Kos Is Not Going To Leave Jim Cooper Alone
Posted on September 28, 2009 at 5:16 pmMarkos “Kos” Moulitsas ain’t trying to hear all this noise about how a challenge to Jim Cooper is a fool’s errand:
Instead of trying to shut out the “interlopers”, maybe his supporters should try to get Cooper to vote the right way. Because if he does, the case against him becomes lots weaker.
But let me go back to “interloper”, because it’s a charge us national bloggers get all the time — is this author (at the Nashville Post) worried about the “interloper” insurance companies that are bankrolling Cooper and buying his votes? In his time in Congress, Cooper has gotten some serious cash.
Chip Forrester On The Effort To Primary Jim Cooper
Posted on at 5:10 pmFrom Mark Brown:
“Congressman Jim Cooper is one of the most studious and deliberative members of Congress we have in Tennessee – on either side of the aisle. It is illogical for someone or some organization to try and remove a statesman like Congressman Cooper. Democrats need to focus their attention, energy and resources on helping retake the state legislature because Republicans intend to redraw legislative districts after the 2010 Census.
“Efforts to primary Congressman Cooper are misplaced. The debate over health-care reform has stirred strong emotions. It’s important we get this legislation right, and Congressman Cooper gets that. If we don’t keep our eyes on the ball, we’ll wind up with more people like Marsha Blackburn representing Tennessee in Congress. All Democrats, I hope, understand that nightmare scenario.”
Jim Cooper Reacts To Talk Of Primary Challenge
Posted on at 4:12 pmHe ain’t scurred:
A progressive political action committee made Congressman Jim Cooper its No. 1 target for defeat in the 2010 elections as punishment for opposing liberals on health care reform, but Cooper vowed not to be swayed by threats.
“You know, some of these people just want publicity,” Cooper said. “My job isn’t to give them free publicity. They should generate their own publicity. I’m trying to solve the health care problem in America, and they are free to do whatever they want to do.”
[snip]
Asked to respond, Cooper told the City Paper, “I don’t have to respond to them if they don’t live here. I respond to my constituents. I respond to people who live here.”
“This shows they don’t know me,” he said. “I’m a nerd. What I respond to is substance [not political threats]. I’m probably too boring for them to fool with.”
Put A Name In
Posted on at 1:30 pmSean Braisted thinks a real progressive challenge to Cooper could have a legit shot taking out the Congressman — but they have to step up first:
By having a national PAC come in and try to recruit a candidate (something the DCCC or DSCC often does) and offer a base of support, financing, and possible staff, that will tempt potentially viable challengers into considering what might have once been only an after thought. Right now, its impossible to reliably poll a potential primary race because there isn’t a name to counter Cooper’s…its all theoretical and a matter of conjecture. But a real race, involving a real campaign about issues and a close examination of Rep. Cooper’s record, could lead to surprising results.
PUMAs Against Coop!
Posted on at 1:26 pmTennessee Guerrilla Women are all about taking out Jim Cooper and they think the naysayers need to shut it up:
As always the naysayers are out in full force, but isn’t it a little early for all the protestations counting Cooper’s as yet mysterious challenger out? The naysayers are ignoring all kinds of little inconvenient facts, like for instance, Cooper’s district is “a 25% minority district that would be 45% minority in a Dem primary.” The naysayers are also seriously underestimating our liberal friends at Accountability Now.
Republicans Want To Take Out Coop, Too
Posted on at 1:16 pmIf you are getting hit from both sides like Jim Cooper presently is, chances are that means you’re doing right:
TN-05 is only a D+3 district, by the way. Which is why the NRCC is now actively recruiting for that one.
Not Afraid Of Anything, Just Giving You A Heads Up
Posted on at 12:24 pmTalk Left talks down to local bloggers who have the temerity to suggest that Jim Cooper can’t be beaten in a Democratic primary:
If Cooper is as popular as these “local experts” think, then he’ll win without breaking a sweat. If he isn’t, then maybe he is doing something wrong. What are these “local experts” afraid of?
(via TCP)
Should Jim Cooper Get To Be A Congressman For Life For Winning A Primary In 2002?
Posted on at 9:05 amSean Braisted says hells to the no:
How did Cooper win that primary? Partly on the backs of many out of state political action committees; from the National Venture PAC to the American Academy of Ophthalmology PAC and a whole slew of corporate political action committees seeking national representation for their issues. Granted, Gayle Ray had a good deal of PAC contributions, but most of those were from labor unions who represent workers here in Nashville.
So I find it difficult to swallow when people get all bent out of shape that some out of state “carpetbaggers” are coming to our fair city in order to let it be known to would-be challengers that they’ll help get a campaign off the ground.
Lumped In
Posted on at 8:39 amBetsy Phillips is not as opposed to a primary challenge of Jim Cooper as she believes she is being painted to be:
Which is why I’m feeling a little upset to be lumped in with the whole people just shouting support of Cooper. I’m not blindly supportive of Cooper. But it’s not as simple as “We have a poll and a wish and outside support!” and I want to hear real ideas about how one goes about running a more liberal candidate against Cooper and winning and I want to hear that from people who live here and can speak convincingly about the contours of the district.
I don’t think it can be done. I’d be happy to be proven wrong, but I don’t think I am.
I would support and do support local efforts to primary Cooper, but I’m not that excited about being bullshitted.
