Ellen Tauscher: CA-10, More Rumblings on the Left

Lisa Vorderbrueggen has an interesting article in yesterday's Contra Costa Times about Rep. Ellen Tauscher and "liberal bloggers":

Posted on Sun, Jan. 21, 2007
LISA VORDERBRUEGGEN: TIMES POLITICAL EDITOR
Bloggers take Tauscher to task

THE NATIONAL spotlight is heating up for Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, chairwoman of the moderate New Democrat Coalition.

Along with heady appearances on CNN, invitations to the White House and quotes in the New York Times, Tauscher has become a favorite target of liberal bloggers.

Two Web sites dedicated to ousting her from office have surfaced, a third is in the works, and she is regularly castigated by at least six progressive bloggers, including Calitics and Berkeley-based Daily Kos.

Tauscher is seen as a centrist who needlessly undermines progressives. Tauscher is unfazed but Terry Leach has a word of caution:

Lamorinda Democratic Club President Terry Leach, a Lafayette progressive who has been asked to run against Tauscher, is urging the congresswoman to do more than listen.

Leach says she won't challenge Tauscher, calling it a dangerous distraction from critical races such as the re-election of newly elected Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton.

But ignore the netroots and grass roots at your peril, Leach warns. These are the same folks who helped funnel the Bay Area progressive army into the campaign of McNerney, the underdog who defeated seven-term incumbent Richard Pombo in November.

"Yes, they are feeling their oats, and perhaps there's a sense that they can accomplish more than they can," Leach says, "but I wouldn't want anyone to underestimate them. The best thing Ellen could do is create a 'kitchen Cabinet' with the netroots and grass-roots people, among other groups, and invite them to be a part of her regular advisers."

And Tauscher should pay heed to progressive constituents. Just today, a new organization called Working For Us PAC opened its doors. This Political Action Committee is a partnership between MoveOn and SEIU and others. Their goal is to go after politicians who "have abandoned basic progressive values and voted against the best interests of their constituents." Who do you think is #1 on their hit list? That's right - Ellen Tauscher. Headed up by Steve Rosenthal, former labor organizer and head of ACT, these people know how to organize, raise money and get out the vote.