If Pera is OK, support him (0.00 / 0)

The best way to send a signal to "Bush Dogs" is to take out their weakest members...ones in very blue districts.  This will scare other "Bush Dogs" straight.

Truth over balance, progress over ideology

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by: Oldenburg @ Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 16:26:08 PM UTC

This Is Childish Wishful Thinking (0.00 / 0)

It's going to take a lot more sophistacation to deal with these guys.  Defeating one or more in primaries will certainly help, but it's nowhere near a silver bullet, unfortunately, and we should not delude ourselves into thinking otherwise.  If we do, we are only setting ourselves up for disappointment, and possibly disillusionment.

Let's dispense with the illusions on the front-side, instead, shall we?  It's going to be a lot of work, and this is only one part of it.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 18:33:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Links (0.00 / 0)

Here is PrairieStateBlue's Mark Pera tag. You should also be aware that there is a third Dem in the race, Jim Capparelli. Last cycle two Dems challenged Lipinski and ended up splitting the anti-Lipinski vote. It was widely believed that Lipinski (or at least the Illinois/Chicago Democratic machine) got one of them into the race specifically for this purpose. This has been hypothesized for Capparelli's entrance into the race as well.

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by: EricV @ Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 16:43:33 PM UTC

No white knights here (0.00 / 0)

From what I can gather, neither of the challenger Dems seem to have much to offer beyond vaguely Liebermanesque wishywashing on Iraq and other issues. Lipinski could probably be endangered by a good populist-left candidate who resonates with the district, but these two don't appear to make the cut so far.

This might be a case where progressives would do better to use their resources getting behind an independent to run in the general.

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by: DaveW @ Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 17:24:23 PM UTC

That's (0.00 / 0)

much too risky.  It actually makes a Republican win a possibility.

I support John McCain because children are too healthy anyway.

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by: Sam L @ Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 17:30:24 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

How so? (4.00 / 2)

Mark Pera's website:

Mark Pera believes the U.S. pullout must start this fall

Mark believes that it is past time that we brought our soldiers home.

By any measure or standard, the strategy for war in Iraq has been a failure.

Experts ranging from sitting and retired generals to diplomats and scholars acknowledge that there is no purely military solution to the conflict, and that the battle will only be won with political solutions.

Mark believes that Congress should mandate a pull-out of our troops beginning in the Fall of 2007 and should also place a cap on funding to accomplish that goal.

Well that doesn't say "remove all troops" and "stop any funding," it doesn't seem all that wishy washy to me.  He's also very clearly pro-choice.

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by: Whoppo @ Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 17:42:50 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

More pluses (0.00 / 0)

Plus Pera is pro-choice and pro-stem cell research, while Lipinski is hard line against both.  Lipinski sounds like a real conservative and deserves the boot.  I don't know if Pera can administer it, but Lipinski really deserves the boot.  But he doesn't sound like someone who will go quietly.

John McCain--He's not who you think he is.

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by: Mimikatz @ Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 21:16:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Not sure what you are talking about (0.00 / 0)

Pera wants out of the war starting as soon as possible with withdrawal, is against the FISA changes, is pro-choice, is pro-immigrant, is pro-gay rights, pro-environment, pro-stem cell research and on and on and on.  What is Liebermanesque about him?

The problem with the race is that Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan is close to the Lipinski's and mobilized his people to get out the vote last time and appears to be doing the same this time.

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by: archpundit @ Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 22:06:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]