Across The Fence With Mark Meckler

Facing Tough Primary, Long Time Incumbent IN Rep. Dan Burton Calls it Quits

The Campaign for Primary Accountability (“CPA”)  aims to expose long time incumbents who are part of the problem on either side of the aisle.  It looks like they have worked some magic in Indiana.

“[A] January survey, conducted by the Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research (R) for the Campaign for Primary Accountability, showed Burton at 29 percent, former Rep. David McIntosh at 20 percent, 2010 candidate John McGoff at 14 percent, Jack Lugar at 11 percent and former U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks at four percent.”

Burton announced his intent to retire not long after this survey came out.   Coincidence?  Unlikely.  Polls like this can’t be good for an incumbent.  Not looking good for the Ruling Elite in 2012.

This is from  the CPA website:

“Citizens from across the political spectrum have come together to level the playing field in primary elections through the Campaign for Primary Accountability’s Equalizer Campaign. The Equalizer Campaign gives voters the facts they need to make informed decisions. Incumbents usually have a “message monopoly” during primaries; they raise more money (mostly from lobbyists and special interests) and use those funds to tell voters all of the “wonderful” things they have done. But they never speak of the earmarks, pay raises, junkets and generalized corruption that have infected politics in Washington, D.C.  Our goal is to bring true competition to our electoral process, to give voters real information about their choices, and to restore fair, not fixed, elections.”

This is a fight between the Ruling Elite and the People.  The Ruling Elite of both parties have been winning for a long time.  It’s time to create some accountability and put the People back in charge.  This approach seems like a good idea to me.