Excerpt from "Crashing the Gate"; tells what happened w/Carson-Coburn race

[earthboundmisfit]

(I also posted this in GD, but am putting it here, too, because of the great behind-the-scenes look into the Carson-Coburn race in 2004.)

This one is next on my reading list! A friend of mine just finished the book, and he says it is to the point: how to build the structure needed to elect Democrats.

For Oklahomans, it goes into detail about what happened with Brad Carson's campaign for the Senate seat that Tom Coburn won.

Plus - I found even MORE to like about Russ Feingold in it - check it out:
www.alternet.org/story/34113/

From excerpt from "Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics" by Jerome Armstrong and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga (Chelsea Green, 2006).

It's hard for Democratic candidates to sound like real people when Washington's consultant class holds the purse strings and the power.

"I don't get it. When a consultant on the Republican side loses, we take them out and shoot them. You guys -- keep hiring them." --Nationally prominent Republican official...

(Edited to fix link)

[OKNancy]

1. That should be good. I was VERY disappointed in some

of my fellow Dems who didn't support Carson because he was too moderate...then we get the Nazi Coburn. I imagine the book talks about Coburn's organizing of the churches.. and the youth at churchs. They were swarms.

[RoyGBiv]

2. Youth at churches ...

This must be stopped.

The day of the election, I was shocked and horrified to see that literally thousands of Coburn signs had been littered all along major intersections and highway on and off ramps around OKC. This had taken place in less than 24 hours. I later discovered area churches had organized youth groups to do this.

[OKNancy]

3. My daughter said that

even some of her otherwise rational friends bought the Coburn Koolaid ( pro-life )
LOL - of course now at age 21, they are no longer her friends. Fortunately there are still a few liberal left at OU.