Self-hating Jew to run for Congress in California
Moonbat Marcy Winograd, who twice challenged outgoing Representative Jane Harman (D-Cal) for the party's nomination and lost, is
likely to run again for Harman's seat now that Harman is retiring, unless she concludes that Secretary of State Debra Bowen is sufficiently anti-Israel.
Winograd told Hotline On Call her chief concerns are whether a Rep. Bowen would join the Out of Afghanistan Caucus and the Progressive Caucus in the House and whether she'd be willing to lead a peace delegation to Palestine.
"Right now we're seeing worldwide upheaval in the Middle East, and we need leaders who are going to pursue peace in an honest, forthright way," said Winograd. "I haven't heard back from her on those issues."
Winograd indicated after Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn announced her candidacy last week that she wanted a more progressive alternative in the race, and was particularly concerned about Hahn's support for Israel.
"Any one of us would be a big improvement over the representation we have," Winograd said of her old nemesis Harman, whose last day in Congress is Tuesday before she leaves to head the Woodrow Wilson Center. "The last thing we need is someone who's going to be a loyal soldier for [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee]. We need critical thinkers in Washington."
Winograd, who received 41 percent against Harman last June, said she's still "seriously considering" running and is being heavily encouraged by her supporters to get into the special election. She noted she still has high name recognition in the district, and it was "almost as though I never quit running." The high school English teacher lives just seven blocks outside the district, but state law doesn't require a candidate to live within the boundaries, and the district's lines will shift in redistricting.
"My decision will be based on what I hear in the platform of the candidates," said Winograd.
And while she reserved her judgment on Bowen's candidacy for Congress for now -- even noting she had hosted a fundraiser for her reelection last year -- Winograd did say she'd rather see Bowen stay as secretary of state.
Under California's bizarre open primary system, all candidates from both parties run together and the top two advance. So we could end up seeing Winograd running against a Democrat in the general election unless
Mattie Fein runs and finishes in the top two (GO MATTIE!).
J Street must be jumping for joy.
Labels: California 36, Debra Bowen, Jane Harman, Marcy Winograd, Mattie Fein
BREAKING: Mattie Fein may run for Harman's congressional seat
Representative Jane Harman (D-Cal) has announced that she is
resigning from Congress to become director of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington (Hat Tip:
Memeorandum). That will set off a special election in California's 36th district, which Harman has represented since 2000. In an email to me this evening, Harman's 2010 Republican opponent, Mattie Fein, told me that she is seriously considering running in the special election.
Harman, 65 , has held the southern California 36th district since 2000 when she upended then Rep. Steve Kuykendall (R). She also ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1998, losing a primary to then Lt. Gov. Gray Davis. Her husband, Sidney, is the owner of Newsweek magazine.
Harman's exit was a surprise to many Democrats who reported first hearing off it on the MSNBC airwaves. She did, however, let House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) know of her planned resignation before it went public, according to an informed source.
It will set off a special election in what has grown to be a reliably Democratic seat. President Obama won the seat in 2008 by 30 points and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry carried it by 19 in 2004.
The rest of the post at the Fix talks about potential Democratic candidates for Harman's seat - uber-Liberal Marcy Winograd (who is strongly anti-Israel) gave Harman a strong challenge in the 2010 primary.
Politico's Mike Allen reports that Harman resigned out of fear of
redistricting, although from what I recall seeing when I was in the US in December, California is slated to gain seats. I suspect there was another reason Harman resigned.
What's of greater interest to me is whether Mattie Fein, who ran against Harman in November's general election, will be a candidate, and whether she has a chance of winning. Mattie is
very strongly pro-Israel, was endorsed by former US Ambassador to the United Nations
John Bolton, and bolted into the spotlight via one of the
cleverest campaign ads of last November's elections.
I sent Mattie an email asking her whether she would consider running again, and here's her response:
As I predicted, and as reported by Forbes prior to the November 2, 2010 election, Harman seems to be retiring. Her run in 2010 was not only a collosal waste of time to voters of the 36th District, but frankly to those in the Jewish community that continued to pose the question to leadership in the Republican party and the Republican Jewish Coalition, "Tell me why Fein is better than Harman on Israel." The answer has been constant and sustainable in both my interviews with IsraelMatzav, blogger Eric Golub of Tygrrrr Express, and by being honored by the endorsement of Former Ambassador John Bolton.
As I had very different plans going forward both in the private business sector and on a personal level, I now found myself re-evaluating the plans I made to re-group the campaign, actively retire the campaign debt, and will be at CPAC this week in key meetings concerning the special election.
Run Mattie run!
Labels: California 36, Jane Harman, Marcy Winograd, Mattie Fein
Moonbat Marcy Winograd, who twice challenged outgoing Representative Jane Harman (D-Cal) for the party's nomination and lost, is likely to run again for Harman's seat now that Harman is retiring, unless she concludes that Secretary of State Debra Bowen is sufficiently anti-Israel. 
