The Purity of Coleen Rowley

[Rose Siding]

News: She has limited campaign funding and won't pose for the cover of Time. But Rowley might have what it takes to win a congressional election. By Beth Hawkins



....She has rejected suggestions from the political establishment that she snazz herself up or exploit previous fame. In her view, voters in Minnesota’s 2nd District will either elect her to the House for who she is or else she’ll find something different to do.
...
On the table, a heap of envelopes and checks threatens to pitch onto the floor; stray dollar bills peek out here and there. She spent five hours on the phone the day before, asking people on a call list for money.

When Democratic recruiters first approached Rowley about running in 2004, she said no. She had not yet left the FBI and, speaking of money, couldn’t afford to until she had secured her pension and health care benefits for her family. “But the real reason, above and beyond, was this fundraising thing. I was at the bottom of my sixth-grade class in selling Girl Scout cookies. I sold 11 boxes—and 6 of them were to my grandmother.” When she retired at the end of the year, she set her sights on an appointment to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, a federal panel charged with ensuring that anti- terrorism efforts don’t erode civil rights. President Bush passed on her, and the next time the Democrats came knocking—insisting they were looking for candidates with unconventional backgrounds who could capture the imagination of the voting public—Rowley said yes.

....One political editor criticized her August visit to Cindy Sheehan’s antiwar protest in Texas as “especially risky” and said her campaign had “something of a homemade feel.”
...
Pundits have also opined that Rowley should stop talking about Iraq, especially in a district Bush won in 2004 with 54 percent of the vote....

http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2006/03/colleen_rowley.html

That last bit sounds like wimpy, overly cautious advice -especially considering everything that's transpired since then.

I like her web design. It looks fresh.

http://www.coleenrowley.com/pages/current_issues.php

Coleen Rowley Wins 2nd District DFL Endorsement • May 6, 2006
Coleen Rowley won unanimous endorsement at the DFL's district convention in Faribault on Saturday, May 6....

[blm]

1. Another great voice for the anti-corruption wing of the Democratic Party.

The time for Open Government is NOW.