2008: Game On in CA-11

Cross posted at MyDD, Swing State Project, Calitics, and Daily Kos

[UPDATE: Josh Richman of the Contra Costa Times now has a story about this.]

Last Thursday, Jerry McNerney took the oath of office as a member of the 110th Congress. A scant five days later, with what must surely be unprecedented speed, the NRCC has sent out its first anti-McNerney campaign mailers of the 2008 election to voters in CA-11.





It’s worth noting that in the run-up to the 2006 elections, the NRCC spent over $1.3 million to prop up threatened incumbent Rep. Richard Pombo, all to no avail. In the days leading up to November 7, the NRCC sent out no less than 20 anti-McNerney mailers (strikingly, they couldn’t think of one single pro-Pombo message). Looks like old habits die hard.

So if anyone out there thinks that McNerney’s 2008 re-election will be easy simply because he won in 2006 by a 6% margin — er, not so much. Expect a steady drumbeat of anti-McNerney disinformation over the next two years. The only real question is, what are we going to do about it?

Tags: CA-11, Jerry McNerney, NRCC

Congressman Jerry McNerney Sworn In

Well, today's the day -- Jan. 4, 2007, and Jerry McNerney is being sworn in as Congressman for the 11th District of California. There are stories all over the local papers, so I won't repeat them here. The bottom line is that this is GOOD NEWS all around. No, not just "good", but WONDERFUL, even STUPENDOUS news.

Be sure to revel in it -- and the hope and inspiration it brings. What a truly remarkable thing that the former congressman is out of office, no longer empowered to attack and destroy our environment. That gives me, and many, many others, great hope for this world.

After six years of the worst president in history, things were getting very depressing. But McNerney's win, and more important, Pombo's loss, gives so many of us renewed faith that maybe sometimes the political system actually works, that the common people can have their voices heard, and that the exploitative corporations don't entirely run the show in Washington, as hard as they try to.

So have a happy "McNerney Inauguration Day" today everyone! This is what we all worked for!