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sharedvalues

(6,916 posts)
Sun Mar 19, 2017, 10:42 PM Mar 2017

Donate to Steve King's opponents, not the DCCC? (Blue America email -comments?)

I just got the following email from Blue America. Is this right?!!!?!

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Maybe you got an email filled with outrage over Steve King's latest racist statement this week. The DCCC sent one out, asking for contributions. There's a problem with that though. Steve King isn't just some loud-mouthed crackpot and bigot; he's an actual congressman from western Iowa. And, the DCCC won't use the contributions they solicit to beat Republican Steve King. They'll waste the contributions trying to elect even more Blue Dog and New Dem garbage-crats like Josh Gottheimer (NJ) and Tom O'Halleran (AZ), on whom they spent $3.5 million and $2.6 million, respectively.

"I’ve learned that there are great people in the 4th District who are hungry for a representative who will focus on solutions, not division. During my campaign, I talked about ways we can improve the lives of all our neighbors. I know that this battle won’t be easy, but deeply believe it is one worth fighting and one that we can win IF I can get the support I need. - Kim Weaver
Last year there was a progressive Democrat running against Steve King, the O'Brien County Democratic Party chairwoman, Kim Weaver. The DCCC collected a lot of money by sending out e-mails telling Democrats how horrible Steve King is back then, too. How much of the money collected for IA-04 did the DCCC give Kim? ZERO. They did absolutely nothing to help her at all.

The thing is, even without any help from the DCCC, Kim earned more votes than Hillary Clinton in every single county in IA-04-- all 39 of them-- and even won the biggest county in the district! It's worth noting here that Kim out-performed Chuck Schumer's handpicked corporate conservative Senate candidate, Patty Judge, in all 39 counties as well.

This year Kim is taking on King again. And what is the DCCC doing? You probably guessed it-- sending out more letters demonizing King and collecting cash to use to elect more conservaDems while offering nothing at all to Kim Weaver. We're sick of it.

Blue America endorsed Kim this week and we're asking our members to contribute directly to her campaign.

Kim told us that "the most disappointing aspect of the campaign was being told time and again that although I was a 'great candidate,' various organizations declined to support me because I wasn’t 'viable.' Most organizations didn’t even respond to my applications for assistance. Additionally, whenever my opponent would say some new horrific thing, I would get emails after emails from organizations asking for money to 'help defeat Steve King.' Not a single one of those organizations passed along any of that support. King was a big money maker for them, and it appears that he still is."

The DCCC doesn't want to understand that it takes real effort and investment over time to defeat entrenched incumbents like King. It's beyond their scope of endeavor, which is why the House Democrats have hemorrhaged dozens and dozens of members since Rahm Emanuel set his reactionary strategic and tactical ideas into stone.

2018 is the greatest opportunity we have to defeat Republicans in Congress in decades. But, please, when you want to defeat a Steve King, contribute directly to his Democratic opponent, Kim Weaver. And when you want to defeat a Darrell Issa or a Lamar Smith, donate to Doug Applegate or Tom Wakely, and not to a DCCC that will continue to waste those contributions on their own questionable agenda.

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elleng

(130,865 posts)
1. Sounds right to me,
Sun Mar 19, 2017, 10:46 PM
Mar 2017

tho I'm not familiar with the particulars. I haven't sent to DCCC or other similars in years, just directly to my chosen candidates.

brooklynite

(94,503 posts)
2. I don't know what DCCC ended up spending...but King beat Weaver 61-39
Sun Mar 19, 2017, 10:49 PM
Mar 2017

Additional financial support wouldn't have overcome that deficit.

northoftheborder

(7,572 posts)
4. I figured out what the DCCC does long ago. I do not contribute to them, as they do not....
Sun Mar 19, 2017, 11:23 PM
Mar 2017

...always lend support to a candidate I would choose, (as in the above example).

crazycatlady

(4,492 posts)
10. If this is the same Blue America on FB
Mon Mar 20, 2017, 09:00 AM
Mar 2017

They're linked with a blog called 'Down with Tyranny"

I've read the blog before, and they bash the DCCC (and DSCC, DGA, etc) as much as (if not more than) they bash Republicans. They're probably wanting to primary a guy like Joe Manchin, who's state went 70% for Trump.

Truth of the matter is that there are 435 congressional districts in the country. The DCCC (or the GOP counterpart) can't afford to be on the ground in all 435 districts, so they pick and choose wisely (based on district data, benchmarks a candidate must meet, etc). IN addition to playing offense, they have to play defense too.

Here are the initial districts they're contesting.

http://action.dccc.org/pdf/dccc-on-offense.pdf

Doremus

(7,261 posts)
11. Fine but don't then mislead contributors that they're actually doing what they say they will
Mon Mar 20, 2017, 09:41 AM
Mar 2017

If they have no intention of supporting King opponents then don't use him for fundraising.

It's dishonest and unethical and but one example of the reason I haven't given them any money in years.

crazycatlady

(4,492 posts)
12. It is actually a very common fundraising tactic
Mon Mar 20, 2017, 10:08 AM
Mar 2017

Whenever there's a bogeyman (on both sides) they raise money for the opponents. Sometimes they're actually in the district (ie when Bob Casey took out Rick Santorum), but most of the time they are not. The best fundraiser is someone in the opposition party opening their mouth. Individual candidates will use this too.

Nancy Pelosi was never targeted by the GOP (they don't have a chance in her district). Yet I'm sure she's in almost every one of their emails. I've seen mailers put out by them when she's a puppetmaster pulling the strings of a Democrat.

The reality is that some districts (especially gerrymandered ones) are hopeless for the Democrats absent a wave. I have no idea if 2018 will be a wave year or not. WHen it is a game of numbers, you focus on the close ones that you do have a chance in instead of wasting your resources.

I'm a 6 year veteran campaign staffer. This is the reality that every campaign is faced with

 

Jim Lane

(11,175 posts)
13. You're right that it's common. It's still sleazy.
Mon Mar 20, 2017, 01:53 PM
Mar 2017

I might agree with the DCCC about not donating to King's opponent, because I face the same choices they do about allocating limited resources -- but I donate to individual Democratic candidates in lieu of hoping that the party committees will choose wisely.

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