Emily's List vs. Progressive Steve Cohen
Well this is a fine mess. Emily's List is attacking pro-choice and progressive Steve Cohen because he's a man running against a woman. Emily's List is supporting the only Democratic female candidate in the primary for Congressman Harold Ford's seat. Emily's List is supporting Nikki Tinker because she's pro-choice and because she's a woman.
What's a pro-choice girrl to do?
Gender and Choice are Emily's List only concerns. The sole mission of Emily's List is to elect pro-choice Democratic women.
That's an excellent mission and we certainly support it.
However, trashing a pro-choice man with a 24 year record of supporting the full spectrum of progressive values in the Tennessee State Senate is no way to get this pro-choice woman's vote.
A recent mass mailing sent out by Emily's List attacked State Senator Steve Cohen for a host of dubious crimes, including "opposition to state funding of K-12 programs." We don't think Emily's List knows what it's talking about. And neither do these folks:
The National, Tennessee, and Memphis Education Associations Endorse Steve Cohen for Congress
Nikki Tinker claims she is not responsible for the mailings attacking Cohen, but the facts suggest otherwise:
Memphis Flyer:
The official position of 9th District congressional candidate Nikki Tinker is that she was not involved in the distribution of a mass mailout attacking opponent Steve Cohen for various alleged failings – including chronic absenteeism in the state Senate, opposition to state funding of K-12 programs, and over-protectiveness toward the sex-shop industry. But Tinker will decline to repudiate the mailer, said campaign spokesperson Joshua Phillips on Thursday.
“We can’t repudiate something somebody else has done,” Phillips said. He held to that formulation even when reminded that the mailer, distributed by the Emily’s List organization out of Washington, D.C., made use of the Tinker campaign’s official logo and pictures and other information copyrighted by the campaign. Phillips maintained that the glossy, multi-page color mailout was not funded, directly or indirectly, by Tinker's campaign.
The Emily’s List mailer is one of two that have attacked Cohen on Tinker’s behalf in recent weeks. The first did not mention Cohen by name, but its unflattering description of "a quixotic state legislator of questionable effectiveness” was clearly meant to denote Cohen, and the mailer’s characterization of him as “…not a good fit for this district" was taken by many to be an allusion to the senator’s not being an African American.
With the August 3rd Democratic primary a week away, Cohen is generally acknowledged to be leading other candidates in the Democratic primary field of 15. Perhaps not coincidentally, he has increasingly become the target of a variety of negative campaign tactics – ranging from a push-poll paid for by the campaign of opponent Ed Stanton Jr. that focused in part on his religion (Cohen is Jewish) to a television ad from opponent Julian Bolton.
Bolton's ad criticized Cohen for his purported support of pro-marijuana legislation (the senator favors legalization of medically prescribed marijuana) and same-sex marriage (Cohen voted against a constitutional-amendment initiative defining marriage as exclusively heterosexual), and reminding viewers that Cohen had objected to sectarian prayers in the legislature.
Much of the reaction to the mailer is based on the fact that Cohen has generally been regarded as a stout supporter of women's rights and legislation supporting gender equality.
State Senator Steve Cohen always comes down solidly on the side of Choice. Given his consistently progressive voting record, one can only surmise that for Emily's List - gender does indeed trump progressive credentials.
Nikki Tinker may possibly be almost as progressive as Steve Cohen, but we doubt it, and unlike Tinker, Cohen has a very well-documented record of supporting the full spectrum of progressive values. If politicos have taught us anything, they have taught us that talk is dirt cheap. I see no reason to abandon one of the most progressive elected officials this state has ever seen simply because of gender and/or race.
As much as I want more women in office, as much as I want more racial minorities in office, gender and race do not trump progressive credentials.
But Senator Cohen has something even more impressive than progressive credentials.
Steve Cohen is a Democrat with a spine!
I think we all know that in Washington they call that an endangered species.
Cohen for Congress!
What they're saying:
Emily's List... Are you stupid?
Dear Emily...
For the sake of your own credibility, I suggest rethinking this whole Tinker endorsement. I can understand if you don’t feel up to endorsing a male candidate---
Head to Head: Cohen vs. Tinker
This week a slick color mailer circulated throughout Memphis. The missive was a declaration of Emily's List's sapphic adoration for Nikki Tinker. It was also a hit piece designed to deballify District 9 frontrunner Steve Cohen. Memphis' progressive bloggers united like a giant Asian robot programmed to play Elvis songs and said...
Tinker can't show up to a candidate forum when every other declared candidate could.
Now most everyone here in Memphis thinks Tinker is a sham, corporatist, DLC'er who's run a horrible campaign. . . I'm sorry Emily's List got sucked into supporting Tinker, but they really stepped in it when they had a Tinker mail-out with stock photos trying to make it seem like Tinker cared about real Memphians.
I arrived at the real home of EMILY's List in my fair city: a mailbox!
Hat tip to Leftwing Cracker
Memphis Stonewall Democrats endorse Steve Cohen for U.S. Congress
The Sierra Club Endorses Steve Cohen for Congress
Iron Workers Endorse Steve Cohen for Congress
United Food and Commercial Workers Endorse Cohen
Tennessee Fire Fighters Endorse Steve Cohen
The Commercial Appeal Endorses Steve Cohen for Congress
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Endorses Steve Cohen for Congress
Steve Cohen Gender Nikki Tinker Emily's List Harold Ford Cohen for Congress News Politics Election 2006 Democrats Tennessee Memphis
