Open seats, not primaries are the best places where progressives have the most leverage of the Democratic Party. And right now, there's a vicious one in Colorado's 2nd, the seat cautious liberal Mark Udall is vacating to run for the Senate. The race pits Jared Polis, an openly gay progressive businessman and philanthropist, against Joan Fitz-Gerald, an Emily's List candidate and President of the Colorado State Senate (there's a third and largely irrelevant candidate). It's an interesting microcosm of the larger debate in the party, because While Fitz-Gerald was voting to approve Bush's war in Iraq, Polis was protesting the war. Now Fitz-Gerald is claiming that she was lied to by George Bush, while Polis is ripping her for her support of the war. When pressed, Fitz-Gerald argues that Polis does not support the troops.
As for her 2003 vote in support of removing Hussein, Fitz-Gerald said voters should view it in "historical context."
"We were lied to about Saddam Hussein's capabilities," she said. "I'm the one with the voting record and I suppose that makes me fair game."...
Polis, a Boulder Democrat, called on Fitz-Gerald to "apologize for voting twice to praise the leadership of President Bush on the matter of Iraq." The second resolution, which passed unanimously in 2003, focused on supporting the troops but also "commended" Bush's leadership.
Fitz-Gerald campaign manager Mary Alice Mandarich questioned whether Polis supports the troops and said she was disappointed he was "attempting to divide us on the most critical issue facing the nation."
I couldn't see any clear distinctions in this race until now, as I do have sympathy for someone in Fitz-Gerald's position. I mildly supported the war since I trusted the elites like Ken Pollack and Tom Friedman; the right response to being duped is to learn from the experience and not trust the old arguments that led you to a place of misjudgment. So when a candidate breaks out the old 'supporting the troops' canard against someone who was right on the war, well, that's a problem, because it means that Fitz-Gerald has learned nothing.
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