if corey does not win for congress, we should get him to run for state rep/senator in 2006/8.
great guy with tremendous potential.

I couldn't agree more. What districts does he live in? the party could use his energy and ideas. He would make a fine state rep or senator in the city.

Ditto.

I agree about Corey and the state legislature. In the meantime I think he should follow Mike Evans lead and endorse Jeff. We will all be better served by consolidating the progressive support.

I don't think that Corey should drop out and endorse Jeff. Corey's got ethics, values and morals. And he's got a chance at this race. GO COREY!!! We're rooting for you!

I like Corey as a person and agree with him on almost all issues, but if he continues to delude himself into thinking he has a chance in this race I have to seriously question his political instincts. Corey simply does not have the ground game or the infra structure to win this election. He will not even be close. The only role Corey can play is spoiler.

If he is either so self-absorbed to not be willing to drop out so that a progressive can win this race or so deluded not to recognize that he has no chance, I would have to think long and hard before I would suppport him in any other race.

I completely agree. Even Kucinich finally got out of the race. He could cost a progressive candidate like Jeff Smith the race. My guess is that Corey is likely to get less than 1,000 votes. Those could make the difference between Stoll and Jeff. He has a couple of days to take action. I think his future will be far brighter if he does. He has run an admirable campaign. I hope he does the right thing.

Raise your hand if you are a Jeff Smith supporter and Anti-Democratic System supporter. I see we have a couple here today. The Mohn supporters believe that he will get more than 1,000 votes. Corey - we are proud of you - don't let them get to you. They do seem to be a little more concerned than they were earlier in the race - any ideas? I have a couple.

If Corey believes that a scenario exists that he can win he should stay in the race.

If he chooses to stay in the race to further a personal or policy cause that is a choice only he can weigh.

If he chooses to help leverage the support he has built through his campaign to send a progressive to Washington and prevent a (to be kind)back-bencher in Carnahan or a Social Conservative in Barry or Stoll from holding this seat for the next 10-30 years I would be proud of him.

Only Corey can make these choices. I hope he considers his choices. He has the potential for a bright future. He has made a real contribution to St. Louis and this race through his campaign. He could have an impact on this race. He can play a role in defining what that impact will be.

I hardly think such a suggestion is anti-democratic.

I'm agreeing with Mitch alot today. That is dead-spot on analysis.

I do take issue with the "anti-democratic" comment however. Are Howard Dean, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Carol Mosley-Braun, Dick Gephardt, Al Sharpton...anti-democratic because they withdrew from the Presidential race? Of course not. They looked at the political landscape and decided there was no path to victory and withdrew. Sometimes there is a good reason to stay in a race even after it is clear you will lose. Mitch lists them all.

I have spent plenty of time tilting at windmills and know that while futile, it can make a difference. I just think that his race is one where a real victory for progressives is more important than making a point.

If Corey had a chance at winning this, he would definitely be among the top two candidates for me. IMO he has no chance at victory. If he does please explain it to me b/c I can't see it.

You take issue with my anti-democratic comment – but the Mohn supporters can’t take issue with these comments about our candidate - “self-absorbed” and “deluded”. I think we have found the delusional supporters in this group. You are assuming that one participates in a Congressional race simply to win. There is not doubt that winning is one of Mohn’s goals, but remember that his key goal THROUGHOUT the entire election was to make issues matter. If someone agrees with him on those issues then they vote for him – if they don't agree his position than at least they know why and can vote for the candidate that supports their views. There has been no backing down or dilution of this basic belief.
Also, you comment about, “his future will be far brighter if he does (drop from the race and support Jeff Smith)” is absurd. This from a progressive - you really think that the only way you will vote for him in the future is if he closes shop and makes sure your candidate wins? Maybe some candidates don’t concern themselves with what this means for the future or worry about setting themselves up for a sure fire win somewhere else. We are here and now – not positioning for a future election. I don’t think you realize the severity of what you are implying. I promise you, I have nothing against Jeff Smith - but Mohn is my candidate, period – and Jeff is yours – we should agree that we both like different candidates and stop trying to push people out of the race. Also - just to address your presidential candidate reference, those candidates dropped out after many different election results were known - we have yet to even see one election result for this race. Let's put on the breaks.

