Courageous Connie throws down the truth on her web site.

[maddogesq]

http://www.conniesaltonstall.com/

"I am not the only candidate that has been the target of this kind of manipulation."

Her withdrawal from the race is just another in the long line of shit caused by the DLC infested MDP. Need I say more?

OK, I will go back and shut up again for awhile.

[Bryan Buchan]

1. Such a shame...

...from what I have read Connie will be a loss this primary. I was born and raised in michigan, sadly I know little about mdp politics. I lived in Arizona when I became politically engaged and know this states local and state politics inside and out, in doing so helped organize the beginnings of PDA. Now, having returned from Arizona, now back in Michigan, I am looking forward to learning more about the inside party politics within the state. I look forward to getting to know Connie better, and those others that are real Democrats.

[SharonRB]

2. You and I both know just how right she is

about the manipulation. She's definitely not the first.

:hi:

[PassingFair]

3. I am SO sick of this crap.

I dropped off of the board of our local dem club
because I am so tired of it.

Virg seems like a fighter, so I will pound some
pavement for him.

[JNelson6563]

4. Ok, really?

This is the smart move. First of all Connie couldn't win a state house race. In fact, she got slaughtered. McDowell has won several of the 30+ counties in the 1st District. His more conservative politics are a good fit for the 1st District. Connie's more liberal views are a good fit for the affluent little enclave in her neck of the woods (the very southern part of the district).

None of the massive UP knows Connie so it would be starting from scratch. You all have any idea what sort of resources it takes to run a campaign in that sized district? Are you all aware the R's have been wanting a shot at this district for a long time? Now they have one. Think they'll be going easy on that race? No, they will pour lots of money into it. As well they should. The district has a lot of conservative leanings. It's a possible pick up for them.

While McDowell won't be winning any liberal awards, he is a good bet to win this district, unlike Connie. Frankly, to see Connie behaving as she is at this point tells me Connie's more for Connie than she is for the team.

Sorry but I'm looking at this with a more analytical eye and I'm surprised more of you are not.

Julie--who thinks more MI DUers need to visit the northern parts of the state and see how very different it is from the more "civilized" parts where you all live

[PassingFair]

5. It is still majority democrat, yes?

Maybe she doesn't have quite as good of a shot
as the other guy, but the underhanded tactics
that our party uses to "discourage" primary candidates
is turning me off.

If McDowell is such a winner of a conservative, a
primary should only showcase what a family values
kind of guy he is and it will only help him in his
quest to keep Michigan purple.

[JNelson6563]

6. Conservative Democrat.

Frankly, the resources needed to run a competitive race in 31 counties is substantial.

I think it would be unwise to spend so much time and money on that and save it for the general. Connie can't win a few counties in her own neighborhood. Did she really think she could win the entire first district?

I think the shame lays at the doorrsteps of those who are delusional about their own abilities as candidates.

Julie

[PassingFair]

7. Were there other candidates with a better chance?

I have never met Saltonstall, and, other than
her pro-choice stance, don't know anything about
her.

I do know that every election is different,
and that prevailing political trends and
upheavals can see some candidates do poorly
in one race, and then kick tail in the next.

I am just glad, as an AMERICAN, that Stupak
won't be using my daughters' reproductive
rights as a bargaining chip in DC anymore,
and for that I thank Saltonstall.

[JNelson6563]

8. No doubt she's due some gratitude.

I was very excited at her challenge during the health care debate. Loved that national pro-women groups jumped in right away. I never for a moment thought she'd win a primary, much less a general election for the district though. It effectively brought down a lot of heat on Stupak and he was so deserving!

Agree with your assessment on changing trends. Though usually it goes like this: Person decides to run for office. Chooses office to big for them to win, out of their depth. They learn much on the campaign and then, having learned a thing or two, generally set their sights on a more realistic race that they can actually win. I had that happen to a 4th dist. candidate. Made the run for a 14 county race twice. Finally figured out, too big, can't do it--at least not yet anyway. 2 years later ran for state House seat and he is now the Representative 9n Lansing for that district.

