David over at Rubber Stamp Roskam has it dead on about Jill Morgenthaler's "campaign". I've been called on three separate occasions to volunteer and I'd really like to know why I should. They have yet to catch me unoccupied or I would ask them what they think about that. Or why any self-respecting, halfway intelligent human being should try to elect someone she knows so little about.
I don't particularly care what G.I. Jill has said in private meetings about her stances on the issues. I don't trust anything from politicians until it's a matter of public record for which their feet can be held to the fire. I know that G.I. Jill doesn't care about promoting a living wage in this country because she's too worried about "small businesses going out of business". As someone who works in the labor movement, I can't say I was too thrilled with that idea.
Outsiders who swoop into my neighborhood expecting to represent me need to realize that having a "D" behind their names isn't enough. They need to reach out and connect with the community and actually build a base. Especially in DuPage, their base is all they have to depend upon. I am not Jill Morgenthaler's base, nor do I currently see any reason to join that club.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
13 comments:
Calling Morgenthaler an "outsider swooping into your neighborhood" is a little bit unfair. She actually lived in the district until it was gerrymandered to try to protect Hyde's shrinking margin.
And who was in the Republican controlled legislature that did that?
Peter Roskam.
Obviously, it wasn't done with Morgenthaler in mind. But Roskam knew what his own plans were, and the redrawing of the 6th benefited himself, eventually.
So, now she's a few blocks outside "your" neighborhood. But really, if her neighborhood was dumped from the 6th for being too Democratic, don't you wish it was still your neighborhood, too?
Man and boy, I'm 45 years in this district, and I'm damn sick of it being an automatic rubber stamp for whatever reactionary Republican retard resides in the White House.
But unless and until the "base" finally throws away their "McGovernment" buttons and worries more about beating Republicans than eating their own, we'll just keep appending an "R" to whatever name represents IL06.
It is said that people elect the governments they deserve.
Hello, Roskam.
"Joe Cool",
Being an "outsider" is much less about geographical location than it is about conduct, roots in the community, and willingness to branch out and actually campaign. I feel that it is a disadvantage to Jill that she lives outside of the district, but only because she reinforces it with the way she "campaigns" (meaning she doesn't).
Has she been involved in politics in the area? No.
Has she been involved in community service in the area? No.
Has she held elected office in the area for a considerable amount of time? No.
Jill is starting off with a disadvantage because all of these things Roskam can check off with a resounding YES. This is why her non-campaign style bugs the crap out of me. He's got roots, she doesn't. You'd think she'd be trying to overcompensate in that department because of that.
I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to when you say "McGovernment". I really don't think it's too much to ask for G.I. Jill to CAMPAIGN and let people know, in a concrete way, where she stands on the issues. Her website is a great example. If you've paid any attention, you'll know that I can appreciate candidates that don't entirely line up with my issues so long as they are doing the right things and running a viable campaign.
Perhaps you and I will just have to agree to disagree on this issue. I think it's ridiculous for the Morgenthaler campaign to expect anyone to come out front and center for her when we don't know where's she's at on the issues. I guess I'm just not as much of a partisan, blindly led Democrat as others are.
I realize, and you should too, that a "D" doesn't mean nothin'.
Oh, and BY THE WAY, I resent the implication that it should be put on the voters and activists to "embrace" a Democratic candidate no matter what.
Give me a break.
Bridget,
Housecleaning first: "McGovernment" was the campaign button worn by McGovern volunteers (including my mom!) in the 1972 presidential campaign. Inference: too many of the old-timey Dems in the party cling to an idealized notion of post-Camelot platforms, opting to go down with the ship: HMS Principle.
Sunk effortlessly and repeatedly by the modern dreadnought, RNCC Expedience.
As to the rest, your points are well taken, but apart from the website, I'm not exactly sure what else can be done at this point that doesn't cost a lot of money.
I'm not trying to be difficult here, but campaign mechanics-wise, what specifically do you think she should be doing to win the hearts and minds of the rank and file (such as it is) to gain their active, enthusiastic support?
I'm truly curious, I'm not just trying to bust your chops. Let's say Bridget Dooley is the campaign manager for the Jill Morgenthaler for Congress Campaign - what now?
If I was the Morgenthaler campaign, I would be reaching out to each and every activist on the ground in IL-06 and asking for lists of people to call and become acquainted with. This is a suggestion that Rep. Jan Schakowsky and her political director made to Jill and it's advice that she hasn't followed to date.
She doesn't return calls or correspondence. She doesn't engage people.
None of this costs a thing except a little time. It's very, very basic.
My opinion is that for a candidate to be successful on the Democratic side in DuPage County they need to be active and known for at least two years before the actual run. That time can be spent in the party getting know or running for lower local office. You have to work from the ground up in more ways than one. Running for congress as your first foray into politics is really hard. Maybe Jill is just setting up for a real run in 2010 but who knows.