Mitch & Mike: it's nearly impossible to have a debate with a true believer; and I know, I've been on both sides of those arguments. It's a shame that a candidate that cannot win doesn't have the decency and cajones to step aside and support a winning effort, potentially sending someone to Congress with 95% of their own values and policy stands. But true believers can't see that wisdom. And their candidates are often too locked in on making points or winning moral victories, rather than on assuring the best outcome. This is a cut-and-dried example of someone opting for vanity, rather than seeing their policies championed by someone else, one who has a greater chance to enacting them into reality. Thomas.

I guess I can handle you claiming that Mohn doesn't have the "cajones" to step aside if that is how you feel (although Joan Barry might have a problem with that) but calling it "vanity" for someone to put their voice and vote behind the candidate they feel will best represent the district is preposterous.

Brad, Thomas is saying that it is vanity for Corey to continue to stay in the race when it is clear to virtually everyone aside from his most strident supporters that there is no conceivable way he can win.

Voters are free to vote for whomever they want. I know some people who still want to write-in Howard Dean on the Presidential ballot. I'm tempted to do the same, then I think about four more years of George Bush.

Thomas is exactly right that sometimes you can never convince the true believers. That is particularly true if you have worked on the campaign and poured your soul out for the candidate. I know; I've been there more than once. I truly understand your undying support for Corey.

Having fought these battles in the past and lost, I am very excited with Jeff Smith's candidacy. He is the brightest, hardest working progressive Democrat that I have met in politics and he has a great chance to WIN this race. Jeff can recite the most detailed policy off the top of his head, but he has far more than an encylopedic knowledge of policy. Jeff brings a fresh and creative view to old problems. He is a person I will be proud to call my Congressperson for years to come.

If I seem too zealous in my assault on Corey's candidacy, it is only because of my excitement over the prospect of Jeff being elected to Congress and the real possibility that it will happen, combined with the scars of elections past where I voted for ideas and not victories.

I would love to see a real progressive coalition develop in this race. We need more than one congressperson who is progressive. We need to win state wide and local races as well. It would be inspiring if Corey's and Jeff's supporters could come together for the common cause of electing progressives in this election and elections for years to come.

The best chance we have of winning this race is with Jeff. If you look at his position on the issues and take the time to see him in person, there is no way not to be impressed.

First: I agree with Brad's comment about the presidential race. However, he failed to point out the absurdity of giving the first few states that hold primaries the power to chose our democratic candidate. I'm pleased to have Kerry as the democratic nominee, but as many Missourian's probably feel, I felt cheated. The point of the primaries is to find the candidate that is going to best represent the interests of democrats in America (not in Iowa). There's no such thing as a spoiler in a primary. Perhaps results of early primaries should not be released until after all primaries have been held.

Second: Asking candidates to step out of the race is an equivalent campaign tactic to Federer asking for people to vote for a republican (since republicans control the house, he'll be able to represent Missouri better than a democrat). Jeff Smith, his volunteers, and supporters need to focus on getting his name and message out to voters. That is how you earn votes.

Third: I don't think Jeff Smith will be within the 1,000 vote range (that Mitch expected Corey to be lucky to recieve) to put him over the top to win the primary. Even if he was, there is no guarantee that those votes would go to Jeff Smith. I don't know that I'd vote for him. I have serious questions into how he's run his campaign.

Fourth: While we are on the topic of how campaigns are run...If anyone has been paying attention to Corey, they'd realize that stepping down to endorse a candidate with money or name recognition would go against what Corey stands for. It's not about voting for the candidate that has the name or money, it's about voting for the candidate that fits your beliefs the best (especially in this primary). I know there are a lot of people out there that would vote for Corey if he had more money. Those people include supporters of Jeff and Mark Smith, as well as Barry. If those people put their support behind him instead of encouraging others to vote for the candidate with the most money, then perhaps he'd have a better shot, and we could really see the democratic system in action. With ten candidates in the field there is no way to predict the outcome. With such a low percentage (20-25%) of the vote be able to win the primary, this is truly a time when your vote does matter.

Finally: I think you are putting way too much weight on getting a "true progressive" in office. Yes, it would be nice, but the democratic system is worth just as much. I'd be happy to support almost all of the democratic candidates should they win the primary (including Barry or even Stoll not Favazza). I believe they will represent the interests of their constituents well.

Good luck Susan, Brad and Corey. I hope we can all be happy with the results on Tuesday and work together to elect whoever wins the primary to Congress to serve with President Kerry.

I would like to contact Corey Mohn, if you read this, please contact me.