I generally don’t like to criticize other progressive Florida bloggers — there isn’t much to be gained by it — and I try to only do it when I think that what they are saying is detrimental to the causes I’m pursuing or if they personally go after me or someone I like and respect. That being said, I have to respond to Tally’s recent diary at FLA Politics, since he goes after both me, suggesting I’m, at best, naive, and a candidate I endorsed, like and respect — Dan Gelber.
For the most part, I respect the writing that Tally does, he usually has well-thought-out pieces that, even if I don’t always agree with them, they make a good case and are worth reading. Tally and I have also personally talked politics in person in the past and he’s helped me out before, so I have no problem with him personally, just with the content of this recent diary.
There are several factual inaccuracies in what Tally says, including his basic premise. He basically argues that because Dan Gelber has jumped from the Senate race to the Attorney General’s race, that myself and The Spencerian (another blogger who endorsed Gelber) got “rolled.” He goes on to say that this proves that Gelber isn’t a fighter and that is, instead, an “opportunistic phony.” There are so many problems with this that it’s difficult to know where to start.
First off, Gelber hasn’t actually left the Senate race. The article that Tally links to emphatically says this. It says Gelber is considering it. Tally reports it as if it has already happened. It may happen. It may be inevitable. But to report it as if it were a fact right now isn’t exactly intellectually honest.
Let’s say it does happen, which it might. Does that mean that I got rolled? No. Very little in my endorsement suggested that the only job that Gelber was fit for was U.S. Senate. To be fair, my post was more an endorsement of Gelber in general than it was specifically a Senate endorsement. Only a few lines in the entire post even refer to the Senate.
Would giving up on the Senate race prove Gelber’s not a fighter? Not at all. Again, check out my endorsement (Tally links to it). When I talk about Gelber as a fighter, I talk about him fighting Republicans. I talk, specifically, about him fighting Republicans in Tallahassee. I don’t at all mention him fighting other Democrats or fighting to win a specific seat. He can just as easily, maybe more easily, fight Republicans as attorney general as he can as a U.S. Senator. Tally seems to think it would be a sign of weakness for Gelber to opt not to go into a tough primary where he’s down a lot in fundraising and might lose and even if he wins, then he faces an even tougher race in the general election. Gelber, if he runs for AG instead, might see it as a wiser choice, one that gives him a better chance to have an impact on people’s lives, to run in a race he has a much better chance of winning, particularly if he thinks Meek is someone that can win and do a good job as a Senator. Better to have two progressive Democrats in two seats than one in those two seats. And Gelber can’t help Floridians nearly at much if he’s sitting at home in January of 2011. Is fighting a battle that one has little chance to win a honorable thing? Particularly when there might be another battle that one could win? And when either position won would offer the ability to help people and improve the lives of Floridians? I’m not saying that I don’t think Gelber could beat Meek or Crist, I’m saying what if he thinks that is true. Don Quixote might be an entertaining character, but he’s far from a role model.
And what of the claim that Gelber is an “opportunistic phony”? I’ve already explained why someone who was out to serve the people of Florida might easily choose to drop out of the Senate race and run for AG in Gelber’s position. The logic is obvious, but does it match up with personal accounts of Gelber’s personality and personal characteristics? Tally takes himself to task for jumping to conclusions about Kendrick Meek before having met him in person. That argument makes a lot of sense. I’ve actually met Dan Gelber on several occasions. I’ve also personally interviewed him on the radio show several times and been on private conference calls with him as well. I’ve also read nearly every blog post he’s ever written, which is quite a few. In none of those occasions have I noted anything even remotely phony about him. I’ve noticed nothing opportunistic. In fact, in political terms, he’s one of the most genuine people I’ve ever interacted with. He’s very straightforward, he takes all questions, he gives real concrete answers and not political BS. And it isn’t just me. I’ve never met anyone who knows Gelber personally that ever had a bad thing to say about him. Dozens of people all personally vouch for him and nobody has a bad thing to say about him. Maybe Tally should take his own advice and actually meet the guy. It’s not that hard to do.
There are also several other premises that Tally puts forth that don’t hold up to closer scrutiny.
