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I mentioned this in yesterday’s Roundup, but I’m still marveling at it, just as an example of how not to run a negotiation. Democrats in West Virginia originally wanted to follow the law by waiting until 2012 for a special election to replace the late Robert Byrd. Republicans howled about the deception of an interim replacement appointed for over two years. Fine, Democrats said, they can write a new law to allow for a November 2010 special election. Wahh, Republicans countered, this only works if our only elected federal official can run for Senate and her House seat at the same time. OK, said Democrats.
Under the draft agreement lawmakers were shown at about 5 p.m., voters would go to the polls for an Aug. 28 for a primary to choose party nominees and then again Nov. 2 for a general election. Candidates who have already filed for an office would be allowed to run in the special Senate election.
This allows Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to run for the seat; it’s literally a law written for the benefit of one person.
There’s a second interpretation of these results – Joe Manchin wanted a special election by any means necessary, and doesn’t much care whether he has to beat Capito to do it. He thinks his best chance at becoming a longtime Senator lies in a quick-strike special election, and what’s more, he could drive a stake through Capito’s political career even if she is returned to the House. It’s not even 100% that Capito runs, although this special provision made for her may entice her.
But I tend to agree with Steve Singiser’s take – this came right out of the Democratic School for Negotiating to Get What Your Opponent Wants:
Now, the Democrats have not only given the Republicans an election at the time at which they desired, they have also hand-delivered the Republicans a gift which will allow the only Republican with a snowballs chance in Hades of being able to run, while simultaneously giving her the lifeboat of a guaranteed House victory if the Senate campaign does not end to her liking.
In other words, the Democrats struck a deal to exponentially increase the chances of their most formidable challenger getting into the race.
Brilliant.
And maybe this doesn’t matter in the context of this special election. But Republicans, in the minority in West Virginia’s legislature, now understand that they can basically push around the majority to meet their desired ends.
That’s a familiar tale in this short era of Democratic control in Washington. Looks like it’s spreading outside the Beltway, too.
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Thanks David!
Geez.
The Obamafication of state partisan politics. Oh, my.
idjits.
People who fight for what they believe in quickly get sidelined in the Democratic Party. This became crystal clear in the health care debate. It’s no wonder the party is now dominated by people quick to capitulate at the slightest hint of resistance or criticism from Republicans. It’s part of the basic character of the Democratic Party – don’t put up a fight, surrender at the first opportunity.
The situation here is WV is actually simpler and more complicated than described in the post. The real sticking point in the legislation for a special election for Senate in Nov. 2010 was the date that the new law was to take effect. Republicans and a small number of progressive Dems in the House of Delegates passed out a bill which required the law to go into effect in 90 days, making a special election in 2010 impossible.
Gov. Manchin, a Democrat in name only, as the post points out, wants this election as soon as possible, and doesn’t want to wait until the next full election cycle in 2012 as required by the old law.
Progressive Democrats wanted a full primary cycle so that they could develop a real Democratic challenger to Manchin. The Republicans caved as soon as the Democratic leadership in the House agreed to the compromise which would allow Capito to run for Senate in Nov. 2010 without having to give up her US House seat.
Progressive Democratic Delegates Perdue, Guthrie and Fleischauer and others tried to hang tough, but the Democratic leadership in the House caved in to Manchin and Capito.
Thanks for the info. Kudos to Perdue, Guthrie and Fleischauer. I’ll withdraw my earlier comment that assumed the Democrats capitulated out of weakness. It looks like the situation was more complicated than that, and the leadership capitulated in order to make sure that Governor Manchin gets the party nomination. It’s disappointing, but it’s also nice to know that progressives were willing to stand up to party leaders in an attempt to develop a progressive challenger to run against Machin.
“…in this short era of democratic control…”
You nailed that, David.
It’s like one bunch of political hookers standing on a streetcorner, yelling at another bunch across the street…except, one of the bunches is the democrats who got a historic-and-hope-generating win in 2008, and have now proved out to BE one of the bunches of hookers.
Guess who the voters are going to go after the hardest, 14 weeks from now?
It’s like Diogenes gave up; put his lantern down; took a nice long piss in it; said “fuck it!”, and then wandered off to get a cold beer.
Why not?
In Calif., it takes a 2/3s majority to pass the budget and Dems are only two seats away from 2/3s, but in the meantime: Rethugs with the support of Grover Norquist, keep any realistic budget from passing. They vote as a block, and any independent thikers will be opposed by a well-financed Repub. Arnold is too chicken to stand up to Rethugs who hate him.
On November ballot will be two initiatives to change the 2/3s.
WA., in the pacified northwest, the state of wishy warshy is loaded with Dims afraid of their own shadows.
Our reasonably worthless senator Cantwell lost her house seat to Rich White Guy in the ’94 mess, she got into real networks early, cleaned up, ran for senate … and has been a consistent disappointment – as is patty murray, our governor, our Dim legislature – they’ve been like genetically programmed to repeat fascist lies & fascist memes & accept the raygun-cheney definitions of moderate and independent.
it is sooooooooooo pathetic.
rmm.
David, kudos especially for your headline phrase – how to negotiate for what your opponent wants. I will happily adopt it. Thanks.
Earl calls this “Obamafication” – but actually such pre-compromising and capitulation are locked into Democratic DNA – Clinton on NAFTA and so many other of his triangulating dealings with the Rethugs; the Progressive Caucus caving like a house of cards on the health insurance give away and vote after vote after vote on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; and now the upcoming murder of Social Security by the Catfood Commission, after Pelosi got the House to sign off, before the fact, on whatever the Commission recommends to the Senate and the Senate approves. These are all of a piece.
I think it has more to do with the democrats and republicans being the same party than with the democrats being such ignorant cowards, in other words the democrats want the same results as the republicans but they have to pretend to disagree so people continue to buy into the fallacy of the two party system.
After all the maneuvering, Capito announced this morning that she will not run for the Senate seat. Some WV Republicans are expressing anger at the decision because of all the wrangling in the legislature to accommodate her. Now WV is stuck with an expensive special election process that we don’t need. So much for Republicans being the party of fiscal responsibility.
Rather than face Manchin head to head for the Senate seat, Capito wants to run against a weaker Democrat for governor when Manchin is gone. At least she wouldn’t be my Congresswoman any more.
Democrats think negotiating with a republican is a lot like wooing a woman. You have to kiss their ass a lot and do anything they tell you to do. THEN they’ll respect you!