This has been out there a few days, but I haven't seen it discussed here on DU. Maybe I missed it?
From Truthout:
Democratic House Officials Recruited Wealthy Conservatives
By Matt Renner
...Appointed as head of the DCCC by then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Emanuel spearheaded the Democratic Party effort to regain control of the House of Representatives during the 2006 election cycle. Emanuel claimed credit for the Democratic takeover and was promoted to chairman of the Democratic Caucus, the fourth-highest ranking position in the House. But his election tactics have been criticized by progressive activists and former Congressional candidates.
According to his critics,
Emanuel played kingmaker by financially supporting his favored candidates during primary contests with other Democrats. His critics say that this interference was in direct contradiction of a DCCC policy to "remain neutral" in party primaries.
-snip- How Emanuel came to his decisions about which candidates to support against Democratic opponents is known only to Emanuel and his staff. Emanuel declined direct comment on this story. But an examination of individual races reveals a
pattern of financial and political support for wealthy conservative candidates and an assault on their grassroots-supported opponents who were running on platforms that included a full withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.
-snip- Thirteen of the Democratic members of the House elected in 2006 joined The Blue Dog Coalition; a group that, according to its spokesperson, has no official stance on withdrawal from Iraq or the president's warrantless wiretapping program. However, 30 out of 47 of the Blue Dog members broke with the majority of Democrats and cast votes in favor of the recent Protect America Act, a bill that greatly expanded the power of the executive branch to spy on Americans. The caucus also broke with the majority of Democrats when 40 of the Blue Dog members voted to continue funding the occupation of Iraq without a timetable for withdrawal.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090607J.shtmlBold text addedNow we're starting to see the same thing, despite the denials, in advance of 2008. In Washington, Darcy Burner has drawn a primary challenge from former Republican and DLC favorite Rodney Tom in the fight to unseat vulnerable House Republican Dave Reichert. This is in spite of Burner's near victory last election cycle and her overwhelming popularity with party activists and progressives nationwide. I've been told by many many state political insiders that Tom is favored by The DCCC - even that they recruited him to run. And all the usual DLC front groups have piled on the Tom bandwagon.
Progressive democrats need to be aware that this is taking place. And we need to begin to fight for what we believe - well before general election time!