The following is an insightful article about the state of the race in Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District. However, the article is missing an important piece of the puzzle regarding DCCC support for Rob Zerban.
Of course everyone knows by now who Rob Zerban is and that he's mounting a credible challenge to Paul Ryan. Even Ryan himself doesn't seem to be taking this race seriously so why should he care?
Why do we care what Paul Ryan thinks? We don't!
But we do care about Rob Zerban!
http://seattletimes.com/...
Even fellow Democrats acknowledge Zerban faces long odds. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hasn't invested any money in his campaign.
With the district suffering economically, Zerban thought he could make political inroads by attacking Ryan's plan for cutting entitlements and social spending. But with no one to engage, he's been reduced to crying foul from the sidelines. He has demanded that Ryan debate him and gone around the district doing volunteer work to show he cares about its people.
I want to be upfront first that the article I'm sighting here does not understand that the DCCC is in fact supporting Rob Zerban. In fact, the DCCC listed the WI-01 race early on this year as one of the most emerging races on the radar:
http://www.robzerban.com/...
January 19, 2012
The DCCC Lists the Rob Zerban Campaign as an Emerging Race
KENOSHA – Yesterday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, (DCCC), announced its list of targeted races. These are the races that will help Democrats retake the House of Representatives and end the gridlock in Washington.
The DCCC selected Rob Zerban as one of twelve Emerging Races. The DCCC explained that, "Emerging Races highlights candidates and districts that are making themselves competitive by running smart campaigns." This determination is based on the campaign's ability to meet infrastructure and organizational goals and by making the case to voters that Rob Zerban is a problem-solver who will protect the middle class when he is elected to Congress.
Rob Zerban raised over $500,000 in 2011 and received national attention for being accessible to voters. Rob Zerban recently helped force Paul Ryan to back down from controversial legislation to censor free speech online. Earlier in the year, Rob Zerban led a national protest to Paul Ryan's efforts to privatize Medicare and Social Security.
Rob Zerban released the following statement about this announcement:
"I am proud to receive the support of the DCCC. Here in Wisconsin, we have seen what we can achieve when we work together. Because of our hard work in 2011, more help is coming in to this district. We are seeing progressives from across the country join our fight here in southeastern Wisconsin to get rid of Paul Ryan because his ideas, and his policies, hurt this entire nation. Paul Ryan will not get a free pass this year despite his lobbyist money and status as a leading party boss. After 14 years of enriching himself and his campaign at the expense of Wisconsin's economy and middle class families, he will finally be held accountable. I look forward to demonstrating to Wisconsin how much we can accomplish in Congress when we focus on the middle class, take off the blinders of special interest money, and work together to get results."
However, the big question is, has the DCCC actually contributed to Rob Zerban's campaign? I did a Google search and found out there was the following search result:
Rob Zerban: The other guy trying to beat Paul Ryan (and why you ...
www.rawstory.com/.../rob-zerban-the-other-guy-trying-to-bea...Share
Oct 4, 2012 – But Zerban's FEC filings show that, of the $1.2 million in ... services came from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
Funny thing is, I cannot access the article in the link provided! Has the source gone down or what?
One thing, isn't there a source for Zerban's FEC filing? Won't this prove that Rob Zerban is in fact getting support from the DCCC? Does the FEC filing really show support for Zerban or not?
All that's needed are answers and real proof.
.
.
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In the meantime, I suggest we fire up the troops and give Rob Zerban some support
Rob Zerban for Congress:
http://www.robzerban.com/
Donate:
https://secure.actblue.com/...
Volunteer:
http://hq-salsa3.salsalabs.com/...
Thu Nov 01, 2012 at 10:03 AM PT: For any of you Kos readers:
No, I am NOT a DCCC employee and no, I am not asking Kos people to support the Seattle Times. Please take the time to read my actual diary and ask questions instead rather than making baseless comments and accusations that really are much ado about nonsense. I actually read the Seattle Times article in its entirety and I'm pretty much entitled to cite any source of information I want so long as I feel there is merit for debating information I believe is missing.
Notice I actually point out the Seattle Times article not being 100% truthful in its analysis on the supposed "DCCC support or lack thereof for Zerban" while at the same time pointing out I believe the article does make some interesting observations aside. It is entirely possible for me, as a Berkeley native and felllow progressive like a lot of Kossacks, to actually take the time and dig into an article, biased or not, and point out its faults. My analysis is called "critical thinking." You guys heard of it? If not, you can learn these skills by going to college by taking philosophy classes or even classes in rhetoric. I hear UC Berkeley (10 minute drive away from me) offers rhetoric. Maybe you guys could take that course and learn a few things.