GRITtv: Does An Outsider Stand A Chance In A Congressional Race?

You wouldn’t know it from watching mainstream media, but the Presidential horse race isn’t the only game in the 2008 electoral arena! In Congressional districts all around the country, challengers have emerged to run in Democratic primaries against the annointed Beltway insiders – be they Bush Dog Democrat or centrist and comfy incumbent? Who are these new progressive candidates emerging from grassroots support? And are these contested primaries good for the health of the Party – do they invigorate or dissipate the wave of Democratic energy, mounting in the 2008 electoral season?

GRITtv speaks with two progressive Congressional candidates swimming upstream, who talk about a new perspective on winning for the Democratic Party in 2008. With the Republicans in disarray in New York’s 13th Congressional District – a DWI arrest and recently disclosed love child booting long-term incumbent Vito Fossella from the race -Democrat Steve Harrison, who came closer than any Democrat in 2006 to taking the seat without DCCC support, is running hard in 2008 to capture the nomination. And in New Jersey’s 1st District, in a case of marital tag-teaming – while husband, Rob is challenging Frank Lautenberg for the Senate, Camille Andrews is the prototypical placeholder candidate with the DCCC stamp of approval for the House. Her challenger and first-time Congressional candidate, Dr. Mahdi Ibn-Ziyad, an African-American Muslim activist and Rutgers professor of ethics and criminal justice join Laura and Steve Harrison for a chat about inside/outside electoral strategy and reality.

Also in this hour of GRITtv: David Bender on Hillary and the RFK flap, "Meeting Resistance", Dr. Dahlia Wasfi, and Stop The Clash of Civilizations.

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3. CA-10: National Media’s Forgotten Race Proves Victory for Progressives
4. GRITtv Live: One Year Later, What’s Changed?
5. NJ-Gov: Polls Show Very Tight Race Between Corzine, Christie