Progressives rage at DCCC after it attacks Texas candidate for âbegrudginglyâ moving to Houston
Laura Moser
Laura Moser  a candidate in a Democratic congressional primary in Texas . (Michael Stravato for The Washington Post)
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is taking fire from the left after months of relative peace  thanks to a document put online the night of Feb. 22 â a collection of opposition research on  Laura Moser   a progressive candidate in Texasâs competitive 7th Congressional District.
As  Moser  was attending a campaign event  the DCCC posted a short but brutal collection of hits on  Moser  that would be likely used against  her  if  she  won the Democratic nomination. The 7th District is one of 23 where Hillary Clinton outpolled Donald Trump in 2016  while voters sent a Republican congressman to Washington.
âDemocratic voters need to hear that  Laura Moser  is not going to change Washington â the committee wrote. â She  is a Washington insider  who begrudgingly moved to Houston to run for Congress.â
 Moser  responded later Thursday night  saying in a statement that the DCCCâs tactics represented âwhy people hate politicsâ and hurt the effort to take Congress back from Republicans.
âWeâre used to tough talk here in Texas  but itâs disappointing to hear it from Washington operatives â  she  said.
 Moser  did relocate to  her  native Houston last year and began running for Congress  with  her  move back home â after launching Daily Action  a campaign tool for progressives frustrated by Trump â as part of the story. The DCCC  which has seen plenty of candidates brought down by residence issues  came to view  her  as unelectable.
âVoters in Houston have organized for over a year to hold [Republican Rep. John Abney] Culberson accountable and win this Clinton district â said DCCC communications director Meredith Kelly. âUnfortunately   Laura Moserâs  outright disgust for life in Texas disqualifies  her  as a general election candidate and would rob voters of their opportunity to flip Texasâs 7th in November.â
The DCCCâs memo hit  Moser  for paying Revolution Messaging  the firm where  her  husband  Arun Chaudhary  had worked since 2012  to produce  her  TV ads. But its main attack lines were backed up by an article  Moser  wrote for Washingtonian in 2014  where  she  joked that  she âd âsooner have my teeth pulled out without anesthesiaâ than move to  her  grandparentsâ home in Paris  Tex. Paris is a small city more than 300 miles from the 7th District; the DCCC warned that voters would not process the nuance.
Both  Moser âs campaign and the DCCC saw  her  in a strong position to win one of two runoff slots in the March 6 Democratic primary. With early voting underway  and Democratic turnout in Houstonâs Harris County undergoing a historic surge  the DCCC pounced.
But the way it did so  advertising what Republicans might use to beat  Moser   sparked outrage across the left. At Daily Kos  a popular group blog that crowdfunds for Democratic candidates  a diarist wondered whether the move against  Moser  âmay have something to do with the candidate selection role the Blue Dog Coalition is playing at the DCCC.â The People for Bernie Sanders  a progressive group organized to support the Vermont senatorâs 2016 presidential campaign  called âfor the DCCC board to investigate how the decision was reached and publish the findings publicly.â There was an additional factor: Revolution Messaging had worked for Sanders  and Chaudhary had worked as the campaignâs photographer.
 Moser  is not the only progressive candidate in the district primary  and several of  her  rivals back universal Medicare  which has become a litmus test on the left. But  her  race has attracted national attention as an example of progressive candidates bristling as well-established Democratic organizations backed their rivals. On Thursday morning  the Intercept  which has been publishing articles on how the DCCC works  highlighted  Moser âs race and the involvement of Emilyâs List with party donor Lizzie Pannill Fletcher.
[TGT]  . (Michael Stravato for The Washington Post)
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is taking fire from the left after months of relative peace  thanks to a document put online the night of Feb. 22 â a collection of opposition research on   [TGT]    a progressive candidate in Texasâs competitive 7th Congressional District.
As   [TGT] was attending a campaign event  the DCCC posted a short but brutal collection of hits on  Moser  that would be likely used against  her  if  she  won the Democratic nomination. The 7th District is one of 23 where Hillary Clinton outpolled Donald Trump in 2016  while voters sent a Republican congressman to Washington.
âDemocratic voters need to hear that   [TGT]   is not going to change Washington â the committee wrote. â  [TGT]   is a Washington insider  who begrudgingly moved to Houston to run for Congress.â
 Moser  responded later Thursday night  saying in a statement that the DCCCâs tactics represented âwhy people hate politicsâ and hurt the effort to take Congress back from Republicans.
âWeâre used to tough talk here in Texas  but itâs disappointing to hear it from Washington operatives â  she  said.
  [TGT] did relocate to  her  native Houston last year and began running for Congress  with  her  move back home â after launching Daily Action  a campaign tool for progressives frustrated by Trump â as part of the story. The DCCC  which has seen plenty of candidates brought down by residence issues  came to view  her  as unelectable.
âVoters in Houston have organized for over a year to hold [Republican Rep. John Abney] Culberson accountable and win this Clinton district â said DCCC communications director Meredith Kelly.  [TGT]  [TGT]   as a general election candidate and would rob voters of their opportunity to flip Texasâs 7th in November.â
The DCCCâs memo hit  Moser  for paying Revolution Messaging  the firm where  her  husband  Arun Chaudhary  had worked since 2012  to produce  her  TV ads. But its main attack lines were backed up by an article  Moser  wrote for Washingtonian in 2014  where  she  joked that  she âd âsooner have my teeth pulled out without anesthesiaâ than move to  her  grandparentsâ home in Paris  Tex. Paris is a small city more than 300 miles from the 7th District; the DCCC warned that voters would not process the nuance.
Both  Moser âs campaign and the DCCC saw  her  in a strong position to win one of two runoff slots in the March 6 Democratic primary. With early voting underway  and Democratic turnout in Houstonâs Harris County undergoing a historic surge  the DCCC pounced.
But the way it did so  advertising what Republicans might use to beat  Moser   sparked outrage across the left. At Daily Kos  a popular group blog that crowdfunds for Democratic candidates  a diarist wondered whether the move against  Moser  âmay have something to do with the candidate selection role the Blue Dog Coalition is playing at the DCCC.â The People for Bernie Sanders  a progressive group organized to support the Vermont senatorâs 2016 presidential campaign  called âfor the DCCC board to investigate how the decision was reached and publish the findings publicly.â There was an additional factor: Revolution Messaging had worked for Sanders  and Chaudhary had worked as the campaignâs photographer.
 Moser  is not the only progressive candidate in the district primary  and several of  her  rivals back universal Medicare  which has become a litmus test on the left. But  her  race has attracted national attention as an example of progressive candidates bristling as well-established Democratic organizations backed their rivals. On Thursday morning  the Intercept  which has been publishing articles on how the DCCC works  highlighted  Moser âs race and the involvement of Emilyâs List with party donor Lizzie Pannill Fletcher.