June 16, 2004
Bill Bernstein

Vince Leibowitz of the Free State Standard is looking to raise a few bucks for Bill Bernstein, who's running against Jeb Hensarling in the 5th CD. I have some mixed thoughts about this, so please bear with me while I work my way through them.

I'm more than happy to support a good Democrat against any of the endless DeLay clones that litter our landscape. I'm a firm believer in contesting every race, which is why I support the D-435 project, why I have such strong feelings about the failure to field a candidate for the 10th CD (and why I'm glad that Lorenzo Sadun eventually jumped in), and why I agree with Greg in his assessment of Martin Frost's contest-only-some-seats strategy. I note that Vince's goal for Bernstein is extremely modest, and finally, it's hard not to support someone who's running against a guy who says things like this:


Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), who is leading [House] conservatives in their effort to reform the budget process, said, “A number of members ... are not indifferent about what kind of Republicans take these seats,” referring to the contested Senate seats.

“A number of Republicans worked against Pat Toomey, and he’s one of the men I most admire,” Hensarling added.


So what's my hesitation? Simple - there's only so much money available to candidates, and no amount of money that Bill Bernstein is likely to raise is going to make any difference in that race. It's thus very difficult for me to fully endorse giving to a huge underdog like Bernstein when those same dollars might have a real effect in some other races of interest to us all. Efficient utilization of scarce resources and all that.

That said, though, it's important for me to keep in mind that everyone who might consider donating to certain races will have different criteria for evaluating them. The more options you have for making your voice heard, the more likely you are to feel satisfied that it has been heard. I know what my priorities are, and I know where I want my scarce resources allocated, but we're all individuals here. So in the end, it's with a clear conscience that I'm linking to Vince's appeal. The rest is up to you.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on June 16, 2004 to Election 2004 | TrackBack
Comments

On a personal level, I think its rather evident that most of us would have to factor in several variables to sort out which races we might like to support. But on a macro level, I applaud Vince for making the case for his candidate of choice.

Personally, I'll be squirreling away a fair chunk of my own resources into some local State Rep races, to maintain a seat and hopefully gain one or two. Anything left over ... I'll head to Stenholm's site.

Posted by: Greg Wythe on June 16, 2004 1:37 PM