As Congressman-elect Jerry McNerney thanks his supporters, we all owe thanks to CA-11 voters--and none to the DCCC--for retiring "Dirty Dick" Pombo

"Clicking here" won't do you any good, but if you do want to see Jerry's "victory video," here's a link that should get you there.

"When others said I would not be able to overcome an entrenched incumbent with millions of dollars, you believed otherwise . . .

"It certainly takes money and lots of it. But anyone who thinks it’s all about money is sadly mistaken. What it really takes is heart, passion, commitment, and the accumulated intelligence of hundreds of supporters."

--Rep.-elect Jerry McNerney, in an e-mail thanking his supporters


As I mentioned yesterday, the CA-11 House race is one that came to mean a lot to me, and I'll say again that (Rep.-elect!) Jerry McNerney ran a huckuva campaign. His was the kind of candidacy that I know Howie was looking for all the time as he screened candidates all over the country for DWT encouragement and support.

Jerry thumbed his nose at the Emanuelite campaign "wisdom" to say nothing serious about serious (and especially controversial) issues, to play it safe mouthing mindless platitudes. Longtime DWT readers will recall Howie's early discovery that you could identify a Rahmish candidate just by glancing at his/her website. Rahm's boys and girls said nothing of substance, and of course never even mentioned the war in Iraq.

Jerry did the exact opposite: He articulated clear and strong progressive positions, and might well have been shunned by Master Rahm just for that, not to mention the dangerous independent streak it suggested (not a quality the Master values, to put it mildly), even if Rahm had been willing to forgive him for trouncing his hand-picked, well-financed stooge in the primary. (Of course Rahm as DCCC head was strictly forbidden from involving himself in primaries. He not only flouted that prohibition at will, apparently without hesitation, but openly and shamelessly lied about it. The creep should have been forced to quit the DCCC right then.)

Do you suppose a hack like Master Rahm, who seems to have no principles except "I'm in it for whatever I can get out of it," would have had any idea how to dislodge a deeply entrenched Republican incumbent like CA-11's soon-to-be former congressman, "Dirty Dick" Pombo? Certainly it would never have occurred to him to do what Jerry did: tackle him head on, on the issues.

Of course you already know all of this--though I'm not sure it can be repeated often enough, at least until the mainstream media begin to get a clue about CA-11 and the many other Democratic victories last Tuesday that Rahm played little or absolutely no part in.

What I really wanted to do was share the e-mail Jerry sent out to his supporters. (And I am a supporter rather than a voter or constituent. My congressman is Charlie Rangel, who I expect is going to make his voice heard in the new Congress.) I wonder if Rahmpuppets Tim Mahoney and Heath Shuler sent out e-mails like this to their supporters.

(Note: I haven't tried to make the many e-links active, but if you're so inspired, you should be able to cut-and-paste your way anywhere you'd like to visit.)

Dear KENNETH:

It's been an incredible whirlwind week since I was elected on November 7 as your Congressman-Elect in California's 11th Congressional District. Yesterday, I spent my first full day in Washington, D.C., taking the first steps to being sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives in January.

I owe my election to you. When others said I would not be able to overcome an entrenched incumbent with millions of dollars, you believed otherwise. Without your steadfast support, winning would not have been possible.
Thank you.
Winning a Congressional seat is an incredible undertaking. It certainly takes money and lots of it. But anyone who thinks it’s all about money is sadly mistaken. What it really takes is heart, passion, commitment, and the accumulated intelligence of hundreds of supporters.
In our incredible victory, these ingredients created the people power that overcame a 2-to-1 disadvantage in fundraising, shocking the pundits and power-brokers. I may have initially stood up and decided enough was enough, but it was the tidal wave of people -- who decided to make a real difference and step up with time, energy, and love of country -- that created the real change.
I was overwhelmed by what happened in the last six weeks of the campaign. We saw the wave building, week by week. We saw the tide coming in, day by day. More people every day working, walking, phoning, filing, delivering signs, mailing, recording data, and doing everything that needed to be done. In the final days of the campaign, it reached a crescendo that loudly resonated on Election Night.
It was truly a thing of beauty. It was awesome to see people of all kinds, all ages, all walks of life, coming out to make a real difference: People who chose to take action, no longer satisfied with the status quo. Whether you were able to volunteer or contribute your hard-earned dollars, you made this amazing victory possible.
Because of your volunteer and financial support, we had an organization in place capable of managing this incredible onslaught of people power. Spearheaded by intelligent and passionate citizens who dedicated months of their lives to our campaign for change, we, together, stood up and changed the direction of our beloved country.
I have no way to fully express my appreciation and honor for what you have done. But I asked our staff to work over the last few days to create a special victory video for those who could not be there on Election Night.
The video provides highlights of the speech I gave at our Victory Party, footage of our Get Out The Vote campaign across the district, and excerpts of volunteers talking about why they decided to join our campaign for change.
You can watch our 6-minute Victory Party Video by clicking here:

http://www.jerrymcnerney.org/multimedia.asp
We have won an election. And now it's time to chart a new direction for the 11th Congressional District and America. In the coming weeks, I will be communicating with you about our agenda. Meanwhile, many wonderful ideas from the grassroots helped our people-powered campaign over the last few months. The campaign may be over but our dialogue is not. I would like to hear your ideas for how we can move our district and our great nation forward.
Please send your thoughts to "newideas@jerrymcnerney.org".
As your Congressman-Elect, I will do my absolute best to bring positive change, hope and optimism to our country. That’s my pledge to you for the work you have done.
Thank you for your support. Thank you for your trust. I look forward to being your voice in Congress.






P.S. I have received hundreds of emails and phone calls congratulating me on our victory. I wish I could share them all with you. However, you can share your thoughts with me and others. Please go to my blog right now and post a comment telling me (and everyone) what this election means to you:

http://weblog.jerrymcnerney.org