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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe DCCC is torching a Texas Democrat they're afraid will win the primary
Vox.com
February 23, 2018
In a rare move, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is aiming it's opposition research firepower at a Democrat.
Not usually known for actively campaigning against Democratic candidates in congressional primaries, the DCCC is drawing attention and criticism for taking a square shot at candidate Laura Moser, a freelance writer and progressive activist who is running for Congress in Texas's Seventh Congressional District, which includes parts of Houston.
Moser, the founder of the activist text messaging platform Daily Action, is one of seven Democratic candidates competing in a March 6 primary.
The top two winners will head to a runoff election, and the winner of that race will ultimately compete against incumbent Republican Rep. John Culberson in November.
The DCCC recently published an opposition research memo on it's website against Moser.
These memos, full of negative research on candidates, are usually used against Republican candidates in the general election.
More:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/23/17043994/dccc-laura-moser-texas-opposition-memo
chuckstevens
(1,201 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)You should wonder what would happen of we lost it? Seriously.
Every seat we lose to the Republicans would be a vote for all the dreadful things they are doing and plan to do to American. It could even end up being the vote that gave Trump and the people pulling his strings a Republican-dominated house.
This is gravely serious business. Not a frivolous little game.
herding cats
(19,565 posts)Its all fun and games when you have zero skin in the game.
I dont live in her district anymore, but I did and I know it well. Youre correct, this isnt fun and games like some people are making it out to be.
cloudbase
(5,519 posts)A bunch of Washington insiders complaining that a candidate is a Washington insider.
I live in the 7th, and voted the first day of early voting.
KPN
(15,646 posts)candidates? Do any have a chance? Who?
cloudbase
(5,519 posts)and most of the candidates are pretty good, and I'd be pretty happy with just about any of them. We'll see who makes what will likely be the runoff.
In this house, Moser received one vote and Alex received one vote. Doc and Lizzie are excellent candidates as well. It's nice to have plenty of good choices.
KPN
(15,646 posts)left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)She is a Washington insider, who begrudgingly moved to Houston to run for Congress.
(she moved back to Houston last year)
In fact, she wrote in the Washingtonian magazine, Id rather have my teeth pulled out without anesthesia than live in Texas.
Unfortunately, Laura Mosers outright disgust for life in Texas disqualifies her as a general election candidate (in Texas) ...
bitterross
(4,066 posts)The South is not an option for me.
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)She did move to Texas. A party has a responsibility to keep unelectable canadates off the ballot.
This is the second post I have seen on DU about her looking. Neither explain why the party is taking the action they are and how she has made herself unelectable.
Simple oversight? Ill let you decide for yourself
shanny
(6,709 posts)They have an obligation to let the voters decide.
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)mythology
(9,527 posts)Voters can weigh her statements and vote as they wish.
pnwmom
(108,980 posts)KPN
(15,646 posts)to them. As long as they are going to put their thumb on the scale in primaries, I won't.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)I don't understand how some Democrats can feel sick in their guts with worry for months over what Republican control of government is doing to America and yet also imagine that we should just support everyone who wants to run equally and let the Americans fall where they may.
I think you have a right to stake your own healthcare on a bad candidate's winning or losing, but not your children's and not America's. This isn't some stupid, frivolous baseball game. It's deadly serious, and we don't field people who can't catch a ball.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)because I want to just "let the voters decide" without making any attempt to put good people in office. I could have done that as an independent.
The party has a DUTY to support good people who can win and do a good job in office.
AND all voters are still free to ignore the party's recommendations and decide on their own.
OnDoutside
(19,960 posts)Otherwise. The selfishness of some is disheartening.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)that this site gathers not just mostly fairly sensible Democrats, and some malicious intruders, but an outside representation of others, including a lot of people who really haven't thought these things through yet.
Parties are formed for purpose, to organize enough like-minded voter strength to be able to achieve their collective visions. I happen to think that, for all its human faults, ours is rather magnificent and that we should say that a lot more often! There's a reason the Republican Party was so dreadfully corrupted while we continue to stand for the principles and ideals we always have.
In the most basic terms, the Democratic Party shares the ideals of the Enlightenment, which still live strong and vibrant through us and our party, even if what we are doing is seldom expressed in such high flights.
And back to this issue, the purpose of our party is to work to achieve our goals.
