JEANNE SHAHEEN IS CHUCK SCHUMER'S CANDIDATE TO TAKE ON SUNUNU IN NEW HAMPSHIRE BUT THERE IS ALSO A PROGRESSIVE RUNNING-- MEET JAY BUCKEY

Were it up to Chuck Schumer and the Inside the Beltway Democratic Establishment, there would be no primary for the U.S. Senate seat in New Hampshire. There would be a coronation for former Governor Jeanne Shaheen, who seems to have finally made up her mind to run. Fortunately for New Hampshire Democrats and for democracy, Chuck Schumer and his ilk don't call the shots in their state. I asked Kevin Bowe, former Director of Operations for Wes Clark's 2004 primary campaign in NH and a Carol Shea-Porter volunteer last year, to give us the run-down on the progressive candidate in this race, Jay Buckey. Here's Kevin's report:

Senator John E. Sununu’s US Senate seat in New Hampshire is widely considered one of the most venerable in the 2008 cycle. As it should. Favorable demographics and a strong backlash against Bush/Republican policies have erased the legacy of conservative dominance in New Hampshire, giving the Democrats control of both Congressional seats, both branches of the legislature and the Governor’s Office.

If Sununu were a true RINO, he would have a much better chance-- like neighboring Republican Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine. But Sununu is a true movement conservative, embraced by the Club for Growth, no doubt for his vote to eliminate the minimum wage, and other far-right groups.

Recent polls indicate just how out of sync Sununu is with the New Hampshire voters. In one poll only 31% of the likely voters surveyed felt Sununu "deserves to be re-elected" and an astonishing 47% preferred "someone else"-- a polite way of saying anybody but John Sununu.

Given the deep hole Sununu is in, the question Democrats-- and netroots activists-- should be asking is, "Who will be the best US Senator from New Hampshire" instead of the typical Inside-the-Beltway question of, "Who will be able to beat Sununu". Poll after poll taken in New Hampshire answers the latter question-- anyone not photographed with a dead body or live child. (Granted, Sununu will not just roll over and be defeated. The Sununu name has been on ballots in New Hampshire since the 80’s; he’ll have lots of money and, as was evident from the 2002 Election Day phone bank scandal, New Hampshire Republicans will resort to illegal dirty tricks to win close elections. But assuming Party and activists support, any of the rumored or announced candidates will beat this very unpopular Republican.)

The Democratic field is shaping up with very capable people who will all be working hard to defeat Sununu. Former congressional candidate Katrina Swett [from the Lieberman end of the party] has been fundraising very successfully and attacked Sununu's record with vigor. Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand and former Governor Jeanne Shaheen are both DLC members with political savvy, fundraising abilities, and good connections within the state. Shaheen has great name recognition and polls very well even this early out. Marchand has stated that he would back out of the race if Shaheen entered, something he will presumably do in the next week. All three of these potential nominees would have a good shot at taking the seat-- but my choice is physician and former astronaut Jay Buckey, the new face in New Hampshire's political scene.

Why Jay Buckey? First and foremost Jay embodies the values of the grassroots/netroots community. While Jay has impressive professional accomplishments-- Astronaut, Doctor, dual professor of Engineering and Medicine at Dartmouth College, Major in the Air Force Reserves-- his involvement in the political process has been at the grassroots level. I met Jay in the citizens’ effort to draft Wesley Clark for President, with Jay working the phone banks and holding signs in the New Hampshire primary. He attended meet-ups; organized community forums on New Energy and Global Warming and urged his representatives to oppose the 2002 Iraq War resolution. The political-class [represented by the Chuck Schumers, Tom DeLays and Rahm Emanuels] may scoff at this, but these are the activities of someone who values real participatory democracy, which is the cornerstone of our system. Of course the political-class will hail this value in their speeches, but as insiders-- who value their exalted position, it’s all talk. Jay Buckey walks the walk and embodies people-powered-politics. The US Senate is filled with the political-class, either people born into politics or whose only career has been politics. Jay Buckey is a highly accomplished person who personifies the citizen-statesman that our founders envisioned for our system of government.

Given the many complex problems facing us today-- the quagmire of Iraq; the global environmental crisis we have created; health care; the promise and peril that science and technology can bring us-- Jay Buckey will be one of the few people in Congress (maybe in the country) who has the real experience to help solve these problems, as opposed to the political experience others have to posture on these issues.

On the bread and butter issues, Jay is a solid progressive Democrat-- who favors universal health care; withdrawal from Iraq; ending the use of oil to "fuel" our economy; opposes the Bush tax cuts for the rich-- visit his campaign's website to learn more about Jay on all the issues.

In closing, I realize I’m making a case of nominating Jay Buckey to take on John Sununu because Jay will make the best US Senator that exemplifies grassroots values and the real experience to deal with our challenges. Many activists will still want to focus on the best candidate to beat Sununu. Fair enough. But it is Jay’s "narrative"-- Doctor, former Astronaut and veteran who is running for US Senate to solve our problems-- is far more powerful than any narrative that can be cobbled together by traditional Democratic candidates. Sununu’s only hope is that the Democratic opponent is part of the political class and Sununu tries to spin the tired narrative of "tax and spend, anti-troop liberal who is out of touch." I doubt any fake narrative like that will save Sununu. But why take a chance. John Sununu won’t know how to handle a candidate like Jay Buckey.

Kevin has decided to volunteer for Jay's campaign. If you live in New Hampshire you might want to consider volunteering for the campaign as well.
If you want to contribute to Jay's campaign, you can do it through ActBlue or by sending a check.

If you'd like to get a feel for who Jay is, I'd recommend watching this short video clip of him talking about health care:




UPDATE: OPEN LEFT HOPES JAY STAYS IN THE RACE TOO

Chris Bowers, over at Open Left is hoping Jay's presence in the race will force the top-down, establishment-oriented Shaheen to embrace the grassroots and maybe even some progressive policies.

Shaheen is one of the many, many Democrats who first helped lead the party into simultaneous minority and pro-war status back in 2002-2003, but who is now capitalizing on the favorable electoral stage that was prepared mainly by the progressive movement during four years of intense guerilla warfare against conservatism from 2003-2006. While the Jean Shaheen's and Rahm Emanual's of the party were supporting things like the Bush tax cuts, the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, and legislation to support Terry Schaivo, it was the netroots who were doing the bulk of the heavy lifting in opposition to Republicans. I feel like they are capitalizing on what we rightfully earned, and both dissing us and preparing to destroy all of our work in the process. They are pretenders to the new Democratic majority.