GOP takes aim at Emanuel in Duckworth-Roskam

[wndycty]

I'm sure PDA/DFA can send their Rahm bashing playbooks to the GOP, unless of course they are still using them.

GOP takes aim at Emanuel in Duckworth-Roskam

March 29, 2006

BY LYNN SWEET SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

The volume in the heated House duel between Democrat Tammy Duckworth and Republican Peter Roskam was cranked up Tuesday as Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) became a factor in the race.

Emanuel, the chief of the House Democratic political operation and one of Duckworth's prime sponsors, was targeted by Republicans Tuesday in the contest for the seat being vacated by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.).

There may be an emerging GOP strategy to try to make Emanuel radioactive in this race as Democrats continue to demonize former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), who is facing state campaign money laundering charges in Texas.

Roskam, now a state senator from Wheaton, worked as a legislative aide for DeLay over a seven- or eight-month period in the 1980s and Democrats are making his association with DeLay an issue.

The National Republican Congressional Committee sent out a release with the taunting headline, "Tammy Duckworth-WWRD: What Would Rahm Do.''
-snip-

Curiously, Democrats following the 6th District primary who were Cegelis backers channeled far more anger toward Emanuel than Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who was as instrumental, if not more, than Emanuel in getting Duckworth to run and helping her to win.

But it was Emanuel who essentially pulled the rug out from Cegelis early on by shopping around for another candidate, so he wears the jacket.
-snip-

http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/cst-nws-sweet29.html

[mopinko]

1. grow up.

I'm sure PDA/DFA can send their Rahm bashing playbooks to the GOP, unless of course they are still using them.

[Gary Kleppe]

2. Please cut the crap.

Anyone who thought about it knew this was going to happen. The Republicans didn't need us to think of it for them.

That Emanuel's strategy (if you can call it that) is disastrous for us isn't the fault of people who pointed it out, any more than the quagmire in Iraq is the fault of those of us who opposed it from the beginning.

[minvis]

3. Why would we need to send them anything?

You don't think the GOP can read/follow what happened during the Democratic primary? Pleeease. Gary is right. Don't blame us because we pointed out during the campaign that if Duckworth won, they'd use Rahm's backing against her.

[LSK]

4. how are you trying to win the gen election with this crap???

What strategy are you using? Divide and conquer????

:shrug:

[madrchsod]

5. with evans dropping out the race

it seems the boys better make sure they have someone to replace him. i know zinga ain`t much but the republicans wouldn`t mind picking up this seat as an insurance against the 6th. lane was a progressive in every way,hell our republican paper praised him tonight so don`t give me any crap about a progressive can`t win.he`s going to be missed by both parties here in illinois. so are the big guys going to replace him or let the local party do it? if the republicans could find someone other than their "sacrificial lamb" i think they would..this race out here maybe a lot better to watch than the 6th and a lot more important geographically.

i think it`s time to stop worrying about who did what to who and make sure the "smoke filled room" boys can`t do this again

[Ken Burch]

6. What is your point here, wndycty?

If you're asking Cegelis people to back Duckworth(which you already know the vast majority of them will do)that's one thing.. But you can't expect Cegelis people to defend Rahm. And there is 1)no need for them to do so, sice Rahm is not the candidate in the district nor in any danger at all of losing in his district, a district we can assume he'll hold for life and 2)no way for them to defend what Rahm did without completely abandoning their principles and their dignity.

What do you want them to say?

"Hell yes, Rahm was right to stab our candidate in the back"?

What''s it to you if Rahm takes some flack?

It's not like he's ever been anything but a soulless hack.

The point now is to elect Duckworth, not give the Rahmster a group hug.

[wndycty]

7. My point is this. . .

. . .like it or not Rahm is the head of the DCCC and he was ELECTED to that position by other Democrats in Congress, so obviously the rank and file Democratic Congressmen and Congresswomen believe he can help us take back the house. His tactics may be different than some grassrooters would want, but he has the same goal many of us have and that is to make Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House.

