November 14, 2007

Activists seek party censure of DiFi

Liberal online activists have been in a tizzy for weeks over recent votes by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein to confirm a controversial judge and President Bush’s nominee for attorney general, Michael Mukasey.

“Dianne Feinstein has failed us,” wrote Rick Jacobs, founder of the Courage Campaign, in an e-mail to members of the liberal online network. “Failed progressives. Failed Democrats. Failed Californians. Failed Americans.”

The Courage Campaign has launched an effort to have the California Democratic Party censure its own senior senator at an executive board meeting this weekend, citing her votes for Mukasey and Leslie Southwick, a recent judicial nominee.

The issue has certainly gained traction in the lefty blogosphere – they are circulating a petition online and a story about the effort on the HuffingtonPost.com has garnered 1,000 comments – but it appears dead on arrival at Democratic Party headquarters.

“This party supports our Democratic senator and will continue to do so,” said party communications director Roger Salazar. “Period.”

That’s just what David Dayen, a liberal blogger at Calitics.com, predicted, though he still views the venture as worthwhile.

“Knowing what I know about the e-board, this is not likely to pass…,” Dayen wrote. “But it's a symbol of exactly how upset the grassroots is with Feinstein, and how they are grasping for something to express their disapproval.”

Scott Gerber, a Feinstein aide, defended the senator, saying she “has been an independent voice for California.”

“What people may not know is she was a strong leader in the fight against (now Supreme Court Justice Samuel) Alito and (Chief Justice John) Roberts,” Gerber said, noting she opposed “more than a dozen” circuit court nominees from the Bush administration.

As for Jacobs, the censure campaign continues.

“We all have to assure that the progressive base turns out for elections in California. This message of accountability rings with them. The more that the base feels that it is engaged and has control over its own message, the more likely it is to be energized,” he said.

The anti-Feinstein campaign certainly has helped Jacobs mobilize his network.

The censure Feinstein e-mail to supporters, Jacobs said, “had the highest response rate of any e-mail we’ve ever sent.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein talking to Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., on Capitol Hill in Washington after voting to support Attorney General-designate Michael Mukasey on Nov. 6.

Credit: AP Photos/ Susan Walsh

Posted by Shane Goldmacher on November 14, 2007 11:29 AM