Gallegos and Van de Putte do what?
Color me amazed. I've truly seen it all now. After Chuck Schumer has done an excellent job as chair of the DSCC -- the US Senate Democrats' campaign arm -- Texas state senators Mario Gallegos and Leticia Van de Putte are criticizing him. It's not enough that Schumer has put Democrats in position to achieve a filibuster-proof 60 vote supermajority in 2010.
Hark, forthwith, Alan Bernstein from the Chron:
Noriega, too, is Hispanic, and Gallegos and Van de Putte implied in their letter that ethnicity figured into the national Democratic strategy.Including a racial angle is awful politics at best."Rick Noriega has an impeccable pedigree to run in Texas. He is an old-fashioned Democrat — a family man, a man of faith, a combat-decorated veteran, a legislator, with an Ivy-league education and time spent defending the border," they wrote. "He has a heart for the people, impeccable Democratic credentials and is an awesome retail campaigner. To some who chose to sit on the sidelines in this election, those characteristics were apparently not enough — he is not wealthy or white. We have always believed Democrats are better than that."
The pair also wrote, "The heat of election night had not cooled before the speculation began about DSCC support for several Anglo candidates in future races. This is not only disrespectful; it's shameful."
Schumer's job is to raise money, and then spend it where it will have the most incremental value in electing Democrats to the Senate. He did that, and pretty well. Under Chuck Schumer's tenure, Democrats went from 45 seats in the Senate to 58.
Noriega lost 43%-55%! It wasn't because of his heritage that Noriega didn't get more money, but because he wasn't a very good candidate, something the Burnt Orange folks seemed to agree with. Very few rational political operatives even with the benefit of hindsight would suggest that Schumer should have spent more money in Texas. Certainly they wouldn't suggest that spending more might have changed the result. And for that, they seem to suggest a racial bias in the DSCC. It's not like it is Robert Byrd running the DSCC. Sheesh.
Posted by Evan @ 12/11/08 01:46 PM
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I think they are just trying to stay in Schumer's headspace so the DSCC will play in teh special for KBH's seat.
When can we expect to see Craddick vs World?
Posted by Blake @ 12/12/08 12:00 AM
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