Flashback:Dems Had Misgivings about Massa since 2006

I have unearthed something that indicates that Democrats long ago had misgivings about Massa’s volatility as far back as his first race in 2006, which he lost to former Rep. Randy Kuhl by only a few votes and with very little help from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC.)   Massa came back to beat Kuhl by 5000 votes in 2008.

In the following clip from the 2006 film “Taking the Hill,”  documentarians followed around a number of “vets” who the Democrats had running. They included Massa, Patrick Murphy, Tammy Duckworth, et al.

In this segment, it shows then-Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) who was then the head of the DCCC, the arm in charge of getting Democrats elected to the House, talking with Massa during a campaign stop.

Click here to see the clip or read the exchange below:

Emanuel: I don’t want you to be on TV tonight to be angry.

Massa: Alright.

Emanuel: Ok. Take it down a notch. Ok?

Massa: Ok.

Later…

Massa: I never had admiral walk on my ship who wasn’t inspecting me. So I think that anyone in the military knows that a visit from headquarters often brings bad news. He wants to fine tune me. He wants to refine me. But my problem is I am who I am and that’s…I’m not very refinable. He thinks I’m too fiery. Did I sound angry?

(Unidentified woman, perhaps his daughter): You always sound angry.

Later..

Emanuel: You’ve gotta smile

Massa: I know.

Emanuel: Have fun. If all people see is anger, they’ll see anger. Be

Massa: Rahm Emanuel says I’m too uptight.

Someone off-cam: F**k him

Massa: Now of course for him to say I’m too uptight. He’s a pretty serious guy. I’ve never see him smile once in all the time I’ve seen him on TV.

Someone off cam: If you got this far without Rahm Emanuel’s help, F**k him.