"The 'Rahm Whining About Dean' WATB Storyline"

Matt Stoller:

Periodically, I read stories about intra-Democratic Party committee battles. They are basically all the same. Rahm Emanuel (DCCC), and occasionally Chuck Schumer (DSCC), are tough, smart guys with metal testicles, and they are hard-nosed and mean. They will do anything to win. Howard Dean is ignoring them and their pleas for money to run TV ads for their candidates because Howard Dean is grassroots-y. But party leaders are 'concerned' and Howard Dean doesn't care.

This storyline just continues to pop up every month.

Today it's in the Chicago Tribune, and it's titled titled 'Democrats fear rifts risk midterm victory'. It's the standard mixture of whining and sour grapes by Rahm Emanuel that not enough DNC money is going to the DCCC.

There are three basic problems with pieces like this.

1) If party leaders are going to complain about resources, they shouldn't spend money and time intervening in primaries.

2) I've hit this point before, but I'll hit it again. Dean was elected by DNC members to support the state parties. Party leaders had their chance to back a different DNC Chair. They did not get their shit together in time, and Dean beat them.

3) It's transparent that this is a 'cover your ass' strategy to innoculate leaders against an electoral failure this cycle. If Democrats do well, it's because our hard-nosed mean leaders are great. If we don't, it's because crazy internet lefties drained resources from our hard-nosed mean leaders. Insider Democrats can't lose!

Anyway, I imagine we'll see one of these stories every three weeks or so until the election, and I'll continue to point out that they are premised on bad faith assumptions.

Meanwhile, the MyDD/Courage Campaign polling project is in the field, and we're going to get some data soon on turnout and messaging in CA-50.