If Marcy Winograd can defeat Jane Harman on June 8th, as Sestak defeated Specter last week, it would be another triumphant step towards removing the rightwing elements from the Democratic Party in Congress. And she's catching up. See link below on poll results.
Sestak and Halter, while neither are great progressives on all of the issues, are a huge improvement over the incumbents they challenged.
But Marcy Winograd really IS a true progressive. So why is she not getting the support she needs to defeat Harman, a woman who once boasted that she was 'the best Republican in the Democratic Party'? Not that she needed to tell us that. It just demonstrates the arrogance, the sense of entitlement. The disdain for the base of the party.
Like Lieberman, Specter and Lincoln, Harman, who has had a series of controversies while in office, not to mention working with Republicans to help George Bush, amazingly still has the support of the Democratic Party and even more disappointing, the support of some members of Congress who claim to be Liberal Democrats.
Harman is well-funded by Corporate America, Winograd is not. Marcy Winograd as a virtual unknown, under-funded and without Party support, challenged corporate funded Jane Harman in 2006 and received 38% of the vote. So with just a little help this time, she could pull it off.
Jane Harman has refused to debate Winograd. Winograd has refused Corporate Donations so maybe Harman doesn't want to get into that right now.
This race has been called:
A Battle To Define the Democratic Party Lila Garrett, radio host, progressive icon and convention delegate summed it up for me this way:
“Winograd vs. Harman is not just another ho-hum congressional election. It’s a battle to define the Democratic Party. If it is represented by a permanent war economy fed by a policy of permanent war, secret government, authoritarian rule – that’s Harman. It it’s a party whose first priorities are peace, universal education, healthcare, employment and dignity – that’s Winograd.
They are polar opposites. Let the Democratic party be defined by this election. Then let those of us who care what our party stands for decide whether to remain Democrats or move on. It has come to that.”
Winograd is within striking distance of Harman's seat according to recent polling numbers:
Winograd vs. Incumbent Harman: The Margin NarrowsThe IVR Poll of nearly 1,000 likely voters indicates Winograd is within four points of the embattled incumbent. The poll of likely primary voters shows Congressional Candidate Marcy Winograd (CA-36) may well defeat opponent Jane Harman in the June 8th Democratic Party primary. The random poll of almost 1,000 voters shows Winograd only four points behind Harman when undecideds, who typically break two-to-one for the challenger, are factored into the equation. The poll was conducted by the Merriman River Group for the Winograd for Congress campaign.
Merriman pollster Matthew Fitch notes, “Harman’s support of 43% among likely Democratic voters can be considered weak for a long-term incumbent.” By contrast, the Merriman poll memo concludes, “…approximately 70% of all voters who have formed an opinion of Winograd are likely to vote for her.” The IVR (interactive voice response) poll was conducted among a random sample of 991 likely primary voters and had a margin of error of 3.2 percent.
That was from a few weeks ago but is is excellent news. Harman cannot seem to get past the low '40s. But Winograd could use some help now.
If you support her you can either volunteer to make phone calls and/or donate at her site
http://winograd4congress.com/ . She is a great candidate, a true progressive. Please, please (fingers crossed) help her to win. Send DC another message: