So I'm watching the debate on C-Span, and keep hearing repeatedly from our Democratic Congressman that the "majority party" or "the other side of the isle" or "the Bush administration" are the root of this sham resolution they are "debating."

One suggestion to those on the floor and any of their staffers reading this: Use the word "Republican."

Give the American people the clear understanding of who is in charge, who's fault this war is, who is pushing this sham resolution, and who the hell they need to be mad at.

So I just watched RFK Jr. on Blitzer's show talking about his article in Rolling Stone "Was the 2004 Election Stolen." I'm so frustrated I don't know where to start.

All I can say is, can we please get Democrats who are going on camera, on national media, facing pundits like Blitzer, with GOP talking heads counting their arguments, some fucking media training.

Please. Dear. God.

I missed the York Township Democrats candidate forum yesterday held in Villa Park. There is only so many times I can hear the candidates say the same answers to the same questions. But again, I picked the wrong one to miss as there seem to have been some good questions on deeper issues.

One of the most eye opening ones, in my opinion, was the questions directed at the candidates regarding depleted uranium used in Iraq. The question showed quite a difference in the candidates, especially given specific responses by Cegelis, Duckworth, and Scott.

Details after the jump...

That's it. I've had it. Last Sunday I sat at a candidate forum in Lombard and watched Tammy Duckworth answer a question, given to all the candidates but obviously directed at her, that asked where the candidate's fundraising was coming from and how residents would know that they weren't beholden to any outside big-donor interests. She answered forcefully, if not a bit defensively, that no one got her to run and that she would be beholden to no one but district residents.

Then I read this:

When the invitation went out, Tuesday's fund-raiser for Democratic House candidate Tammy Duckworth was to be held in the office of a Washington lobbying firm. On Monday, the location was switched -- after I mentioned where it was going to be in a column that ran that morning. Sunlight, the saying goes, is a strong disinfectant.

[...]

The new locale for the Duckworth funder was Democratic National Committee headquarters, where the Democratic House political operation is based. Emanuel decided to switch venues. Duckworth spokesman Billy Weinberg said "in this current atmosphere ... it was the right thing to do."

In Part I, we went along to the latest in a string of "Coffee with Christine" events, where ordinary Americans became engaged again in their democracy. You can read Part 1.

In Part 2, we went to the Brat House, and enjoyed a campaign event reminiscent of the pre-television age when candidates actually interacted directly with the voters. You can read Part 2 here.

In Part 3, we get to meet the Blogfather himself, then travel to a candidate forum with all three candidates at a local synagogue. You can read Part 3 here.

In this final installment, we discuss the future of our Democracy, infrastructure and planting seeds.

In Part I, we went along to the latest in a string of "Coffee with Christine" events, where ordinary Americans became engaged again in their democracy. You can read Part 1.

In Part 2, we went to the Brat House, and enjoyed a campaign event reminiscent of the pre-television age when candidates actually interacted directly with the voters. You can read Part 2 here.

Today, we get to meet the Blogfather himself, then travel to a candidate forum with all three candidates at a local synagogue.

In Part I, I wrote about the latest in a string of "Coffee with Christine" events, where ordinary Americans became engaged again in their democracy. You can read about that here.

In this "Driving Christine," I'll write about what I thought was going to be the typical fundraising dinner for Cegelis. Instead the event seemed more like I had traveled back in time to an era when people got together at their local ma and pa restaurant, laughed together, sang songs together, and came together as a community to celebrate one of their neighbors.

A friend of mine is a volunteer for the Cegelis campaign helping to coordinate campaign events and often driving Christine to them. But this weekend she was out of town and asked me to drive Christine. So today and tomorrow I have the privilege of taking Christine Cegelis to all her events for the weekend. I'll blog about the events and any other conversation I can over the next few days.

For Part I, we're off to a Coffee with Christine...

From Jeff Berkowitz' blog, we learn of the upcoming broadcast:

"Public Affairs," with Democratic 6th CD Primary Candidates IT Consultant and 2004 6th CD Democratic Nominee Christine Cegelis [D-Rolling Meadows] and Wheaton College Professor Lindy Scott [D-Wheaton] is airing this week in 34 Chicago metro suburbs on Comcast Cable.

What a weekend for the Cegelis campaign! The past weekend showed that people are starting to see Christine Cegelis for the candidate she is. With a major endorsement, two exciting campaign events, the senior most woman in Congress singing Christine's praises, an interview with Walter Jacobson on Fox Chicago, and a wonderful post by Stephen Yellin, the weekend showed the excitement the Cegelis campaign is building among district residents and the Democratic activist base.

Details from the exciting weekend after the jump...

Today I spent the afternoon at the International Association of Machinists Union Hall in the north-east part of IL-06. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), the senior-most Democratic woman in Congress with a record of supporting labor issues, was there to attend a "Conversation with Christine" on job creation and labor issues. All I have to say about Congresswoman Kaptur is wow! I think she is the type of person we need in Congress. And Congresswoman Kaptur thinks Christine Cegelis should be in the House with her:

Christine Cegelis is the type of person we need in Congress. She is already asking the right questions. Her focus and understanding of issues key to your community is what will enable her to win the primary and in November.

Below I'll do my best to present my notes from the event covering the Congresswoman's talk given to a room full of Cegelis supporters. What follows is my best recollection, often paraphrased, of her remarks which were unscripted...

