Party weighing expenditure of resources in Busby CA race

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Muddled Outcome for Both Parties in California Primary
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: April 13, 2006

WASHINGTON, April 12 — The race to succeed former Representative Randy Cunningham, a California Republican who pleaded guilty to corruption charges, took a complicated turn for both parties on Tuesday after a crowded primary in which a Democrat came in first, but did not win enough votes to escape a runoff.

The muddled outcome left Democrats and liberal activist groups cheered by the strong showing of the Democrat, Francine Busby, a school board member, but debating whether to pump significant resources into the June 6 primary. The district is strongly Republican — President Bush drew 55 percent of the vote there in 2004 — and Ms. Busby, in winning 44 percent of the vote, benefited from a splintered field that included 14 Republicans....

***

Steven P. Erie, a professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego, said he was struck by how well Ms. Busby had done...."I think her chances are better than the conventional wisdom thinks," Mr. Erie said. "It's an uphill battle for Democrats given the registration figures, but it's not as steep as many people think. And I wouldn't have said that a while back."...

***

Democratic officials said they remained wary of expending political capital or funds in a race that, on paper at least, appeared daunting. They have taken pains to keep some distance from it in an attempt to make it harder for Republicans to portray a Democratic loss there as a repudiation of corruption as a campaign issue.

Rahm Emanuel, the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, declined to say how aggressively Democrats would help Ms. Busby....Eli Pariser, the executive director of the liberal group MoveOn.org, which ran a get-out-the-vote operation to help Ms. Busby, said he was uncertain if his organization would duplicate the effort in the runoff....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/13/washington/13dems.html

[NV Whino]

1. It is races such as this

that the Democrats need to support their candidate. If not now, when? Good God! It disgusts me that the party won't support their candidates wherever they are running, no matter the odds. If it's a Repub district, then this is a chance to turn it into a Dem district.

[realFedUp]

2. Bilbray's got problems with Republicans

http://www.flashreport.org/blog0a.php?postID=2006040913203077&post_offsetP=0&authID=2005081622025042

Today's Commentary: CD 50: Vote Republican, but not for Bilbray

by Jon Fleischman - Publisher

"If I had to guess, Democrat Francine Busby will be voting for Brian Bilbray this Tuesday, because that is whom she despirately hopes to run against - the candidate who makes this seat the must vulnerable to a GOP loss." - Jon Fleischman, Publisher of the FlashReport

snip

believe that of any of the leading GOP contenders for the party's nomination, Brian Bilbray (pictured to the right) represents the most risk for Republicans losing the 50th District in the June run-off election. There is no getting around the fact that he is a federal lobbyist by profession at a time when if you "Google" lobbyist, all you get are photos, stories and links to disgraced criminal uber-lobbyist Jack Abramoff (pictured to the left). He also represents the Congressional 'status quo' at a time when Republicans in Congress have squandered an opportunity to reign in federal spending - and in fact have presided over a 33% growth in federal spending since 1994 (part of which took place when Bilbray was in Congress). These combine into powerful tools for a Busby campaign in the June election.

Separate from the pragmatic reasons why I think that Bilbray is a poor-standard bearer for the GOP at this time in this particular seat, I would also add as an ideological aside as a passionate Republican who has been very unhappy with the massive growth in federal spending the past decade, that with the eyes of the country watching the results of this primary, the election of the 'insider candidate' of the Beltway (most readily symbolized by the fact that he proudly lists the endorsement of House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas on his website -- Thomas, who gave us the Medicare-Part D debacle and is known as the "King of Pork") it would be an unfortunate message sent to the political watchers - especially the House GOP leadership.

continued

[Stinky The Clown]

3. This is EXACTLY the kind of race we need to see nationalized.

The DNC is flush with cash. Let's spend a few million here and make a huge statement to the whole country. "A Dem takes a solid Repub district" would be a clearly joyful headline.

And I don't give a shit **what** Busby's politics are. The (D) after her name is all that matters in this, one of the most 'red' of the red districts.

[rinsd]

4. This is gonna be nuts!

The runoff election to serve the remainder of Duke's terms in now the same day as the party primaries for the 2006 election. Could make for some interesting outcomes.

[The Magistrate]

5. Ms. Busby, Ma'am, Should Be Backed To The Hilt

A race where the former incumbent left office for prison is always winnable against a member of the incumbent's party. The idea that a loss would discredit corruption as an issue is humorous: it would, should it occur, enable Democrats to smear Republican voters as well as officials with the tar of supporting and enabling corruption, and it would stick hard.

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[DeepModem Mom]

6. Yes, indeed, Sir!

[saltpoint]

11. May I have the honor of seconding that suggestion?

[Ksec]

7. someone needs to talk to Rahm Emanuel

and demand he throw some damn support towards these candidates.

[madfloridian]

8. That's ridiculous.

That is just plain nonsensical not to support her fully. I am surprised at MoveOn's attitude on it.

[Bozita]

9. BigBearJohn said the saturation swiftboating of Busby has begun

Here's his thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

BigBearJohn (1000+ posts)  Fri Apr-14-06 10:25 PM
Original message

Repukes are running attack ads every 15 mins slinging mud at FrancineBusby
So far, I haven't heard any pro-Busby ads (I live in San Diego).
It's amazing. Every other commercial is swift boating Busby.
Sickening. I sure hope she has the money to counter these
ads.

[leesa]

10. This race is a very important statement. If the DNC can't see the

importance of this race they are blind to politics. All the zombies in the GOP need to do is to close ranks and they will take the seat back. You can bet the GOP will pour a ton of money into it. There are many Bushbots in this area and San Diego is quite corrupt so you know there will be some bad vote-getting going on.