Here's a link to our special election in CA district 36:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/special/us-congress/district/36/

It's still early, but it looks to me as though there will be a runoff. Time will tell...

And Hahn is leading Bowen.

Damn.

[BlueCaliDem]

1. Hahn is another DINO. What is *wrong* with Americans???

I was hoping for Marcy, actually, since she's the most Progressive, but now there's DINO Hahn and I don't know how that'll play out.

I hope all the votes get counted. Do they have paper ballots there in District 36?

[Ken Burch]

2. I think Bowen was pushed into running just to stop Marcy

Bowen couldn't have had any other good reason to run.

They probably promised to grease the skids for her to be governor later in exchange for stopping an actual progressive from reaching Congress. This will also mean that Bowen as governor will be just as right-wing and fascist on crime as Moonbeam is. She proved she wasn't a progressive by entering this race. Why did anyone in that district even want her?

Now Marcy's career is over and that district will never have a good congressmember.

Nicely done, Bowen. Thanks for ruining everything for no good reason. You should have run for something else. Marcy was owed the progressive vote in that district this time.

[cascadiance]

4. It's too bad Bowen and Winograd couldn't have come together...

I also felt Marcy really could take this district too, though I think Bowen took her votes away. And this would be her best entry in to Capitol Hill, where progressives like her are sorely needed.

I DO like Debra Bowen, but I really think she should have aimed higher and stayed in as Secretary of State, and run for Senate if we can hopefully convince Feinstein to retire. I think she'd be well situated to take that seat and would be a fine senator.

[Ken Burch]

6. They made sure Marcy's career ended tonight, the bastards.

This had to be dirty politics that they got Bowen into it. She couldn't have had any legitimate reason to ratfuck Marcy.

[cascadiance]

9. You know if Marcy had pulled out and Bowen had won instead...

... and if later the Senate seat would open up for Bowen to run then and then perhaps Bowen could have "blessed" Marcy to take over the seat for her, though if Feinstein were to retire in 2012 that would give less than a full term in the House for Bowen, and she might appear to be an "opportunist" if she were to turn around and run in the Senate.

[Ken Burch]

16. That would assume, however, that it was clear before the withdrawal deadline

that Bowen was the stronger progressive candidate against the conservative Hahn. I'm not sure that anyone knew that that early.

[cascadiance]

17. I think the main point is that they should have worked it out so that only one would run.

What happened is exactly would many would guess would happen if they both ran.

[Ken Burch]

19. That is a good point. I suspect that Bowen would have insisted on running

As the sitting SOS, she'd have automatically felt entitled to shove Marcy out of the way. Those types always do. To reach that level in California Democratic politics, I suspect, you have to have an elite "insider" view of yourself and see grassroots types as a nuisance at best. Bowen would never have felt that a real activist like Marcy was worthy of her respect at all.

I don't mean to sound intemperate, but what Bowen did, to my mind, was just insider "regular" Democratic arrogance.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

I think you have it backwards.

What I heard was that Marcy ran on Hahn's encouragement in order to cause this runoff.

And nobody is owed anything.

Bowen has been an excellent, very tough SOS. She is very progressive. I voted for her proudly.

But I believe she was about to be term limited out as SOS.

[Ken Burch]

8. Marcy had been the progressive challenger twice

This was the only place she could have run. What the hell was she supposed to do? Just surrender? I also think AIPAC may have had a hand in pushing Bowen.

She was a good SOS but should have just stayed there. She could have run against Feinstein. Now she's toast. She just should have stayed the hell out of this one.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. I know she did; I voted for her twice, but not this time.

She was new to politics. You don't start at that level when you're new. You start with school boards and city councils. Marcy never did any of that.

And wasn't Bowen about to be term limited out of the SOS office? I'm not sure, actually.

[Ken Burch]

11. Nonetheless, you effectively voted for a swing to the right

Bowen was never going to win that district at any point in the campaign.

And so what if Marcy was new? Who's to say what the appropriate level to start at was or is?

If Bowen was gonna be term limited out, she could have run against Feinstein in 2012.

It just bugs me that she stabbed Marcy in the back for no good reason.

