Well, valued reader, the bizarre has happened, and it's time to feel good for a little while. Now, Neocon Joe is not gracious in defeat, he's vowed to run as an independent in November and try to take the election back that way. I've been in email discussion about whether or not Joe will be around in November (evidently some of his signature gathering is as shoddy as his website hosting practices), or if the Dem leaders will convince him to bow out like a statesman and the promise of some future job.
Personally, I think Joe's going to ride it out to the bitter end. And I think the Dem leaders will do more than just voice support for Ned, they will rally hard. It will turn into a fight between the Democrats and Karl Rove, because if Joe supported Bush over Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in the past, just imagine what treachery he'll do if he does manage to win as an independent.
Joe should just retire and take his job as a Fox News analyst, then Rumsfeld's job that last year or two when BushCheneyCo are preparing to hand over the Iraq War to the Democratic President to follow and clean up after them.
Make no mistake about it: this isn't the defeat of a Democratic moderate, this is the victory of a Democratic moderate.
The better part of Lamont's victory is due to a tremendous grassroots effort generated locally, coupled with his fundamental positive qualities as a candidate. He's secure in who he is, has the confidence of his principles, and grew as a speaker and presence along the way.
While the MainStream Media has blown the netroots/blog element out of proportion to just sensible CT Dems making the best choice for their Party, it is undoubtedly setting off major alarm bells, and look for the GOP to try and commodicize or repress electoral blogging going forward, depending how their own writers are doing.
It is certainly a huge win for the fastest rising political blog of 2005, Firedoglake, and its founders Jane Hamsher and Christy Hardin "ReddHedd" Smith, whose work I have generally adored reading for over a year. If they can help Ned Lamont to actually be elected this November, they'll enter a whole other playing field.
In another key Democratic race, this one for the House of Representatives in Georgia, Hank Johnson also won a landslide victory over arguably ego-maniacal Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney for that nomination, another good decision. As Kevin "Calpundit" Drum says on the eternally lucid Washington Monthly blog:
As a result, the Democratic voters in Connecticut, who believe that the war in Iraq is hurting the broader war against radical jihadism, now have a Senate candidate who agrees with them. Likewise, the Democratic voters of DeKalb County, who want a representative who spends more time on district business than on investigating weird conspiracy theories, now have a congressional candidate who promises to do just that.
Seems to me the party acquitted itself pretty well tonight.
Amen to all that.
It's not over until the levers of our government are in saner hands, this fall and through November two years hence, but I think its okay, even healthy for Lamonties to party the better part of the week for this win. Why the hell do you think they call them political "parties"? And doesn't everyone want to join the party that's the most rockin'?
Hey, one closing Trivia Question:
Which potential Presidential aspirant was the first to congratulate Ned on his victory?
Per The New York Times, "Mr. Lamont said that former Senator John Edwards, the Democrats'’ vice presidential nominee in 2004, was the first Democratic leader to call him last night."
This wasn't just the first volley of the 2006 Congressional Midterm Elections.
It's the first shot fired for 2008.
No comments:
Post a Comment