ERIC MASSA....LIVE BLOGGING AT KOS

[trillian]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/2/14149/75190


Fighting Dems, National Security, Netroots and Party Unity
::
Fighting Dems, Fighting Dem Vets, Band of Brothers, Veterans for a Secure America, vets in Congress, veterans, Macho Dems
::
First, I want to say thank you to those responsible for making me a netroots endorsed candidate. It is a great honor and I am grateful to Markos, Matt Stoller, Chris Bowers, and DavidNYC and others who have worked behind the scenes on my behalf. I am also grateful for the boost during our recent end of the quarter fundraiser that helped us meet and surpass our goal. Without the help of our netroots friends that would not have been possible. The netroots have shown that the can step up to the plate and aid candidates where many national PACs and organizations have failed to do so. Thank you all very much.
::
Just like in the NCAA Tournament, winning takes great teamwork. And that is the main topic I want to talk about today. We've all heard the old Will Rogers statement: "I don't belong to any organized political party. I'm a Democrat." There have been days recently when that statement seemed right on target. We just can't allow that to be the case. We have to get our act together and all of us get on the same page.

A Dem Party that is factionalized -- grassroots versus organized leadership, Beltway versus outsiders, political pros versus upcoming novices, vets versus non-vets, liberal versus moderate, red state versus blue state, northeast versus heartland, ideological purity versus political expediency, or any other divisiveness that we are so prone to promulgate -- is a party that is preparing for election suicide. If recent polls are any indication, we have a great opportunity this fall. We cannot afford to squander that opportunity by getting bogged down in internecine warfare. We have to recognize that the face of the enemy is George Bush and his henchmen, who, in Wes Clark's words in the Dem radio address last night, have led us nowhere. At least he has led us to some place no one wants to be.

Take for example, the issues involved in the candidacy of Paul Hackett and Tammy Duckworth. What was seen as illegitimate intervention by the DSCC and DCCC stirred a hornet's nest of anger and antagonism. I was also subject to what seemed to be "meddling" by the DCCC. Because of concern over my fundraising numbers, a well-intentioned member of Congress, apparently with DCCC encouragement, tried to put forth a candidate who had personal money to spend on the campaign. I bear no ill will whatsoever toward those who wanted to put forth what seemed to them a better candidate. They want to win Rubber-stamp Randy's seat and they thought their action could make that happen. They were trying to do what is best for the party. And so are those who were involved in the Cegelis/Duckworth and Brown/Hackett races and those in the McNerney/Filson case.

Fighting over these hotly contested races, especially after the primaries are over, is counterproductive. And the places where these high profile races took place are exceptional cases. Most Fighting Dem Vets, for example, are grassroots people who are not supported by national groups but by local Dems. And in some cases, such as Bill Winters in Colorado, they were encouraged to run by the state Democrats. Frankly, we cannot let this debate deteriorate into a beltway versus grassroots controversy. Our candidates need all the support they can get on the local, state and national levels.

When the netroots, grassroots and the DCCC or the DSCC work together, they can accomplish a lot more than either one alone. The Massa campaign helped organize local grassroots response to President Bush’s recent visit to NY-29. The netroots also got involved and helped get the word out nationally. The DCCC coordinated some with us in these efforts and later Congressman Marion Berry of Arkansas gave the weekly radio address on the same topic. This was a much more effective effort than could have been made if there were no cooperation. The DCCC, DSCC and others need to listen to the netroots and grassroots and try to work with them as much as possible. And vice versa.

It goes without saying that we need to have a dialogue over what makes one a better candidate and discuss how the limited resources of the DCCC, the DSCC, and other resources such as PACs might be better allocated to multiple candidates instead of a select few -- we need to level the playing field. In spite of the impression that all the Fighting Dem Vets have been getting institutional and national support, for example, only a select few have gotten much support at all. They are a true grassroots effort and have stepped into the breach to fight in districts long abandoned by the Democrats and GOP incumbents that were not challenged in 2004.

Reacting to criticism and to deflect attacks, the DCCC has made it a point to say that they do not support FDs across the board. This in fact is true. It is also not the best strategy to follow. The idea of selecting a few critical races has its merits, but in this year of unparalleled opportunity to take back Congress, just a matter of $5,000 to a Fighting Dem campaign, vet or non-vet, would be a huge incentive and help prime the pump for more funds. Giving money to what seem to be marginal races can be a better investment than a high profile race, especially in a year that has potential for upset victories. (See pRuy Teixeira on Donkey Rising.)

In many of the districts where grassroots candidates are fighting to build the Democratic Party from the ground up, the local folks simply do not have the resources to battle the huge treasure chests DeLay and cronies have helped GOP candidates to horde. We do not need to match these amounts, but we do need to have enough to run an effective campaign. It is not enough to demand that candidates in poor, "red" districts raise huge sums before endorsing them. Candidates must be supported <i>in order to</i> raise such funds. We cannot put the cart before the horse.

The netroots have shown that they are one source of aid to candidates in all aspects of a campaign: bringing together volunteers from districts where candidates are running, securing national prominence for candidates so they are not lost under the radar, and to raise funds not otherwise possible for campaigns that are understaffed but fighting like wildcats.

With the New Democratic emphasis on National Security that was brought out by General Clark in the Democratic Weekly Radio Address, Fighting Dem Vets have even more potential to make a difference. And far from being one-issue candidates, they hold progressive social positions and reflect the fact that the Democrats are a full-plate party.

Thank you again for your support.