Response to Hortensis (Reply #19)
shanny This message was self-deleted by its author.
cloudbase
(5,519 posts)It's ours to win, not to lose.
Progressive dog
(6,904 posts)elected to Congress. The DCCC is not stopping anyone from voting, it is just keeping the voters informed about a particular candidate who trashed the state she's running in.
shanny
(6,709 posts)It shouldn't be up to them, especially since they can influence the money primary, even before the voters get to vote.
Cha
(297,275 posts)getting all the information out there.
We all want to turn that Rep seat to turn Blue.. there's other Dems running who have a chance to beat John Culberson.. who actually like living in Texas.
Progressive dog
(6,904 posts)of course they are partisan.
shanny
(6,709 posts)I'd prefer they be neutral in the primary process and "political" outside it, abiding by the will of the voters instead of trying to direct it.
Progressive dog
(6,904 posts)Democrats choose to be members, I think the DCCC should work to get Democrats elected before the vote. I think that is the whole point.
brooklynite
(94,588 posts)Last edited Mon Feb 26, 2018, 01:28 AM - Edit history (1)
Many of them express candidate choices. Youll need to convince them to change that policy.
As a funder of DCCC, Im happy to have them opine.
shanny
(6,709 posts)Demsrule86
(68,582 posts)shanny
(6,709 posts)Demsrule86
(68,582 posts)continues...she has ethics issues and she said bad things about the state...lose lose. The DCCC is correct.
shanny
(6,709 posts)LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)And no one is preventing that from happening.
Nor does the DCCC have an obligation to give full support to anyone and everyone running on the platform.
Especially counter-productive candidates.
bitterross
(4,066 posts)Those sorts of quotes from the article should surely keep her off the ballot. If that is the way she feels about the place she needs to do some very vocal work on "I'm moving back to change it for the better" and it had better be believable.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Help us turn the South blue instead of kicking us in the teeth. Here in Florida, pretty much all of the bigger cities are blue and some medium sized ones are headed that way. Remember, Trump only won the state of Florida by 160,000 votes, with a lot of our voters sitting home or wasting a vote on third party or writing in nonsense on their ballot.
bitterross
(4,066 posts)I was born and raised there. I keep up with what my high-school classmates still say back there.
We can turn the South blue as blue can be and there will still be all the people who love 45, are racist, homophobic and misogynists. There will still be all the Southern Baptists I got away from with their backwards thinking.
They all have to die off in the next meteor strike before that area becomes inhabitable again.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)I live in a republican majority county, but the politics is more moderate than anything. I see public banners supporting ethnic diversity, I see openly gay people living their lives. Do we have a good percentage of assholes? Yes, but they largely talk under their breath.
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)Thus my DU handle.
Florida is purple now and will be that way for a while longer. But trending blue.
The cities on the coast, plus the Orlando area and the university towns are about to finally overwhelm the rural parts of the state tourist never see.
I know many DU members tend to pile on the state. But I have been here 31 years and love it.
There still lots of places where on your kayak or in your boat you feel alone with nature.
And frying up fresh fish...priceless.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)You can keep the fresh fish, not a fish lover, curious for a Floridian, but there I am.
Big cities in Florida are blue, except for maybe Pensacola. All major university towns are blue. Even some medium sized cities like mine, that used to be deep red, are close to purple now and headed blue. Conservatives don't know it, but they are gradually losing the battle in Florida, even as they continue to work to cause chaos.
RandySF
(58,884 posts)herding cats
(19,565 posts)Obviously not. Neither do you know how local politics work in that district. Basically, youre another person with zero local knowledge thinking what you say is relevant when its not. We need these seats to gain control again. Like it or not, thats a fact.
Im sick of people thinking every race is like what they imagine it to be in their biased minds. Its not. Local politics are brutal in most regions, and all politics is local.
bitterross
(4,066 posts)The article makes it pretty clear they don't want her running so they can run someone without the baggage she has. Some one that might actually win. Were you too busy trying to chastise me to get that from the article.
And, finally, don't lecture me on having an opinion on a discussion board. I can have my opinion and post it. You know what I'm sick of. I'm sick of some people telling other people they shouldn't have an opinion.
The article made it pretty clear the DCCC thought she is more of a liability than an asset.
herding cats
(19,565 posts)Oh, and dont lecture me for having an informed option on a political discussion board, either.