At the end of the day, the national folks go home and we Democrats have to work together. They can afford to run a more scorched-earth campaign than we will be able to live with if they fail.
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Accountability Now Discusses Their Search For A Cooper Primary Challenger
Posted on at 8:31 am“The reception has been really fantastic right now,” he says. “There’s just so many people who are interested in a primary challenge. … We’re looking at strong potential candidates who can win.”
“I’m pretty confident there’s serious challenger who’s interested. There’s actually a couple. What they’re waiting for is more data to see what happens. We’ll probably do additional polling that will go into more detail of exactly who is upset with Jim Cooper and why.”
Struggling With The Idea Of A Challenge To Jim Cooper
Posted on at 7:56 amIlissa Gold wants you to read her whole post on the subject:
And now that I’ve said that, if this post gets on Post Politics, I’m pretty sure that Kleinheider will frame the rest of it as “That crazy shrill liberal Ilissa Gold is calling for a revolution on the streets of Nashville, complete with Jim Cooper’s head on a pike.” Hopefully enough people will click through to realize I’m saying the exact opposite.
Leave Jim Cooper Alone!
Posted on September 27, 2009 at 10:15 pmIt’s really amazing how much effort national progressives are putting into going after Jim Cooper. Posts by national bloggers giving Coop crap for a pushing healthcare reform bill that doesn’t provide for a public option is one thing. But actually going to the trouble of setting up an anti-Cooper website? Talking of trying to recruit a primary challenger?
It is excessive and it is misguided. More progressive minded folks than I have already weighed in on this subject. A political operative, the city’s feminist conscience in the blogosphere and a former Music City Democrat have all picked a side — against the national interlopers.
Is Coop the most progressive congressman Nashville could produce? Certainly not. But is that enough a reason to turn him out?
Elective office is and should be less secure than a regular job but what has Cooper really done to deserve a pink slip?
Rep. Cooper is a good Congressman. He speaks his mind and he serves his constituents. He deserves to keep his job unless some candidate can provide a compelling reason not to. The fact that Coop thinks outside the box and promotes healthcare reform solutions that do not include the exalted public option is really a compelling reason.
Do these progressives really think that Cooper is their enemy? This is not Lincoln Davis we are talking about after all, this is Jim Cooper. Do these interlopers really believe Cooper would vote against the public option if it came down to it?
These interlopers simple do not know Nashville if they think the city’s Democrats are going to turn out Coop on the basis of healthcare reform. Given the chance, it highly debatable that voters would vote out Jim Cooper in favor of a highly qualified progressive. But the major point is here is that they will never get that chance.
Accountability Now can talk their trash all they want. They can pretend like they are recruiting a legit candidate to challenge our congressman but no one to the right of Chris Lugo would ever seriously consider a primary challenge of Jim Cooper.
Until these national progressives can convince a Jason Holleman or Megan Barry to lose their political minds, this is all going to be wasted effort better used elsewhere.
This push isn’t even going to scare Cooper. If Accountability Now could field even a semi-legit candidate, maybe the effort could yield some fruit and scare Cooper into working harder in promoting the public option.
But let’s be honest, Jim Cooper don’t scare. He’s been around the block a few times and he has done his homework. He is politically protected and he is confident in his position on the issue. National progressives are wasting their time.
It would clear to them if they spent anytime at all with Democrats in this city. There will be a time to elect true progressive for the 5th District and that is the day Jim Cooper retires. Until then, national progressives should keep their powder dry and concentrate on battles they can win and places where they can make a difference.
If national progressives really want to help the cause, they should concentrate on the state legislature. Considering how red Tennessee has become it is an amazing feat that it’s congressional delegation is still majority Democrat.
If the Democrats cannot recapture the state legislature and Republicans hold the redistricting pen, every Democratic congressman but Cooper is gonna be vulnerable.
You want to help progressives in Tennessee? Help them take back the legislature and prevent the GOP from redistricting them back to the stone age. Then you can start building a new progressive and populist Democratic Party in Tennessee.
But messing with a true statesman who may be a smudge to the right of his district? That’s just inane.
*Hear the Accountability Now folks tomorrow morning on Liberadio(!)
Should Liberals Go Heeled?
Posted on April 1, 2009 at 3:56 pmIlissa Gold thinks it might be wise to take your whistle with ya if you’re fixin’ to leave your house as a progressive:
But I wonder if it’s something that all progressives, regardless of sexual orientation or other factors, have to worry about. The violent rhetoric from the right about rising up and overthrowing the government is growing. Republican leaders are actively calling for a “revolution”. Militia activity has been on the rise in the last few years, and is expected to increase with Obama’s presidency.
And while you’d rather think of people like Jim Adkisson shooting up a Unitarian church in Knoxville as an evil aberration, you do have to wonder how many others like him are out there, whose minds have been so poisoned by the violent right-wing rhetoric that they could snap at any moment, and look to take out those whom, again, they perceive as “weaker”.
This isn’t going to stop anytime soon, and I’m of the opinion that we need to be prepared. I’m not saying all liberals need to (or should) carry, nor am I saying that anyone should rely on weapons at the expense of reaching out to others through dialogue and eudcation. But it’s a civil liberties issue, as far as I’m concerned–if the Bill O’Reillys and Glenn Becks and Michelle Malkins of the country have the right to spread violent rhetoric, then those of us at whom the rhetoric is aimed have the right to defend ourselves. We cannot be caught off-guard again.
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