Where the line gets drawn

Marc Campos comes to Council Member Peter Brown's defense after the Annie's List smackdown.

Commentary wants to know if Annie's List will really lay off of Peter if he does say I'm sorry. I doubt it. This is the second time Annie's List has dropped into the 2009 H-Town Mayoral race and probably won't be the last.

Just an FYI - according to the Texas Ethics Commission, in the past few years, Peter has doled out over 30 grand to Dem candidates including writing a number of checks to women that have been supported by Annie's List. I wonder if Annie's List will tell the Dem office holders and candidates to give Peter his money back if he doesn't apologize. I doubt this too. (He's probably given more if you add what he's given to federal candidates.) This is all about H-Town mayoral politics in 2009 and not about the election in November of 2008. Personally, I think the criticism of Peter, who is a good Dem, was a little too harsh.

So I guess the standards and litmus tests for 2009 H-Town Dem city candidates are now being developed. I get where maybe a Dem shouldn't be at a fundraiser where W's Brain is being featured. How about taking money from folks that raised a ton of money for W? How about taking money from folks that think W's doing a good job? Commentary would like to know where the line is and more importantly who's in charge of drawing it and while you are at it, could you send it to me in writing - please!

I would hope we can all agree that someone who wants to be elected as a Democrat to any office should avoid at all costs attending a Republican fundraiser at which Karl Rove is the honored guest. I mean, talk about a minimum requirement! Bipartisanship, reaching across the aisle, all that good stuff has its place and its uses, but this isn't how you should be doing it. Especially in any context that includes Karl Rove. If you don't understand why, go Google the name "Max Cleland", and then come talk to me.

How much farther out the line should be drawn, and what the penalties for encroachment should be, isn't something that really interests me. Politics is a complex thing, with an awful lot of extenuating circumstances and strategic decisions and "it depends" situations. Your answers and mine will surely vary with the scenario, and that's fine. But since he asked, let's see how Marc Campos himself might answer those questions:

We have us a local, errr loco Dem group that needs to be put on probation. Area 5 Dems endorsed Carol Alvarado's opponent despite the fact that the opponent has voted in the last 4 GOP primaries - huh! Carol Alvarado (Commentary's client) has been campaigning for Dems her entire life. She's traveled on her own dime to places like California, Colorado, Illinois, and New York campaigning for fellow Dems. Her opponent has been touting the likes of W, Guv Dude, and Big Dick Cheney, and DeLay. Area 5 Dems are a joke - period. According to the Campaign Skipper, they need to be shipped to Area 51.

It's all fun and games till your own ox gets gored, I guess. Draw those lines where you want to, but let's not pretend one's own choices are superior to anyone else's.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on August 20, 2008 to Election 2008