2008 Woodie Awards
(First in a series.)
Swept up in the excitement generated by Paul Hacket’s amazing campaign for the Ohio-2nd District Congressional seat, I could hardly peal my eyes away from my computer screen. I discovered that blogs were an amazing source for the latest news on strategies, fundraising, news, and results. But when it was all over, I was left with a sour taste in my mouth by many of the progressives posting comments on sites like MyDD, Swingstate Project, and Daily Kos. It quickly became apparent that many of these posters dozed off during some very important pre-school lessons.
LESSON 1: DON’T BE A SORE WINNER!
Immediately after Hacket’s narrow loss, many of the comment-posters in the blogosphere (and bloggers as well) decided to use their success in fundraising and rallying support to continue their relentless war on the Democratic leadership. Organizations like the DLC (Democratic Leadership Council) and DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) were lambasted as irrelevant, and criticised for not getting involved in the race earlier. Many posters even peppered them with a spray of four letter words that will not be repeated here.
The pettiness of this debate (if it can even be called that) is counterproductive for liberals and progressives alike. One of the reasons why the Republican Party has been so strong in recent years is that its leaders and members have been willing to put aside their ideological differences and fight for a common cause. Libertarians, neo-conservatives, and the religious-right banded together, and Republican causes were strengthened by their efforts.
As much as they might not like to admit it, liberals and progressives in the Democratic Party can learn something from this Republican strategy. By agreeing to disagree and spending their energy fighting Republicans rather than each other, they will be able to create a more united front against the Republican Party. This does not mean that it would be beneficial for all criticism of party organisations to cease. What it does mean, however, is that such criticism should be constructive rather profane. It should take into account that, despite differences between groups within the Democratic Party, all Democrats and democrats share some important common goals.
Some of the recent cracks in the Republican coalition have been particularly instructive of these points. In the Schmidt/Hackett race, for example, Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) urged conservatives not to vote in the election. In addition, Schmidt’s primary opponents reportedly gave her lukewarm support at best. There is no doubt that these factors (in addition, of course, to Hackett’s strength as a candidate and the powerful grassroots support he received) had a significant impact on the outcome of the election. What happened in OH-2 is not a peculiarity, but a reflection of a general strategy by certain interests within the GOP to consolidate power at the expense of their coalition partners.
Think about it.
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