In San Francisco it is the Democrats vs. the Democrats in San Francisco

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In other cities the Democrats and the Republicans bicker with each other. But this is San Francisco so it's the Democrats against the other Democrats.

The Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club sent a formal letter to Aaron Peskin, chair of the Democratic County Central Committee protesting the DCCC's tactics against moderate candidates Mark Farrell, Scott Wiener, Theresa Sparks, and Steve Moss in the election last November. The committee paid for mailers that charged that the four were backed by ''far-right millionaire,'' Tom Coates.

"Such tactics don't win elections for Democrats,'' the letter says. "Rather they undermine morale and distract our party from fighting conservative propaganda and falsehoods.''

Farrell and Wiener won their races and in general the November elections were seen as a loss for the Peskin-led progressives who control the DCCC, which explains why he was dismissive of the charges.

"Must be a slow news day,'' Peskin texted. "I always tried to be gracious in victory.''

The Toklas Club, generally considered a moderate LGBT organization, is probably raising the issue with an eye toward November's mayoral election. Since a moderate Democratic candidate would likely face the same kind of attacks from the DCCC, the Toklas Club letter asks that the committee take up the issue for a "full, robust discussion'' Jan. 26.

As to the issue of whether the candidates took money from Republican Coates, it is complicated. Coates did contribute several hundred thousands dollars to the election. The money didn't go to the candidates, but into a fund called "independent expenditures.'' The candidates had no say in where the money went from there, nor did they have any approval over any mailers or ads. But the money did support the moderates.

So you make the call. There's only two things we can say with certainty. There will be plenty of drama at the Jan. 26 meeting. And second, not everyone will be happy when it is over.

Posted By: C.W. Nevius (Email) | January 18 2011 at 04:30 PM

Listed Under: City government