Title: Merrill v. The Netroots

The SFist also had a nice wrap up.

Quote: "Expect that photo to be all over the political blogs like the Britney sans panties photos were on the gossip sites."

This is the first time I remember seeing a blogger use the picture, ironically the source was Tauscher's government website. But sometime between when I downloaded it Monday and today, her GOVERNMENT staff scrubbed the photo from the website.

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As the great Armando would say: heh. This experience has reminded me how rare it is for long time members of the professional progressive political class to understand the netroots. Sure they read what we write, but don't get "it".

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As always, CMR is committed to presenting all perspectives in the big tent that is our Democratic party, and the potential clash between Rep. Ellen Tauscher and an unknown primary rival is certain to be a topic of discussion here far into the future. Emphasis added

Thank you so much for consulting your crystal ball, Donald! How kind of you to inform the world that the best her oppenents can come up with is a no-namer.

Will those dissatisfied with Rep. Tauscher find a recognizable name to oppose her in a primary? I don't know.

But I do know that dismissive comments from Ms. Merrill and now yourself get people like me more determined to prove you wrong. The "talk to the hand" comments suggest that Rep. Tauscher isn't interested in listening because there's no consequence for not doing so. So long as the signal is that there's no intention of engagement and willingness to address the dissatisfaction, then this isn't just going to go away for her.

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I dunno PeterB. I didn't pick up any malice in that sentence. The fact of the matter is that there is no primary challenger yet. It is way to premature to talk about a specific person. Efforts need to go into exposing Ellen Tauscher. To be honest, it would make me happy to see her shift away from her corporate shilling and act more like Jane Harman has recently.

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to talk about a specific person, although it would seem that a good challenger would be an unknown one.

Donald's declaration that it will be a no-namer at this point is likewise premature. It's that prejudgment which I view as the problem.

I would much rather see a new and improved Ellen Tauscher too. It's best for everybody that way. Only time will tell.

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sorry - it would seem that a good challenger would not be an unknown one.

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Unknown as in we don't know who her opponent will be yet. I guess I could have phrased it a little better, but you have to dig pretty hard to find insult in my post. Congrats.

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And btw, jumping at the throat of your perceived enemy is one of those netroots stereotypes you should try hard to lay to rest. I have staked nothing in the Tauscher fight. Never assume uniformity of opinion on any blog, yet alone one with dozens of occasional contributors.

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I agree with you Donald. It is damaging to the blogosphere when that happens, because people tend to focus on the very few people that engage in that way, rather than the larger number of participants who do not. I prefer honey to vinegar. This is not personal for me. I have nothing against Katie Merrill, in fact I have never met her. This is about what she wrote and how Ellen Tauscher is serving her constituents.

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"I guess I could have phrased it a little better"

I take this back, actually. Upon rereading it, I don't see how you could possibly interpret my post to mean that I assumed Tauscher's hypothetical opponent would be a no-name. That would be a pretty stupid thing to say, and I'd have no basis to say it. You were just itching for a fight.

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And thanks for the kind words, Julia.

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This netroot phenomenon has gotten way out of hand.

Republican power is on the wane because their party is choked with extremists whose only interest is to proclaim how right they are, without any regard for actually getting anything done or working with anybody who doesn't swear absolute fealty to them. This party structure is what the netroots would love to impose on us.

A lot of the comments on Kos hit upon democracy. The netroot movement itself is undemocratic. There is no tolerance for any ideas that stray from a pre-determined party line. And I seriously question how "democratic" it is for outside donors and party machinery to come in and influence a local district election.

I am a moderate Democrat. And I work in the Capitol. And let me tell you, there are few things more obstructive than someone who feels that the sheer power of how right they are is all they need.

The Bush Administration has squashed all dissent in its party (and has tried with the rest of the nation), and is now reaping the consequences of its inflexibility, blind devotion to the "message", and self-destructive purging of moderates. And now that we have power on the federal level again, the first thing we're going to do is emulate the GOP?

Katie Merrill should be heeded. All the netroots spoiling for a purge would be well advised to dedicate their efforts to helping Jerry McNerney, a worthy Congressman who will face a stiff challenge next election, make no mistake. You want a target? Try John Doolittle. Need another one? How about the Reep who will replace Jerry Lewis? Or perhaps the numerous state legislative races identified on this very site? If we were to truly let Ellen Tauscher's district decide what they wanted, I can tell you what the result would be, and it would be really similar to her last few elections.

Those that think the path to continued power lies in creating an infallible authority figure to be obeyed at all costs, and drumming out like heretics anyone who disagrees, ought to reconsider their stance. Or, they can join the Republican Party.

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All the netroots spoiling for a purge would be well advised to dedicate their efforts to helping Jerry McNerney, a worthy Congressman who will face a stiff challenge next election, make no mistake.

There is no call for a purge, but there is a realization that Nancy Pelosi shouldn't have to worry about being undermined by a Bay Area Democrat. And the netroots were very supportive in CA-11, helping McNerney demolish Tauscher's candidate.

You want a target? Try John Doolittle.

The netroots having also been focused on CA-04.

Need another one? How about the Reep who will replace Jerry Lewis?

The netroots don't want a Reep to hold onto CA-41.

The great thing about the netroots is it facilitates involvement in the races people care about. Instead of telling people what not to do, why not show people why they should join you in helping the races you care about?

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Chuck, if we followed your advice there would be a heck of a lot less Democrats up there in DC, the most recent example being Ciro. Should the netroots not have raised $185,738.98 through ActBlue for him? Should Rahmn not have dropped $900k in the district and told Ciro that the DCCC was going to take over his campaign?

As for Doolittle, I urge you to see about fixing his disaster in the Marianas. My friends Nick and Neil from the Brown campaign are setting up a new non-profit. Perhaps you could see what you can do to help them out.

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Donald, I am at fault for not verifying your meaning, and for that I'm sorry. It's clear that the rest of your post was about having open discussion, so it should have been pretty clear to me. I also overlooked that you used the word potential, so the crystal ball remark was undeserved.

Just so you know how I came to think that's what you were saying, though, you referred to the potential clash between Rep. Tauscher and "an unknown primary rival", which meant to me at the time a primary rival who was, well, an unknown. "Unknown", or "relative unknown" is a descriptive term I've heard used a fair number of times for candidates who've got no chance of winning, so when you wrote "an unknown" rival, well, that usage came to mind. And that changed the meaning of the post for me by 180 degrees and led to the negative reaction.

I'm relieved to know that you weren't being dismissive toward us folks who are dissatisfied with Rep. Tauscher's performance.

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We can debate the politics of the primary, but voters are going to what to know why Tauscher cut a deal with Bush that just resulted in California's 300th death in Iraq.

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Those that think the path to continued power lies in creating an infallible authority figure to be obeyed at all costs, and drumming out like heretics anyone who disagrees, ought to reconsider their stance. Or, they can join the Republican Party.

It seems to me that that is exactly what you are asking us to do. Reread your entire post with that perspective. That isn't the only passage that has the same hint of hypocrisy. And if you think that all dissent should come from within her district, I assume you would hold her to the same standard for her funding and support?

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Apology accepted. I don't hold grudges. Cheers!

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