On Tuesday, I came across Kos' story: IL-08: Unions misfiring. Reading further, I saw the name, Melissa Bean. Immediately, I became angry because Bean's voting record has made her, in my mind at least, just another DINO. Just as I was ready to add an angry dismissive post disagreeing with Kos, and taking the sides of the unions who are against Bean because she voted in favor of CAFTA, I decided I should find out about her opponent, David McSweeney. His platform:
Opportunity and Growth
America's history has been one of opportunity and growth. Each generation has the moral duty to see that their children share in the opportunity and prosperity that economic freedom offers. David McSweeney will...
* Vote to make President Bush's tax cuts permanent.
* Offer tax cuts to companies that invest in new jobs and workers.
* Cut the burden of unnecessary regulations.
Fiscal Responsibility
Every family has to balance its budget. We must not pile up a mountain of debt to pass on to our children. David McSweeney will...
* Vote to freeze the total level of federal spending excluding national, homeland and social security.
* Eliminate unnecessary programs.
* Advocate to eliminate bureaucratic duplication and inefficiency.
Keeping America Safe
The first job of government is to protect its citizens. President Bush has taken the war to the terrorists instead of letting them fight it on our shores. David McSweeney will...
* Fully support President Bush in the war on terror.
* Vote to guarantee our soldiers have the weapons and materiel they need to get the job done.
* Support efforts to enhance our intelligence capability.
Families and Freedom
Strong families are the foundation of our democracy. Defending freedom and protecting family life are our most important social programs. David McSweeney will...
* Stand up for pro-life principles in all his votes.
* Support a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage.
* Defend the entire bill of rights, including the 2nd Amendment.
I understood Kos' point. The independent candidate that the unions are backing will not win this district. It is a very conservative district, and the simple fact that Bean could even get elected was extraordinary. If the Dems split their support in any way between Bean and the independent, McSweeny will win. I admit, I voted for Nader in 2000, but I was pissed about NAFTA, welfare reform and Lieberman. And I knew that in Illinois, my vote against Gore would not matter, he would still carry the state. But Bean will lose if the unions split the Dems.
I still wasn't 100% with Kos. I felt there were some issues that I care about enough that if a Dem voted against any of them, I might be attempt to punish the Dem for what I considered a bad voting record, if it involved any of my big button issues. I considered Obama. His voting record has pissed me off so much since I supported his campaign. But then I remembered the alternative, Alan Keyes, a freakish megalomaniac intent of turning the clocks back to the 1950s and some retro fantasy of repression. Obama looks just fine to me!
Tonight I went to the CTG event at Garrett Ripley's. During the question portion, one woman got angry and attempted to turn the discussion to her big issue: electronic voting. No one understood, she claimed, that this was the most important issue and why wasn't anyone talking about it? She refused to let the issue go. Eventually, the crowd called her down, but it took a bit of effort to redirect the discussion back to questions for Markos. This was her issue, the most important to her, and she was simply not interested in any other topic - not even real concrete strategy on what Dems need to do to win. This is a big reason why the Dems keep losing!
A question was asked about immigration and Markos commented that the demonstrations had been remarkably successful for reasons unique to most progressive events. I chuckled to myself, recalling my days working in grassroots activism for environmental organizations. Those damn hemp people and the animal rights people and the "legalize marijuana" groups. Just because we were politically progressive organizations working on environmental issues did not mean that we supported or worked on their issues. You don't see that type of fringe group hanging with the Republicans but when they show up at progressive events, you can be sure the media will catch the nut jobs on film and you'll read about "hippy dippy" kids. The Dems seriously need to consider tactics to keep these people from participating in events because it destroys our credibility.
The lightbulb went off in a big way. For years I've heard how the Republicans were once a splintered party, taken with many different special interests. But the Reps made a political decision to agree to disagree and work together as Republicans to regain control and power of the White House and Congress. Their strategy worked. The Democrats will never regain the White House or Congress if we cannot come together.