The inability of Congressional Democrats to force a change of course on Iraq has led to strained relations with the Netroots–a subject we’ve covered here. While Democrats in Washington try to figure out how to appeal to both moderates and their anti-war base, that base is debating whether to support primary challenges to sitting Members of Congress. Recently, Representative Lynn Woolsey inadvertently moved this debate inside the walls of the Capitol, when she encouraged grassroots activists to ‘go after’ Democrats to build support for ending the war, even if it cost the party the majority. The most pointed exchange in the call was this one:
Carpenter: This seems to be unlike May. This is the line in the sand vote. We in PDA should make it clear that if there are Democrats who are on the wrong side of this one, that there will be primary opposition when they seek their own renomination as the Democratic candidate for Congress. This movement has now drawn the line. If they’re not with us at this point in time, then we need to keep upping the ante from our end, to communicate to those Blue Dogs and those moderate Democrats the political consequence of this vote. Woolsey: I think that’s a good idea, Tim. I’d hate to lose the majority, but I’m telling you, if we don’t stand up to our responsibility, maybe that’s the lesson to be learned. I don’t know.
Roll Call reports that she has ‘apologized’ to her Democratic colleagues, and tried to clarify her meaning:
“Many of my colleagues are upset about [my remarks] and I have heard their concerns,” Woolsey wrote. “But let’s deal from the facts, as unattractive as they may be.” After including a link to the call transcript, Woolsey said she “never suggested” that any Democrats should get primary foes, and she kind of apologized. Or maybe she just apologized for everyone finding out what she’d said. “I was blunt, to a fault, but then I am, and had I thought that my remarks were going to be widely distributed, you can be sure that I would have couched them more elegantly,” she wrote… In her letter last week, Woolsey suggested that she had merely said “that grass roots advocacy, particularly email, is persuasive and I said those advocacy efforts should be targeted to my ‘moderate colleagues’ as well as moderate Republicans…” In the last paragraph of the letter, Woolsey finally comes around to the magic words: “I’m sorry.” But she still isn’t sorry for what she said (except for the whole thing about phrasing her words more “elegantly”). Rather, Woolsey said, “I’m sorry this has taken the focus off our need to bring the troops home.”
Conservative freshman Democrats–the so-called ‘majority makers’–might want to hold onto this letter for the day that MoveOn and DailyKos start making donations to their dyed-in-the-wool liberal primary opponents. It’s bound to make them feel better.
