It’s been clear for a while that the Democratic party is seriously divided over what to do about Iraq. There are essentially no Democrats who support the war in Iraq, and very few who truly support the broader war on terror. But while there’s strong opposition to the current anti-terror agenda, there are deep divisions about whether to act on them. The Netroots and a minority in Washington think that acting on their convictions is the right way to go, but the leadership in Washington views it as political suicide. With that backdrop, it’s no surprise that the Netroots are eager to challenge sitting Democrats in primaries. CQ Today reports:
In discussing primary challenges to sitting Members of Congress, some on the left have said that they will focus their fire on Democrats in safe seats — seats where a more liberal candidate would have no problem keeping the seat in the Democratic column. With that in mind, it’s worth looking at the list of potential primary targets. Respected election analyst Charlie Cook rates seats based on their ‘Partisan Vote Index’ (PVI). It reflects the average performance of a Democratic and a Republican candidate in the district. Joe Donnelly’s seat has a PVI of +4 Republican. Jerry McNerney’s is +3 Republican. Brian Baird’s seat is rated ‘0’ — a pure tossup. The seats of Tauscher, Johnson, and Wynn are considerably safer. But if the anti-war Democratic base flexes its muscles, Republicans will likely be the beneficiaries.
