DailyKos faults the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for torpedoing a progressive's shot at taking Dick Gephardt's seat: Missouri 3 -- Gephardt's old seat. It's a solid (D) district (54 Gore, Bush 43, Other 3), so the winner of the primary was heavily favored for the general election. The winner of the race was Russ Carnahan, by all accounts a terrible candidate who coasted on name recognition and the money his family connections bought. A close second was Jeff Smith, a genuine progressive who not only built a strong grassroots army, but raised a surprisingly good amount of money given his lack of party connections or personal wealth (close to $400K. Carnahan didn't win a single county or city, but squeaked through in the crowded primary field. Smith won St. Louis, while candidate Steve Stoll took the outlying counties in the district. Gephardt made no endorsement in the race. But the DCCC, in a contested primary, in a safe Democratic seat, gave Russ Carnahan $3,500. A signal to funders that Carnahan was the party favorite. Inexcusable.