People in Class Houses
A couple of days ago Yellow Dog Democrat published a post brazenly entitled: Cegelis Still Has Chance to Show Class.
Sage Observer, a self-described Duckworth supporter, has already addressed how YDD deliberately misused elipses to mischaracterize Christine's concession message. So all I'm going to do is demostrate the proper degree of respect that 6th District Democrats -- or anyone for that matter -- should grant YDD's pronouncements on the subject of "Showing Class." And to do so, I invite you to play this fun game:
See if you can pinpoint the exact moment in Yellow Dog Democrat's 5:15, February 28 posting when YDD rendered his opinion on all things 6th District and on "showing class" utterly valueless in the eyes of this particular Cegelis supporter.
Did you guess:
S-CAM, you've sunk from mere flakking for your candidate to bald-faced hypocrisy.Nope. Y'all know it takes more than mere insults and name-calling to get under my skin.
Did you guess it was his bizarre accusation that Cegelis supporters are tools of the GOP:
And you know the Cegelis campaign is desperate when they are quoting the National Republican Committee. *** Republicans are scared of Duckworth, and they've got S-CAM and the whole Cegelis crew out there doing their dirty work for them.Nah. The idea that the relative weaknesses of the Democratic candidates were not apparent to the Republican party -- and that Tammy Duckworth would suddenly become invincible if only Cegelis supporters would go away -- is just too absurd to get bent out of shape over.
So, did you guess that it was when he laid the ground work for his current blame-Cegelis theme with this line:
You know Cegelis can't win this March, but in order to make your point, you're doing everything you can to help Roskam in November, all in the hopes that on Election Day in November, you'll be able to say "I told you so."Not there either. That sentence is based on waaaaaay too many false premises to be taken seriously by anyone with an interest in the fate of the 6th District.
Instead, I withheld judgement on YDD's "classiness" until the last paragraph of his post. It was only then that this 6th District Democrat lost all respect for YDD's opinions on "showing class":
The jokes on you though, S-CAM. If you think the DCCC is going to back Cegelis in 2008 if Roskam wins, you're crazier than Roskam. The DCCC just needs to pick up seats - they don't care if the seat is in Illinois or New Jersey or New Mexico. You'll be stuck with Roskam for a couple decades, and you'll deserve every minute of it.So, friends and neighbors, I guess you'll have to pardon me if I don't think Yellow Dog Democrat is in any position to lecture Christine Cegelis on how to be "show class".
20 comments:
S-CAM: Sorry if I hurt your feelings. I do think it was hypocritical flakkery for you to attack Duckworth for raising money from outside the district, when Cegelis was doing the exact same thing, she just wasn't as good at it. And I think you're smart enough to realize that in order to run a successful campaign against Roskam, the Democratic nominee is going to have to raise ALOT of money from outside the district, so I thought you were being intellectually dishonest. If you don't understand that there isn't a large enough cultivated Democratic donor base within the 6th CD to provide the sole support for a winning campaign, I apologize.
However, I didn't misrepresent anything earlier this week in my comments on Cegelis's post. The fact that Cegelis seems to think both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party are the enemy doesn't weaken my argument at all. In fact, the fact that Cegelis draws no distinction in her remarks at all between the party of Barack Obama and Dick Durbin and the Party of George Bush and Tom DeLay only strengthens my case.
And, I still think it's hypocritical of a candidate who spent so much time courting support from Rahm Emanuel and trying to get him involved in the 6th District to turn around and attack the party for getting involved. It's just sour grapes.
And, I think it's odd of bloggers to blame Rahm Emanuel for not being willing to invest in Cegelis's candidacy, when those same bloggers -- even Cegelis's own family -- aren't writing her checks.
Like I've said, I think Cegelis has many strengths as a candidate. She is passionate, and she is knowledgeable. Many people I've talked to say she needs to get better at working a room. And, she obviously needs to improve her fundraising skills.
I think if she follows my advice and runs for the 66th State Rep seat, she'll have an opportunity to draw upon those strengths and improve her weaknesses. I believe she could win, and I certainly support her candidacy.
I just think she did herself a big disservice by publicly attacking the Democratic Party and undermining Duckworth's candidacy, and I do think it lacked class. How many other losing Democratic candidates did you hear attacking the Democratic Party or winning nominees this week?
As for my remarks from a month ago, I stand by them -- for the most part*. I know that at that point, when it was clear that the Cegelis campaign was falling apart, supporters of hers were already contemplating an end game that went something like "Well, even if Cegelis loses the General Election, if Duckworth goes down in flames in the fall, that will teach Rahm a lesson." Well, I'm sorry, it won't. Atleast not the lesson you want him to learn. The lesson he'll learn is that Illinois' 6th CD is a lost cause. And your reward will be 20 years of Peter Roskam, because once he gets in, he'll never be beat.
*I say "for the most part" because a month ago, I didn't believe that Democrats had a hope of taking back the House, and the only thing that was at stake was whether the 6th CD would be held by a moderate Democrat or a rightwing nut. Well, now it appears that more is at stake than that, because we actually have a chance to take back Congress, so while I used to simply view Roskam as your problem, I now see him as our problem.
