Falk in; blood pressure up

Let us all remember something: Electability gave us John Kerry.

I'm not saying Kathleen Falk is John Kerry--I'd take Falk over Kerry any day in any race--but electability is the wrong issue to base a campaign, even for Attorney General, on. I will argue that point until I die.

Yes, Peg Lautenschlaer was convicted for DUI; but she has "paid her debt to society," or however you want to phrase it, and is concentrating on doing her job. A Falk-Peg primary will hinge almost entirely on the DUI, since it seems to be the only point publicly made by the pro-Falk crowd and the candidates are not that far apart on the issues. How low does this make Democrats look?

Yes, Peg is not as good a fundraiser as Falk is, but Democrats have truly reached a new low when fundraising ability is a factor in judging who should run and who shouldn't (let's not pretend that Falk's marquee draw isn't a factor in this). In fact, I would argue--have argued--that Peg's ambivalence to fundraising and pandering makes her that much more independent and reliably pro-public as AG.

Yes, Kathleen Falk is a credentialed progressive liberal and a good politician, but Peg has decades of experience as a prosecutor and has led the fight as AG on liberal issues such as environmental protection, oil company profits, prescription drugs, and more.

If every dollar spent on a Falk-Peg primary could instead be spent on close Assembly and Senate races; on Doyle's tough re-election fight; on the fight against the expected anti-gay marriage amendment; or in the open-seat race of the eighth Congressional District, the Democrats might have a chance at real progress in 2006. With this primary fight, we lose, pure and simple.