The Desert Sun Editor Salivates Over 45th Congressional Race
 |
Desert Observer's Page Palm Springs, CA. Every Sunday (sometimes less so) The Desert Sun's executive editor Rick Green pens an opinion column in the paper. This week's offering devotes considerable space to once again reminding us that Palm Springs mayor Steve Pougnet is running against incumbent Rep. Mary Bono Mack for the 45th Congressional District seat - a contest to be decided 18 months from now. While most of the valley has greeted this happening with barely stifled yawns, Green obviously sees this as an opportunity to initiate episodic news reports that may help sell newspapers. One problem with his enthusiasm is the outcome of the race between Pougnet and Bono Mack is quite predictable. |
Green's newspaper and its editorial staff are and always have been firmly in Bono Mack's corner. Pougnet has no big campaign coffers and needs to independently raise huge sums of money in order to mount a serious challenge. Unless he's successful in that endeavor, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, while making lots of supportive sounds, won't be adding him to their funding list. As other Democratic challengers before him have learned, you can't win Bono Mack's seat without a ton of money!
Last year Democratic candidate Julie Bornstein ran a good but under funded campaign in a year when Obama managed to win a majority of county votes. Bornstein still lost that race to Bono Mack 58% to 41%. The next time around in 2010 is considered an off-year affair and turnout will be much lower than it was in 2008. Pougnet will find fewer Democratic votes out there on election day and absolutely no support for his candidacy will come from district conservatives. Also, Pougnet has few significant accomplishments under his belt from a 17 month tenure as mayor of Palm Springs; is running in a very conservative district as a gay candidate who recently married his male partner; and he hasn't managed to produce a comprehensive campaign platform nor establish district-wide credibility. So far, many strikes and no hits!
Why is Mayor Steve Pougnet running against Rep. Mary Bono Mack in 2010? It has to be in order to gain some campaign experience, increase his name recognition and hope Lady Luck will smile on him when he tries again in 2012. It's a risk for Palm Springs residents may not take kindly to a Mayor who's lost interest in sticking around and is using his job as a stepping stone to run for another position. His term is up in 2011 and voters may decide someone else would do a better job as the city's Mayor. In the meantime, The Desert Sun will serialize the effort, often breathlessly, in the hope it sells newspapers. As for readers, some may rightfully hope the newspaper would devote more coverage to actual news-we-can-use, but that's probably too much to expect.
Postscript. The newspaper's website has a new page at www.mydesert.com/45th that's devoted to the 45th Congressional District race. There you'll find even more than the Encyclopedia Britannica would care to tell us about the 2010 race and the candidates. Also, early viewers may appreciate the new page is almost devoid of advertisements - but don't expect that to last - so better hurry.
Posted by Desert Observer at 5/17/2009 11:08 AM 
Categories: Opinion, The Desert Sun
Tags: Steve Pougnet Rick Green Politics Mary Bono Mack The Desert Sun 45th Congressional District
Categories: Opinion, The Desert Sun
Tags: Steve Pougnet Rick Green Politics Mary Bono Mack The Desert Sun 45th Congressional District
Comments