If the New Hampshire Senator is beholden to Senator Shumer or Senator Akaka, in what sense are New Hampshire's interests being served.

But, in addition to that, there's a pattern around the country of grass-roots candidates not only being marginalized, but totally overlooked.  Was it Senator Kerry who recently admitted supporting someone in Florida because he didn't even know there was a primary contest?

Granted, it must be very frustrating to deal with Republicans who march lock-step with their "leaders," but that doesn't mean we need lock-steppers on our side too.

If people didn't have different opinions and different priorities and different time-tables for getting things done, we wouldn't need a Congress.  We could be satisfied with a "dear leader" and a bunch of courtiers applauding what he's done.

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by: hannah @ Wed Sep 19, 2007 at 13:16:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Glorious Point, Hannah (0.00 / 0)

IMHO, this one sentence demonstrates how the "leadership" is reactive to Republican tactics.

Granted, it must be very frustrating to deal with Republicans who march lock-step with their "leaders," but that doesn't mean we need lock-steppers on our side too.

They play dirty pool, oh..then we MUST play dirty pool.

This is a "machine vs. machine" logic and is devoid of any shred of confidence in the capacity and the spirit of the voters.

Duh! That is why the "liberal punditry" have been harping "How could America be fooled by Bush?" They were creating the question that stripped us of the confidence to make an intelligent choice. Thus forging a mindset of deferral to the "wisdom" of the political elitist.

Then, when the "wisdom" of the elitist is challenged they resort to fear mongering by screaming henny-penny "the republican will win, the republican will win" or they say you are "silly"

Thank you, Hannah. From the most humble crannies of my heart.

"Ill writers are usually the sharpest censors." - John Dryden  

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by: Sleeping Giant Stirs @ Wed Sep 19, 2007 at 14:35:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

How does this not click? (0.00 / 0)

for you, Hannah. Are you are against him because of his position on a US presence in SW Asia?

Below is the text of his new Iowa Ad:

Every time I speak about my hope for America, the cynics in Washington roll their eyes.

You see, they don't believe we can actually change politics and bring an end to decades of division and deadlock. They don't believe we can limit the power of lobbyists who block our progress, or that we can trust the American people with the truth.

And that's why we face the same problems and hear the same promises every four years.

My experience tells me something very different.

In twenty years of public service, I've brought Democrats and Republicans together to solve problems that touch the lives of everyday people.

I've taken on the drug and insurance companies and won. I defied the politics of the moment, and opposed the war in Iraq before it began.

This is Barack Obama. I approve this message to ask you to believe -- not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington. I'm asking you to believe in yours.

"Ill writers are usually the sharpest censors." - John Dryden  

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by: Sleeping Giant Stirs @ Wed Sep 19, 2007 at 18:27:29 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

What's his position on (0.00 / 0)

US presence in SW Asia?

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by: Alex Gallichon @ Thu Sep 20, 2007 at 04:35:57 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Fear? (0.00 / 0)

Democracy is pretty scary, when you come right down to it.  It is much easier and seems much safer to let the experts pick our leaders, after all, they always tell us they know best because of years of experience.  Who wants to really look at that experience? 
I commend my friend Chaz for putting this in more balanced terms than I can, as you can see.  The whole Carol Shea Porter campaign, that I was blessed to be in the midst of, gave me hope that we had at least a model of grassroots activism that worked, and of a viable way to reduce the amount of money needed to run a campaign.  I strongly believe that until we find another way to finance campaigns, we will always have this problem, because under all the talk about the candidate's positions lies the question, who can raise enough money? 
The distortions that this causes in the system are so profound, we mostly have stopped talking about them, except of course, our dear Granny D, who never gives up.  So how do we translate what Carol's campaign did to other campaigns?  I know where the strengths were there, I saw it.  They were in the many, many people who saw an opportunity to really have their voices heard over the cash register. 

We believe in prosperity & opportunity, strong communities, healthy families, great schools, investing in our future and leading the world by example. We are Democrats; we are the change you're looking for.

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by: bloomingpol @ Wed Sep 19, 2007 at 11:18:34 AM UTC