| Tim Kennedy supported a Steve Pigeon led coup in the Erie County Legislature that put Republicans back in charge. Tim Kennedy spurned the entire progressive base throughout Erie County. Tim Kennedy is even connected to a variety of anti-gay activists and isn't even a guaranteed vote in favor of marriage equality (see here ).
So why is Fight Back NY implicitly supporting Tim Kennedy?
My guess here is that people inside the organization want to make a big impact by getting a guaranteed victory. I suppose they figure that they can flip more votes by scaring people into voting for marriage equality, for fear of the organization coming after them in 2012. And Bill Stachowski is by far the most vulnerable incumbent Democrat facing a primary challenge.
But again, these reasons just aren't good enough. Think about all of the other races Fight Back NY could have gotten involved with. What about taking out Rev. Ruben Diaz, the leader of the anti-marriage equality foces? What about Shirley Huntley, an unpopular and unknown incumbent who hasn't really been tested in Southeast Queens? What about a candidate like Regina Calcaterra, who has a shot against an entrenched anti-marriage equality incumbent out in Suffolk County?
Instead, we're left with a great progressive organization supporting an untrustworthy Democrat running against a marginal incumbent where an extremely strong Republican challenger awaits the winner in November. If that sounds like a recipe for disaster to you, you're not alone.
We used to have a great progressive challenger in this race, but when Sean Cooney ended his campaign last week, we were let with a stinker of a race (as Adama previously blogged ). If Fight Back NY had gotten into this race to support Sean Cooney, I'd be cheering this decision. But now, with the awful choice between Stachowski and Kennedy, it makes absolutely no sense for the organization to spend valuable resources on this stinker.
And as a final note, I personally feel a little betrayed. I promoted the "Send 'Em Packing" link last week that Fight Back NY allegedly would use to make this decision. Yet now I find it hard to believe that the page was anything more than an e-mail collect. Nowhere in today's announcement does the organization mention anything about a vote or about their readers chosing Stachowski as the top opponent to oppose. It's hard to believe as it is that the largely downstate constituency of Fight Back NY (young, progressive, LGBT) would pick Stachowski, or even know who Stachowski is. If I had to, I would guess that Rev Diaz probably would win a straight up vote by Fight Back NY supporters because he's the most well-known of bunch.
I'm confident that Fight Back NY will do good work this cycle. And I think over the long run they're an ally to us reform-progressive types. But this decision does not sit well with me. |
