Just as dispiriting, party regulars chose as the convicted Norman's successor Assemblyman Vito Lopez, an old-time ward heeler from Bushwick who has never shown a zeal for reform until, gee whiz, now. He vows the party will consult a panel of learned men and women, such as Brooklyn Law School's dean, about picking quality judges.
We've seen this movie before, and the ending stinks. Two years ago, Norman and party district leaders, Lopez included, pledged they would never support a candidate for a judgeship who had not been approved by an independent screening commission. This year, for the first time, the panel reviewed Civil Court candidates.
And guess what? The party shoehorned two lawyers onto the bench without any screening. Kenny Sherman, son of district leader Roberta Sherman, will get a 10-year Civil Court term without so much as a primary. And Canarsie Assemblyman Frank Seddio was awarded an uncontested ballot line for Surrogate's Court. So much for quality control. So much for keeping your word.
In my experience
the DCCC is completely un-ideological. They back candidates who they think can win, and they run the spectrum from Blue Dog to Progressive. It is true, however, that many Progressives get the shaft because they run lousy campaigns - maybe some food for thought on our part.
But again, that's something different than what I'm talking about here. New York incumbents tend to have their seats for as long as they want them. Or when is the last time a sitting Democrat was defeated? I honestly can't recall.
So the issue becomes not the conduct of the DCCC, but that of the Members of Congress. And yes, they need to be at the front of the line in terms of donating money to their committee. The DCCC is the linchpin of the effort to expand our majority, after all.