In Allentown's 132d legislative district, four term incumbent Jennifer Mann is facing a very weak challenge from Republican Eddie Tuburcio. He can barely speak English. Why such a weak opponent? Mann has been a serious and hard-working legislator, and her district has a heavy democratic edge. But Mann may already be a Republican. After all, she's a member of the DLC's leadership team. She's a leader in a group that just loved Team Bush's 2003 invasion of Iraq and dismissed war critics as members of the loony left. I'd be inclined to dismiss her. She's also the opportunistic pol who tried to gain a state senate seat by unfairly smearing her opponent over an old drinking problem. Her tactics were properly condemned by fellow Democrats like state senator Lisa Boscola and political organizer Ernie Kaiser. She'll win, but I'm not so crazy about her. It's time for the Democratic wing of the Democratic party to take control.
5 comments:
If Jenn Mann is up for a Demo leadership position in the new House, it's the least they can do for her. It was the HDCC that cost her the Senate race by going so vicious against Browne in the first place. Let's face it, Pat is a likable guy and an awful lot of voters looked at those ads and thought, "there but for the grace of God..." I've known Jenn for a long time, and if she has a fault, it's modesty. Jenn needs to start taking more credit for the things she HAS done for the district, which is considerably more than her best-friend wannabe in the neighboring district to the south ...South Allentown, that is, along with the southern townships...
Anon, Thanks for your comment. I know that HDCC ran those negative ads, but Mann refused to distance herself from them, didn't she? And her role in the conservative and pro-war DLC troubles me. I'd agree she has been a very hard-working and effective legislator but it's time for Dems to act like Dems. For 80% of the voters, Iraq is the big issue. And she's allied w/ a group that supported the mess in Iraq.
I don't live in Mann's district so she won't be getting my vote. But even if I did, her "membership" in the DLC is very distrubing and that would be reason enough to vote for my favorite candidate...."Noneof The Above."
dg
Careful Dems... we are starting to call for the same purity that the GOP calls for. How's that working out for them right now?
We need to argue the issues as a party, engage in debate, and at the end of the day, make informed decisions. We're not going to agree with all of the decisions but ultimately, starting this "Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party" crap is going to leave us with a broken party. Besides, the DLC is pretty well broken as an organization. It functions as a policy arm more than a political arm. It got Clinton elected, but that's about it.
Remember, moderates have a place in our party too.
For the record, Jennifer Mann has a strong record of interacting with ALL parts of the Democratic Party. She was a regular at DFA events when I was active, the unions love her and social liberals back her constantly.
LVDem, Mann is highly regarded to be sure. The DLC is a group that not only supported the invasion of Iraq, but went out of its way to punish those wh were opposed. I'd have to know more about Mann's exact role in that group before I supported her. People of good will can come to different conclusions. And there is room fro moderates and even conservatives, but not for those who sought to pubish antiwar activists. Because Mann is a DLC leader, I'd need to know a lot more before I could support her for anything. Perhaps I could.
And her role in that negative ad campaign against Browne still disgusts me. She damaged herself with a number of Dems. I'm one of them. I realize pols do it, but I don't like it.
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