Ezra Klein: More And Better Democrats

« Iraq and Roll | Main | Does the Internet Need Fixing? Sadly, Yes. »

August 24, 2007

More And Better Democrats

by Nicholas Beaudrot of Electoral Math

I can't really say I know why Darcy Burner has become such a netroots darling, but I am certainly not complaining, since she's awesome. Darcy represents a new generation of political leadership, and since she's not a career politician, she's capable of holding a conversation without immediately slipping into campaignspeak. She has a real commitment to civil libertarianism in an era that has almost none, and having worked in the tech sector understands the need to maintain the trust of average people that video recordings or telephone conversations will not be put to nefarious uses.

The GOP is going all out to protect her opponent, Dave Reichert, which will cost roughly $3 million dollars; money that they might spend defending lower-cost districts in the Midwest, Great Plains, or Mountain West. Reichert is holding a $500,000 fundraiser with George W. Bush next week.

This is your chance to fight back.

August 24, 2007 | Permalink

Comments

Also, she's the crushworthiest woman in politics. There, I said it.

Posted by: SDM | Aug 24, 2007 2:56:49 PM

Sorry to burst the bubble, but she's married and has a small child.

Posted by: Nicholas Beaudrot | Aug 24, 2007 3:32:18 PM

Darcy Burner is probably the biggest example of the netroots misstepping in local politics ever. Half the district is in Pierce County, and yet the netroots keep pushing a candidate who's only lived in the state for seven years and has absolutely nothing on her political resume.

If you're gonna try and push a candidate, try and learn the area's voting habits first.

Posted by: Regault | Aug 24, 2007 4:18:59 PM

Burner got 48.54% of the vote in 2006. Don't listen to concern trolls who don't know what they are talking about, you be the judge of the area's voting habits.

Posted by: RegaultFullofBunk | Aug 24, 2007 7:03:36 PM

Regault:
What Duncan said!!

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2007_08_19_archive.html#1506290932494135619

Posted by: Joe Klein's conscience | Aug 24, 2007 7:04:33 PM

"only lived in the state for 7 years"???? That's hardly a carpetbagger. In any case, being a true carpetbagger like John McCain or Hillary doesn't seem to have harmed their electoral fortunes.

But thanks for playing, here's your lovely parting gift.

Posted by: r€nato | Aug 24, 2007 7:18:26 PM

Regault, Don't worry. When your candidate loses he can switch parties again and run against Burner as a Republican or maybe the DLC can back him for a primary run against Murray when her term is up.

Posted by: patriotboy | Aug 24, 2007 7:39:32 PM

Misstep? Didn't she win? I mean, she is a congresswoman right now, isn't she?

Posted by: Terp | Aug 24, 2007 7:40:48 PM

Nevermind. I guess she isn't. Duh.

Posted by: Terp | Aug 24, 2007 7:41:43 PM

Terp, thinking about Stephanie Herseth maybe?

Posted by: Mike Toreno | Aug 24, 2007 8:08:45 PM

Anybody that can afford to pop in $100 bucks and hasn't - feel guilty. The link is right above. Give and feel good if you can. No matter what the Dem. vs. Rep. polls show, the only way we can win is with money for the right candidates.

Don N.

Posted by: Don N | Aug 24, 2007 8:12:58 PM

Regault: thanks buddy. Your concern trolling just inspired me to give 50 bucks to the Burner campaign. :)

Posted by: Mike D | Aug 24, 2007 8:47:52 PM

"Half the district is in Pierce County"

And all the marmots that live in Mt. Rainier National Park vote conservative. Back in the real world, note that most of the area in the 8th covered by Pierce is either National Park or National Forest. Take a look at the map on Reichert's site and see what areas have roads:

http://www.house.gov/reichert/images/8th.District.jpg

I couldn't find population stats in a 10 second google, but I'd guess the vast majority of the population is in the Seattle suburbs. The 9th district takes most of the population from the Puyallup / 167 axis. Have you ever driven through Orting or Eatonville? Careful, you might not remember it if you did...

Posted by: Patrick | Aug 24, 2007 8:57:43 PM

Alright kids, I gsve my $100 -- give what you can to piss off Regault. (Talk about stepping on your dick -- yeah, 48.5% isn't much of a resume).

Posted by: klein's tiny left nut | Aug 24, 2007 9:25:22 PM

I have to assume that the Bellevue to Issaquah to Sammamish portion (plus Mercer Island) of this district contains at least 70% of the population. While there are many, many rich folks, there are also lots of progressives (and the terms aren't exclusive).

North Bend, Covington, Maple Valley, etc. are conservative, but not populous. The fact that Darcy lost last time was a bit amazing to us in Seattle (we can't vote for her), but if trends continue, she will win by a large margin. Regardless of how much the Burn Bush campaign raises, Reichert really stepped in it by having Bush come out here. There are about 100 people in a 20 mile radius who would want to have anything to do with the man, GOPers included.

Posted by: abject funk | Aug 25, 2007 2:45:51 AM

Winning the part of the population that would've voted Democrat anyway isn't really an achievement.

Anyway, I was referring to her voter's pamphlet entry in the 2006 election. It basically said "Lived here for seven years. Manager at Microsoft. Lives in Bellevue." that's it. No volunteer work mentioned, nothing. Not even PTA membership.

Anyway, I'm in Norm Dicks' district. I just work in east Pierce County.

Posted by: Regault | Aug 25, 2007 5:58:47 AM

I think Darcy is a netroots darling because she is a hottie.

I would donate money, but I can't as a member of the military.

Posted by: guachi | Aug 25, 2007 6:55:12 AM

I thought she worked at Microsoft. I don't really see how anyone who knows how Microsoft operates could think that involvement with that corporation would lead to greater trust in the public.

This is Microsoft, they've been abusing and betraying their customers for years. from overly stringent OEM contracts, to WGA, this is a business that takes hatred of it's customers to an extreme, and which is never punished for it because of an effective monopoly.

Posted by: soullite | Aug 25, 2007 10:39:55 AM

Pierce County's been repped by Democrats at a national level for most of the last 30 years. There have been only three exceptions I can think of when that hasn't been the case. Randy Tate in the 9th from 94-96 Jennifer Dunn in the aforementioned 8th and now Dave Riechert. Other than that Pierce County has been fairly solidly represented by Dems at the federal level for years. The 9th district (which encompases Ft. Lewis and McChord) is repped by Adam Smith (D) since 1996, and then before Randy Tate had his one term, by Mike Kreidler. The Sixth district, which used to encompas the bulk of Pierce before it was split between the 6th, 8th, and 9th, has been the personal fiefdom of Norm Dicks (D).

Add to that the fact that the eastern part of the county has been transformed over the last 10-20 years into a suburb for the suburbs of western Pierce county, and the arguement that eastern Pierce is a hotbed of conservative politics is just silly.

Posted by: supertroy | Aug 25, 2007 11:57:12 AM

托盘
 托盘
 钢托盘
 钢制托盘
 塑料托盘
 木托盘
 木制托盘
 纸托盘
 木塑托盘