Meteor Blades gave us the list of 41 Democrats who capitulated to Bush. Oh, and the two Republicans who were sane. Why did those 41 capitulate? Maybe some honestly believe what they were doing. Maybe some just got scared. Maybe some are corrupt. No way to know, really. But there is one thing we can know. We can know where they came from. And we can change where they came from. And, if they come from places that don't need changing, we can primary them.
We can't do it by leaving the party, or the country, or by burying our heads in the sand. But we can do it by doing what we do. Being activists. Leading. Changing the hearts and minds of the people. Then they will change the hearts and minds of the Reps. And, in the districts where the Democrats won easily, there's a thing called a primary
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I live in NY-08, and my rep (Nadler) did great. Not only voting right, but condemning the bill in the strongest way. Why did he do it? Because we elected him to do it, and we told him to do it, and because he represents one of the most Democratic districts in the country. What about the 41?
I looked at the district, how much of the vote the person got in 2006, and, where the race wasn't close how much Bush got in 2004.
The Democrats who failed us (h/t to MB for the list)
Representative Vote in 2006 Bush Vote in 2004
Jason Altmire PA-04 51.9%
John Barrow GA-12 50.3
Melissa Bean IL-08 50.9
Dan Boren OK-02 72.7 59.4
Leonard Boswell IA-03 51.8
Allen Boyd FL-02 Unopposed 55.1
Christopher Carney PA-10 52.9
Ben Chandler KY-06 85.5 58.2
Jim Cooper TN-05 68.9 46.3 Time for a primary!
Jim Costa CA-20 Unopposed 48.4 Time for a primary!
Bud Cramer AL-05 Unopposed 59.7
Henry Cuellar TX-28 67.6 52.5
Artur Davis AL-07 Unopposed 33.1 Time for a primary!
Lincoln Davis TN-04 67.5 57.6
Joe Donnelly IN-02 54.0
Chet Edwards TX-17 58.1
Brad Ellsworth IN-08 61.0 61.5
Bob Etheridge NC-02 66.5 56.4
Bart Gordon TN-06 67.1 59.7
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin SD-AL 69.1 60.6
Brian Higgins NY-27 79.3 44.8 Time for a primary!
Baron Hill IN-09 50.0
Nick Lampson TX-23 51.8
Daniel Lipinski IL-03 77.1 33.2 Time for a primary!
Jim Marshall GA-08 50.5
Jim Matheson UT-02 59.0
Mike McIntyre NC-07 72.8
Charlie Melancon LA-03 55.0
Harry Mitchell AZ-05 50.4
Colin Peterson MN-07 69.7 55.4
Earl Pomeroy ND-AL 65.7 62.9
Ciro Rodriguez TX-23 54.3
Mike Ross AR-04 74.5 51.4
John Salazar CO-03 61.6
Heath Shuler NC-11 53.8
Vic Snyder AR-02 60.5 51.4
Zachary Space OH-18 62.1 57.3
John Tanner TN-08 73.2 53.4
Gene Taylor MS-04 79.8
Timothy Walz MN-01 52.7
Charles A. Wilson OH-06 62.1 49.4 Time for a primary!
So, of the 41, there are Update [2007-8-5 9:28:48 by plf515]: 7 6 (sorry for miscount, before) who are from Democratic districts. Go get 'em! I couldn't find information on any being challenged in a primary. Why not?
Of the 41, there are 16 who win solidly in districts that went for Bush. Do you want them replaced by Republicans? I don't. The remaining 19 won narrowly. I don't want them to be replaced by Republicans, either. Do you live in one of those districts? Write your representative! If you've got neighbors who feel like you do, get them to write. And talk to people. Convince them Republicans are bad.
And if you live in one of the CDs where your rep did the right thing....call or write to thank him or her!
Update [2007-8-5 9:28:48 by plf515]: See comments. Lipinski already has a challenger! Give him some love and money!