Battle of the Sackses: Christie Vilsack Should Sack Steve King Not Congressman Loebsack

Congressman Dave Loebsack has been an extraordinary representative for Iowa, knocking off an entrenched, 30-year GOP incumbent Jim Leach in 2006 in a stunner that absolutely no one predicted. He won re-election in 2008 without even campaigning, and then won re-election again in 2010 against a well-funded right-wing tea party candidate.  He ultimately survived the national GOP comeback and fared better than the other members of the Iowa delegation with 51% of the vote.  Even Bruce Braley in a highly democratic district came scarily close to being defeated by another well funded GOP hack (who spent an ungodly amount of money on deceptive attack ads).

Dave's ADA (Americans for Democratic Action) voting record in 2010 was 95%.
 
Bleeding Heartland's assertion that it is some kind of no-brainer that 2nd District primary voters would see the choice as being between “the wife of the Ag secretary” over an  “academic” sounds like wishful thinking to us. We think Democratic primary voters will see the choice as being between a congressman who has been a consistent, trustworthy voice of integrity in a largely corrupt congress, who worked tirelessly and successfully delivering federal funds to the flood ravaged 2nd district, and who is in his district every weekend, while the spouse of the former governor was plotting her own political future (not that there's anything wrong with that).

We like Christie Vilsack.  But if she really wants to do some good, may we suggest she put her country before her personal political ambitions and leave a perfectly good Democratic congressman where he is and take on a meaningful and useful fight somewhere else.  We would gladly help her take on Steve King.  We would be her biggest cheerleader.  But we think no possible good can come from a Loebsack primary challenge.

The image that comes to mind as one ponders this, is of 2004 when
Christie Vilsack and friends marched to the base of the capitol steps in
Des Moines to a waiting microphone and declared that John Kerry not Howard Dean would be the Democratic candidate who would beat George W. Bush. Remember?  And the accompanying smarmy ad campaign that made Dean out to be a phony progressive and evil enemy of the Iowa caucuses? They were absolutely positive that Kerry was the “smart” choice to win the general election.  

Yes, the Vilsacks' political weight and DLC money went a long way back in the day to ensure that John Kerry, rather than a true progressive, Howard Dean, would win the Iowa caucuses. And we all know how that turned out. Can you say “four more years of George W. Bush?” 
It seems to us that if Vilsack went after Steve King with the same zeal that they went after Howard Dean with, she would surely be successful in retiring a conservative Republican who has been an embarassment to Iowa.

We hope this is all just an ugly rumor because it would be ugly if Vilsack chooses to try to unseat a fellow Democrat. There may be times when an office holder needs to be primaried but this is NOT one of those times.  We hope she will show some political courage, as Loebsack did in 2006, and take on a Republican who does need challenged, Steve King.  This would energize and unite Democrats, and quite possibly result in sending another Democrat to Washington in 2012 from Iowa.

Christie Vilsack, if you did that, our hats would be off to you!