So, in the interest of peace and the greater good, let me make this offer. If Christine Cegelis can demonstrate she shares my belief that we're better of with Tammy Duckworth than Peter Roskam, and better off with Democrats in control of Congress than Republicans, I'll be the first one to write a check to help her retire her campaign debt, and I'll write the first check when she announces she's a candidate for the Illinois House in the 66th District. So-called Austin Mayor, I hope you'll join me. Is that classy enough?
YDD--I've been critical of many of the comments from Cegelis supporters, but Christine has been very classy---if you only read the part clipped in the news story it changes the tone a bit, but the full statement is an excellent way to transition into how important it is to support Duckworth in the general. In fact, it made the first impression in the press without Duckworth having to attack personally.
That's just good politics and all of us should thank Christine for it--it was classy and strategically sound.
I also think there many things lacking in her campaign, but the only snarky things she said were largely in response to unsourced comments. She probably could have responded better to them some of the time, but there were so many, that I can't blame her for that. If you listened to what she said, and not what was said on the internet by some supporters, she ran a good campaign--running against the generic establishment is done even by establishment candidates.
===
So, in the interest of peace and the greater good, let me make this offer. If Christine Cegelis can demonstrate she shares my belief that we're better of with Tammy Duckworth than Peter Roskam, and better off with Democrats in control of Congress than Republicans, I'll be the first one to write a check to help her retire her campaign debt, and I'll write the first check when she announces she's a candidate for the Illinois House in the 66th District. So-called Austin Mayor, I hope you'll join me. Is that classy enough?
Write the check--she already did make it clear Tammy is better. A-M is probably out of the donation game for a while though.
Arch Pundit -- I'll gladly take back everything I said and write Cegelis a check -- is there a link to her full comments?
I'm sorry to hear Austin Mayor is tapped out...and glad to hear he was willing to put his money where his mouth was and give all he could to Cegelis. As I've pointed out, some, like Randall Sherman, aren't that consistent. I'll still look for Austin Mayor's check when Cegelis announjces for the Illinois House.
If Cegelis and her staff didn't know she sounded snarky, they should go back and listen to her interview on WBEZ's 848. Even Edwards stepped in to point out she was spending all of her time attacking, and very little about what she stood for. When I say that Cegelis is passionate and knowledgable -- I think her best moments were when she was talking about what she stood for, not running down her opponents or the Democratic Party -- OUR Democratic Party. Maybe she WAS misrepresented by the media, but if you give a fifteen minute speech about what you're for, and then spend 15 seconds attacking your opponent, we all know what ends up in the newspaper and on the evening news.
Then of course, there was that blast e-mail she sent personally attacking DCCC staff.
Now, if you'll excuse me, it's Happy Hour somewhere. Ciao.
AP, after being told she was a poor candidate or toast and her supporters should have a 2x4 taken to their hands, I think the last thing Cegelis needs is you telling her what to do.
She doesn't owe you, or anyone, anything. She ran the best race she knew how, got little to no support from the likes of you and others around her. Now that she narrowly lost and everyone wants to be friends, she doesn't need to contradict everything she stood for and cheerlead just because you think it would show class. She's got class in spades, and more than enough respect that she earned completely on her own.
Let stop the BS and call it for what it is: Duckworth needs Cegelis, not the othe way around.
Geez louise, looks like Illinoize isn't fit for man nor beast in the days after the primary. Mebbe everybody ought to take a few weeks off and think instead of shooting our mouths off. Thas what I'm gunna do. 'Coz all this finger pointing in this here fishbowl of 1,000 readers a day ain't nothing in a state of 13 million people.
I guess I helped start this, so I'll chime in. The full text of Ms. Cegelis' statement is the frontpage of her website, and is quoted in its entirety on Lynn Sweet's blog, which is where YDD originally linked. But YDD stepped up to the plate and made amends, and for that he deserves respect.
As for Anon 820 (btw, pick a nickname already), to say Duckworth needs Cegelis more than vice versa is to play the Oberweis game -- I'll endorse you conditionally, etc. etc. The voters spoke. That's who I respect, and it's not about Duckworth needing anybody, it's about our country -- and the 6th District -- needing responsible representation.
Finally, I've won and lost campaigns. Victors have the responsibility to be magnanimous, and that means being tolerant of the need to express frustration in defeat. I don't begrudge any Cegelis supporter their anger and frustration, because I've been there too. In a general election, the winner is usually the one who has most successfully united their party. I'm hopeful that both Duckworth and Cegelis supporters (and Lindy Scott supporters, for that matter) will eventually realize that their ultimate goal is best served by working together.
One final thought -- President Bush is and should be terrified of the thought of a Democratic House next year, because the power of the subpoena will keep his questionable intelligence at the center of public debate. My own view is that IL-6 is one of the longest of the long shots, but if Tammy Duckworth is sworn in to Congress next year, it will be in the majority.
Sorry, the Cegelis website is here.
While I hesitate to get involved when you guys are doing such an excellent job of tearing each other apart, I just can't help myself.
Given that the Republican candidate got almost 12,000 more votes that the combined total of all three Democrats, I'm wondering why anyone cares who won the Democrat primary in this district.
Ray Wardingly has a better shot at beating mini-Lipinski.
Slightly off topic but nontheless, I think the Republicans in this district wouldn't mind an honest debate on the issues of the day (including the Iraq war). But instead, the DNC had to go out a find a "double amputee," which they remind the voters at every possible chance in a very disgusting manner. How do you respond to that? Every time the GOP tries they'll get hit with the very unfair "Well, I'm a double amputee, therefore you should automatically have sympathy for me regardless of how I feel about the real issues blah blah blah."
anon 4:32
Duckworth never talks like that.
If your an R, it's really stupid to talk like this... whatever you are behind that anon, it's stupid to talk like that.
Speaking as someone who made a small grassroots donation to Cegelis in early summer 2005, and then made a small donation to Duckworth in February 2006 (both from out-of-district), let me put in a brief plea for peace here.
There are a lot of factors that divide Cegelis and Duckworth supporters, but at least in the blogosphere, it seems clear that one of the most important is sheer pride. Cegelis supporters are proud that they managed such an impressive turnout and demonstrated that Duckworth needs them to win the election. They are right. Duckworth does.
So Duckworth and Rahm and co need to swallow their pride and stroke the ego of the Cegelisites for a while. I'm thinking at least a month. Duckworth needs to go around praising Cegelis to the treetops, what a great candidate she was, how much she needs Cegelis supporters. A few speeches right after winning the primary ain't gonna cut it. Rahm too and the DCCC have to get down on their knees a bit, if they are serious about winning this seat. Rahm needs to pull a Jerry Maguire here. He needs to go to Christine Cegelis in his best Tom Cruise impersonation and start chanting, "You ... complete ... me. You ... complete ... me." He will want to kill himself in the morning for it, but if he really wants to win this seat, he better find the moxie.
That said, Cegelis supporters need to respond, "You had me at hello." Duckworth does need them; that's manifestly clear. Duckworth's gonna need them to knock on doors, hand out literature at the train stops, register voters and make phone calls.
So to both sides: let's try and set an example in the blogosphere here. No more recriminations, no more attacks on the personal integrity of Cegelis or Duckworth supporters, sore gripes. Cegelis supporters: we love you. We need you. Tell us what we need to do to make you take us back. At the end of the day, we're all not Tom DeLay.
Cegelis=Oberweis
Cegelis supporters=Jack Roeser
===AP, after being told she was a poor candidate or toast and her supporters should have a 2x4 taken to their hands, I think the last thing Cegelis needs is you telling her what to do.
Did you read what I said above? Because it appears to be that most of what you are responding to is something I didn't say. I said she did show class. Got that?
As far as being a poor candidate and toast----while everyone is enthralled with the closeness of this election, it's really a bad sign for both sides. This is a District that went 47% for Kerry meaning about 130,000 people voted for John Kerry in the general election 16 months ago. These three candidates found 30,000 of them that seem to vote in a every primary. This District is competitive, but no one showed any tremendous ability how to make it so.
The following people must publish a formal apology to Cegelis and Cegelis supporters in the Chicago Tribune or the Chicago Sun-Times:
Rahm Emanuel, John Kerry, Dick Durbin, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Jan Schakowsky, Mike Honda, John Lapp and Ladda "Tammy" Duckworth.
This, I believe, will redress the various wounds these politicians' violent penetration of District 6 enacted.
I AM JUST LOVING THIS!!!
This Demo infighting is going to continue to be a non-stop laugh factory!
I loved the suggestion that Cegelis and Duckie jointly bring in HOWARD DEAN to "unify" the "people". THIS IS KILLING ME!
I can't wait until Duckie's next exploitative trespass on private property to promote her candidacy...like her unauthorized exploitation of Marianjoy's premises. Maybe Duckie and Hillary Clinton should crash the Cantigny Estate...and find out THIS IS A REPUBLICAN DISTRICT!!
Rahm's campaign manual here must read: 1. Find wall 2. Bang head. 3. Repeat steps 1 and 2.
I AM DYING!!
conservative republican -- Keep laughing. Phil Crane had a Republican District too. For that matter, so does Tom DeLay.
Anon 9:25 and 7:17 -- get an identity and I'll tell you what I think of your ideas, too.
Sage Observer -- thanks for the links. I've read that piece several times, and I still can't find the part where Arch Pundit says that Cegelis endorsed Duckworth over Roskam. Was it somewhere else? Somebody help.
After all that, I agree with the spirit of what Anon 10:01 said. Rahm Emanuel and his surrogates have alot of kissing up to do. I think that promising to help Cegelis pay off the $40,000 in campaign debt after she endorses Duckworth and after Duckworth wins should be part of it. And, like I said, when Cegelis endorses Duckworth, I'll write the first check.
Archpundit, care to comment on today's news?
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