I also would like her to publish, on her website or anywhere, positions papers on all the current topical issues. That can’t be that hard because she must have an idea where she stands on issues. If she doesn’t she has no place running for congress.
I don't know about a prescribed timeline for getting involved in the community before running, but I definitely see where you're going with this, Delver.
I feel like the ideal candidate is someone who has very deep roots in the community to begin with. Someone who has lived in the area for a considerable amount of time and has built a broad network of friends and family who admire and respect her service to the community. Someone who has put the time and hard work in already to make our community better because she is a part of it and it makes a difference to her and her family and friends' quality of life.
To just all of a sudden say "I want to represent you and make your lives better" after not having been involved in that work to begin with is just not going to work. Not against Roskam, someone who HAS done that, who people know, and who has very deep roots in the community. Whether or not you agree with what he has actually done is somewhat irrelevant. The perception that he has is there.
Now, there's an argument to be made that Jill Morgenthaler has served her community by serving in the military for many years. However, that doesn't take away from the fact that no one knows her.
I agree that she should at the very lease release her positions on the issues in an accessible way, the most obvious being on her website. Who in the world is going to vote for her if they have no idea where she stands on the issues? People get their information from the internet these days. Voters aren't showing up in droves to these coffee klatches to hear it from Jill herself. Who has time for that?
Peter Roskam has a great website that illustrates where he stands on the issues, his experiences, and record. Even Stan Jagla has a more acceptable website than Jill Morgenthaler.
I just don't get why the Morgenthaler campaign refuses to actually campaign.
Amen Joe Cool. AMEN!!!! I grew up in the 6th District as well (albeit not as long as Joe Cool) and fought for nearly every Dem who came and went since 1996 and to NO AVAIL.
Lets get real about the district and get someone in there who can win!!! The more liberal and progressive our candidate gets, the more Evangelicals and Radical Right that come out against him/her. As long as Wheaton is still a party of the 6th, a "true Blue" Dem will not win. The only way to win the 6th is with a "milder" dem with most, if not all the ideals that represent our party. Labeling them an "Outsider" as they are often depicted by progressives does nothing for our party. A candidate who can garner at least SOME of the moderates or RINO's (Republicans in Name Only) out to support him/her can and will win. Representative Government. Moderates and RINOs are the majority of the District. I hope we see a Dem in the 6th in my lifetime.
Thanks, Shoeshine Boy. You're humble and lovable.
Bridey, I think the JM campaign is doing what it needs to do to win the primary. After that, and after the Gunfight at Turn DuPage Blue Corral is over and Piekert is the last man standing, you'll begin to see a rapprochement - and a change in tactics - as fencesitting money and support start to come in.
Except for all the hurt feelings among the Bisceglie crowd, which will include Wagner from York Township.
So with the hurt feelings of that group, and the ascendency of the Cegelis wing of the party, and the beginnings of the alienation of the Duckworth supporters, it won't be too long before someone's pulling a Cassius and quothing "The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our candidates, but in ourselves, that we are quibbling."
What is needed is a sit-down on Feb 19th, a week after DuDemCon '08, with the leaders of each faction and each of the candidates. Like in Godfather 1, where they made peace.
But who amongst them will be driving home musing "It was Barzini, all along" - hmmm?
Regarding what Jill can do that doesn't cost money: Campaign.
I was recently at a Democratic event where there were over 100 people, many of whom are running for or are precinct comitteemen. Jill poped in long enough to be introduced with the other candidates, then left. Maybe 20 minutes face time. Maybe.
She's new. She has nothing on her website. She didn't even speak at the event. Sticking around and talking to people might have gone a long way in this group. But I wasn't the only one who noticed the other candidates stayed around and she didn't.
JC, what makes you think Bob Wagner is part of the Bisceglie crowd? I haven't specifically asked him, but my impression was that he was neutral. (Bob is, by the way, stepping down as York Township chair after the primary, and current vice-chair Carol Davis is expected to take over.)
"DuDemCon" will be on March 5, by the way.
"DuDemCon" is a fabulous name, lol.
Provided either side doesn't become too obnoxious about it, I suspect that most people who are involved in DuPage politics will stay involved. Sure, there will be a few who will take their balls and go home, but they will be small in number.
I have stated repeatedly that I support Rob Bisceglie for DuPage Dems chair. I think it's so funny that people like the above poster are STILL going on and on about the "Cegelis wing" and "Duckworth wing" of the party. This B.S. "us or them" mentality is just not accurate.
Move on, people!!!
If I remember, one very prominent member of the R. B. camp was a Cegelis supporter before the primary. At least I recall seeing him around Christine's office a few times. Not mentioning any names, but his initials are _ob _isceglie.
I might add that I could be wrong, but it looks to me like the biggest concentrations of Rob support right now are mostly in the IL-13 and IL-14 portions of DuPage, people who didn't have a dog in that fight at all.
Post a Comment