THIS TIME WE JUST KNOW THE MAGINOT LINE WILL HOLD

Democrats saw Davis was in trouble: STATE'S CONGRESSIONAL GROUP HATCHED EFFORT TO DUMP UNITY STRATEGY, PREPARE FALLBACK (Jim Puzzanghera, Aug. 09, 2003, San Jose Mercury News)

Speaking with voters in their districts in recent weeks, members of California's Democratic congressional delegation quickly sensed trouble: Gov. Gray Davis was in real danger of losing the recall.

So as state and national party leaders settled on a strategy of uniting behind Davis and keeping all other Democrats off the Oct. 7 ballot, many of the state's 33 congressional Democrats developed a strategy of their own: revolt.

In public criticism and behind-the-scenes maneuvering, the House Democrats pushed hard for a backup Democratic candidate to be on the ballot. Instead, they got two -- Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi. Now the delegation is leading an effort to get the party to coalesce behind one of them in hopes of keeping the governor's office in Democratic hands. [...]

But perhaps more important, congressional Democrats don't have the same concerns about speaking out against Davis as their colleagues in state government, said Bruce Cain, a political-science professor at the University of California-Berkeley. State legislators have to worry that an angered Davis might veto their legislation. And all state elected officials have to worry about crossing powerful California unions backing the governor, Cain said.

Those unions focus their money and effort on state issues, not federal. The California Teachers Association, for example, contributed $3.2 million in 2002 to state candidates and groups. During the same period, the union gave just $55,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Perhaps the only strategy sillier than counting on the French line to hold against the Germans is to count on politicians to contain their personal ambitions. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 9, 2003 5:23 PM