Bowen was not that freaking inherently superior. And she clearly was never going to have Marcy's progressive passion on anything.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. Bowen a swing to the right? Never.

She did NOT stab Marcy in the back; Hahn did. Or so my friends who are politically active tell me.

[Ken Burch]

13. No...what I meant was

By splitting the progressive vote through your vote for Bowen(who hadn't done anything in particular to deserve your vote MORE than Marcy did)you helped throw the seat to Hahn.

And really, Bowen wasn't superior in any particular way. She should just have stood against Feinstein in 2012. Now, she can't even do that.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. I think Hahn will be better than you expect.

She is certainly way more progressive than Harman ever was.

Still, damn.

We use Inka-dots. So, yes, they are paper.

[Ken Burch]

5. Well, that's not saying much.

Why the hell did Bowen run, though? Why couldn't she do the decent thing and stay the hell out of Marcy's way? Marcy had EARNED the progressive vote in that district and Bowen had no reason to get into this at all. She's already Secretary of State and Congress would be a demotion for her.

[cascadiance]

7. It's not hard to be better than Harman was though.

I'll hold off to see how good Hahn is though and not prejudge her too much and put a "Harman label" on her yet.

[BlueCaliDem]

14. Well, I hope so. I hope, when she wins, she'll become a Gillibrand who I had little hope

for, too, but who proves to be a darn good Democratic Senator after all.

We use Inka-dots, too! Is that for whole California?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

15. First, she has to beat that damn Republican. Ugh.

I hope you're right about her being a darned good Dem Representative.

And about the Inka-dots. I don't think the whole state uses them, not that I've heard anyway.

[BlueCaliDem]

24. Hahn is a more conservative Democrat, but not as conservative as Harman

so she has a good chance of winning. I don't think Democrats OR Republicans are enamored with the Republican Party these days - especially now they've seen Paul Ryan's bill and that the Republicans in the Senate have blocked repeal of taxpayer funded subsidies for Big Oil - and considering our astronomical gas prices here in Cali.

The Republican Party have shown their true faces and Californians are NOT impressed.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

25. You got that right!

We most definitely are NOT impressed.

[Johonny]

18. word on the street is she's dumber than a box of hammers

Either way there will be a run off. Just hoping the mail ins are enough to push the Rethug out of the run off and see the two candidates go head to head.

[Ken Burch]

20. If Bowen makes the runoff on the mail-ins, I'd send her money.

Why were the unions so hot on the least-progressive candidate, though? I can't get my head around that. Centrist hacks like Hahn are never good on labor issues anymore.

[winstars]

21. I live in the district and voted for Marcy the last time...

Marcy IS the more progressive candidate of the 3 BUT she was never gonna win against Hahn or Bowen and then definitely against not both! I voted for Hahn this time because: Marcy had no chance, because I wanted Bowen to stay as S of S for the 2012 elections. because although Hahn is not my dream candidate she will be better than Jane Harmon. Now we have this fucker 'pug on the ballot in November. I love Marcy but I don't know, am I being too pragmatic???

It was certainly easier just voting for Jerry Nadler every time when I lived on the Upper Westside in NYC!!!

[Ken Burch]

23. You're assuming that only a non-liberal Dem could win the seat.

Might I ask why? The 36th includes Santa Monica and Venice Beach, two of the most progressive areas in all of California. There couldn't be that many DLC types in the remaining areas.

[winstars]

26. I ain't worried about DLC types my friend,

I am worried about Republicans. El Segundo, Hermosa Manhattan and Redondo Beach are not the bastions of the left that I would have liked them to be. Torrance, Lawndale, and some of San Pedro are mixed. This, IMHO, is why Harmon was around for so long and why Winograd lost to her twice. Remember, I voted for Marcy the last time. I met her at the Farmers Market before Bowen and Hahn got in. I would have voted for her if I thought it would do any good. I voted for Hahn because Bowen should stay S of S of CA. If Bowen or Hahn had stayed out, Marcy would have had my vote. Now we have a Dem v 'Pug race in November that we did not need to have, that is really my only point here.

[winstars]

22. dupe sorry... nt