Comments on: Swalwell wants new CA-15 debate, but host balks

By: Common Tater

Common Tater — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 01:11:09 +0000

@1:22pm

Maybe Einstein would be interested in this issue in a relativistic sort of way.

Did one of the political parties take a hard right turn or did the other party take a hard left turn? Maybe the Republican Party has remained true to the ideals of capitalism and patriotism and the other party went hard left to gather wool and fake rosebuds.

By: JohnW

JohnW — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 20:22:21 +0000

LWV was founded as a progressive policy advocacy organization and remains so. They are nonpartisan in that they do not support or oppose candidates for office, but they’ve never claimed neutrality on issues. There was a time when most of their positions would have received broad support from both major political parties, but one of those parties took a hard right turn.

By: Bruce R. Peterson Lafayette

Bruce R. Peterson Lafayette — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 15:21:37 +0000

The League of Women Voters has never found a tax they didn’t blindly support. I went to a meeting about a different subject & the President of the League of Women Voters spouted off support for a parcel tax. I cornered her after the meeting & she admitted she never read the tax details.

By: Common Tater

Common Tater — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 04:27:56 +0000

It’s the League of Liberal Women Voters, and don’t ever mistake it for anything else.

By: JohnW

JohnW — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 03:42:33 +0000

Re: #2

“…this Eric Swalwell is a hometown hero.” Bit of a stretch, don’t you think?

Outside of Dublin, elsewhere in the district, I doubt very many people would even recognize the name absent some reference to the election. If he wins, as seems highly likely, it will be based purely on ABS (anybody but Stark).

Sully Sullenberger is a hometown hero. Returning vets are hometown heroes. Even Paula Creamer and local Olympic Gold Medalists are hometown heroes of sorts. But Eric Swalwell?

By: GV Haste

GV Haste — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 02:53:16 +0000

League president Nancy Van Huffel… I’ve never seen a more distorted explanation of why there is a Quirk-Ong debate and not a Stark-Swalwell debate.

Looks like the League of Women Voter is running a screen play for Pete. Its protect Pete from embarassment time. Don’t let the voter see what he is really like when having to think on his feet.

So all you have to do now is say you refuse to debate and the League takes that message and doesn’t even schedule one. If the tables were reversed and Pete wanted a debate, you can be CERTAIN there would be one, even if Swalwell refused to participate.

Stinks. The League playing favorites.

By: moderatevoter

moderatevoter — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 02:26:11 +0000

It’s pretty clear Pete Stark’s new campaign management team is trying to keep Stark out of public eye, which is sort of amazing because he’s involved in a heated campaign. But so far Stark’s campaign has been a political consultants nightmare, he’s made one ridiculous gaffe after another. If he has another debate with this prosecutor Erik Swalwell you’d likely see another gaffe, so his campaign consultants are trying to “hide” Stark out for the rest of the election, they are just going to send out press releases.
It’s really sort of comical, Stark – at age 81 – has become a kind of Mr. McGhoo figure, he’s a calamity waiting to happen, so his consultant- handlers have come up with this hide-Pete-out-until election day strategy. While this may work – I doubt it – Target, the national magazine that tracks congressional elections is calling the Eric Swalwell-Pete Stark race a “tossup”.
Stark, in fact, is in for the fight of his life in this election, he really needs to hit the campaign trail, go out and meet and greet voters, show voters he can still do the job. But his consultants are advising the opposite, stay home and hide, that appears to be the Stark strategy. Problematic is that plays into Swalwell’s campaign theme – that’s Stark’s an absentee Congressman who lives in Maryland – that he’s out of touch with voters.
If Stark wants to get back in this thing he really needs to debate Swalwell. But apparently he’s too chicken, as other bloggers are saying. My guess is Stark is going to continue to hide, and then in the final weeks of the campaign dump a bunch of TV commercials on voters – commercials financed by DC special interest groups.
If that’s the strategy it’s not going to work, this Eric Swalwell is a hometown hero, he’s been campaigning all over that district for months, people are rooting for him to win. He’s got the grassroots, Stark’s got the Washington special interest groups, only. Going to be a big upset in the 15th district, Pete strak – a 40 year incumbent is going down.

By: Elwood

Elwood — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 21:11:38 +0000

Petey bird, Petey bird, come out come out wherever you are!