Thats a two way street.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,861 posts)in my state or my district.
The Democratic Party is right in not wanting her.
pecosbob
(7,541 posts)shame on you for spreading mis-information. The candidate was speaking to a Houston audience concerning the time she lived in Paris, Texas, a small, rural city in a sparsely populated agricultural region of the state. Her quote was more akin to 'I would rather have teeth pulled without anasthesia than live in Paris, Texas.' I lived in Houston for the best part of fifty years and in Houston, any listener would have known exactly what she was saying...the equivalent of an Atlanta resident saying they would rather have teeth pulled that live in Valdosta.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)to do with one stupid quote. That's just something that venal, sensationizing press trying to whomp up interest hit on. And just look at Vox's disgracefully clickbait-type headline.
Only those who go on to READ the article itself will find some coverage of the serious reasons the DCCC made this weighty decision. Campaigning against a Democrat is a big deal, always has costs, and is not done frivolously.
Hopefully this shabby media performance hasn't distracted many into forgetting to at least consider the recommendations of people who, even though they're only on one committee, must go to bed every night feeling the future of the nation may be determined by their decisions, and lost by their mistakes.
I wouldn't want that on my shoulders. Things are scary enough as they are.
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)God bless her.
theaocp
(4,237 posts)The clarification is needed.
creeksneakers2
(7,473 posts)It looks like its from an article she wrote for the Washingtonian. However, your take on the quote is closer to the facts than the DCCC version.
"I could live large in Paris, Texas, where my grandparents' plantation-style house recently sold
for $129,000. Oh, but wait-my income would be a fraction of what it is here and I'd have very few opportunities to increase it.
(Plus I'd sooner have my teeth pulled out without anesthesia, but that's a story for another day.)"
At link supplied above.
KPN
(15,646 posts)but about her having written that she wouldn't want to live in TX is false. She did say something like that about a particular small town in TX. Also, that TX is her home State. For what it's worth.
LeftInTX
(25,364 posts)It was a violation of Texas election law.
It was probably an oversight and she was able to fix it.
It just shows that little things can snag first time candidates.
We just don't know the whole story here.
LeftInTX
(25,364 posts)also accused Moser of paying her husbands Washington, DC political consulting firm over $50,000 from campaign contributions; meaning 1 of every 6 dollars raised has gone to her husbands DC company.
I don't know much about election law/rules etc, but shouldn't your campaign contributions go to your campaign and not your husband's consulting firm?
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)Last edited Mon Feb 26, 2018, 07:46 PM - Edit history (1)
to relatives without violating election finance laws.
From 2013:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/03/18/campaign-funds-nepotism-relatives-payroll-congress/1991251/
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Demsrule86
(68,582 posts)the remarks she made about Texas surfaced. DFA has disappointed me lately.
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)We really have a shot to win this seat. The Republicans have held it since the sixties yet Clinton took it by one. Alex Traintaphylis or Lizzie Fletcher. Moser is a distraction.
riversedge
(70,239 posts)If Dems truly have a chance in this race--I hope these two groups come together after the vote.
......Milano has also disagreed with the endorsement that influential national group EMILY's List gave the more moderate corporate lawyer Lizzie Pannill Fletcher who was also one of two Congressional District 7 candidates endorsed by the Houston Chronicle. She told The Intercept that the group missed the boat on this one, as evidenced by the success of Mosers grassroots campaign.
On Thursday, Mosers campaign announced it had raised nearly $150,000 in the first 45 days of the year, a number that has been growing after the DCCCs posting. The candidate said on Saturday that she has received more than 15,000 unique contributions and more than 1,000 volunteers have signed on to her campaign. Moser has also amassed a massive online following for a first-time congressional candidate. Many of her supporters are also fans of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who unsuccessfully sought the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
dawg
(10,624 posts)I have no problem with the DCCC doing whatever it needs to do in order to help the district nominate a candidate capable of winning the general
red dog 1
(27,816 posts)We've got to be willing to do what it takes to win seats. That means fielding the strongest candidates.
Much better that these things come out about the candidate before she has a chance to be nominated. God knows the Republicans would use them against her in the general.
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)She smears herself.
She is unelectable and potentially can cost us an unlikely pickup
I am curious who is bankrolling the candidate.
