Here we go with the Party line again — a bunch of pathetic, self-excusing, rationalized bullshit to justify Dems fixing the primaries.
No Dem organization should be putting their thumb on the scale for a candidate before a primary. None! Let the local voters decide — that’s the whole fucking point of having a primary! End of story. No fundraising, no advertising, no GOTV, no recruiting “more moderate” candidates, no wink and a nod in the back room — nothing!
And by local voters, I do not mean the local Dem council or whatever. Dem officials, keep the fuck out! Once the locals have spoken, then jump in with everything you’ve got.
The kind of “sausage making” most recently explained by Steny Hoyer and defended by Nancy Pelosi stinks to high heaven. Tammany Hall-style machine politics is not what voters want and it’s sure as hell not going to encourage new folks to vote! It plays right into the “my vote won’t count” conviction shared by many non-voters. Guess what? They’re right!
Establishment Dems claim to act in the best interests of the party, but there’s a hell of a lot of self-interest there, too. Look at all those high-paid consulting gigs they get from the DNC and other organizations. Want to run for office? Oops! Gotta use their preferred consultants or no backing! And the consultants rake in the cash, win or lose, every time! Losing over 1000 seats during Obama’s presidency makes pretty clear what the real priority is. Hint — it ain’t you!
Lastly, weighing in before the primary is a weak, cowardly strategy. Ever notice how it’s always the wealthier, better-connected and more conservative candidate that gets the nod? Well, of course they do! Establishment types don’t want to upset their wealthy, corporate donors and work consistently to tone things down. Better to play it safe and lose than risk upsetting the wrong donors! Voters can smell that weak sauce for what it is and aren’t buying it anymore. They want bold stands on local issues important to them, not more watered-down incrementalism. The status quo ain’t working for the average voter!
Voters aren’t buying your bullshit anymore, Dems. Back off and let the people decide! Sure, it will cost you some cash, but it couldn’t possibly be worse than your record over the last 10 years. And recent signs indicate we could actually start winning again — if you listened to your people instead of pretending that father knows best.