(See also sites that promote Fighting Dems: link:www.campaignsitebuilder.com/templates/displayfiles/tmpl26.asp?SiteID=891&PageID=13722&Trial=false |Muster Roll] on Fighting-Dems.com and Band of Brothers, Air America, VetPAC, Swing States Project, IAVA PAC, WesPAC, and /Blue Force).

[xkenx]

1. The Eric Massa-Wes Clark Connection

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE FROM THE PRIMARIES


Clark supporter feels called to duty

General made believer of wary aide
Thursday, November 27, 2003

By ANNMARIE TIMMINS
Monitor staff
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a junior Navy officer, Eric Massa had no choice the first time he went to work for Gen. Wesley Clark in 1996, as Clark's assistant in Panama. The Navy set up the interview, and Massa hoped to mangle it with blunt honesty.

"I didn't want the job, and I told him so," said Massa. "I was afraid of working for a pompous moron, of which there are several wearing stars. I had worked for senior officers who didn't care about people, and I didn't want to do that again."

It turned out Massa and Clark had something in common there, and Massa spent the next four years attached to Clark, first in Panama and then in Europe, during Clark's stint as supreme allied commander in Europe.

When Massa left Clark in 1999 it was under protest and only because Massa had been diagnosed with advanced cancer. Now, years later, Massa - recovered and retired from the Navy - is working for Clark's army again, this time as a campaign staffer trying to get Clark elected to the White House.

Massa wasn't looking for the job this time, either. Clark asked

him to come on board after learning a month ago that Massa had "involuntarily resigned" from his government job at the urging of Republican bosses. They were upset that Massa had visited Clark at a Democratic campaign event.

"They said I was a political liability and that if I liked Wes Clark so much I should go work for him," Massa said. A lifelong Republican, Massa just re-registered as a Democrat. Massa is the son of a Navy man, and as such grew up outside America and with a respect for the military. The family came to the United States when Massa was 16, and after graduating from high school in Louisiana, Massa attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

In all, Massa spent 25 years in the Navy, 16 of them on sea duty. In the mid-1990s, Massa's commanding officer told him it was time to decide how he wanted to fulfill his joint duty, a requirement for officers to spend part of their service with another branch of the military.

When Massa said he wanted to do something out of the ordinary, he was told an Army general by the name of Wes Clark was looking for a Navy aide. All he knew about Clark was that he had stars on his Army uniform, and that didn't carry much weight with Massa.

Their 50-minute interview, however, convinced Massa to withhold judgment.

"He had questions I didn't expect from a military man," Massa said. "He asked me if I was familiar with Greek literature, if I read Homer, what I thought about the Illiad.

"And the last 20 minutes were devoted to people questions," Massa said. "He asked me what I would do if a young soldier came to me and told me his wife had died. Or a homosexual soldier told me he was being harassed. His whole thing was treating people with dignity and respect."

Three hours later, Massa was on a plane with Clark to Panama, where Clark was commander in chief of the U.S. Southern Command. Massa described his job as Clark's executive assistant and deputy chief of staff.

Once there, Massa asked Clark what the Homer question was about. Massa remembers the answer: "He said he was looking for someone who was well-rounded enough to talk about issues beyond military terms."

For about 13 months, Massa shadowed Clark, keeping notes of his meetings and drafting follow-up letters to the people Clark had met. Massa said Clark forbade his staff to begin any of his correspondence with "I" because Clark wanted the emphasis on the recipient, not himself.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A show of support
When Clark was promoted to supreme allied commander in Europe in 1997, he asked Massa to stay on and be his advance man. Massa agreed and moved his wife and kids, who had been waiting for him back in San Diego, to Brussels, Belgium. After Clark arrived, Massa was again a close assistant and became one of Clark's main liaisons to Washington, D.C.

Massa had every intention of staying in Europe as Clark's assistant until he got sick in late 1999. He hadn't recovered from running a half-marathon but chalked it up to the flu. He blew off a doctor's appointment his wife had made for him, thinking he'd work it off.

On Nov. 9, 1999, Massa looked up from his desk to find Clark standing there. Clark told Massa that his wife had called worried about his health.

Clark had arranged another doctor's appointment for Massa, and when Massa protested, Clark gave him the only direct order Massa recalls receiving in four years. "I think we have lost the fundamental relationship between a four-star general and a Navy commander," Clark told him. "You will go to the doctor."

The doctor diagnosed Massa, who had never smoked, with advanced lung cancer and gave him four months to live. Clark cut through red tape to get Massa and his family back to the United States for treatment.

Just before Massa left, Clark convened the staff and tearfully awarded Massa the Legion of Merit medal for his work. Clark had received the same medal in the 1970s when he was a speech writer for the then-supreme allied commander.

It's one of the few times Massa saw Clark cry.

"Everyone thought that was goodbye, that I was dying," Massa said.

Back home in San Diego, doctors were more optimistic and diagnosed Massa with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, not lung cancer, and began aggressive treatment.

Unknown to Massa, Clark had a soldier tracking Massa's surgery. As soon as Massa came to in recovery, staff told him he had a call. It was Clark. At the time, he was overseeing the bombing of Kosovo.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A different kind of service
Massa retired about three years ago; he waited so that the last thing he did in uniform was attend Clark's retirement. Now he's living in a hotel in Manchester, trying to avoid a fast-food diet and bringing his family in from New York when he can.

He talks wistfully about the job he lost to get here. Massa was in Washington overseeing part of the Navy budget as a member of the House Armed Services Committee. His departure was reported by the press and has since become fodder for online political sites.

But he doesn't regret where it got him. On the trail, Massa is helping get Clark the veteran vote - and whatever else needs doing.

"If Wes Clark asked me to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, I'd ask him if he wanted it done in the summer or the winter," Massa said.