Renier and Skinner ... Not Again.

Pepper’s Rule: Just because a candidate can recite the party talking points doesn’t mean he/she is electable.

In 2006 – a great year for Democrats – party leaders failed to unite behind solid candidates for Congress in the 7th and 9th Districts. Now these same candidates are talking about running again in 2008.

I am referring, specifically to Jackson County’s Sharon Renier in the 7th and Oakland County’s Nancy Skinner in the 9th. Many Democrats think these two have a great opportunity to do in 2008 what they failed to do in 2006: beat a Republican for Congress. The line of thinking goes as follows: Renier/Skinner had everything stacked against them -- no fundraising, no major campaign organization, no high-profile supporters, and yet they came SO CLOSE to knocking off an incumbent. Ergo, if we throw a lot of money their way, there is NO DOUBT they will win in 2008.

Let’s face facts. The reasons these races ended up being SO CLOSE was not because of the Democratic candidates’ strengths, but instead 1) the anti-Bush Democratic tide, and 2) out-of-touch Republican nominees. The sad truth is that Democrats failed to capitalize on Republican liabilities by fielding lousy candidates who couldn’t beat the damaged-good GOP nominees.

First, what’s wrong with Renier? She seems to say the right things right? Well, maybe. First of all, she raised next to no money. Second, she had no staff to help get our her message. Third, when she did come in contact with the public, she rarely left them with a favorable impression, compared to a candidate who employed a child abuser (Walberg). The Jackson Citizen Patriot included this anecdote as part of its rationale to endorse the deeply flawed Republican candidate Tim Walberg over Renier.

Renier embraces the concept of universal health care and would fund a system by taking the cap off Social Security earnings and taxing "rich" people. In a rant that was both crude and offensive, she said the Reaganesque "trickle-down" theory reminds her of urine -- as in "always p---ing on us." (November 3, 2006).

Nancy Skinner. In 2004, she ran for the U.S. Senate – in Illinois against Barack Obama! In 2006, she moved to Michigan, ostensibly to parlay a “career” as a talk-show host into a successful campaign for Congress, but no such luck. Realizing he had a battle on his hands, incumbent Republican Joe Knollenberg effectively tagged Skinner as a carpetbagger whose views on fuel-economy standards would destroy the auto industry in Michigan.

In short, I believe, the story behind these races is not “how close they were” but “how the Democrats managed to lose.” The reason is simple: bad candidates.

As we look to 2008, we are going to need seasoned and smart candidates with actual ideas, not run-of-the-mill Bush bashers who can recite talking points.

I hope we can do better this time. Our state needs better leadership than the kind Republicans are providing. But if we want that kind of leadership, we will actually have to find good leaders. Let’s think on that as various Democrats throw their hats into the ring.