I don't think anyone should give him a pass or give him a group hug, but be mindful of the rhetoric used against him. Would you agree that in my support of Duckworth I very rarely, if ever, said shit about Cegelis that could be used against her in the general election? I kept it to a few simple points 1) campaign management/finances and 2) my belief that the voters of the 6th CD (not just Democrats) are probably more in line with Duckworth's positions. While I had a preference I did not question Cegelis' right to run, the motivation for her to run, her ideology, etc. I knew there was a very great chance that she could be the nominee and I did not want to contribute to or parrot the things Roskam's camp would say about her.

As it relates to what the DCCC is doing nationwide I believe they are trying to win races. Anyone who believes its about ideology and dissing the grassroots is fooling themselves. If they were the case why the hell would they have encouraged Nancy Skinner to run in Michigan? She is definately to his left. He is looking at each district and its demographics and trying to deliver the candidates that have the best chance of winning.

During the primary 6th CD Duckworth supporters/Rahm sympathizers on DU were constantly lectured about what Rahm had better do if Christine won. Now that the election is over and she lost any DUers who criticize her behavior in the aftermath of the election are pounced upon, which I find to be hypocritical from people who demanded that Rahm bend over backwards for her had she won.

Lastly, this thread was meant to provoke thought. I find it complete bullshit that people can call Rahm and DCCC all sorts of evil, yet when one cricizes Cegelis, the PDA or the DFA we are lectured about unity. No matter what people say Rahm and the DCCC is going to be there in November and while its ok to criticize everyone must realize that they are players we must work with. Unity is a two way street, not a one way street. Its up to everyone to get along.

I got smacked and lectured for posting this same thread in GD Politics, yet people post thread like the one below all the time:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2540346#2542534

Let's be consistent.

[Gary Kleppe]

8. There is a huge difference...

...between the DCCC and a group like PDA. Part of the latter's mission is to replace sellout Democrats with progressive ones. Anybody who gives money to the group knows this.

The DCCC's mission is to elect Democrats to Congress. Period. Trying to sideline Democrats who are too independent isn't part of its job description, and at least the smaller donors would probably be quite surprised to find that their money is being spent for such a purpose.

And if you still buy the story that they were only doing what was best to win the race, then I've got a really nifty bridge I could sell you. Cheap. Guaranteed to help you win elections, or none of your money refunded.

[Ken Burch]

9. Well, of course Rahm was elected to head the DCCC

why, we may never know, but he's got the job. What I was saying is, if you want to ask Cegelis supporters to back Duckworth, that's legitimate, that's fine, but I don't think you have the right to ask them to defend Rahm. Nor do anyone's electoral hopes hinge on defending Rahm. There's no way to prevent Republicans from attacking him in any case.

It came across as though you were insisting that Cegelis people must not only support Duckworth, but must also defend the guy who moved heaven and earth to stop their candidate. Sorry, but's that's asking too much. So long as they support Duckworth, it's really not your concern what they feel or say about Rahm. If Rahm has become a target of hostility in this particular district, he brought it on himself. Even if we accept the arguement that another candidate needed to be found, there was no reason for Rahm to be so loud and publicly aggressive about it. He could have tried diplomacy, perhaps he could have proposed some alternative office for Cegelis to seek or offered her and those who shared her principles something out of this. Instead, he went about his work publicly. Had Cegelis pulled in another 300 votes and taken this primary, the concerns Rahm allowed to be publicly raised about Cegelis would have been used as soundbites in Roskam campaign ads, the way Hubert Humphrey's vicious and completely unjustified attacks on McGovern in '72 were used in Nixon ads.

And attacking Cegelis for not showing up at a meaningless unity event, when she had already publicly declared her support for Duckworth, was kicking the woman when she was down. It's not cool for the victors to attack the vanquished, especially when they are at the same time demanding the unquestioning support of the vanquished.

Asking progressives to publicly defend Rahm is asking progressives to stop being progressives. It's asking them to give up their dignity and self-respect. In short, it's asking too much.

It's enough that they work for Duckworth.

And it would have been far easier to shore up Cegelis' campaign rather than to essentially publicly repudiate her. I'm still not clear which of Cegelis' positions would have been that unacceptable.
And we both know Duckworth, as an unknown candidate with no money and no party support wouldn't have pulled anywhere near 44% of the vote in the 6th.

