General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Contrary to popular opinion, DU is supposed to be for politically *liberal* people. Either that or [View all]MineralMan
(146,317 posts)who can possibly be elected in a particular district. In some districts, that won't be very progressive at all, unfortunately, but if that person will vote with the Democratic caucus in Congress, it's better than the inevitable Republican.
In Minnesota, CD-6, currently represented by Michele Bachmann, is in play in 2014. Bachmann won in 2012 with less than 2% of the vote, and the Democrat who ran against her was not one I would call very progressive. In 2014, Democrats can win that seat in Congress, but not if the candidate in the general election is as much of a progressive as Betty McCollum, the representative in neighboring CD-4. For a Democrat to win in CD-6, it will take a Democrat who can gain some moderate Republican votes. There simply aren't enough Democratic voters in that district to do anything else.
Looking at Bachmann's voting record, it's easy to see that any Democrat who will vote with the Democratic caucus in the House most of the time would be an enormous improvement. Meantime, in CD-4, we'll elect Betty McCollum again. Most people outside of her district have never heard of her. A look at her record, though, tells the tale.