For Connie to lose a state House race so badly and then behave so poorly (and even be at all outraged/shocked) because the state party went with a safer bet/better fit for the district tells me a lot about her level of political sophistication (none of it good).

Julie

[maddogesq]

9. Speaking of trends...

Hate to burst your bubble Julie, but if tonight's races keep going the way they are--you know, with Specter going down, a real close on in Ark. and major Dem turnout in KY--I think Connie would have had a better chance than you think. Dems want the change O promised, and I think these results we are seeing, plus several other Dem wins in special elections, show that you don't have to run to the right to win.

This business of establishment candidates on both sides has gotten the natives restless. I think the MDP should rethink their strategy. Populism now rules, and tonight's results show just that.

[JNelson6563]

12. There's no chanaging trends in the UP

Been up to the UP lately? Go and take a good look around. It's as conservadem as it gets.

And here's a tidbit you may not know. When McDowell first ran the state House caucus and the MDP wouldn't give him the time of day. There were some strong advocates screaming bloody murder that he had a chance and deserved some help. Nada. He pushed on and pulled off the win. Like the 1st CD his state House district includes counties above and below the bridge, for what that's worth.

You just can't go into this stuff based on emotional thinking, no knowledge of the district in question and no clue as to the background of the players involved.

Julie

[Kaleva]

10. She decided to run knowing that the party leadership supported Stupak

So I take her claim that she was manipulated out of the race by the state party with a grain of salt.

"Without the interference of the democratic leadership, we might just have won the election! "

A rather odd statement. She entered the race knowing full well that the democratic leadership was supporting Stupak and it made no difference to her then so why does it become so critical now?

[PassingFair]

11. The "democratic leadership" should stay the hell OUT during primaries.

I don't mind them recruiting candidates, but
the backroom deals and backstabbing have got
to stop!

The Dems need to stop pulling the rug out from
under candidates like Saltonstall.

Who comes first? The "leadership" or the voters?

[Kaleva]

13. She had enough signatures to place her name on the ballot...

but she dropped out of the race the day before the filing deadline. From following the news, I gather that Connie was having a major problem developing support from within the district itself and was relying on donations via ActBlue. This worked as long as Stupak was in the news but when he announced he wasn't going to run for re-election and faded into the background, the donations dried up. having worked as a volunteer in Stupak's previous campaigns, I imagine Connie was well aware of the costs involved in running a viable campaign.

[Kaleva]

14. Lack of support from Yoopers forced Connie Saltonstall out.

And considering that Yoopers do elect pro-choice candidates such as State Senator Mike Prusi into office, I'd have to say that Saltonstall's pro-choice views weren't as important as she claims in her stated reason for withdrawing.

What did Saltonstall in was the fact she was a troll (a person who lived south of the Makinac Bridge). Yoopers (residents of the Upper Peninsula) tend to stick with their own.

"Saltonstall had visited the Upper Peninsula in recent weeks to meet voters and gauge support. She said she is withdrawing from the race because the Democrats in the U.P. and state party leadership are backing Gary McDowell, D-Rudyard, in the race."

http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/544009.html?nav=5001

With the Upper Peninsula accounting for about half the vote in the district and their tendency to vote for a fellow Yooper, it would have been almost impossible for Saltonstall to defeat McDowell in the primary or defeat a Republican candidate from the U.P. in the general election.

Connie's statement:

“I am forced to do this because it has become apparent to my campaign that the leadership of the Michigan Democratic Party has preemptively anointed Gary McDowell as their Democratic candidate. They are replacing Bart Stupak with another Upper Peninsula, anti-choice, anti-women’s health-care rights candidate.”

Had pro-choice State Senator Prusi decided to run, the same thing would have happened to Saltonstall. The Democrats in the Upper Peninsula and the MDP would have rallied behind Prusi because he is a Yooper. One ought to note that ardent anti-choicer State Representative Joel Sheltrown, who, like Connie, is a troll, dropped out of the race earlier this month.

[Kaleva]

15. Emily's List wouldn't back Connie

I know she's had meetings with that organization but it's not clear as to why Emily's List didn't endorse her.

[PassingFair]

16. Probably because the party didn't want her to run.

One of the reasons I don't give to Emily's List anymore.

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