Tally seems to think that politicians are supposed to do whatever it is that he tells them and that for whatever reason, he knows what’s best for a candidate or for the state better than people who have actually been working on the problems we face for years. Politicians, of course, don’t represent individual people, though, they represent the people as a whole. What reason would a politician have to take the ideas and beliefs of one citizen more seriously than others? And, in particular, why would they take the advice of someone who has less experience and knowledge about elections and policy than they do? It doesn’t make sense to me. I contact candidates and officials all the time and let them know what I think about policy and other matters. I don’t expect them to drop everything and adopt my position, though. They don’t just represent me, they represent everyone. They represent the aggregate, not the individual.
He also goes on to complain about both the Gelber campaign and the Meek campaign not listening to his suggestions or taking them seriously. He almost seems to suggest that they were rude to him and that they only care about bloggers and activists when they can use us, they don’t care about what we think. My personal experience with both campaigns, though, is quite different. Both the Gelber and Meek campaigns have personally reached out to me and asked me for advice. They didn’t ask for advice on winning elections or on policy, though, they clearly know much more about those things than I do, so why would they ask me about those topics? Instead, they asked me for advice on a topic that I have publicly demonstrated some proficiency in — blogging and the Netroots. They recognized that I know more about this topic than they do, so they asked for advice and input. And both campaigns took that input seriously and acted upon it. Again, nothing personal against Tally, but has he demonstrated expertise at any of the things he suggested to the campaigns at a level that they would know to recognize him as an expert? Not that I’m aware of. A wise person doesn’t just take advice from anyone, a wise person takes advice from people that know more about the topic than they, themselves do.
Tally also makes several other dubious claims about Gelber, such that he “continually” claims the Obama mantle, that he’s always talking about how courageous he is and that he only talks about fighting and never actually does it. I’ve seen no evidence to back up these claims and Tally ignores the specific instance of Gelber fighting Republicans that I allude to in my endorsement.
Since the things that bloggers write and say are seen by any number of readers and they hang around on the Internet forever, I believe that we should have a purpose behind every post we do. Why post something if it doesn’t help us achieve some particular goal. I fail to see anything resembling a purpose behind Tally’s post.
I’m Kenneth Quinnell and I approve this message.
Tally does have a tendency to treat facts as liberally as the other side does.
Like for instance, the fact that he was begging dan to drop out of the senate race a few months ago to become the poster child for FairDistrictsFlorida.org
Its okay. We love Mike anyway.
I definitely didn’t get that Tally was providing Gelber’s possible run for Attorney General as a foregone conclusion. And as for the constructive vs. critical tone of the post, I think the ending shows that he is on the constructive side. He ends with a challenge to Gelber to be the candidate he says he is — a good one. Nothing wrong with that.
I admit that when I heard the media spin that once Crist got in the race, Gelber was getting out, I had a similar thought as Tally. Heck, if that’s all it took for him to get out, how serious was he to begin with? You could see Charlie lining up for the run from a mile away. Was it really a deal-breaker when he got in? On the other hand, I have no insights into the Gelber campaign so I don’t know if that’s just the media version or if it’s true. Time will tell.
Great response, Kenneth — as usual, I couldn’t have said it better myself.
In re-reading my own endorsement, I feel much the same way you do. I was as much endorsing the character and ability of Dan than his candidacy for the U.S. Senate.
Like the rest of us, I’ve heard the rumors about him possibly jumping over the the A.G.’s race, and I have to confess: I don’t see how that’s either us getting rolled, or him being politically cowardly.
Politics is the art of the possible, and if the numbers aren’t going to add up for you — against Meek in the primary, or against Crist in the general — then staying in a sure-loss race makes no sense whatsoever. But moving to a race where you have a shot, a real shot, a shot to get a good Democrat in a cabinet level post, then I have to say, that’s just good politics.
I have read many of Tally’s post, have seen a lot of his stuff and have nothing but respect for him and his work. On this score, I think he’s wrong.
Tally explicitly says it: “Their ‘fighter’ is jumping ship and is is leaving the US Senate race now that Charlie Crist has entered it.” Present-tense verb with no wiggle room. After Crist got in the race, Gelber didn’t say anything about jumping races, other people said it. When asked about it he said he was keeping options open and nothing else. Other people’s speculation is being reported as if it comes from Gelber. He may jump races and I think he will, but he hasn’t indicated any such thing.