Not often a candidate runs in a state they had rather have their teeth pulled out than live in.
I would not be surprised if her entire campaign is trolling.
Demsrule86
(68,582 posts)Eliot Rosewater
(31,112 posts)Why do you support this person in the first place?
red dog 1
(27,816 posts)I guess I thought at first that the DCCC was trying to smear her over a dumb joke she made about Texas, and that the real reason for the negative ads were because she was "too progressive" for them
But, after checking into the matter further, and reading the comments on this thread, I'm now not sure that she's the one most likely to win in November.
Not wanting to delete the entire thread, (with all the very insightful comments), I decided to just delete the "Donate to Laura" link.
alarimer
(16,245 posts)I like Moser. This is a smear job.
Well stated!
Zen Democrat
(5,901 posts)RandySF
(58,884 posts)GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)Cause if we nominate someone running for a seat in Texas that hates Texas, we deserve to lose.
Why is it that the Progressive wing of our party keeps pushing candidates who cannot and never do win? Go figure.
alarimer
(16,245 posts)What she said rings absolutely true. It was awful. Corpus Christi is an absolute dump. I'm aware there are better place, but that places was loserville in the extreme.
But I disdain the DCCC, the DNC when they pick and choose who is candidate based on who they perceive can win. They are often wrong (and in some cases, actively malicious).
Cha
(297,275 posts)about that?
Eliot Rosewater
(31,112 posts)I sure hope people are SEEING what is happening HERE
hurl
(938 posts)This doesn't look good at first glance, but Texas primaries are open. Could the DCCC suspect some kind of GOP meddling?
Pholus
(4,062 posts)We don't need anything that can be painted as clueless elitism.
Moser should have been smarter than that if she entertained aspirations of running.
The DCCC isn't right nearly enough, but it is completely right to make this call.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)red dog 1
(27,816 posts)She now lives in West University Place, which is within the Houston metropolitan area.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)Is Houston now her primary residence? Has the rest of her family joined her or are they all still in DC?
red dog 1
(27,816 posts)Do you have a link for that homestead exemption on the DC house?
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)It includes snapshots.
red dog 1
(27,816 posts)DangerousRhythm
(2,916 posts)Wonder if it's her house. 😂
This discussion has helped me make a decision about who I'm voting for, so thank you everyone!
OilemFirchen
(7,143 posts)This noxious cast of shady actors - all involved in a get-rich scheme aimed at gullible virtue signalers - have no concern about the political direction of this country as long as their pockets are lined.
Here's hoping the DCCC succeeds in standing firm against these useless punks and their enablers.
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)These guys are in it for these guys.
The even admitted they are open to endorsing Republicans.
Eliot Rosewater
(31,112 posts)CTyankee
(63,912 posts)That is my acid test for any Dem. Absent that, no deal.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)She looks like a self-dealer who has some residency issues that republicans will exploit. We are better off with someone else.
TexasTowelie
(112,226 posts)https://www.democraticunderground.com/107838235
RandySF
(58,884 posts)Wrote that moving back to Texas was like having her teeth pulled.
kcr
(15,317 posts)DfA has been spamming me non-stop with their emails over this BS because somehow I got on their list.
red dog 1
(27,816 posts)(I get them too)
red dog 1
(27,816 posts)stonecutter357
(12,697 posts)Awsi Dooger
(14,565 posts)That means it voted 7 points more Republican than the national margin in 2016.
No margin for error in a district like that. Our theoretical and projected generic edge in 2018 is offset by the district's natural inclination toward the opposing party. So I can understand the DCCC's thinking. In a toss up scenario they have to handicap logically and not insert a variable that removes or lessens the generic edge. We can't have a candidate to candidate disadvantage and expect to oust an incumbent, no matter the national tilt.
As always...situational influence. If this district were similar to my own in Florida -- District 27 -- with a retiring Republican incumbent in a district with a significant Democratic partisan index, then the DCCC could let it go and assume any Democrat who emerges from the primary would be elected. That is hardly the case in TX-7.
Demonaut
(8,918 posts)Democratic voters need to hear that Laura Moser is not going to change Washington, the memo stated. She is a Washington insider, who begrudgingly moved to Houston to run for Congress. In fact, she wrote in the Washingtonian magazine, Id rather have my teeth pulled out without anesthesia than live in Texas.
Questions?