Reply #115: It might be different if it were just one candidate.

[Dr.Phool]

I've seen this happen MANY times in races in Florida. They come in and interfere in primaries, when they're supposed to remain neutral. A couple of examples I've seen first hand.

Jan Schneider vs. Christine Jennings in 2006.

Schneider whipped Jennings ass handily in the 2004 primary to run against Katherine Harris. Schneider lost in the general by about 10 points. She would seem to have a better shot running against Vern Buchanan in 2006. Jennings (a former repuke, the kind Rahm and Thurman like to recruit) filed again. Two months before the primary, the DCCC sent Barbara Boxer down to Sarasota to raise over $400,000 at a fundraiser, which Jennings spent running negative TV ads against Schneider (A labor attorney and former Hillary classmate). Earlier this year Schneider met with the DCCC asking them to please remain neutral in the primary this time. They refused.

John Russell vs Rick Penberthy, David Werder in 2006.
(Disclaimer- I worked for the Russell Campaign in 2006)

Werder is a nice guy, but very eccentric. Penberthy was the FDP and DCCC favored candidate in the race. All the DEC's were told to back him, and I saw it first hand. The problem was, he was a very poor campaigner and had a very poor campaign plan. Russell won the 3-way primary by 10 points despite all the obstacles they put up in front of him.

Debbie Lieberman-Schultz, in an interview with the St' Pete Times raved about Ginny Brown-Waite (R-epugnant), and her spine of steel, and how she takes care of her constituents. At about the same time, we were trying to get John Edwards to record a voice-over for a robo call. They agreed, but they had to get direction from the DCCC to do it. The DCCC didn't do it.

Later Max Cleland agreed to do one for us, but said the request had to come through the FDP. We contacted Karen Thurman personally several times over a 3 week period. She kept saying, yeah, Ok. It was, after all, her old seat. She never followed through. Finally the Friday before the election, she made the call. For all intents and purposes it was wasted. Absentees had gone out a month earlier, and it was the last day of early voting.

Also, the DEC phone banks were making calls for everyone, but us. They conveniently "forgot" to form a Federal PAC, so they couldn't give us any financial support.

I can mention a few more races where I knew they were pulling their bullshit, but, I need a drink after re-living their treachery.