[wndycty]

10. Let's see how "meaningless" that unity event would have been. . .

. . .had Cegelis won and Duckworth had not shown up. Methinks it would not have been meaningless.

[Ken Burch]

11. Cegelis would have obviously rescheduled the event to accomodate both

schedules. I see no reason why Duckworth couldn't have done the same.

Anyway, there's no reason to keep picking at this.

[dogman]

12. FYI

I believe I posted this answer to you in another thread, but in case you missed it or did not understand, this event was held by the DuPage County Democratic organization. The 6th CD only covers part of this District. There are two other CDs in DuPage County. This event was for those Districts also. Cegelis may well have had other commitments but I seriously believe if she had won she would certainly have attended. I also agree that had Duckworth excused herself there would have been hell to pay. You are correct, it is time to move on. The main point that wndycty makes is valid however. I too refrained from personal attacks on Cegelis and her supporters. I only posted for a couple of reasons. The disinformation by outside the District leaders hypocritically blasting elected Illinois Democratic Party leaders as DC beltway outsiders. Also disinformation about Duckworth's stand on issues. We all knew their would be a winner and that person would represent our Party against an extreme RW GOPer. All debate would have been less grating if that had been kept in mind. I personally would have looked kindly on a Cegelis victory because that would have shown that grass/net roots could triumph. We saw in the '04 Primary and General Election that that was not yet the case, and we see that money is still a major factor in elections. As much as most of us find that distasteful we must realize the GOP is not going to lay down its weapons at this time and they are the enemy.

[minvis]

13. This thread would have provoked thought if

you hadn't put at the top of your post that PDA, DFA are giving the GOP "our handbook" on dissing Duckworth. That comment at the top was solely put there to try and start a flame war. If you had just copied and pasted the article, fine. That would have provoked thought and debate.

[wndycty]

14. Here is an interesting post from Illionize

While I did not write it, I embrace many of its arguments, I think it deserves its own thread, but I know everyone wants to move on:

Here are some facts the Cegelis camp needs to own up to:

-- Team Cegelis put together a great field operation, but they were still soundly beaten, despite having a two-year head start. The main reason they lost is that Christine Cegelis could not make a compelling case that she was the better candidate to face Roskam, either to core Democratic groups, prospective donors or a plurality of voters. And, as I've pointed out many times, you won't even find the names of any other Cegelis family members or many of her most ardent bloggers on Cegelis's campaign finance reports.

-- Cegelis's 44% showing against Henry Hyde was no predictor of her performance in 2006. Peter Roskam would have slashed and burned her for her extremely liberal views, including but not limited to: banning not just assault weapons but all handguns, decriminalizing possession of narcotics, increasing welfare spending, raising taxes, and "developing a universal single health care system for this country similar to our Canadian neighbors." Even though I personally agree with many of her views, no one in their right political mind can possibly believe she was electable in DuPage County with those extreme views on record.

-- Whatever you think of Rahm Emanuel, Tammy Duckworth ran an honorable and positive campaign, never criticizing Cegelis or Scott, but instead focusing all of her criticisms on the Bush administration and Roskam.

-- The "old line democrats" aren't casting Christine and her supporters as "disloyal Democrats," as bored now claims. Team Cegelis did that yourselves, by constantly attacking the Democratic Party and it’s leaders over the last six months and laying out your "us versus them" attacks. In fact, by Christine Cegelis’s own admission, it took an invasion of another country under false pretenses to get her activated in the Illinois Democratic Party. She was what — 50? I’ve been walking precincts since I was 12, and have paid my dues doing grassroots campaign work for candidates in all but a handful of Illinois counties across three decades. Many of the people I know supporting Duckworth have given up that and much more, so forgive my umbrage when Cegelis appoints herself the arbiter of Democratic ideals and whether or not Duckworth is living up to them.
-snip-

-- Cegelis's "Good luck" is not an endorsement. It is a polite way of saying "go screw yourself, you're on your own," while bored now is much less polite when he says "Sounds to me like y’all are trying to set up blaming christine for duckworth’s inevitable loss against roskam." If that's your idea of being a team player, you must play alot of Solitaire.
-snip-

http://capitalfax.blogspot.com/2006/03/facing-facts-in-6th-congressional.html