Rahm and Obama convince Steve Israel not to challenge Gillibrand for Senate.

madfloridian

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Sun May-31-09 10:07 PM
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Rahm and Obama convince Steve Israel not to challenge Gillibrand for Senate.

Steve Israel said he believed when someone was appointed to a post that they should have opposition next time around to be sure the people have a voice. But he has withdrawn from any challenge to her now after chats with Democratic leaders.

How Steve Israel Exited The Race

Kristin Gillibrand was appointed to take Hillary Clinton's Senate seat when she became Secretary of State.

This is not what Steve Israel was expecting. The heads-up dinner with Sen. Charles Schumer (D) was eaten. The internal poll showing 60 percent of people were less likely to vote for the incumbent after hearing her record on guns and tobacco had been parsed.

..."His candidacy was an open secret, leaking everywhere, but he resisted the urge to go public before the carefully-laid plan dictated. �I believe in doing things on my time frame, at my own comfort level,� he said. �And I don�t want other people to decide when I do things, or how.�

The party leaders want Kristin Gillibrand to have no opposition. They say things are less messy that way and save the party money. That is true.

But in my mind a real Democracy should be a little messy at times. Full of people caring about things and running to make a difference.

Rahm called.

Then came the call from the White House. Rahm Emanuel wanted to see him. Immediately. Israel and his team had been expecting to hear from the administration. Just not yet. They had a hunch what was coming. Nonetheless, they held out hope.

The request apparently came from the Senate. ...."taking care of this problem was the first and only favor the Senate Democrats have asked of the White House so far. Somewhat reluctantly, the administration decided to provide for them."

So Israel was given an ultimatum: if he proceeded with the Senate race, the White House would go to great pains to shut off every dollar in the state. With Schumer�s help, the administration would make sure all the big Democratic donors and institutional players kept their distance. They would show no restraint, even campaigning against him and raising money in Israel�s own home turf.

Obama himself would come out to campaign in New York City, cutting off at the knees the downstate, Manhattan-focused appeal Israel would have needed to run to Gillibrand�s left. And perhaps most damning of all, given whom the math dictated Israel would have needed in his column, Emanuel indicated that the nation�s first black president was prepared to barnstorm through New York�s black neighborhoods hand-in-hand with the junior senator, employing his appeal to African-Americans to a political degree he usually avoids. Oh, and as for Israel having any role shaping policy in the House while all this was going on? Forget it.

Those were the sticks.

Or, Emanuel told Israel, there was another option. Step aside and earn the gratitude of the White House. Israel wants to be a prime player on green energy, one of Obama�s legislative priorities. Common ground could be found. Emanuel knew how to rise through the ranks of the House leadership�he was third in command, not all that far from being speaker before accepting his job from Obama. Perhaps something along those lines was of interest? And hey, these days, you never know what could happen in politics anywhere in the country, but especially in New York. Another opportunity could arise sooner than he might think. Counting the president and White House chief-of-staff as friends might be of some use.

Go along with the request and be rewarded.

Obama then made a phone call.

Obama told Israel how concerned he was about holding the Senate seat for Democrats and the worrisome effect of a serious primary. Party unity at this moment, Obama told him, was extremely important. Israel acknowledged what was in play.

�Mr. President, I understand your views, I understand how seriously you feel about this,� he said, �and to respect party unity and your request, I won�t pursue it this year.�

The same thing will happen in the Arlen Specter Senate race. Joe Sestak has had some talking to already.

Word out of Washington, D.C., is that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the political wiseguys from the Obama administration plan on "visiting with" Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Joe Sestak.

Their objective is clear: Get him off the stage and out of a primary race against incumbent (and now Democrat) Sen. Arlen Specter.

There were instances in Florida that were very upsetting. Here is one where a good Democrat, a school teacher with strong Democratic views...was literally forced out of the race so a Republican could run. A Republican hand-picked by Rahm and Karen Thurman, state chair.

Democrat forced out of the race in FL 16th

Dave Lutrin and family

David Lutrin, a school teacher, union activist and staunch supporter of immediate withdrawal from Iraq, decided to run against Foley before Mahoney entered the race. After Mahoney declared his candidacy, Lutrin was contacted by field organizers for the DCCC who asked him to drop out and let Mahoney run unopposed.

According to Lutrin, when he refused to step aside, the DCCC shored up local political support for Mahoney. The local AFL-CIO chapter, of which Lutrin was a member, came out with an early endorsement of Mahoney's campaign. According to Lutrin, the union told him that "they would like to back a fellow union brother, but Mahoney has more money and more political support from the party." Lutrin eventually dropped out of the race when the local teachers' union decided to support Mahoney

Tim Mahoney, that righteous family man chosen to appeal to the right wing....was caught having two affairs and lost the election this time around. Now the seat is back in Republican hands.

Yes, I posted about Dave Lutrin before. It is important to realize how the party does things. David posted here once and said he would run again.

I hope he does. When a party is heading too far to the right, there are things more important than party unity.