Today the Progressive Democrats of America endorsed Cegelis:

The political beliefs of Christine Cegelis combine broad, progressive ideals with the kind of pragmatic wisdom that the people of her district need. Her elevation to the House of Representatives would be a tremendous boon not only to the Sixth District of Illinois, but to the entire country. Progressive Democrats of America warmly and enthusiastically endorses Christine Cegelis in this race.

This is the difference for me between Cegelis and Duckworth. The Duckworth campaign seems content to hold orchestrated media events talking at residents about their candidate's recent understanding of the issues. The Cegelis campaign openly engages district residents displaying a command of the issues in an honest interaction with district residents. Duckworth supporters say she has some good positions, but they don't know what they are. Cegelis is an on the record and endorsed by true progressives.

So the AFL-CIO endorsed Duckworth. And this is surprising how? The biggest Democratic machine backing union backed the Chicago machine candidate. I'm shocked. I'm surprised. I'm stunned. I'm not.

What does surprise me is that the AFL-CIO is endorsing the only candidate who hasn't been a member of a union, let alone been an active proponent of labor politically, but instead backed a candidate who has no clearly defined or articulated positions on labor. I bet that might surprise the rank and file a bit.

Yesterday, Mark Brown in the Sun Times had some coverage of Duckworth's reach out and touch the media campaign from her press conference on that current buring topic, the Alternative Minimum Tax. Funny thing is, even though the AMT was the topic that warranted the coverage (of two reporters), here's the thrust of the article:

Duckworth, not the complaining type, did mention one little problem she was having when we talked last March. Her new right leg kept falling off.

[...]

It's not exactly what I'd envisioned when I'd enlisted as a charter member in the Tammy Duckworth fan club for her then-looming battle with the Pentagon over amputee rights, but there's no turning back now.

In case you had missed it, this was a press conference on the AMT. What, you expect a candidate running for Congress to know the issues? Come on, all you need is a compelling personality with no record or residency in the district.

I'm a big believer in the potential of blogs. So I noticed the lack of a blog back when Duckworth's campaign launched her website. But I thought, it's just a quickie website to go along with her well orchestrated campaign roll out. Well, nearly a month later there's still no blog and I'm not the only one who's noticed:

The most interest in campaign blogging among Illinois candidates is in the 6th District, which has a competitive Democratic primary. Two of the three candidates, 2004 Democratic nominee Christine Cegelis and Lindy Scott, have blogs. Tammy Duckworth, who announced her candidacy just a day before the filing deadline, does not have a blog at her campaign site.

This is another reason why I am concerned about Duckworth's campaign, and the unprecidented backing of Rham Emanuel her campaign has recieved. DLCers and DC Democrats - like Emanuel - seem not to be the biggest fans of the Blogosphere.

From Rick Klau's tins:

And then there was this comment left earlier today by "Lisa", who says she lives in Melissa Bean's district and lays out why she thinks Duckworth is the right candidate. Interestingly, the IP address associated with Lisa's computer is owned by the Democratic National Committee headquarters:

OrgName: Democratic National Headquarters
OrgID: DNH
Address: 430 S. Capitol St. SE - 2nd Floor
City: Washington
StateProv: DC
PostalCode: 20003
Country: US

[...]

Update: The DCCC is located on the 2nd floor of the building, so it's entirely likely that this comment is from the DCCC and not the DNC...

Now we have concerned citizens from adjacent districts blogging from computer that happen to be right in the DNC (more likely DCCC) headquarters! What's next, Astroturf in the LTE section of the local papers? If Duckworth has all this support from the District, why again is the DCCC so involved in her campaign?

I believe that Duckworth's residency is an issue. But not regarding where her home in Hoffman Estates rests. Although I think it is really stupid that the law allows anyone to run for any district in the state regardless of where they live, notable candidates like Melissa Bean and Gov. Blago lived outside districts they represented. Dumb law. But the law.

No, Duckworth's residency issue for me is that she has not had any real life experience anywhere near the district, let alone Chicago, let alone Illinois. It's one thing to live out of the district. It's another for a candidate to have spent the majority of her life on a tropical island yet running to represent a Chicago area district.

The life experiences, first hand knowledge of resident issues, understanding of differing economic issues, and a slew of other factors combine here to make Duckworth a weaker candidate who is less likely to represent district residents effectively. This lack of effective representation doesn't even begin to factor in how Emanuel has bought and paid for her campaign and the strings that will include.

I owe my political awareness to Howard Dean. Because of him I started blogging, volunteering and donating to Democrats. Dean's rallying cry in the 2004 campaign was "You have the power."  The more I learned about the Republicans in control of our government, the more I wanted to use this power to help elect Democrats.

This is why I started supporting a local candidate running for Congress in my own district. Henry Hyde's district. With Christine Cegelis' campaign as a rallying point, I saw more Democrats active in my district than I've seen in my lifetime.

But now, as the Democratic primary approaches, I read of the DCCC again passing over a candidate who newly energized Democrats in my district overwhelmingly support. I read of the DCCC's backing of a candidate with no political experience and few ties to my district. I read of the advantages of military credentials and "wounds" - not issues that matter to the district. I read of the finest political consultants money can buy working for a candidate who hasn't even done any fundraising in the district yet.

As I watch this unfold, I wonder what power I really have.