Word is out that MoveOn is targeting the following six Republicans in the House of Representatives because they are regarded as the most politically vulnerable among all the House Republicans to challengers in the 2006 election season.
The links above are to our political scorecards for the targeted Republican representatives. Our political scorecards are composed of two scores – one recording support of progressive bills in Congress, and one supporting support of right wing bills in Congress.
After looking through these political scorecards, I have a fundamental question to ask of MoveOn: Why are you targeting these six Republicans for especially strong opposition?
Of all the Republicans in the House of Representatives, these six Republicans targeted by MoveOn are among the less radically right wing. Oh, don’t get me wrong – I wouldn’t vote for any of them, and I think that progressive alternatives should be supported, but are these really the top six Republicans that America most needs to get out of the House of Representatives? Look at their scores:
Dave Reichert – progressive score: 13 percent, right wing score: 33 percent
Jim Gerlach – progressive score: 13 percent, right wing score: 25 percent
Michael G. Fitzpatrick – progressive score: 20 percent, right wing score: 25 percent
Curt Weldon – progressive score: 20 percent, right wing score: 42 percent
Deborah Pryce – progressive score: 7 percent, right wing score: 42 percent
Heather A. Wilson – progressive score: 20 percent, right wing score: 25 percent
Not a single one of these Republicans supported even half of the right wing legislation we tracked. A couple of them, Michael Fitzpatrick and Heather Wilson, supported almost as much progressive legislation as right wing legislation.
Compare these scores with some of the truly dangerous Republicans in the House of Representatives:
Rodney Alexander – former Democrat – progressive score: 7 percent, right wing score: 92 percent
Virgil Goode – progressive score: 7 percent, right wing score: 92 percent
Jo Ann Davis – progressive score: 7 percent, right wing score: 92 percent
J Gresham Barrett – progressive score: 7 percent, right wing score: 92 percent
Mark Souder – progressive score: 7 percent, right wing score: 92 percent
Steve King – progressive score: 7 percent, right wing score: 92 percent
These six Republicans are among the most radical right wingers in the House of Representatives. Why isn’t MoveOn selecting them for targeted opposition in 2006? Why is MoveOn attacking some of the least dangerous Republicans in the House instead?
The answer is depressingly clear. If a political action group is interested in promoting progressive ideals, it will fight most strongly against the most strongly anti-progressive candidates, regardless of their political party. If an activist group is interested in promoting the power of the Democratic Party, it will fight most strongly against the least popular candidates in the Republican Party, regardless of whether they are strongly tied to radical anti-progressive activism.
MoveOn fits the profile of a group that is dedicated to supporting the Democratic Party. MoveOn does not fit the profile of a group that is dedicated to supporting progressive ideals. Oh, MoveOn will use progressive ideals to motivate its donors and volunteers, but its focus is on crass partisanship, not on idealism.
What will the result of MoveOn’s focus on promoting the Democratic Party regardless of the impact on progressive values be? Republicans in Congress will be motivated to become more fervent in their support for extremist right wing legislation. They’ll see that supporting some progressive legislation won’t protect them from being targetted by groups like MoveOn, but will make them more vulnerable to attacks from radical right wing organizations.
Let’s put the spin aside; MoveOn’s priorities are not our priorities. MoveOn’s top priority is to get Democrats elected. Only after that will it work to promote progressive ideals. Our top priority is to promote progressive values in the government and in popular culture. If supporting Democrats helps promote progressive values, we’ll do it, but we won’t support Democrats just for the sake of supporting Democrats.
Politics is not a team sport. It’s a way for us to put our ideals into action. Party loyalty matters only for those more interested in accumulating influence than in keeping our nation true to the traditional values of liberty, justice and equality.
Although I don’t agree with most of your political beliefs, I have to say I admire your methods of choosing a worthy candidate. I wish I could say I was that way all the time, but I’m not.
I mean, “…, but I can’t.”