It's incredibly difficult to run a Congressonal campaign as a non-incumbent challenger. The lucky ones get support from organizations like the DCCC and EMILY's list. They might provide staff, research, polling, advice and if they're fortunate...money. And because these groups want their candidates to win, they put subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle demands on those candidates to steer them in a direction they think is best to ensure victory. Candidates face enormous pressure to fundraise, fundraise and fundraise more. Substantive long-term planning and meaningful organizing on the part of the candidates is not a top priority.
That's part of what makes today's announcement of Washington state congressional candidate (WA-8) Darcy Burner's "Responsible Plan" (pdf) to end the war in Iraq so inspiring. For too long the debate on Iraq has focused almost exclusively on military matters. This comprehensive plan was developed in consultation with military experts like two-time George W Bush voter Major General Paul Eaton and former assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration Dr. Lawrence Korb.
Darcy announced her plan today at the Take Back America Conference in Washington DC. She and 9 other Congressional challenges are the nucleus of a caucus of challengers with the courage to bring about change on Iraq.
Besides calling for removing all troops from Iraq (no residual troops), the plan addresses the humanitarian crisis that is destabilizing the entire region and calls for diplomacy with Iraq's neighbors - some of whom are contributing to that instability. It's forward-looking and recognizes the need to "repair the underlying Constitutional framework of our republic and provide checks to executive authority" by restoring habeus corpus, eliminating Presidential signing statements, and clarifying that the government still has to respect the Fourth Amendment and can't spy on its own people without probable cause. Finally it calls for repairing our military by phasing out the use of mercenaries, "restoring benefits for members of the military and veterans, and investment in repairing or replacing damaged military equipment," and protecting our military members by clearly stating that our country will not engage in - or outsource - torture.
This is not a press release that was cranked out in a few hours. It's a real plan that has been thoughtfully considered and developed over a period of months in consultation with respected military experts. It's the type of thing that eats into valuable fundraising time, which is why candidates are so strongly discouraged from doing it. Further, I can't speak for Darcy Burner specifically, but EMILY's list has a history of knee-capping female candidates on the issue of Iraq and military policy in general by insisting that they "talk tough." This counterproductive strategy sometimes leads candidates to end up fighting from weak defensive positions.
To my knowledge, only one candidate from New Jersey has endorsed the plan so far - rabbi Dennis Shulman (support Shulman on ActBlue). "We were delighted to be offered a chance to join these powerful voices in articulating the need for change," said Shulman "and we are signing onto the plan formally later this week." (Update: Tom Wyka has also endorsed the plan. See his comment for details and then visit his Act Blue page.)
When January 2009 comes around, the next Congress will face the daunting task of fixing eight years of catastrophic blunders. This caucus of candidates who campaign and are elected on this platform will have a mandate from the people who elect them.
