Good feeling at the grassroots
If you follow PomboWatch, you will note that all of the anti-pombo material and issue discussion has generated only a very few posts. In the last several days, since Wes started to post about Pete McCloskey's campaign vs. Pombo, comments have started to come a little faster. The one who are old enough to remember McCloskey from his previous service are invariably willing to come forward and help. There is a reservoir of good feeling about Pete that should not be underestimated.
At the same time, especially since Matt's most recent post, you get the feeling that Jerry McNerney is starting to generate the same good will in the grassroots. That should not be underestimated, Ms. Tauscher.
posted by Wes @ 1:26 PM
8 Comments:
Ok, its official sportsfans. From the last few posts I think you guys can officially change the name of this blog from "Say No to Pombo" to "Please Say Yes to McNerney."
Please don't pretend this is a neutral or policy oriented blog folks, we know it's not true. Just be honest. It would be much appreciated, thank you.
First of all, I never pretended that this was a policy-oriented blog. That's one. I don't think there's any disputing that.
Second, regarding neutrality, I have my opinions and I say them openly. I am very honest about what I think and if you don't like it, you can either disagree with me openly on the blog, seethe in silence, or go away. But you cannot take pot shots at my posts without at least sketching out your alternative interpretation.
I would welcome a guest post from Steve Filson or one of his supporters. Thus far, not a single pro-Filson person has opted to take me up on that offer.
Furthermore, there's no way for me to know what Steve Filson is up to besides the information he publicly discloses, which is minimal. I go to his website and I see it hasn't been updated since before Christmas. I see that there is no listing of events on his site and no report about what he's been up to.
I don't think there is any question that Jerry McNerney has generated considerable goodwill and support among the grassroots base of the Democratic Party. Conversely, I have seen no evidence that Steve Filson has performed similarly.
At the end of the month we'll see how the money situation is and how it relates to the other factors in the race.
I am not receiving positive info about Filson that I am editing out of my posts, and I am not receiving negative info about McNerney that I am editing out of my posts. I am simply giving my honest (although admittedly not objective) assessment about the race.
If you believe that it's not worth you time to read what I write, nobody will force you to read it. And if you feel like I have made an error, there is every opportunity to call me on it. All I can do is try my best.
Lastly, if you re-read the reader's poll I think you will find that this site is useful to people regardless of their views about the various Democratic candidates. I certainly enforce no ideological conformity on my co-authors, and each of them is free to agree, disagree, or stay silent on any issue they wish. I can tell you that nobody is using this site to manipulate perceptions. Each of us post what each of us truly believes. We are four people. Again, write something that's good and I'll guest-post it. But you cannot simply insult my integrity and the integrity of everyone else on this site because you disagree with what we say.
You're right about Filson's website not having been updated since before Christmas. What a joke! But McNerney's website isn't exactly a busy hub either. If I want to know what's up in Pombo World, I come here to SAY NO ON POMBO, not to JerryMcNerney.org. Someone dedicated should be doing this for him and making it feel vibrant, alive and attractive.
While McNerney's site doesn't "feel" as current as a blog that changes daily, you've got to give him credit for including:
1) an actual blog (props for the netroots)
2) an up-to-date calendar
Filson's site has neither. And it's amazingly devoid of substance. The hackneyed political platitudes on Filson's site make Hallmark cards seem like the Federalist Papers.
As to what "used-to-be-anon" said about this site being pro-McNerney, Matt articulates an excellent defense.
But more can be said...
Listen, a blog that is oriented towards the grassroots is going to gravitate towards the candidate that "gets" the grassroots.
Because Steve Filson is a cautious, astroturf candidate without substantial grassroots support, he's not likely to attract support from a grassroots blog.
It's as simple as that.
If you want to start up your own blog that represents a more milquetoast take on the CA-11 race, you are, of course, more than welcome. It's a free country.
That would be better than posting drive-by bullshit on this blog...
Fiat lux, your right. Have fun!
Later!
Well, there is NO to Pombo, but also implies YES to someone else. At this point, Matt and I and others heavily into this are just reporting what we see and hear. To whit, McNerney has shown an impressive performance lately. Are we supposed to diss that and say he has not? We see him at most of the major events, which makes us feel like he is involved, concerned, and active. On the other hand, Filson, who I never liked from the get-go, has not shown at any of these, has not updated his web site, has no blog, has not sent out any email announcements that I have seen, and has basically faded from sight.
If anyone out there has seen Filson or has news, please let us know. I mean, the next step is posting his picture on a milk carton!
As far as other candidates, I was excited about Margee Ensign, but she has backed out. At that time (Nov.), I was thinking it was time for Jerry to pack it up. But all that has reversed now, with Jerry leading in ideas and grassroots, Filson fizzling, and Ensign out all together.
I think we all here like good ideas and good energy. We are seeing a lot of those from Jerry, but nothing of the sort from Filson.
Those are just facts, not preferences. If Filson came out with position papers and a grassroots started forming around him, I would take another look at him.
Of course we are going to have opinions, but then again, we are out there at the meetings and events and talking with the candidates and activists. These are not "armchair" pontifications. I think Matt and I and others in this small group of "11th District junkies" have a good feel for race, because we work hard to getting to the sources and getting the information.
Great to see Used-to-Be-Anon taking up the cause and creating his/her own blog (apparently) on the race. The more, the merrier -- this is what democracy looks like.
Another meaty blog devoted to the cause of defeating Pombo (just like SNTP), but from a milquetoast perspective, would be a very interesting development, to say the least.
Maybe they could call it "Milquetoasters for Filson"? ;-)
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