In August of 2006, a man named Tim Walberg (R-Tipton) defeated incumbent Congressman Joe Schwarz (R-Battle Creek) in the Republican primary. Those that live in Michigan's 7th District may remember the vicious primary campaign, in which Walberg-- funded by the Club for Growth and other radical right-wing groups-- destroyed the name and good work of a dedicated public servant. Schwarz was conservative, but he was honest and hard-working, and was one of the few "good" Republicans left. And Tim Walberg, a former far-right minister, attacked Schwarz without mercy.

A few days after the primary, I started a blog called Walberg Watch. Originally hosted on Blogspot, I wanted to create an online record of Walberg's extreme positions as the 2006 election approached, facing the terribly underfunded Democratic nominee Sharon Renier. Walberg won that election by just four percent, and I found myself with a new blogging mission: following Tim Walberg's adventure through what will hopefully be his only term in the United States House of Representatives.

Over the last two years, a lot has changed, with much of it building toward the re-launch at the new www.WalbergWatch.com. Below the fold, I'd like to walk you through some of the additions to Walberg Watch. I'm excited by what we can accomplish in the next 126 days as we work to bring about better representation. I hope that by the time you're done reading this, you are too.

Hi.

A lot of you probably don't remember me. I was never the most active of users at MyDD, but I've been here for a long time, in terms of internet-time. I first started coming here just after the 2004 election. This blog hooked me on internet-based political activism, and has led to me becoming very involved in local politics. It means a lot to me.

Today is the first time I've logged in here in about a month. I wrote Jerome this long and whiny e-mail telling him I just couldn't stand it anymore, and I stopped coming here, checking in only occasionally to see if the waters had improved. It never did, and on principle I refused to participate in a community where the discourse had descended to such a disgusting level (and no, I'm not active on Daily Kos, either).

A friend referred me to this post and this post by Jerome, where he writes:

Time for the weeding out to begin. And it won't be between Obama and Clinton supporters either, both of whom are welcome here. It will be between those who are serious and post like adults, and those who are not, and do not have enough self-control to resist name-calling and attacking other users.

If Jerome will forgive me for abandoning his site, I'd like to come back. And I'd like to begin by admitting that I had a problem, and asking you to join with me. You see, I had turned into a real asshole.

Have you been wondering why my candidate has been doing better in every accurate poll (the others don't count)? It's because I'm smarter than you are, and I'm a better Democrat. I'm never, ever, ever going to vote for your candidate. Why? Because I'm right, you jackass, and you're wrong.

I just saw on Drudge that your candidate hits puppies with hammers. It's true. It's on Drudge. Where there's smoke, there's often fire. And not only is it true, but it's absolutely fair for me to cite it as evidence against your candidate, even after it's been discredited. And not only are you wrong to be supporting your candidate, but you're obviously a deeply flawed person for doing so. It's too bad everyone can't be in every way perfect, like me. If you disagree with me, you're just a my-candidate-hater. I hate people who hate so much. I also can't stand the fact that this entire blog is biased against me and my candidate.

But that's not all. I hate your candidate, and frankly, I hate you, too. You're a fucking Naderite, and a tool of the establishment, bought and paid for by special interest money that's being funneled into your candidate's campaign. You're a troll paid for by some hedgefund, probably financed by your candidate's racist, sexist, Rupert Murdoch-worshiping friends. That means you're off your medication and you're probably going to kill people. Yep. I said it, so it must be true. You're a liar and loser. And you're a Naderite, you leftist scum.

There's a front-page post right now on John Edwards' apparent refusal to commit to supporting Hillary Clinton if she's the nominee. The comments have gotten pretty heated and pretty nasty, and frankly, I don't want to be a part of that. It's disgusting, what debate on this site can turn into sometimes.

However, I did post a couple of comments, against my better judgment, and the response has gotten me thinking. This website used to be about serious political thought and progressive thinking, not just horse-race blogging, and I'd like to invite you back to that long-gone component by asking a question.

As a Democrat, is it ever acceptable for you to not support a Democratic nominee? Indeed, if you don't support a nominee, are you still a Democrat?

I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere on MyDD except for one item in Breaking Blue. That doesn't seem right to me. So, while I'd rather have someone far more eloquent than myself write a diary like this, I guess it's up to me.

I like Hillary Clinton. I like Barack Obama. I like John Edwards. Really, I like all of the Democrats running, even Mike Gravel, in an odd sort of way. And I like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. I have no doubt they're doing their best to do what they think is right.

But to me, none of them are leaders. They lead others, and they've shown bursts of leadership from time to time. But none of them have that special quality I'm looking for. None of them have inspired me. That's because I've been spoiled with one of the greatest leaders of our time, and I'm still looking for someone to match him.

Five years ago today, we lost Senator Paul Wellstone. He was, in my mind, one of the greatest politicians the Democratic Party and the United States of America have ever seen.

Two weeks ago, Michigan Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) expressed an interest in joining the field of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination against far-right incumbent Congressman Tim Walberg (R-Tipton). After two weeks of rumors and discussions of his possible candidacy comes this news out of Michigan's 7th District, from the AP:

  LANSING, Mich. (AP) - State Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer said Thursday he will seek the Democratic nomination to challenge freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg in the 2008 election after declining earlier overtures to enter the race.

  "Tim Walberg is not doing the job," Schauer told The Associated Press on Thursday. "He is serving a very narrow interest. He's really been a servant of the Bush-Cheney administration and the extreme special interests in Washington."

I heard the news early this afternoon. Around 2 PM I received a phone call, and 45 minutes later, Senator Schauer visited Walberg Watch, the blog I started to cover the race. He wanted to discuss his decision with me, my fellow bloggers, and the readers of the blog.

Read what Senator Schauer had to say and more in the extended entry...

State Senator Mark Schauer, a Battle Creek Democrat, was mentioned quite a bit last fall and early this year as a potential candidate for Congress in the 7th District. He's been a fantastic party leader in the legislature, supporting the netroots and working to solve the Michigan budget crisis. His name was even tossed around by supporters of Joe Schwarz in 2006 as a reason not to vote for Tim Walberg, suggesting that Walberg in 2006 would inevitably lead to a Schauer victory in 2008.

Schauer and his staff quashed most speculation this spring, promising to stay on as leader of the Democratic caucus in the Senate until the end of his term in 2010. Most observers-- including journalist Jack Lessenberry-- thought he would have been a formidable candidate, but Schauer seemed determined to sit this election out.

But all of that might be changing.

I'm not interested in your candidate. Really, I'm not. I'm not interested in the presidential race.

Don't get me wrong. I care about it and the future of the country. I have my own preferences among the Democratic candidates. But I'm not interested in that race right now. It's dull compared to something much, much more exciting.

Yes, I'm talking about the Michigan 7th Congressional District!