Some Democratic candidates are selling out their own party and running to the right in order to win voters in their respective districts, which happen to lean conservative. This is the exact sort of cowardice for which the Democrats have been criticized.
These Democratic candidates have taken to trashing on House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D) in an attempt to appear independent of the Democratic party without completely turning over to the conservative dark side. They come pretty close, however. Rep. John Barrow (D-GA) is campaigning to represent Georgia’s 12th District and has started running ads to “trumpet his independence from Pelosi.”
“I voted 54 percent of the time with Speaker [John] Boehner . . . and I voted against Nancy Pelosi for Speaker,” Barrow says proudly in an ad. How sickening.
Colorado Democratic candidate Irv Halter takes a less direct, but still pretty transparent approach, by simultaneously trashing his opponent, Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn, and Pelosi in the same breath. “Career politicians like Doug Lamborn and Nancy Pelosi have failed,” said Halter. “There’s only one way to change Washington: Vote them out.”
Florida Democratic candidate Gwen Graham has taken more subtle approach, but it’s still obvious that she’s playing the centrist to appeal to the conservative front.
It’s been known that Pelosi is the main engine behind the Democrats’ fundraising efforts, responsible for large amounts of political donations made to the party. In fact, the same group that allies with Pelosi has been used by Graham and Barrow to launch the attack ads on the House Minority Leader.
Republicans have already started in on the discrepancy. “[It’s] an insult to voters for Democrats who are being propped up by her outside spending to be simultaneously pretending to be distancing themselves from her,” said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Daniel Scarpinato.
The saddest thing here is that Scarpinato is absolutely right. In essence, the fact that these Democrats are biting the hand that feeds them is a great insult to voters and to Pelosi. It would be without surprise if this tactic backfired on these Democratic candidates. Hard-nosed Democrats will see the hypocrisy and Republicans will rip it apart.
These candidates are on a fast track to losing their elections as most voters are party voters anyway. Republicans won’t care about the candidates’ rally against Pelosi; they will just look at the party affiliation and vote against them. The staunch Democratic voters will see them as sellout traitors.
Josh is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. Follow him on Twitter @dnJdeli.
